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| author | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-03-01 08:55:39 -0800 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-03-01 08:55:39 -0800 |
| commit | ec4fa386965c1557abca985036dc5659d4769b81 (patch) | |
| tree | 68410cb0394e0647645580b6f042585b48eb71a9 | |
Add 45859 from /home/DONE/45859.zip.2024-11-28
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diff --git a/45859/45859-h.zip b/45859/45859-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..4d37628 --- /dev/null +++ b/45859/45859-h.zip diff --git a/45859/45859-h/45859-h.htm b/45859/45859-h/45859-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..78ff625 --- /dev/null +++ b/45859/45859-h/45859-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,11211 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"
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+Traditional</title>
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+}
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+}
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+}
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+</head>
+<body>
+
+
+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Patrañas, by R. H. Busk
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Patrañas
+ or Spanish Stories, Legendary and Traditional
+
+Author: R. H. Busk
+
+Illustrator: E. H. Corbould
+
+Release Date: June 1, 2014 [EBook #45859]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: iso-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PATRAÑAS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ for Project
+Gutenberg (This book was produced from scanned images of
+public domain material from the Google Print project.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+<div class="front">
+<div class="div1 cover"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first"></p>
+<div class="figure xd21e114width"><img src="images/new-cover.jpg" alt=
+"Newly Designed Front Cover." width="480" height="720"></div>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="div1 titlepage"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first"></p>
+<div class="figure xd21e120width"><img src="images/titlepage.png" alt=
+"Original Title Page." width="440" height="720"></div>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="div1 frenchtitle"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first xd21e126">PATRAÑAS;<br>
+OR<br>
+Spanish Stories, Legendary and Traditional.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="div1 imprint"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first xd21e126">LONDON:<br>
+GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, PRINTERS,<br>
+ST. JOHN’S SQUARE.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="div1 frontispiece"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first"></p>
+<div class="figure xd21e143width"><img src="images/p019.jpg" alt=
+"Carlo Magno and the Giant.—Page 19." width="526" height="720">
+<p class="figureHead">Carlo Magno and the Giant.—<i>Page</i>
+19.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="titlePage">
+<div class="docTitle">
+<div class="mainTitle">PATRAÑAS;</div>
+<div class="subTitle">OR</div>
+<div class="subTitle">SPANISH STORIES,<br>
+Legendary and Traditional.</div>
+</div>
+<div class="byline">BY<br>
+THE AUTHOR OF “TRADITIONS OF TIROL.”<br>
+<i>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY E. H. CORBOULD.</i></div>
+<div class="docImprint">LONDON:<br>
+GRIFFITH AND FARRAN,<br>
+SUCCESSORS TO NEWBERY AND HARRIS,<br>
+CORNER OF ST. PAUL’S CHURCHYARD.<br>
+<span class="docDate">MDCCCLXX.</span></div>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="xd21e181" href="#xd21e181" name=
+"xd21e181">v</a>]</span></p>
+<div id="toc" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">CONTENTS.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first"> <span class=
+"tocPageNum">PAGE</span></p>
+<ul>
+<li><a href="#intro" id="xd21e192" name="xd21e192"><span class=
+"sc">Introduction</span></a>
+<span class="tocPageNum">1</span></li>
+</ul>
+<p>POPULAR.</p>
+<ul>
+<li><a href="#s1" id="xd21e203" name="xd21e203"><span class="sc">Carlo
+Magno and the Giant</span></a>
+<span class="tocPageNum">6</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s2" id="xd21e210" name="xd21e210"><span class="sc">El
+Conde Sol</span></a> <span class=
+"tocPageNum">20</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s3" id="xd21e217" name="xd21e217"><span class="sc">Simple
+Johnny and the Spell-bound Princesses</span></a>
+ <span class=
+"tocPageNum">24</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s4" id="xd21e224" name="xd21e224"><span class="sc">Turian
+and Floreta</span></a>
+<span class="tocPageNum">45</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s5" id="xd21e231" name="xd21e231"><span class="sc">The
+Blood-stain of the Alcázar of Seville</span></a>
+ <span class=
+"tocPageNum">63</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s6" id="xd21e238" name="xd21e238"><span class="sc">The
+Adventures of Doña Josefa Ramirez y Marmolejo</span></a>
+ <span class=
+"tocPageNum">67</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s7" id="xd21e245" name="xd21e245"><span class="sc">The
+Steeple of Coveña</span></a>
+ <span class=
+"tocPageNum">89</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s8" id="xd21e252" name="xd21e252"><span class=
+"sc">Another Fair Maid of Zaragoza</span></a>
+ <span class=
+"tocPageNum">96</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s9" id="xd21e259" name="xd21e259"><span class=
+"sc">Juanita the Bald; or, A Daughter’s Love</span></a>
+ <span class=
+"tocPageNum">107</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s10" id="xd21e266" name="xd21e266"><span class=
+"sc">Starving John the Doctor</span></a>
+ <span class=
+"tocPageNum">123</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s11" id="xd21e273" name="xd21e273"><span class="sc">Ramon
+the Discontented</span></a>
+<span class="tocPageNum">131</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s12" id="xd21e281" name="xd21e281"><span class="sc">The
+Ballad-maker and the Boot-maker</span></a>
+ <span class=
+"tocPageNum">140</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s13" id="xd21e288" name="xd21e288"><span class="sc">El
+Clavel</span></a> <span class=
+"tocPageNum">143</span><span class="pagenum">[<a id="xd21e294" href=
+"#xd21e294" name="xd21e294">vi</a>]</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s14" id="xd21e296" name="xd21e296"><span class="sc">The
+Ill-tempered Princess</span></a>
+<span class="tocPageNum">148</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s15" id="xd21e303" name="xd21e303"><span class="sc">The
+Hermit and the Fig-tree</span></a>
+<span class="tocPageNum">159</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s16" id="xd21e310" name="xd21e310"><span class="sc">Too
+Clever by Half</span></a>
+<span class="tocPageNum">171</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s17" id="xd21e317" name="xd21e317"><span class="sc">The
+Wind’s Story</span></a>
+<span class="tocPageNum">173</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s18" id="xd21e324" name="xd21e324"><span class="sc">What
+Ana saw in the Sunbeam</span></a>
+<span class="tocPageNum">181</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s19" id="xd21e331" name="xd21e331"><span class="sc">The
+Pedro Jimenez Grape</span></a>
+<span class="tocPageNum">201</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s20" id="xd21e338" name="xd21e338"><span class="sc">St.
+Martin in Spain</span></a>
+<span class="tocPageNum">209</span></li>
+<li>
+<div class="table">
+<table class="xd21e345">
+<tr>
+<td class="cellLeft cellTop"><span class="sc">Marvellous
+Stories.</span></td>
+<td class="cellTop">—I.</td>
+<td class="cellRight cellTop"><a href="#s21" id="xd21e354" name=
+"xd21e354"><span class="sc">St. Michael’s Feather</span></a>
+ <span class=
+"tocPageNum">213</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="cellLeft">
+<table class="ditto">
+<tr class="s">
+<td><span class="sc">Marvellous</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="d">
+<td>,,</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<table class="ditto">
+<tr class="s">
+<td><span class="sc">Stories.</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="d">
+<td>,,</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</td>
+<td>II.</td>
+<td class="cellRight"><a href="#s22" id="xd21e369" name=
+"xd21e369">“<span class="sc">Eyes to the Blind</span>”</a>
+ <span class=
+"tocPageNum">214</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="cellLeft">
+<table class="ditto">
+<tr class="s">
+<td><span class="sc">Marvellous</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="d">
+<td>,,</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<table class="ditto">
+<tr class="s">
+<td><span class="sc">Stories.</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="d">
+<td>,,</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</td>
+<td>III.</td>
+<td class="cellRight"><a href="#s23" id="xd21e386" name=
+"xd21e386"><span class="sc">The Floating Chest</span></a>
+ <span class=
+"tocPageNum">215</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="cellLeft cellBottom">
+<table class="ditto">
+<tr class="s">
+<td><span class="sc">Marvellous</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="d">
+<td>,,</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<table class="ditto">
+<tr class="s">
+<td><span class="sc">Stories.</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="d">
+<td>,,</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</td>
+<td class="cellBottom">IV.</td>
+<td class="cellRight cellBottom"><a href="#s24" id="xd21e401" name=
+"xd21e401"><span class="sc">The Whale of the
+Manzanáres</span></a>
+<span class="tocPageNum">216</span></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+</li>
+<li><a href="#s25" id="xd21e408" name="xd21e408"><span class="sc">The
+Sun of Wittenburg</span></a>
+<span class="tocPageNum">218</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s26" id="xd21e416" name="xd21e416"><span class=
+"sc">Merino</span></a>
+<span class="tocPageNum">219</span></li>
+</ul>
+<p>LEGENDARY.</p>
+<ul>
+<li><a href="#s27" id="xd21e427" name="xd21e427"><span class="sc">King
+Vamba</span></a> <span class=
+"tocPageNum">221</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s28" id="xd21e434" name="xd21e434"><span class=
+"sc">Doña Terea</span></a>
+<span class="tocPageNum">228</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s29" id="xd21e441" name="xd21e441"><span class="sc">The
+Irish Princess</span></a>
+<span class="tocPageNum">234</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s30" id="xd21e448" name="xd21e448"><span class="sc">El
+Conde Fernan Gonzalez</span></a>
+<span class="tocPageNum">245</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s31" id="xd21e455" name="xd21e455"><span class="sc">The
+First Tunny Fishing</span></a>
+<span class="tocPageNum">249</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s32" id="xd21e462" name="xd21e462">“<span class=
+"sc">Where One can Dine, Two can Dine</span>”</a>
+ <span class=
+"tocPageNum">254</span></li>
+</ul>
+<p>CABALLERESCO.</p>
+<ul>
+<li><a href="#s33" id="xd21e475" name="xd21e475"><span class=
+"sc">Hormesinda</span></a>
+<span class="tocPageNum">261</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s34" id="xd21e482" name="xd21e482"><span class=
+"sc">Filial Love before all</span></a>
+ <span class=
+"tocPageNum">265</span><span class="pagenum">[<a id="xd21e488" href=
+"#xd21e488" name="xd21e488">vii</a>]</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s35" id="xd21e490" name="xd21e490"><span class=
+"sc">Raguel; or, The Jewess of Toledo</span></a>
+ <span class=
+"tocPageNum">276</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s36" id="xd21e497" name="xd21e497"><span class="sc">Don
+Jaime de Aragon</span></a>
+<span class="tocPageNum">283</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s37" id="xd21e504" name="xd21e504"><span class="sc">Don
+Alonso de Aguilar</span></a>
+<span class="tocPageNum">286</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s38" id="xd21e511" name="xd21e511"><span class="sc">The
+Black Charger of Hernando</span></a>
+ <span class=
+"tocPageNum">291</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s39" id="xd21e518" name="xd21e518"><span class="sc">The
+Infante Don Henrique and the Lions</span></a>
+ <span class=
+"tocPageNum">299</span></li>
+<li><a href="#s40" id="xd21e525" name="xd21e525"><span class=
+"sc">Blanca the Haughty</span></a>
+<span class="tocPageNum">303</span></li>
+</ul>
+<p>MORESQUE.</p>
+<ul>
+<li>
+<div class="table">
+<table class="xd21e345">
+<tr>
+<td class="cellLeft cellTop"><span class="sc">Moorish
+Remnants.</span></td>
+<td class="cellTop">—I.</td>
+<td class="cellRight cellTop"><a href="#s41" id="xd21e545" name=
+"xd21e545"><span class="sc">Issy-ben-Aran</span></a>
+ <span class=
+"tocPageNum">323</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="cellLeft">
+<table class="ditto">
+<tr class="s">
+<td><span class="sc">Moorish</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="d">
+<td>,,</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<table class="ditto">
+<tr class="s">
+<td><span class="sc">Remnants.</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="d">
+<td>,,</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</td>
+<td>II.</td>
+<td class="cellRight"><a href="#s42" id="xd21e560" name=
+"xd21e560"><span class="sc">Móstafa Alvilá</span></a>
+ <span class=
+"tocPageNum">326</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="cellLeft">
+<table class="ditto">
+<tr class="s">
+<td><span class="sc">Moorish</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="d">
+<td>,,</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<table class="ditto">
+<tr class="s">
+<td><span class="sc">Remnants.</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="d">
+<td>,,</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</td>
+<td>III.</td>
+<td class="cellRight"><a href="#s43" id="xd21e575" name=
+"xd21e575"><span class="sc">The Emir in search of an Eye</span></a>
+ <span class=
+"tocPageNum">329</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="cellLeft">
+<table class="ditto">
+<tr class="s">
+<td><span class="sc">Moorish</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="d">
+<td>,,</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<table class="ditto">
+<tr class="s">
+<td><span class="sc">Remnants.</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="d">
+<td>,,</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</td>
+<td>IV.</td>
+<td class="cellRight"><a href="#s44" id="xd21e590" name=
+"xd21e590"><span class="sc">Yussuf’s Friend</span></a>
+ <span class=
+"tocPageNum">332</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="cellLeft cellBottom">
+<table class="ditto">
+<tr class="s">
+<td><span class="sc">Moorish</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="d">
+<td>,,</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<table class="ditto">
+<tr class="s">
+<td><span class="sc">Remnants.</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="d">
+<td>,,</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</td>
+<td class="cellBottom">V.</td>
+<td class="cellRight cellBottom"><a href="#s45" id="xd21e605" name=
+"xd21e605"><span class="sc">The Sultana’s
+Perfumer-in-Chief</span></a>
+<span class="tocPageNum">335</span></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+</li>
+<li><a href="#s46" id="xd21e612" name="xd21e612"><span class="sc">El
+Moro Santon</span></a>
+<span class="tocPageNum">337</span></li>
+</ul>
+<p>DE ULTRAMAR<a class="noteref" id="xd21e621src" href="#xd21e621"
+name="xd21e621src">1</a>.</p>
+<ul>
+<li><a href="#s47" id="xd21e626" name="xd21e626"><span class=
+"sc">Hernan Cortes in Sanctuary</span></a>
+ <span class=
+"tocPageNum">340</span></li>
+<li>
+<div class="table">
+<table class="xd21e345">
+<tr>
+<td class="cellLeft cellTop"><span class="sc">Araucania the
+Indomitable.</span></td>
+<td class="cellTop"><a href="#s48" id="xd21e640" name=
+"xd21e640">—I</a></td>
+<td class="cellRight cellTop">
+<span class="tocPageNum">343</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="cellLeft">
+<table class="ditto">
+<tr class="s">
+<td><span class="sc">Araucania</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="d">
+<td>,,</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<table class="ditto">
+<tr class="s">
+<td><span class="sc">the</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="d">
+<td>,,</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<table class="ditto">
+<tr class="s">
+<td><span class="sc">Indomitable.</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="d">
+<td>,,</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</td>
+<td>II.</td>
+<td class="cellRight"><a href="#s49" id="xd21e656" name=
+"xd21e656"><span class="sc">Tegualda</span></a>
+ <span class=
+"tocPageNum">351</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="cellLeft cellBottom">
+<table class="ditto">
+<tr class="s">
+<td><span class="sc">Araucania</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="d">
+<td>,,</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<table class="ditto">
+<tr class="s">
+<td><span class="sc">the</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="d">
+<td>,,</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<table class="ditto">
+<tr class="s">
+<td><span class="sc">Indomitable.</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="d">
+<td>,,</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</td>
+<td class="cellBottom">III.</td>
+<td class="cellRight cellBottom"><a href="#s50" id="xd21e671" name=
+"xd21e671"><span class="sc">Fiton’s Cave</span></a>
+ <span class=
+"tocPageNum">360</span></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+</li>
+<li><a href="#s51" id="xd21e678" name="xd21e678"><span class=
+"sc">Matanzas</span></a>
+<span class="tocPageNum">370</span></li>
+</ul>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb1" href="#pb1" name=
+"pb1">1</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e621" href="#xd21e621src" name="xd21e621">1</a></span>
+Colonial. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e621src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="body">
+<div id="intro" class="div1 introduction"><span class=
+"pagenum">[<a href="#xd21e192">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="super">PATRAÑAS;<br>
+OR,<br>
+Spanish Stories, Legendary and Traditional.</h2>
+<h2 class="main">INTRODUCTION.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">You will often have it said to you, when smarting
+under a disappointment, “Never mind! it is all for the
+best!” I dare say you are sometimes inclined to doubt the truth
+of this maxim; I remember when I was a child I did, but I have found
+out in life, that it does very often prove true. And if you like, I
+will tell you one instance in which this was the case.</p>
+<p>In the course of one of my rambles in Spain it happened one day that
+I was tempted by an old longing to make acquaintance with one of her
+most out-of-the-way and primitive villages, to separate from my party
+at the comfortable hotel at C—— <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb2" href="#pb2" name="pb2">2</a>]</span>and make my
+way with only one young companion to a place some five miles west,
+called Guadaxox, a name which I dare say in your longest geography
+lesson you have never been called on to pronounce; and you would find
+it no easy matter to do so, unless I wrote it for you thus:
+<i>Guadakquoth</i>.</p>
+<p>Five miles’ walk through the clear bright air of Spain, and
+the fresh spring breeze charged with all the perfume from the
+mountains, is a pleasant prospect enough; and as I can usually adapt
+myself to any quarters which may fall to my lot on a march, I had
+little fear of not being sufficiently rested to perform the return
+journey easily before sunset. My companion was a hearty lad of
+fourteen, who had joined us for his Easter vacation from Eton, and the
+prospect proposed even less difficulties to him.</p>
+<p>I think you would be amused with our little adventures by the way
+through a country in which every outline of foreground or horizon,
+every tree and plant, every beast or fowl, every implement of
+husbandry, every article of dress of the people, every individual thing
+you meet, will probably prove new to an English eye. But I must not
+dwell on these things now. I will only tell you that we had such a
+bright and pleasant day as I have hardly ever known out of Spain; that
+we found so much to sketch and so much to interest us altogether, that
+we never noticed how the time passed, <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb3" href="#pb3" name="pb3">3</a>]</span>nor how the wind from the
+mountains had covered the fair sky with angry clouds. It was only when
+the first great drops of the storm patted us on the shoulder that we
+realized the extent of our difficulty. We looked at the banks of clouds
+and then at each other, for we each felt there was little chance of
+holding up that evening, and if it did, some of the mountain paths we
+had to traverse would be rendered too slippery by the torrent to be
+pleasant, not to say safe, for our lowland-bred feet.</p>
+<p>It was a <i>contretemps</i> which disconcerted us not a little; but
+we turned with what courage remained to see after a shelter for the
+night. Time forbids me to describe the only <i>venta</i>, or inn, the
+place boasted, it will suffice to say it wanted for <i>every</i>
+comfort. It only expected to have hardy peasants to house who would not
+object to the earthen floor or the companionship of pigs and fowls in
+their slumbers. My Eton companion thought it rather manly to roll
+himself up in his great coat and compose himself to sleep on a board
+sloped from a low bench on to the floor. For myself I preferred sitting
+up, and established myself bravely in a chair, having previously taken
+the precaution to replenish the lamp. The first stage of weariness was
+just coming on when the door, which there was no means of locking, was
+thrown rudely open, and a couple of rough carters were ushered in to
+take up their quarters in the same apartment. I remonstrated at the
+intrusion <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb4" href="#pb4" name=
+"pb4">4</a>]</span>without success, and something of an altercation
+ensued, in the midst of which another door, which I had not before
+noticed, was opened by a lady in black, who beckoned me into her room.
+I followed her, glad of an escape, but with a misgiving, lest I had not
+mended the matter. At first sight I had felt inclined to set her down
+as “an old hag;” but as she talked I saw intelligent
+benevolence in her dark eye, and traced remnants of early beauty in her
+shrivelled countenance. We were soon friends. She was travelling from
+place to place with her daughter, who supported them both by her
+exertions on the stage; she had gone on with friends to another village
+that evening, so her bed was free; it did not look inviting, and I
+excused myself as delicately as I could. She had the tact not to press
+the matter; and we continued sitting up, talking about the customs and
+legends of the people, a matter in which the old lady was well versed,
+and which had always had a special charm for me. She was delighted to
+have some one who would listen to her “long yarn;” and I
+was delighted to have found a source at which to satisfy some of my
+curiosity about Spanish Traditions.</p>
+<p>The next day, as I sat in the hotel at C—— writing down
+the substance of what she had told me, and which I have embodied in the
+following collection of tales, I could not help saying to myself,
+“Well, it was all for the best. I thought that storm <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb5" href="#pb5" name="pb5">5</a>]</span>a great
+annoyance yesterday, but it has procured me an acquaintance with the
+very subjects after which I had had many fruitless researches
+before.”</p>
+<p>The store thus begun has been added to since in many various ways
+which I will not detain you by narrating, as I sincerely hope you are
+anxious to plunge into them, and still more that they will answer your
+expectations and entertain you as they did me.</p>
+<p>I dare say they will seem to you at first very like other stories
+you have read, but if you follow them attentively you will trace many
+singular national characteristics. One in particular to which I would
+call your attention is the spirit of humour of which the Spanish and
+particularly the Andalusian people are so fond. This will sometimes
+lead them to what we should be inclined to consider irreverence; but it
+is nothing of the sort with them; and if you find them speaking with
+playfulness on a sacred subject<a class="noteref" id="xd21e732src"
+href="#xd21e732" name="xd21e732src">1</a>, it is because such a vein of
+faith underlies all they say that the notion of being irreverent never
+occurs to them. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb6" href="#pb6" name=
+"pb6">6</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e732" href="#xd21e732src" name="xd21e732">1</a></span> The Story
+“Where One may Dine Two may Dine” is a particular
+illustration of this. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e732src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s1" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e203">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">CARLO MAGNO AND THE GIANT.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Many tales of Spain are full of memories of
+Charlemagne. It is strange that history says comparatively little of
+his doings there; but his was a character such as the Spanish Romancers
+were sure to seize, and, with their habit of heaping all perfections on
+their heroes, ascribe to him all manner of fabulous achievements. Here
+is one of the exploits they tell of him:—</p>
+<p>One of the Moorish kings, who sought his alliance in the internecine
+turmoils in which the chiefs of their race were at the time engaged,
+had an only and beautiful daughter, the apple of his eye, who was
+guarded with jealous care, indulged in every wish, waited on by the
+most beautiful maidens in a fairy-like palace, and suffered to know
+nothing of her father’s wars and dangers. Life seemed all
+smoothness and pleasure to her; and every one, who at any time met her
+eye, made it their delight to obey her faintest sign.</p>
+<p>But life passed even amid continual sunshine, <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb7" href="#pb7" name="pb7">7</a>]</span>flowers, and
+harmony may become monotonous. When the Moorish princess had had
+fifteen years of it, she began to seek some pleasure newer and more
+exciting. Her fond father, only glad to hear her express a wish, that
+he might have the satisfaction of gratifying it, promised to give her a
+fresh diversion such as she had never before seen.</p>
+<p>For this purpose he ordered a great <i>fête</i>, and chose out
+all the mightiest men of his forces, to perform feats of arms and mock
+combats before her.</p>
+<p>The princess, who had never witnessed any combat more serious than
+that of her pet doves, was delighted beyond measure with the new
+sensation, and thought she could never tire of seeing the brave
+horsemen contend; dealing each other such heavy blows, and all the
+while seeming so indifferent to danger. Nevertheless the time came when
+the sameness of these shows struck her too, and she began to crave for
+something newer yet.</p>
+<p>The king then ordered that valiant men out of other countries should
+be invited to come and contend before her, each after the fashion of
+their own country; and many warriors of renown were content to come and
+display their prowess; the Moslem in the hope of winning the bright
+smile of the king’s daughter; Christians, to have the opportunity
+of displaying their might before the infidel horde.</p>
+<p>Among the strangers, but belonging to neither <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb8" href="#pb8" name="pb8">8</a>]</span>of these
+categories, came one day a powerful giant, five cubits high, who rode
+on a horse as tall as a house. All the mighty men of the king’s
+army turned pale when they saw him; and the king regretted that his
+invitations to all comers had been so unlimited that he could find no
+courteous excuse for excluding him; to prefer an unfair one would have
+been dangerous, as his ire would have been terrible if provoked. So he
+received him as smilingly as his trepidation would permit; and the
+giant seemed a very good-natured person, too full of his own
+consequence to think of any thing else, even of picking a quarrel with
+any one.</p>
+<p>He challenged every one to fight with him, but no one would venture;
+and this testimony to his might put him in still better humour. Then he
+showed off all his feats of strength, to the great delight of the
+court, and of none more than the princess, who was so astonished at the
+prodigies he rehearsed, that she leant out from her balcony, and
+suffered the veil to blow away from her face.</p>
+<p>The giant happened to be looking towards her at the moment, and that
+moment sufficed to make him fall in love with her. For the rest of the
+day he exhibited his surprising strength with renewed energy; but the
+evening was no sooner come, than he stole up to her window, which,
+though it was in a very high tower of the <i lang=
+"es">alcázar</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e766src" href=
+"#xd21e766" name="xd21e766src">1</a>, was just at a <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb9" href="#pb9" name="pb9">9</a>]</span>convenient
+height for his head to reach as he stood upon the ground. Putting his
+face against the lattice, he whispered very softly that he must speak
+to her. The poor little princess was dreadfully frightened, and could
+not guess what he wanted, but thought it would not be dignified to show
+any fear; so she went near enough to the window to be heard by him, and
+asked him his pleasure. The giant told her that he loved her, and she
+must marry him. The princess was dreadfully terrified when she heard
+this, for she knew she had no possible means of resisting him if he
+chose to carry her off by force; and she reflected, too, that her
+father himself would have very little chance if he attempted to fight
+him: and what a dreadful thing it would be if he should kill her
+father—her dear father, who was so fond of her! Yet in the fright
+she was in, she could think of no better stratagem than to stammer
+forth that he must give her time to think about it.</p>
+<p>The giant was not very dissatisfied with this reply, and promised he
+would leave her quite to herself till the next day. All that night, and
+all the next day, the little princess thought and thought of what
+excuse she could make; but she could think of nothing but to ask him to
+give her another day; and then again she sat and thought, and no
+invention would come: and she durst not tell, her father, lest he
+should in his <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb10" href="#pb10" name=
+"pb10">10</a>]</span>indignation challenge the giant to fight, and be
+killed by him. But when he came the third time, and she could still
+think of no stratagem for getting rid of him, she was obliged to tell
+him plainly that she could not make up her mind to marry him.</p>
+<p>At first the giant tried all sorts of clumsy persuasions and
+entreaties; but the maiden held firm; and at last, finding she would
+not yield, he grew fiercely angry, seized the alcázar by the
+roof, and made it rock backwards and forwards, tore up the trees, and
+threw them on the ground, and stamped upon the soil with a noise like
+peals of thunder. The poor little princess was so terrified she hardly
+knew what was happening, only she heard him swear that he would come
+back and take her by a way she could not escape him; and after
+repeating that threat several times at length disappeared.</p>
+<p>It was a long time before the princess came to her senses again, for
+she had fainted with the dire terror, and when she did, she began to
+wonder what the terrible trouble was which had so shattered her; by
+degrees the memory of the stormy scenes lately passed came back to her,
+but all was now so calm and still, she could hardly realize the truth
+of what she had gone through. It was a great relief to find the giant
+was quite gone—far away; and she learnt that he lived a long,
+long way off, in a <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb11" href="#pb11"
+name="pb11">11</a>]</span>valley as far below the level of the plain as
+the height on which her father’s alcázar stood was above
+it. She remembered, indeed, his threat that he would come back, but it
+seemed that it would have been so easy for him to have taken her then
+had he been so minded, that she could not think he was serious in the
+intention to carry her off at all. Why should he come back to do what
+he might just as well have done at once?</p>
+<p>Time passed on, and she heard no more of the giant; people left off
+talking of his feats of strength, and she began to forget all about
+him. A matter happened, too, which gave another direction to her
+thoughts. A neighbouring king made war upon her father, and with such
+overwhelming preparations, that this time he could not conceal the fact
+from her. Every one was full of apprehensions, and the king, distracted
+with the fear of losing his kingdom, had no time even to think of the
+fancies of his beloved daughter. The princess heard from one and
+another of the attendants that things were going very wrong, that the
+enemy were getting the upper hand, and advancing nearer and nearer; but
+she learnt more from their anxious looks than from their lips, for
+every one was afraid to distress her by giving her details of the
+truth.</p>
+<p>We must now go back to the giant, whom we left marching off in no
+good humour. The truth about him was, that with all his strength he was
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb12" href="#pb12" name=
+"pb12">12</a>]</span>not very courageous—he was more of a bully
+than a warrior. He had heard a great deal of the bravery and more
+particularly of the excellent arms of the Moors, and as he knew they
+would rise as one man to defend their princess if he carried her off,
+he did not like the idea of their making pincushions of his legs with
+their fine sharp swords, even if they could not reach to do him further
+damage. So he resolved to carry out his plan in a way which would be
+less fraught with danger to himself.</p>
+<p>Coming down from the alcázar, he went on to the neighbouring
+sovereign, and treacherously gave him a description of all he had seen
+at the court where he had just been staying; told him the number and
+situation of the army, and the condition of the defences, and pointed
+out the least protected points of the country by which an incursion
+could be made. Having received a rich guerdon for this information, he
+continued his way homewards, and then set all his people to work to cut
+a long cave, which he made them extend further and further in a sloping
+direction till it should come out opposite the alcázar where the
+Moorish princess dwelt, by means of which he could reach her
+unperceived, and carry her off without danger to his own skin, while
+the city was in the midst of the tumult which he thought would be
+brought about by the inroad of the inimical power he had perfidiously
+invoked. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb13" href="#pb13" name=
+"pb13">13</a>]</span></p>
+<p>Various underground rumblings had been observed for some time past
+by the country people, but as they held little communication with each
+other it did not strike them that the sounds continually advanced in
+the direction of the capital. Indeed, all minds were too much filled
+with apprehensions of the destruction the advancing foe above ground
+was likely to reek upon their property, to have time to give way to
+fears of a chimerical foe in the regions below the soil.</p>
+<p>Thus the giant worked on steadily and without hindrance, while the
+poor little princess was far from thinking of her tormentor otherwise
+than as at a safe distance; much less did she dream of his continually
+nearing approach! Enough she had to excite her anxiety without this.
+And she sat crying over her father’s danger till her face became
+quite pale and her eyes worn with tears.</p>
+<p>At last a day came when every one seemed bright with fresh hope; and
+they ran hastily enough to tell her the good news. The youthful
+conqueror, Carlo Magno, had been appealed to by the king to help him.
+His advent had entirely turned the tide of affairs: the enemy had been
+completely repulsed, and the victorious army was returning in triumph
+to the city.</p>
+<p>The news spread like wildfire; every one hasted to deck their houses
+festively, and put on their best attire, to do honour to the
+conquerors; and when <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb14" href="#pb14"
+name="pb14">14</a>]</span>they appeared, shouted their thanks in loud
+acclamations. The little princess was very desirous to see the young
+hero who had saved her father’s life; and, though it is not the
+custom for Moorish women to appear in public, she contrived to see him
+as he passed by, and thought in the silence of her heart how nice it
+would have been if it had been the handsome Christian who had wanted to
+marry her instead of the monstrous giant. Having once seen him, she was
+so desirous to see him again that she sent to ask him to come, that she
+might thank him for having saved her father’s kingdom; but it was
+not entirely for her father’s sake that she contrived the
+interview.</p>
+<p>When he came, however, though he was very courteous towards her, he
+was also very reserved, and stayed a very short time; assured her that
+what he had done was nothing at all; that his sword was ever ready to
+defend the right, whoever it might be invoked his aid; and with that
+took his leave without paying her any compliments. The Moorish princess
+was sad when she saw him go out so; and sadder still when she learnt
+that no Christian prince cared to know a Moorish maid. Carlo Magno
+himself, however, was sorry for the poor child, as he had seen that she
+wanted to be better acquainted with him; but he could hold no intimacy
+with the unbeliever.</p>
+<p>The giant, meantime, had gone on boring away; <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb15" href="#pb15" name="pb15">15</a>]</span>and,
+though he had now got quite under the alcázar, every one was so
+full of festivity and rejoicing that nobody heeded the sound of his
+pickaxe. On his part, he had not been altogether unmindful to listen
+for the sounds which might keep him informed of what was going on in
+the upper world, he had been very well satisfied with what he heard.
+There had been unmistakable clashings of battle, and he never doubted
+that the princess’s father must be getting the worst of it; and
+now, when he heard the sounds of busy running to and fro in the festive
+palace, he made sure it was his allies pillaging the place.</p>
+<p>At last the tunnel was complete; he crept out in the first fall of
+the darkness of night, threaded the familiar way up to the
+princess’s window, rested his foot on the cornice of the first
+story for a stepping-stone, and with one grasp of his hand had swept
+her off her couch before she had time to open her eyes. Then closing
+her mouth, so that she might not cry and raise an alarm, walked quietly
+back with her to his subterranean passage, down the sloping path of
+which he carried her in exultation.</p>
+<p>Quickly and silently as the feat had been performed, the keen bright
+eyes of a little black slave had followed the whole affair, as she lay
+at the foot of her mistress’s couch. She had seen the huge hand
+spread over the room,—the nail of its <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb16" href="#pb16" name="pb16">16</a>]</span>little
+finger had indeed sadly grazed her forehead. She recognized it at once
+as belonging to the giant, her mistress’s dread of whom she had
+so often shared. And no sooner was her helplessness to rescue her
+apparent, than she rushed madly into the banqueting-hall, tearing her
+clothes and plucking out her hair, and crying out in wailing accents
+what had befallen. It was not easy to gain credence to so strange a
+story; and when at last her earnestness induced belief in her
+sincerity, the princess’s room had to be searched to afford the
+necessary proof that she was gone. When this was found to be indeed but
+too true, the wail was taken up by all the people. The banquet was
+broken up, and every one went hither and thither, not knowing what to
+do; for, withal that the giant was so big, none had seen him pass to
+tell which way he had gone.</p>
+<p>But Carlo Magno, brave and self-possessed in the midst of all, saw
+an occasion to be of service to the poor Moorish princess, and make up
+for the disappointment he had caused her in the morning. It was plain
+to him that if the giant had stood under the window, as the little
+black slave had said, he must have left his foot-prints there; and that
+he could thence be tracked whithersoever he had gone. So he raised a
+loud voice, and bid all the people be still: and that if they would all
+remain without stirring, he would deliver their princess; for he
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb17" href="#pb17" name=
+"pb17">17</a>]</span>wanted them not to stir up the soil any more, lest
+they should destroy the track.</p>
+<p>The voice of Carlo Magno, after what he had already done for them,
+possessed great authority with the people; and so all stood quite
+still, while he bade the little black slave guide him to the window;
+and there, under it, sure enough he found the giant’s footprints,
+two great holes in the sand, like dry tanks for water. Allowing due
+space for his prodigious stride, the prince readily found another and
+another, till they brought him to the mouth of the tunnel, where he had
+indeed passed. When all the people saw the great gaping hole which had
+never appeared there before that night, and gazed down its descending
+gullet, no wonder they thought it was the mouth of hell opened to vomit
+forth its monster.</p>
+<p>But Carlo Magno said he would deliver the princess though his
+enterprise should indeed lead him into the realms of Hades. And all the
+people applauded his courage, but he went down the black path
+alone.</p>
+<p>Though he travelled at all speed, the giant had now good start, and
+the length of his step was equal to several of the Christian
+prince’s charger; but Carlo Magno made such good haste that he
+had not got above a hundred miles before he heard the giant’s
+laugh, exulting over his prize, resounding through the gloomy passage,
+though still at some <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb18" href="#pb18"
+name="pb18">18</a>]</span>considerable distance. This roused the
+Christian prince’s indignation, and made him urge his steed yet
+faster, till at last he came within sight of him. And then, when he saw
+his monstrous arms bearing the little helpless princess, his compassion
+made him use yet greater speed, till at length just as he reached the
+mouth of the cave, Carlo Magno managed to overstep him by one bound of
+his horse, and then wheeling round confronted him with fearless
+eye.</p>
+<p>The giant I have already said was more of a bully than a warrior.
+When he saw the Christian knight so brave and firm, and withal encased
+in such strong armour, and brandishing his trenchant sword, he felt his
+best defence lay in hectoring and boasting, and thereby frightening the
+Christian hero from attempting to fight him.</p>
+<p>With a terrible voice, therefore, which made the rocks resound, he
+asked his opponent, on whom he lavished every startling epithet, what
+he meant by venturing to appear before him; following up the question
+by such a volley of imprecations and threats as he fancied would
+suffice to make him wish to escape with a whole skin.</p>
+<p>Carlo Magno, however, who knew that the dogs who bark most bite
+least, waited unmoved till he had exhausted his whole repertory of
+violent language, and then quite undismayed summoned him to surrender
+the maiden. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb19" href="#pb19" name=
+"pb19">19</a>]</span></p>
+<p>Another loud and angry volley followed upon this demand, with
+further threats of the terrible vengeance he intended to take on the
+intruder.</p>
+<p>“Then,” said Carlo Magno, “if you will not give
+her up quietly, I must even take her by force.” And with that he
+dismounted and drew his sword. The giant saw now that he must defend
+his life, or he would lose it; and so, forced to fight, he drew his
+clumsy sword and began laying about him in right-determined fashion;
+but all his blows alighted far and wide of the Christian prince.
+Furious at finding his awkward efforts ineffectual, while the highly
+trained agility of the prince saved him from all his strokes, he began
+laying about him with such untempered violence that at last his weapon
+dropped from his hand. Fully expecting that Carlo Magno would try to
+possess himself of it, he hastily bent down to regain it. But Carlo
+Magno had other thoughts. Waiting calmly till the monster had bent him
+sufficiently low, he swung his fine sharp blade and buried it deep in
+his heart with the unerring dexterity with which the matador lays low
+his bull—at one thrust.</p>
+<p>Of course he severed the giant’s head afterwards to bear away
+as his trophy; and raising the princess in his arms, who had swooned
+away at sight of the horrid combat, bore her swiftly upwards through
+the subterranean path and delivered her, yet unconscious, to her
+father. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb20" href="#pb20" name=
+"pb20">20</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e766" href="#xd21e766src" name="xd21e766">1</a></span> Moorish
+palace. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e766src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s2" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e210">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">EL CONDE SOL.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">A great war was proclaimed between Spain and Portugal,
+and the king called all his knights to arms to follow him into the
+field.</p>
+<p>“Tell me, Conde,” said the wife of Conde Sol, “how
+many years will you be absent in this campaign?”</p>
+<p>“If I am not back, Condesa, in six years, reckon me dead, and
+forget me, and take another husband.”</p>
+<p>Six years pass, and eight, and ten, and one more yet, and the Conde
+Sol is not come back, nor has any news been heard of him. Men say he
+has fallen in the wars; but the Countess believes them not; her heart
+tells her that her husband lives, and she will take no rest and no
+diversion. Her father comes to see her, and he finds her always in
+tears.</p>
+<p>“What ails thee, daughter dear? Why are thy eyes ever filled
+with tears?”</p>
+<p>“Father, let me go to seek the Count; for my heart tells me he
+lives, and that I shall find him.” <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb21" href="#pb21" name="pb21">21</a>]</span></p>
+<p><span class="corr" id="xd21e858" title=
+"Source: ‘">“</span>Do all thou wilt, daughter, and my
+blessing go with thee!”</p>
+<p>The next morning the Countess sets out and goes to seek the Count,
+bowed down with sadness, by land and by sea, through all Spain and
+Italy and France. One day she comes to a vast plain shaded by
+pine-trees, and in the shade a herd of kine grazing.</p>
+<p>“Tell me, I pray you, <i lang="es">vaquerita</i><a class=
+"noteref" id="xd21e867src" href="#xd21e867" name="xd21e867src">1</a>,
+and tell me now in truth, whose are the kine grazing in these
+pastures?”</p>
+<p>“They belong to the Conde Sol, lady, who commands all this
+country.”</p>
+<p>“And all these wheat crops that they are just garnering in,
+<i lang="es">vaquerita</i>; tell me in truth, whose are
+they?”</p>
+<p>“The Conde Sol’s, lady; for it is he sows these
+fields.”</p>
+<p>“And whose are all those sheep, <i lang="es">vaquerita</i>,
+all with their little lambs gathered round them so tenderly?”</p>
+<p>“The Conde Sol’s, lady; for it is he who has them
+bred.”</p>
+<p>“And whose these gardens and this royal-seeming palace,
+<i lang="es">vaquerita</i>? Tell me the truth, I pray.”</p>
+<p>“Also the Conde Sol’s, lady; for it is there he has his
+abode.” <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb22" href="#pb22" name=
+"pb22">22</a>]</span></p>
+<p>“And whose are those horses, <i lang="es">vaquerita</i>, which
+I hear neighing in the stall?”</p>
+<p>“They belong to the Conde Sol, lady; for he goes with them to
+the hunt.”</p>
+<p>“And whose is that fair dame, <i lang="es">vaquerita</i>, who
+stands so near that knight?”</p>
+<p>“That is the affianced of the Conde Sol, lady, whom he is just
+going to make his bride.”</p>
+<p>“Now, <i lang="es">vaquerita, vaquerita</i>, by the love of
+our Lord’s sufferings, give me here thy poor dress, and take my
+robe of silk, and let me go, for I have found him I seek!”</p>
+<p>Then she put on the poor dress, and went and stood where the Count
+must pass, begging charity. When the Count came by, he bent down over
+his saddle-bow, and gave her an alms, and asked her,—</p>
+<p>“Good stranger woman, whence are you?”</p>
+<p>“In Spain was I born,” answered the Countess, with a
+faltering voice.</p>
+<p>“And why do you come hither?”</p>
+<p>“I go over all countries seeking my long lost husband, and so
+by chance I came here too. I have gone through perils on the sea, and
+hardships on the land; my feet are cut by the stony rocks;
+and—will you believe me, Conde?—when at last I find him I
+learn that he is about <i>to be married</i>, Conde; that he had so
+forgotten his fond and lawful spouse who had come so far for love of
+him!” <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb23" href="#pb23" name=
+"pb23">23</a>]</span></p>
+<p>“<i lang="es">Romerica, romerica</i><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e933src" href="#xd21e933" name="xd21e933src">2</a>! Hush now, say
+not so. Confess that the evil one has sent you to tempt me with a false
+story.”</p>
+<p>“Neither has the evil one sent me, Conde, neither do I seek to
+tempt thee; but nevertheless I am thy true wife, Conde, who has come so
+far to seek thee.”</p>
+<p>Then the Conde Sol, when he heard that, sent to fetch a light-footed
+palfrey wearing a breast-band covered with silver bells, and with
+stirrups and spurs of gold; and on to this he sprang, and rode back to
+the castle bearing his good wife in his arms, and presenting her to all
+his people, bade them honour her as their lawful mistress. <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb24" href="#pb24" name="pb24">24</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e867" href="#xd21e867src" name="xd21e867">1</a></span> Good
+Cowherdess. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e867src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e933" href="#xd21e933src" name="xd21e933">2</a></span> Female
+pilgrim. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e933src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s3" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e217">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">SIMPLE JOHNNY AND THE SPELL-BOUND PRINCESSES.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">When Ferdinand King of Spain drove the Moors out of
+his dominions with his invincible sword, there were among their chiefs
+many descended from right noble lineage. Among them was one, of whose
+ancestor Clotaldo the following story was told, who for his prowess was
+elected king of the fertile provinces of that part of the East which is
+called Syria.</p>
+<p>Clotaldo had three beautiful daughters, who were so beautiful that
+men said they were divinities and not women. The King thought that as
+they were so very beautiful they ought not to be given in marriage in
+the ordinary way, but that whoso would marry them should perform some
+great deed of valour. So he called together all the masons of the
+kingdom and made them build an immense castle, so high that it seemed
+to reach up to heaven. And more than this, he gathered all the
+magicians and made them enchant it with all their enchantments,
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb25" href="#pb25" name=
+"pb25">25</a>]</span>so that no one might ever be able to get at them
+or see them unless the King himself should admit him.</p>
+<p>So the magicians enchanted the castle with all their spells, and set
+three enchanted horses to guard the enclosure so that no one might
+break through.</p>
+<p>Meantime the King sent heralds round into all countries to proclaim
+that every noble, or knight of high degree, who could make his way into
+the castle should have one of his daughters in marriage; they were
+likewise at the same time to set forth their beauty, to let all men
+know the worth of the prize for which they were asked to contend. And
+he did this because he thought that none but one worthy of them would
+be able to overcome all the obstacles he had interposed.</p>
+<p>Many were the adventurous and valorous knights and nobles and
+princes who were drawn to try their fortune at this high enterprise.
+But none could find any way into the castle, and they all came back
+crest-fallen, without having effected any thing.</p>
+<p>At last came three brothers, who though but simple knights and poor
+of estate, yet were of high and noble lineage, and of higher and nobler
+courage. They no sooner heard Clotaldo’s heralds pronounce this
+embassy in their country, which was Denmark, than they set out to try
+whether they might not be fortunate enough to deliver the three
+princesses from the enchanted tower. <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb26" href="#pb26" name="pb26">26</a>]</span></p>
+<p>First they came to Clotaldo and told him their purpose, who ordered
+that every thing they asked for should be given them for their
+assistance; so the two elder brothers asked for mettled horses and
+shining arms; but the youngest brother said all he wanted was a waggon
+and two oxen, with provisions for several days, an immeasurably long
+rope, some long nails, and a powerful hammer. Whatever each asked for
+he received.</p>
+<p>The two elder brothers set off very confidently on their dashing
+steeds, and in a very short time arrived at an eminence overlooking the
+castle; but to their dismay they found it was ten times as high as they
+had ever imagined; and then, too, that it had neither door nor window,
+nor the smallest break of any kind in the massive walls.</p>
+<p>“How can we ever get into a place like this?” said the
+eldest brother, looking very foolish.</p>
+<p>“It looks to me very like a fool’s errand,” said
+the other.</p>
+<p>“I vote we go back,” answered the first.</p>
+<p>“The best thing we can do,” rejoined the second.</p>
+<p>“And the sooner the better,” continued the first.</p>
+<p>“Here we go, then,” added the second; and they turned
+their horses’ heads round, like chicken-hearted men, and galloped
+back by the way they had come. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb27"
+href="#pb27" name="pb27">27</a>]</span></p>
+<p>They had not gone far when they met their younger brother toiling
+along in his cart.</p>
+<p>“It is no use your going to the castle,” said the eldest
+brother: “we have been there, and find the game is
+impossible.”</p>
+<p>“We shall see,” answered the youth.</p>
+<p>“But I tell you the thing can’t be done!”
+ejaculated the second.</p>
+<p>“When I go out to do a thing I don’t go back without
+doing it,” said the youngest, quietly. “But as there is a
+considerable distance to be got over yet, I am going to have some
+dinner: you had better do the same.”</p>
+<p>The other brothers, who had not had the foresight to bring any
+provisions themselves, were very glad of the invitation, so they all
+sat down and dined. When they had done, the youngest brother set out to
+continue his journey in his waggon, and the two horsemen were going to
+pursue theirs homewards, when suddenly one of them said to the other,
+“Suppose we stop and see what he does; may-be he will succeed,
+and then, as we are two to one, who knows but that we may be able to
+overcome him, and take the merit to ourselves?”</p>
+<p>“Well thought!” exclaimed the eldest, heartily; and they
+turned their horses’ heads again, and followed behind the cart;
+telling their younger brother they had come to see if they could not be
+of any service in case his temerity led him into danger. <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb28" href="#pb28" name="pb28">28</a>]</span></p>
+<p>The younger had overheard their conversation; but he saw no way of
+getting rid of the brothers, who were well armed and well mounted; so
+he could but continue his way and trust to his wits to save him from
+their intentions afterwards. As he rode along he measured the vast
+height of the castle with his eye, and laid all his plans in his head.
+Arrived under the wall, he bound the nails and hammer into his girdle,
+and, tying one end of the rope round his arm, proceeded to scale the
+wall of the castle.</p>
+<p>The brothers sat on their horses watching him, expecting every
+minute to see him fall to the ground; but on he went, steady and lithe,
+with the tenacity of a cat or squirrel, till he got so high that he
+looked like a little speck, and at last was lost from sight
+altogether.</p>
+<p>Scarcely had he attained the battlements of the wall, and trod a few
+steps upon the flat, than three most beautiful nymphs, who seemed more
+divine than human, came out to meet him. At first he was so dazzled
+with the sight of their exceeding beauty, that he could not speak, but
+stood gazing at them while they said,—</p>
+<p>“Who art thou, young man, who venturest to profane the decorum
+of this <i lang="es">alcázar</i><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e1003src" href="#xd21e1003" name="xd21e1003src">1</a>, the abode
+of three virgin princesses? With thy life must thou expiate this
+temerity.” <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb29" href="#pb29" name=
+"pb29">29</a>]</span></p>
+<p>“To die at your command, fair ladies, and in your sight, would
+be joy enough for me,” stammered forth the young knight;
+“but yet I have first a work to accomplish, which is your
+liberation. So tell me now, what is it I have to do to set you
+free?”</p>
+<p>“Since thou art so stout-hearted and so well-spoken,”
+responded the sisters, “we will even tell thee what thou hast to
+do, and great shall be thy reward. Know, then, in this castle are three
+noble horses, and thou hast to take one hair from the tail of each, for
+in this lies the spell which binds us. But they are fierce and shy of
+approach; nevertheless fear not if they even breathe out fire upon
+thee; for if thou art bold, thou shalt succeed.”</p>
+<p>The young knight went out to meet the three enchanted horses without
+fearing or flinching; and though they breathed out fire upon him, he
+took the three hairs from their tails, and destroyed the spell of the
+princesses.</p>
+<p>Then he bound the cord round the first princess, and with much care
+and address he lowered her gently and safely on to the ground below. He
+did the same with the second. But when he would have parted from the
+third, she turned and thanked him with gentle words, and
+said,—</p>
+<p>“Take this necklace, noble youth, which for both workmanship
+and power has no other like to it on earth. Never part from it, and
+may-be <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb30" href="#pb30" name=
+"pb30">30</a>]</span>that one day it may deliver thee from as great
+strait as that from which thou hast delivered us.”</p>
+<p>With that she waved her hand to him, and prepared to descend as her
+sisters had done.</p>
+<p>As soon as the young knight had watched her reach the ground in
+safety, he turned to drive the strong nails into the tower to make fast
+the rope for his own descent; but scarcely was he thus occupied than
+his wicked brothers, seeing the moment of their advantage had arrived,
+gave a violent pull to the rope, and down it came, leaving him no means
+of escape!</p>
+<p>Then they made haste and carried off the princesses, riding on
+without stopping till they came to the king.</p>
+<p>Clotaldo, seeing his daughters free, never doubted but that those
+who had brought them were their true deliverers, and therefore loaded
+them with honour and favour, and married them to the two elder
+princesses. It was in vain that the youngest princess tried to explain
+the deceit: there were four living witnesses against her; for the elder
+princesses took the part of their promised husbands, and said that the
+long imprisonment had turned their younger sister’s mind, and no
+one listened to her. So there was a great rejoicing, and a noble
+marriage-feast; but she sat in her chamber apart, weeping.</p>
+<p>Meantime the youngest brother was left full of <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb31" href="#pb31" name="pb31">31</a>]</span>terror
+and dismay on top of the exceeding high tower, with no means of ever
+getting away from it, and, which was worst of all, with the prospect of
+never again seeing his little princess. He did not care about the
+others, but she who alone had thanked him, and that so prettily, and
+who had had a thought for his future welfare in giving him the splendid
+necklace, he could not give <i>her</i> up.</p>
+<p>He took it out and looked at it: it was indeed of curious
+workmanship, and the bright gems sparkled like rays of hope. He kissed
+it because it reminded him of the kind little princess, but he could
+not see how it was to help him; so after gazing at it for a long time,
+he at last wrapped it up, and put it by in his bosom again. But as he
+continued to think of all that had lately taken place, he remembered
+how the sisters had spoken of the wonderful qualities of the horses who
+held their spell, and at last he began to wonder whether with their aid
+he could not make his escape.</p>
+<p>To remain where he was was certain death, and a shameful,
+pusillanimous death to boot. He was never wanting in clear thoughts, or
+fair courage to execute them, and a plan now ripened rapidly in his
+mind which he determined to put into execution.</p>
+<p>“If thou art bold, thou shalt succeed.” The words rang
+in his ears, and seemed an omen of good fortune. He went back to the
+place where he had found the horses before: there they stood,
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb32" href="#pb32" name=
+"pb32">32</a>]</span>all three abreast of each other, as if waiting a
+word of command from him.</p>
+<p>Resolutely the young knight sprang on the back of the centre one,
+and gathering the floating manes of the three in his hand, all started
+together, and with one fearful bound, which seemed to shiver the tower
+to atoms behind them, they dashed off the battlements, the wild career
+through the air depriving him of the use of his senses.</p>
+<p>When he came to, he found himself lying on the ground in a wild wood
+so full of thick trunks of withered trees that daylight hardly
+penetrated. He walked on for a long lonesome way, till at last he came
+to a place where cattle were feeding. Of the herd tending them he asked
+where he was, and found he was on the borders of Clotaldo’s
+kingdom; “but,” said the herd, “you are not of this
+people, by your dress and speech.”</p>
+<p>“No, friend,” replied the young knight; “I am a
+poor foreigner, who am come out to seek fortune, and she has reduced me
+to a sad plight. But I have one favour to ask, which is that you will
+exchange clothes with me.”</p>
+<p>The cattle-herd was pleased enough at the proposal, and asked no
+further questions. He had soon arrayed himself in the knight’s
+fine clothes, and he in turn found a complete disguise in the rough
+clothing of undressed skins which made up the peasant’s attire.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb33" href="#pb33" name=
+"pb33">33</a>]</span></p>
+<p>Thus he walked on eight hundred leagues, begging alms to sustain his
+life by the way; and with all the fatigues, and privations, and
+hardships he had endured, he was quite altered, so that his brothers
+would not know him again. That he might appear still more different
+from his former self, he assumed the manners of a half-silly person,
+and took the name of Juan; and all the people called him
+“<i lang="es">Juanillo el loco</i><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e1056src" href="#xd21e1056" name="xd21e1056src">2</a>.”</p>
+<p>All this time Clotaldo had been urging his youngest daughter that
+she should marry like her sisters, but she never would look at any of
+the princes he named to her. She had determined to belong to no one but
+the young knight her deliverer, and she felt all confidence in his
+valour, that he would find means to make his way to her. At last, one
+day, when the king had been persuading her very urgently to follow his
+counsel, she brought out a drawing she had made in secret of the
+necklace she had bestowed on her knight, and told her father that when
+he could find any one who could produce a necklace like that, she would
+be his wife.</p>
+<p>The king was very glad to have her consent on any conditions, and
+forthwith set clever draughtsmen to copy the drawing, and sent heralds
+abroad over the whole earth, to proclaim that whoever could make the
+necklet to the required pattern <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb34"
+href="#pb34" name="pb34">34</a>]</span>should have the hand of his
+daughter. But the workmanship was so fine, and the setting of the
+jewels so cunningly devised, that no goldsmith on earth could produce
+it.</p>
+<p>It was just about the time that Juan reached the kingdom that all
+the people were full of excitement about this subject, and thus it came
+to his ears also. So when he heard the conditions the princess had
+made, and remembered her words when she gave him the
+necklet—“that the earth could not produce such
+another”—he was beside himself for joy, for he knew that
+she was waiting for his return.</p>
+<p>However, not to betray himself too soon, he continued his silly
+ways, and, as if he knew nothing of the matter, asked to see the
+design. The guards and people told him to go away, but the king was a
+very just man, and said there was no exception named in his decree, and
+therefore whoever applied must be allowed a fair trial.</p>
+<p>“But,” he added, when he saw the rough, uncouth form of
+the suppliant, “remember, fellow, if you fail, your throat shall
+pay the forfeit of your impudence.”</p>
+<p>The feigned Juanillo played his part perfectly; he gave his assent
+by a silly grin, and a nod of his head to all the remonstrances used to
+dissuade him; and at last they shut him up in a tower, with a furnace
+and crucible, and much gold, and priceless diamonds, and emeralds, and
+rubies. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb35" href="#pb35" name=
+"pb35">35</a>]</span></p>
+<p>So the knight let them fasten the gate as if he were going to set to
+work in earnest. And at the end of three days, when they came to see
+what he had done, he brought out the original necklet; and every one
+was in amazement, because all could see that it presented the perfect
+image of the design.</p>
+<p>When the princess heard by the cries of all the people that some one
+had succeeded in producing the necklet, she came forward to see who it
+was; and in an instant, through all the disguise, she knew her
+deliverer again; and she turning to the king said,—</p>
+<p>“Well, the conditions are fulfilled: I am ready to do your
+bidding!”</p>
+<p>Her father was amazed at her readiness to marry the rough, silly man
+Juanillo appeared, and tried all he could to dissuade her; but, as she
+would not change her mind, there was no excuse for him to go back from
+the word plighted by his proclamation. So the princess and the knight
+were married; though Clotaldo was so ashamed of the bridegroom, he had
+the ceremony performed in the quietest way, and assigned them a little
+house outside the walls of the town to live in, where no one should see
+or hear any thing more of them.</p>
+<p>Clotaldo had had a very prosperous career hitherto; but the troubles
+of life were beginning to press round him, and the first trouble he had
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb36" href="#pb36" name=
+"pb36">36</a>]</span>was failing eyesight. His physicians could not
+understand the malady, or do any thing for him; and at last he became
+quite blind. In despair at the loss of his sight, he sent into all
+countries to call together the wisest mediciners; but none could help
+him; till one day an ancient man appeared, who said that the only
+remedy for his case was the water of a fountain flowing out of a sharp
+rock in the mountains of Sclavonia; but that it was a perilous journey
+to fetch it, on account of the fierce beasts inhabiting the surrounding
+country.</p>
+<p>As there was no one with sufficient courage to run the great risks,
+the king called his two sons-in-law, and said, as they had been so
+valiant in overcoming the spells of the great castle, they could
+doubtless help him now; and that they would not shrink from the perils
+of the journey, which was to procure the means of restoring his
+sight.</p>
+<p>The knights did not dare to show any hesitation, as it would have
+betrayed their former deception. So they set out on the journey, but
+with heavy hearts, and plotting as they went what excuse they could
+make for coming back without success.</p>
+<p>But Juanillo, the moment he had heard the old physician’s
+sentence, had taken counsel with his princess, and at her bidding went
+out into the wilderness, and called one of the enchanted horses, and
+vaulting on to him, sped away like a whirlwind. <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb37" href="#pb37" name="pb37">37</a>]</span>After
+passing through ten thousand perils, he filled his flask with the water
+of the fountain which sprang out of the sharp rock in the mountains of
+Sclavonia, and made the best of his way back again.</p>
+<p>As he had nearly reached home he met his two brothers riding out,
+looking very doleful and in great perplexity. When they saw him
+speeding along like the wind, they were very curious to know who he was
+and whence he came; so they called to him to stop and tell them. And he
+answered, courteously,—</p>
+<p>“I have been to fill my flask with water which flows over the
+sharp rock in the mountains of Sclavonia!”</p>
+<p>When they heard that, their first impulse was to spring upon him and
+take the prize from him; but when they saw his impetuous horse, and
+reflected that he had come back unscathed from all the perils of the
+adventure, they perceived who he was, and feared to measure their
+strength against his, therefore they assumed a different tone. Instead,
+however, of making up for past faults, and cheerfully acquiescing and
+rejoicing in his success, they still followed their selfish aim, but in
+a more covert way than they had at first meditated. Thus they offered
+him any bribe he liked to name if he would give them the flask of
+water.</p>
+<p>Juanillo gave them the flask, but refused their <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb38" href="#pb38" name="pb38">38</a>]</span>bribes,
+naming as his only guerdon two golden pears which the king had given
+them off a tree in his garden, which only produced two every year, and
+which none might pluck but he.</p>
+<p>The bargain was thus settled. Juanillo returned to tell all to the
+little princess; and the two knights bore the flask exulting to the
+king, and vaunting the deeds of valour by which they pretended they had
+won it, taking care to say nothing about poor Juanillo.</p>
+<p>The king recovered his sight, and loaded them with rewards and
+honours. But before long he was stricken with another infirmity:
+gradually his hearing began to fail; and getting no relief from his
+physicians, he very soon became quite deaf. A proclamation of great
+reward attracted the learned in the medical art again to his court, and
+among the men of science came once more the old doctor who had given
+effectual counsel before.</p>
+<p>In the deserts of Albania, he said, under the shade of the highest
+mountains, live, among their many wild beasts, a race of lionesses,
+more fierce than the rest of their kind: if any one can by artifice
+procure the milk of one of these, without injury to her life, that
+would be the sovereign remedy.</p>
+<p>Juanillo no sooner heard the sentence than he went out into the
+wilderness and called another of the enchanted horses, and started off
+on him <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb39" href="#pb39" name=
+"pb39">39</a>]</span>like the wind, to the desert of Albania; and,
+armed with the words of magic the little princess had taught him, he
+could get up to the lioness without being perceived by her, and fill
+his flask with her milk.</p>
+<p>Meantime the king had called his two elder sons-in-law, and not
+doubting that, as they had acquitted themselves so well before, they
+would be able to accomplish this feat also, despatched them to the
+mountains of Albania. They, suspecting that their brother would do the
+work as before, set out with less concern than on former occasions, and
+only plotted how they should cajole him this time. Nor had they
+advanced many leagues when they met him coming back at full speed on
+his brave steed, and the bottle of lioness’ milk in a flask at
+his girdle.</p>
+<p>“Good morrow, friend!” they cried, as he came near:
+“whence ride ye, so fast and so early?”</p>
+<p>“I have been to the desert of Albania, to fetch the
+lioness’ milk to bathe the ears of our good king,” replied
+the younger brother.</p>
+<p>“At what price do ye put it, friend?”</p>
+<p>“Nay, this I sell <i>not</i>.”</p>
+<p>“But we have come out to fetch it, and how shall we return to
+the king without it?” And they pleaded so wheedlingly, that
+Juanillo was fain to give them the flask, but exacting this time the
+penalty of an ear of each of them. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb40"
+href="#pb40" name="pb40">40</a>]</span></p>
+<p>The condition was hard, but the game was desperate now. If they
+returned empty-handed this time, it was an acknowledgment of their
+perfidy before; and after all it was a much less injury than might have
+befallen them in the deserts of Albania if they had pursued the
+journey, or from the anger of the king and the populace if they had
+remained at home. So they combed the hair over their ears to conceal
+the loss, and pushed their way home to the king with their trophy,
+while Juanillo returned to his little princess.</p>
+<p>Clotaldo recovered his hearing by the use of the lioness’
+milk. But a direr danger awaited him now; for a powerful neighbouring
+sovereign suddenly declared war against him, while he was quite
+unprepared. His prowess in battle in his younger days it was which had
+procured him the throne; but now, in his declining years, he feared to
+take the field, not through any coward fear for his life, but lest the
+glory of his country should be tarnished by his waning energy. So he
+called his two sons-in-law to him, and said that their valour, which
+had been proved in so many enterprises, had now a signal occasion for
+manifesting itself; and he gave them the command of Captains-General of
+his forces, and sent them out as if they had been his own sons, to meet
+the foe.</p>
+<p>This order gave them greater trepidation than any of the preceding,
+for there appeared no way out <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb41" href=
+"#pb41" name="pb41">41</a>]</span>of it. How was Juanillo himself to
+fight the battle for them without an army? and how could they transfer
+the command of the army to him without betraying all?</p>
+<p>While they were going along, then, sad of heart, to put themselves
+at the head of the forces and trust to good luck to extricate them from
+the fray, they met Juanillo, coming along at fiery speed, with two of
+the enemy’s standards planted on his stirrups, and they saw by
+the colours that the enemy had been laid low. For at the first threat
+of war he had taken soft leave of the little princess, had gone out
+into the wilderness and called the third of the enchanted horses, and
+with him had ridden with such impetuosity against the enemy, imitating
+Saint Jago, that he had put the whole army to flight, and borne off
+their banners as trophies.</p>
+<p>But the brothers talked and persuaded him, with soft words, into
+giving these up also; and the payment he exacted this time was, that
+they should let him brand them on the shoulder as if they had been his
+slaves of war.</p>
+<p>After this he returned home to the little princess, and his brothers
+carried the banners to the king’s feet. When the king saw this
+fresh testimony to their merit, his indignation rose high against his
+third son-in-law, whom he supposed to be living in shameful indolence,
+and doing nothing for the honour <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb42"
+href="#pb42" name="pb42">42</a>]</span>of the dynasty and nation. So he
+pronounced a decree banishing him from his kingdom, and forbidding him
+ever to appear before him again. The brothers, who had always lived in
+fear that their treachery would come out some day, upheld him in his
+intention, as they thought they would breathe easier when he was
+removed to a distance.</p>
+<p>Now Juanillo had been very forbearing and very generous all this
+time, but this was rather too much. He could not bear that his little
+princess should be banished from her friends and country without any
+fault; and she, too, represented to him how sad it would be for the
+people when the old king died, if they were to live under the
+governance of the two wicked brothers. So Juanillo went up to the king,
+and begged him with great humility on his knees that he would grant him
+one last favour before he went away for good and all; and that was, to
+have a famous banquet on the last day, and invite all the kingdom to
+it.</p>
+<p>The good king granted the request; and a day was appointed when all
+the great men and small of the kingdom met for a famous banquet.</p>
+<p>Simple Johnny dressed himself for this occasion in his true
+character. His massive chestnut curls were parted on his lofty
+forehead, and every one was struck by the dignity with which his broad
+shoulders carried the crimson and ermine mantle; in fact, few suspected
+that it was Simple Johnny at <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb43" href=
+"#pb43" name="pb43">43</a>]</span>all, and the most inclined to believe
+it were still doubtful. But he, as one who had a great duty to perform,
+went up with earnest mien to the king, and laying down the two pears
+and the ears before him said,—</p>
+<p>“The time is come, O King, to make known the truth to thee.
+Long have I suffered in secret; but if my silence is to occasion my
+banishment and that of my dear wife, I must make known that it was I
+who delivered the princesses, I who fetched the water from the sharp
+rock in the mountains of Sclavonia, I who brought the milk of the
+lioness from the deserts of Albania, I who overcame thine enemies and
+brought home the two standards. Here are my proofs; and if more are
+needed, bid the princes uncover their shoulders, and they shall be
+found branded as my slaves taken in war.”</p>
+<p>The good king was much astonished at this revelation; but now
+something came back to him of what the little princess had said, and
+how he had thought her mad for the story. And when he had investigated
+all patiently, and was convinced of the truth of Juanillo’s
+statement, he was full of indignation, and commanded the bad brothers
+to be put to death, and his daughters banished for their silent
+participation in their infamy. To Simple Johnny he gave a very hearty
+embrace in the sight of the people, and not only made him heir to all
+the kingdom, but <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb44" href="#pb44" name=
+"pb44">44</a>]</span>associated him with himself in the government,
+beginning from that very day.</p>
+<p>Simple Johnny, however, would not allow his brothers to be put to
+death, but only deprived them of the right to reign, which might have
+brought misery on the kingdom, and appointed them houses and money that
+they might spend the rest of their days in harmless retirement.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb45" href="#pb45" name=
+"pb45">45</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e1003" href="#xd21e1003src" name="xd21e1003">1</a></span> Moorish
+castle. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e1003src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e1056" href="#xd21e1056src" name="xd21e1056">2</a></span> Silly
+Johnny. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e1056src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s4" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e224">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">TURIAN AND FLORETA.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">There lived once in very ancient times in Spain a
+young prince, the Infante Turian. He was a very beautiful youth, and
+the only child of his parents, King Canamor and his consort Leonela:
+they were thus tempted to indulge him very much, and, as we should say,
+to spoil him; in fact, he was allowed to have every thing he asked for,
+and when any present or novel article of merchandise was brought to the
+palace, if it happened to take his fancy, he got into a way of
+expecting to have it for his own, and no one thought of thwarting
+him.</p>
+<p>One day there came a foreign merchant to the court, who, instead of
+having a train of mules heavily laden with varieties of his wares to
+suit all tastes and fancies, was quite alone and unattended, and
+himself bore his whole stock. It consisted, indeed, of but one little
+parcel easily stowed away in the folds of his cloak. The servants were
+scandalized at such a mean apparatus, <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb46" href="#pb46" name="pb46">46</a>]</span>and would have driven him
+away without letting him have a chance of addressing himself to their
+masters, telling him if he had nothing more to show than the contents
+of one little case, it was not worth while to trouble them. It was in
+vain the merchant urged that what he had to show was of priceless
+value, and in itself alone was worth all the mule-loads of other
+merchants put together: they held it for idle raving, and bid him
+begone.</p>
+<p>It happened, however, that the Infante Turian was coming home at the
+moment, and hearing the altercation, his curiosity was piqued to know
+what it could be that could be counted so precious. He had horses, and
+arms, and trappings, and gay clothes, and games, and baubles of every
+sort, and he had wearied of them all. He had acquired them without
+labour, and he consequently held them without esteem. Now there
+appeared a chance of some quite fresh sensation; moreover, the merchant
+himself had a strange air which fascinated him; again, his accent was
+different from any he had heard before, and suggested that he brought
+the productions of some climate which had not yet laid its stores at
+his feet. Proud, too, to show his power in setting the man free from
+the importunate scorn of the servants, he ordered them to stand back,
+and then gave the strange merchant permission to open his store.</p>
+<p>Assuming an air of mystery, which excited the <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb47" href="#pb47" name="pb47">47</a>]</span>young
+prince still more, the merchant, however, now told him he must take him
+to some private recess apart, as what he had to show must be seen only
+by royal eyes. The prince accepted all conditions in his eagerness, and
+was indeed rather flattered by this one. As soon as they were quite
+alone, the strange merchant placed before him a portrait. Yes, nothing
+but a portrait in a very simple frame! But it was <i>such</i> a
+portrait that it quite turned poor Turian’s head. He had never
+before dreamt of any thing so beautiful; he went into ecstasies at
+first sight, kissed it, gazed at it, paced up and down the hall with
+it, raved about it, and grew almost frantic, when the strange merchant
+at last went up to him and said it was time for him to go home, and he
+must have the portrait to pack up again.</p>
+<p>“Pack up again!” cried the prince: “why, I buy it
+of you at triple, tenfold, an hundredfold its weight in
+gold.”</p>
+<p>The merchant assured him it could not be sold; he required, indeed,
+a considerable price for suffering it to be seen, but part with it he
+could not, on any conditions whatever.</p>
+<p>The prince threw his purse to him, and ordered him in no measured
+terms to depart while the way was clear, otherwise he would set on him
+the myrmidons from whom he had but now released him.</p>
+<p>The strange merchant quietly picked up the <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb48" href="#pb48" name="pb48">48</a>]</span>purse,
+counted out conscientiously the sum he had named as the price for the
+sight of the picture, and laid down the rest; deliberately stowed away
+his fee in his belt, and at the same time took from it, unperceived by
+the prince, a little box of powder; then suddenly turning round, he
+scattered its contents over his face, producing instant insensibility.
+Prepared for the effect, he caught him in his arms, and laid him gently
+on a bench, and then, possessing himself of his picture, he stealthily
+left the castle, unperceived by all.</p>
+<p>When the Infante Turian came to himself, some hours afterwards, of
+course pursuit was vain; nor could any trace be learnt of the way the
+stranger had taken.</p>
+<p>The prince was furious that, at least, he had not learnt some clue
+as to the original of the portrait, but there had not been time for a
+word of inquiry. And when he set himself to recall every detail, all
+that would come back to his mind was, that on the blue embroidery of
+the white drapery which veiled the matchless form, he had made out in
+curious characters the name <span class="sc">Floreta</span>. Armed with
+this only guide, he determined to roam the world till he discovered the
+real beauty whose ideal had so absorbed him.</p>
+<p>King Canamor and Queen Leonela were inconsolable at the idea of
+their only son leaving them on <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb49"
+href="#pb49" name="pb49">49</a>]</span>so wild an errand; but they had
+never taught him obedience and self-control, and they could not move
+him now. All their persuasions could obtain was his consent to be
+accompanied by the <i>Conde</i> Dirlos, an ancient counsellor of great
+wisdom and authority in the kingdom, who would know how to procure him
+assistance by land and sea, in whatever enterprise he might be minded
+to take in hand. But it was stipulated that he was to control him in
+nothing: simply watch over him, and further his designs, so as to save
+him from fatigue and danger.</p>
+<p>On they wandered for a year and a day, meeting many adventures and
+incurring many perils; but no one knew the name of Floreta. Wherever
+they went it was still a foreign name. At last—it was just the
+day year that the strange merchant had brought the portrait—their
+travels brought them to a steep mountain-path, which led down to the
+sea. At a turn of the winding road, just below them, a tall figure
+appeared, wrapped in a long cloak, and wearing a high-peaked cap. The
+prince gave a bound of joy, and shouted to the figure to halt. It paid
+no heed, however. “Stop! or you are dead!” shouted the
+prince, at the same time pointing an arrow with unerring aim at a spot
+a little in advance of the moving figure. As if conscious of what was
+going on, though he never moved his head, the strange
+merchant—for it was he, and the <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb50" href="#pb50" name="pb50">50</a>]</span>prince had instantly
+recognized him—stood still for an instant, as the bolt rattled in
+the ground on which he would have stood had he pursued his way three
+steps further, and then passed on unheeding. The prince shouted more
+madly than before; but to no purpose; and in another moment the wind of
+the road had taken him out of sight.</p>
+<p>Madly the prince spurred his horse in pursuit, and reached the turn;
+but no living form was to be seen. The rocks now resounded with the
+cries and imprecations with which he adjured the magician—for
+such he now rightly deemed him—to stand forth. At last, when he
+was silent from sheer exhaustion, a low but commanding voice from the
+depths of a neighbouring cave bade him listen, but, as he valued his
+life, advance not.</p>
+<p>“Speak!” cried the prince; “nor torture me with
+longer suspense. What must I do to find Floreta? I am prepared to go to
+the end of the world, to undergo any hardship, any torture, to find
+her; but find her I am determined: if you refuse your help, then by
+help of some other; so you see it is idle to turn a deaf
+ear.”</p>
+<p>“By none other help but mine,” answered the magician,
+“<i>can</i> you find Floreta; so your threats are vain. But if I
+had not meant you to see her, I should not have shown you the portrait
+at first, for I knew its influence could not be other than that it has
+exercised. I am going to instruct you how <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb51" href="#pb51" name="pb51">51</a>]</span>to reach her; but first
+you must give me my guerdon.”</p>
+<p>“Name it; ask what you will,” interposed the impetuous
+prince; “ask my kingdom if you like; but keep me not in
+suspense.”</p>
+<p>“I only ask what is reasonable,” answered the magician;
+“the real is worth a thousandfold the representation;” and
+he named a price equivalent to a thousand times the sum he had
+originally received.</p>
+<p>Without so much as waiting to reply, Turian turned to <i>Conde</i>
+Dirlos and told him now was the time to fulfil his father’s
+behest by accomplishing this requirement, and begged him to raise the
+money without an instant’s loss of time.</p>
+<p>The count remonstrated in vain, and in vain represented the miseries
+he would be inflicting on the people by requiring, in so sudden a
+manner, the levy of so large a sum. Turian, blinded by his passion, bid
+him save his words, as nothing could change his purpose; and the
+king’s orders to obey him having been unconditional, <i>Conde</i>
+Dirlos set out with a heavy heart to comply.</p>
+<p>Ten days of anxious suspense during his absence were spent by the
+prince in wandering over the rugged declivities of the coast: the
+ardour of his excitement demanded to be fed with deeds of daring and
+danger. When he was not so occupied, he was seated panting on the
+topmost crags, scouring <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb52" href=
+"#pb52" name="pb52">52</a>]</span>the whole country with his eager
+glance to descry the first impression of the return of the count, with
+the means of pursuing his desperate resolve.</p>
+<p>The day came at last. And afar off, first only like so many black
+specks, but gradually revealing themselves as <i>Conde</i> Dirlos on
+his faithful steed, and a long file of heavily-laden mules, came the
+anxiously expected train. And now he never left his point of
+observation; but cursed the sluggish hours, as he watched the team now
+steering over the sandy plain, which seemed interminable in expanse,
+unmeasured by landmarks; now toiling backwards and forwards up the
+zig-zagged steep, with provoking seeming of being further off one hour
+than the last, as at each wind they turned upon their steps; now
+detached-liked spectres against the sky, as they crossed from one reach
+of the lofty sierra to the next.</p>
+<p>All things have an end, even Turian’s anxious suspense; and as
+the count at last neared the magician’s cave, he descended at
+break-neck pace to meet him.</p>
+<p>“There is the price,” said the count, in sad and solemn
+accents; “but before rendering it out of your hands, stop and
+consider it;” and as he spoke he removed from the treasure the
+brilliant red and yellow cloths, the royal colours of Spain, with which
+it was covered. “Here, from each province of <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb53" href="#pb53" name="pb53">53</a>]</span>your
+father’s dominions, is the due proportion of the tribute you have
+demanded. See—will you spend it so?”</p>
+<p>The prince darted forward to glance at the goodly sight of so much
+gold, but drew back with horror.</p>
+<p>What could he have seen to turn his flushed cheeks so deadly
+pale?</p>
+<p>“Count!” he cried, choking with fury, “what have
+you brought to mock me? This is not coin. You have brought me tears,
+burning tears, instead of gold.”</p>
+<p>“It is all the same,” replied the count; “I saw
+you were infatuated, and I brought the money in this form, that the
+sight might warn you of what you are doing, and by its sad horror
+arrest you. There is time to return it back into the bosom of those
+from whom it has been wrung, and no harm will have been done. But if
+you persist, you will find the magician will take them for current
+coin.”</p>
+<p>“Quite so!” chimed in the voice from the cave; “it
+is the money I like best. But I cannot stand dallying thus: if the
+treasure be not handed over at once, the bargain is at an end, and you
+never hear of me again.”</p>
+<p>It only wanted this to quench any little spark of pity and misgiving
+which the old count’s judicious stratagem might have awakened. So
+without further <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb54" href="#pb54" name=
+"pb54">54</a>]</span>loss of time the prince called to the magician to
+come forth and take the spoil.</p>
+<p>He was not slow to comply, and taking a handful of the weird
+currency out of each mule-load, rang it on the rock, where it sounded
+like the clanking of a captive’s chains.</p>
+<p>“That is good,” he said in a satisfied tone, when he had
+concluded his scrutiny. “Now for my part of the bargain. I am not
+of those who fail because I am paid beforehand: you will find me as
+good as my word, and even better; for I will supply an item of the
+bargain which you, impetuous youth, never thought to stipulate for,
+though the most important of all. I will not only instruct you how to
+see Floreta, I will give you moreover the means whereby, if she pleases
+you, you can take her captive and bear her away.”</p>
+<p>“Nay, interrupt me not,” he continued, as Turian,
+nettled at the exposure of his want of diplomacy, was about to declare
+that he had never thought of any other means to captivate her being
+required but his own smile and his own strong arm; “I must begin,
+and have but time to complete my directions. You see yon castle on a
+rock out at sea;” and as his long bony finger pointed westward,
+there seemed to be traced against the sky the form of a royal castle at
+about three days’ journey, which Turian, who had for ten days
+been beating about the coast, could have sworn was not to be seen
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb55" href="#pb55" name=
+"pb55">55</a>]</span>there before. Nevertheless, fascinated by the
+magician’s commanding manner, he durst say nothing but a murmur
+of assent.</p>
+<p>“Then that is your haven; take ship and steer for it. When you
+reach the land throw down this token,” and he gave into his hand
+a fine coil of silken chains; “follow its leadings till it take
+you to Floreta, and if she please you, cast it round her, and she is
+yours.”</p>
+<p>As he spoke he disappeared from sight, with the mules and their
+burden.</p>
+<p>Turian now once more reminded <i>Conde</i> Dirlos of his
+father’s command, and bid him provide him with the swiftest
+galley on all the coasts of the kingdom, manned with the stoutest
+rowers, and that with the utmost speed.</p>
+<p>If the wise old count shrunk from the former mission, his horror was
+but the greater at this one. He reminded the prince that when the king
+had given his consent to the adventure, he had not contemplated any
+other than a loyal undertaking, such as a noble prince might entertain:
+he would never have trusted him on one of this nature.</p>
+<p>Turian felt the force of the reproach, but lacked the strength of
+character to command himself. Hurried on by his uncontrolled desire, he
+bid the old man remember that the command to fulfil his orders was
+quite unconditional, and there was no limit whatever named.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb56" href="#pb56" name=
+"pb56">56</a>]</span></p>
+<p>The count owned this was unfortunately true, and as he could prevail
+nothing by argument, set himself to remedy the Infante’s
+headstrong wilfulness by making the journey as safe as possible. He not
+only insisted on having the galley examined as to its seaworthiness by
+the most experienced shipwrights, and selected the steadiest oarsmen to
+man the banks, but appointed a consultation of all the astronomers of
+the kingdom to name the day when they might be sure of safe passage,
+free from winds. It was pronounced that a storm was just then impending
+which would last ten days, and after that there would be ten days of
+fair weather, so that if they allowed ten days for their preparations,
+they would have time to make the journey and return in all
+security.</p>
+<p>The delay seemed another age to the Infante; nevertheless he was now
+so near the accomplishment of his object that it passed swiftly enough
+in the enjoyment of the pleasure of anticipation. The count, too, found
+some relief to his anxieties in the fact that the storm came on at the
+predicted moment, giving him great confidence that the halcyon days
+predicted to succeed might be surely counted on.</p>
+<p>They came duly; and a shout of admiration rose from the people on
+the shore as the gallant vessel moved out over the face of the blue,
+sunlit waters, which glittered as if showered over with <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb57" href="#pb57" name="pb57">57</a>]</span>every
+precious stone at each stroke of the countless oars. And those on board
+were equally entranced with the gorgeous sight as they seemed to soar
+along over the soft bosom of the crystal deep; and the noble outline of
+their native mountains, peak above peak, from the verdant slopes where
+the cattle browsed lazily, to the wild steeps where even the mountain
+goats ceased to find a footing, receded with ever-varying forms of
+beauty from their sight.</p>
+<p>It was not on <i>these</i> that Turian’s eye rested. His
+glance was bent on the castle for which they were making, and his
+thoughts were bound up in the beauteous treasure within. Such
+confidence had he in the magician’s word, that he had laid his
+arms aside and held only the silken chain that was to be his guiding
+line to happiness; and toyed with it, thinking how he would throw it
+round the prized form of the portrait’s original, and how he
+would gaze on her when she was his.</p>
+<p>While he was still wrapt in these thoughts they drew near to the
+mysterious shore, and every one was occupied in admiring the strength
+and noble proportions of the castle. But Turian had no thought but for
+the treasure it contained. Springing lightly on to the land, he lost no
+time in fulfilling the magician’s injunctions; and sure enough
+the chain uncoiled itself, and, wriggling with a serpent’s
+motion, went straight before him to a gate in the castle wall. It was
+unlocked, and Turian, pushing <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb58" href=
+"#pb58" name="pb58">58</a>]</span>it aside, gained entrance to a
+sumptuous garden, at one end of which was a shady arbour, and in a bank
+of perfumed roses Floreta herself lay asleep. How his heart beat at the
+sight! Just as she had seemed in the portrait; just as he had pictured
+her in his sleeping and waking dreams. Riveted to the spot, he stood
+contemplating her, as well he might, for her complexion was white as
+snow, or rather as pure crystal, and tinted as the fresh rose yet on
+the rose-tree<a class="noteref" id="xd21e1309src" href="#xd21e1309"
+name="xd21e1309src">1</a>.</p>
+<p>The cautious count, fearful of some ambush, had marshalled the crew
+of the galley into a guard to track his steps noiselessly and be ready
+in case of sudden attack. The play of light upon their arms passing in
+sudden reflection over the scene woke the Infante from his reverie, and
+roused him to action. The coiling silken links readily embraced
+Floreta’s limbs, and such was their hidden power that, though she
+woke at the Infante’s approach, she was powerless to resist or
+cry.</p>
+<p>Thus he bore her to the galley, and the men having resumed their
+places on the rowers’ banks, in silent order they pushed off
+unperceived by any <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb59" href="#pb59"
+name="pb59">59</a>]</span>one on the island, for it was the hour of the
+noontide rest.</p>
+<p>But soon Floreta’s maidens, coming to attend her rising,
+discovered her loss. The king her father and all the people quickly
+gathered their arms and ran wildly in every direction, till at last
+they saw the strange vessel making fast away, and they doubted not it
+was carrying off their princess, but they could only stand on the shore
+throwing up their arms and crying in powerless despair.</p>
+<p>Turian had in the mean time removed the chain from his prize; and
+thus freed from the spell, Floreta, too, held out her arms towards her
+parents and countrymen, and cried unavailingly on them for help.
+Turian, incapable of contradicting her, yet incapable also of giving
+her up, contented himself with admiring her at a distance, and let her
+spend herself in lamentations at first; but when the good galleon had
+put sufficient distance between itself and the castle to destroy the
+freshness of the impression of parting, the Infante commanded his
+people to cast anchor that he might try his power of consoling her more
+at ease. And indeed, it was not long before his sweet words of
+admiration and his protestations of affection and devotion seemed to
+succeed in reconciling her to her situation; before long they were very
+good friends and very happy, and the sun shone and the sea sparkled,
+and nature smiled, and all seemed fair and bright. <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb60" href="#pb60" name="pb60">60</a>]</span></p>
+<p>Nevertheless the prudent old count had his misgivings. True, there
+were yet several more days of the promised calm before them, but he
+felt he should never be easy till he had his charge safe at home again;
+so he urged the Infante to give orders to put under way once more, and
+right glad was he to feel the bark moving towards the port and in good
+time to reach home before the next storm.</p>
+<p>Nevertheless,—</p>
+<div lang="es" class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">Quando Dios quiere</p>
+<p class="line">En sereno lluve<a class="noteref" id="xd21e1349src"
+href="#xd21e1349" name="xd21e1349src">2</a>,</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">says the proverb, and while they were singing and
+making merry, and dancing to amuse Floreta, suddenly the sky became
+overcast and the wind sprang up, and the waves dashed against the
+bulwarks, and instead of being able to row the vessel into port the
+oarsmen could hardly keep their seats. Then in the midst of their
+fright and horror and piteous cries for help, an ancient seaman stood
+up, and having commanded silence, harangued the crew, and told them
+that they might be sure the tempest was sent them because they had the
+strange damsel on board; that if they would save their lives they must
+bid defiance to the Infante’s wishes, and take him from her and
+cast her into the sea. The danger to all was manifest and terrible; any
+way out of it was preferable to succumbing, so the old man found a
+willing <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb61" href="#pb61" name=
+"pb61">61</a>]</span>audience. The dismayed count had but time to rush
+in to the Infante and tell him of the mutiny before the angry mariners
+had already burst into his presence. If they were for a moment
+staggered by pity at sight of the exceeding beauty of Floreta, and by
+Turian’s agonized assurances that the fearful sacrifice would
+have no effect upon the storm, the old mariner’s voice overruled
+their hesitation and rendered them pitiless as the blast.</p>
+<p>Then at his command they tore the Infante from off Floreta, to whom
+he clung declaring that they should not destroy her without him, but
+that he would go down into the deep with her, and they bound him fast
+hand and foot and took Floreta, too full of terror to resist or cry, to
+throw her into the raging sea. But before they had completed the
+sacrifice, the cries of the prince, seconded as he was by the prudent
+old count, ever ready to second a middle course, prevailed, and instead
+of committing her to the deep, they set her on an island past which the
+bark was drifting, Turian thinking in his own mind that as soon as the
+fury of the storm was spent he should be able to induce them to put
+back and fetch her off.</p>
+<p>The old seaman knew what was in his mind, and he knew that the work
+was but half done. He inveighed that the half-measure was useless; he
+predicted that the storm would not thereby be quenched. But it was too
+late to listen to him now: <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb62" href=
+"#pb62" name="pb62">62</a>]</span>they were carried past the land where
+Floreta was; and it was beyond their efforts to go back to fulfil his
+purpose now. Meanwhile, as he had predicted, the tempest raged higher
+and higher; the oarsmen were powerless: but the bark drifted nearer and
+nearer home; and at last, just as a great wave dashed against it and
+broke it up, they were brought just so near to land that they could
+swim to shore. One young and vigorous oarsman took charge of the old
+count, who was rendered more unfit for the feat by dismay at the
+ill-success of his mission even than by the weakness of his age. But
+none looked after the Infante, for he was known to be the expertest
+swimmer of all the country round.</p>
+<p>It was not till the hull had heeled over and gone down that they
+remembered they had bound him hand and foot, and he could not escape.
+And so he, who was the cause of all, alone was lost. <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb63" href="#pb63" name="pb63">63</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e1309" href="#xd21e1309src" name="xd21e1309">1</a></span></p>
+<div class="q">
+<div class="body">
+<div class="div1 chapter">
+<div class="divHead">
+<div lang="es" class="lgouter footnote">
+<p class="line">Mirandola está mirando</p>
+<p class="line">Que bien era de mirar;</p>
+<p class="line">Blanca es como la nieve</p>
+<p class="line">Y como lo claro cristal,</p>
+<p class="line">Colorada como la rosa</p>
+<p class="line">Y como rosa de rosal.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+<p> <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e1309src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote" lang="en"><span class="label"><a class="noteref"
+id="xd21e1349" href="#xd21e1349src" name="xd21e1349">2</a></span> If
+God so will, it may rain with a clear sky. <a class="fnarrow"
+href="#xd21e1349src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s5" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e231">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">THE BLOOD-STAIN OF THE ALCÁZAR OF SEVILLE.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Of all the beautiful things which are to be seen at
+Seville, there is perhaps none which engrosses the attention as the
+alcázar—so called because built after the fashion of a
+Moorish palace. To the traveller unacquainted with the East it affords
+a practical realization of the famed elaboration of Moorish
+magnificence. It is not very certain whether in it Pedro the Cruel
+erected a new foundation, or restored an old one remaining from the
+time of the Moorish occupation; but he certainly left nothing wanting
+to make it the worthy habitation of one of the most powerful monarchs
+of the time<a class="noteref" id="xd21e1370src" href="#xd21e1370" name=
+"xd21e1370src">1</a>. The present century has not been wanting to the
+example thus set; and by dint of the artistic care bestowed upon it,
+its beauties shine now as brilliantly as at the moment of their first
+completion. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb64" href="#pb64" name=
+"pb64">64</a>]</span>The gardens, with their groves of plantains,
+datunas, tunales, myrtles, box-trees, and oranges, may appear stiff to
+an English eye; but be there in the summer, and you readily realize the
+luxury of paths so contrived as to be always in the shade, and which,
+when this even is too hot, can be cooled down by turning on a flow of
+icy water over the tiles which pave them.</p>
+<p>It is in the interior, however, that the greatest luxuriance of
+imagination has been displayed. It is all one blaze of dazzling tints,
+such as, one would think, no one but some of Aladdin’s genii
+could have produced. The walls are panelled with a delicate
+embroidery-like fretwork of every gorgeous hue; the roofs cieled with
+seeming liquid gold, suspended in burnished drops. It is the dazzling
+image of all one has dreamt of Byzantine or Persian colouring; it is
+like being in the fairy palace which was all one large prism. It might
+have been imagined by mad genii, and executed by frantic fairies. It
+might be the laboratory where tints are prepared for rainbows and
+tropical sunsets, or where the painting of peacocks and butterflies,
+humming-birds, and exotic flowers is devised. Or it might be the
+jewel-storehouse of some thrice-rich monarch, to whom emeralds and
+rubies are plentiful as figs and peaches, and all in cabinets of
+wrought gold.</p>
+<p>Amid all this splendour there is one sad, dark <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb65" href="#pb65" name="pb65">65</a>]</span>spot,
+which has outlived the wear of five centuries, to stand a witness of
+the judgment of Heaven overtaking the tyrant and the oppressor. Pedro
+the Cruel was the only Christian monarch who ever indulged himself with
+such a nest; and I fear the life he led within it was not what that of
+a Christian monarch ought to be. Not to speak of his other faults, his
+thirst for blood was so great as to be surpassed only by the atrocities
+ascribed to Nero. Whoever displeased him in any way was summarily put
+to death, and that sometimes amid cruel tortures, without form of
+trial.</p>
+<p>An old ballad has lately been found, which arranges in rhyming order
+the whole catalogue of names and qualities of the distinguished people
+whose lives were forfeited by his hand, or at his behest, which served
+the people to perpetuate their detestation of his character. There was
+Don Garcilaso, and his little brothers Don Juan and Don Diego; the
+Infante of Aragon, his cousin; Don Fernando, a knight of high renown;
+the noble youth Don Luis de Albuquerque; and Peralvarez Osorio, who had
+injured him in nothing. Then the Queen of Aragon, to whom his father
+was brother; and Doña Blanca, his own wife; Doña Juana
+and Doña Isabel, high ladies both, of the Asturias; and
+Gutierrez of Toledo, and the Archbishop his brother; Don Iñigo
+d’Orozco, who fought him in the field; and Don Suero, the
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb66" href="#pb66" name=
+"pb66">66</a>]</span>good prelate, Archbishop of Santiago, and also
+Bermejo de Granada. And besides these many more, both hidalgos and
+caballeros.</p>
+<p>Thus at last his wickedness outgrew the people’s patience; and
+when the good Henry of Trastamare rose up against him, and provoked him
+to fight, and slew him, they all hailed the act as the execution of the
+sentence of Divine Justice, and acclaimed Henry as their deliverer and
+their ruler in his stead; for Alonso, the son of his unblessed union
+with Maria Padilla, whom he had forced the people to acknowledge for
+his successor, had been carried off by sudden death soon after; and
+though the daughter of his lawful marriage had married our own John of
+Gaunt, all his reputation, and that of the Black Prince his father,
+could not outweigh their disinclination for a foreign king.</p>
+<p>With regard to the mode of Pedro the Cruel’s death, the more
+credited account is that his end was an episode of the siege of
+Montiel, where he had sought to hide himself from the victorious
+pursuit of Henry de Trastamare. Local tradition loves to think it found
+him out with poetical justice, and left its stain in the very hall
+which had been the scene of his wanton excesses; where others had
+fallen at his command, and whence the decree had gone forth for the
+relentless execution of his victims. <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb67" href="#pb67" name="pb67">67</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e1370" href="#xd21e1370src" name="xd21e1370">1</a></span> It was
+completed 1364. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e1370src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s6" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e238">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">THE ADVENTURES OF DOÑA JOSEFA RAMIREZ Y
+MARMOLEJO.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Doña Josefa Ramirez was the only child of noble
+parents of Valencia. She grew up in every virtue, and joined the wisdom
+of a Minerva to the beauty of a Venus. She was hardly eighteen before
+various noble youths were contending for her good graces; but of them
+all the only one she favoured was Don Pedro de Valenzuela, who, though
+of noble lineage, yet did not possess the fortune or position that her
+parents thought should entitle him who wedded with the descendant of
+the illustrious houses of Ramirez and Marmolejo.</p>
+<p>Little Doña Josefa did not think of all this; she was much
+attached to her boyish playmate, and hoped that as her parents were
+very fond of her she would one day win their consent to receive his
+attentions; in the mean time, she thoughtlessly <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb68" href="#pb68" name="pb68">68</a>]</span>listened
+with great delight when he came and sang a love song under her windows,
+and even, I am afraid, sometimes came to the <i lang=
+"es">reja</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e1401src" href="#xd21e1401"
+name="xd21e1401src">1</a> to give him a coy look of thanks and
+encouragement.</p>
+<p>One day, as the youthful Don Pedro de Valenzuela was thus pleasantly
+occupied, he had finished his song and was waiting to see if a pair of
+bright eyes would not come sparkling behind the <i lang="es">reja</i>,
+when, his thoughts being quite engrossed by this expectation, and his
+attention abstracted from every thing around him, he suddenly found
+himself attacked from behind by two men who were wrapt up in their
+cloaks and masked so that he could not recognize them, nor indeed had
+he time to think about it, for before he could even draw his sword they
+had stretched him dead upon the ground; he could only cry out
+Josefa’s name, and expire.</p>
+<p>Doña Josefa was thrilled with dread at the tone in which her
+name was uttered; it seemed to portend something dreadful, such as she
+had never known before. She flew to the window, and by what remained of
+the gloaming light, she saw her lover’s body stretched lifeless
+on the ground, while the assassins had escaped without leaving a trace
+behind.</p>
+<p>The terrible sight seemed to change Doña <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb69" href="#pb69" name=
+"pb69">69</a>]</span>Josefa’s nature: all her woman’s
+weakness was quenched within her, and every thought bound up in the one
+determination of avenging the precious life which had been so cruelly
+sacrificed for love of her. She tore off her woman’s gear with
+the indignation of an enraged lioness, and arrayed herself in a full
+cavalier’s suit, with a <i lang="es">montera</i><a class=
+"noteref" id="xd21e1417src" href="#xd21e1417" name="xd21e1417src">2</a>
+to cover her head and an ample cloak to hide her from scrutiny. Then
+she took a belt well furnished with arms, and a sword and blunderbuss
+to boot; and then a purse with two hundred doubloons; thus accoutred
+she wandered forth in quest of Don Pedro de Valenzuela’s
+assassins, making her way in all haste out of Valencia, for she knew
+the assassins would not long have remained there.</p>
+<p>Hiding herself in the mountains by day, and taking the most
+unfrequented paths by night, she wandered on till she came to Murcia,
+and there she resolved to take up her abode for some little time to
+rest, and also to learn what she might chance to hear.</p>
+<p>Here, in her cavalier’s dress, she walked about on the
+promenades, joined knots of speakers in the public <i>plazas</i>, and
+at night sat down at the card-tables and other places of resort, every
+where <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb70" href="#pb70" name=
+"pb70">70</a>]</span>keeping her ears open to drink in any word any one
+might let fall about her lover’s assassination. One night, as she
+was sitting at a table carelessly shuffling a pack of cards, she heard
+two gentlemen talking very earnestly, and some words they dropped made
+her strain all her attention to catch the thread of their
+discourse.</p>
+<p>“Yes, they are gone on; I am sure of it; and some hours
+ago,” asseverated the first speaker, as if he had been
+contradicted before.</p>
+<p>“To be sure,” rejoined the other, in a tone of yielding
+conviction; “it was not likely they should remain in the country.
+No doubt it is as you say.”</p>
+<p>“Excuse me,” said Doña Josefa, approaching the
+speakers with a courtly bow, for she could restrain her curiosity no
+longer, “but I think you were speaking of some gentlemen of
+Seville.... I am of Seville, and——”</p>
+<p>“Of Valencia,” politely rejoined the gentleman, fairly
+caught in the trap. Had Josefa said she was of Valencia, his mouth
+would have been sealed for fear of betraying secrets.</p>
+<p>“Oh, indeed, of Valencia!” she continued, assuming a
+tone of disappointment; and then, after a moment’s pause, she
+added, as if indifferent, “I think you spoke as if concerned for
+some friends in trouble?”</p>
+<p>“Oh, not <i>friends</i>,” answered the person addressed,
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb71" href="#pb71" name=
+"pb71">71</a>]</span>with a slight shudder; “we had but the most
+distant acquaintance with them; but they called on us yesterday to ask
+us to help them out of a difficulty.”</p>
+<p>“Ah! that is very often the way of the world,” replied
+Doña Josefa, for she felt she must keep the conversation going
+till she could get all the information she wanted, though scarcely
+seeing how to bring it to the right point without exciting suspicions.
+“I’ll warrant now it was a regular piece of Valencian
+roguery<a class="noteref" id="xd21e1449src" href="#xd21e1449" name=
+"xd21e1449src">3</a>; they came with some pitiful pretence, begging,
+I’ll be bound; and I dare say at this moment are laughing at the
+ease with which their doleful story loosed your purse-strings; ha, ha,
+ha!”</p>
+<p>The silvery laugh and biting tone of the young cavalier stung the
+Murcians to the quick; it seemed a point of honour to justify
+themselves from the censure of having been cajoled. The friend who had
+all this time remained silent, not quite liking the freedom, but now
+completely reassured by the noble bearing, fair smooth brow, and
+perhaps also by the sad but winning glance of the young stranger, here
+joined in.</p>
+<p>“You have a fine knowledge of the world, young friend, and
+such wise words do not often come from lips on which the hair is not
+yet grown. Nevertheless <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb72" href=
+"#pb72" name="pb72">72</a>]</span>there was no deception on this
+occasion: I never saw men more blasted with fear and shame.”</p>
+<p>“Ah!” pursued Josefa as carelessly as she could, for she
+saw she was now on the right track, “it is easy for a Valencian
+to assume a look of shame.”</p>
+<p>“But, man, these were not men used to shame; these were true
+men and gentlemen of blood—blood as blue as any blood in
+Spain.”</p>
+<p>“Pshaw! they told you so!” rejoined Josefa with an
+incredulous shrug, which she knew must bring out the names.</p>
+<p>“Why it was no less than Don Leonardo and Don Gaspar
+Contreras!” broke in the other speaker.</p>
+<p>“Don Leonardo and Don Gaspar Contreras!” ejaculated
+Josefa, this time hardly master of her contending emotions; yet knowing
+the importance of playing her part to the end, she added in a tone of
+thundering indignation,—</p>
+<p>“And you can stand there and tell me that Don Leonardo and Don
+Gaspar Contreras came before you bowed with a look of shame,—to
+beg alms?”</p>
+<p>“Even so, fair sir,” rejoined the Murcians; “and
+if you still have doubts you can go to Valencia, and seek for them; you
+will not find them there.”</p>
+<p>“And pray, sir, why should I not find Don Leonardo and Don
+Gaspar Contreras in their noble <i>palacio</i> at Valencia?”</p>
+<p>“Because they dare not show their faces there,” replied
+one. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb73" href="#pb73" name=
+"pb73">73</a>]</span></p>
+<p>“Because they are at this moment riding for their lives to the
+sea coast, and you would be more likely to find them at
+Cartagena,” exclaimed the other at the same moment.</p>
+<p>Josefa had now learnt pretty well all she desired to know;
+nevertheless, to make quite sure of her facts, she sat down again,
+pushing chairs towards the Murcians, and continued in a more pacific
+and friendly tone,—</p>
+<p>“You must excuse me, gentlemen, if the idea of coupling shame
+with the name of Contreras came upon me as so strange and unaccountable
+a conjunction, that I could not bring myself to accept it at first; but
+I am fain to take it on your honourable testimony. But pray tell me,
+what <i>can</i> have happened to bring this about? I have a cousin
+married to a Contreras, and whatever affects the honour of their house
+affects my own. It must have been some terrible necessity reduced them
+to this plight.”</p>
+<p>“The old story—jealousy working in ill-regulated
+minds!” answered the elder speaker. “It seems Valencia
+possesses some monster of beauty, which has turned the hearts of all
+her cavaliers.”</p>
+<p>“Doña Josefa Ramirez y Marmolejo!” interposed the
+younger Murcian apologetically, as though he thought it a reproach not
+to have the name of the beauty of the day on the tip of his lips.</p>
+<p>“Well, the young lady, it seems, preferred to <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb74" href="#pb74" name="pb74">74</a>]</span>every
+one else of Valencia a certain Don Pedro de
+Valenzuela——”</p>
+<p>Josefa had managed to preserve her composure, in spite of her
+emotion at hearing her attractions canvassed by the two strangers, but
+at mention of Don Pedro’s name the blood fairly left her cheeks.
+To hide her embarrassment, she dropped her glove and stooped to pick it
+up, till she had summoned the colour back.</p>
+<p>“The other gallants,” continued the speaker, not heeding
+the interruption, “were the more nettled at this, that he was not
+of so high estate as they——”</p>
+<p>Josefa could hardly refrain from exclaiming that he was better than
+all of them put together; but she coughed and bit her lip, and by a
+supreme effort kept the tears out of her eyes.</p>
+<p>“And when they found they were slighted, while he was allowed
+to come and strum night after night at the <i lang="es">reja</i>, they
+grew furious. None were more indignant than the two cousins Leonardo
+and Gaspar de Contreras. One night, as they were passing casually by
+Doña Josefa’s house, and saw Don Pedro standing under the
+window, basking in the smiles of the lady, while they had to wander by
+as unrecognized outcasts, their blood was up, and without reflection or
+premeditation, they set upon him there and then, without calling upon
+him to defend himself, and killed him like a——”</p>
+<p>“But what ails you, fair sir?” ejaculated the
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb75" href="#pb75" name=
+"pb75">75</a>]</span>speaker, as he observed poor Josefa making vain
+efforts to look indifferent, and trembling from head to foot.</p>
+<p>“Nothing, sir, thank you,” stammered Josefa bravely;
+“the wind is high to-night. With your permission I will
+e’en close this window.<span class="corr" id="xd21e1516" title=
+"Not in source">”</span> The moment’s seclusion from the
+company, and the gasp of air thus gained, enabled her to appear once
+more a not too eager listener.</p>
+<p>“I can now understand why the Contreras are running away
+like—<i>dogs</i>,” she replied, not without some little
+display of feeling, for she burned to bandy back against the assassins
+the epithet which, though it had not been breathed, had so nearly been
+applied to her lover.</p>
+<p>A very little more talk elicited that the cousins expected to find a
+ship sailing from Cartagena in three days; in the mean time they were
+making the best of their way to the coast. Worn out with the long
+tension of suppressed emotion, Josefa was glad to retire as soon as
+there was a break in the conversation.</p>
+<p>Next morning she purchased a horse, fleet as the wind, and arrived
+the same night at Cartagena; and here she once more set to work to find
+out the retreat of the assassins. In this, fortune again favoured her.
+For having placed her horse in a stable, and hired a room in the
+principal inn for herself, she sat down beside an open <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb76" href="#pb76" name="pb76">76</a>]</span>window,
+while she thought upon the plan to pursue. As she sat here, her
+attention was arrested by a conversation going on between two men
+seated under a leafy <i>parral</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e1532src"
+href="#xd21e1532" name="xd21e1532src">4</a>, which effectually
+concealed her from their sight.</p>
+<p>“Where are you going to-night, so finely arrayed?”
+inquired one of the voices.</p>
+<p>“Where every one is going,” responded the other;
+“to the house of Don Juan Mancilla, for he gives a right noble
+banquet in honour of two guests he has staying with him, natives of
+Valencia. He is to give a representation of a comedy, and many other
+fine things.”</p>
+<p>Doña Josefa held her breath, and leant further out of the
+window.</p>
+<p>“Something I heard of their arrival yesterday morning,”
+rejoined the first voice. “But why all this haste? Methinks the
+comedy would have been the better got up for one or two days’
+rehearsal.”</p>
+<p>“Ah, but you see, the Valencians take ship at half-past twelve
+this very night,” replied the other; and then in a lower key,
+“They are even now running from Valencia for some charge of a
+duel there——”</p>
+<p>“Hold, man, hold!” warily ejaculated the first voice;
+“who knows who may overhear you?” <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb77" href="#pb77" name="pb77">77</a>]</span></p>
+<p>Doña Josefa had overheard enough; her work now up to
+half-past twelve was but to learn the situation of Don Juan
+Mancilla’s house, and the way thence to the harbour; no difficult
+task, for Don Juan Mancilla’s was one of the first names in
+Cartagena; and near the landing-place she met a garrulous servant of
+the Contreras, who was easily led to speak of his masters’
+movements. Between the two points lay an <i lang="es">alameda</i>, or
+promenade, planted with poplars, such as adorns the outskirts of every
+Spanish town, affording a most convenient spot for the rencontre for
+which she had now with beating heart to lie in wait.</p>
+<p>The tress which on that last sad night she had severed from her
+lover’s fair young head, and which now alone remained of him who
+had been all to her, in her hand, she paced backwards and forwards
+under the pollard poplars, like a knight keeping watch before a sacred
+shrine. Her thoughts wrapt in the absorbing memories of the past, and
+the fantastic part fate had assigned to herself, she had taken no note
+of how the hours had sped by, and when the clocks chimed out the hour
+of mid-night, it came upon her as a sudden warning. Not many minutes
+more had elapsed, before she perceived two cavaliers advancing towards
+her, whom her eye, practised by long acquaintance, readily recognized
+as the game she had come so far to seek. Their loud talk, swaggering
+mien, lofty <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb78" href="#pb78" name=
+"pb78">78</a>]</span>stature, and moreover the clanking of their swords
+as they walked, reminding that in Valencia the Contreras bore the
+reputation of the most accomplished fencers of all the country round,
+might have made a less resolute heart faint even then, and give up the
+enterprise. But Doña Josefa never flinched. With one foot firmly
+planted on the path, and resting on the other as a kind of prop, placed
+in position to support her against any attempt to thrust her aside, she
+stood firmly and calmly waiting their approach.</p>
+<p>“Don Leonardo, and you, Don Gaspar Contreras!” she said,
+as soon as they had advanced within hearing, “know ye, who I
+am?”</p>
+<p>“Another time, good friend,” said Don Leonardo
+impatiently, and tried to pass on.</p>
+<p>“We are pressed, and have but time to join our ship,”
+said Don Gaspar; and he endeavoured, though not without courtesy, to
+make his way past her.</p>
+<p>“You must hear me, Señores de Contreras,”
+rejoined Doña Josefa in a hollow voice; “and when you have
+heard me, you will never want a ship more.”</p>
+<p>“Come, this is more than pleasantry!” exclaimed Don
+Leonardo, getting angry.</p>
+<p>“Make way, good sir; you see we are pressed for time,”
+said Don Gaspar, more conciliatingly; for he felt it was no time for
+picking a quarrel.</p>
+<p>“It is no pleasantry, indeed!” Doña Josefa had
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb79" href="#pb79" name=
+"pb79">79</a>]</span>replied almost before he spoke; “but most
+serious earnest. Señores de Contreras, again I ask, Do you know
+me?”</p>
+<p>“What does this trifling mean?” exclaimed Don Leonardo,
+hotly, and at the same time putting his hand on his sword.</p>
+<p>“It means,” replied Josefa, calmly and
+solemnly—“It means that you are called to answer with your
+vile lives for the noble life of Don Pedro Valenzuela, whom you
+treacherously slew without so much as calling on him to draw. <i>My</i>
+sword is the sword of justice, not of the assassin; <i>yet</i> I call
+on you to defend yourselves, if you dare!”</p>
+<p>“Good sir, you rave; we are not those you seek; and we know
+not who you are!” interposed Don Gaspar, putting his hand on Don
+Leonardo’s sword-arm, for he had already drawn.</p>
+<p>“I have twice asked you if you do not know me,” answered
+Josefa. “Now, then, I tell you: I am Doña Josefa Ramirez y
+Marmolejo. Have I not a right to avenge the blood of Don Pedro
+Valenzuela?”</p>
+<p>“Ho! ho! so brave anon, you would now make this pretence of
+womanhood a shield. Methinks your tongue knows not the timidity of
+woman, and that your arms are no woman’s toys,” blurted out
+Don Leonardo contemptuously, despite of Don Gaspar’s
+warnings.</p>
+<p>“Draw! Don Leonardo,” commanded Josefa; <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb80" href="#pb80" name=
+"pb80">80</a>]</span>“nor waste more time in words. I seek no
+quarter, nor—give any!”</p>
+<p>“At you then!” exclaimed Don Leonardo, rendered furious
+by her impassibility, and breaking away from Don Gaspar’s
+hold.</p>
+<p>Josefa awaited his onset firmly, her drawn sword extended in her
+hand, like a statue of the avenging angel. Don Leonardo rushing at her,
+blind with rage, thrust himself right upon her rapier, which pierced
+him through and through; and, before he had time to utter a cry, he
+fell a lifeless corpse at Don Gaspar’s feet.</p>
+<p>Don Gaspar, who had no idea that there was any truth in
+Josefa’s declaration of her sex, felt no inclination to measure
+his sword against so successful an antagonist; but, in order not to
+appear to avoid the fray ignominiously, bent down and busied himself
+with the effort to remove the body of his cousin.</p>
+<p>“It is your turn now, Don Gaspar!” said the avenging
+angel calmly, having just withdrawn her sword from the breast of her
+prostrate victim. “Stand on guard, for your hour has
+come!”</p>
+<p>This confident assertion, and the conviction that the encounter
+could not be escaped, excited Don Gaspar almost to the same pitch of
+indignation as Don Leonardo had displayed, notwithstanding that he was
+by nature less irascible.</p>
+<p>“Think not to find so easy a victory a second time!” he
+exclaimed. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb81" href="#pb81" name=
+"pb81">81</a>]</span></p>
+<p>“It matters little,” replied the lady calmly; “you
+have killed my life already, when you killed Don Pedro!”</p>
+<p>While she was yet speaking, Don Gaspar had already rushed to the
+encounter; and she, standing with her trusty sword prepared to meet
+him, sent his body to measure the ground, and his soul to its account,
+after the same manner that she had served Don Leonardo.</p>
+<p>Meantime the bandying of angry words and the clash of steel had not
+been unheard by the guests, who were even then traversing the <i lang=
+"es">alameda</i>, as the banquet of Don Juan Mancilla broke up. Quickly
+as the contest had been carried through there was still time for many
+persons to assemble, and there was every chance of Josefa being caught
+and handed over to justice. All sank away, however, before the high and
+innocent glance of her flashing eyes and the noble mien, which stood
+surety hers had been no vulgar aim.</p>
+<p>“The Sanctuary of S. Francis may yet be reached,”
+whispered an old nobleman, who perceived at a glance that the young
+stranger belonged to his order, which he had rather not see subjected
+to the ordeal of a public inquisition. “Here, boy, follow me.
+Courage!” he added, as he observed she had hardly energy left to
+move from the spot; “we shall soon be there.”</p>
+<p>Doña Josefa, so courageous anon, felt palsied at <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb82" href="#pb82" name="pb82">82</a>]</span>the
+sight of the advancing strangers, and the apprehension of having all
+her motions and manœuvres sifted in the vulgar sieve of public
+opinion. She knew what she had done could only be judged and
+appreciated by the few who had felt what she had felt. This very terror
+at last nerved her to take the old man’s counsel; and so,
+wrapping her wide cloak around her, she followed at a little distance,
+delicacy prompting her to avoid appearing to belong to him, so that he
+might not be compromised through his good-nature. All those who were
+about at the time were men of similar position, who judged that the
+course adopted was the wisest, and so Josefa and her guide proceeded to
+their journey’s end without molestation. Arrived at the church
+door, the old nobleman pointed to the entrance and passed on his
+way.</p>
+<p>Josefa began to explain to an old Brother who kept the door the
+misadventure which had brought her thither, but it was more than she
+could do to conclude the narrative, her feeble powers were already
+overstrained, and she sank fainting at his feet. For several days she
+was carefully tended in the hospital; and one day, when the noise of
+the affair had blown over, and the knowledge that she had taken refuge
+in the Sanctuary had quieted the pursuit of justice, she sent a
+messenger to the inn to fetch the swift courser she had left there on
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb83" href="#pb83" name=
+"pb83">83</a>]</span>arriving, and under favour of the darkness of the
+evening set out to return to Valencia.</p>
+<p>She had travelled a considerable distance without accident, when
+suddenly she perceived three travellers coming towards her; the moon
+shone brightly, and her keen eyes, quickened by natural feminine
+apprehension, were not slow to make out that they were of the kind most
+unwelcome under the circumstances, though to meet any one was awkward
+enough.</p>
+<p>She had no time to consider what she should do, for the strangers
+were advancing at a rapid pace; nor were they slow to declare their
+character. The chief called out to her before they had even come up, to
+‘stand and deliver.’ The only circumstance in her favour
+was that they stood on the narrow ledge of a mountain path, the one
+closely packed behind the other as one man.</p>
+<p>“It is idle to attempt to resist us, young gallant,”
+cried the leader as he saw her draw her sword; “we are too many
+for one even as valiant as I dare say you fancy yourself; besides,
+there are more of us behind who will soon be up.”</p>
+<p>Doña Josefa uttered no boast, she took up a firm position;
+her fine well-tempered rapier extended in her hand received them on its
+point, and threaded them through as they came, one behind the
+other.</p>
+<p>But, alack! the strong men, in the contortions <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb84" href="#pb84" name="pb84">84</a>]</span>of their
+last agony, overstepped the narrow footing of the path, and fell over
+the brink, carrying in their bodies the trusty sword which had stood
+her in such good stead.</p>
+<p>“There are more of us behind who will soon be up!” she
+repeated to herself, as with dogged determination she still held up
+against her misfortunes, and proceeded on her way for a wind or two of
+the path without disturbing incidents. One more turn and there stood
+before her three more bandits in the same order as the last. She had
+her <i lang="es">trabuco</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e1645src" href=
+"#xd21e1645" name="xd21e1645src">5</a> ready to aim, and her aim was so
+steady, that before they had time to perceive her purpose, her ball had
+pierced through the three of them, and they were sent rolling over the
+precipice, to join the bodies of their companions below.</p>
+<p>Whether Josefa thought that these exploits might bring her into
+fresh conflict with the arm of the law, or whether the fresh horrors
+gave a gloomy turn to her mind, and indisposed her for venturing home,
+I know not; but whatever her motive, she made up her mind at this point
+of the journey to continue her wanderings only as far as Barcelona, and
+there take ship to make a pilgrimage to Rome.</p>
+<div class="figure xd21e1651width"><img src="images/p084.jpg" alt=
+"Doña Josefa—Page 84." width="543" height="720">
+<p class="figureHead">Doña Josefa—<i>Page 84</i>.</p>
+</div>
+<p>The sea was not much more propitious to poor Doña
+Josefa’s fortunes than the land had been. The vessel on which she
+had embarked had not been two days out before it was attacked by
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb85" href="#pb85" name=
+"pb85">85</a>]</span>Algerine Corsairs, who took every soul on board
+prisoners, and carried them off to Africa, where they were sold as
+slaves.</p>
+<p>It fell to Josefa’s lot to be bought by a rich renegade of
+Tunis, whom she served under the name of Pedro, a name she deemed she
+had a certain right to take. The renegade was much pleased with her
+soft discreet manners, and general superiority and uprightness of
+character; and soon advanced her to the post of steward over his
+household, having her first instructed in the Arabic tongue. Things
+went smoothly enough for some time; but when she had been in this
+service about three years, it happened that one day, when the master
+was gone out hunting, a maid-servant, who held a high place in the
+household, and whose forwardness the supposed Pedro had often noticed,
+came and made a free confession of an irrepressible affection for him,
+and entreated him to marry her. Josefa, much annoyed at the incident,
+could only answer that it was impossible: for she had not confidence in
+the girl to trust her with her secret.</p>
+<p>The enraged girl, furious at the repulse, swore by Mahomet to be
+revenged; accordingly, no sooner was the master returned, than she went
+to him with every token of distress and indignation, and accused Pedro
+of abusing his power as steward of the house, and having sought to
+force her to marry him although she had resisted because he
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb86" href="#pb86" name=
+"pb86">86</a>]</span>was a Christian, and the law of Mahomet forbade
+such an union.</p>
+<p>The master, highly incensed at the perfidy of the slave he had
+treated with so much forbearance and indulgence, ordered him to be
+thrown into a dungeon and starved to death, without hearing any
+defence.</p>
+<p>Such would indeed have been Josefa’s fate, but that one of the
+slaves who respected her brought her daily the scanty means of
+subsistence she was able to secure. At the end of several days the
+master, coming to the dungeon to see what had befallen, was greatly
+provoked to find her not only alive but comparatively well, and took up
+a cord to administer summary chastisement.</p>
+<p>This indignity was more than Josefa could endure; to avert it, she
+begged him to listen to her; told him she could easily prove the
+falsity of the accusation under which she was suffering, seeing she was
+a woman.</p>
+<p>The master was delighted to hear the exculpation of his favourite
+slave, and immediately had her released and reinstated in her
+authority, and the shameless accuser consigned to the same prison.</p>
+<p>From this time he continued to extend his favour and confidence
+towards her: of all the people about him who shared his pleasures and
+his riches, she was the only one to whom he could talk <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb87" href="#pb87" name="pb87">87</a>]</span>of the
+absorbing agony of his soul, the remorse for having renounced his
+religion and become a renegade. The result was that he one day
+announced to her that he had made arrangements for realizing the
+greater part of his fortune, which he divided in two parts, one of
+which he bestowed on her; with the other he had resolved to go to Rome
+in pilgrimage and endow a shrine, where he would pass the remainder of
+his days in prayer and penance.</p>
+<p>He had found a merchant of his acquaintance who would take them in
+his ship to Alicante, whence he would start again for Rome, and Josefa
+would be free either to continue her journey thither or return to
+Valencia.</p>
+<p>Josefa’s desire of once more embracing her parents made her
+elect the latter course. Their plan was executed to the letter without
+hindrance.</p>
+<p>Arrived once more at Valencia, Josefa was not slow to find her way
+to her father’s palace. An old servant who had been in the house
+before she was born, and watched her grow up, opened the door, but did
+not recognize her, which she took for a presage that she might come
+unknown into her parents’ presence also.</p>
+<p>She found them seated side by side, and bewailing the loss of their
+only child.</p>
+<p>“I have come to tell you,” she broke in, “that
+your child is now in this very city; three years and <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb88" href="#pb88" name="pb88">88</a>]</span>a half
+she has been a captive slave in Tunis, though not serving as a slave,
+for she was absolute master of the household of her owner. And at the
+end of that time he gave her her liberty together with a large fortune
+in money.”</p>
+<p>“Oh, sir, tell us where is she!” ejaculated Don Juan
+Ramirez; “let our aged eyes rest on her again before we die, so
+shall we be consoled for our troubles!”</p>
+<p>Then Doña Josefa threw off her disguise, and falling on her
+knees before them, entreated their pardon for all her errors and all
+the anxiety she had given them.</p>
+<p>Having received that, she told them she had determined to pass the
+rest of her days in penitence in a convent, which she did with their
+hearty approval; and in this kind of life she spent many years,
+affording a lively and edifying example to all. And thus ended in peace
+the tragic adventures of Doña Josefa Ramirez y Marmolejo.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb89" href="#pb89" name=
+"pb89">89</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e1401" href="#xd21e1401src" name="xd21e1401">1</a></span>
+Ornamented iron-work in front of the lower windows of Spanish
+houses. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e1401src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e1417" href="#xd21e1417src" name="xd21e1417">2</a></span> A warm
+hunting-cap, with flaps to cover the forehead and ears, capable
+therefore of serving, in some sort, as a disguise. <a class=
+"fnarrow" href="#xd21e1417src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e1449" href="#xd21e1449src" name="xd21e1449">3</a></span> The
+Sevillians to the present day give a very bad character to the
+Valencians. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e1449src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e1532" href="#xd21e1532src" name="xd21e1532">4</a></span> A
+spreading vine, trained along a horizontal trellis, so as to form a
+shady arbour; an unfailing adjunct to most houses in the south of
+Spain. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e1532src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e1645" href="#xd21e1645src" name="xd21e1645">5</a></span>
+Blunderbuss. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e1645src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s7" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e245">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">THE STEEPLE OF COVEÑA.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">At a very little distance from Madrid you may already
+discern against the horizon the outline of the steeple of
+Coveña, which is one of the handsomest edifices of New Castile;
+and all the thitherward way it is before you, standing against the sky
+as a landmark to the traveller.</p>
+<p>The people are so proud of having a church which bears so unusual a
+proportion to the size of their village, that they will not allow it
+was designed by any architect of less renown than Juan de Herrera, the
+architect of the Escorial, whom another tradition declares to have had
+a hand in the works at St. Peter’s, in Rome.</p>
+<p>Nor are they satisfied with the mere statement; they are also very
+circumstantial in their account of his connexion with it, though both
+are declared to be quite apocryphal. They say he was so pleased with
+this work of his genius that he had it produced entirely under his own
+eye. He <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb90" href="#pb90" name=
+"pb90">90</a>]</span>watched while the foundations were laid, while the
+materials were collected round the spot, while every stone was laid in
+its place; in fact, he was never tired of looking at it: now he would
+take a long walk into the country to enjoy its appearance in the
+distant view; now he would stand in the <i>plaza</i> beneath, and gaze
+up at the storied decorations with which his fancy had invested it; now
+he would mount the interior staircase of the tower, and look down from
+the monument he had raised, upon the insignificant dwellings with which
+it was surrounded.</p>
+<p>On one of these latter expeditions he observed that he was one day
+followed by Andres, his son, a boy of some fifteen years of age. The
+circumstance pleased him, because he had noticed with growing sorrow
+that Andres on many occasions had failed to display that fearless
+disposition which is the characteristic of a brave and generous spirit.
+Through an opening in the tracery he turned to watch, from a higher
+stage, the boy’s proceedings. For a certain distance he mounted
+steadily enough, but in proportion as he got higher and had completed
+more turnings, giddiness seemed to overcome him. Juan de Herrera began
+to lose patience. The boy wiped the perspiration from his forehead, and
+sat down in a recess. Herrera felt so provoked that he could not
+restrain an impetuous movement; slight as was the attendant
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb91" href="#pb91" name=
+"pb91">91</a>]</span>noise, it struck upon the boy’s excited
+nerves; he started from his resting-place, trembling like an aspen
+leaf.</p>
+<p>“What’s the matter, Andres, my boy?” cried his
+father, to reassure him: “it is only I, your father.”</p>
+<p>“I’m all right!” replied Andres, ashamed to be
+caught under a display of weakness.</p>
+<p>“Then come on, boy; and don’t sit panting like a
+broken-winded horse. There, put your head out of that slit in the wall,
+and look down and see what a fine height I have made this tower.
+You’ll see Dolores and Pepito and Luis and Mariquilla playing in
+the <i>plaza</i>, and they will look like ants from this high
+tower.”</p>
+<p>Andres somewhat recovered from his exertions and his alarm, and,
+curious to see his playmates looking “like ants,” summoned
+sufficient courage to put his head through the loophole.</p>
+<p>For the first time the boy experienced the effect of the giddy
+height; he hung back and turned pale, then pressed his hands against
+the wall for support.</p>
+<p>“Coward! you don’t mean to say you are afraid!”
+exclaimed Juan de Herrera.</p>
+<p>“Oh—no—I’m not afraid,” stammered poor
+Andres, making a convulsive effort to look out through the slit once
+more.</p>
+<p>This time he remained so long opposite the opening and so steadily,
+that his father hoped he <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb92" href=
+"#pb92" name="pb92">92</a>]</span>had got over the first fears; but,
+watching him anxiously, he observed, as he at length turned away, that
+he had his eyes closed.</p>
+<p>Indignant that <i>his</i> son should not have as robust courage as
+the peasant boys of the village, and still more that he should not be
+in a condition to enjoy his favourite structure, Juan de Herrera,
+unable to master his irritation, loaded the boy with reproaches; and
+Andres slunk away, grieved at having distressed his father, yet unable
+to summon courage sufficient to satisfy his wishes.</p>
+<p>Some days after this, the consecration of the church took place, and
+the municipal functionaries invited the architect and his son to a
+banquet on the occasion, at which were assembled all the notabilities
+of the place, as well as many from neighbouring villages, and even from
+Madrid. Juan de Herrera deemed, with more zeal than judgment, that this
+would be a favourable opportunity for curing his son of his weakness,
+and to effect this narrated to the company the circumstance stated
+above.</p>
+<p>“Father, it was a passing folly,” cried the boy, burning
+with shame; “give me an opportunity, and I will show you that I
+do not deserve your opinion.”</p>
+<p>There was a pause, for the boy spoke with such thrilling earnestness
+that the smile of derision which had been raised at his expense died
+away from every lip. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb93" href="#pb93"
+name="pb93">93</a>]</span></p>
+<p>“The <i lang="es">galera</i><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e1756src" href="#xd21e1756" name="xd21e1756src">1</a> has just
+brought down the cross and ball for the summit of the steeple,”
+continued Andres; “let me go up and place it, and I shall have
+had the merit of crowning your work.”</p>
+<p>“You will never dare it!” answered Juan de Herrera
+contemptuously.</p>
+<p>“Let me show you I am not so bad,” pleaded Andres.</p>
+<p>“Bear in mind, boy, that if your courage fails when you get to
+<i>that</i> height it will cost you your life.”</p>
+<p>“Don’t be afraid; my courage will not be wanting,”
+replied Andres.</p>
+<p>“Be it so then,” rejoined Juan de Herrera;
+“to-morrow you shall show what you are worth,” and he
+clasped the boy’s hand to encourage him in his courageous
+resolution, and all round the table applauded his pluck.</p>
+<p>The next morning found all who were at the banquet, and many more
+whose curiosity the report of the story had excited, gathered in the
+<i>plaza</i> round the Church of Coveña. There at the foot of
+the steeple lay shining the huge cross and ball, newly clad with
+gilding and bound with strong ropes, by means of which it was to be
+hoisted over the ready adjusted pulleys into its place. <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb94" href="#pb94" name="pb94">94</a>]</span></p>
+<p>“If you don’t feel up to the mark, you had better give
+in, even now!” whispered Juan de Herrera, under the porch.
+“It is still time; and, mind, it is no easy task!”</p>
+<p>“My head is quite steady,” answered Andres, piqued to
+find his father still doubted his daring; and, his head erect, without
+waiting to hear another word of warning, he commenced the ascent of the
+spiral stair at a rapid pace.</p>
+<p>Not altogether free from uneasiness, Juan de Herrera went out to
+watch the result from the stone cross in the centre of the
+<i>plaza</i>. The whole crowd was nearly as breathless and anxious as
+the father, but before two minutes had elapsed Andres was seen emerging
+from behind one of the pinnacles of a platform, level with the beam on
+which the bell had been hung a few days before.</p>
+<p>A shudder seized the throng, for some one whispered that he had
+heard the bell sound as the youth passed by, and the rest took up the
+words and repeated under their breath with superstitious terror,
+“<i lang="es">La campana ha tocado á muerto</i><a class=
+"noteref" id="xd21e1792src" href="#xd21e1792" name=
+"xd21e1792src">2</a>!”</p>
+<p>Herrera, meantime, stood leaning against the cross a little way from
+the crowd, and too much absorbed to catch the report. He seemed quite
+tranquil and had heard no sound.</p>
+<p>Most probably the lad had touched the clapper as he passed it.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb95" href="#pb95" name=
+"pb95">95</a>]</span></p>
+<p>Meantime Andres was steadily mounting a step-ladder placed on the
+roof by which the final stage was to be reached, and from the steps was
+engaged in arranging the support that was to receive the ball.</p>
+<p>The workmen below were drawing the pulleys, and the ornament had
+nearly reached the summit; as it rose, Andres had to mount two steps
+more. He raised his foot, but his courage failed.</p>
+<p>“My son is lost, for he hesitates!” cried the
+terror-stricken father, in a hoarse voice.</p>
+<p>The multitude took up the cry; but, simultaneously with its
+utterance, the luckless boy was precipitated to the ground, dashing
+against one of the buttresses as he fell.</p>
+<hr class="tb">
+<p>Juan de Herrera, adds the tradition, was never seen to smile
+again.</p>
+<hr class="tb">
+<p>One day he went up to the top of the lantern of St. Lorenzo of the
+Escorial, and gazed over towards Coveña. It seemed to him that
+he saw two fiery eyes glaring upon him from the steeple which had once
+been his pride.</p>
+<p>Eight days after he was found a corpse. It was the anniversary of
+the death of his son. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb96" href="#pb96"
+name="pb96">96</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e1756" href="#xd21e1756src" name="xd21e1756">1</a></span> A large
+covered waggon drawn by mules, in which luggage and passengers were
+conveyed together in Spain. Still in use in out-of-the-way
+places. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e1756src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e1792" href="#xd21e1792src" name="xd21e1792">2</a></span> The bell
+tolled a death knell. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e1792src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s8" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e252">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">ANOTHER FAIR MAID OF ZARAGOZA.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">The title of the courageous maid who helped to defend
+the walls of her native Zaragoza against the assault of the French
+invaders, has already become a household word among us. The troubles of
+the early part of Queen Isabella’s reign elicited another
+instance of feminine constancy, which has likewise received its tribute
+of local celebration, though exhibited in a more confined and womanly
+sphere.</p>
+<p>Two sisters, Jacinta and Isabella, lived in Zaragoza with their
+brother, Don Froilan. Among their acquaintance were two intimate
+friends, Don Pablo and Don Matias, who both held commissions in the
+National Militia. Don Matias was a handsome, generous young man, and a
+general favourite, but also somewhat light-hearted and unscrupulous.
+Don Pablo, on the other hand, was of a more solid, thoughtful
+character, rather respected after long acquaintance than liked at first
+sight. Now <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb97" href="#pb97" name=
+"pb97">97</a>]</span>the characters of the two sisters, Jacinta and
+Isabella, were very much like those of their two friends; Jacinta being
+light and thoughtless, and Isabella steady and reflective; yet in spite
+of this, Don Pablo was more fascinated by Jacinta’s brilliant
+qualities than by Isabella’s good and careful ways; while
+Isabella’s good sense had taught her to prefer such a character
+as Don Pablo’s. And it was with a bleeding heart she saw it
+agreed between him and her giddy sister that they were to be united for
+ever. Her sisterly affection, however, forbid her to do more than sigh
+in secret, and sigh she did many a day; not only for her own loss, but
+for Don Pablo, whom she sincerely respected. For her light-hearted
+sister, in spite of her engagement to him, used to continue to be very
+merry with Don Matias too.</p>
+<p>Just before the day appointed for the wedding, an <i lang=
+"fr">émeute</i> broke out at some little distance, and the
+Zaragoza Militia was ordered out to quell the disturbance. The world of
+Zaragoza turned out to see the military array; and Don Froilan took his
+sisters on to the Cosa<a class="noteref" id="xd21e1834src" href=
+"#xd21e1834" name="xd21e1834src">1</a>, along with the rest; and while
+Jacinta chatted merrily with both Don Pablo and Don Matias, as if they
+were going out to <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb98" href="#pb98"
+name="pb98">98</a>]</span>a review instead of to fight, Isabella,
+impressed with the danger of the situation, and the chance of never
+seeing her dear friend again, could hardly bring herself to bid them
+adieu.</p>
+<p>Time passed on, and no certain tidings came of the fate of the two
+officers. Every day there were conflicting reports, but nothing
+reliable as to individual results.</p>
+<p>At last a day came when the Zaragoza regiment returned, covered with
+laurels and with hardly any losses from its ranks.</p>
+<p>The Cosa was thronged with people welcoming the safe return of their
+fellow townsmen. Jacinta was soon in earnest conversation with Don
+Matias, while Isabella leant against a tree for support, as her gazing
+eyes vainly sought Don Pablo.</p>
+<p>Soon the truth was learnt from Don Matias. After waiting about in
+the cover of houses and trees and hillocks for the insurgents for some
+time, they had come to an open engagement with them, in which they were
+in a short time entirely routed by the gallant Militia, who came off
+with only two killed and half a dozen wounded—but one of those
+two left for dead on the field was no other than Don Pablo! It needed
+all Isabella’s fortitude and self-command to avoid showing
+greater agony at this announcement than was consistent with her having
+no nearer tie than that of an intended sister-in-law, <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb99" href="#pb99" name="pb99">99</a>]</span>while
+Jacinta, who had no self-control, burst into a fearful excitement of
+grief.</p>
+<p>Taking Isabella’s assumed calmness of manner for indifference
+towards the absent, the young officer within a few hours of his return
+began paying her attentions. Jacinta’s jealousy at this quenched
+all her light grief for Don Pablo, and Don Matias soon found that his
+suit would have far more chance of fortune with <i>her</i>. With
+characteristic fickleness he lost no time in urging it in the quarter
+where it met with favour, and pushed it so warmly that their marriage
+was fixed for an early day, being but a month from that on which Don
+Pablo was believed to have fallen.</p>
+<p>To faithful Isabella’s intense disgust, not only was the
+wedding so hurried on, but all Zaragoza was invited to a grand ball to
+celebrate the occasion. Dressed in deep mourning she refused to have
+any thing to do with the festivity; but, on the contrary, ordered a
+funeral service to be celebrated in the church to the memory of her
+lost hero.</p>
+<p>It was just at this juncture, while the music of the
+marriage-ball<a class="noteref" id="xd21e1861src" href="#xd21e1861"
+name="xd21e1861src">2</a> was sounding merrily through the open windows
+of Don Froilan’s house, and the solemn <i lang=
+"es">doble</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e1866src" href="#xd21e1866"
+name="xd21e1866src">3</a> was ringing from a neighbouring church, that
+Don Pablo, healed of his wounds, and <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb100" href="#pb100" name="pb100">100</a>]</span>choosing the cool of
+the evening for his journey, came through the streets of Zaragoza, well
+wrapt up in his military cloak, intending to make straight for the
+house of his affianced bride. He stopped, however, at the
+<i>barbiere’s</i> to have his hair and beard, long neglected
+during the campaign, made presentable. The <i lang="es">barbiere</i> is
+an institution in Spain which almost supplies the place of an English
+club. Men go in to submit to the barber’s attentions, and while
+they are under his hands, or waiting their turn, they have leisure to
+discuss with each other the news and gossip of the day.</p>
+<p>Don Pablo was, as we have said, a serious man; his habits were
+reserved and homely, he had never cared for the barber’s gossip,
+and his habit had been to manage his shaving arrangements at home, so
+he was no acquaintance of the barber. Accordingly, he came in on this
+occasion unrecognized.</p>
+<p>“Strange are the vicissitudes of human life!” he
+exclaimed, as he seated himself in the barber’s chair—for
+he was somewhat of a philosopher. “Marriage-music and
+funeral-bells sounding at the same time—what a strange
+lesson!”</p>
+<p>“Stranger still,” broke in the prattling barber,
+“if your worship knew what reference each bears to the same
+person!”</p>
+<p>“To the same person!” rejoined Don Pablo; “how can
+that possibly be?” <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb101" href=
+"#pb101" name="pb101">101</a>]</span></p>
+<p>“Why, the bells are for a funeral service for a distinguished
+officer, lost in the late encounter; and the merry music is for the
+marriage of his betrothed to a brother-officer!”</p>
+<p>Don Pablo started as if he had been shot. The barber noticed his
+emotion. “Your worship doubtless knows the officer of whom I
+speak,” replied the barber.</p>
+<p>“Ye—es, I do—o!” stammered Don Pablo,
+relieved to find the barber had not hit nearer the mark. “You
+speak of Don Pablo, of course?”</p>
+<p>“Of course I do!” exclaimed the barber; “no one
+has spoken of any one else these last days. And here come some of his
+friends round the corner; if you want to hear them speak of him you
+have only to listen. I’ll warrant he is the subject of their
+talk.”</p>
+<p>“I should like to hear what they say,” said Don Pablo,
+whose curiosity was strongly excited by these revelations about
+himself; “but it might embarrass them to see so near a friend to
+him as I was, here.”</p>
+<p>“Step to this unlighted window, and you will hear all without
+being seen.”</p>
+<p>Don Pablo did as he was bid, and readily distinguished a group of
+his acquaintances, with Don Froilan in their midst, standing at the
+barber’s door, lighting their cigars<a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e1901src" href="#xd21e1901" name="xd21e1901src">4</a>.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb102" href="#pb102" name=
+"pb102">102</a>]</span></p>
+<p>“How now, Don Froilan!” exclaimed Don Lupercio; “a
+ball at your own house in honour of your sister’s wedding, and
+you out here!”</p>
+<p>(“Ah, poor fellow!” said Don Pablo to himself, “he
+won’t countenance his sister’s fickleness. He was always a
+great friend of mine.”)</p>
+<p>“Why, to tell you the truth,” replied Don Froilan,
+“the first part of a ball is always dull work. I have set them
+going, and I’m off to the opera. I always enjoy the second act of
+an opera; it’s the cream of the whole. I shall just skim that
+off, and then run back to the best of the ball.”</p>
+<p>(“So,” said Don Pablo, sadly, “this is the man I
+have so often helped through his difficulties! And I really thought he
+cared for me!”)</p>
+<p>“Now, really!” said Don Mariano, “I thought you
+were going to say that you had come out to attend the funeral service
+for your friend Don Pablo——”</p>
+<p>(“Ah, yes, that would have been more like a friend!”
+sighed Don Pablo.)</p>
+<p>“A—a—funeral service? no—no, I’m not
+fond of that sort of thing, it’s so melancholy! And then
+what’s the use—if the fellow died, as I’ve no
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb103" href="#pb103" name=
+"pb103">103</a>]</span>doubt he did, without so much as saying an
+‘Our Father,’ what’s the use of praying for
+him?”</p>
+<p>(“The atrocious calumny!” exclaimed Don Pablo;
+“and not one of them to say a word in my defence!”)</p>
+<p>An awkward pause ensued, which was broken by the gallant young Don
+Antonio: “And while we are wasting our time here, your sisters
+are dancing away and charming every one, as usual!”</p>
+<p>(“Dancing away while the church bells are tolling for poor
+me!”)</p>
+<p>“My sisters—eh? No—o, not exactly; that is, only
+one of them. Jacinta is dancing, of course; but
+Isabella—a—won’t—a—come in. I believe
+she’s gone to the church instead.”</p>
+<p>(“So, indeed, there’s one of them at least who
+hasn’t forgotten me! And one, too, whose remembrance is more
+worth having than all the others’ put together!”)</p>
+<p>“Indeed!” replied Don Lupercio; “but I thought it
+was the other sister who had been more attached to him.”</p>
+<p>“Attached? ah, yes—in one way; that is, she was engaged
+to him; but as to attachment, that is, of the heart—between you
+and me—it was Isabella who cared for him. Jacinta, you see, only
+wanted to be married, and Don Matias will do just as well for
+that—ha, ha, ha!”</p>
+<p>“You don’t surprise me,” responded young Don
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb104" href="#pb104" name=
+"pb104">104</a>]</span>Antonio, who generally knew which way the
+ladies’ inclination turned. “Something of this I suspected
+too.”</p>
+<p>“And I,” added Don Mariano.</p>
+<p>(“Fool that I was!” growled Don Pablo; “all these
+butterflies saw it, and I never ventured to think of it! I looked on
+her as a priestess, a goddess—I never ventured to think of her in
+any other way. She was always so grand and grave; and Jacinta was so
+accessible.”)</p>
+<p>“But, good evening, gentlemen! I shall really miss the opera,
+if I stand chatting any longer,” broke in Don Froilan.</p>
+<p>They dispersed: Don Froilan bending his steps towards the opera, and
+the rest towards the ball-room. Meantime, sadly veiled in black, and
+attended by Ramon, the old and trusty family-servant, Isabella crossed
+the street, and entered the church as the last tolls were sounding.</p>
+<p>“There she goes to pray for me—it is true
+enough!—while others are dancing!” exclaimed Don Pablo,
+rapturously. “But I’ll have my joke with Don Froilan
+yet.”</p>
+<p>“Barber!” he cried, “send me a notary, quick!
+I’ve some important business which must be transacted
+instantly.”</p>
+<p>“On the instant, your worship!” replied the barber.
+“There is one lodging, luckily, in the sixth floor of this very
+house.” <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb105" href="#pb105" name=
+"pb105">105</a>]</span></p>
+<p>Ten minutes’ conference with the notary settled the affair.
+Then he bid him run with the paper to Don Froilan’s box at the
+theatre<a class="noteref" id="xd21e1964src" href="#xd21e1964" name=
+"xd21e1964src">5</a>, and took up his station again at the window, to
+have the happiness of seeing Isabella once more as she came out of the
+church, and also to take the chance of enjoying the effect of the paper
+he had sent to Don Froilan. Nor did he wait long. In less time than he
+would have thought possible, Don Froilan came running out of the opera,
+hurrying to take his place at the funeral service, and give a public
+token of his attention to the deceased. But the doors were closed, and
+Don Pablo’s thoughts were diverted from her brother by the sight
+of Isabella, pale and haggard, her eyes worn with tears, coming out of
+the church, leaning on Ramon’s arm.</p>
+<p>“What! is it too late?” cried Don Froilan, stumbling
+against her on the steps in the dark. “Oh dear, how hard! and I
+made such haste to come!”</p>
+<p>“But why this sudden haste, brother?” replied Isabella,
+contemptuously. “This morning you chid me for disturbing the
+ball!”</p>
+<p>“Hush, child! if I did it, it was to please Jacinta—it
+was quite, quite against my own inclination. Oh, why wasn’t I by
+to assist him in his last moments?”</p>
+<p>“But why all this sudden grief now?” <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb106" href="#pb106" name="pb106">106</a>]</span></p>
+<p>“Sudden! it’s not sudden; you know I always loved him as
+a brother; and here’s the proof of how well he loved me. A notary
+has just brought me a will he left with him before he went to the war,
+constituting me his heir to all he had, dear fellow!”</p>
+<p>Isabella pushed by him with a movement of disdain, which perfectly
+delighted Don Pablo, and made her way mournfully into the house,
+attended as before by Ramon.</p>
+<p>Don Pablo lost little time in following her. Who could be proof
+against so much constancy? If he had looked on her as an inaccessible
+divinity before, he felt sufficient encouragement now to tell her that
+he thought so.</p>
+<p>The faithful Ramon was very ready to lend his assistance, and Don
+Pablo having taken him into confidence he dexterously managed to break
+the good news of his resurrection to his young mistress, who consented
+to come down to the ball-room and confront her brother and sister on
+Don Pablo’s presenting himself there too. The consternation
+caused by his appearance was of course very great. Some of the ladies
+nearly fainted. Don Froilan guessed the trap he had fallen into, and
+turned away to cover his shame as well as disappointment at the loss of
+the inheritance. Jacinta and Matias hid their faces behind her fan;
+while Isabella and Pablo joined their loving hands amid the joyful
+congratulations of their assembled friends. <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb107" href="#pb107" name="pb107">107</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e1834" href="#xd21e1834src" name="xd21e1834">1</a></span> In some
+parts of Spain where there is no arena for the bull fights, they are
+held in some large open space, called a <i>Cosa</i>. The Cosa at
+Zaragoza is a broad open street of the best houses, planted with
+trees. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e1834src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e1861" href="#xd21e1861src" name="xd21e1861">2</a></span>
+Marriages are celebrated in the evening in Spain. <a class=
+"fnarrow" href="#xd21e1861src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e1866" href="#xd21e1866src" name="xd21e1866">3</a></span>
+Toll—for a funeral service. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e1866src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e1901" href="#xd21e1901src" name="xd21e1901">4</a></span> Every
+one smokes at all hours in Spain. It is the custom at many
+barbers’ and tobacconists’ shops to have a piece of lighted
+<i lang="es">mecha</i>, or plaited tow, hanging outside the door for
+the convenience of their customers, who may want to light their
+cigars. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e1901src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e1964" href="#xd21e1964src" name="xd21e1964">5</a></span> It is a
+common custom in Spain to receive friends, and even transact business
+in your box at the theatre. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e1964src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s9" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e259">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">JUANITA THE BALD;<br>
+OR,<br>
+A DAUGHTER’S LOVE.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">There lived once upon a time on the banks of the Tagus
+a poor shepherd named Juan; and he was as honest as he was poor, and as
+contented as he was honest. He had just enough wages to buy the coarse
+meal which supported him and his hard-working wife, Consolacion. A
+<i lang="es">zamarra</i>, or suit of rough sheepskin, which served to
+keep out the cold for several years together, was afforded him from the
+flock, and with weaving and knitting Consolacion provided the rest of
+their scanty wardrobe.</p>
+<p>Now Juan had a large flock confided to his care, and his master
+reposed entire trust in him; but if he never had the provocation of
+being looked after, neither had he ever the satisfaction of being
+praised. Yet, notwithstanding this lack of all earthly stimulus, Juan
+was always faithful to his trust: no sheep ever strayed that he did not
+seek out over <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb108" href="#pb108" name=
+"pb108">108</a>]</span>the barren waste and the steep mountain-side; no
+little lamb was ever left by any sad accident without its dam, but he
+brought it home to Consolacion, and the honest pair reared it as
+tenderly as if it had been their own infant.</p>
+<p>But if Juan’s master neglected to commend his integrity, there
+was One who did not forget him, but kept a just account of all his
+actions. Thus it chanced one day, when after a long drought the herbage
+was dried up, and he had had endless trouble in keeping his flock
+together, as the poor things would wander hither and thither while
+seeking pasture, that at last he got led away far from home, along a
+wild path he had never trodden before, and the country all around him
+looked strange, and yet there was the track of his runaway sheep before
+him, and on and on he went. The way was sandy, and the sun was fierce,
+and at last his strength failed him; footsore and dispirited he sank
+down at the foot of a tree, whose shelter he vainly sought, as its
+foliage had long been burnt up by the parching sun, and only the
+bleached trunk and thirsty branches remained. Half maddened with thirst
+and heat, he fell into a sort of trance, and he thought he saw an
+ancient hermit of severe aspect standing before him, who chid him that
+he lay there taking his rest while his master’s sheep were
+astray, calling him only a <i lang="es">zagal</i> (or shepherd’s
+helper). <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb109" href="#pb109" name=
+"pb109">109</a>]</span></p>
+<p>Juan did not lose his temper at the reprimand, but meekly begged
+forgiveness, and endeavoured to rise that he might get him upon his way
+again. His strength failed him, however, and he sank once more upon the
+ground. Then, in the place of the hermit, he saw before him a beautiful
+child with a shepherd’s crook in his hand, and carrying a lamb in
+his bosom, who told him to be comforted, for he had found his sheep,
+and fed them, and led them safely home to the fold. He commended too
+his faithful service, and told him that he was come to offer him a
+reward, and gave him the choice of three. The first was a large sum of
+money, with which he could go down to one of the rich seaports of Spain
+and trade. The second was a grand castle in the mountains, where he
+would have ease and luxury and plenty of retainers to do his bidding.
+The third was to retain his present humble condition, while to his
+hearth was added the presence of a gentle daughter.</p>
+<p>Then honest Juan did not hesitate which to choose. “Give me
+not money,” said he, “for money begets covetousness, and
+<i lang="es">codicia rompe el saco</i><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2013src" href="#xd21e2013" name="xd21e2013src">1</a>. Give me not
+power, for I was not born to it, and the proverb of our forefathers
+says, A fallen rich man may make a good master, but not an enriched
+poor man (<i lang="es">Sierve á un rico empobrecido y no
+á un pobre enriquecido</i>). But give me—oh, give me
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb110" href="#pb110" name=
+"pb110">110</a>]</span>a child to love me in my old age! I am but a
+poor, worthless servant to ask this thing—nevertheless, it is the
+bounty of God.”</p>
+<p>When Juan woke to consciousness, the great heat of the day had
+passed away, and his shaggy dog was licking his face, as if to warn him
+that he had but little time to get home before dark. Trusting to the
+animal’s sagacity for guidance, he soon found his way home, where
+the sheep were safely folded, as the beautiful shepherd-child had
+promised, and Consolacion was waiting on the threshold of the hut, to
+welcome him home to supper.</p>
+<p>To his other virtues Juan added humility, and, indeed, without it
+they would have been of little value; and it seemed so much like vanity
+to talk of his vision that he never mentioned a word of it, till it
+slipped off his tongue unawares years after. Nevertheless, before a
+twelvemonth was out, a dear little baby was found in
+Consolacion’s arms, completing their simple happiness.</p>
+<p>Juanita (little Janey)—so they called her—was beautiful
+as a child of promise should be, but her chief glory was the rich
+profusion of waving hair which covered her like a veil, and rested
+gracefully on the ground as she knelt in prayer. She grew up the joy of
+her parents, and being very docile soon learnt all the domestic arts of
+her mother, and was never so happy as when she was relieving her of her
+household cares. If they had any thing <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb111" href="#pb111" name="pb111">111</a>]</span>to complain of with
+her it was that she had quite a passion for admiring her beautiful
+hair; and when she was sent to the fountain she would sometimes waste
+hours looking at herself, and arranging it according to various
+fancies. But when her mother looked grave on her return, it was quite
+sufficient to keep her from offending so again for many days.</p>
+<p>Thus many years of tranquil, homely joy passed away. Peace and
+gladness is not of long continuance in this world for the good, and
+Juan’s time of trouble was at hand. First, it pleased Providence
+to take Consolacion to Himself; then, as a result of much weeping over
+her, and his great privations and long exposure to sun and weather, his
+eyes grew dim, and then his sight failed him entirely. Then the old
+dog, by whose help he still managed to keep the sheep together, in
+spite of his blindness, died too; and he was of no use any longer as a
+shepherd, and he had nothing left to him but Juanita. Juanita, it is
+true, fulfilled all a daughter’s part, and by her industry
+supported him above actual want.</p>
+<p>But her little head was always running on how his sight could be
+regained; and one day she revealed the result of her cogitations.
+“Father dear, do not all the wise people live in great cities?
+Let us now get us down to prosperous Segovia, or noble Toledo, or
+beautiful Sevilla, and let us find <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb112"
+href="#pb112" name="pb112">112</a>]</span>some of the cunning men to
+heal of whom we have heard, and get you back your sight.”</p>
+<p>But Juan lacked the courage to undertake so great a journey and
+expose his little daughter to all the attendant risks by the way; and
+he was a man of great patience to endure what the Lord sent; and so
+they remained in the mountain-hut for five years more. By that time
+Juanita was fifteen, and quite a little woman, and her advice began to
+have the weight of a woman’s authority with her father, and at
+last she got him to consent to her often-urged prayer that they should
+journey to seek a doctor.</p>
+<p>Juanita’s ears had been ever open to learn every story of
+healing from every traveller who chanced to pass their cot, and in this
+way she had learnt the fame of a certain Jew mediciner, who dwelt at
+Toledo, and to Toledo therefore she was bent on directing their
+steps.</p>
+<p>A beautiful sight it was to see the venerable old man leaning his
+hand, withered with honest labour, on the silken tresses of his
+courageous child. The way was long, but there was no lack of
+hospitality; the admiration of the peasants they passed was every where
+kindled by Juan’s patience and Juanita’s devotion, and a
+bite and a sup never failed them. At last they came to Toledo; and in a
+great city it was not so easy to find shelter, but God warmed to them
+the heart of an old woman <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb113" href=
+"#pb113" name="pb113">113</a>]</span>who had herself suffered and
+learnt compassion by suffering; she gave them a bed, and
+Juanita’s busy fingers, before long, provided means of
+subsistence.</p>
+<p>Her next care was to make out the Hebrew doctor, which was not of
+the easiest, as those of his race were scarcely tolerated, and did not
+care to make themselves ostensible. However, a daughter’s love
+overcomes all obstacles, and at last she found the means to bring her
+father before the wise man. Imagine her joy, when after all her
+labours, he pronounces with confidence that he <i>can</i> restore her
+father’s sight! For a moment of joy, a twelve-month of anxiety,
+however. In another minute she has learnt that he demands 500 maravedis
+for the cure!</p>
+<p>“Abate something for charity? What! charity to a dog of a
+Christian! Why, it was enough that he soiled his fingers with healing
+him, but to forego his pitiful fee too,—never! by the Holy City,
+never!”</p>
+<p>Juanita could speak no word more for tears. In silence she placed
+her father’s hand on her glittering hair, and in sadness guided
+his weak footsteps back to their poor shelter.</p>
+<p>Hard work it had been to provide subsistence for them both, and to
+make a little extra to have something to offer to the lone widow, who
+had taken them in—but how hope ever to make up 500 <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb114" href="#pb114" name=
+"pb114">114</a>]</span>maravedis? If in the first days of their arrival
+she had wasted some precious hours over her old favourite pastime of
+arranging her luxuriant tresses, and had taken pleasure when people
+called out in admiration—all that was gone by now. She sat at her
+little loom, work, work, work!—she never took her hands off,
+never lifted her eyes, never even saw that the barber who lived
+opposite was constantly gazing upon her. The only thing to cheer her
+was the placid voice of Juan, who would continually bid her be of good
+comfort and put her trust in God.</p>
+<p>One day, in the midst of her toil, there came a messenger from the
+Corregidor of the city. His aunt had died that day, and as she died
+unmarried, a procession of girls equal in number to the years of her
+life must follow her to the grave, draped in white. She numbered eighty
+years, and Juanita was required to make up the eightieth attendant.
+Juanita could not say “Nay,” even though it cost her such
+precious hours.</p>
+<p>When she came into the hall where the mourners were assembled she
+found to her no slight disgust that the dress she had to wear consisted
+in part of a great white hood. It was hard, on the only day she
+suffered herself to part from her work, to have to cover up her
+glorious hair! At all events, till the procession began to move she
+would throw it back. She did so, and it made her look the picture
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb115" href="#pb115" name=
+"pb115">115</a>]</span>of an angel, as it fell in rich curls over the
+white dress. At the same moment the Corregidor’s wife passed
+through the hall. Though younger than her defunct sister-in-law she had
+arrived at that age when nature sometimes thinks it right to withdraw
+her gift of hair, and sorely did she lament the loss. For a long time
+past she had left an order with a clever barber of the city to
+manufacture her a wig which should make good the defect, and he was to
+swear it was no dead person’s hair. She had a superstition that
+in wearing the hair of a dead person, you assumed the responsibility of
+all their sins, and, the good lady being sufficiently satisfied with
+her own position in the scale of grace, had no desire to run the risk
+of getting a worse one, even for the sake of the coveted wig. But a wig
+made of the hair of a living person was not an order easy to execute.
+The moment her eyes fell on Juanita’s magnificent <i lang=
+"es">cabellera</i> (head of hair) she determined that it should not be
+long before it should decorate her own head.</p>
+<p>Accordingly, she hastened to call the Corregidor aside and assure
+him he must procure it for her. The Corregidor knowing the attachment a
+maiden was likely to have for such an adornment, endeavoured to
+convince her of the impossibility of the task. All was of no use, save
+to render her more resolute. The Corregidor knew that in disputes with
+his wife he always had to give in at <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb116" href="#pb116" name="pb116">116</a>]</span>last, and so, to
+pacify her, promised he would do his best, and to satisfy her that he
+did so the interview was arranged to take place in her presence.</p>
+<p>The funeral was no sooner over than the Corregidor beckoned Juanita
+to follow him into his wife’s room.</p>
+<p>Poor little Juanita never thought of resisting an order from so
+great a functionary, but tripped along lightly behind him.</p>
+<p>What was her surprise to find herself severely chid for wasting the
+time she might spend in working for her father in the vanity of decking
+out her hair! Juanita did not grow angry, or deny her fault, but could
+not forbear asking, with great simplicity, “Was it her fault if
+God had given her a great mass of hair to comb out?”</p>
+<p>“Not your fault at all, my dear child,” said the
+Corregidor, much relieved to find she took his admonitions so meekly.
+“Not your fault at all, so long as you keep it on your head; but
+you might cut it all off.”</p>
+<p>“Cut it off!” repeated poor Juanita, mechanically;
+“what would be the use of that?”</p>
+<p>“Why, you might sell it, child. I myself would give you fifty
+maravedis for it.”</p>
+<p>“Give me fifty maravedis for it!” exclaimed the child,
+wondering what he could possibly want it for.</p>
+<p>The Corregidor, fancying her surprise was dictated by indignation at
+the smallness of his <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb117" href="#pb117"
+name="pb117">117</a>]</span>offer, and incited by a gesture from his
+wife, impatient lest she should lose the prize, hastened to reply,
+“Well, if that does not content you, I’ll give you 100
+maravedis.”</p>
+<p>But Juanita’s astonishment only increased; so she stared at
+him instead of answering.</p>
+<p>“I’d even say 150,” continued the Corregidor.</p>
+<p>But Juanita only looked the more surprised. And so they went on, his
+anxiety bidding against her bewilderment, till at last he got up to 500
+maravedis!</p>
+<p>“500 maravedis!” echoed the child, as if waking from a
+trance at the words which brought back to memory the fee required to
+restore her father’s sight. “Oh, yes! give me 500
+maravedis, it is all yours at <i>that</i>!” And then the thought
+of her great loss made her burst into a flood of tears. It was a
+thought which for a moment almost overpowered her strong sense of
+filial piety, and in the depth of her little heart she half wished the
+Corregidor would repent of his bargain. But no such luck; at her first
+sign of yielding the lady had run off to fetch her largest scissors,
+and in a trice she had begun shearing at the glittering spoil. Down the
+bright silken masses fell on the snowy drapery, and beside them fell
+the child’s pearly tears over her lost treasure. At last the
+sacrifice was complete; and poor Juanita stood in the midst of the ruin
+more dead than alive. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb118" href=
+"#pb118" name="pb118">118</a>]</span></p>
+<p>Then the Corregidor counted into her lap the promised sum, and the
+reckoning once more woke a sensation of joy. Wrapping her hood close
+round her, Juanita lost not a moment in flying to conduct her father to
+the house of the Jew.</p>
+<p>Her thoughts were now entirely fixed on the moment of his
+restoration, but even this thought was embittered by the reflection
+that his one reason for desiring to have his sight back was to look on
+her—and she was no longer what she had been!</p>
+<p>The strange alteration in her appearance soon got whispered about
+among the neighbours; and she got so much stared at that she never
+ventured into the street but when forced by sheer necessity, and then
+she ran along, looking neither to the right hand nor the left, and not
+even perceiving how considerately her opposite neighbour the barber
+followed her steps, and defended her from the rudeness of the street
+boys.</p>
+<p>At last her father’s tedious cure was completed, and she was
+admitted to see him. Some one had, unperceived by her, followed her
+respectfully all the way, ready to protect her at all hazards. In the
+<i lang="es">zaguan</i> (sort of vestibule) of the Jew’s house
+this faithful follower confronted her, and she recognized the gallant
+barber at once. Gently pushing back her hood he substituted another
+covering for her head. Juanita put up her hand, and, to her surprise,
+found it tangled in the masses of <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb119"
+href="#pb119" name="pb119">119</a>]</span>her own rich hair! She
+stroked it with both hands, and found it all there, just as if by
+enchantment. Finding her dumb with astonishment, the barber hastened to
+explain that the wife of the Corregidor having sent the hair to him to
+make up, he had resolved no one should wear it but herself, and for the
+Corregidora he had put together the best match he could from the store
+he kept by him for such purposes. They were now interrupted by a
+summons from the Jew, who was ready to remove Juan’s bandages.
+They no sooner reached the room where he was, than he ran and clasped
+Juanita in his arms, exclaiming, “God be praised that I can see
+you, my child—a few years’ blindness are well repaid when
+it is reserved to one to see such a daughter as you!” Then,
+perceiving the barber, he embraced him too, and said, “God be
+praised for my sight! since I can now work for my living again, and
+repay you, my benefactor, for well I know, though I would never tell
+Juanita to increase her burden, that it is you who have paid the rent
+of our lodging all this time! My son, my dear son, what can I do for
+you?”</p>
+<p>“There is one thing, father, you can do for me—one only
+thing, but it is too great to ask!”</p>
+<p>“Nothing is too great to-day—ask away, boy, never
+fear!” The barber looked towards Juanita to <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb120" href="#pb120" name="pb120">120</a>]</span>gain
+courage, and, seeing her approving smile, fell on his knees and begged
+Juan to let him marry her. “With all my heart, if the wench so
+will,” replied the old man; “I cannot see her wedded to an
+honester fellow!” Juan was not slow to read in her eyes what her
+sentiments were, and so, without more ado, he took the hand of each to
+place them in one another. But both drew back. The barber, with all his
+charity and delicacy and taste, was very ugly, and he could not believe
+in his good fortune; and Juanita had one condition to lay down first.
+“How now! what’s this?” said the father. “Come,
+friend barber, explain yourself.”</p>
+<p>“Well, sir, I think it is but fair to give Juanita time to
+consider it all. I know I’m not so good-looking as <i>her</i>
+husband ought to be. Long ago should I have told her how I loved her
+but for this—but I dared not! I longed to offer the 500 maravedis
+over and over again, but I dared not speak to her; and now the joy is
+all so strange I feel I must not hurry her.”</p>
+<p>“Well spoken, young man! but, Juanita, what do <i>you</i> hang
+back for?”</p>
+<p>“I—I have one little condition to make;” and she
+turned to the barber. “I have been thinking that we have not
+acted quite honestly with the Corregidora. She has a superstition
+against wearing dead people’s hair, and she has paid honourably
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb121" href="#pb121" name=
+"pb121">121</a>]</span>for that of a living person—so what she
+has bought must be taken back to her. Moreover, I recognize that all my
+life this hair has been a snare to me, and whenever I have been led
+from the path of duty it has been by its means—so I am resolved
+never to wear it again, and to be known in future by no other name but
+that of <span class="sc">Juanita the Bald</span>! What say you, are you
+content to marry me <i>now</i>?” The honest barber—perhaps
+on the whole not very sorry for a stipulation which put them somewhat
+nearer on a condition of equality in regard to personal
+appearance—only answered by clasping her in his embrace.</p>
+<p>“What! what is all this,” fell in the old man,
+“about hair and the Corregidora, and Juanita the—the
+<i>Bald</i>!—eh?” Then the barber was obliged to explain to
+him the sacrifice Juanita had made, first to obtain his cure, and again
+to her sense of honour, and her delicacy of conscience. The old man was
+quite unnerved by the recital. At first he was determined to resist her
+resolution; but his own mind was too well regulated not to acknowledge
+on reflection that she had chosen the good part.</p>
+<p>Then, after blessing solemnly, both her and her betrothed, he
+exclaimed, “Did I not choose rightly from among the three
+gifts?” (in his humility he would not say <i>rewards</i>).
+“If I had chosen riches, they would have burst the bag and run
+away. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb122" href="#pb122" name=
+"pb122">122</a>]</span>And if I had chosen power, my retainers would
+have mocked my want of knowledge, and forsaken me. But a
+daughter’s love—what can compare with it?”
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb123" href="#pb123" name=
+"pb123">123</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2013" href="#xd21e2013src" name="xd21e2013">1</a></span>
+Covetousness bursts the money-bag. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e2013src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s10" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e266">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">STARVING JOHN THE DOCTOR.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">No one was ever more appropriately named than
+‘Starving John.’ He had nothing to live upon, yet he had a
+wife and a whole tribe of children to support: how to feed them all he
+knew not; and as for himself it was seldom enough he got a morsel to
+eat!</p>
+<p>One day the cat caught a hare, and John’s wife managed to take
+it from him; and having made a savoury mess of it, she put it into a
+wallet and said to John, “Here, take this <i lang=
+"es">hato</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e2163src" href="#xd21e2163"
+name="xd21e2163src">1</a>; it’s a lucky taste of something nice,
+such as you don’t often get; and go out into the fields with it
+before those sharks of children snatch it out of your mouth.”</p>
+<p>John, who was ready to die of hunger, didn’t wait to be told
+twice, but set off running as fast as his legs would carry him. At last
+he came to an olive-grove; and there, making an easy-chair of a
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb124" href="#pb124" name=
+"pb124">124</a>]</span>hollow olive-tree, he sat down to eat his hare,
+as happy as a king.</p>
+<p>Somehow however—he could never tell how—there suddenly
+stood before him a dreadful old woman, all dressed in black: she had
+sunken eyes as dull as a blown-out candle, or a lamp-wick when the oil
+fails; her skin was as withered and yellow as a Simancas<a class=
+"noteref" id="xd21e2174src" href="#xd21e2174" name="xd21e2174src">2</a>
+parchment; her mouth like a clothes-basket; and her nose I don’t
+know how to describe—for she had no nose at all to speak of.</p>
+<p>“A pretty figure this to fall from heaven, like God’s
+rain, on a poor fellow!” said John to himself; but as he was
+polite and hospitable, as a Spanish peasant always is, he nevertheless
+asked if she would share his meal.</p>
+<p>This was just what the old creature wanted; down she sat, and at
+once attacked the hare. But it was not like ordinary eating, it was
+regular devouring; and, <i lang="es">en un decir tilin</i><a class=
+"noteref" id="xd21e2183src" href="#xd21e2183" name=
+"xd21e2183src">3</a>, she had stowed away the whole mess between her
+heart and her shoulders! <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb125" href=
+"#pb125" name="pb125">125</a>]</span></p>
+<p>John was too polite to grumble out aloud, but he said to himself,
+“Why, the children had better have had the hare than this old
+hag! but <i lang="es">¡el que tiene mala fortuna nada le sale
+derecho<a class="noteref" id="xd21e2194src" href="#xd21e2194" name=
+"xd21e2194src">4</a>!</i>”</p>
+<p>When his visitor had finished her meal—not leaving so much as
+the tail of the hare in the <i lang="es">ollita</i><a class="noteref"
+id="xd21e2202src" href="#xd21e2202" name="xd21e2202src">5</a>—she
+exclaimed, “Do you know, John, your hare was very
+good!”</p>
+<p>“So I see,” said John, who could not repress a little
+bitterness. And he added, ironically, in honour of her decrepit
+appearance, “<i lang="es">¡viva Usted mil
+años<a class="noteref" id="xd21e2209src" href="#xd21e2209" name=
+"xd21e2209src">6</a>!</i>”</p>
+<p>“So I shall,” answered the hag; “I have lived many
+thousands already, for I have to tell you I am no less a person than
+<span class="sc">Death</span>!”</p>
+<p>John gave a start, and was like one struck dumb at this
+announcement.</p>
+<p>“Don’t be afraid, John,” she continued, “I
+don’t want to hurt you; and what is more, as you have treated me
+so well, I’ll give you a good counsel in return. Make yourself a
+doctor—there’s nothing like it for making money!”</p>
+<p>“I am much obliged to you, Mistress Death,” answered
+John, very respectfully, “but it will be quite return enough, if
+you’ll promise to leave me <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb126"
+href="#pb126" name="pb126">126</a>]</span>alone for a good number of
+years. As to being a doctor, I’ve no notion how to set about it.
+I know neither Latin nor Greek; I can’t write because my hand is
+palsied; and I can’t read because I hate poring over those little
+black figures!”</p>
+<p>“Go along with you, you silly fellow!” answered Mrs.
+Death; “you don’t suppose any of this is necessary?
+It’s I who lead the doctors, not they me. You are not such a
+goose as to think I go and come because they hiss me or call me, are
+you? when I get tired of any one, I take him by the ear and drag him
+off, doctor or no doctor. When the world began there were no doctors,
+and men lived to a good old age. But since they invented doctors there
+have been no more Methuselahs! You make yourself a doctor, as I advise
+you; and if you are perverse and obstinate, I’ll carry you off
+with me, <i lang="es">mas fijo que el reloj</i><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2231src" href="#xd21e2231" name="xd21e2231src">7</a>! Don’t
+prate!” she added, as she saw he was going to urge some
+objection; “this is all you have to do—when they call you
+into a bed-room look out for me. If you see me standing at the head of
+the bed, you’ll know it’s all up—you have only to say
+so, and they’ll find you’re a wise prophet. If, on the
+other hand, you don’t see me, you have only to prescribe a dose
+of clean water, with any thing harmless you like in it, and the sick
+person will recover.” <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb127" href=
+"#pb127" name="pb127">127</a>]</span></p>
+<p>With that the ugly old lady took herself off, courtesying like a
+French dancing-mistress.</p>
+<p>“I hope your worship won’t forget, Mistress Death, what
+I asked you!” John cried after her—“your worship
+won’t visit me again for a long time to come, eh?”</p>
+<p>“Don’t be afraid, John,” she answered, as she
+disappeared, “until your house crumbles to pieces you won’t
+have a visit from me.”</p>
+<p>John returned home to his wife, and told her all that had happened;
+and his wife, being sharper than he, determined to make use of Mrs.
+Death’s advice, and in spite of his remonstrances spread about
+every where the news that her husband was a famous doctor—that he
+had only to look at a patient to tell whether he would live or die.</p>
+<p>All the neighbours, however, only laughed at the idea of Starving
+John turning doctor in his old age, and called him “Don
+John” in ridicule.</p>
+<p>One Sunday they went so far as to arrange a practical joke to show
+off his ignorance. A number of girls were to sit round a basket of
+figs, as they often did of a holiday afternoon in the fruit season,
+when, all of a sudden, one of them was to give a terrible cry as if
+taken ill, and some of the others were to carry her off to bed, while
+the rest ran for Starving John the Doctor.</p>
+<p>John had no great faith in Mrs. Death’s promises, and was
+loath to expose himself to the ridicule of the <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb128" href="#pb128" name=
+"pb128">128</a>]</span>girls, but at his wife’s urging he went
+along with them, when, lo and behold, he no sooner entered the room of
+the pretended patient, than he saw Mrs. Death herself standing at the
+head of the bed! “The girl is very ill indeed—too ill for
+me to save. She’ll die before night!” pronounced John, in a
+knowing tone. And he went home amid the laughter of the assembled
+neighbours, who knew what the girls were playing at. But it so happened
+that the unfortunate girl had been eating the fruit too
+freely—that she was taken ill and died that very night!</p>
+<p>As you will readily guess, this made Starving John’s
+fortune.</p>
+<p>Far or near, there was no patient slightly or dangerously ill to
+whom he was not called; fees flowed in like rain. No longer was he
+dressed in rags; his clothes were properly made by a tailor. Instead of
+his pinched, woebegone look, his face grew as ruddy as the sun; his
+withered hands, as smooth as pork-sausages; his shaking legs, as firm
+as marble columns; and his empty stomach assumed dimensions to vie with
+the dome of a church. For his children he bought honourable
+employments, and badges of office to sew on in front, and keys<a class=
+"noteref" id="xd21e2259src" href="#xd21e2259" name="xd21e2259src">8</a>
+to hang out behind. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb129" href="#pb129"
+name="pb129">129</a>]</span></p>
+<p>But what he spared least of all was the money required to keep his
+house in good repair. He even salaried a bricklayer, whose business it
+was to see there was never so much as a tile loose, remembering that
+Mrs. Death had said she would never come to visit him till his house
+crumbled to pieces.</p>
+<p>Years rolled by as John’s fortune increased, but as prosperous
+years always roll away—fast; and then came less fortunate years.
+First his hair fell off, and then he lost his teeth; then his spine got
+curved like a reaping-hook; and then he grew halt in one of his legs.
+One day, when he was ill, Mrs. Death sent him a bat, with her
+compliments, to inquire after him; but John didn’t like the look
+of the creature, and drove it away. After that he had a cough; and Mrs.
+Death sent an owl, to say she would come and see him very soon, and
+John drove him away too. After that he had a fit; and Mrs. Death sent a
+dog, to give him to understand, by howling at his door, that she was on
+her way, and John drove him away also. But he got ill for all that, and
+then he got worse, and then Mrs. Death knocked at the door, so John
+hobbled out of bed, and locked it and put up the bar; but Death
+contrived to creep in under the door.</p>
+<p>“Mrs. Death!” said John, indignantly, “this
+isn’t fair. You told me you wouldn’t come so long as my
+house was not crumbling to pieces.” <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb130" href="#pb130" name="pb130">130</a>]</span></p>
+<p>“Oh!” answered Death, “isn’t your body your
+house—and hasn’t <i>that</i> been crumbling to pieces?
+Didn’t your strength fail first, and then your hair, and then
+your teeth, and then your limbs; haven’t they <i>all</i> been
+crumbling away?”</p>
+<p>“I certainly didn’t understand you so!” answered
+John, dolefully, “and relying on your word, your coming now takes
+me by surprise.”</p>
+<p>“That is <i>your</i> fault, John,” answered Death.
+“Men ought to be always prepared for my coming, and then I should
+never take them by surprise.” <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb131" href="#pb131" name="pb131">131</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2163" href="#xd21e2163src" name="xd21e2163">1</a></span> <i lang=
+"es">Hato</i>, a portion of provisions taken out with them by shepherds
+when they have to be absent from home in the mountains for several days
+together. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e2163src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2174" href="#xd21e2174src" name="xd21e2174">2</a></span> Simancas
+is situated at the confluence of the Douro and Pisuergo, not far from
+Valladolid. The archives of Spain were kept there for centuries, in a
+strong alcázar originally built by the Moors. <a class=
+"fnarrow" href="#xd21e2174src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2183" href="#xd21e2183src" name="xd21e2183">3</a></span> An
+equivalent for our “Before you could say ‘Jack
+Robinson,’” though I have never been able to make out the
+derivation of either <i lang="es">tilin</i> or “Jack
+Robinson.” <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e2183src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote" lang="en"><span class="label"><a class="noteref"
+id="xd21e2194" href="#xd21e2194src" name="xd21e2194">4</a></span>
+“Nothing goes right with the unlucky.” <a class=
+"fnarrow" href="#xd21e2194src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2202" href="#xd21e2202src" name="xd21e2202">5</a></span> Little
+earthen pot. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e2202src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote" lang="en"><span class="label"><a class="noteref"
+id="xd21e2209" href="#xd21e2209src" name="xd21e2209">6</a></span>
+“May your worship live a thousand years!”—a common
+salutation, equivalent to “God grant you long
+life!” <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e2209src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2231" href="#xd21e2231src" name="xd21e2231">7</a></span>
+“More surely than the clock,” i.e.<span class="corr" id=
+"xd21e2233" title="Not in source">,</span> as irrevocably as time as we
+should say, “as sure as a gun.” <a class="fnarrow"
+href="#xd21e2231src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2259" href="#xd21e2259src" name="xd21e2259">8</a></span> There
+used to be several sinecure offices in Spain, the symbol of which was a
+silver key slung over the pocket-flap on the left side. <a class=
+"fnarrow" href="#xd21e2259src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s11" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e273">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">RAMON THE DISCONTENTED.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Ramon was a discontented man. Instead of thanking
+Providence for all the good gifts of earth, and the promise of the joys
+of heaven, he was always repining at the hardships of his life, and
+finding out one thing after another to grumble at. Work he specially
+objected to. He wanted a cottage, and a pig, and a stock of poultry,
+and a vine, and a wife, a smoking <i lang="es">cazuela</i><a class=
+"noteref" id="xd21e2294src" href="#xd21e2294" name=
+"xd21e2294src">1</a>, and plenty of tobacco; but when it came to
+working to pay for them, then it was quite another story. He was an
+only son; his hard-working parents had spoilt him by letting him have
+his own way, supplying him with all he wanted out of their own
+earnings; and so he grew up idle and apathetic, finding fault with
+fate, instead of putting his shoulder to the wheel: “<i lang=
+"es">Estan las cosas en este mundo como cuernos en un
+costal—todas de punta</i>” was a favourite proverb of
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb132" href="#pb132" name=
+"pb132">132</a>]</span>his, meaning that the events of this life are
+like packing horns into a bag, the points of those first put in are
+always making their way through and obstructing the others. And indeed,
+if people indulge a discontented disposition, every thing must go wrong
+with them.</p>
+<p>Strange, that any one can find pleasure in such an ugly habit as
+grumbling. Ramon had been made by nature a good-looking boy; but a
+sour, gloomy expression soon superseded the engaging smile of youth;
+and as he had never a pleasant word, his society was gradually shunned
+by all the village. The last to give him up was Carmen, the bright
+little playmate of his childhood, but he wore out even <i>her</i>
+patience, and then, when he was left to himself, he grew more and more
+sour and morose.</p>
+<p>In the meantime, his good old father and mother had died, and for a
+time he had been living on the savings they had left him; but this was
+soon at an end, and hunger forced home the reflection, “What was
+to become of him?” Then every thing seemed gloomier than ever
+before even—he sat down to think under the old patriarchal vine,
+which had shaded his father, and his grandfather, and his
+great-grandfather before him; but the fierce sun came through the
+withered branches and maddened him. He had neglected to tend it, and it
+had no shelter for <i>him</i>. Instead of blaming <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb133" href="#pb133" name="pb133">133</a>]</span>his
+own neglect, he turned with an imprecation upon the vine, and his
+ill-humour overflowed on to the old house, against the wall of which he
+leant and which was also crumbling to decay because he had left it
+without repair; and upon Carmen, whose patience he had wearied, and
+upon fortune, whose gifts he had left waste. And in his fury he said
+that he would die. “Die!” echoed a little leaf of the
+withered vine, as it fell rustling past him, “You can’t die
+when you will, you must fulfil the work God has set you, whatever it
+be.”</p>
+<p>“Work! I will do no work. I will die!” he answered
+fiercely.</p>
+<p>“You cannot die when you will!” whispered another
+rustling leaf.</p>
+<p>“We shall see!” said Ramon; and with that he took up the
+rope of the well, and, stalking wildly upstairs, he deliberately made a
+noose, into which he inserted his throat, tied one end over a beam in
+the loft, and placed himself on an old chest, ready to jump off and so
+swing tight the fatal knot which was to end his days.</p>
+<p>He shut his eyes, and took a desperate leap ... but ... instead of
+drawing the noose tight, the beam above broke in twain, and the two
+ends came with him to the ground. He had scarcely recovered from one
+surprise, when he had to encounter another. On each side of him a
+stream of golden coins came running through the broken ends
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb134" href="#pb134" name=
+"pb134">134</a>]</span>of the hollowed beam. What a sight for a lazy,
+self-indulgent man! Ramon thought no more of hanging now. He untied the
+knot, gathered up the gold, and secured it in chests and hiding-places,
+and came down to enjoy himself once more in his old idle way.</p>
+<p>He trod on a dry leaf of the old vine, as he passed through the
+garden, and it whispered,—</p>
+<p>“What a chance for you, Ramon! Buy yourself a patch of land,
+and set to work like a man, and show Carmen you are worthy of
+her.”</p>
+<p>“Work! while I have gold enough to last for ever? Not I,
+indeed!”</p>
+<p>“It won’t last for ever, Ramon,” rustled out
+another falling leaf.</p>
+<p>But Ramon heeded not. Some of his treasure he spent rationally
+enough, I must say, in having the old cottage repaired, and the old
+vine tended; but the bulk he squandered in excesses, and in a few years
+was as badly off as ever.</p>
+<p>Want once more stared him in the face, and once more he resolved to
+put an end to his existence.</p>
+<p>“You are not fit to die!” said the patriarchal vine; but
+Ramon hastened away, he had not the courage to encounter the dreadful
+thought.</p>
+<p>He snatched up a rusty, disused spade—he was out of conceit
+with hanging. This time he would dig a deep hole in the ground, and
+thrust himself in head foremost, and stifle himself that way.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb135" href="#pb135" name=
+"pb135">135</a>]</span></p>
+<p>Digging was hard work for arms so unused to labour, but he had never
+thought to find it so hard as it proved. He had not taken out a dozen
+spadefuls when the spade seemed to refuse to enter the ground any more.
+Had his arms grown so stiff they could not move? Or was the earth so
+hard he could not break it?</p>
+<p>The evening breeze rustled by, bearing with it some leaves of the
+old vine; and as they passed they whispered,—</p>
+<p>“You can’t die when you will, Ramon! Only be content to
+work as hard as now in a good cause, and you won’t want to die
+till your time comes.”</p>
+<p>Provoked into energy by what he considered a taunt, instead of being
+softened by the fatherly counsel, he made one more desperate thrust of
+the spade into the hole. Instead of entering deeper, its rusty pan
+broke short off, but with a sound which showed him it had struck
+against something made of metal; and putting his hand down to the place
+whence the sound came, he distinctly made out the shape of a copper
+vessel.</p>
+<p>Here was a discovery which gave him a presentiment of another chance
+of good fortune. Partly with the broken spade and partly with his own
+hands, he succeeded in tearing up the soil around, and bringing to
+light a large jar heavy enough to be full of gold; and so it proved.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb136" href="#pb136" name=
+"pb136">136</a>]</span></p>
+<p>Thus provided with means, Ramon once more commenced a new lease of
+his dissipated life.</p>
+<p>“Take my advice,” said the old vine, “and put your
+treasure in something that will last, this time.”</p>
+<p>This was too much trouble for Ramon. He went on in his old reckless
+way, spending and taking no heed.</p>
+<p>But during all the years of neglect, the brambles had overgrown his
+ground; and his uncultivated place afforded a cover for idlers and
+vagabonds. So it happened that when he was making one of his nightly
+visits to his treasure he was overlooked, and, as you may readily
+imagine, by the next occasion the treasure was <i>gone</i>.</p>
+<p>His rage at this discovery was unbounded: he resolved now once for
+all to have done with life, and let nothing interfere to prevent
+him.</p>
+<p>As he lay in bed that night, he contrived a plan to prevent all
+possibility of escape, and with the first rays of the morning sun he
+sallied out fully equipped.</p>
+<p>He bore a rope and a blunderbuss, and he bent his steps to a crag
+which overhung the sea, where he had marked a tree whose branches
+spread over the briny waves. Tying his cord to a branch, he held his
+<span class="corr" id="xd21e2371" title=
+"Source: blunderbluss">blunderbuss</span> ready to blow out his brains
+if the noose was too slack, while, if the rope should break, he would
+at least have a good chance of drowning. <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb137" href="#pb137" name="pb137">137</a>]</span></p>
+<p>Off he leapt with the rope round his neck; but the noose did not
+draw itself tight. Faithful to his plan, he pulled the rusty trigger,
+but, like every thing else belonging to Ramon, the gun was out of
+order, and didn’t go off; but as he hung struggling in the air
+the old well-rope broke, and down he fell splashing into the sea. There
+was no easy drowning for him, however; the water was not so deep as he
+had imagined, and he was left floundering in the waves, and bruised
+about among the sunken rocks.</p>
+<p>Ramon had no fortitude; at each bump he could not restrain an
+exclamation of pain, and the distressful cries attracted the attention
+of no less a person than Carmen, who was gathering <i>esparto
+grass</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e2381src" href="#xd21e2381" name=
+"xd21e2381src">2</a> on the wild coast at no great distance.</p>
+<p>All her former womanly compassion returned when she saw her poor
+Ramon in suffering and distress. Without an instant’s hesitation,
+she caught up a hank of strong <i>esparto</i> rope, which she used to
+tie up her bundles, and hurried to the water’s edge. Making one
+end of it fast to a rock, with the vigorous exertion of an arm
+strengthened by labour and directed by intelligence and affection, she
+contrived to throw the other end within reach of his grasp.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb138" href="#pb138" name=
+"pb138">138</a>]</span></p>
+<p>Ramon, who by this time had been long enough within sight of the
+terrors of death to feel his wish to encounter it considerably cooled,
+no sooner saw <i>who</i> was steadying the line, than he felt all the
+love of life which is implanted in the heart of man revive with its
+full vigour.</p>
+<p>He caught the rope and twisted it round his arm, and with its aid
+breasted the breakers. By the time he reached the shore, however, the
+exhaustion consequent on so much excitement and exertion overcame him
+so completely, that every remaining spark of ill-will in Carmen’s
+bosom was extinguished, and her only thought was how to restore him to
+strength.</p>
+<p>Her exertions were blessed with success, and his weakness found
+scope for all her womanly sympathies, while her tender care roused all
+the better qualities of his nature into action. Her smile mingled with
+the visions of his feeble state, and warmed all his prospects of the
+future.</p>
+<p>When he dreamt of the dreary old house and its haunting associations
+with the guilty past, he fancied he saw the sunny halo of her presence
+dispelling all its gloomy phantasms, and her playful innocence
+silencing even the convicting warnings of the stern old vine. Shared
+with her, even labour seemed to lose its repugnance.</p>
+<p>As soon as he was well enough, he opened to her his resolutions full
+of repentance, which, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb139" href=
+"#pb139" name="pb139">139</a>]</span>with a woman’s instinct, she
+was forward to foster.</p>
+<p>You will be pleased to hear that after all these lessons, crowned by
+Carmen’s winning confidence in his promised amendment, Ramon set
+himself seriously to follow a new line of conduct. Carmen showed her
+faith in his penitence by marrying him, and he took honest care that
+she should never repent her generosity.</p>
+<p>The old cottage once more looked homely and inviting; and in the
+summer evening, when Ramon and Carmen sat resting beneath the shadow of
+the old vine, now sturdy and fruitful under the culture it received,
+and watching the gambols of a troop of <i lang=
+"es">chiquillos</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e2412src" href=
+"#xd21e2412" name="xd21e2412src">3</a> whom God had given them, the
+leaves, as they fell rustling about them, whispered playfully in
+Ramon’s ear, “You don’t want to die now?” And
+Ramon in revenge plucked a bunch of ruddy grapes, and distributed it
+among the happy party. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb140" href=
+"#pb140" name="pb140">140</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2294" href="#xd21e2294src" name="xd21e2294">1</a></span> Large
+earthen pot, used by the Spanish peasants for cooking. <a class=
+"fnarrow" href="#xd21e2294src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2381" href="#xd21e2381src" name="xd21e2381">2</a></span> Esparto
+grass is a fibrous plant which grows in great abundance in the south of
+Spain; it is imported into this country under the name of Spanish
+broom, and is used for making rope, canvas, mats, paper, and for many
+other useful purposes. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e2381src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2412" href="#xd21e2412src" name="xd21e2412">3</a></span> Nice
+little children. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e2412src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s12" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e281">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">THE BALLAD-MAKER AND THE BOOT-MAKER.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">There was a minstrel who went travelling about the
+country from time to time singing sweet songs which people loved to
+hear. His music was not like the music of the Spanish people, for he
+came from the kingdom of Provence, and every one thronged to hear the
+strange sweet melody. And when he had passed on, and there was no one
+left to sing as he sang, people tried to remember his words and his
+tones, and to sing like him.</p>
+<p>At one of the towns where he passed there was a boot-maker, who, as
+he sat all day alone at his last, diverted himself with singing; and as
+he had sung a good deal, he thought he could sing very well. He was
+much delighted with the minstrel’s songs, caught up a good many
+of them, and never tired of singing them—after his fashion. But
+from being quite ignorant both of music and of the Provençal
+language, he made, as we should <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb141"
+href="#pb141" name="pb141">141</a>]</span>say, a great mess of it. Yet,
+as the people knew no more about it than himself, they were very well
+pleased to listen to him.</p>
+<p>So, a long time after, when the Provençal minstrel came back
+that way, they would not admit him, but cried out, “We have one
+of our own people who sings your songs for us as well as you, and we
+need no Frenchman here.”</p>
+<p>Now the minstrel was one greatly devoted to his art, he did not
+merely sing for sordid gain; so instead of being angry because he was
+supplanted, he was really pleased to hear that the people in that
+far-off town had learnt the language and melody of his dear Provence;
+and he said he would hear the boot-maker himself.</p>
+<p>Imagine how great was his annoyance and mortification, when he heard
+the beautiful ballads lamed and spoilt by the rude, unlearned attempts
+of the boot-maker!</p>
+<p>“Is it possible,” he said, “that this man has been
+deluding all the people into the idea that what he sings is like my
+songs? And how can I prevent his going on keeping them under this
+error?” Then he bethought him what to do. He went by night to the
+boot-maker’s workshop, and putting all the wrong pieces of
+leather together, he sewed them up into all sorts of foolish, useless
+shapes.</p>
+<p>When daylight returned, and the boot-maker came to his work, he was
+in a great fury at <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb142" href="#pb142"
+name="pb142">142</a>]</span>what was done, and began shouting to the
+neighbours to come and avenge him, for the Frenchman had spoilt all his
+work. Then they all came running helter-skelter to exercise summary
+justice on the minstrel.</p>
+<p>But the minstrel stood up and confronted them, and said, “Good
+people! first hear me. This man is a maker of boots and I am a maker of
+ballads. True I have spoilt his boots, I do not deny it; but he first
+spoilt my ballads: what I have done is but fair. If you will hear us
+sing one after the other, you will yourselves give judgment in my
+favour.” So the people told the boot-maker to stand up and sing,
+which he did in his clumsy droning way, with plenty of false notes and
+mispronunciations. After him the minstrel stood up and warbled his song
+in tones so soft and sweet, that the people wondered how they ever
+could have listened to the other, and with one voice they cried out,
+“The minstrel is right! The minstrel is right!”</p>
+<p>Then the minstrel, who bore no malice, and had only acted out of
+love for his art, repaid the boot-maker amply for all the damage to his
+leather, but took a promise of him that he would never sing his songs
+again. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb143" href="#pb143" name=
+"pb143">143</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s13" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e288">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">EL CLAVEL<a class="noteref" id="xd21e2445src" href=
+"#xd21e2445" name="xd21e2445src">1</a>.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">The carnation is the flower of predilection of the
+Andalusian peasant. His cottage does not seem like home without its
+scent; nor is the maiden’s toilet complete without one of its
+glorious blossoms placed behind her ear, in the ebon setting of her
+massive hair-braids: it is the token of gladness in their festivals; of
+love, where coyly offered with a trembling hand. The people sing of its
+perfections and its meaning in a thousand little ditties.</p>
+<div class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">Among all the trees of the wood</p>
+<p class="line">The laurel bears questionless sway.</p>
+<p class="line">What maid can compete with my Anna?</p>
+<p class="line">What flower, with carnations, I pray<a class="noteref"
+id="xd21e2459src" href="#xd21e2459" name="xd21e2459src">2</a>?</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">They always speak of it, thus, as only next in order
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb144" href="#pb144" name=
+"pb144">144</a>]</span>to female beauty, and the amorous swain is
+continually raising the comparison.</p>
+<div class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">To January’s biting frost</p>
+<p class="line">No carnation trusts its charms,</p>
+<p class="line">The tints that Heav’n thy cheeks has given,</p>
+<p class="line">Are dyed ingrain and fear no harms<a class="noteref"
+id="xd21e2487src" href="#xd21e2487" name="xd21e2487src">3</a>,</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">he sings; or perhaps,—</p>
+<div class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">My carnation was raising a plaint,</p>
+<p class="line">I ask’d it to tell me its grief,</p>
+<p class="line">And it said that thy lips were so fair,</p>
+<p class="line">Of their charms it would e’en be the
+thief<a class="noteref" id="xd21e2513src" href="#xd21e2513" name=
+"xd21e2513src">4</a>.</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">The one his fair has given him he declares binds him
+to her for ever.</p>
+<div class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">The carnation which thou gav’st me,</p>
+<p class="line xd21e2533">On holy Thursday last,</p>
+<p class="line">Was no flower, but a fetter</p>
+<p class="line xd21e2533">To bind me to thee fast<a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2539src" href="#xd21e2539" name="xd21e2539src">5</a>.</p>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb145" href="#pb145" name=
+"pb145">145</a>]</span></p>
+<p>The one she nurtures he watches as a token of all that is dearest
+and most beautiful in her.</p>
+<div class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">My maid has a fav’rite carnation</p>
+<p class="line">Which she watches both early and late;</p>
+<p class="line">I give it a kiss on its petals,</p>
+<p class="line">Whenever I pass by her gate<a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2567src" href="#xd21e2567" name="xd21e2567src">6</a>.</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">And she in her turn guards her charge with a jealous
+eye.</p>
+<div class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">A ruddy carnation have I,</p>
+<p class="line">But I keep it secure from the cold,</p>
+<p class="line">And I shade off the gaze of the sun,</p>
+<p class="line">Lest it tarnish, if he were too bold<a class="noteref"
+id="xd21e2593src" href="#xd21e2593" name="xd21e2593src">7</a>.</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">Such a carnation was once thus tended by a poor
+village girl: it had grown up and blossomed and put forth its deep,
+rich hues under her care, though she was so poor that she had nothing
+to grow it in but a broken <i lang="es">olla</i><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2612src" href="#xd21e2612" name="xd21e2612src">8</a>.
+Nevertheless when she thought of the happy day when it should become a
+love-token to one worthy of her, she took such care of it, covering it
+up when the sun was too hot, watering <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb146" href="#pb146" name="pb146">146</a>]</span>it with water from
+the purest spring, sheltering it from the wind, bringing it into her
+room to guard through the night, lest any evil should befall it, that
+never carnation flourished so gloriously; it was her only flower, the
+object of her whole care.</p>
+<p>One day there came into the garden a <i lang="es">maja</i><a class=
+"noteref" id="xd21e2621src" href="#xd21e2621" name="xd21e2621src">9</a>
+in her gala costume. According to the pretty Andalusian custom, she
+carried a bunch of bright, sparkling flowers twisted into her raven
+hair behind her left ear.</p>
+<p>“Ah!” cried the handsome carnation from the depths of
+its broken <i lang="es">olla</i>, “why should it not be my lot to
+adorn the head of this lovely creature, instead of being abandoned to
+the care of a penniless peasant?”</p>
+<p>The <i lang="es">maja</i> smiled, and passed round the garden two or
+three times, to see if the carnation persisted in his idea. Every time
+her black veil caught, as she passed, in the sharp edge of the broken
+pipkin, the carnation wafted a soft sigh,—</p>
+<p>“Ah, why was I not born to adorn that shining hair?”</p>
+<p>The <i lang="es">maja</i> deferred no longer to fulfil his wish:
+throwing the bunch of showy flowers on to the ground, she plucked the
+carnation and plaited it into her hair. <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb147" href="#pb147" name="pb147">147</a>]</span></p>
+<p>Right proud was the carnation to find himself thus grandly
+enthroned; far too proud to have a thought of compassion for the other
+flowers cast away for his sake; too triumphant even to smart under the
+puncture of the hair-pin which fixed him on the <i>maja’s</i>
+head. Many a scornful glance he cast at the broken <i>olla</i> which
+had been his nursery, and the cot of the lowly child who had nurtured
+him.</p>
+<p>Thus he was borne about, displaying his beautiful hues in the sun,
+and charming every one with his perfume all day. Then night came: the
+<i lang="es">maja</i> stood at her <i lang="es">reja</i><a class=
+"noteref" id="xd21e2657src" href="#xd21e2657" name=
+"xd21e2657src">10</a>, looking out for her serenader. He came at last,
+and brought in his hand a beautiful white rose; the <i lang=
+"es">maja</i> stretched out her hand to receive it with delight; with
+loud and joyous thanks she placed it on her head, flinging the hapless
+carnation from her without a thought.</p>
+<p>Instead of blooming on his lordly stalk as at the first, the pride
+and pet of the peasant maid, he was soon trampled to atoms by a drove
+of pigs, passing on their way to market! <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb148" href="#pb148" name="pb148">148</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2445" href="#xd21e2445src" name="xd21e2445">1</a></span> The
+Carnation. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e2445src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2459" href="#xd21e2459src" name="xd21e2459">2</a></span></p>
+<div class="q">
+<div class="body">
+<div class="div1 chapter">
+<div class="divHead">
+<div lang="es" class="lgouter footnote">
+<p class="line">Entre los árboles todos</p>
+<p class="line">se señorea el laurel</p>
+<p class="line">entre las mujeres, Ana</p>
+<p class="line">entre los flores, el clavel.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+<p> <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e2459src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2487" href="#xd21e2487src" name="xd21e2487">3</a></span></p>
+<div class="q">
+<div class="body">
+<div class="div1 chapter">
+<div class="divHead">
+<div lang="es" class="lgouter footnote">
+<p class="line">En énero no hay claveles</p>
+<p class="line">porque los marchita el hielo</p>
+<p class="line">en tu cara los hay siempre</p>
+<p class="line">porque lo permite el cielo.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+<p> <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e2487src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2513" href="#xd21e2513src" name="xd21e2513">4</a></span></p>
+<div class="q">
+<div class="body">
+<div class="div1 chapter">
+<div class="divHead">
+<div lang="es" class="lgouter footnote">
+<p class="line">El encarnado clavel</p>
+<p class="line">viene publicando agravios</p>
+<p class="line">porque no le han hecho á el</p>
+<p class="line">hermoso como tus labios.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+<p> <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e2513src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2539" href="#xd21e2539src" name="xd21e2539">5</a></span></p>
+<div class="q">
+<div class="body">
+<div class="div1 chapter">
+<div class="divHead">
+<div lang="es" class="lgouter footnote">
+<p class="line">El clavel que tu mi diste</p>
+<p class="line">el día de la Ascension</p>
+<p class="line">no fué clavel, sino clavo</p>
+<p class="line">que clavó mi corazon.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+<p> <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e2539src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2567" href="#xd21e2567src" name="xd21e2567">6</a></span></p>
+<div class="q">
+<div class="body">
+<div class="div1 chapter">
+<div class="divHead">
+<div lang="es" class="lgouter footnote">
+<p class="line">En una teja de su casa</p>
+<p class="line">crió mi niño un clavel</p>
+<p class="line">y quando á su vera pasa</p>
+<p class="line">le da un besito en la sien.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+<p> <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e2567src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2593" href="#xd21e2593src" name="xd21e2593">7</a></span></p>
+<div class="q">
+<div class="body">
+<div class="div1 chapter">
+<div class="divHead">
+<div lang="es" class="lgouter footnote">
+<p class="line">Tengo un clavel encarnado</p>
+<p class="line">á la sombra y bajo llave</p>
+<p class="line">para que el sol no lo vea</p>
+<p class="line">y con mirarlo lo aje.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+<p> <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e2593src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2612" href="#xd21e2612src" name="xd21e2612">8</a></span>
+Pipkin. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e2612src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2621" href="#xd21e2621src" name="xd21e2621">9</a></span> A name
+employed in Andalusia to designate a person who wears the national
+costume with great ostentation of correctness, and is altogether what
+we should term showy. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e2621src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2657" href="#xd21e2657src" name="xd21e2657">10</a></span> See p.
+68 and note. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e2657src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s14" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e296">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">THE ILL-TEMPERED PRINCESS.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">There was once a poor young knight, and he went out
+into the world, to seek adventures and do knightly deeds. As he went,
+he met a man standing in front of a long narrow tunnel in a rock, and
+blowing through it with his cheeks stretched like two ripe
+pomegranates, to whom the knight called out, “Halloa! fellow,
+what do you do there?”</p>
+<p>And the man made reply, “Disturb me not, your worship, for
+with my breath I am turning five hundred and thirty-two
+mills.”</p>
+<p>So the knight asked, “Then who are you?”</p>
+<p>And the man made answer, “I am Blowo, son of Blowon<a class=
+"noteref" id="xd21e2678src" href="#xd21e2678" name=
+"xd21e2678src">1</a>, the good blower.”</p>
+<p>Then the knight said, “Will you come out with me to seek
+fortune?”</p>
+<p>And the man made answer, “Your worship is not readier to ask
+than I to accept, for I am tired enough of blowing.” So he gave
+one more good <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb149" href="#pb149" name=
+"pb149">149</a>]</span>strong blow, enough to set the mills twirling
+for a long time, and walked on behind the knight.</p>
+<p>A little farther along they came upon a man toiling up the
+hill-side, with a load of a hundred and thirty-two hundred-weight upon
+his back.</p>
+<p>To whom the knight called out, “Halloa! man, you carry more
+than a waggon with two yoke of oxen! Who are you?”</p>
+<p>And the man made answer, “I am Porto, son of Porton, the
+strong porter.”</p>
+<p>Then the knight said, “Will you come out with me to seek
+fortune?”</p>
+<p>And the man made answer, “Your worship is not more ready to
+ask, than I to accept, for I am weary of this burden.” So he laid
+the weight down by the road-side, and walked along behind the
+knight.</p>
+<p>A little farther on they came to a long stretch where the road was
+very straight, and by the side a man walked up and down twisting a
+rope, to whom the knight cried out,—</p>
+<p>“Halloa! fellow, what do you there? and who are
+you?”</p>
+<p>And the man made answer, “I am Ropo, son of Ropon, the cunning
+rope-maker, and I make ropes which none can break.”</p>
+<p>Then the knight said, “Will you come out with me to seek
+fortune?”</p>
+<p>And the man made answer, “Your worship is <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb150" href="#pb150" name="pb150">150</a>]</span>not
+more ready to ask than I to accept, for I am weary of twisting this
+rope.” So he left there his rope by the road-side, and walked
+along behind the knight.</p>
+<p>A little farther on they came upon a man crouched down by the
+way-side.</p>
+<p>To whom the knight called out, “Halloa! fellow, what do you
+there? and who are you?”</p>
+<p>And the man made answer, “I am Listeno, son of Listenon, the
+ready listener.”</p>
+<p>So the knight said, “What are you listening for?”</p>
+<p>And the man made answer, “Blowo has left off turning the
+mills, and I am listening for the wind to come down from the mountains
+of Burgos.”</p>
+<p>“Fellow! the mountains of Burgos are a hundred leagues
+off.”</p>
+<p>“What does that signify, if my hearing reaches as
+far?”</p>
+<p>Then the knight said, “Will you come along with me and seek
+fortune?”</p>
+<p>And the man made answer, “Your worship is not more ready to
+ask than I to accept, for I am weary of straining my ears.” So he
+set up three flags, that all the country might know the wind would be
+there in three days, and walked along behind the knight.</p>
+<p>Then, after three days’ journey, they came in sight of a
+magnificent castle, extending half a mile <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb151" href="#pb151" name="pb151">151</a>]</span>every way over the
+top of a mountain, but all desolate and in ruins; and the way up to it
+was overgrown with interlacing brambles and briars, so that they could
+hardly pass through. Then to increase their difficulty, a heavy storm
+came on, which would soon have wetted them through; but Blowo cried
+out,—</p>
+<p>“Never fear, your worship; for I will soon clear the
+air.”</p>
+<p>So he blew a mighty blast, and sent all the big thunder-clouds
+travelling back to the Sierra; and they went on toiling up the
+brake.</p>
+<p>When they came up to the castle, they found there was no door or
+opening, nor any way in. Porto, Ropo, Listeno, and Blowo wanted to give
+up the attempt, and pass on farther; but the knight would not hear of
+abandoning the adventure.</p>
+<p>“If your worship is so determined,” said Porto,
+“I’ll open a way for you.”</p>
+<p>So he broke off a huge piece of rock as big as two men, and,
+standing a hundred yards off, he flung it against the wall, with a
+noise that could be heard a hundred miles off. The wall trembled and
+clattered; but it was held together by a stronger than human power, and
+all Porto’s great strength could produce no effect on it.</p>
+<p>“Let us go away from here, Master,” pleaded Ropo,
+“this is no place for us. There is something <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb152" href="#pb152" name=
+"pb152">152</a>]</span>wrong about this place; and the blessing of God
+is not here.”</p>
+<p>“No,” replied the knight, “we will first learn all
+about it; there may be work for us.”</p>
+<p>So they continued walking round the walls to see where they might
+effect an entrance, and all to no purpose. By and by Listeno exclaimed,
+“I hear some one cry;” and they all listened, but could
+hear nothing. So Listeno made them follow him in the direction whence
+the sound proceeded till at last they were near enough for the others
+to hear the sound also; and they went on following it up, till they
+came to the mouth of a great well all grown over with climbing-plants;
+when they had cleared these away, the hole looked so black and deep, it
+seemed as if it went down to the centre of the earth, and up the shaft
+there came sounds of a woman’s wailing, so loud and pitiful, they
+were all moved to pity, and anxious to run to the relief of the
+distressed person; but there was no means of telling how to reach the
+bottom. Then Ropo came forward, and said, “We will all go abroad,
+and gather five thousand bundles of <i lang="es">esparto</i>, and
+<i lang="es">palmito</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e2759src" href=
+"#xd21e2759" name="xd21e2759src">2</a> grass, and all five shall set to
+work to make a long rope; and with that we will reach the
+bottom.” <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb153" href="#pb153" name=
+"pb153">153</a>]</span></p>
+<p>So said, so done. They gathered five thousand bundles of <i lang=
+"es">esparto</i>, and <i lang="es">palmito</i> grass, and they all five
+set to work under Ropo’s directions and twisted away at the rope;
+and now and then they tied a fragment of rock to the end and let it
+down, to see if it reached the bottom. They went on thus for five
+years, and at last it splashed the water, and when they let it down
+again it sounded on the rock, and they found only a few feet of the
+rope was wet, for the water was not deep.</p>
+<p>Then Listeno put his ear to the top and told them it was not
+standing water, but that a brook ran through, along the bottom of the
+cave. As they were twisting the rope, they talked away about the great
+deeds each would do; and each had a conjecture as to what they might
+find at the bottom of the well. They all thought they should find a
+treasure, and Porto said he would take it up on his shoulders and carry
+it home for them, though it should weigh as much as all the lead of the
+Sierra Almagrera<a class="noteref" id="xd21e2773src" href="#xd21e2773"
+name="xd21e2773src">3</a>.</p>
+<p>But when the rope was finished, and it was a question of who should
+go down, not one of the knight’s followers, though they had been
+boasting <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb154" href="#pb154" name=
+"pb154">154</a>]</span>so loudly before, would venture down into the
+well. So the knight laughed, and said <i>he</i> was not afraid; and one
+end of the rope having been lashed tightly to a rock, the four
+followers undertook to pay it out steadily, and down the knight
+descended into the black, gloomy depth.</p>
+<p>Day and night he went on steadily descending for three days and
+three nights, and at the end he came into the water. It was not more
+than breast high, so he waded through it for several yards till he came
+to a place where the bank widened sufficiently for him to get out and
+walk along it; and then he came to some trees, and through the trees
+was an open space lighted by a lurid light which came from a deeper
+cave. On a sloping bank, covered with shining grass and strange
+flowers, lay a beautiful princess all dressed in white, and decked with
+shining jewels; and as she lay, she moaned and cried and prayed for
+deliverance. So the knight was hastening towards her, and drew his
+sword to cut the bonds which confined her, but at that instant up
+started a fierce demon whom he had not observed before, as he lay
+coiled up at the mouth of the cave.</p>
+<div class="figure xd21e2786width"><img src="images/p154.jpg" alt=
+"The Ill-tempered Princess.—Page 154." width="551" height="720">
+<p class="figureHead">The Ill-tempered Princess.—<i>Page
+154.</i></p>
+</div>
+<p>“Not so fast, fine <i lang="es">caballero</i>!” he
+cried, “for she is mine, and you will have to fight me before you
+can touch her.” The knight disregarded the menace, and continued
+his way towards the princess, but the air was stiff all around
+him—though he could <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb155" href=
+"#pb155" name="pb155">155</a>]</span>see no hindrance, he found he
+could not make any way towards her.</p>
+<p>“Ha! ha!” roared the demon, “my fine <i lang=
+"es">caballero</i>, you’ll find you will have to do with me at
+last!”</p>
+<p>“And who are you?” shouted the baffled knight,
+“and what is this beautiful princess to you?”</p>
+<p>“I am bound to answer the knight who asks that
+question,” answered the demon, “or it is little you would
+have learnt from me. Know, then, that this princess was the only
+daughter of King Euríc, to whom belonged all the country as far
+as eye can see; and she would have succeeded to his kingdom, but her
+temper was so violent, no one could bear with her. Upon the least
+contradiction she would order a subject to be executed; and her
+arbitrary conduct was continually involving the kingdom in discontent
+and trouble. Her father, who tenderly loved her, used to coax her and
+use every endeavour to soften her, but with no avail. At last, one day
+she provoked him so sore that in his anger he exclaimed, ‘Go to
+the horned one!’ When I heard myself called, I hastened to seize
+her, but, notwithstanding all my speed, before I could arrive he had
+revoked the curse, and so I was tricked out of her. This happened
+several times, but each time fatherly fondness was quicker than my
+utmost haste. At last, a day came when she excited him greatly,
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb156" href="#pb156" name=
+"pb156">156</a>]</span>and he said again, ‘Go to the horned
+one!’ and before he could recall the words that time, he had
+fallen down a lifeless corpse. So now she is mine, and mine she must
+remain till some knight will win her in arms from me, and marry her,
+and restore her to her castle and her kingdom.”</p>
+<p>“That will I!” said the knight stoutly; for though he
+feared the lady’s violent temper after what he had heard, his
+devotion to chivalry bound him to use his best endeavours to deliver
+her.</p>
+<p>Accordingly he drew his sword, and called to the demon to come on.
+“Remember one thing,” said the demon, “if you should
+win her, she is yours for ever; <i>I</i> take her back no
+more.”</p>
+<p>Meantime, Listeno, at the top of the well, had been reporting to his
+companions all that he heard going on below, and their curiosity
+getting the better of their fears, they let themselves down by the
+rope, and all four arrived in time to witness the terrible contest.</p>
+<p>Never was such a fight seen in this world as that between this
+knight and the demon; and at last the knight cut off the demon’s
+ear. No tongue could describe the demon’s rage at finding his ear
+in possession of a mortal.</p>
+<p>“Give me my ear!” he cried in tones so sharp that they
+almost stunned Listeno’s sensitive hearing powers.</p>
+<p>“Never,” replied the knight, “or at least not
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb157" href="#pb157" name=
+"pb157">157</a>]</span>without a heavy ransom. In the first place I
+exact that without further ado you reinstate the Princess in her castle
+and all her power.” The demon stamped and raged, but the knight
+was firm. The demon was ashamed to go home without his ear, so he
+thought it best to comply.</p>
+<p>The Princess was restored to her throne, the castle was restored to
+its strength, the garrison was restored to the ramparts, the servants
+were restored to the halls. The knight married the princess; great
+rejoicings and festivities were celebrated, and to his four followers
+were given places of trust and consequence in the palace.</p>
+<p>The demon often came to beg for his ear, but the knight felt that at
+some time or other he might have need of him, so he would not lose his
+hold over him.</p>
+<p>For a time all went well enough, but by little and little the
+Princess forgot her years of adversity and the debt she owed the
+knight: she grew more and more wilful, and before a year was out she
+had become so violent again, that he grew weary of his life, and
+declared he could no longer endure the continual turmoil. Remonstrance
+and coaxing were alike unheeded, and it was vain that he tried her
+father’s remedy, for the demon had sworn never to take her
+back.</p>
+<p>In this strait Porto reminded him of the ear he held in hostage,
+adding, “I will take it upon myself <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb158" href="#pb158" name="pb158">158</a>]</span>to deliver you of
+her.” So putting the bottle of brine in which the ear was kept
+into his pocket, he swung the Princess over his shoulder, and all her
+struggling was useless against “the son of the strong
+porter.”</p>
+<p>Thus laden he went to find out the demon. “You are to take
+back this princess, she is only fit for your company,” he said,
+when he had found him.</p>
+<p>“Not I!” answered the demon, grinning: “I told
+your master when he <i>would</i> have her he must take her for good and
+all.”</p>
+<p>“Do you know this ear?” then asked Porto, showing him
+the bottle.</p>
+<p>The demon clutched at it.</p>
+<p>“Not so fast!” cried Porto. “If you want to have
+it back, this is my master’s condition: you must take back the
+princess along with it.”</p>
+<p>So, crest-fallen and glad to get his ear back on any condition, the
+demon accepted the bargain as it was dictated to him; and the princess
+who could not command her temper never found another knight to deliver
+her. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb159" href="#pb159" name=
+"pb159">159</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2678" href="#xd21e2678src" name="xd21e2678">1</a></span>
+<i>On</i> is the Spanish augmentative. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e2678src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2759" href="#xd21e2759src" name="xd21e2759">2</a></span> A tall
+fibrous plant, which covers whole plains in the south of Spain, so
+called because its spreading leaves give it a certain resemblance to
+dwarf palms. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e2759src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2773" href="#xd21e2773src" name="xd21e2773">3</a></span> The
+Sierra Almagrera is near Cartagena. The mine whose riches have been
+thus celebrated in a popular tale for many a century, is just now being
+vigorously worked by an Anglo-French company. <a class="fnarrow"
+href="#xd21e2773src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s15" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e303">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">THE HERMIT AND THE FIG-TREE.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">There was an old man of Toledo who had one son, whom
+he brought up in the fear of God. Now it happened that this old man had
+to go to a distant town of Estramadura, to receive some money of a
+creditor, and the creditor dying, his heirs disputed the debt, and
+drove the old man to a lawsuit which kept him absent many years. When
+at last the suit was just decided in his favour, the old man fell ill
+and died. Meantime the son, growing uneasy at his father’s
+prolonged absence, arranged his affairs as well as he could, and
+prepared to take the journey to see after him. Calling in his three
+clerks, Jacinto, Gonzalo, and Diego, who were all men whom his father
+trusted, and whom he therefore respected, he divided his property in
+three parts, and to each he gave charge of one part, leaving it to each
+to do the best he could for him, saying, “The wisdom of your grey
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb160" href="#pb160" name=
+"pb160">160</a>]</span>hairs will do better for me than any
+instructions my inexperience could give you.”</p>
+<p>“If the Lord bless it, it shall increase; and if He curse it,
+it shall not prosper,” answered Jacinto, the eldest;
+“behold I am nothing in the matter;” and he shook his
+venerable head, and raised his eyes to heaven.</p>
+<p>“Whatever I have done for your father I will continue to do
+for you,” said Gonzalo, the second in order, and hurried back to
+his papers as if it was wrong to waste a moment in talking.</p>
+<p>“I will endeavour that you shall have nothing to complain
+of,” quietly replied Diego, the third.</p>
+<p>The young man was pleased with what they said, and without further
+loss of time set out on his journey.</p>
+<p>The weather was fair, and his father’s friends by the way
+received him hospitably; but crossing the Sierra<a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2872src" href="#xd21e2872" name="xd21e2872src">1</a>, a violent
+storm came on, and he would soon have been drenched with rain. Right
+glad he was to see, perched on the mountain-ledge, a hermit’s
+cell, where he readily found shelter. In the morning, when the sky was
+serene again, he rose to take his leave; and as he stood on the
+threshold thanking the hermit for his care of him, he could not forbear
+pausing to admire the beauties around him. Far away stretched the
+plains below, studded <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb161" href=
+"#pb161" name="pb161">161</a>]</span>with smiling cities and watered by
+the mazy windings of the rivers, and shaded by dark groves of ancient
+cork-trees; behind him were rocky heights reaching to the sky,
+presenting every degree of rich vegetation and solemn barrenness. But
+what attracted his sight most of all was a luxuriant plantation of
+fig-trees, which made a complete bower of the hermit’s cell.</p>
+<p>“How successful you are with your fig-trees!” said the
+traveller; “I never saw so fine a show. You have three, one as
+fine as the other—it is impossible to say which of them is most
+flourishing; and to judge by the fruit you gave me, which doubtless is
+their produce, they are the finest trees in Spain, and that is saying a
+great deal. I must add too, after your liberality with them, that you
+put to shame the proverb,—</p>
+<div lang="es" class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">“En tiempo de higos</p>
+<p class="line">No hay amigos<a class="noteref" id="xd21e2887src" href=
+"#xd21e2887" name="xd21e2887src">2</a>.”</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">“For what you say of the proverb, son,”
+replied the hermit, “I have no merit, for it is the very essence
+of my rule of life to call nothing my own, according to our
+Lord’s counsel. These figs are the gift of God, to me, or to you,
+or to whomsoever <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb162" href="#pb162"
+name="pb162">162</a>]</span>is here to need them. But for the rest, you
+judge according to the measure of the inconsiderateness of your years.
+Nevertheless, you seem to me a good youth, and I will therefore show
+you something which may be of use to you in your dealings with the
+world. Know then that but one of these fig-trees is really what it
+seems; the other two are worthless. That is, worthless,” he
+added, “as bearers of fruit, for there is nothing that God makes
+but has its worth, and even these trees which bear no fruit are useful
+to give shade, and for other purposes besides.”</p>
+<p>“You surprise me,” said the young man; “I never
+saw trees of more equal promise!”</p>
+<p>“Nevertheless, it is as I say; and if the season of figs were
+not just over, according to our Lord’s saying, by their fruit you
+should know them, or, as you say in the world, “<i lang="es">al
+freir, lo vereis</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e2901src" href=
+"#xd21e2901" name="xd21e2901src">3</a>.” Meantime, <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb163" href="#pb163" name=
+"pb163">163</a>]</span>learn, my son, not to judge of men and things by
+their appearance, but wait and see what their fruit is like.”</p>
+<p>The sun was now beginning to make way above the horizon, and,
+fearing to be overtaken by the heat, the young man was obliged to set
+out on his journey without further parley than promising to visit the
+hermit on his return.</p>
+<p>Great was his grief, when he arrived at the end of his journey, to
+find his good father had been so suddenly called away, and instead of
+being clasped to his bosom, to find the last earthly communication he
+could ever receive from him was a scrap of paper, on which, at
+intervals of his death agony, he had convulsively written down a few
+directions to guide him in entering into possession of his worldly
+goods, mingled with counsels to him to continue to direct all his
+dealings according to the fear of God.</p>
+<p>This sudden death had thrown matters into some confusion, and it
+took a considerable time to set all straight again; it was some ten or
+eleven months before the young merchant had to re-cross the Sierra in a
+homeward direction.</p>
+<p>It was a brilliant summer evening when he came upon the
+hermit’s cell again. The old man was sitting making his
+meditation before the door. Occupied with grief and care, as he had
+been during his absence, the bereaved son had forgotten all about
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb164" href="#pb164" name=
+"pb164">164</a>]</span>the fig-trees; but, on looking around, he saw
+that something was changed, and soon had a clear demonstration of what
+the hermit had told him. One noble tree was laden with the ripe green
+and purple fruit; the soft, downy skins seeming ready to burst with the
+rich and luscious burden within, while the broad leaves spread out
+their hands and shaded them from the too great heat, and fanned them
+gently when the day was sultry.</p>
+<p>The second tree was covered with luxuriant leaves as before, but not
+a single ripe fig was on it—there were a few young green
+beginnings, but too small and sickly to have a chance of ripening that
+season.</p>
+<p>The third tree was in lamentable plight; its attenuated climbers
+clung by habit to the rock, but the sap and life and energy were gone,
+and it seemed only fit to be cut down.</p>
+<p>“Well, father, I see you were right as to the figs,”
+said the young man, candidly. “There is only one of them that is
+a good tree after all—but it is wonderful how well favoured they
+looked last year!”</p>
+<p>“Learn, my son, the counsel of the aged and the words of the
+wise,” replied the hermit; “for as it is with trees, even
+so it is with men. There are many who seem to you alike honest and
+worthy to be esteemed, while their inner life is as different as was
+the fruit-bearing principle of these trees.” <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb165" href="#pb165" name="pb165">165</a>]</span></p>
+<p>“But, father, will not the good be known by their good deeds
+and maxims, and the bad by their evil lives and counsels?”</p>
+<p>“Even so, my son, but the difficulty is to discern which are
+good and which evil. This is not so easy as you seem to think; for
+instance, you see two men both apparently pious and charitable, while
+the one who appears most so, very possibly only gives his money to the
+poor that he may stand well with the world, that the poor may look up
+to him, and say, ‘There goes one who is like a king among
+us;’ the other, whose liberality you noticed less, drops his
+hardly-spared coin noiselessly into the <i lang=
+"es">capillo</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e2937src" href="#xd21e2937"
+name="xd21e2937src">4</a>, and sallies forth perhaps in dead of night
+to carry his alms to those who would blush to receive such assistance
+by day. One man appears to you calm and placid because he is of a
+phlegmatic nature, and has no effort to make in order to appear equable
+and ever patient; while another, whom you judge to be hasty and
+passionate, may be all the while struggling to conquer a hot and
+violent temperament which requires the courage of a hero to keep it
+within bounds.”</p>
+<p>“I see your moral, father,” replied the young man;
+“and I have no doubt I often judge of men as I judged your
+fig-trees.”</p>
+<p>“That one,” continued the hermit, pointing to the
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb166" href="#pb166" name=
+"pb166">166</a>]</span>one whose fruit was even then affording a
+delicious meal to the birds, for the hermit called nothing his own, and
+the birds of heaven were welcome to share his stock, “that one
+was always a good and fruitful tree, and its praise is among its
+people, for you will find many a village about here which boasts a
+graft from the hermit’s fig. The second one, which presented so
+fair a show, has something amiss which it hitherto has passed my skill
+to find out—though I have one remedy more to try, which
+<i>may</i> recover it. And the third had a worm at the root which
+destroyed its vital power.”</p>
+<p>The young man passed on his way next day, and, as he journeyed, the
+figs of which the good hermit had given him ample provision put him in
+mind of his parable, and set him musing on its application. These
+musings weaving themselves in with his anticipations of the condition
+of his affairs at home, he began to consider whether the three clerks,
+to whom he had entrusted his property, were in any way like the
+fig-trees, and whether Providence had not sent him this lesson to be
+his guide in his future conduct.</p>
+<p>Possessed with this idea, he resolved to put them to the test. The
+sun and air of the mountains had dyed his skin; sorrow had marked his
+face with lines of care and tinged his hair with grey. By means of a
+false beard and a travelling merchant’s <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb167" href="#pb167" name=
+"pb167">167</a>]</span>dress he reckoned he could be safe from
+recognition, and as a stranger learn their respective worth from their
+own lips.</p>
+<p>Equipped in his disguise he presented himself at his own house, and
+found all three in their place, with every evidence of diligent
+application. So he opened the terms of his pretended business to them,
+and found them all ready to negotiate with him, each in his
+degree—each conducted his matter with every token of due
+shrewdness and integrity.</p>
+<p>It had been part of his plan to tell them the news of their
+master’s death, and try them by watching the effect of this
+intelligence upon them, but when he saw all so well-ordered he judged
+there was no need for further trial, and so contented himself with
+resuming his own attire and returning in his own person to the
+house.</p>
+<p>The clerks greeted him with a joyful welcome, and received the news
+of his father’s death with becoming expressions of sorrow, and
+the young man congratulated himself on having such trusty stewards of
+his goods.</p>
+<p>After he had been back a day or two, he requested them to prepare
+for him the account of what they had done since he left, so that he
+might know how his affairs stood, and once more assume the direction of
+them. The proposal received a ready assent, and a day was fixed for
+going into the matter. But when the appointed day came, what
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb168" href="#pb168" name=
+"pb168">168</a>]</span>was his astonishment to find only Diego in his
+place? His accounts were ready and all in good order; he had
+administered faithfully the portion of property entrusted to him, and
+handed it back increased by the efforts of his prudence and skill.</p>
+<p>From Gonzalo he found a letter informing him that he had had the
+misfortune to be unlucky in his speculations with his property, and had
+lost the whole of it, consequently he had no account to render. Losing
+patience at this attempt at deceit, the young man had him brought
+before him, and asked him how he dared tell him so, when he knew that
+only so many days before he had been negotiating with a merchant he
+knew, and he named the name he had assumed in his disguise. Gonzalo was
+not at all disconcerted: “Oh, that business was done with my own
+money; though I was unlucky with yours, fate would have it that I
+should be very successful with my own, and out of my own earnings I
+have created a capital which I have multiplied an
+hundredfold.”</p>
+<p>When the young man heard this unblushing statement, he was filled
+with indignation, and insisted on taking him before the judge. But it
+was all to no purpose, Gonzalo had managed his fraud so cleverly that
+it could not be proved against him; he had to be let go scotfree.</p>
+<p>As for Jacinto, <i>he</i> never showed himself at all, nor left any
+explanation. He had remained up to <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb169"
+href="#pb169" name="pb169">169</a>]</span>the hour, trading with the
+benefit of his master’s name and capital, but the moment there
+had been talk of giving up accounts he had gathered up all that was in
+his charge, and fled with it out of the country.</p>
+<p>More grieved by the faithlessness of those he had trusted than by
+the loss of his gold, the young man shut himself into his chamber, to
+muse upon what had befallen him, and upon the uncertainty both of
+friendship and riches. When he reflected on the temptations which money
+had offered to Gonzalo and Jacinto, he was appalled at the thought of
+those which might be in store for him, if he continued in the pursuit
+of business. He thought of the peaceful hermit, whose warning parable
+had just received such a striking illustration. He thought of his
+placid content with the weather—such as God sends it—to
+warm him, and the fruits of the earth—such as God gives
+them—to nourish him. He thought of him far removed from
+contentions and greed of gain, and sharing his frugal meal with the
+stranger, the wayfarer, and the birds of heaven.</p>
+<p>When he came down from his chamber, he called Diego to him, and
+commended him for his faithfulness and diligence. “And,”
+said he, “I now give you full possession of all that you have so
+justly administered. For me, I have chosen a life free from care, where
+I shall have no use for money.” <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb170" href="#pb170" name="pb170">170</a>]</span></p>
+<p>But when Diego heard it, he said, “Nay, but I will go with
+thee. To save my master’s goods for his son was my work on earth;
+now that is fulfilled, no desire have I to continue amid its weariness
+and perils.”</p>
+<p>So they left the money to found an hospital where poor orphan
+children might be taken in and taught the way that is right. And they
+went into the Sierra, and built them huts and planted them fig-trees,
+and passed their time in holy meditation and in praising God.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb171" href="#pb171" name=
+"pb171">171</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2872" href="#xd21e2872src" name="xd21e2872">1</a></span>
+Literally, a <i>saw</i>. Spaniards call a ridge of mountains so, from
+the resemblance of the outline to the teeth of a saw. <a class=
+"fnarrow" href="#xd21e2872src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote" lang="en"><span class="label"><a class="noteref"
+id="xd21e2887" href="#xd21e2887src" name="xd21e2887">2</a></span>
+“In the season of figs no one remembers his friends.” In
+other words, though when in want men gladly remember their acquaintance
+that they may apply to them for assistance, in prosperity they are as
+anxious to forget them, that they may not be called upon to spend for
+them. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e2887src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2901" href="#xd21e2901src" name="xd21e2901">3</a></span>
+“In the frying, you shall see.” Equivalent to our
+“The proof of the pudding’s in the eating.” The
+following is told as the origin of this Spanish proverb:—A good
+housewife having frequently had occasion to find fault with the quality
+of the charcoal the village dealer sold her, was highly delighted when
+another one set up who professed to sell a better kind. “But how
+am I to know yours is any better?” inquired she. “<i lang=
+"es">Al freir, lo vereis</i>” (“when you come to fry with
+it you will see if it doesn’t give a clear fire”), he
+replied, for as his wares were good they needed only to be proved:
+<i lang="es">taberna vieja no necesita rama</i>: good wine, or, more
+literally, an old established tavern, needs no bush. <a class=
+"fnarrow" href="#xd21e2901src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2937" href="#xd21e2937src" name="xd21e2937">4</a></span> A short
+wooden column supporting an alms-box in Spanish
+churches. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e2937src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s16" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e310">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">TOO CLEVER BY HALF.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">A blind beggar, who, like all other blind beggars, was
+led by a <i lang="es">lazarillo</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e2995src"
+href="#xd21e2995" name="xd21e2995src">1</a>, was once going his rounds,
+and directed his guide to take him past a house where he was in the
+habit of receiving help.</p>
+<p>The good wife of the house gave him a fried sprat<a class="noteref"
+id="xd21e3000src" href="#xd21e3000" name="xd21e3000src">2</a>. The
+lazarillo was a mischievous urchin, and on this occasion very hungry,
+so he ate the sprat himself, and told the blind man they had given him
+nothing. The blind beggar, however, who knew the smell of fried fish
+well enough, charged him with the theft, and gave him a good drubbing
+in punishment.</p>
+<p>Presently, as they went along, the mischievous lazarillo led him
+through a troop of children, running about at their play: one of them,
+darting <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb172" href="#pb172" name=
+"pb172">172</a>]</span>between the legs of the blind man, tripped him
+up. “You young rascal!” exclaimed the provoked beggar;
+“why didn’t you take better care where you led
+me?”</p>
+<div class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">“If you were so clever at smelling the sprat,</p>
+<p class="line">How came it you couldn’t, too, smell out the
+brat?”</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">cried the lazarillo, running off to escape a second
+drubbing. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb173" href="#pb173" name=
+"pb173">173</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e2995" href="#xd21e2995src" name="xd21e2995">1</a></span> The name
+given to a boy serving as guide to a blind man. <a class="fnarrow"
+href="#xd21e2995src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3000" href="#xd21e3000src" name="xd21e3000">2</a></span> The
+Spanish sprat found in great abundance in the Mediterranean, called
+<i lang="es">sardina</i>, much larger than ours, those selected for
+frying being generally five or six inches long. <a class="fnarrow"
+href="#xd21e3000src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s17" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e317">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">THE WIND’S STORY.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">“<span class="corr" id="xd21e3023" title=
+"Source: A">I</span> wish you would not be so fond of choosing this
+nasty old ruined house for our playground, Lolita!”</p>
+<p>“Oh, don’t you like it, Ana? I do so love to come here
+and listen to the tales the Wind tells me, as it moans through these
+crumbling walls!”</p>
+<p>“The tales the Wind tells you, <i lang=
+"es">hermana</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e3032src" href="#xd21e3032"
+name="xd21e3032src">1</a> dear! what can you mean?”</p>
+<p>“Oh, I forgot! you don’t know the Wind’s language;
+but I do, and I love to listen to it.”</p>
+<p>“Oh, Lolita dear, do tell me what the Wind tells you! What
+does it say about this ruined cottage?”</p>
+<p>“Why, it told me <i>such</i> a strange story, Ana! It said to
+me, ‘A long, long while ago, when I was one day dancing happily
+this way on a sunbeam, this old ruined cottage was then just built; all
+was then bright and new within and without; the cock strutted about the
+yard, keeping his fowls in order, and shouting, “<i lang="es">Qui
+quirri qui!</i>” the hens <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb174"
+href="#pb174" name="pb174">174</a>]</span>gathered their chickens under
+their wings, crying, “<i lang="es">Cá, cá,
+cá, cá!</i>” the cat sunned himself on the
+projecting roof, and frightened the birds from the cherry-tree that
+shaded it; and the dog ran about wagging his tail, and keeping them all
+in order, with one eye at least ever open for the rabbit that would
+poach in the lettuce-bed. On the sunny side of the house was a
+magnificent <i lang="es">parral</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e3054src"
+href="#xd21e3054" name="xd21e3054src">2</a>, where every evening might
+be seen Pepito and Dolores sitting together in newly-wedded bliss.
+Pepito would be sawing or nailing wood, which was to make a cradle, and
+Dolores, stitching away at little fine bits of clothes that looked as
+if they were meant for a fairy. They were so happy, that whenever I was
+sent that way I used to step aside and ask my sister the Breeze to
+sweep round that corner for me, because I am rough and she is gentle;
+and I used to love to watch how pleased they were with her refreshing
+visit, after the burning heat of the day.</p>
+<p>“‘But it happened one day that I had to go a long, long
+journey: some pirates were ravaging the sea, and I was to kick up a
+storm which would frighten them away from some poor and hardy sailors
+who were not strong enough to encounter them; and then I had to sweep
+round the north of Africa, to disperse an army of locusts that were
+preparing to ravage the land and destroy the work <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb175" href="#pb175" name="pb175">175</a>]</span>of
+the husbandman. So I passed through the <i lang="es">parral</i> as
+gently as I could, and kissed the young couple under it, and went
+lightly on my way.</p>
+<p>“‘It was some months before I was sent to Spain again,
+but the first chance I had I went as near as I could to this cottage;
+and as I came along, my attention was attracted by another cottage,
+which seemed to me something like it, so I looked in: there was only
+one cheery old man inside it, and he was making preparations for a
+journey. “Won’t they be pleased to see me? How little they
+think I could come so soon!” he muttered, as he put his bundle
+together. I made the air clear and fresh for his journey, and passed
+along.</p>
+<p>“‘As I went over the mountains, I came upon a couple of
+muleteers directing a file of laden mules; they looked hot and wayworn,
+so I blew the dust off them, and cooled their feet, and the hoofs of
+their beasts. As I came near I recognized my friend Pepito, but he no
+longer looked so happy as of old; his expression was dark and anxious,
+and it grew gloomier as he listened to some sombre tale his companion
+was telling.</p>
+<p>“‘“Are you sure—certain sure?” he
+exclaimed.</p>
+<p>“‘“<i lang="es">Mas cierto que el reloj,
+hombre</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e3075src" href="#xd21e3075" name=
+"xd21e3075src">3</a>,” replied the sinister companion, whom I now
+also recognized for a fellow of very bad reputation in Pepito’s
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb176" href="#pb176" name=
+"pb176">176</a>]</span>village, and who was said to have vowed
+vengeance on Dolores because she had married Pepito instead of him.</p>
+<p>“‘“And if I turn back to-night, I shall find him
+of whom you speak in my cottage?” continued Pepito, in an
+agonized tone.</p>
+<p>“‘“No doubt of it,” returned the other.</p>
+<p>“‘Now I would not believe any ill of Dolores, so I tried
+what I could to divert their attention. I threw myself so violently
+against the face of the leading mule as to make her miss her way, and
+nearly step over the brink of the precipice which the path they were
+travelling bordered; but Pepito was a practised muleteer, and caught
+her head in time to prevent an accident. Then I blew his hat over the
+edge, but he was as good a mountaineer as muleteer, and readily climbed
+down the steep side after it. I could do no more.</p>
+<p>“‘Damp mists were gathering along the banks of the
+Guadalquivir: my mission was to disperse them before they became
+injurious to health. I might not tarry, so I passed on my way, sighing
+through the tall trees. But before the sun rose next morning, I
+contrived to reach Pepito’s cottage. No one was stirring, but I
+easily made my way in through the open windows. There lay in the bed in
+calm and peaceful slumber, the old man whom I had seen making up his
+bundle in glad expectation of his visit proving a joyful surprise. The
+doors and <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb177" href="#pb177" name=
+"pb177">177</a>]</span>casements rattled for fear, as they always
+<i>will</i> do when they see me coming, and I was vexed to find my
+curiosity had thus disturbed the old man’s sleep. But there was
+something worse than my coming to rouse him. First there was a noise of
+footsteps under the window, then the barking of the watchful dog, then
+the sound of some one climbing up the wall, then groping his way
+through the window. The old man started in his bed, nerved with the
+consciousness that he was the guardian for the time of his
+son-in-law’s property; he hastily disengaged his <i lang=
+"es">navaja</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e3097src" href="#xd21e3097"
+name="xd21e3097src">4</a> from his belt by the bedside, and stood up to
+grapple with the intruder, who, similarly armed, advanced straight into
+the room with an assurance which showed he was no stranger.</p>
+<p>“‘Then I perceived that Pepito, misled by his perfidious
+friend, had returned in the night-time, so as to prove the truth of the
+report given him. When he found himself confronted by a man’s
+arm, he felt no longer any doubt, but closed upon him in rage and fury.
+I had no heart to stay and see the result of a fight between two armed
+and desperate men, but I set up my loudest and most desolate howl, and
+swept madly through the <i lang="es">pueblo</i><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3104src" href="#xd21e3104" name="xd21e3104src">5</a>. I made the
+branches of the trees crack, and the fittings of the houses clatter;
+wherever I saw a door or gate open, I set it banging to and fro, and by
+a <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb178" href="#pb178" name=
+"pb178">178</a>]</span>supreme effort, I even moved the great
+church-bell so that it gave one or two deep tolls. Thus wakened, the
+people soon heard the cries and recriminations of the combatants, and
+ran out of their houses in numbers to track the sound.</p>
+<p>“‘It is part of my fate that I must ever be moving
+onward; I can never stand still and never go back, though I can make a
+grand sweep over a large tract of country, and so come round again to a
+place after a time. It was a long time, however, before I was able to
+work my way round after this, but one day I happened to overtake my
+sister the Breeze, and knowing the interest I had taken in the young
+couple under the <i lang="es">parral</i>, she immediately began telling
+me about them; I desired nothing more than to learn what had befallen
+them.</p>
+<p>“‘“Oh,” she said, “I hope you will
+never have to go by there again, you couldn’t bear it!”</p>
+<p>“‘I began to suspect what had happened that fatal night.
+“Then the neighbours were not in time to part the men after
+all?” I exclaimed.</p>
+<p>“‘“They were parted, but both died of their wounds
+next day.”</p>
+<p>“‘“And Dolores?”</p>
+<p>“‘“Dolores was so horror-stricken at the dreadful
+sight, that she entirely lost her reason. Some good people have taken
+her quite away, far, far off, thinking she may get better in an
+entirely different <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb179" href="#pb179"
+name="pb179">179</a>]</span>scene. But all the time she was here, I
+used to stir gently through the room to fan her burning forehead when
+the air was sultry; and I often looked deep into her eyes when they
+stared so wildly, seeking for Pepito and her father, who she always
+thought were coming to see her, and I always saw there a look which
+told me she was not long for this world.”</p>
+<p>“‘“God take her in His mercy!” I exclaimed.
+“And the <i lang="es">parral</i> and the cottage, what of
+them?”</p>
+<p>“‘“All left desolate. The hares and the foxes have
+the grapes to themselves. No one will go to live in the house. No one
+will even pass by it if they can any how avoid going that way; and I
+hope you will keep away from it too, brother, for the sight would make
+you sad indeed.”</p>
+<p>“‘Our ways parted here; and I was not sorry, for my
+heart was too full for more talk. I need hardly say that on the first
+opportunity I went to see how the old place looked. And sad enough it
+seemed; sadder even than now, because the memory of Pepito and Dolores
+was fresher upon it.</p>
+<p>“‘I feel so sad whenever I am there, that I moan and
+sigh, and the simple people say it is Pepito and his father-in-law
+crying out against each other. Sometimes, wild with anger, I feel ready
+to crumble the whole place to atoms—and then I dash down beams
+and stones and branches of trees; and then, again, I fear to lose all
+the traces <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb180" href="#pb180" name=
+"pb180">180</a>]</span>I have loved so well, and I blow sand and mould
+and seeds of creeping plants to bind the scattered portions together,
+and root them again to the spot.’</p>
+<p>“That’s a dreadfully sad story, Lolita; it has made me
+feel shyer than ever of this dreary place.”</p>
+<p>“The Wind’s stories are always melancholy, Ana dear;
+though you don’t know his language, you hear that his tone is
+always plaintive.”</p>
+<p>“Then I don’t want any more of the Wind’s stories.
+I’ll tell you what I like. I like the sights I see in the
+Sunbeam.”</p>
+<p>“Oh, tell me what you see in the Sunbeam!”</p>
+<p>“Then you must come out of this dreary place, and sit down
+with me on the sunny bank yonder, and I’ll tell you what I have
+seen.” <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb181" href="#pb181" name=
+"pb181">181</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3032" href="#xd21e3032src" name="xd21e3032">1</a></span>
+Sister. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e3032src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3054" href="#xd21e3054src" name="xd21e3054">2</a></span> A vine
+trained so as to make an out-door sitting-room. <a class="fnarrow"
+href="#xd21e3054src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3075" href="#xd21e3075src" name="xd21e3075">3</a></span>
+“More certain than the clock, man<span class="corr" id=
+"xd21e3077" title="Not in source">.”</span> <a class=
+"fnarrow" href="#xd21e3075src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3097" href="#xd21e3097src" name="xd21e3097">4</a></span> Large
+folding dagger-knife. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e3097src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3104" href="#xd21e3104src" name="xd21e3104">5</a></span> Little
+town. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e3104src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s18" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e324">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">WHAT ANA SAW IN THE SUNBEAM.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">“When I lie on the <i lang=
+"es">tomillar</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e3158src" href="#xd21e3158"
+name="xd21e3158src">1</a> and look through the sunbeams,” said
+Ana, “I see all the little sprites getting ready the beautiful
+colours to paint the flowers and the insects, and the clouds, and
+others that dye the tree-leaves green and gild the old walls, and
+others that teach the insects to hum and the birds to sing, and little
+children to smile.</p>
+<p>“Do you know, Lolita,” pursued Ana, “when a little
+baby is put into the cradle for the first, very first time, if the
+Sunbeam plays upon it, the little sprites always look after that baby,
+and never forget it, but when it is grown up into a big man or woman
+they still continue their care. There was once such a little baby,
+Lolita, born in a poor little cottage; such a poor little cottage,
+Lolita, that there were no shutters to the windows of any kind, when it
+was ever so hot the sun all came in, <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb182" href="#pb182" name="pb182">182</a>]</span>and made the air
+suffocating, unless the poor mother could pin up an old dress; but it
+was not often she had one besides the one she had on. So it happened
+that when this little baby was born, Lolita, the sunbeams were
+streaming in, with the little sprites all basking in them, and the
+sprites kissed this little baby, and said, ‘Dear little girl, we
+will never leave you; only be good, and so long as you are good we will
+see that you shall want for nothing at all.’</p>
+<p>“A very little while after, Lolita, that little baby’s
+father died, and you might have said the sprites had forgotten her; but
+it was not so. They kept their word exactly. She did not know her
+father had died. Her mother was there, and took care of her, and she
+was too little to know that other children had more pleasure, so she
+wanted nothing.</p>
+<p>“She did not even know, Lolita, the labour her poor mother had
+to work for them both, and even when she sang her to sleep with her
+sad, ceaseless song,—</p>
+<div lang="es" class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">“En los brazos te tengo,</p>
+<p class="line xd21e2533">Y considero,</p>
+<p class="line">¡Qué será de ti, niño,</p>
+<p class="line xd21e2533">Si yo me muero<a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3178src" href="#xd21e3178" name="xd21e3178src">2</a>!”</p>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb183" href="#pb183" name=
+"pb183">183</a>]</span></p>
+<p>she knew nothing of its meaning; her little face was pressed close
+and warm against her mother’s breast, and a flower or a fruit,
+which the sprites had painted for her, was enough to complete her
+happiness.</p>
+<p>“Before Pura—such was her name—was two years old,
+her mother died too. But the sprites had not forgotten her, Lolita: her
+mother had a sister, and when this sister came to the funeral, they had
+painted Pura’s cheeks with such fresh, clear tints, and lit up
+her baby face with such a bright, sweet smile, that her aunt would not
+part from her, but took her home and brought her up as her own child,
+and was to her as a mother.</p>
+<p>“The sprites played with her now just as before; and when she
+was asleep they used to dance on her bed, and say, ‘Dear little
+girl, we will never leave you; only be good, and so long as you are
+good we will see that you shall want for nothing at all.’</p>
+<p>“Meantime, Pura grew up to learn to be useful: she worked in
+the garden, and kept the house tidy, and fetched the water from the
+fountain, and did all that <i lang="es">Tia</i><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3204src" href="#xd21e3204" name="xd21e3204src">3</a> Trinidad
+wanted. She was very good and very obedient, and never wasted her time;
+her only amusement was lying on the thyme-bed <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb184" href="#pb184" name="pb184">184</a>]</span>in
+the sunshine, because then the sprites painted such pretty dreams for
+her.</p>
+<p>“But <i lang="es">Tia</i> Trinidad was growing old, and after
+her there was no other aunt, nor any relation to look after Pura; and
+though she would not say it aloud to vex Pura, who was always bright
+and gay, she yet continually repeated in her own mind, just as the poor
+mother used to sing,—</p>
+<div lang="es" class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">“En los brazos te tengo,</p>
+<p class="line xd21e2533">Y considero,</p>
+<p class="line">¡Qué será de ti, niño,</p>
+<p class="line xd21e2533">Si yo me muero!”</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">“So things looked very bad again, Lolita; but
+the sprites had not forgotten Pura, as you shall see.</p>
+<p>“<i lang="es">Tia</i> Trinidad earned her living by waiting on
+strangers at the little inn down in the village, and as few people came
+that way, she was often many days without earning a <i lang=
+"es">’chavo</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e3233src" href=
+"#xd21e3233" name="xd21e3233src">4</a>. One day, however, there came a
+great gentleman who had returned from the Indies with a great lot of
+money; he said he had roamed the world long enough, and seen enough of
+great cities; he meant now to settle himself in some quiet, remote
+village, and the only thing he wanted in this world was a nice, good,
+industrious wife, who would make his home smiling and happy.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb185" href="#pb185" name=
+"pb185">185</a>]</span></p>
+<p>“‘Then I can fit you to a nicety!’ broke in
+<i lang="es">Tia</i> Trinidad, who had been seized with a most diligent
+dusting fit all the time the traveller had been detailing his plans to
+the <i lang="es">Cura</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e3246src" href=
+"#xd21e3246" name="xd21e3246src">5</a> of the village, and had not
+missed a word.</p>
+<p>“‘Can you?’ said the traveller, not at all
+displeased at her boldness.</p>
+<p>“‘That can I,’ continued <i lang="es">Tia</i>
+Trinidad, earnestly; ‘and there isn’t a girl to match her
+in Madrid, and the <i lang="es">Padre Cura</i> will bear me
+out!’</p>
+<p>“‘What ... Pura, you mean ... I suppose?’ said the
+<i lang="es">Cura</i>, somewhat embarrassed between his desire to speak
+the truth, and his fear of crushing the—as it seemed to
+him—exaggerated ideas of his poor parishioner. ‘Yes, Pura
+is a good girl enough;’ and he paused to think how much he could
+say in her favour; ‘young, and—pretty, and—simple,
+and—lively, and—notable altogether,
+but——’</p>
+<p>“‘Well,’ interrupted the traveller, hastily,
+‘out with your <i>but!</i> for you have named the very qualities
+which go to make up my ideal of a wife; speak, <i lang=
+"es">hombre</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e3271src" href="#xd21e3271"
+name="xd21e3271src">6</a>!’</p>
+<p>“‘Well, I mean—I mean, only that she is a
+little—a little—what shall I say?—a little
+<i>homely</i> for <i>your</i> wife——’</p>
+<p>“‘<i>Homely</i>, is it? Oh! if that’s all, we
+sha’n’t <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb186" href="#pb186"
+name="pb186">186</a>]</span>quarrel. I don’t want any of your
+fine ladies who are only thinking of setting themselves off, and attend
+to nothing but their toilet! Come, good woman, ask your young friend to
+allow me to come and see her to-morrow.’</p>
+<p>“Too overjoyed to answer, <i lang="es">Tia</i> Trinidad set
+off on the instant at full speed, and ran so fast you could not have
+told what her gown was made of as she passed. When she reached home,
+out of breath, she told her niece to adorn the house, and dress herself
+in her best, for she expected a visitor next morning.</p>
+<p>“Pura—who, though now seventeen, still kept up her
+simple habit of doing whatever she was bid with
+alacrity—fulfilled the directions given her with great exactness
+and success, and never thought of asking who or what the visitor was,
+or what business brought him.</p>
+<p>“When the traveller called next morning, and found the room so
+smiling, the sunbeams playing through the muslin blinds upon the
+snow-white curtains, the brightly-tinted flowers—which, by the
+way, the sprites had painted on purpose—so tastefully arranged,
+and Pura herself looking so neat, and with no thought of display in her
+head, he was delighted, and left with an air of satisfaction, which
+convinced <i lang="es">Tia</i> Trinidad that all was going on right.
+Only, as he was going away, he turned and asked <i lang="es">Tia</i>
+Trinidad if Pura could make lace; <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb187"
+href="#pb187" name="pb187">187</a>]</span>and <i lang="es">Tia</i>
+Trinidad, who deemed her niece such a pearl that there was nothing she
+could not do, without thinking, answered “Yes.”
+Nevertheless, poor Pura had had too much labour with the garden and the
+house-work all her young life to have had leisure for indoor
+occupation. She could take a turn, indeed, at her aunt’s
+spinning-wheel; but such an accomplishment as making lace she had never
+practised.</p>
+<p>“‘Why did you tell the gentleman I knew how to make
+lace, when I don’t, aunt?’ she exclaimed, for she could not
+bear an untruth about the least matter.</p>
+<p>“‘Well, I did not know what to say, all in the
+surprise,’ replied the good aunt. ‘It seemed as if I should
+give a false impression of your habits, which are so industrious, if I
+said you could not do any thing he expected of you.’</p>
+<p>“‘Then why didn’t you say that I could spin, and
+scour, and dig?’ answered Pura, ingenuously.</p>
+<p>“‘Dig, and scour, and spin, indeed! Fine recommendations
+for <i>his</i> purpose,’ rejoined the aunt, mysteriously; and
+before Pura could ask what on earth this ‘purpose’ was, a
+messenger brought in three bobbins of fine black silk, for her to make
+into a piece of lace, as a proof of her skill.</p>
+<p>“‘Oh, aunt, what shall we do? What <i>shall</i> we
+do?’ sobbed poor Pura, who could not endure to be thought a
+deceiver.</p>
+<p>“‘Don’t worry, child,’ returned the aunt,
+‘something <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb188" href="#pb188"
+name="pb188">188</a>]</span>or other will turn up. There’s
+nothing so easy as making lace, after all, and three bobbins are gone
+like winking. You <i>must</i> get through it somehow, for your fate
+depends upon it.’</p>
+<p>“Pura went to bed that night crying; and cried herself to
+sleep. But very early in the morning, very early indeed, Lolita, the
+sunbeams woke her—you see the sprites never lost sight of her.
+And three beautiful sprites—the three who had most care of
+her—came floating down the Sunbeam. Without saying a word, they
+took up the bobbins of silk, for they had brought every thing with them
+that was wanted for making lace, as if they had known all about it,
+and, rattling them about, <i lang="es">en un dos por tres</i><a class=
+"noteref" id="xd21e3337src" href="#xd21e3337" name=
+"xd21e3337src">7</a>, they turned off a splendid mantilla, all made out
+with flowers, and birds, and every thing you can think of, and then
+threw it on the bed, and disappeared before Pura had time to recover
+from her surprise.</p>
+<p>“When the stranger called next day, and saw this extraordinary
+proof of industry and skill, he could hardly believe his eyes, and went
+away more pleased than the day before.</p>
+<p>“‘Didn’t I tell <i lang="es">á su
+mercé</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e3347src" href="#xd21e3347"
+name="xd21e3347src">8</a> that she was a jewel?’ whispered the
+old lady.</p>
+<p>“‘I begin to think you did not exaggerate,’
+answered the traveller. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb189" href=
+"#pb189" name="pb189">189</a>]</span></p>
+<p>“And then, turning to Pura, he asked her if she was as perfect
+in household duties as in accomplishments; whether, for instance, she
+understood cooking.</p>
+<p>“‘<i lang="es">¡Pues no ha de saber cocer<a class=
+"noteref" id="xd21e3359src" href="#xd21e3359" name=
+"xd21e3359src">9</a>!</i>’ interposed the aunt, without allowing
+Pura time to speak; for she knew the good girl would have answered the
+strict truth; and she thought as the sprites had got her out of one
+scrape, they might be trusted to get her out of another.</p>
+<p>“In the evening, the messenger came again, this time followed
+by two other porters, each carrying baskets of provisions, which they
+set down, with the message that Pura was to make a famous <i lang=
+"es">olla podrida</i>, and the gentleman would come in and dine off it
+the next day.</p>
+<p>“Pura’s tears fell fast on the beautiful market spoil,
+on which <i lang="es">Tia</i> Trinidad stood feasting her gaze. Never
+had such a provision of generous diet stood within sight of her hearth!
+But Pura only reflected on her incapacity to deal with such choice
+materials, and she knew there was no help to be got from her aunt, to
+whose <i>cuisine</i> even a piece of bacon was a rare delicacy.</p>
+<p>“Pura went to bed that night as sad as the night before, for
+she kept saying to herself, ‘Suppose the gentleman should think
+it is I who have been deceiving him!’</p>
+<p>“But the sprites did not forget her, Lolita. <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb190" href="#pb190" name="pb190">190</a>]</span>Very
+early in the morning—very early!—they came in on the
+Sunbeam, as bright and as beautiful as before; and in a trice they had
+laid the fire in the stove and blown the charcoal into a fine red glow;
+then, while one took down the large <i lang="es">ollas</i><a class=
+"noteref" id="xd21e3387src" href="#xd21e3387" name=
+"xd21e3387src">10</a> from the shelf, and filled them with water at the
+well, one was busy plucking the fowls, and another washing and
+preparing the vegetables. The vegetables were soon put on in one
+<i lang="es">olla</i> with the bacon; and then the fowls, the ham, the
+sausages, the tripe, the pigs’-fry, the rolls of lean meat nicely
+larded and stuffed, all set to stew in another, and all seasoned with
+the greatest care and delicacy. The whole morning Pura watched the
+sprites. And though <i lang="es">Tia</i> Trinidad saw nothing but the
+Sunbeam playing about the kitchen, Pura saw them, as they carefully
+skimmed the pots, added to the liquor or the flavouring, made up or
+slackened the fire; then, an hour before dinner-time the contents of
+the two <i lang="es">ollas</i> were mingled with care, and once more
+set on to simmer, while with herbs, and bread-crumbs, and garlic,
+pimento, and parsley, certain <i lang="es">albóndigas
+gruesas</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e3402src" href="#xd21e3402" name=
+"xd21e3402src">11</a> were being made ready, and fried in sparkling oil
+to a fine golden hue, ready to drop into the <i lang="es">olla</i> the
+moment before serving up.</p>
+<p>“The traveller came, faithful to his appointment, <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb191" href="#pb191" name="pb191">191</a>]</span>and
+the delicious odours of the <i lang="es">olla</i> met him directly he
+entered the garden-gate, overpowering the perfume of the carnations on
+the window-sills. Proudly <i lang="es">Tia</i> Trinidad bore in the
+lordly dish, for she knew that never in the palace was a more perfect
+stew served. The traveller dined with undisguised satisfaction; he
+confessed it was the <i lang="fr">ne plus ultra</i> of cooking. Nothing
+was wanting, of nothing was there too much, every thing was in its due
+proportion and proved the handiwork of a true artist in cooking.</p>
+<p>“‘As you understand so well how to prepare this homely
+dish,’ he said, at the close of many compliments, as he took
+leave, ‘I am sure your delicate taste must be equally faultless
+at confections—I shall ask you to make me a <i lang=
+"es">turron</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e3425src" href="#xd21e3425"
+name="xd21e3425src">12</a> to-morrow.’</p>
+<p>“Pura, struck dumb with perplexity, was vainly striving to
+frame some speech by means of which to explain how little part she had
+had in the performances he had been led to ascribe to her; but while
+she was yet thinking, her admirer had already plucked a carnation for
+her hair, and, raising his hand in affectionate farewell, had taken his
+departure.</p>
+<p>“<i lang="es">Tia</i> Trinidad busied herself with putting by
+the remains of the abundant meal: there was meat enough to last her
+frugal needs a week, and more, and some to spare for a poor neighbour
+besides. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb192" href="#pb192" name=
+"pb192">192</a>]</span></p>
+<p>While she schemed and portioned, Pura, torn by conflicting thoughts,
+stood still, with the carnation in her hand, gazing after the form of
+the stranger as he disappeared among the trees, and wondering why she
+had not courage to run after him and explain all.</p>
+<p>“She stood thus leaning against the window-pane, and still
+gazing, perplexed, hours afterwards, when the same messenger who had
+visited her on the two evenings before, again appeared, with a load of
+almonds and filberts, pine-kernels and walnuts, honey and eggs. Pura
+took the things from him with a heavy heart, for she was much too
+humble and simple to expect that the sprites <i>could</i> be so kind as
+to help her again; so she went to bed in as great distress as on the
+preceding nights. Nevertheless, early in the morning—very early,
+very soon after sunrise, that is as soon as the sun was up high enough
+for his beams to get in at her window—in came the three sprites,
+and, without saying a word, set to work, just as they had the day
+before; then began such a wonderful bruising, and pounding, and mixing,
+that Pura soon lost all fear of the work not being performed as
+perfectly as on the two former occasions. They had not yet half
+finished their mixing, when all of a sudden she noticed a soft buzzing
+sound, like the humming of bees, but all in beautiful melody; and then
+she saw the Sunbeam full of sprites of every <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb193" href="#pb193" name="pb193">193</a>]</span>hue
+like living flowers. They were the genii of the flowers, and they wore
+the very forms of the flowers, their bright petals making so many
+wings, and they came and poured each its own perfumed nectar into the
+confection, giving it a flavour such as no <i lang="es">turron</i>, of
+earth at least, ever possessed before.</p>
+<p>“‘We have done all these things for you,’ said the
+sprites, when they had completed their handiwork; ‘now, we want
+you to do one thing for us.’</p>
+<p>“‘Oh, whatever you like! only tell me any thing I can
+do!’ answered Pura, with a ready grace.</p>
+<p>“‘Well, it is this. We know three poor girls, very poor
+and very sick; they are all terribly deformed cripples. They are so
+deformed and so ugly that they live in the hospital, and never get
+asked any where. It would be such a pleasure to them to come to your
+wedding-fête. They will be no ornament to it, I know; but still,
+will you let them come?’</p>
+<p>“‘Oh, yes; to be sure, poor things;’ answered
+Pura, with grateful and charitable alacrity; ‘that is, whenever I
+get married. But who would marry a poor penniless orphan-girl, who can
+do nothing? More likely I shall have to go to the hospital too, when
+aunt dies.’</p>
+<p>“‘Oh, no; you’re going to be married very soon, to
+that traveller who has been here so often.’</p>
+<p>“‘What; to that kind, handsome gentleman!’ cried
+Pura, in raptures. But a moment after, a <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb194" href="#pb194" name="pb194">194</a>]</span>cloud stole over her
+joyous countenance; and, hiding her face in her hands, she said, sadly,
+‘No; <i>that</i> can never be. I dread even to meet him again,
+because we have been deceiving him. Oh, it was very wrong; I would not
+have done it for the world if I had had time to speak. If he wants to
+marry me, it’s because he thinks I’m so clever; and when he
+finds I can do nothing he will turn his back, and that is not the
+worst. When he finds he is deceived, and I can do nothing, oh, how he
+will despise me!’ And she sobbed again.</p>
+<p>“‘No, it is not because you are clever,’ answered
+the sprites; ‘it is because you are good. If you have not learned
+more, it is because you had not the opportunity. You have always been
+industrious at doing what you did understand; and as to deceiving him,
+that has never been your will and intention. So cheer up! we will make
+it all right. Only don’t forget to invite the three poor girls
+from the hospital to the feast.’ And the sprites floated away on
+the sunbeam.</p>
+<p>“‘Be sure I shall not forget them, poor things!’
+cried Pura after them.</p>
+<p>“The next day the stranger came again; and having tasted the
+exquisite <i lang="es">turron</i>, which seemed indeed to have been
+perfumed by no ordinary taste, he told <i lang="es">Tia</i> Trinidad he
+hoped she would let him marry her niece at once.</p>
+<p>“There was nothing the old lady desired more; <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb195" href="#pb195" name="pb195">195</a>]</span>for
+she had inquired about him meantime, and found he was a worthy man, as
+well as abundantly supplied with this world’s goods; so all was
+speedily arranged.</p>
+<p>“To her surprise, when she came to announce her good fortune
+to her niece, and to arrange preliminaries with her, she found she was
+any thing but pleased, and only burst into tears.</p>
+<p>“‘Why, child! what ever is the matter with you?’
+she exclaimed. ‘You don’t mean you don’t like him?
+I’m sure he has spoken kindly and fondly enough to you. And what
+is more, he has spoken kindly and fondly enough behind your back, too;
+which shows his esteem is genuine, and no mere flattery.’</p>
+<p>“‘That’s it. That’s just what makes me so
+wretched,’ sobbed Pura.</p>
+<p>“‘What, wretched to think a good man loves
+you!’</p>
+<p>“‘No, aunt, no; but to think that he is so good and so
+kind, and we have been deceiving him. When he finds I can do none of
+the things he has fancied I am so clever at, what will he think of me?
+With what face can I meet him? Will he ever respect me again?’
+and she sobbed harder than ever.</p>
+<p>“‘Nonsense, child, don’t take on like that,’
+responded the aunt. ‘You’ve got through it all so far. Do
+as I bid you, and it will all come right in the end.’
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb196" href="#pb196" name=
+"pb196">196</a>]</span></p>
+<p>“Pura, used to obey, and trusting in great measure also to the
+promises of the sunbeam-sprites, prepared to do her aunt’s
+bidding, though with somewhat mixed feelings.</p>
+<p>“When the wedding-day was fixed, and all preparations made,
+Pura did not forget to go out early into the <i lang="es">tomillar</i>,
+and ask the sprites of the sunbeam how she should find their
+protégées, the three cripples of the hospital.
+‘Leave that to us,’ said the sprites. ‘You have done
+your part in remembering them. We will take care they have the
+invitation; only give us the token by which they may be sure of being
+admitted.’</p>
+<p>“‘A red and white carnation will suffice,’
+answered Pura; and a cloud overshadowed the sunbeam.</p>
+<p>“The wedding came, and the <i lang="fr">fêtes</i>, and
+the cripples. A pitiable sight they were, indeed. They were still
+young; but their distorted forms only made their youth a motive for
+greater compassion. The back of one was curled over so that her chin
+touched her waist, and her arms were so short they were no longer than
+the fins of a fish. Those of the second were so swollen that each was
+the size of her whole body, and you could scarcely tell which was
+which; and on her forehead was a great swelling like the horn of a
+rhinoceros. The skin of the third was all shrivelled and seamed with
+scars, and her eyes were red all round, and stood out from her head
+worse than those of a lobster. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb197"
+href="#pb197" name="pb197">197</a>]</span></p>
+<p>“‘Pura!’ exclaimed the bridegroom, as they made
+their approach, ‘how on earth did these three scarecrows get in?
+they are almost enough to cast an evil eye on our happiness.’</p>
+<p>“‘Say not so, beloved,’ replied Pura; ‘they
+are three poor girls who might have been as happy as you and I, but
+that misfortune overtook them. Their life is sad enough, shall we not
+try to make them glad for once, on our own happy day?’</p>
+<p>“‘Sweet child, you are right, and I was hasty,’
+answered the bridegroom; ‘but how did you come to know
+them?’</p>
+<p>“‘Some one who was very kind to me seemed to take an
+interest in them too, and asked me to invite them, that they might have
+one bright day at least.’</p>
+<p>“‘Then, if that is the case, they have my heartiest
+welcome; I had rather see them here than if they were the highest
+duchesses of the land.’</p>
+<p>“And with that he sent the friend who attended to marshalling
+the guests, to put them in the best places, nearest to the bride and
+himself.</p>
+<p>“Nevertheless, he could not get over his curiosity, to know
+why they were formed in such an extraordinary manner; and when the
+conversation began to get sufficiently general and familiar, he went up
+to the first, and after an exchange of ordinary compliments, and
+feeling his way by little <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb198" href=
+"#pb198" name="pb198">198</a>]</span>and little, at last allowed
+himself to say in the politest tone,—</p>
+<p>“<span class="corr" id="xd21e3530" title=
+"Not in source">‘</span><i>May</i> I ask, dear friend, how it is
+your back comes to be so bent, and your arms so very short?’</p>
+<p>“And while he waited in great perturbation, lest he should
+have offended or hurt the poor thing, she answered cheerfully
+enough,—</p>
+<p>“‘By all means, I am not at all ashamed of it. I used to
+be a famous hand at making lace, and my step-mother, finding she could
+make a lot of money out of my work, kept me at it so hard that from
+bending over it so much my back never came straight again; and my arms,
+from continually twisting the bobbins, got quite worn away and screwed
+like into the sockets, and never <i>would</i> come out any
+more.’</p>
+<p>“‘Indeed!’ exclaimed the bridegroom, almost
+abruptly, for his alarm got the better of his courtesy; and with that
+he sprang to the side of his bride, and exacted from her a promise that
+she would never never make any lace from that day forward.</p>
+<p>“Pura gave the promise willingly enough; and, his composure
+somewhat restored, her husband before long found his curiosity lead him
+to the side of the second ‘scarecrow’ guest, to ask her why
+her arms were so <i>very</i> thick, and why she had such a bump on her
+forehead. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb199" href="#pb199" name=
+"pb199">199</a>]</span></p>
+<p>“‘Because,’ she answered, in a tone which seemed
+to show she was pleased to have the opportunity of explaining the
+circumstance, ‘because I used to be a rare hand at making
+<i lang="es">almendrado</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e3555src" href=
+"#xd21e3555" name="xd21e3555src">13</a> and <i lang="es">turrones</i>
+of every kind, and from continually pounding, pounding at the almonds
+and nuts, my arms grew as thick as you see; and as I often knocked my
+forehead with the big pestle we used, I got this ugly bump.’</p>
+<p>“With greater trepidation than before, he darted, at hearing
+this, to Pura’s side, and taking her hand in his, required her to
+promise him with the greatest solemnity that she would never touch any
+confectionary again.</p>
+<p>“Encouraged by the good-natured reception his curiosity had
+met with in the two former cases, he soon found himself by the side of
+the third cripple, asking her why her eyes were so red and goggled, and
+her skin so scarred.</p>
+<p>“‘Because I was a famous cook,’ was the answer.
+‘I was married very young, and my husband was very particular
+about his dinner. I never could be away from the cooking-stove, there
+was always something to be got ready; and that injured my eyes. And
+worse than that, one day I had a frying-pan in my hand, full of boiling
+oil, and I was just going to drop in the chops, when bang went a pane
+of glass. Some one had <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb200" href=
+"#pb200" name="pb200">200</a>]</span>frightened the cat, and in he had
+bounded through the window, scattering the glass right and left. The
+noise gave me such a start, that I upset the frying-pan over the heated
+stove, the oil flared up in my face, and burnt me all over as you see
+me.’</p>
+<p>“Without retaining sufficient self-command to say the few
+words of sympathy and consolation which would not have failed him at
+another time, he hasted back to Pura, and insisted that then and there
+she would promise him never to touch a frying-pan or an <i lang=
+"es">olla</i> more.</p>
+<p>“Then Pura understood why the sprites had bid her invite the
+cripples to her wedding; and she had her reward for her charity. And
+you see, Lolita, dear, how they kept their promise. So no wonder I am
+fond of looking into the sunbeam.” <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb201" href="#pb201" name="pb201">201</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3158" href="#xd21e3158src" name="xd21e3158">1</a></span> Bank of
+wild thyme. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e3158src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote" lang="en"><span class="label"><a class="noteref"
+id="xd21e3178" href="#xd21e3178src" name="xd21e3178">2</a></span></p>
+<div class="q">
+<div class="body">
+<div class="div1 chapter">
+<div class="divHead">
+<div class="lgouter footnote">
+<p class="line">“While in my arms I hold thee,</p>
+<p class="line xd21e2533">I ask myself alway,</p>
+<p class="line">What fate I leave thee to, child,</p>
+<p class="line xd21e2533">If call’d by death away.”</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+<p> <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e3178src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3204" href="#xd21e3204src" name="xd21e3204">3</a></span> Aunt. It
+is also a title of respect and endearment, much in use between intimate
+friends, especially among the lower orders in Spain. <a class=
+"fnarrow" href="#xd21e3204src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3233" href="#xd21e3233src" name="xd21e3233">4</a></span> <i lang=
+"es">Ochavo</i>, a coin about equal to a farthing. <a class=
+"fnarrow" href="#xd21e3233src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3246" href="#xd21e3246src" name="xd21e3246">5</a></span>
+Clergyman of the parish. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e3246src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3271" href="#xd21e3271src" name="xd21e3271">6</a></span> Man. An
+ejaculation with which the Spaniard frequently interlards his
+conversation. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e3271src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3337" href="#xd21e3337src" name="xd21e3337">7</a></span> As we
+should say, “like winking.” <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e3337src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3347" href="#xd21e3347src" name="xd21e3347">8</a></span> Your
+worship. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e3347src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote" lang="en"><span class="label"><a class="noteref"
+id="xd21e3359" href="#xd21e3359src" name="xd21e3359">9</a></span>
+“I should think she <i>did</i> know how to cook
+indeed!” <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e3359src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3387" href="#xd21e3387src" name="xd21e3387">10</a></span> Earthen
+pots. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e3387src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3402" href="#xd21e3402src" name="xd21e3402">11</a></span>
+Something like our forcemeat-balls. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e3402src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3425" href="#xd21e3425src" name="xd21e3425">12</a></span> A
+sweetmeat in as general adoption in Spain as our toffy. <a class=
+"fnarrow" href="#xd21e3425src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3555" href="#xd21e3555src" name="xd21e3555">13</a></span>
+Sweetmeat composed of pounded almonds and honey. <a class=
+"fnarrow" href="#xd21e3555src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s19" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e331">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">THE PEDRO JIMENEZ GRAPE.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">There was a well-to-do vine-grower named Pedro
+Jimenez, who cultivated a small tract of land on which his fathers had
+lived for many generations before him, and had been known throughout
+the district for men of undoubted <i lang="es">pundonor</i>, by which
+word Spaniards express the most scrupulous nicety of honourable
+conduct. Blessed with all other worldly advantages, Pedro Jimenez had
+one great trial—he had no child to whom to transmit the name he
+had received from his predecessors, and himself borne so creditably.
+When he reflected on this, there was one thought in the background
+which used to distress him. There was living at a sufficient distance
+to be quite unknown to his neighbours, a poor relation of his wife,
+whom he assisted frequently in secret; but he had never let the
+knowledge of the humiliating circumstance transpire. Yet he knew that
+this poor hard-working man with difficulty kept his family above want;
+that the greatest delicacy in which <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb202" href="#pb202" name="pb202">202</a>]</span>they could ever
+indulge was the dish popularly called <i lang="es">duelos y
+quebranto</i>s (sorrows and troubles), a stew made up of the poorest
+odds and ends and leavings<a class="noteref" id="xd21e3590src" href=
+"#xd21e3590" name="xd21e3590src">1</a>, in bitter mockery of the
+favourite Spanish <i lang="es">olla podrida</i>, which is a compound of
+the most succulent meats and vegetables.</p>
+<p>Conscience would whisper in Pedro Jimenez’s ear, “Here,
+in this poor fellow’s son, is an heir whom you may adopt; take
+him from the present temptations to discontent and dishonesty with
+which privations ply him, and bring him up according to the traditional
+maxims of your house.” But when he thought of the details of
+bringing the ragged lad to his respectable homestead, and the
+neighbours pointing to him as the relation of the wealthy Pedro
+Jimenez, his courage failed him, and he turned from the idea. So years
+passed by, and this thought remained the weak point of Pedro
+Jimenez’s otherwise irreproachable character.</p>
+<p>One evening, as he was strolling through his vineyard, admiring the
+beautiful clusters of grapes which were his riches for the coming year,
+he was disturbed by the mournful howling of a dog, proceeding from the
+road-side at no great distance. His kind heart prompted him immediately
+to follow up the sound, and he was not long before he came upon a
+saddening sight. On the ground lay the <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb203" href="#pb203" name="pb203">203</a>]</span>prostrate form of a
+delicate youth, foot-sore and travel-worn, and now brought to a state
+of unconsciousness through exhaustion; by his side there lay a large
+shaggy dog of pitiable aspect; his bones almost protruded through his
+skin, his eyes were glassy and wild, and he trembled in every limb. His
+melancholy howling grew fainter and fainter, and by the time Pedro
+Jimenez got up to the group, he saw he was past the reach of help; with
+one more distressful howl, he rolled on his back and expired, having
+spent his last breath in summoning aid to his young master!</p>
+<p>Pedro Jimenez lost no time in raising the youth in his arms, and
+bearing him to his own comfortable home, where his wife’s kindly
+care soon restored him to animation. Refreshed by her attentions, he
+was soon able to tell his tale; and what was the surprise of the good
+couple when they learnt that the poor child they had so charitably
+entertained, was no other than the son of their poor relation.
+Nevertheless his history was a sad one. His father and mother had both
+fallen victims to an epidemic disorder in their village; kind
+neighbours had taken in the younger children, a convent had provided
+for two older girls; and the eldest boy, having been used to labour all
+his life, had manfully resolved to be a charge to no stranger, but had
+set out to seek the advice and direction of the only relation he had to
+look up to, in finding work by which he <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb204" href="#pb204" name="pb204">204</a>]</span>could support
+himself, and lay by enough to portion his younger sisters. As the weary
+boy told his tale of domestic heroism, Pedro Jimenez’s better
+nature stirred within him. He no longer stifled the dictates of
+conscience, no longer suffered himself to be governed by a false and
+foolish fear of human respect, but took his young kinsman by the hand,
+told him he was proud of his spirit, and that as Heaven had denied him
+direct heirs, he would henceforth make it depend entirely on his own
+good conduct to become the heir to his comfortable competence.</p>
+<p>The orphan lad was overjoyed at the prospect. In his little world
+the name of Pedro Jimenez had all his life stood as the embodiment of
+all that was respectable, and desirable, and worthy of imitation. To be
+suddenly elevated to the position of aspiring to one day himself
+inheriting that honoured name, with all its contingent advantages, was
+greater happiness than he had ever dared to entertain in his wildest
+dreams.</p>
+<p>Pedro Jimenez had every reason to be satisfied with the decision he
+had come to. All the neighbours who were sufficiently men of worth to
+make their opinion a matter of consequence, far from looking down on
+him for the disclosure, warmly applauded his generosity; and in return
+for the few worthless ones whose acquaintance he lost by it, he won for
+himself the affection of a devoted son. <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb205" href="#pb205" name="pb205">205</a>]</span>The old man had never
+known a greater pleasure than that he now found in taking his adopted
+child out with him day by day, and instructing him in all the various
+arts of treating the vine—the mode of planting and culture, the
+vintage, the pressing of the grape, and the disposal of the wine; and
+to all this, his young charge listened with an earnestness and
+intelligence that repaid all his care. His frugality, and industry, and
+straightforward manly conduct on all occasions—his almost
+feminine kindliness of manner in supplying to the best of his power the
+offices of the old wife, when God took her home, all rendered the old
+man quite easy as to the future successor to his name.</p>
+<p>At last the time came when Pedro Jimenez the elder, full of years
+and honour, was called to his account; and as his adopted son turned to
+meet the desolation of the lonely house, there was one thought of
+consolation to gild his bereavement, the sense that he could make his
+whole after-life a token of obedience to the upright maxims of his
+benefactor, in whose stead he now stood.</p>
+<p>While our hero had been living in rustic tranquillity in the
+remotest part of the south of Spain, great events had been stirring
+Europe. The tumultuous tide of the French Revolution had overflowed the
+Peninsula. I will not detain you with any thing you can consider a dry
+epitome of history. Suffice it to say, that in consequence of the
+troubles in <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb206" href="#pb206" name=
+"pb206">206</a>]</span>which his country was involved, young Pedro
+Jimenez was called to join the army.</p>
+<p>Having felt, as I hope you have, some interest in the honest pride
+with which he was on the point of entering on his inheritance, I am
+sure you will sympathize with the sadness of heart which now
+overshadowed him as he was obliged to <span class="corr" id="xd21e3620"
+title="Source: abandom">abandon</span> his fair homestead just as it
+had become his own. “It is well the old man never suspected it
+would come to this! ... and then peace must come and restore me to my
+home some time or other,” he used to say to comfort himself
+during the weary march or tedious drill. There was, however, yet a
+heavier trial in store. It was the policy of the intruded French ruler
+to send away the native troops out of their country, and replace them
+with French troops. Now it happened that Pedro Jimenez was attached to
+the regiment of General Romano, which was one of those selected for
+foreign service. Ordered to the banks of the Rhine, poor Pedro Jimenez
+seemed farther than ever from the fulfilment of his darling hopes. He
+had perhaps felt the defence of his country some compensation for the
+separation from home; but to fight for the unjust aggressions of one
+who was the usurper of the throne of his native land was surpassingly
+hard. When not joining his comrades in lamenting their hard fate, he
+would wander over the country, trying to find any incident which
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb207" href="#pb207" name=
+"pb207">207</a>]</span>might remind him of his beloved Andalusia. His
+attention was thus arrested by the vines which he found growing on the
+heights around. The knowledge of the subject he had acquired during so
+many years’ apprenticeship, and under so experienced a master,
+now proved invaluable. His practised eye readily distinguished among
+the varieties presented to it a superior variety adapted to the soil
+and climate of Andalusia, and he determined, whenever Providence was
+pleased to give him an opportunity of returning, that he would provide
+himself with the means of propagating this stock in his own
+plantation.</p>
+<p>Nor was this opportunity very long withheld. General Romano, though
+scarcely taller than the length of an ordinary man’s arm<a class=
+"noteref" id="xd21e3627src" href="#xd21e3627" name="xd21e3627src">2</a>
+bore in his little body a large and loyal heart: by dint of persevering
+efforts, he succeeded in making a way of escape for his whole regiment,
+shipped them, and carried them safely round to a friendly port of
+Portugal, and thence draughted them all back into Spain, where they did
+good service under Wellington.</p>
+<p>Pedro could hardly believe his ears for joy, when the mysterious
+order was transmitted to him, to prepare for the secret return: yet he
+did not in his transports forget the coveted vine. The plant thus
+obtained, tended and preserved with much <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb208" href="#pb208" name="pb208">208</a>]</span>care and anxiety
+through the voyage, might still have been condemned to perish, had he
+been called to active service; but the rough life and the long voyage
+had impaired his health. After several months in hospital, during which
+time, you may be sure, he did not neglect his precious plant, he was
+sent home invalided.</p>
+<p>He found his own <i lang="es">viña</i> in a sad state of
+neglect; but his native air having soon restored his strength, he was
+able within a few years more, not only to bring it round again, but
+also to produce a goodly show from his newly imported vine-stock. And
+from this vintage it is—the Rhenish stock planted in Andalusian
+soil, and cultivated with tender care and intelligence—that we
+get the choice variety of sherry wine (you can ask Papa to let you
+taste it some day at dessert) called “Pedro Jimenez.”
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb209" href="#pb209" name=
+"pb209">209</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3590" href="#xd21e3590src" name="xd21e3590">1</a></span> There is
+so little trace of flesh meat in it that it was allowed on
+fast-days. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e3590src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote" lang="es"><span class="label"><a class="noteref"
+id="xd21e3627" href="#xd21e3627src" name="xd21e3627">2</a></span>
+Tamaño como del codo á la mano. <a class="fnarrow"
+href="#xd21e3627src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s20" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e338">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">ST. MARTIN IN SPAIN.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">About the time that the Pedro Jiménez vintage
+was coming into growth, a favourite old vintage of Spain was just
+becoming exhausted, or for some reason going out of fashion,—the
+white wine of San Martin, so called from the locality of its production
+in Castilla la Vieja, not far from Toledo.</p>
+<p>Now it happens that in Spain—where Christianity has woven
+itself more familiarly perhaps than any where else into the home
+traditions of the people, and every class and state of man has assigned
+to it a special patron—that St. Martin is counted the patron
+Saint of drunkards. “Patron Saint of drunkards!” you will
+perhaps exclaim; “what have Saints got to do with
+drunkards?” But think a little, and remember how mercifully our
+Lord associated “with publicans and sinners,” that He might
+reclaim them, and then you will say it is not so strange after all.
+Drunkards are very few in Spain, so few that there is no idiomatic word
+to <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb210" href="#pb210" name=
+"pb210">210</a>]</span>call them by—nothing but the popular
+mocking expression <i lang="es">borracho</i>, which is simply formed by
+putting a masculine termination to the word <i lang="es">borracha</i>,
+a wine-skin; for you know it is the common practice in Spain, to store
+all the wine that is intended for use within a short period, in skins
+instead of barrels. And very curious it is, I assure you, when you are
+travelling in Spain, to see great skins of pigs and goats, sometimes
+with the hair still on, hanging up in the wine-shops, swelled out to
+their utmost extent with wine.</p>
+<p>I was curious to find out how St. Martin came to be reckoned the
+<i>male-wineskin’s</i> patron; and in course of my inquiries,
+came upon two or three little traditions which may amuse you.</p>
+<p>One was, that in a church much frequented by large numbers of the
+poorer peasantry, there was, among other pictures, one representing St.
+Martin dividing his cloak with the beggar, according to the legend you
+have all heard. But it happened that the painter, in the <span class=
+"corr" id="xd21e3663" title="Source: plentitude">plenitude</span> of
+his idealism, had made a slight alteration in the usual treatment of
+the figures. Instead of putting a beggar kneeling by the wayside and
+sturdily asking alms, he had drawn one lying down in the extremity of
+exhaustion, and with scarcely a rag to cover him. St. Martin, instead
+of being in the act of cutting his cloak in halves with his sword, as
+you usually see him, was tenderly placing the already severed
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb211" href="#pb211" name=
+"pb211">211</a>]</span>portion of his garment over the shivering form
+of the beggar. But the execution of the picture was not equal to the
+conception: the livid face, with its red and purple lines, by which the
+painter had thought to depict the effect of cold and want, was taken by
+the people to show forth the swollen features of a drunkard, and the
+attitude of exhaustion, for one of helpless intoxication. St.
+Martin’s part in the picture was reckoned to be the saving him
+from the ridicule of the passengers, by covering him up. This act of
+patronage, so assumed, was reckoned to extend to all victims of
+drunkenness.</p>
+<p>Another story told me, was, that it arose from a waggish remark made
+by an Andalusian on another and more normal picture of St. Martin.
+Andalusians are famous for their wit. It is said that the soil of Spain
+is adapted to produce every thing required for both the necessity and
+luxurious enjoyment of human life, except spices; but that this is
+supplied by the spice of Andalusian wit, for an Andalusian hardly opens
+his mouth but to say something witty.</p>
+<p>An Andalusian, then, being asked what he thought of a certain
+picture of the legend of St. Martin replied, it represented such a
+piece of folly that none but a drunken man could have committed it. And
+the connexion thus once set up between a Saint and the condition of
+inebriety, though in <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb212" href="#pb212"
+name="pb212">212</a>]</span>jest, was sufficient to fasten on him the
+patronage of the inebriate.</p>
+<p>But for my own part, I am inclined to think that the vintage of San
+Martin, though now seldom spoken of, having at one time been regarded
+all over Spain as the first vintage of the world, popular tradition
+naturally ascribed the care of those who partook of it to the Saint
+whose name it fortuitously bore.</p>
+<p>In inquiring thus about St. Martin, I found that Spaniards have a
+jesting way of calling one San Rorro also, patron of drunkards; and
+this puzzled me, as I could find <i>nothing like</i> San Rorro in the
+Calendar. Then I learnt that <i lang="es">rorro</i> means a child just
+beginning to walk. Now a drunken man staggers much in the same way as
+an infant first learning to support its own weight; and thus “San
+Rorro” is merely a punning allusion to this similarity. But the
+Spaniard, who, as I have said, weaves his Christianity and—I may
+add—his innocent jest into every thing, remembering that the
+Divine Infant must have tottered too in His first early efforts to
+walk, sees a connexion here which may suggest an occasion for Divine
+pity and patronage. Certainly the common immunity from bad consequences
+of their falls, has led all countries to fable about a “special
+Providence for drunkards.” <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb213"
+href="#pb213" name="pb213">213</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">MARVELLOUS STORIES.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">After recording so many marvellous stories, it seems
+not out of place to give two or three instances of how marvellous
+stories rise in popular imagination; from which it is not difficult to
+infer how other stories have received their marvellous dress.</p>
+<div id="s21" class="div2 section"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e354">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h3 class="label">I.</h3>
+<h3 class="main">ST. MICHAEL’S FEATHER.</h3>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">There is a town in Spain where a feather is preserved
+which is reported by the common people to have been shed by the
+Archangel Michael on the occasion of a miraculous visit to the place.
+An archæologist who was at great pains to investigate this
+matter, after spending much time over the inquiry, traced it very
+satisfactorily to an occasion in which, some hundreds of years ago, an
+<i lang="es">Auto Sacramentale</i>, or, as we say in English, a
+<i>Mystery <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb214" href="#pb214" name=
+"pb214">214</a>]</span>Play</i>—that is, a dramatic
+representation of a religious subject—was being shown, in which
+St. Michael was one of the <i lang="la">dramatis personæ</i>. A
+feather having fallen from the wings employed on the occasion, was
+picked up and preserved with the care which so religious a people
+naturally bestowed on any thing connected, however remotely, with a
+sacred matter; and in process of time, the local circumstances being
+forgotten, the feather was ascribed to St. Michael the Archangel
+himself.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s22" class="div2 section"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e369">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h3 class="label">II.</h3>
+<h3 class="main">“EYES TO THE BLIND.”</h3>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Alfonso Tostato, an Archbishop of Alcalá de
+Henáres in the Middle Ages, wrote some commentaries on the Bible
+which were regarded as a work of great piety and erudition. Difficult
+passages were elucidated with so much plainness, that it was said
+metaphorically in his epitaph, that his works enabled the blind to
+see<a class="noteref" id="xd21e3715src" href="#xd21e3715" name=
+"xd21e3715src">1</a>, which sentence getting to be reported among the
+common people, it was confidently believed that in virtue of the
+services rendered by his works to the Word of God, any blind person who
+could be brought within reach of his writings would be instantly
+restored to sight. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb215" href="#pb215"
+name="pb215">215</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s23" class="div2 section"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e386">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h3 class="label">III.</h3>
+<h3 class="main">THE FLOATING CHEST.</h3>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Cardinal Ximénez, who founded the celebrated
+University of Alcalá, was desirous to spread the knowledge of
+these commentaries, which were falling into oblivion; and he thought to
+render a service to religion by having a new edition of them published.
+As the art of printing was at that time more developed in the Republic
+of Venice than in Spain, he found he could bring it out more
+advantageously there; accordingly the manuscripts were packed and sent
+thither.</p>
+<p>It happened, however, that crossing the Mediterranean, the ship in
+which they were was overtaken by a tremendous gale; and to save the
+lives of the passengers, the captain ordered all the merchandize to be
+thrown overboard, so as to lighten the ship. The chest containing
+Alfonso Tostato’s works was cast into the sea with the rest.</p>
+<p>Next morning, when the danger was past, the person who had been
+entrusted by Ximénez with the care of the manuscripts was in
+great distress at the irreparable loss: not daring to return to Spain,
+he wandered along the shore, hardly knowing what he did, when, lo and
+behold! to his intense delight, there appeared suddenly, floating in
+the sea, the identical chest, the loss of which was the cause
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb216" href="#pb216" name=
+"pb216">216</a>]</span>of his mortification. A boat was quickly
+despatched to haul it in with great joy, and the event was commonly
+regarded as a marvellous interposition. But it would seem that the
+sagacious Ximénez, foreseeing the possible calamity, had ordered
+that the chest should be constructed of the lightest wood; and all who
+have ever had a swim in the Mediterranean know the peculiar buoyancy of
+its waters. Perhaps we may now account for the chest floating.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s24" class="div2 section"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e401">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h3 class="label">IV.</h3>
+<h3 class="main">THE WHALE OF THE MANZANÁRES.</h3>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">A modern Spanish writer gives the following solution
+of a popular tradition that a whale was once seen making its way up the
+Manzanáres. The Manzanáres is a singularly shallow river,
+at certain times of the year not half covering its bed, which rendered
+the tradition still more marvellous<a class="noteref" id="xd21e3747src"
+href="#xd21e3747" name="xd21e3747src">2</a>.</p>
+<p>The solution is this: “A wine-merchant living on its banks was
+once unfortunate enough to have an accident in his storehouse or
+cellar, by which a <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb217" href="#pb217"
+name="pb217">217</a>]</span>number of wine-skins were sent floating
+down the stream. The wine-merchant ran along the bank, calling on the
+neighbours to arrest the float, the rather that one of the skins was
+full of wine; and as the danger of losing them increased, he went on
+crying frantically, “<i lang="es">Una va llena!</i>”
+(“One of them is full!”)</p>
+<p>Now Spaniards make but a scarcely perceptible difference between the
+sound of <i>b</i> and <i>v</i>, so that his cry sounded in the
+people’s ears like <i lang="es">una ballena</i>, which would have
+meant <i>a whale</i>! <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb218" href=
+"#pb218" name="pb218">218</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3715" href="#xd21e3715src" name="xd21e3715">1</a></span></p>
+<div class="q">
+<div class="body">
+<div class="div1 chapter">
+<div class="divHead">
+<div lang="es" class="lgouter footnote">
+<p class="line">“... Su dotrina así alumbro</p>
+<p class="line xd21e3723">Que hace ver á los ciegos.”</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+<p> <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e3715src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3747" href="#xd21e3747src" name="xd21e3747">2</a></span> Dumas
+has indulged his wit at the expense of the unfortunate river, and tells
+us that his son, being overcome by heat one day at the opera, the
+bystanders brought him a glass of water; but he refused it with
+admirable self-sacrifice, exclaiming, “Take it to the poor
+Manzanáres, its necessities are greater than
+mine.” <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e3747src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s25" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e408">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">THE SUN OF WITTENBURG.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Among the engagements fought by the Duke of Alva in
+the Low Countries, no victory was more hotly contested and more hardly
+won than the battle of Wittenburg, in 1548. Some who were present at
+it, when they came back to Spain, magnified, as old soldiers are wont,
+the wonders of the day; and among other extravagant exaggerations, it
+was reported that the sun had stood still to give the victorious
+Spaniards time to pursue their enemies.</p>
+<p>When the Duke of Alva returned, Charles Quint inquired of him his
+account of the event. The Duke, who did not wish either to compromise
+his veracity or diminish the honours of the day, replied, “Sire,
+I had too much occupation on earth for my thoughts to have leisure to
+observe what took place in the heavens.” <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb219" href="#pb219" name="pb219">219</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s26" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e416">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">MERINO.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">You have often had to wear a merino frock and merino
+socks, I dare say; but perhaps you do not know that the fine soft wool
+of which these are made comes from Spain. It is more interesting to
+know that there is a tradition which says that the particular breed of
+sheep from which this wool is taken, came originally from England;
+their coats improved greatly in quality under the genial climate of
+Spain, and some people have supposed that the name <i lang=
+"es">merino</i> is a corruption of <i lang="es">trans marino</i>,
+because they came from <i>over the sea</i>. Others derive it from the
+word <i>Merino</i>, an old title in use in the kingdom of Leon, meaning
+an overseer, and think that the sheep, having on their first arrival
+been given into the care of a Merino, or overseer, the name continued
+to be applied to the animals after it had ceased to denote the
+office.</p>
+<p>Others, again, derive it from the word <i lang="es">merino</i>,
+which denotes the migration to which these sheep <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb220" href="#pb220" name="pb220">220</a>]</span>are
+subjected; for in the hot weather, when the grass of the lowlands gets
+withered up, they have to be driven into the mountain pastures.</p>
+<p>There is some doubt as to the date of the importation of the sheep;
+but most probably they were taken as part of the dowry of Catherine,
+daughter of John of Gaunt, when she went to marry Don Enrique III.,
+King of Leon and Castille. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb221" href=
+"#pb221" name="pb221">221</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s27" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e427">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">KING VAMBA.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">During the time that the Goths governed Spain, there
+was once an interregnum. The stock of the last dynasty was extinct, and
+every one who could collect a few supporters set himself up to rule
+over the rest, so that there were several calling themselves kings at
+once, and fighting with each other for the mastery. Of course this led
+to the greatest confusion, for there was no one to keep order.</p>
+<p>At last, as they found they could not agree among themselves, they
+sent to Rome to ask the Pope to decide for them. So the Pope went into
+his oratory, and prayed God to tell him which of all the candidates
+should be King of Spain. But when he came out again to the envoys, he
+told them that none of the pretenders were worthy to wear the crown;
+that he who was to be King of Spain would be found ploughing his land
+with a grey and white ox, and a priest walking by his <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb222" href="#pb222" name=
+"pb222">222</a>]</span>side; that he would be found somewhere in
+Andalusia, and that his name would be Vamba.</p>
+<p>The envoys came back to Spain in no very cheerful mood; for they
+said, “How shall we find this man?” And then they searched
+Andalusia over, and could find no one whose name was Vamba. Just as
+they were going to give up the search in despair, as they were passing
+through a bank planted with canes they heard a woman with a basket on
+her shoulder call out, “Come and dine, Vamba! You seem to forget
+it is twelve o’clock!”</p>
+<p>When the envoys heard that, they turned round again, and saw a man
+ploughing in a field with a grey and white ox. So they went back, and
+threw themselves on their knees before him, and spoke in this
+manner,</p>
+<p>“Give us your hands to kiss, your majesty!”</p>
+<p>But Vamba, full of astonishment, and at a loss to understand them,
+thought they must want to kill him; and exclaimed, trembling,
+“Spare my life, <i lang="es">Señores</i>! Why do you seek
+to take it?”</p>
+<p>But they answered, “We have no such thought, Vamba. Far from
+it. The Pope who now reigns in Rome told us that you were to be our
+king; and our king you must therefore be.”</p>
+<p>But Vamba, who could not believe they were serious, stuck the
+<i lang="es">vara</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e3834src" href=
+"#xd21e3834" name="xd21e3834src">1</a> he held in his hand for a
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb223" href="#pb223" name=
+"pb223">223</a>]</span>goad, into the ground; and said, laughing,
+“When my <i lang="es">vara</i> shall take root, and bring forth
+flowers, then will I believe that I am King of Spain!”</p>
+<p>Then, behold! before he had finished speaking, the <i lang=
+"es">vara</i> became covered with leaves, and from its branches sprang
+beautiful flowers.</p>
+<p>When Vamba saw that, he hesitated no longer; but called his wife
+Sancha, and his children, and went along with the envoys to Toledo,
+which was the capital of the kingdom of the Goths.</p>
+<p>The envoys sent messengers on before, to tell the Council of the
+kingdom that the king was coming. The Council rose in a body, and went
+out to meet him; and all the people followed behind, and the joy-bells
+were set ringing.</p>
+<p>Thus King Vamba made his entrance by the Gate of Cambron, the
+noblest gate adorning great Toledo; but when he saw the Alcaide of his
+palace bearing the sword before him according to custom, he begged, in
+his humility, that he would not bear a sword, but that his children
+might go before him to show that he loved peace and love, rather than
+war and strife; and so he went on into the city.</p>
+<p>And all the people looked out of their balconies, and
+cried,—</p>
+<div class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">“Toledo and Spain for Vamba!</p>
+<p class="line">And also for Queen Sancha!”</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">But as the cry swept over the bosom of old father
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb224" href="#pb224" name=
+"pb224">224</a>]</span>Tagus, the golden Tagus who reflects the glories
+of all Spain, he bore the cry along gladly and soft, but yet inverting
+the order,—</p>
+<div class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">“All Spain hails thee first,</p>
+<p class="line">And then her chief city Toledo!”</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">Thus they conducted the good king to the palace, and
+there they led him to the bath; and then they trimmed his red <i lang=
+"es">melena</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e3874src" href="#xd21e3874"
+name="xd21e3874src">2</a>, and arranged it so that it might not fall
+into his eyes; and they combed out the hair of his beard, but left it
+long and noble; and they put on him a royal robe with gold embroidery
+and an ermine collar, though he would have it sober in colour, and on
+his breast a blood-red cross.</p>
+<p>Queen Sancha, too, they arrayed in a robe of green velvet, with gold
+and jewels round the border, her beautiful golden hair unbound, falling
+loose over her shoulders and reaching down to her palfrey.</p>
+<p>The ladies went before, and strewed the ground with flowers, and
+filled the air with benedictions.</p>
+<p>And thus they went forth to the cathedral to be crowned. And all the
+people ran to their balconies as they passed along, and cried,—
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb225" href="#pb225" name=
+"pb225">225</a>]</span></p>
+<div class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">“Toledo and Spain for Vamba!</p>
+<p class="line">And also for Queen Sancha!”</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">But as the cry swept over the bosom of old father
+Tagus, the golden Tagus, who reflects the glories of all Spain, he bore
+the cry along, gladly and soft, but inverting the order,—</p>
+<div class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">“All Spain hails thee first!</p>
+<p class="line">And then her chief city Toledo!”</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">Like King David, taken from the sheep-fold to be ruler
+of the people, Vamba made a very good king. His reign is spoken of in
+history as “the era of wisdom and justice.” He had not,
+like later sovereigns of Spain, to fight the Saracen intruder on his
+own soil; but he did more, he crossed the sea to check his advancing
+power on the African coast, and returned towing two hundred and seventy
+vessels which his prowess had taken from the enemy. If equal
+determination had been shown in succeeding reigns, the Moslem had never
+obtained a footing on Christian soil.</p>
+<p>Nevertheless, though respected and beloved by his subjects, Vamba
+was destined not long to enjoy the peace he so ardently loved. The
+ambitious men who had been contending for the crown before his
+accession, continued unyielding and restless. Pretenders rose up in
+Navarre and the Asturias, and Ilderic, Count of Nimes, at the same time
+set up the standard of revolt in the Gaulish <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb226" href="#pb226" name=
+"pb226">226</a>]</span>provinces. Vamba marched in person against
+Navarre, and sent Paulo his general to Nimes. But Paulo, instead of
+going to chastise the rebel, procured, on his own behalf, the
+assistance of Remismundo, Duke of Cantabria, and proclaimed himself
+king. Vamba, though he had been made king without his own seeking,
+determined that the sceptre entrusted to him should lose none of its
+authority by his remissness, and had no sooner restored peace within
+the kingdom, than he set out against the more distant insurgents, whom
+he soon reduced to obedience also. Paulo was taken prisoner at
+Narbonne, together with the bulk of his adherents; at the intercession
+of the Archbishop they were all pardoned, except Paulo himself, who was
+found hidden in a cave.</p>
+<p>When brought before him, Vamba said to him, “I conjure you now
+before God to tell me, have you any complaint against me, have I ever
+done any thing to justify your revolt?”</p>
+<p>“Since you ask me in God’s Name,” replied Paulo,
+“I cannot but speak the truth. And I must therefore say, that
+never have I received evil at your hands, but on the contrary signal
+favours. I was always highly honoured by you, and it was the devil
+<span class="corr" id="xd21e3909" title="Not in source">who</span> led
+me astray.”</p>
+<p>Then the king forgave him the penalty of death, but he had his eyes
+put out, and took him captive to Toledo with a rope round his neck.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb227" href="#pb227" name=
+"pb227">227</a>]</span></p>
+<p>You might think that Vamba would have had peace, now that he had
+subdued all his enemies, but it was not so; another noble, Erviga, rose
+up against him and usurped his authority. By this time Vamba was old
+and worn down with care. Sancha was dead, and his race seemed well-nigh
+run. Erviga, though unjust in seeking to take the crown by force, was a
+brave leader and had the qualities necessary for a good ruler,
+therefore the good Vamba, instead of spending the blood of his subjects
+in fighting for a position which he had so little strength left to
+maintain, settled the question by retiring into a monastery and
+recommending the people to accept the rule of Erviga. <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb228" href="#pb228" name="pb228">228</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3834" href="#xd21e3834src" name="xd21e3834">1</a></span> A long,
+thin, pointed stick. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e3834src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3874" href="#xd21e3874src" name="xd21e3874">2</a></span>
+<i>Melena</i> is used to signify shaggy hair, when peasants or others
+leave it uncut and uncombed. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e3874src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s28" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e434">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">DOÑA TEREA.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Alfonso the Fifth of Leon was but an infant when his
+father’s death laid on him the charge of resisting the advance of
+the Moslem, which was the inheritance of all Spanish sovereigns for so
+many centuries. His mother, Elvira, ruled the kingdom during his
+minority with great prudence and courage, defeated the Infidels in
+several encounters, and cultivated in her son all the qualities of a
+great sovereign. So well did her instructions prosper, that at the age
+of fifteen he was called to reign in his own name; and from the
+seclusion of a convent, whither she retired when the country no longer
+required her, his mother had frequent occasion to return thanks to
+heaven for the noble qualities her boy exhibited. For many years he
+continued the pride of the nation and the dread of its enemies;
+prosperity blessed the people at home, and their borders were
+continually enlarged by the success of his arms. <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb229" href="#pb229" name="pb229">229</a>]</span></p>
+<p>Success, though pleasant, is not always good. Alfonso, under its
+influence, at one time grew heedless of the dictates of his religion.
+On one occasion, being about to conclude a treaty of peace with
+Andalla, the Moorish king of Toledo, that prince asked the hand of his
+sister, Doña Terea, as one of the conditions of the treaty. The
+king’s counsellors were struck with horror, at the thought of
+handing over a Christian maiden to an Infidel husband, the people
+expressed their indignation aloud, and Doña Terea herself
+implored piteously to be spared.</p>
+<p>As I have said, success had spoiled Alfonso’s nature; he was
+so accustomed to succeed in every thing, that he could not bear to be
+crossed even by righteous counsel. It seemed something fine to do what
+every one else was afraid of; he would not show himself so weak, not
+he. He would give his sister to the Moorish king in spite of them all,
+and show them he was superior to their prejudices. Besides, he further
+justified it to himself, because Andalla undertook on this condition to
+help him in his campaign against the other Moorish kings; forgetting
+that we must never do a wrong action for the sake of any advantageous
+result we may fancy it will bring.</p>
+<p>Doña Terea, on the other hand, felt the full misery of her
+situation. No specious arguments blinded <i>her</i>. She felt it both
+wrong and repugnant; <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb230" href="#pb230"
+name="pb230">230</a>]</span>and besides, there was many a gallant,
+handsome knight ready to risk his life to win her love, and on whom she
+might have bestowed it in joy to herself and without violence to her
+conscience. Too young to have fixed her choice, she still had her
+secret preference dearly nursed, but not yet acknowledged so as to give
+the object of it the right to stand forth as her defender.</p>
+<p>Now, a blight was over all her hopes; her bridal day, instead of an
+occasion of hope and gladness, was to be a day of desolation and
+despair. The prelates and great men of the kingdom offered themselves
+willingly to represent her grief to the king; but they could not move
+him, and when he sent the envoy who was to conduct her to Toledo, she
+was found in an agony on her knees, imploring deliverance from on High.
+Even this, however, did not move the king’s heart; and poor
+Doña Terea was dragged off, more dead than alive, to be the
+Moor’s bride.</p>
+<p>Her beautiful golden hair—a romance of the time particularly
+records the tint—hung untended over her shoulders; the colour had
+fled from her tear-worn cheeks, and the expression from her
+dark-glancing eyes; for it seemed as if God, on whom she called so
+passionately to deliver her, had forsaken her in her hour of need.</p>
+<p>And thus she was brought to Andalla, King of <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb231" href="#pb231" name=
+"pb231">231</a>]</span>Toledo, who was too much pleased to have a
+beautiful Christian maiden for his bride to listen to her appeal to his
+magnanimity to release her. But when she found that all her gentle
+supplications were of no avail, she seemed suddenly inspired with a
+fire of queenly indignation; and, assuming a commanding attitude, she
+said solemnly, “Moor, of another law far removed from mine, know
+that I desire not to be united with thee, and thy presence is a burden
+to me; but if thou art sacrilegiously determined to marry me against my
+will, know that we Christians each at our baptism have a guardian angel
+given to us, to defend us from the power of evil; and so sure as thou
+respectest not the difference there is between thy belief and mine,
+that guardian spirit shall vindicate me and smite thee with his
+two-edged sword.”</p>
+<p>But Andalla only thought this exhibition of indignation made her
+look prettier; and laughing at the threatened visitation, persisted in
+making her his wife. His neighbours counted him singularly lucky in the
+possession of such a prize; and he thought himself happy indeed.
+Nevertheless, from the day of his marriage, a strange illness had
+assailed him. Though still in the prime of manhood, an unaccountable
+weakness overtook him; first his sight failed, and then his hearing,
+then his taste, then his strength; and all the clever physicians of the
+Moorish dominions failed, not only to <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb232" href="#pb232" name="pb232">232</a>]</span>give him any relief,
+but even to guess at the cause of the malady.</p>
+<p>Driven thus to think within himself, he recalled the solemn warning
+of Doña Terea, and fear overtook him that her words were coming
+true. The moment he realized his danger, he sent for her and asked her
+if she still wished to return to her own country; to which she of
+course replied, that it was what she must always most desire. So he
+summoned the most honourable men of his kingdom, and gave Doña
+Terea in charge to them, and sent them to convey her back to her own
+country; and, moreover, put in their hands priceless presents of gold
+and precious stones, to make amends in the best way in his power, and
+also to testify that he did it to satisfy the scruples of the princess,
+and not out of any disrespect to the Christian king, of whose religion
+he now stood in great fear.</p>
+<p>And Alfonso the Fifth, what became of him? Had he heard the Moorish
+king’s embassage, he too might have been brought to the knowledge
+of his error, and to repentance; but when it arrived at the capital of
+Leon, he was already gone out on an expedition in which, by his unholy
+alliance, the infidel forces were mingled with his own. In high
+spirits, they marched along, crossing the Douro, fearing no opposition,
+for the Moorish population was at the time divided by many internecine
+feuds, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb233" href="#pb233" name=
+"pb233">233</a>]</span>and were hence precluded from assembling against
+him in any large numbers. Thus he came to Viseo, a strong place
+defended by a considerable garrison. Alfonso determined to lay siege to
+it. The army was accordingly encamped before it, and wise measures for
+its reduction promulgated, for Alfonso was a skilful general. Never
+doubting of his luck, however, he neglected those precautions which
+would have suggested themselves to a less successful man. The weather
+was sultry, and the heavy armour irksome. Alfonso, unused to restraint,
+heedlessly cast his cuirass aside, yet, with his accustomed bravery,
+showed himself under the walls as before, too self-confident to listen
+to counsel.</p>
+<p>A sharp-eyed Moor upon the battlements detected the advantage he had
+given to his enemies, and letting fly a poisoned arrow aimed with the
+nice precision which the greatness of the venture inspired, gave him a
+mortal wound.</p>
+<p>Thus he was cut down in early manhood, and the care of the kingdom
+once more left in the hands of an infant.</p>
+<p>But Doña Terea reached home in peace; and passed the rest of
+her days praying for the brother who had so sadly wronged her, in the
+Convent of Las Huelgas—one of the present architectural glories
+of Spain. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb234" href="#pb234" name=
+"pb234">234</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s29" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e441">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">THE IRISH PRINCESS<a class="noteref" id="xd21e3964src"
+href="#xd21e3964" name="xd21e3964src">1</a>.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">I was born in Venice the renowned. When I had
+completed my twenty Aprils, my father called me to him one day, and
+said to me, “Dear son, I have overflowing wealth of possessions,
+and in silver and gold twenty thousand doubloons fully told; you are my
+only heir, and I am infirm and stricken in years. I am thinking of
+selling the good ship, that even now lies anchored in port.”</p>
+<p>To which I replied, “Father and lord, observe, the
+possessions, silver and gold, may all in an instant be reduced to
+nothing. But freight the good ship now with rich merchandise and wares
+which shall profit in exchange.”</p>
+<p>A few days after this, I sailed forth in the good ship, well
+freighted with precious stores; her linen <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb235" href="#pb235" name="pb235">235</a>]</span>sails filled out with
+the soft wind, and her keel ploughing the <i lang=
+"es">berdinegros</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e3977src" href=
+"#xd21e3977" name="xd21e3977src">2</a> waters of the crystal main.</p>
+<p>Thus to Tunis we came, where my affairs succeeded prosperously. My
+merchandise was all disposed of to great advantage in a short time, and
+before leaving the port I wandered forth to see the town. Passing by
+one of the great public squares, I saw some Turkish sentinels walking
+up and down, guarding a dead body; I addressed them, asking why they
+did not inter it.</p>
+<p>“Because,” said they, “he was of the Christian
+people, and in his days of life traded with his ship, wherefore a Turk
+of great consideration in our city, and a friend of his, entrusted to
+him a thousand ducats in silver, with which he bought great provision
+of cloth, and sent his servants to trade with it, while he remained in
+Tunis. The ship left the port with a prosperous wind, but before four
+days were out, a <i lang="es">balandra</i><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3989src" href="#xd21e3989" name="xd21e3989src">3</a> came in,
+bearing the news that the ship had been overtaken by a tempest, and all
+the merchandise had gone down into the boiling deep. With that the
+Christian merchant was so overcome, that he fainted and fell down dead,
+and we hold his body in bail for the thousand ducats he owed the
+Turk.”</p>
+<p>To which I replied, “I will pay the sum you <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb236" href="#pb236" name="pb236">236</a>]</span>have
+named.” And then, taking the body on my shoulders, I carried it
+to the church of Serafic Francis, which there is in Tunis, to give it
+burial, and paid the stipend of the priest who should say a hundred
+masses for the soul’s rest. Then I returned to pay the debt to
+the Turk.</p>
+<p>Scarcely had I passed the threshold of his house, when I heard the
+sound of great wailing and lamentation, as of one taking leave of
+life.</p>
+<p>So I turned and asked two turbaned renegades who stood in waiting,
+what meant the wail. And they said, “There came to Tunis a female
+slave, a captive Christian, causing envy to all the womanhood of this
+place, so beauteously had Heaven arrayed her. Her our master bought,
+with the intention of making her recant and marrying her. But she said
+to him, ‘<i lang="es">Señor</i>, it is vain you weary
+yourself, to persuade me to do this thing, for never will I deny my God
+and His laws, though to lay down my life I am ready.’</p>
+<p>“When the master heard this he was wroth, and taking her by
+the shoulders let her down into a <i lang="es">mazmorra</i><a class=
+"noteref" id="xd21e4007src" href="#xd21e4007" name="xd21e4007src">4</a>
+under his house, binding her with a heavy chain, and feeding her day by
+day with but six ounces of coarse bread and half a pint of
+water.”</p>
+<p>Hearing that, I said I would buy the maid, and <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb237" href="#pb237" name=
+"pb237">237</a>]</span>redeem her; but they answered it was vain. The
+Turk would not part with her to any one, and in mockery he had set her
+price at a hundred millions. So I saw I must have recourse to
+stratagem, and asked accordingly whether the maid had declared herself
+a Christian, and they answered, “No, she had only spoken of her
+God and of His law,” then, while I bethought me how to arrange my
+plan, they exclaimed suddenly, “Here comes the master;” and
+the moment that he entered the house, eagerly prostrating themselves at
+his feet, they said:—</p>
+<p>“Great lord of this mighty <i lang=
+"es">alcázar</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e4019src" href=
+"#xd21e4019" name="xd21e4019src">5</a>, behold a man who comes to pay
+the debt of the dead Christian, and who is also desirous to buy the
+maiden, the slave.”</p>
+<p>Nor was I sorry to find myself thus launched into the middle of the
+business, but I stood perplexed, praying in my own mind that God would
+give me some well-conceived idea which should serve for the redemption
+of the maiden.</p>
+<p>Meantime, I counted out the sum that was due from the dead man; and
+then I said, “Know you that this Mustafa, my sister, whom you
+keep in your <i lang="es">mazmorra</i>, feeding her with the bread of
+affliction, is the most pious Jewess of our nation, and that in this
+you do a great wrong?”</p>
+<p>I could proceed no further, for the Moors think <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb238" href="#pb238" name="pb238">238</a>]</span>it a
+terrible discredit to have any Jew within their precincts; and this one
+flew into an ungovernable rage at the bare idea that he had been
+harbouring one; plucking out his beard by handfuls, he cried out with a
+loud voice of desolation,—</p>
+<p>“Woe is me, for my fame and my honour before my people is
+gone, now that I have suffered this scum of the earth to be with me!
+Let her be thrust forth from my gates.”</p>
+<p>So his servants ran and took her up, more dead than alive, and
+putting her into my arms drove us forth with ignominy and
+imprecations.</p>
+<p>I was no sooner in the street, than I gave great thanks to God for
+the rescue He had provided, and then I bore her along to the church,
+thinking she needed the rites of sepulture; but I had scarcely entered
+the sacred place, than she opened her eyes and breathed. So I gave her
+such means of refreshment as I had about me, and by degrees the sad
+lady came to herself; and to give her greater consolation, I bid her
+observe she was no longer in the estate of a slave, but that by the
+mercy of Heaven she was redeemed and free.</p>
+<p>As soon as her strength had begun to return, I deemed it prudent to
+run no risk of danger from the Turk, and therefore used every possible
+diligence to conduct her to the harbour, where at once we went down
+into my good ship, and giving the crew word to get to sea with all
+despatch, we were soon steering swiftly between two azure fields.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb239" href="#pb239" name=
+"pb239">239</a>]</span></p>
+<p>Thus we came to Venice, my country, where I found that during my
+absence my dear old father had died; and I should well-nigh have died
+of sorrow too, but that I had the charge of the beautiful captive lady
+upon me, and I had to provide for her welfare.</p>
+<p>One day I took her aside, and asked her respectfully to tell me what
+country she was of, and who were her people; but she shook her head in
+a melancholy way, and bid me ask her nothing, but that with time I
+should learn all her eventful history. For she came from a far country,
+and she was not bold enough to propose to me the travail and peril of
+bearing her home.</p>
+<p>“But,” I replied, “most beauteous Diana, I asked
+the question that in the end I might have become thy beloved husband,
+and if I am not worthy to know thy country, what shall become of my
+hope.”</p>
+<p>And she—“From this day I will be thy beloved wife, for
+it is thus meet that love should be paid with love.”</p>
+<p>When I heard this answer, I was beside myself with joy, and
+instantly arranged every thing for the marriage festival, which was
+celebrated with great pomp and rejoicing, <i lang=
+"es">cañas</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e4055src" href=
+"#xd21e4055" name="xd21e4055src">6</a> and <i lang=
+"es">alcancías</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e4060src" href=
+"#xd21e4060" name="xd21e4060src">7</a>, music, jousts, and <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb240" href="#pb240" name=
+"pb240">240</a>]</span>dancing. Among the people who collected from all
+parts to enjoy the sports, was the captain of one of the ships in port,
+and he fastened himself on to me with every exterior token of
+friendship: I too was taken with him, and we were soon inseparable.
+Nothing would satisfy him, but that one fair bright morning when our
+fêtes were over, we should come down to this vessel that he might
+give us a banquet there.</p>
+<p>After this there was dancing, and singing, and much merry-making;
+and while we were enchanted with the dulcet tones of the marvellous
+instruments his minstrels played, we failed to perceive we were being
+carried out to sea.</p>
+<p>It was about six in the evening when my beloved bride came and took
+me by the hand, and said, “Without doubt there is some perfidy,
+for my heart is filled with fear, and my soul is troubled.”</p>
+<p>So I took her hand, thinking to reassure her by taking her on shore.
+But when we came upon the deck, there was nothing to be seen all around
+but sea and sky, and sea and sky.</p>
+<p>My bride, when she saw that, fell into my arms in a swoon; and the
+cruel captain and half-a-dozen of his men urged by his command, fell
+upon <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb241" href="#pb241" name=
+"pb241">241</a>]</span>me, and tore her from me, and cast me into the
+sea.</p>
+<p>“O Holy Virgin of Carmel,” I cried, “and thou S.
+Anthony of Padua, and Santa Barbara the glorious, and thou my guardian
+angel, pray for me now, that I perish not in this dire
+distress!”</p>
+<p>As I uttered this petition, I felt a plank of wood strike against my
+breast; and on it I skimmed the waters all night, and by the first
+streak of dawn merciful Heaven commanded the waves to throw me upon a
+soft sandy shore. I could not refrain from kissing the ground which
+brought me safety; and as I rose up again, I beheld a holy hermit
+coming towards me, who led me to a little hut, where every day he
+brought me a basket of sufficient food.</p>
+<p>At the end of six months, the hermit came to me very early one
+morning, and bid me go stand upon the shore, for there a vessel awaited
+me in which my passage-money was paid.</p>
+<p>At the shore I found the vessel, and embarked as the hermit had
+directed me, not knowing whither we were bound.</p>
+<p>At last, after six months’ sailing, we came opposite the coast
+of Ireland, and as we drew near shore, “Friends,” said the
+captain, “it is necessary that this letter and this folded paper
+be taken to the illustrious King of Ireland; which of you will
+undertake the charge?” <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb242" href=
+"#pb242" name="pb242">242</a>]</span></p>
+<p>The crew answered, “<i lang="es">Señor</i>, let the
+Venetian take them.”</p>
+<p>And I, having no aim before me, cheerfully undertook the commission;
+and springing on shore, went straight to the royal palace, where I
+found myself in presence of Cæsar’s majesty, into whose
+august hands I delivered the folded paper.</p>
+<p>This having opened, he read aloud these
+words:—“Illustrious Lord! most powerful King of Ireland,
+the bearer of this letter is a physician of great renown; the sickness
+of thy daughter, which none can cure, shall flee away at the very sight
+of him.”</p>
+<p>Then I was troubled, and would have explained to the King how I was
+no physician, and the way in which the lot had fallen upon me to bring
+the letter, which might equally have fallen on the most ignorant
+sea-boy aboard; and in truth I knew no more of medicaments than the
+lowest sea-boy of them all.</p>
+<p>But the King was overjoyed at the prospect of the healing of his
+daughter, and would listen to no explanations. And in proportion as he
+manifested his joy, my dismay increased, for I feared his anger when
+the undeception came.</p>
+<p>Meantime, at his command, I was ushered into a vast hall, where were
+assembled a thousand lords. But, gentle reader, you will well believe
+me, it was not upon one of them I looked, for at first entering
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb243" href="#pb243" name=
+"pb243">243</a>]</span>my eye lighted upon a casket covered with
+emeralds and brilliants which I had given to my beloved bride on the
+day of our espousals.</p>
+<p>I threw myself upon it, crying, “Beautiful Isabela! Ah! where
+art thou? Where art thou mourning over my grief, as I mourn over
+thine?”</p>
+<p>She, who lay sunk down in the depths of her white couch, at hearing
+these words darted up from it, and flinging her arms round me, embraced
+me.</p>
+<p>I knew her as our lips met; and full of a thousand joys, we sat
+talking over the past, forgetful of all present.</p>
+<p>And first, I asked what had become of the wicked captain.</p>
+<p>“Oh, he!” she said, “when I told my father what he
+had done, he sent and had him put to death.</p>
+<p>“And now,” she continued, “did I not tell you that
+time would reveal to you all about my history? For now that you have
+seen who and where I am, there is little left to tell. While I was yet
+little more than a child, my father would have married me against my
+inclination to a prince of Scotland; and I, knowing his intention, went
+out from the palace in the night, disguised, upon a swift mare, and
+when I had ridden a long way, I came to the sea-coast. I found a ship
+into which, thoughtless child, I sought refuge, only caring to get away
+from the prince of Scotland. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb244" href=
+"#pb244" name="pb244">244</a>]</span></p>
+<p>“But they were corsairs who manned the vessel; and they
+carried me off with them to Tunis, where you found me, and set me free
+from that terrible suffering.”</p>
+<p>While we were talking, the king came up; and as I was yet musing on
+the marvellous direction of Providence, by which the lot had fallen on
+me, rather than another, to come on the embassage to the palace,
+without which I had been like never again to have met my bride, it fell
+into my mind that I had yet the letter to give to his Majesty, which
+having reached to him, he read thus aloud:—</p>
+<p>“That I rest in holy ground, my soul at peace, is due to thee;
+therefore, when the perfidious captain threw thee into the deep sea, I
+was there; I provided the plank which carried thee to shore; I was the
+hermit that received and nourished thee; I was captain of the ship that
+brought thee to Ireland. And now live long with thy good spouse, and
+rest after many misfortunes, even as I rest in the eternal
+habitations.”</p>
+<p>Then I knew that it was the soul of him I buried at Tunis that had
+thus befriended me.</p>
+<p>Not very long after this the king died, and all the people acclaimed
+me as their sovereign, where I have been reigning ever since, full of
+happiness and glory. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb245" href="#pb245"
+name="pb245">245</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3964" href="#xd21e3964src" name="xd21e3964">1</a></span> Though
+neither of the persons in this piece are Spanish, nor the scene laid in
+the Peninsula, it is thoroughly Spanish in character, and the subject
+of one or two popular ballads, and several dramas, by the best
+authors. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e3964src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3977" href="#xd21e3977src" name="xd21e3977">2</a></span> Dark
+green (<i>lit.</i> black-green). <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e3977src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e3989" href="#xd21e3989src" name="xd21e3989">3</a></span> A small
+coasting-boat, carrying only a boom sail. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e3989src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e4007" href="#xd21e4007src" name="xd21e4007">4</a></span> A word
+borrowed from the Turkish, to signify a dungeon, and used when speaking
+of a Turkish prison. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e4007src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e4019" href="#xd21e4019src" name="xd21e4019">5</a></span> Moorish
+palace. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e4019src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e4055" href="#xd21e4055src" name="xd21e4055">6</a></span> A
+Spanish game, forming a sort of mock tournament, the combatants being
+armed with canes instead of lances. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e4055src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e4060" href="#xd21e4060src" name="xd21e4060">7</a></span> A
+Spanish game, consisting in pelting each other with <i lang=
+"es">alcancías</i>, or round earthen pots, in which flowers and
+other things were enclosed before they were baked (in the sun), and
+which fell out when broken against the shield of those at whom they
+were thrown. I do not know if these games were also in use in Venice,
+or if their introduction here is a vulgar error. <a class=
+"fnarrow" href="#xd21e4060src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s30" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e448">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">EL CONDE FERNAN GONZALEZ.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Conde Fernan Gonzalez was a bold lance. Restless as
+brave; when not engaged in chasing the Moors, he kept his appetite for
+noble exploits whetted with the dangers of the chase.</p>
+<p>One day, the furious course of a wild boar, and his own impetuosity
+in the pursuit, led him far away from his companions, and the hills and
+leafy oaks of Lara soon hid him from sight. On went the boar, and on
+went the <i>Conde</i> after him, till, in the thickest of the forest,
+the brute took refuge in a hermit’s cell long deserted and
+forgotten, and overgrown with ivy. The trees grew so close round the
+spot, that the horse could not go through for the low interlacing
+branches, so Gonzalez dismounted, taking his sword in his hand, and
+wrapping his cloak round his arm by way of shield<a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e4144src" href="#xd21e4144" name="xd21e4144src">1</a>. Cutting his
+way through to the low doorway, he found the <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb246" href="#pb246" name="pb246">246</a>]</span>boar
+lying panting at the foot of a little altar which was there.</p>
+<p>The good Count would not hurt the animal under such circumstances,
+so he put up his sword into the sheath, and, before he turned to go,
+knelt to offer up a prayer upon the sacred spot.</p>
+<p>Suddenly, as he knelt, there appeared before him a vision of the
+former inhabitant of the place. He was a venerable man, dressed in
+white, with bald head and a long grey beard, his feet were bare and he
+leant upon a crook.</p>
+<p>“Good <i>Conde</i> Fernan Gonzales,” he said,
+“Behold, the King Almanzor<a class="noteref" id="xd21e4158src"
+href="#xd21e4158" name="xd21e4158src">2</a> is even now preparing to
+come out to meet thee. Now, go out and give him battle, and be of good
+heart; for though thou shalt be badly wounded, and the infidels shall
+spill much of thy blood, yet shall a hundred of them fall for one of
+thine. God guard thee, <i>Conde</i>, and that which thou shalt do this
+day shall resound throughout all Spain. But this sign must come to pass
+first; and when it is fulfilled do not lose courage, for all that are
+with thee shall be stricken with fear and ready to flee away; but only
+stand thou fast, and the day shall be given thee. After that shall come
+days of peace; and a good wife shall be given thee, who shall be called
+Sancha. And now return to Lara, for thy people are seeking thee
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb247" href="#pb247" name=
+"pb247">247</a>]</span>with fear and anxiety; and when these things
+come to pass, remember the hermit who foretold them.”</p>
+<p>Then, without answering him a word, the good Count rose from his
+knees, and, mounting his horse, rode back to Lara. There he found his
+people, all running hither and thither in search of him. But he,
+without telling them what had befallen, ranged them in order of battle,
+and went out to meet King Almanzor.</p>
+<p>Thus they went their way, and sure enough they were none too soon;
+for even<a id="xd21e4170" name="xd21e4170"></a> as the hermit had said,
+King Almanzor was on his way to meet him.</p>
+<p>When the followers of Gonzalez saw the host that was marching
+towards them, they were stricken with fear, for they were but a
+handful. But Gonzalez, seeing their disorder, turned and said to them,
+“It is a shame, noble Castilian knights, to flee at sight of an
+infidel host; for who is there that can stand against our banner and
+our arms? At them! my friends, at them! Let there be not one of us
+wanting!”</p>
+<p>With that he set spurs to his charger, and rode into the midst of
+the Moors; and he did so valiantly, that all his followers dashed into
+them with like impetuosity, and none could stand before them; and for
+one of them that was slain, a hundred of the infidels lay stretched
+upon the ground. But the good <i>Conde</i> was wounded, and his blood
+was poured out upon the ground; yet they pushed <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb248" href="#pb248" name=
+"pb248">248</a>]</span>their way into the camp, where they found much
+precious spoil.</p>
+<p>And when they divided the treasure, Gonzalez remembered the hermit,
+and set aside a portion of his share; and with it he built the church
+of San Pedro de Arlanza. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb249" href=
+"#pb249" name="pb249">249</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e4144" href="#xd21e4144src" name="xd21e4144">1</a></span> A common
+practice of Spaniards, even in street fights, to the present
+day. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e4144src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e4158" href="#xd21e4158src" name="xd21e4158">2</a></span> A
+formidable leader of the Moors in Spain of the tenth and eleventh
+centuries. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e4158src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s31" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e455">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">THE FIRST TUNNY FISHING.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">There was once a fisherman named Pepe; he was very
+good, and very poor. He never went out to fish without first kneeling
+down and asking a blessing on his labours; he never lost his time in
+drinking-bouts; he brought his children up to be as honest and
+industrious as himself; yet nothing prospered with him. He toiled the
+livelong day, and often far into the night, yet he could scarcely earn
+enough to keep his family above want. If ever there was a storm, it was
+sure to be Pepe’s boat that would be swamped. And if ever there
+was a rich shoal of fish came within his ordinary fishing-ground, it
+would be sure to happen when he was ill, or his gear was out of order,
+or when, for some reason, he could not avail himself of the
+blessing.</p>
+<p>What was most remarkable was, that under all this misfortune Pepe
+was always cheerful. As the beautiful Spanish proverb says, he was like
+the sandal-wood, perfuming the axe which strikes it <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb250" href="#pb250" name=
+"pb250">250</a>]</span>low<a class="noteref" id="xd21e4193src" href=
+"#xd21e4193" name="xd21e4193src">1</a>. He not only never complained,
+and continued at his toil steadily day by day, but he was always
+praising God for what He had given him—his wife, his children,
+his humble hut, his strong arms. “Put your trust in God, and your
+feet diligently along the road<a class="noteref" id="xd21e4196src"
+href="#xd21e4196" name="xd21e4196src">2</a>;” so he used to say,
+and so he used to act.</p>
+<p>One day he had gone out as usual, and, as often happened, had taken
+nothing. It was no use going back with an empty bag; he persevered
+another day, and another, though he had nothing but a loaf to live on.
+The sun above was like a furnace, the sea below like a lake of fire.
+Pepe crept under the shadow of his sails, and was so exhausted with
+heat and hunger that he fell into a swoon.</p>
+<p>He saw himself lying at the bottom of his boat, but not alone. There
+was One lying there also, who slept too. His raiment glistened, and a
+light of glory surrounded Him, which paled that of the blazing sun. By
+and by the sun went down, and it seemed that night came on, but He was
+still there; and the wind rose, and Pepe’s little boat was tossed
+and buffeted, and Pepe was ready to cry out with alarm. Then he
+thought, “While He is here, no harm can come; I will keep His
+slumber sacred.” So he looked out on the fury of the storm, and
+waited. Then that shining One arose <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb251" href="#pb251" name="pb251">251</a>]</span>and waved His hands
+abroad towards the winds, and there came a sweet melody from His mouth,
+which said, “Peace! peace!” Then suddenly all was still and
+bright again, and the soft breeze echoed back the music of
+“Peace! peace!” Then Pepe, when he saw what He had done,
+fell on his knees before Him, and said, “Lord, as Thou hast done
+this, send me now a draft of fishes, that my net may be full.”
+Then the Bright One stretched out His hands over the sea; and there
+rose out of the rippling waves great handsome fishes such as Pepe had
+never seen the like. They were of the height of a man in length, and
+their skin shone like silver interwoven with many colours, and their
+fins of gold. Docile at His gesture, they rose gently over the side of
+the boat, and laid them obedient at His feet. One by one, on they came
+till—appalling sight!—the boat began to sink under their
+priceless weight.</p>
+<p>For one moment Pepe’s heart almost fainted within him at
+seeing the rich prize sink away again just as it was within grasp, and
+with it his boat, his tackle, all that he had to call his own! But his
+eye rested on the Bright One who stood there, and his faith and
+confidence returned. He observed that some folds of His glistening
+mantle, as it hung loosely from His shoulders, floated on the waves
+which were now meeting over the place where he stood. Confident that it
+would <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb252" href="#pb252" name=
+"pb252">252</a>]</span>bear him up, Pepe stepped on to it, as on to dry
+land, while all his earthly treasure sunk out of sight.</p>
+<p>Then Pepe woke. The sun had nearly set; a light breeze was gently
+carrying off the superfluous heat of the day; but his bark was empty,
+no Bright One sat in it, no beautiful fish lay there. Pepe listlessly
+looked over the side of his boat; the influence of his dream was yet
+upon him, and he could not restrain a look after his sunken prize. What
+was that? Something large and shining swam under his boat, surely!
+Hastily Pepe detached a little lamp which always burnt under a cross
+hung on the mast, and looked down into the clear blue waters, when lo!
+as if attracted by the light, the shining fish turned their small
+bright eyes towards it, as if they took the unwonted light for the
+rising sun, and swam straight at it almost within arm’s length.
+Pepe was now at no loss what to do. Taking a large hook which lay in
+the bottom of his boat, he lashed it firmly to a long spar, and then
+hanging the lamp over the side of the boat, he prepared to seize the
+finny prey with his improvised harpoon. The lamp attracted them as
+before, and now came the struggle. Pepe was a small man, and the first
+fish he tackled was a foot taller than himself and well-nigh pulled him
+over the side of his boat. Pepe was glad enough to let him go, even at
+the cost of his weapon, which the fish <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb253" href="#pb253" name="pb253">253</a>]</span>carried down into the
+deep with him. Pepe was, as you know by now, one who never lost heart;
+he pulled out his <i lang="es">narvaja</i> (or long-bladed knife with a
+cross-hilt), and tied it to another long piece of wood. Pepe was
+gaining experience; this time he selected a smaller antagonist, and
+great was his joy when, after a brief encounter, he landed him safely
+in the bottom of the boat. Pepe was not avaricious, more anxious to
+share the good news with his family than to obtain a large haul, he
+only waited to take one moderate-sized fish more, and then he was off
+to his home.</p>
+<p>Great was the joy in the village next morning, as the news of the
+new source of industry spread. Some were frightened, and said there
+must be witchcraft in it; but when they saw the trade prosper, they
+were glad enough to take it as the good gift of God, and from that time
+to this the Tunny fishery has never failed to enrich the dwellers on
+all the shores of the Mediterranean. <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb254" href="#pb254" name="pb254">254</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote" lang="es"><span class="label"><a class="noteref"
+id="xd21e4193" href="#xd21e4193src" name="xd21e4193">1</a></span> Como
+el sándalo que perfuma el hacha que le hiere. <a class=
+"fnarrow" href="#xd21e4193src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote" lang="es"><span class="label"><a class="noteref"
+id="xd21e4196" href="#xd21e4196src" name="xd21e4196">2</a></span> La
+confianza en Dios y los pies en la calle. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e4196src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s32" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e462">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">“WHERE ONE CAN DINE, TWO CAN DINE<a class=
+"noteref" id="xd21e4222src" href="#xd21e4222" name=
+"xd21e4222src">1</a>.”</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">In the days when our Lord walked on earth, it happened
+that one night He and St. Peter found themselves far from any city or
+village, on a bleak and desolate plain. Weary and footsore, it was with
+great delight St. Peter descried at last a light from a woodman’s
+cot. “Lord, let us rest here, let us pass the night under this
+shelter,” said St. Peter.</p>
+<p>They knocked at the woodman’s door; he was a good-hearted old
+man, and he welcomed the belated travellers with no grudging greeting.
+He heaped up the dry fagots and made the hut shine like a gilded palace
+with that brilliant blaze which no wood throws out like that of the
+olive-root; and such humble fare as he had he set before them without
+stint.</p>
+<p>The bleak wind moaned without, through the <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb255" href="#pb255" name=
+"pb255">255</a>]</span>lofty <i lang=
+"es">alcornóques</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e4235src" href=
+"#xd21e4235" name="xd21e4235src">2</a>, and rattled the ill-fitting
+door. But presently, above the moaning of the wind and the clatter of
+the planks, they heard a hand knocking outside. The woodman opened, and
+was rather taken aback to find two more wayfarers at the door.
+“Never mind,” said St. Peter, “it’s only some
+of our people, it’s all right, ‘Where one can dine, two can
+dine.’” A little embarrassed, the woodman scratched his
+head, as he thought of the slenderness of his stores, but made no
+opposition, and the strangers passed in. The wind moaned on, and
+another knocking came. The woodman opened, and found two more guests
+standing without. St. Peter, who had fancied he heard the soft voice of
+St. John murmuring a favourite canticle as he passed, rose to see who
+it was, and soon recognized the waving hair of gold of the youngest
+Apostle. “All right,” said St. Peter, “let them in,
+they belong to our party too, ‘Where one can dine, two can
+dine.’” The woodman, more and more puzzled, stood by and
+let them pass. He had hardly sat down when another knock was heard
+above the storm. With his habitual readiness, the woodman opened, and
+found two more strangers begging admittance. St. Peter, who seemed to
+have a natural aptitude for the office of doorkeeper, once more
+encouraged him to let them in, assuring him they all belonged to the
+same party; and after <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb256" href=
+"#pb256" name="pb256">256</a>]</span>another knock, the number of the
+Apostolic college was complete.</p>
+<p>The woodman looked wistfully at the empty table. He was the most
+hospitable of woodmen, and gave his last crumb without a grudge; but he
+was aghast at the thought that for the thirteen guests who had honoured
+his roof, there was not sufficient to help round; and he slunk away
+quite ashamed at the apparent but unavoidable stint.</p>
+<p>Then He who first came in with St. Peter, rose and gave thanks, then
+broke the bread and passed it round, and called on the woodman to come
+and take his place among them. With fear and trembling the woodman sat
+down, and with fear and trembling he saw his few barley-loaves and his
+few grapes and fruits pass round and round till all were filled, and
+there remained over and above to them that had eaten a larger provision
+than he had ever seen under his roof before; but he durst not ask
+<i>who</i> was his guest, knowing it must be the Lord.</p>
+<p>Then they lay down and slept, each wrapped in his travelling mantle,
+and in the blaze of the olive-root fire. In the morning when they rose
+to depart, the woodman, alarmed at what he had seen the night before,
+durst not ask them whither they went, but let them depart in silence.
+St. Peter, however, remained behind, and after thanking him for his
+hospitality, told him to ask what boon he <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb257" href="#pb257" name="pb257">257</a>]</span>would, and he would
+grant it. The woodman was a man of few wants, and after he had thought
+a minute, he answered that he was content with his humble lot; he did
+not want it changed. His only amusement was now and then a game at
+cards, when the season of wood-felling or any other chance brought an
+accession of companions to his hut for a few nights; and it would be a
+pleasure if he might always win whenever he played.</p>
+<p>St. Peter looked grave; he did not much like giving an encouragement
+to card-playing; but then he considered the poor fellow’s
+irreproachable character, his life of privations, and moreover his own
+unconditioned promise to grant his request, and finally, that each
+success, while it would do no harm to the well-regulated old man, would
+serve as a discouragement to all the other players; so he ended by
+giving his consent, only reserving one condition, that he should never
+play for stakes sufficiently high to injure his companions; and then
+hasted on to join the rest of his party, who had made some way while he
+was parleying.</p>
+<p>“‘Fortune is certainly for those to whom she
+comes,’” moralized the woodman when he was left alone,
+“‘and not for those who seek her<a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e4255src" href="#xd21e4255" name="xd21e4255src">3</a>.’ How
+many are there who would have given their ears for such a chance as I
+have had to-day; and it is <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb258" href=
+"#pb258" name="pb258">258</a>]</span>given to me, who, being already
+gifted with content, want for nothing!”</p>
+<p>Time passed on, and the woodman, being a just man, never abused the
+favour he had received, which however served, by the satisfaction which
+success <span class="corr" id="xd21e4262" title=
+"Source: alway">always</span> confers, to cheer his solitary life. At
+last the time came when the measure of his days was full; and resigning
+his spirit to the care of his Lord, it was carried by his angel to the
+realms above.</p>
+<p>Now, all through his life it had rankled in his mind that he might
+have made a better and less selfish use of the gift St. Peter had
+bestowed on him, when now, for the first time, it occurred to him how
+to apply it. Then he turned to his angel, and begged him to stop on his
+way, at the bedside of the first poor dying man they passed whose soul
+was most in danger of being lost. The angel, who descried some
+charitable design in the request, bore him to a room in a great city
+where an <i lang="es">escribano</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e4269src"
+href="#xd21e4269" name="xd21e4269src">4</a> lay at the last gasp. The
+demon of avarice sat on his pillow, straining to clutch the passing
+soul, while his young son and a clergyman knelt beside him, entreating
+him to be reconciled to God. “Caramba!” exclaimed the
+woodman, “surely, our Lord died for all, without even excluding
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb259" href="#pb259" name=
+"pb259">259</a>]</span><i lang="es">escribanos</i>!” As the good
+angel hovered over the bed, a gentle sleep fell on the dying man, and
+the demon relaxed his watch.</p>
+<p>“Come, now,” said the woodman, “you can’t do
+any thing while the man’s asleep, let’s have a game at
+cards to wile away the time.” “Agreed,” said the
+demon, for cards being invented by his crew, he thought himself safe to
+win; “but how shall we manage about the stakes? You see
+you’ve had to leave your pocket behind you, so how will you pay
+me?” “I’ll stake you something better than
+money,” replied the woodman. “What say you to staking my
+soul, which is on its way to glory, against this
+<i>escribano’s</i> soul, of which at best you are only three
+parts sure?” “All right,” said the demon, who thought
+it one of the best chances he had ever had.</p>
+<p>The woodman let him cut and shuffle and play what tricks he liked
+with the pack, secure of his success; and in less than half an hour his
+triumph was secure. The demon could not believe his eyes, but could
+not, either, deny his defeat; so, putting his tail between his legs, he
+laid his ears back<a class="noteref" id="xd21e4284src" href=
+"#xd21e4284" name="xd21e4284src">5</a> and disappeared through the
+floor, quite ashamed of himself.</p>
+<p>While this was going on, the <i lang="es">escribano</i> had
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb260" href="#pb260" name=
+"pb260">260</a>]</span>awoke from his refreshing sleep; freed from the
+solicitations of the demon of avarice, he no longer refused the
+ministrations of the minister of the Church, but had expressed his
+contrition for the sins of the past, and was ready to depart in peace
+with God and all the world.</p>
+<p>When the woodman arrived at the gate of Paradise, accompanied by the
+soul of the <i lang="es">escribano</i>, St. Peter called
+out<span class="corr" id="xd21e4301" title="Not in source">,</span>
+“Who goes there?” “I, of the hut on the bleak
+moor,” replied the woodman.</p>
+<p>“Yes, you I know,” replied St. Peter; “but you
+don’t come alone—who is that black soul with
+you?”</p>
+<p>“No, Señor, I don’t come alone, because I thought
+God loved to see men in good fellowship. This poor soul is only black
+because, being an <i lang="es">escribano</i>, some of his ink has stuck
+to him.”</p>
+<p>“There’s no admittance here for <i lang=
+"es">escribanos</i>,” replied St. Peter, “so creep in
+alone.”</p>
+<p>“Nay, Señor; but I said not so when you came to my hut
+on the bleak moor and brought other twelve with you. Doesn’t
+‘Where one can dine, two can dine,’ hold good here
+also?”</p>
+<p>St. Peter could not say nay, so he turned his back while the woodman
+took up the soul of the <i lang="es">escribano</i> on his shoulders and
+crept in under the shade of the eternal groves. <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb261" href="#pb261" name="pb261">261</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote" lang="es"><span class="label"><a class="noteref"
+id="xd21e4222" href="#xd21e4222src" name="xd21e4222">1</a></span>
+“Un convidado convida a ciento.” <a class="fnarrow"
+href="#xd21e4222src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e4235" href="#xd21e4235src" name="xd21e4235">2</a></span>
+Cork-trees. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e4235src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote" lang="es"><span class="label"><a class="noteref"
+id="xd21e4255" href="#xd21e4255src" name="xd21e4255">3</a></span>
+“La fortuna es por quien la encuentra y no por quien la
+busca.” <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e4255src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e4269" href="#xd21e4269src" name="xd21e4269">4</a></span> A kind
+of notary or attorney, who is spoken of in the popular language of
+Spain with as much abhorrence as the “publican” in the
+Gospel. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e4269src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e4284" href="#xd21e4284src" name="xd21e4284">5</a></span> <i lang=
+"es">Agachó las orejas</i>—a metaphor which readily
+suggests itself in a country where donkeys and mules are so much in
+use. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e4284src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s33" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e475">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">HORMESINDA.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">At the period of the Moors’ most complete
+dominion over Spain, Pelayo, the noble scion of her ancient kings,
+stood almost alone in the defence of his country. Undismayed by the
+misfortunes of his race and people, or by the oppressive rigours of the
+conquerors, he never tired of rousing his brethren to a sense of their
+shameful condition, and stirring them up to the desire of again
+restoring their religion and the throne of their native rulers.</p>
+<p>Meantime, his sister Hormesinda, no less ardent and patriotic, but
+weaker and more short-sighted, had thought to benefit her people by
+sealing a compromise with the invaders. Forgetful of the religious laws
+which forbid such a union, she married Munuza, one of the Moorish
+chiefs who reigned at Gijon, and for a few years imagined she had
+effected wonders because she had induced the conqueror to mitigate his
+oppressions.</p>
+<p>Pelayo, however, was almost more distressed at <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb262" href="#pb262" name="pb262">262</a>]</span>the
+contamination of his sister, married to an unbeliever, than by the
+bondage of his fellow-countrymen; and being on the point of leading the
+people he had collected to an attack on the Moorish Alcázar, he
+first obtained an interview with her, within the king’s private
+apartments, with the view of inducing her to abandon her infidel
+lord.</p>
+<p>Hormesinda, however, had chosen her path, and could not now escape
+its leadings; the interview was both stormy and touching. Pelayo,
+unflinching in his morality and patriotism, could find nothing to say
+to her but words of reproach. And Hormesinda could only urge, that
+though she might have been wrong in marrying the Moor, yet, now her
+word, and life, and love were pledged to him, she could not leave
+him.</p>
+<p>Munuza despised the Christians, and so Pelayo had no difficulty in
+gaining access to Hormesinda accompanied by the venerable Veremundo,
+his father; but a Jew in Munuza’s service having betrayed the
+information that he had no less a person than Pelayo himself in his
+power, he ordered him to be captured and thrown into a dismal dungeon
+called a <i lang="es">mazmorra</i>.</p>
+<p>No sooner did Munuza know that he had nothing to fear from Pelayo,
+than it became evident his moderation towards the Christians had been
+dictated less by Hormesinda’s representations <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb263" href="#pb263" name="pb263">263</a>]</span>than
+by dread of Pelayo’s reprisals, for he now began to add to the
+burdens of the conquered, without mercy. To crown all, he issued a
+decree by which all who would not make themselves Mohammedans were
+declared to be slaves.</p>
+<p>This measure completed the indignation of the Christians; and when
+it became known where Pelayo was held in durance, it needed but little
+urging of Leandro, his brother, to lead the outraged population to the
+assault of the Alcázar of Gijon.</p>
+<p>The impetuosity of the despairing population was irresistible.
+Munuza, inclined to despise them at first, found himself surrounded
+before he was aware, and sallied out with his reserve to give life to
+his troops and repel the insurgents. He had no sooner left the
+precincts of the palace than Hormesinda took advantage of the
+circumstance to set free her brother, who was thus enabled to show
+himself at the head of his people like a miraculous apparition,
+inspiring them with courage to drive all before them.</p>
+<p>Munuza, obliged to escape for his life, re-entered the
+Alcázar, where Hormesinda awaited him with feminine tenderness,
+desirous only to make a bulwark of her body between him and
+Pelayo’s fury. Munuza, however, had doubtless courage, though it
+was the courage of an infidel; and not only refused to owe his life to
+the protection of <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb264" href="#pb264"
+name="pb264">264</a>]</span>a woman, but recognizing that it was her
+hand alone could have set his captive free, stabbed her and himself
+just in time to die at the entering feet of Pelayo and his victorious
+host.</p>
+<p>This victory of the Christian arms was the first-fruits of many
+others, which, hardly fought through succeeding centuries, restored at
+last the whole of Spain to Christendom. <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb265" href="#pb265" name="pb265">265</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s34" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e482">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">FILIAL LOVE BEFORE ALL.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Among the countless romantic chronicles of heroism
+which form the basis of the popular literature of Spain, there are none
+more multiplied or more interesting than those relating to the Cid Don
+Rodrigo. His valorous services against the Moorish oppressors of his
+country were never forgotten by its grateful people; and every
+campaign, every act of his life became the theme of a chronicle or a
+ballad. It is scarcely remarkable that one so noted for his dauntless
+demeanour through life should have been a good and dutiful son in his
+youth; nor that one of his most celebrated deeds was prompted by the
+dictates of filial duty.</p>
+<p>His father, Don Diego Lainez, was one of the most valiant knights of
+King Fernando of Castille. The king valued the old man, and loved to
+distinguish him with his special favour; but when he chose him for the
+governor of the young prince his son, he did it not so much to secure
+him the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb266" href="#pb266" name=
+"pb266">266</a>]</span>wisest counsellor of his kingdom as to honour
+the old man before his people.</p>
+<p>Now at King Fernando’s court there was a noble, the Conde
+Lozano, as valiant and celebrated as Don Diego, but far from possessing
+his virtues.</p>
+<p>Conde Lozano no sooner heard of Don Diego’s elevation than his
+heart was filled with rage and envy, which blinded his reason. Without
+stopping to consider the folly and wickedness of the action, he
+hastened to meet the venerable Don Diego, and loaded him with
+vituperation. Don Diego, with Christian moderation, strove to appease
+him.</p>
+<p>Conde Lozano had a daughter who had all her life been the playmate
+of Don Diego’s son Rodrigo. Nothing could be more devoted than
+the love of the two children for each other; and their union had been
+long looked upon by both as only waiting their coming of due age for
+its celebration.</p>
+<p>This consideration Don Diego at last resorted to, thinking that the
+Conde had only to be reminded of such a tie to staunch his indignation.
+But it was far otherwise. “Indeed no,” he replied with
+bitter irony, “now that his father has received such a
+distinguished position, the youth ought to have very different ideas.
+There is nothing to which he may not aspire now; and his flight shall
+certainly not be cut short by being tied to my poor
+daughter.”</p>
+<p>“It is not his father’s position that can make
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb267" href="#pb267" name=
+"pb267">267</a>]</span>any difference in his prospects,” firmly
+responded Don Diego; “he must win his own claim to honour by
+defending his country against its invaders, as all his ancestors have
+done.”</p>
+<p>The Conde was in that state of unreasonable humour which takes
+offence at every word.</p>
+<p>“His ancestors, indeed!” he exclaimed. “Why do you
+remind me of them? Have they done more than I?”</p>
+<p>“All Spain speaks of their valour.”</p>
+<p>“Then Spain unjustly lavishes on them praise due to
+me!”</p>
+<p>“The king acknowledges it in the honour he has conferred on my
+person!”</p>
+<p>“It is your old age, not your merit, that moved him; had he
+thought of merit, he would have given the office to me!”</p>
+<p>“The best proof of where he considered merit to be, is seen by
+looking where he conferred the reward!”</p>
+<p>“You mean to say, that I have <i>no</i> merit!” cried
+the Count, now losing all command of himself; and before Don Diego
+could show him that was not what he had said, he dealt him a blow on
+the face, and at the same time threw his sword on the ground, to show
+that it was a premeditated affront, and he had done it rather than
+afford him the satisfaction of a fair fight.</p>
+<p>It is hardly possible in these days to realize the <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb268" href="#pb268" name="pb268">268</a>]</span>full
+extent of such an insult. In the semi-barbarous code which a life of
+continual warfare kept up, nothing but the life-blood of the offender
+could wipe out such a stain. Rodrigo came in while his father was yet
+chafing under the affront, which was not only regarded as personal, but
+as an injury to his whole house and lineage. It needed only to tell
+young Rodrigo, to rouse his choler, for the blood of his ancestors
+flowed warm within him, and young as he was, he knew that upon him
+devolved the duty of asserting the honour of his house. His father had
+no need to urge him. “You shall see, father, that I am not
+unworthy of the blood I inherit from you.”</p>
+<p>“But there is one thing I have to tell you; yet one thing,
+which is like to cool your courage more than the fear of essaying your
+first arms against a tried warrior. Know that he who, with the five
+darts of his right hand, struck through the grey beard of my old age,
+was none other than——”</p>
+<p>“Tell me but his name, and I will smite him, whoever it may
+be!” interposed the impetuous youth.</p>
+<p>“He was none other than Xiména’s
+father!”</p>
+<p>The shock, so unexpected, was almost more than Rodrigo could bear.
+The mantling colour fled from his cheek. What were now to become of all
+the hopes of his young life? Either he must suffer the affront to
+remain a stain on the honour <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb269" href=
+"#pb269" name="pb269">269</a>]</span>of his house, or he must avenge
+it, and for ever give up Xiména. No! his father’s honour
+was before any other consideration. Whatever it might cost him, he
+must, must assert <i>that</i>. And he hesitated no longer.</p>
+<p>The Conde Lozano received him with all his superciliousness, asked
+him what he wanted with him, called him a “plucky little
+boy,” and bid him do what his “dad” had told him,
+“like a good child.”</p>
+<p>Rodrigo felt too deeply the force of his wrongs and sufferings to
+have any heart to bandy words with him; he had come to demand
+satisfaction, and, by his knightly honour, the Conde could not
+refuse.</p>
+<p>So they went out into the open, and drew their swords, leaving it to
+God to declare the right, for indeed, “the battle is not to the
+strong;” and so the sword of the stripling prevailed that day,
+and the bold, proud man fell vanquished at his feet.</p>
+<p>The lifeless body of her father was brought in to Xiména.
+Helpless and filled with horror, she hastened to the presence of the
+king, to demand justice, little dreaming it was her Rodrigo she was
+denouncing. The king, equally ignorant of Rodrigo’s part in the
+matter, readily promised it, and gave orders for the arrest of the
+offender. But in the meantime Don Diego came in to denounce himself as
+the instigator of the deed. In his own <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb270" href="#pb270" name="pb270">270</a>]</span>manly way, he
+detailed the provocation he had received and the prowess of his son,
+and offered his own grey head in reparation, if the king judged that
+blood so shed called for justice.</p>
+<p>The king refused to decide a matter of so great moment without his
+council, and put off considering the case till it should meet; meantime
+Diego was suffered to go at large, on <i>parole</i> that he would not
+leave Burgos.</p>
+<p>The knight immediately sought out his gallant boy, whom he found
+trying to make his peace with and console Xiména; but
+Xiména would not be comforted. Only when he told her how
+miserable he was, she consented to listen to him; and then he reasoned
+with her, and asked her, Spaniard as he was, what <i>could</i> he have
+done otherwise? Had he preferred his own love for her to his
+father’s honour, would she have smiled on him <i>then</i>? Would
+she not have spurned him with contempt? She could not deny that. She
+admired his filial love and bravery; but her loss was fresh upon her,
+and she could not bear to see the sword which had executed her father
+hanging by <i>his</i> side.</p>
+<p>Then it was Don Diego came in; and the meeting between the aged
+sire, proud of his noble son, and the son who had preferred filial duty
+before every other consideration, was a touching one; but fate required
+it should be brief. Don Diego was obliged to tear himself from his
+arms, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb271" href="#pb271" name=
+"pb271">271</a>]</span>and advise his leaving Burgos immediately; for,
+he said, “prudent and pious as you are, it is well you should not
+be taken; for when a man is taken and placed on trial, there is at
+least an <i>idea</i> of guilt passes upon him. It is better, my son, to
+avoid even this.” And so he sent him to the wars and told him to
+come back conqueror of the Moors, and the brightness of his fame should
+thus disperse the cloud which now hung over him.</p>
+<p>Rodrigo was loth to part from Xiména without a sign of
+reconciliation; but his father urged his immediate departure, and his
+filial piety again prevailed. “I hear and obey,” he meekly
+answered, and so he went to fight the Moors.</p>
+<hr class="tb">
+<p>A year and a day had passed away, and Count Lozano was quite
+forgotten, when all Burgos was set rejoicing at the deliverance which a
+young knight had effected over the Moors.</p>
+<p>The king was keeping high court, when one day the venerable Don
+Diego came before him, bringing the standards which the young knight,
+his son Rodrigo, had taken. He told of how he had overcome hardship and
+peril, had cleared the roads of marauders, had fought his way up to
+Celin, the Moorish King of Mérida, had called him to meet him in
+single combat, had overcome him, and set free five Christian kings whom
+he held in cruel chains. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb272" href=
+"#pb272" name="pb272">272</a>]</span></p>
+<p>The narrative was received with joyful acclamations, the trumpets
+sounded, and, at a sign from the king, admission was given to the
+youthful hero, who threw himself at the monarch’s feet. Fernando
+raised him in his arms, and presented him with honour to his court. His
+pardon was assured, and old Don Diego was radiant with joy.</p>
+<p>Suddenly, however, there was a commotion in the assembly;
+Xiména demanded audience of the king. She had come to ask
+whether any amount of honourable service could neutralize a sentence of
+death incurred—and if not, why was Rodrigo treated with honour,
+instead of being imprisoned as a criminal?</p>
+<p>Now, Fernando could have explained to her the motives on which he
+had acted—could have bid her remember how it was Conde Lozano who
+had called down on himself the retribution he had suffered—could
+have pointed out the dangers that surrounded the kingdom, and the need
+in which it stood of men of fearless mind, such as Rodrigo; but, with
+the wisdom of a Solomon, he took a line which was better than argument.
+“If such is your will, maiden,” he replied, “I have
+nothing to say. You are the only living representative of the deceased
+Conde: if you maintain your charge against him, it is not for me to
+withstand it. Guards, lead Don Rodrigo to prison!”</p>
+<p>Don Diego, with all his fortitude, could not <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb273" href="#pb273" name="pb273">273</a>]</span>keep
+himself from falling on his son’s neck in an agony of despair.
+Rodrigo himself was shaken by his father’s grief. And all the
+nobles gave signs of compassion at the misfortune of one so young and
+brave.</p>
+<p>Xiména had kept herself proud and erect while the gladsome
+welcome had sounded in her ears as an injury to Conde Lozano’s
+memory. But when she saw the scene of mourning around her, despair took
+possession of her too, and she fell into Urraca the Infanta’s
+arms.</p>
+<p>“It is because you would not take my advice, and look at
+him,” whispered Urraca. “Had you looked on his noble face,
+you never could have done it.”</p>
+<p>“I knew it, and therefore I dared not look,” she
+replied.</p>
+<p>“Look at him now,” pleaded Urraca.</p>
+<p>The guards were leading him out, and his head was bent to the
+ground; but at that moment their eyes met, and both felt that he must
+not die.</p>
+<p>That night he was in his prison. She could not rest in her chamber:
+the guard had respect for her orders, for she was an earl’s
+daughter, and he let her stand behind an arch where she could hear him
+talking with his faithful esquire.</p>
+<p>“Think no more of Xiména,” said the esquire:
+“she loves you not.”</p>
+<p>“Nay, say not so,” he answered. “Wrong her
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb274" href="#pb274" name=
+"pb274">274</a>]</span>not. I know she loved me, and she could not
+change; therefore she loves me yet. As she was to me when I encountered
+the Conde, so was I to her when she denounced me to the king; and in
+what she has done to honour her father’s memory, she has shown
+her true nobility.”</p>
+<p>“It may be very grand,” said the esquire, “but it
+is yet hard you should have to die.”</p>
+<p>“Hard! Of what use would life be to me if Xiména will
+not be mine? I have only one use for it; and if she requires it of me,
+it is a joy to yield it up at her behest.”</p>
+<p>When Xiména heard him express so much devotion for her, and
+judge her so justly and tenderly, she could bear to hear no more, lest
+her tears should betray her. She withdrew to her chamber, but could not
+sleep; but when her tired eyelids, weary with watching, closed, there
+seemed to come a sweet, soft voice, as of an angel, which spoke of
+pardon and forgiveness, and of mercy more sweet than justice. And
+before her eyes there floated visions of terrible Moorish hordes
+encompassing her native land, spreading fire and sword over its smiling
+plains; and there rode out against them a single youth, clad in bright
+armour, and wherever he raised his flashing sword the ranks of the
+enemy gave way and fled before him.</p>
+<p>And when the morning light came in, and chased these phantasms away,
+she rose and went to the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb275" href=
+"#pb275" name="pb275">275</a>]</span>king, and asked the liberation of
+him whose condemnation she had sought yesterday.</p>
+<p>Then the king saw that his stratagem had answered well, and that he
+had done right to trust to her woman’s heart. So he ordered
+Rodrigo to be brought forth, and pronounced him free. And then he
+joined their hands and gave them to each other, and told them they were
+worthy of each other, for each had preferred a father’s honour
+before the love of their own heart; and now it was his royal will that
+they should forget the past, and live for each other in the future.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb276" href="#pb276" name=
+"pb276">276</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s35" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e490">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">RAGUEL;<br>
+OR,<br>
+THE JEWESS OF TOLEDO.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Alfonso VIII., King of Castille, succeeded to his
+throne in troublous times. His native country was overrun and
+subjugated by a people alien in nationality and religion, and his own
+particular dominions were a prey to civil dissensions, which had
+gathered strength during his minority. The Pope, Innocent III., seeing
+how he was beset, had called on other Christian nations to assist him
+in resisting the encroachments of the Moors; and these auxiliaries had
+unhappily shown themselves disorderly and rapacious, wasting the
+territory they had come to protect. By his prudence, Alfonso found the
+means to remedy all these disorders in turn. His French, German, and
+English allies he dismissed to their own homes without involving
+himself in <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb277" href="#pb277" name=
+"pb277">277</a>]</span>any quarrel with them. He established tolerable
+order and harmony among the rival families of the nobility, and he
+struck a blow against the Moors which they never recovered, and which
+deserves to be remembered as one of the noblest achievements in the
+history of Christendom. After driving their hordes before him across
+the Sierra Morena, he gave them battle at a place called Las Navas de
+Tolosa, undismayed by their overpowering numbers. During the early part
+of the day, it had seemed impossible to resist their countless hordes.
+“Father,” said Alfonso, turning to the Archbishop of
+Toledo, “here are we called upon to lay down our life for the
+Faith.” “Nay,” answered the prelate, with almost
+prophetic instinct, “say, rather, here are we called to establish
+the triumph of the Faith.” The cross-bearer, filled with ardour
+at the words, rushed into the thickest of the fray; the Christian
+soldiery hastened to protect the venerated sign, and so great was the
+enthusiasm which Alfonso’s bravery kindled, that the infidel host
+was entirely routed, and its commander ran away into Africa.</p>
+<p>Yet, notwithstanding his bravery and his wisdom, Alfonso, like King
+Solomon of old, found it a harder matter to govern himself than to
+govern his kingdom; and though he had vanquished his adversaries, he
+suffered himself to be led away by his passions. <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb278" href="#pb278" name="pb278">278</a>]</span></p>
+<p>At Toledo, now a splendid ruin, then the magnificent capital of his
+kingdom, was a beautiful Jewish maiden, named Raguel or Rachel, for
+whom he conceived a strong attachment. Now the precepts alike of his
+religion and of his high position precluded his union with a Jewess and
+an obscure person, yet for all this he refused to part from her. The
+voice of the Archbishop, which had so notably animated his drooping
+spirits on the field of battle, was powerless with him now; and he
+warned him in vain for seven years.</p>
+<p>Mindful of the services he had rendered them, and for which they had
+awarded him the appellation of “the Noble,” the people bore
+with the scandal all these years in silence, though with averted faces;
+but at last, when they found him gradually more and more unmindful of
+his former virtues, and all his prowess forgotten that he might
+squander his time and his revenues on the fancies of the Jewish maiden,
+murmurs began to arise, and they determined to deliver their noble king
+from her enchantments.</p>
+<p>Hernan García de Castro and Alvar Fañez, two of the
+highest nobles of Castille, were foremost in leading the resolve of the
+people, and urging it on the king. They had never failed his summons in
+the hour of danger, they had fought bravely by his side against their
+country’s enemies, and their virtue and valour gave weight to
+their words. Yet <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb279" href="#pb279"
+name="pb279">279</a>]</span>the king was so tardy in attending to them
+that the people lost all patience.</p>
+<p>The king was keeping his court in the sumptuous Alcázar, the
+palatial fortress whose ruins even yet strike the traveller with
+admiration. Abandoning himself to the enjoyments of the delightful
+spot, Raguel and he sat one day, surrounded by their favourites and
+flatterers. “May divine Raguel’s surpassing beauty ever
+continue to be the aurora of Toledo, ever enamel its brilliant
+sunlight!” said one of their minstrels, to the accompaniment of
+his joyous instrument.</p>
+<p>“May she rejoice in her surpassing beauty as many ages as
+there are sands of gold<a class="noteref" id="xd21e4527src" href=
+"#xd21e4527" name="xd21e4527src">1</a> under the limpid torrent of
+crystal Tagus!” responded another.</p>
+<p>Suddenly there burst on their affrighted ears the noise of a
+tumultuous gathering of people. The venal minions fled. The king, still
+worthy of himself, rose to show himself to his people, and Raguel was
+left alone to hear her sentence pronounced in ominous shouts from
+without:—</p>
+<div class="lgouter">
+<p lang="es" class="line">“Muera Raguel, para que Alfonso
+viva!”</p>
+<p class="line">“Rachel must die, that Alfonso may
+live!”</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">García de Castro stood between the king and his
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb280" href="#pb280" name=
+"pb280">280</a>]</span>angry people. The king called him a traitor; and
+he knelt and laid his sword at his feet, offering willingly to receive
+sentence of death if he could be proved a traitor, but insisting on
+being heard first. He then exposed to the king the wrongs of which his
+people complained. He asked him of what use were all the laurels he had
+gathered in the earlier part of his reign, if they were to be hung up
+to wither out of sight.</p>
+<p>“Corn cannot ripen if the sun withhold its rays, flowers will
+not flourish if the gardener neglect to water them, neither can the
+Castilian people prosper if their king hide himself from them.”
+So well did the intrepid García plead the right cause, that the
+king, overcome by his righteous arguments, promised to be himself
+again, to dismiss Raguel, and live once more for his subjects.</p>
+<p>Delighted with his promise, the people returned peaceably to their
+homes.</p>
+<p>The king, however, was not so strong as he thought. He imagined he
+had conquered himself, and went to take leave of Raguel. But the
+beautiful Jewess had no idea of letting him off so easily. Decked in
+her most captivating attire, she came out to meet him, and with her
+graces and tears succeeded so well in undermining his determination,
+that his promise was forgotten; and, like the phœnix from its
+ashes, Raguel rose more powerful than ever, and more dangerous too, for
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb281" href="#pb281" name=
+"pb281">281</a>]</span>now a struggle had begun between her and the
+people—one or the other must be vanquished.</p>
+<p>Infatuated by her entreaties, the king went so far as to place her
+on the throne. The indignation of the Castilians at seeing a low-born
+Jewess on the ancient seat of their monarchs, can scarcely be
+conceived; but it overflowed all bounds, when decree after decree went
+forth, heaping taxes on the Christian population and exemptions on the
+Jews—when proscriptions and executions of the highest in the land
+were threatened, and the noble García himself was sent into
+exile.</p>
+<p>In this last step Raguel had outwitted herself. García gone,
+there was no one to act as moderator of the people. They rose in mass
+and stormed the palace; assembling in the basilica, they solemnly
+pronounced her worthy of death as an enemy of their king and country,
+and with desperate resolve drew their swords and turned to execute
+their award on the spot.</p>
+<p>The king was absent on a hunting expedition; but García, who
+had heard of the new rising of the people, risked his life by
+infringing the sentence of banishment in order to save the life of his
+persecutor.</p>
+<p>He succeeded in reaching her before the people had made their way
+into her apartment, and telling her of her danger, urged her to fly.
+But, loth to lose her high position, she refused, calling on her
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb282" href="#pb282" name=
+"pb282">282</a>]</span>guards to defend her. The Castilian guards,
+however, refused to draw on their countrymen in defence of a Jewess.
+Meantime the people streamed in, and rushed upon her.</p>
+<p>“Stay,” said García, “stain not the bright
+steel of your Toledan blades with blood which belongs only to the sword
+of the executioner.”</p>
+<p>And his voice acted for a moment like the spell upon them.</p>
+<p>But they were determined not again to leave it in her power to
+trample on their ancient institutions, and once more turned to slay
+her.</p>
+<p>Then <span class="corr" id="xd21e4568" title=
+"Source: Alva">Alvar</span> Fañez drew from his hiding-place
+behind the throne, a trembling Jew, who had been Raguel’s
+minister in her elevation, but had not the courage to defend her now,
+and compelled him to be her executioner.</p>
+<p>The king, hastily recalled from the chase, arrived but in time to
+see her expire. In the first burst of grief and fury he would have
+steeped his sword deep in the blood of his subjects; but once more the
+good García interposed, and by his temperate counsels recalled
+him to reason. When the violent throbbing of his agony had subsided, he
+acknowledged that his people had acted as a wise surgeon, that he alone
+had been in fault, that his punishment was deserved, and once more he
+was hailed as</p>
+<p class="xd21e126"><span class="sc">Alfonso el Noble</span>.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb283" href="#pb283" name=
+"pb283">283</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e4527" href="#xd21e4527src" name="xd21e4527">1</a></span> The soil
+of the bed of the Tagus is a yellow sand, which gives its water rather
+a muddy appearance. Poets, however, see things with a different eye
+from ordinary mortals, and have turned it to gold in their verses:
+“el dorado Tajo,” the golden Tagus, is their common
+appellation for it. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e4527src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s36" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e497">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">DON JAIME DE ARAGON.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">The good King of Aragon whom men call Jaime, was
+wondrous brave. Day and night he bethought him by what new means he
+could increase the glory of the Christian faith, and lay low the power
+of the usurping Moor.</p>
+<p>He called together the nobles of every degree belonging to his
+kingdom, the archbishops and prelates, and all the orders of knights,
+and summoned them to meet him in his good town of Zaragoza on a certain
+day.</p>
+<p>When they had all come together, he spoke thus to
+them:—“My soul is greatly grieved that our fair Island of
+Mallorca<a class="noteref" id="xd21e4589src" href="#xd21e4589" name=
+"xd21e4589src">1</a> should remain in the hand of the Moor; the voice
+of our Divine religion is silenced, and Al Korán is openly
+taught. The noble seaport of Valencia, too, so rich and flourishing,
+which the Cid won back for us once, to our shame is now retaken by the
+infidel. Now I have resolved that I will spare nothing, not even my
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb284" href="#pb284" name=
+"pb284">284</a>]</span>own life, to recover these two strongholds. For
+I trust in the protection of Christ, that He will give us the victory
+according to our prayers. To this end, then, I have called you
+together, to tell you this my resolve, and to seek your counsel as to
+the means of compassing it.”</p>
+<p>To which they all responded with a shout of confident
+joy:—“Be it done in the Name of God, that which his
+Highness desires; for in an undertaking so honourable our goods and our
+lives shall not fail him!”</p>
+<p>The bearers of all the noble names of Aragon sent forth their sons
+that day; and Barcelona by the sea welcomed them, and gave them all
+provisions for the undertaking with no measured hand. She found them
+ships too to take over their arms and men. And when the king found all
+was ready and nothing wanting, he took his place on the ship, and his
+nobles followed round him. At break of day next morning the trumpet
+gave a blast, and so they set sail, that gallant host, with shouts and
+tears of joy, all the brave colours waving which they had borne in many
+a fight. The cross they bore aloft, and the Virgin Mary’s image,
+and that, too, of St. George, who always watched over Aragon.</p>
+<p>Proudly they skimmed the water, the oars of the galleys cut the
+waves, and the white sails cut the air; for they knew that there gazed
+upon them, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb285" href="#pb285" name=
+"pb285">285</a>]</span>from out Monjuy so high, the ladies fair they
+had left behind, praying for victory.</p>
+<p>Now as they neared Mallorca, the Moors were all amazed; to their
+shores they rushed in sudden haste, striving vainly to drive back the
+Christian host. So a bloody fight ensued; but the Christians won the
+day; and with the help of God the cross was raised once more on all the
+islands near.</p>
+<p>They then came back by Valencia, laid siege to its strong walls; nor
+could its fortifications stand before their impetuous onset. So good
+King Jaime of Aragon came home covered with glory and renown.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb286" href="#pb286" name=
+"pb286">286</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e4589" href="#xd21e4589src" name="xd21e4589">1</a></span>
+Majorca. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e4589src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s37" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e504">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">DON ALONSO DE AGUILAR.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">The hosts of King Don Ferdinand were gathered under
+his banner to go out and recover Granada from the dominion of the
+Moors. All the nobles of Spain were there in their strong shining
+armour of wrought steel inlaid with gold. It was St. Michael’s
+day in the morning, and the king called the principal of them into his
+tent, and thus said to them:—“Who will be the knight who,
+to show his prowess and to cover his name with glory in succeeding
+generations, will go up for me to the Snowy Sierra<a class="noteref"
+id="xd21e4612src" href="#xd21e4612" name=
+"xd21e4612src">1</a>.”</p>
+<p>But the nobles looked one on the other, and no one said “I
+will;” for if it was a perilous adventure to go, the return was
+utterly uncertain. And for the fear that filled them, you could see
+their very beards tremble.</p>
+<p>Then arose Don Alonso, who was called “of Aguilar,” and
+said, “Good King, I will go. This enterprise is such as I seek. I
+have no desire in <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb287" href="#pb287"
+name="pb287">287</a>]</span>life but to die defending my country from
+the infidel folk; and may Christ give me the mastery!”</p>
+<p>So he put on his armour before the king—his armour all
+damascened with gold, and bestrode his noble steed, and slung his broad
+shield on his arm, and took in his hand a stout lance with a sharp iron
+head. Right valiant he looked in his might as he rode at the head of
+his troop.</p>
+<p>And they crossed the Snowy Sierra and soon came in sight of the
+Moors. And the Moors poured down upon them so closely that they were
+well-nigh overwhelmed by numbers. Then the Christian ranks gave way,
+and began to fly from the face of the Moor.</p>
+<p>Now, when brave Don Alonso saw them give way, he called to them with
+a mighty voice and said, “Turn! <i lang="es">caballeros</i>,
+turn! Turn back to the battle; for though they against us be many, a
+coward still is he who shows fear! Remember the mighty deeds of your
+old Castilian fathers. Better is it here to die in the noble profession
+of arms, than to crawl back to your firesides and live a dishonoured
+life. Thus dying you will live, for your fame shall be sung throughout
+Spain; for life soon comes to an end, but honour dieth
+never!”</p>
+<p>At these generous words they felt their hearts come back; each
+seemed filled with a giant’s strength, and fought till the Moors
+stretched him dead. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb288" href="#pb288"
+name="pb288">288</a>]</span></p>
+<p>Don Alonso remained the last, still brandishing his gory lance, and
+ever and anon charging the Moors with an impetuosity none could
+resist.</p>
+<p>But when the Moors saw their heroes thus mown down, wounded and
+dead, with one consent they agreed to attack him on all sides at once.
+There he sat erect on his charger; his eye was full of fire, his shield
+shone bright on his arm—dented, indeed, but not pierced, and in
+his hand his stout, unbroken lance. But though his horse was so high,
+there lay round him such a heap of slain, that when the Moors came to
+the attack, as they climbed on the fallen bodies they found themselves
+raised to his level.</p>
+<p>On they came with frightful <i lang="es">algazara</i><a class=
+"noteref" id="xd21e4643src" href="#xd21e4643" name=
+"xd21e4643src">2</a>; and, stout in each other’s presence, they
+charged, and thrust, and charged again. The boldest ventured in front,
+but before they came within reach of his lance their brethren had
+pierced him from behind; and before he could turn to repay them, those
+who had been in front thrust him in the side. And they thrust his bonny
+horse, too; and the horse and his rider fell there, where they stood,
+crowning the mound of the slain. Sixteen lances had pierced Don
+Alonso—pierced him through and through.</p>
+<p>But Don Alonso that day had inflicted a loss on the Moors which
+filled them with confusion and dismay. Then, from out their ill-guarded
+camp, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb289" href="#pb289" name=
+"pb289">289</a>]</span>came running a Christian captive; it was she who
+in days gone by had brought up the young Don Alonso.</p>
+<p>Guided by the instinct of a mother, she at once descried his form as
+it lay crowning the heap of the victims of his prowess.</p>
+<p>So she fell on his neck and wept, and wept till she swooned away,
+and wept when she woke again. And she stroked his long, dark hair, and
+his cheek that was ashy pale; and his eyes, that could never more see
+her, she closed with a mother’s care. Then she wrung her fair,
+white hands, and she raised her cry to God; and her cry must have
+pierced the clouds as it pierced the hearts of men.</p>
+<p>“Don Alonso! my Alonso!” she cried. “Now, God
+receive thy soul; for the cruel Moors have killed thee, the Moors of
+Alpujarra! And now all Spain shall mourn thee, mourn thee as a mother
+mourns, lamenting thine early death! And King Ferdinand shall mourn
+thee, for he has never a knight like thee! Aguilar and Montilla shall
+mourn thee, for they’ll ne’er have a lord like thee! And
+all the host shall mourn thee, for not one has a comrade like thee! But
+the angels in heaven mourn <i>not</i>, for my boy is among them with
+joy; for he died resisting the pagans who devoured his country
+fair.”</p>
+<p>So she tried, but in vain, to smile, for her mother’s heart
+was weak; and in the effort it broke, and she fell icy cold at his
+feet. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb290" href="#pb290" name=
+"pb290">290</a>]</span></p>
+<p>Now an ancient Moor came by, whose beard was long and grey; and she
+lay so helpless there, he saw he had nothing to fear, so he drew his
+scimitar, and with stealthy steps crept near and severed her dying
+head, holding it up by the long dark hair.</p>
+<p>By the long dark hair he bore it, to lay at the feet of the king.
+Now the Moorish king rejoiced when he knew Don Alonso was dead, Don
+Alonso of Aguilar; so he told them to take his body, and that of his
+mother as well, and bear to Don Fernando, the king.</p>
+<p>And Don Fernando said, “Good service this day was done by
+Alonso of Aguilar; and though by the Moors he has died, his memory yet
+shall live; his deeds shall clothe every knight, in the fancy of every
+Moor, with power to equal the prowess of Alonso of Aguilar.”
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb291" href="#pb291" name=
+"pb291">291</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e4612" href="#xd21e4612src" name="xd21e4612">1</a></span> <i lang=
+"es">La Sierra Nevada</i> traverses the centre of
+Granada. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e4612src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e4643" href="#xd21e4643src" name="xd21e4643">2</a></span> The
+noise and tumult of the Moors’ war-cry. <a class="fnarrow"
+href="#xd21e4643src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s38" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e511">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">THE BLACK CHARGER OF HERNANDO.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Hernando was a poor knight, who had spent all in the
+service of his country. He had nothing to call his own but his stout
+armour, his high-couraged black charger, and his bold lance; and with
+these he was ever in the thickest of the fray against the Moors. But at
+last his turn came; and in return for the losses he had caused them,
+the Moors contrived to surround and slay him.</p>
+<p>Now, when his black charger knew that his master was wounded to
+death, like a valiant steed true to his Christian master, he turned and
+bore him out of the fight to a lonely dell, where a pious hermit might
+minister the last consolations of religion to his parting soul. But a
+sordid Moor, seeing the helpless dying man thus borne along, determined
+to possess himself of his stout armour and his bold black charger; he
+followed with fruitless attempts to arrest the gallant beast until it
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb292" href="#pb292" name=
+"pb292">292</a>]</span>pleased him to stop before the hermit’s
+cell, where it waited patiently while they lifted the sacred burden
+down—the hermit and the Moor together; for the Moor desired to
+possess himself of the outer shell of his armour, and the hermit, the
+inner shell, namely, his body, that the kernel, that is his soul, might
+go up holy and clean before God. Then his soul had scarcely passed
+away, when the Moor stripped him of his armour, and packed it all
+safely on the back of the black charger, and prepared to lead him home,
+for he was afraid himself to mount him. But the black charger no sooner
+perceived his dear master’s remains safe in the care of the
+hermit, to bury them, and his armour safe in his own, than he started
+off at his wildest speed, leaving the Moor who had ventured to lay his
+infidel hands on the reins, to measure his length in the dust. And on
+and on he went, nor stopped till he reached Hernando’s hillside
+home.</p>
+<p>Doña Teresa, his wife, had never ceased every day to look out
+for her Hernando’s return. And when she saw his black charger,
+bearing his empty armour, she knew at once all that had come to pass;
+and like a noble Christian spouse, she had the strength to thank God
+that her Hernando had spent his life in the service of his religion and
+his country. Then she took his precious armour and laid it safely by,
+and she caressed the gallant <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb293" href=
+"#pb293" name="pb293">293</a>]</span>black charger, and led him away to
+his fresh-littered stall.</p>
+<div class="figure xd21e4684width"><img src="images/p292.jpg" alt=
+"The Black Charger of Hernando.—Page 292." width="552" height=
+"720">
+<p class="figureHead"><span class="sc">The Black Charger of
+Hernando.</span>—<i>Page 292.</i></p>
+</div>
+<p>Then every day she tried the armour on the young Hernando, and made
+him bestride the black charger, that he might be a valiant slayer of
+Moors like his father.</p>
+<p>Now young Hernando was slight, and young Hernando was pale. And he
+shrank from the cold, hard armour, and the tall, snorting steed. But
+his mother Teresa was brave, brave as became a Christian spouse, and
+she listened not to his fears; but bade him be of good heart, and put
+his trust in Christ.</p>
+<p>And at last the day came when she bade him go forth and do battle to
+the Moors. Young Hernando’s heart beat high, for his spirit
+indeed was willing; and he burned to add his name to the long
+traditions of prowess which his mother told him of his house. But his
+arm was all untried, and he shrank from the thought of pain, for the
+young tender flesh was weak. But he would not belie his mother, so he
+crossed the bold black charger; and the noble charger snorted, when he
+felt that once more he bore a Christian to the battle. By night they
+travelled on; and by day they slept in the shade. In the morning, when
+the sun began to dawn, they rose, and set out on their way; and as they
+crossed a plain, young Hernando saw a tall Moor coming towards them.
+And his heart smote <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb294" href="#pb294"
+name="pb294">294</a>]</span>him for fear; and he would gladly have
+turned out of the way. But he bethought him it became not a Christian
+to shrink away before a Moor; so he nerved him with what courage he
+might, and rode on steadily along his way.</p>
+<p>Now, when the bold black charger scented the Pagan hound, he
+snorted, and shook his mane, and darted to the encounter. So young
+Hernando was borne along, and found himself face to face with his foe.
+Then his father’s shield rose to protect him; and the lance
+lifted up his arm; and the black charger rode at the Moor; and the
+lance cast him down from his seat. Then the sword leaped from its
+scabbard, and planting itself in young Hernando’s grasp, struck
+off the pagan’s head.</p>
+<p>So Hernando tied the head to his saddle and bound the body upon its
+mule. Thus he rode on to the town—to the town of Royal Burgos.
+And when the people saw him bestriding the bold black charger, the
+grisly head hanging from his saddle, and the headless body following
+behind, bound fast to the African mule, they cried, “All hail to
+the victor! All hail to young Hernando, who conquered the pagan
+Moor!”</p>
+<p>And so they brought him to the king, and his ghastly burden with
+him, and the headless rider behind. And the king rose and embraced him,
+and the queen held her fair white hand and gave it the youth to kiss.
+And she said, “A youth so <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb295"
+href="#pb295" name="pb295">295</a>]</span>comely and valiant should
+have armour rich and bright, and a steed with a shining coat.” So
+she called a page to bring a suit of polished steel, and a horse from
+the royal stables, and present them to young Hernando. Then they took
+off his ancient armour and laid it on the old black charger, and
+Hernando donned the new, and sprang into the saddle of the horse from
+the royal stall.</p>
+<p>Now the bold black charger was grieved to be thus set aside, so he
+snorted and turned his head and rode back to Doña Teresa. When
+Doña Teresa saw him ride back with the empty armour, she thought
+that her son was dead, and rejoiced as a Christian mother, that the
+Moors had sent him to glory. So she laid up the ancient armour, and
+caressed the bold black charger, and led him to his fresh-littered
+stall.</p>
+<p>Young Hernando meantime feared, as he sat on the fiery steed; for in
+his far-off hillside home he had but that black charger tried. Nor had
+he learnt to handle the weapons they gave him to bear.</p>
+<p>But the king, who had seen him come in bearing along such goodly
+spoils, took him for a practised warrior, and gave him a work to do
+which needed a valiant heart. “Now keep this pass,” he
+said, “for the rocks are narrow and high, and one at a time, as
+the enemy comes, with your sword you will strike them down.”
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb296" href="#pb296" name=
+"pb296">296</a>]</span></p>
+<p>Young Hernando durst not say ‘Nay;’ for his spirit
+within him was bold, though his young tender flesh was weak. And as he
+watched there alone, with only the moon for guide, “Oh, had I my
+old black charger, and my father’s armour!” he cried. And
+the bold black charger felt, as he stood in his far-off stall, that his
+master’s son was in danger, and he snorted to get away. And
+Doña Teresa knew when she heard him snort and snort there was
+work to do far away. So she bound the armour on him, and away he fled
+like the wind, nor stopped till he reached Hernando.</p>
+<p>“To me! my bold black charger! To me! ’tis yet in time!
+To me!” And he mounted the charger bold, in his father’s
+armour clad.</p>
+<p>Then stealthily came the Moors, all creeping through the pass, and
+Hernando’s lance and Hernando’s sword laid them low on the
+ground that night. And when the king came up, Hernando sat at his post,
+and his prostrate foes around him.</p>
+<p>When the king saw he had done so bravely, he would have given him a
+new suit of armour, and a new bright-coated steed. But Hernando said,
+“Good king! pray leave me my father’s armour and my
+father’s charger bold, for I am but a stripling, and my hand and
+my arm are weak, but my father’s arms and my father’s steed
+alone put the foe to flight.”</p>
+<p>So the king let him have his will; and as he <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb297" href="#pb297" name=
+"pb297">297</a>]</span>found him so brave and successful against the
+Moors, he sent him to carry a message of encouragement to Don Diaz, to
+whom the Moors had laid siege. Now, as he came back from the errand, he
+was crossing the lonely plain, when anon it was covered with
+horsemen—Moorish horsemen, arrayed in their might. He knew that
+his trust was sacred, and he might not endanger the letter he bore by
+encountering so overpowering a host. But ‘twas vain that he tried
+to turn, for the bold black charger refused; but, as if he had been
+spurred, with his might he dashed right into the Pagan midst. The lance
+sprang in Hernando’s hand and pierced through the Moorish king.
+Then the host, dismayed, exclaimed, “This one rider alone in his
+strength, no mortal man is he: it is one of their Christian saints come
+down to scatter the Prophet’s band.” So they turned and
+fled apace, and on the black charger rode behind; and Hernando’s
+lance and Hernando’s sword laid low the straggling host.</p>
+<p>And such fear had fallen on all the Prophet’s children that
+day, that on bended knee they sent to sue a truce of the Christian
+king. And to purchase a term of rest, they set all their captives free,
+and with tribute and with hostages made peace with the Christian
+king.</p>
+<p>So young Hernando rode home—to his home by the steep hillside.
+And Doña Teresa came out <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb298"
+href="#pb298" name="pb298">298</a>]</span>to greet her boy on his
+gallant steed. And with her, fair Melisenda walked, who a gentler
+greeting gave; she was his bride betrothed, and she knew that now peace
+was made, they would lovingly live together, in that far-off hillside
+home.</p>
+<p>And they stroked the bold black charger, and led him to his
+fresh-littered stall. And ‘tis said that while yet the land was
+blighted by <i>one</i> strange<a class="noteref" id="xd21e4739src"
+href="#xd21e4739" name="xd21e4739src">1</a> Moor, that bold black
+charger never died; but whenever the fight raged high, or the Christian
+host needed aid, there he bore his rider to turn the day. But where he
+died or when he fell, no mortal ever knew. <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb299" href="#pb299" name="pb299">299</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e4739" href="#xd21e4739src" name="xd21e4739">1</a></span>
+Foreign. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e4739src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s39" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e518">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">THE INFANTE DON HENRIQUE AND THE LIONS.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">The Infante Don Henrique had a dispute with his
+brother, King Alfonso. And, as he wished not to fight with him, thought
+it most prudent to go over to Barbary. As the King of Tunis had been in
+great awe of his father, and was very desirous not to run any risk of a
+collision with the Christians, he took pains to treat Don Henrique
+well, and entertained him honourably for more than four years, and
+instructed all his people to behave to him kindly.</p>
+<p>Mean time, Don Henrique’s princely bearing won all hearts. In
+all games, and feats of strength and horsemanship, and trials of arms,
+he bore away the palm; so that all men admired him and cried,
+“God save him!” till at last the advisers of the King of
+Tunis feared that they would want next to make him their king, and they
+would all be under power of the Christians, and the name of the Prophet
+be put out. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb300" href="#pb300" name=
+"pb300">300</a>]</span></p>
+<p>Don Henrique was so valiant, however, and so were all the
+Christians, his companions, that they dared not attack him openly. And
+the king saw the danger full well, but durst not interfere either to
+attack or defend him, for he was divided between love for the young
+prince and alarm for his own safety.</p>
+<p>At last, an astute old Moor devised a plan which should rid them of
+the young prince without putting them in any danger of suffering from
+his resistance or the vengeance of his followers, for it should not
+appear that they of the Moorish sect had any thing to do with it, but
+it should seem a natural calamity.</p>
+<p>The old Moor poured it into the king’s ear<span class="corr"
+id="xd21e4757" title="Not in source">,</span> and the king could not
+but say it was well found; and, for all his love for the young prince,
+he could not resist taking so easy a way for ridding himself of a great
+danger.</p>
+<p>The young prince, in his ingenuousness, suspected nothing. He was
+used to go out hunting with the king; and now that he invited him to a
+hunting party, he was only glad to join the gallant sport.</p>
+<p>The Moorish king led him on, away from the rest of the party, into a
+wild part of the thicket, which, according to the plan of the old Moor,
+had been turned into a <i>corral</i>, or enclosed ground having no
+outlet, but so overgrown with bushes, <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb301" href="#pb301" name="pb301">301</a>]</span>that the prince could
+not perceive the trap. Then the old Moor, who was on the watch, as soon
+as they entered the fatal precincts, gave a signal to his men, who let
+loose and turned in two fierce hungry lions. The prince, not at all
+dismayed, drew his sword, and rode right up to them. The lions cowered
+before his prowess, and did not attempt to attack him, so he drove them
+before him across the <i>corral</i>, and then he saw it was closed in
+and had no opening but into the den where the lions had been kept; he
+shut them in and made it fast, and knew now it was a snare; but the
+king, not daring to face him, had turned and ridden away.</p>
+<p>The prince’s heart was grieved, for he had thought the king
+was his friend, but he said, “I will not remain where my presence
+is considered a burden.” The Spanish companions with him wanted
+him to wreak signal vengeance on the treacherous pagans, but Don
+Henrique said, “As I am a Christian, I shed no man’s blood
+in personal vengeance; but neither will I leave this ungrateful land
+without one stroke for Christ. Now these pagans hold in bondage a
+multitude of Christian captives; go, tell their king that if he fears
+our presence, we will go, but we leave not our brethren
+behind.”</p>
+<p>When the king found that his plan had failed, he was filled with
+anger at the old man who <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb302" href=
+"#pb302" name="pb302">302</a>]</span>had invented it, that he sent and
+cut off his head, and then he sat trembling with fear at the vengeance
+Don Henrique might take. So, when they brought him his message, he
+received it with gladness, and ordered that all who had Christian
+slaves in their house should give them up to Don Henrique. And, as Don
+Henrique’s galleys were not enough to contain all the multitude
+of captives he had saved, the king ordered others to be lent him, so
+that only the danger might be removed from his coast.</p>
+<p>Then the Christian fleet set sail, and God sent them a prosperous
+wind; and so they came to Rome, where Don Henrique joined the banner of
+Charles of Anjou, and did deeds of valour in his cause. <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb303" href="#pb303" name="pb303">303</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s40" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e525">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">BLANCA THE HAUGHTY.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">The Count of Tolosa had a beautiful daughter called
+Blanca, and he had promised her in marriage to the son of the Count of
+Barcelona. Both were young, and rich, and noble; and all the people
+from both provinces gathered together to celebrate the wedding with
+every testimony of interest in their happiness. But Blanca was very
+self-willed; she had always had every thing her own way—a noble
+palace in the midst of an enchanting country, plenty of servitors to do
+her bidding, many knights to contend for her favour; and she seemed to
+fancy that the whole earth and all who lived in it were made for her,
+and that all must conform themselves to her desires. Nothing was ever
+good enough to please her.</p>
+<p>Her father had thought she would grow out of these foolish ways as
+she became older and wiser, and had never duly corrected her; and she,
+meanwhile, became more practised in them, and chose the occasion of her
+marriage-fête for the wildest of all her pranks. <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb304" href="#pb304" name="pb304">304</a>]</span></p>
+<p>While all were seated in the great hall of the castle at the high
+banquet, and all lips were overflowing with praises, perhaps also with
+envy at her happiness, the young count, offering her a basket of rich
+fruits, proposed to divide with her a fine pomegranate. Blanca
+condescended to give him permission to do so, but the count with all
+his dexterity could not avoid letting one of the luscious ruby pips
+fall upon the table; then, as if afraid of leaving a spot before her
+eyes as a testimony of his awkwardness, he hastily took up the pip, and
+put it to his mouth.</p>
+<p>Blanca, who had all the morning been on the look out in vain for
+some captious pretext on which to found a quarrel, and show off her
+haughty, petulant airs, immediately caught at this one, and exclaimed,
+she would never be bound to such a parsimonious husband; it was an act
+unworthy of a noble; a man who was afraid of losing the value of a
+pomegranate pip must be a sorry mate indeed; he would not do for
+<i>her</i>!</p>
+<p>It was vain, the young count tried to pacify her by explaining how
+utterly false was the view she had taken. Equally vain, that her father
+reasoned with her on the childishness of her conduct, or that her
+companions pleaded in favour of the disconcerted bridegroom. Blanca
+would not listen to reason, and the poor young count found himself at
+last left alone, an object of derision, or at least of pity, to the
+whole assembly. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb305" href="#pb305"
+name="pb305">305</a>]</span></p>
+<p>He really loved Blanca, and had before this day put up with many
+caprices out of his affection for her; but this was not only a tax on
+his patience and good temper, it was an affront on his name and lineage
+which must not be borne. And yet he loved Blanca too much to resort to
+any act of hostility which might put a further barrier between them.
+Uncertain how to act, he went out and rode away, spurring his horse,
+not caring whither he went, so that he could go far away from the face
+of his fellow-men and muse over his grief. But all the time there ran
+ringing in his head,—</p>
+<div class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">“No more a noble count, I trow,</p>
+<p class="line">A humble shepherd seem I now!”</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">though he could not think what the lines meant, yet he
+went on till he had got far away into a distant forest, where all was
+savage and wild, and where there was nothing to remind him of the
+scenes he had passed through. There he alighted from his good steed,
+and threw himself on the hard ground. The sword which he had been wont
+to raise so bravely against the enemies of his country clanked
+listlessly by his side, the sharp rocks cut his cheeks, and his noble
+blood flowed from the rents, while he felt them not, for his heart bled
+with other and deeper wounds; but all the time there ran in his head
+the lines,—</p>
+<div class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">“No more a noble count, I trow,</p>
+<p class="line">A humble shepherd seem I now!”</p>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb306" href="#pb306" name=
+"pb306">306</a>]</span></p>
+<p>After he had lain there some time, and the passion of his sorrow had
+so far cooled down that he began to take notice of the objects around
+him, he observed two milk-white doves perched lovingly side by side on
+the branches over his head, yet fluttering full of fear and trouble.
+Full of his own recent suffering, he felt singular compassion for the
+two frightened birds; and searching for the cause of their distress, he
+perceived a great hawk hovering in the air above, in ever-nearing
+circles, and with glaring eyes preparing to pounce on his luckless
+prey. The count at once understood their danger, and picking up a
+stone, threw it with such force and dexterous aim, that it brought down
+the greedy hawk dead upon the ground. The doves no sooner found
+themselves delivered from their pursuer, than they gave every token of
+gladness and delight, hopping from branch to branch, fluttering away
+and pursuing each other, and then again loving each other in the
+gentlest way.</p>
+<p>The count could not bear to see their happiness, it reminded him of
+his loss; so he got up and wandered on into a dark cave where he could
+see nothing, and there laid him down; and the lines running in his head
+lulled him to sleep,—</p>
+<div class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">“No more a noble count, I trow,</p>
+<p class="line">A humble shepherd seem I now!”</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">Then in his dream he saw one of the fair doves
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb307" href="#pb307" name=
+"pb307">307</a>]</span>appear to him in the form of a beautiful woman;
+her face was of the softest pink and white, like the face of the sky at
+sunrise, and her eyes were so bright and lustrous that they illumined
+the whole cave.</p>
+<p>“<i lang="es">Caballero, caballero!</i>” said the bright
+vision; “you do not recognize me, I fear; nevertheless, I am
+indeed one of those poor doves whose lives you saved from the wicked
+hawk but now; and if I and my mate live in love of each other, it is to
+you we owe the boon. I am come to pay the debt I owe you, and I know
+there is only one way in which I can do it, and that is by telling you
+how to get for <i>your</i> mate Blanca, for whose sake you are now so
+sad. I promise you that in a very little time you shall have it all
+your own way with her, and she shall become as humble as she now is
+haughty. Meanwhile, take this ring, which I have enchanted on purpose
+for you, and whatever you ask of it, you will find that it will do it
+for you.”</p>
+<p>Then the beautiful vision disappeared, and the cave immediately
+became dark and gloomy as before.</p>
+<p>The moment the count woke, the memory of his vision rose up before
+him, and he lost no time in feeling whether he had the ring safe. There
+it was all right on his finger; and when he felt it, he put his
+confidence in the promise of the vision, and hastened to go back out of
+the cave and set to work. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb308" href=
+"#pb308" name="pb308">308</a>]</span>He had no sooner found his way
+again into daylight, than he took off his ring, and thus addressed
+it:—</p>
+<p>“<i lang="es">Aniellico, aniellico<a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e4846src" href="#xd21e4846" name="xd21e4846src">1</a>!</i> now is
+the time come to show your devotion to me. You know how Blanca has
+scorned me, and how I fear to go near her again, lest she should put
+some fresh affront in her wilfulness upon me, and yet I cannot bear to
+stay away from her. Tell me, ring, what I shall do.”</p>
+<p>“Attend, attend,” answered the ring; “watch now
+what you see passing before your eyes.”</p>
+<p>As the ring spoke, the count saw a moor-hen scudding away across the
+plain, and a cock as fast as he could following after her. The hen
+seemed determined to have nothing to say to the cock; but the cock was
+so persevering that he came up to her, and made her stand still and
+listen to him, and then he first knocked her about a good deal, and
+then soothed her down, and at last they both went off together quite
+amicably; and the ring sang,—</p>
+<div class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">“The cock o’ercomes, though somewhat
+rough,</p>
+<p class="line">So man, no less, the coy rebuff</p>
+<p class="line xd21e3723">Of woman!”</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">“I see,” said the count, “what you
+mean; but I do <i>not</i> at all see how you mean me to carry out your
+plan.” <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb309" href="#pb309" name=
+"pb309">309</a>]</span></p>
+<p>“Leave that to me,” said the ring; “only do as I
+advise you, and according to the instructions of my lady the dove, I
+will give you all you wish. And now, in the first instance, you must
+take off all this fine armour, and all your noble dress, and put on
+this disguise of a shepherd; and then take this loom, as if you were
+going, like the poor shepherd, to weave the wool of your flock; and now
+come along.”</p>
+<p>Then, as they went along together, the ring told him all that he was
+to do, and what to say, and it had hardly completed its instructions
+when they arrived at the gate of the gardens of the Count of Tolosa,
+every now and then interrupting its discourse to sing,—</p>
+<div class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">“The cock o’ercomes, though somewhat
+rough,</p>
+<p class="line">So man, no less, the coy rebuff</p>
+<p class="line xd21e3723">Of woman!”</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">A gruff old gardener came out to see who called; and
+when he saw it was only a country bumpkin of a shepherd, he was gruffer
+than ever, and bid him begone.</p>
+<p>“Gardener, gardener!” said the disguised count in his
+most insinuating accents, “don’t you think, now, if you
+were to let me come in and help you, you would get through your work
+much more easily? You have a hard time of it, and get little rest. I am
+young and strong, and should soon accomplish <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb310" href="#pb310" name="pb310">310</a>]</span>what
+you have to do, and then you need not turn out so early in the morning,
+nor sit up so late at night watching this gate.”</p>
+<p>“<i lang="es">Pastorcillo, pastorcillo<a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e4889src" href="#xd21e4889" name="xd21e4889src">2</a>!</i>”
+rejoined the old gardener, quite tamed by this appeal, “I cannot
+say Nay to such an offer; so come in.”</p>
+<p>The count lost no time in obeying; and at once began fulfilling his
+promise, by taking the sheep out of the fold and leading them out to
+pasture. In doing this, he took care to direct them straight towards
+the windows of the palace. Arrived there, he sat down and placed his
+loom, and began weaving away diligently after the manner of poor
+shepherds, and singing the while,—</p>
+<div class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">“The cock o’ercomes, though somewhat
+rough,</p>
+<p class="line">So man, no less, the coy rebuff</p>
+<p class="line xd21e3723">Of woman!”</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">He had not been sitting there long, before he observed
+a postern in the wall which separated the castle-keep from the private
+gardens, open. How his heart beat! Might it not be Blanca coming out
+for a walk? No, it was only one of her attendants, who had come to see
+what the shepherd was weaving.</p>
+<p>“Tell me, <i lang="es">Don Villano</i><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e4908src" href="#xd21e4908" name="xd21e4908src">3</a>,” she
+cried, as she came near him, “what wondrous kind of stuff, is
+that <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb311" href="#pb311" name=
+"pb311">311</a>]</span>you are weaving? Is it a heavenly or an earthly
+texture?”</p>
+<p>“It is a stuff much too fine for such as <i>you</i>. It is
+such a stuff as has not its like in all the world, and cannot be
+bartered for cloth of gold; for whoever wears this stuff, however old
+they may be, immediately appears young, and if already young, it makes
+them beautiful too.”</p>
+<p>And then he went on weaving, without paying any attention to her,
+any more than if he had not seen her, nor seeming to hear any of her
+questions or entreaties, and singing the while,—</p>
+<div class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">“The cock o’ercomes, though somewhat
+rough,</p>
+<p class="line">So man, no less, the coy rebuff</p>
+<p class="line xd21e3723">Of woman!”</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">When the <i lang="es">dueña</i> found she could
+make no impression on him she ran off at last to call Blanca, who was
+not yet out of bed, crying long before she got within hearing,
+“<i lang="es">Infantina, Infantina<a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e4935src" href="#xd21e4935" name="xd21e4935src">4</a>!</i> get up
+and come down quickly, for here in your gardens is a shepherd who is
+weaving a stuff which cannot be matched in all the world, and cannot be
+bartered for cloth of gold; for whoever puts on a garment made of it
+will instantly appear young, how old soever they may have been before;
+and if they are already young and beautiful, it will make them much
+more so.” <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb312" href="#pb312"
+name="pb312">312</a>]</span></p>
+<p>Now the waiting-maid, it must be observed, was neither young nor
+pretty, and she was most desirous to get possession of the stuff; and
+as the shepherd would not give it to her, she was dying to make her
+young mistress get it from him.</p>
+<p>Blanca’s curiosity was sufficiently whetted by the
+description, to get up in all haste and come down, and see the strange
+shepherd herself.</p>
+<p>The count’s heart beat indeed, as she came near; and she
+looked so handsome, and so haughty, that the sight brought back the
+memory of all her cruelty, so that he was divided between the
+inclination to throw himself at her feet and beg her to come and be
+reasonable, and the resolve to follow the advice of the ring, and give
+her a lesson that should make her a good wife. But the ring adjured him
+to keep quite quiet, and not even look up at her.</p>
+<p>“God be with you, this morning, <i lang=
+"es">villano</i>!” she exclaimed, rather loud, with a little
+sharp cough, to attract his attention.</p>
+<p>“May He have you in His good keeping, <i lang=
+"es">niña</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e4955src" href=
+"#xd21e4955" name="xd21e4955src">5</a>!” rejoined the disguised
+shepherd, without looking up from his loom.</p>
+<p>Blanca was not accustomed to be treated in this way; and she felt
+very much inclined to call some of the servants to chastise the
+supposed shepherd for his rudeness. Nevertheless, there was something
+about his manner that both awed as well as <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb313" href="#pb313" name=
+"pb313">313</a>]</span>interested her to an unaccountable degree, and
+far too much to let her give up diving farther into the mystery that
+surrounded him without another attempt.</p>
+<p>“<i lang="es">Villano, villano!</i>” she said, at last,
+“tell me, I pray, the tissue you are weaving, who taught you to
+weave it?”</p>
+<p>“Seven fairies, lady,” replied the feigned shepherd,
+“who live in seven towers, and who never sleep or dine; but are
+constantly weaving and singing this refrain, which I sing continually
+too, lest I should forget it:—</p>
+<div class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">“The cock o’ercomes, though somewhat
+rough,</p>
+<p class="line">So man, no less, the coy rebuff</p>
+<p class="line xd21e3723">Of woman!”</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">And with that he went on working away as before.</p>
+<p>“I suppose you want to sell it, don’t you, <i lang=
+"es">villano</i>,” continued Blanca, trying not to look vexed.
+“Now if you like, I’ll buy it of you, and you may ask what
+you like; money, or jewels, or whatever you will, and I will pay the
+price.” And when she had said that, she thought such a bait would
+be sufficient to make him obsequious.</p>
+<p>But far from this, he drew himself up proudly, and told her that all
+her money and jewels were useless to him; that whoever makes up his
+mind to contemn riches is richer than all the world; and he who is
+content with the food and raiment earned <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb314" href="#pb314" name="pb314">314</a>]</span>by his daily toil
+cannot be bribed by gold. “But,” he continued, speaking a
+little lower and more softly, “there is one condition on which I
+part with my fine weft, and only one. The woman I give it to must be
+<i>my wife</i>!” and then he resumed his indifferent manner
+again, and went on weaving, and singing the while,—</p>
+<div class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">“The cock o’ercomes, though somewhat
+rough,</p>
+<p class="line">So man, no less, the coy rebuff</p>
+<p class="line xd21e3723">Of woman!”</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">Blanca seemed riveted to the spot. She had long
+mourned—quite in secret and in silence, the loss of her fond
+admirer, the Count of Barcelona, and often her heart was—quite in
+secret and in silence—cut to the quick with the thought,
+“Suppose he should never come back to me!” Though she
+appeared outwardly gay and haughty as before, this care was continually
+preying on her mind; she treasured up, quite in secret and in silence,
+every little thing that could remind her of him; and whenever a
+stranger came to her father’s castle, though she pretended
+scarcely to look at him, she scrutinized him through and through, to
+see if he could be bearer of any tidings from the absent count. Now
+there was something about the shepherd that re-awakened all her
+sorrows, and all her hopes. She did not know what it was. She was too
+agitated to suspect that it was <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb315"
+href="#pb315" name="pb315">315</a>]</span>he himself, and yet she felt
+so drawn towards him, she could not tear herself away. The audacity of
+such words was great, however, coming from one in his humble garb; and
+she felt she must administer some strong reproof; so, assuming a show
+of all the indignation she could call to her aid, she half turned away,
+exclaiming, “Begone, <i lang="es">villano</i>! nor dare to
+approach me. If you come but one step nearer, I will call my
+father’s men to kill you!”</p>
+<p>“<i lang="es">Soperbica, soperbica<a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e5009src" href="#xd21e5009" name="xd21e5009src">6</a>!</i>”
+replied the shepherd, with most provoking coolness. “You are very
+proud now; but I swear to you that you will not always take that tone.
+You will talk to me very differently some day. For so the seven fairies
+promised me when they taught me the song,—</p>
+<div class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">“The cock o’ercomes, though somewhat
+rough,</p>
+<p class="line">So man, no less, the coy rebuff</p>
+<p class="line xd21e3723">Of woman!”</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">The <i lang="es">dueña</i>, who had been
+standing by, watching this scene with the greatest anxiety, intent only
+on getting a chance of possessing some of the weft which was to make
+her young and beautiful, was driven beyond endurance by the turn
+matters were now taking. So she called her young mistress aside and
+descanted so earnestly on the incomparable powers of the cloth and the
+little probability <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb316" href="#pb316"
+name="pb316">316</a>]</span>of ever meeting with such a chance again if
+she neglected this one, and threw in, too, such clever hints about easy
+ways of getting over the difficulty,—that the simple shepherd
+could easily be deceived, that she could pretend she was going to
+listen to his attentions, though it need only be pretence, and in the
+meantime she would get his priceless treasure out of him,—that
+poor little Blanca was quite bewildered. She was, indeed, so anxious to
+see more of the mysterious shepherd, and so possessed with the vague
+fancy that there was some connexion between him and the Count of
+Barcelona, that it was no very difficult matter to overcome her
+scruples, particularly as the <i lang="es">dueña</i> promised to
+smooth the way a little for her.</p>
+<p>The count, who had also been a little frightened, lest he had spoken
+too abruptly, was also willing to receive the
+<i>dueña’s</i> mediation, and in a very little time Blanca
+had obtained possession of the texture; but the count had also played
+his game so successfully, that Blanca was quite under his influence,
+and could think and dream of nothing else, nor rest till she had an
+opportunity of meeting him again. Of course this was not difficult, and
+the <i lang="es">dueña</i> was ready enough to assist her, as
+she thought the shepherd might have some other precious gift to
+impart.</p>
+<p>Nor was she mistaken. The count consulted his ring as to what he
+should do next, and the ring <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb317" href=
+"#pb317" name="pb317">317</a>]</span>gave him a fowl which laid pearls
+for eggs, and the chickens that came out of them had feathers like
+gold.</p>
+<p>When Blanca saw this, she could not forbear coming down into the
+garden to ask for the beautiful fowl. The shepherd was feeding her with
+gold corn, and he went on throwing down the grains without taking any
+notice of her approach, but singing,—</p>
+<div class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">“My fair begins to yield;</p>
+<p class="line">I’m safe to win the field!”</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">“<i lang="es">Pastorcillo, pastorcillo!</i> give
+me the beautiful fowl!” said Blanca <span class="corr" id=
+"xd21e5055" title="Source: imporingly">imploringly</span>. “I
+should <i>so</i> like to have her. I shall cry if you won’t give
+her <i lang="es">pastorcillo</i>;” she continued, as the count
+turned on his heels, and continued singing,—</p>
+<div class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">“My fair begins to yield;</p>
+<p class="line">I’m safe to win the field!”</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">“<i lang="es">Pastorcillo!</i> listen,”
+repeated the poor child sadly, for though she did not recognize the
+count, he had so enthralled her, that she felt towards the supposed
+shepherd as she had never felt towards any but him.</p>
+<p>“Oh, cease that horrid song, and speak to me,” she said
+at last, and so humbly, that the count thought it was time to put in a
+word.</p>
+<p>“Will you come away with me? because otherwise <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb318" href="#pb318" name="pb318">318</a>]</span>it
+is no use talking,” he said, somewhat abruptly.</p>
+<p>“Never!” retorted Blanca, indignantly; “and you
+had better take care, and not talk so loud, for if my father overheard
+you, he would send and have you strung up.”</p>
+<p>But the shepherd did not care a bit, he had in the meantime spoken
+to her father, and told him what his plan was; and received from him
+the hearty approval of his scheme for bringing his incorrigible
+daughter to reason; so he sang out louder than before,—</p>
+<div class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">“My fair begins to yield;</p>
+<p class="line">I’m safe to win the field!”</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">Blanca had never been treated in this way, and did not
+know what to make of it. She turned to go away, but then the dread
+stole over her, suppose the shepherd should go away as mysteriously as
+he had come, and then there would be no one left to remind her of the
+count. She could not bear to think of it: she turned, and said
+faintly,—</p>
+<p>“<i lang="es">Pastorcillo!</i> give me the beautiful fowl; you
+must give it me.”</p>
+<p>“I am going away, Blanca,” he replied, but less sternly
+than before. It was the first time he had called her by her name, and
+it seemed as if she heard the count speaking. <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb319" href="#pb319" name="pb319">319</a>]</span></p>
+<p>“Going away!” she exclaimed, in blank despair;
+“oh, you must take me with you!”</p>
+<p>“Take you with me!” repeated the shepherd. “No,
+you said you wouldn’t come.”</p>
+<p>“Oh, but I did not know what I was saying!”</p>
+<p>“It’s too late now,” replied the count.</p>
+<p>“Oh, but I shall come, whether you will or no,” she said
+pertly; for every time he spoke his words seemed to rivet more firmly
+the chain which bound her to her affianced husband, it seemed as if he
+was his spectre come to avenge him.</p>
+<p>“I cannot help it, if you choose to do <i>that</i>,” was
+all his answer, and he turned to go.</p>
+<p>“Take me, <i lang="es">Pastorcillo</i>!” she said once
+more.</p>
+<p>“You would not like to come where I have to go,”
+answered the supposed shepherd. “My dwelling is a dark cave,
+where no light ever enters. My bed is the sharp rock, which cuts
+through to the bones. My drink is water, muddy and cold; and my meat is
+grief and mourning. No companions are there where I live, for all men
+and women hold my way of living in dread.”</p>
+<p>When Blanca heard this, she turned pale; nevertheless, she could not
+see him go without her, and still asked to go.</p>
+<p>The shepherd walked on without saying a word. Blanca followed him as
+if drawn by magic.</p>
+<p>Away they went, sad and silent: far, far away; over rocks and
+declivities, through streams and <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb320"
+href="#pb320" name="pb320">320</a>]</span>torrents, past briars and
+brakes. For months they went on thus; the count going on
+before,—Blanca, sad and silent, after him. They never entered any
+town; and their only food was the berries they found in the wood, and
+the water of the brooks they crossed. Blanca’s fair soft skin was
+burnt brown by the sun and parched up by the wind; her hands were torn
+by the thorns, and her feet bleeding from the unevennesses of the way.
+At last a day came when she could go no farther. She sank down fainting
+on the earth, but she was so humble now, she did not so much as proffer
+a word of complaint.</p>
+<p>“What is the matter, Blanca?” inquired the count.
+“Do you give up following me any farther?”</p>
+<p>“<i lang="es">Pastorcillo!</i> mock me not. You see I would
+follow you gladly, but you see too my strength is at an end; I can go
+no farther;” and with that her senses failed.</p>
+<p>When the count saw her in this condition, he took pity on her, and,
+lifting her up in his arms, carried her to a shepherd’s hut at no
+great distance along the moor, and there the good wife attended to her,
+putting her in her poor bed, and gently trying to bring her to again.
+But it was all of no use, she continued in the swoon, and the poor
+peasant’s restoratives were of no avail.</p>
+<p>When the count saw this, he was in despair, <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb321" href="#pb321" name="pb321">321</a>]</span>and
+sitting down under shadow of a rock, he took out his ring to ask it
+what was to be done, now being almost ready to reproach it for having
+led him to be so cruel.</p>
+<p>But the ring told him to be of good heart, and all the promises of
+the milk-white dove would be fulfilled. “Blanca has now learnt a
+lesson, and acquired a habit of submission which she will not forget
+all through her life. And besides, after she has given such strong
+proofs of love and devotion towards you, she will have no inclination
+to resume the provoking ways with which she tormented you before, so
+you may safely discover yourself to her now.”</p>
+<p>Then the good ring suddenly pronounced some words near the
+peasant’s hut, and it became a fine palace, and the bed on which
+Blanca was lying became covered with beautiful embroidered coverlets,
+and all around were clothes fit for a countess to wear. The Count, too,
+was provided with a shining suit of armour and a prancing charger, and
+by its side a palfrey for his bride, and a train of noble knights and
+dames to attend them. Over Blanca, too, the ring said some words, and
+her consciousness came back to her, and when she saw the Count standing
+by her side, looking just as he did the day he dropped the pomegranate
+pip, it seemed as if she had never seen him in any other garb, only
+that he kept singing a verse the ring had taught him—
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb322" href="#pb322" name=
+"pb322">322</a>]</span></p>
+<div class="lgouter">
+<p class="line">“She spurned me, bridegroom, in her pride!</p>
+<p class="line">Then with a shepherd would abide;</p>
+<p class="line">Yet loved me still, for I have tried</p>
+<p class="line">Her love, as gold is purified!”</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">till she begged him not to sing it, but so gently and
+submissively, that he could not resist. So he lifted her on to her
+palfrey, and the whole noble train moved on towards his father’s
+palace, where she lived by his side all her life, a model of a devoted
+wife. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb323" href="#pb323" name=
+"pb323">323</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e4846" href="#xd21e4846src" name="xd21e4846">1</a></span> Dear
+little ring. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e4846src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e4889" href="#xd21e4889src" name="xd21e4889">2</a></span> Good
+little shepherd. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e4889src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e4908" href="#xd21e4908src" name="xd21e4908">3</a></span> Sir
+Country-bumpkin. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e4908src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote" lang="en"><span class="label"><a class="noteref"
+id="xd21e4935" href="#xd21e4935src" name="xd21e4935">4</a></span>
+Little princess. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e4935src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e4955" href="#xd21e4955src" name="xd21e4955">5</a></span>
+Child. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e4955src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote" lang="en"><span class="label"><a class="noteref"
+id="xd21e5009" href="#xd21e5009src" name="xd21e5009">6</a></span> Proud
+little thing. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e5009src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s41" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e545">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="super">MOORISH REMNANTS.</h2>
+<h2 class="label">I.</h2>
+<h2 class="main">ISSY-BEN-ARAN.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Though the Moors were always hated in Spain, first as
+a conquering and afterwards as a conquered race, yet many poetical
+traces of their traditions and maxims remain in the popular literature
+of the country; and in some of these they appear in a very advantageous
+light, though, of course, the national hatred loved rather to record
+those of a contrary import.</p>
+<p>Issy-ben-Aran was a venerable muleteer, well-known in all the towns
+of Granada for his worth and integrity—an elder and a father
+among his tribe.</p>
+<p>One day, as he was journeying over a wild and sequestered track of
+the Sierra Nevada, he heard a cry of pain proceeding from the
+road-side. The <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb324" href="#pb324" name=
+"pb324">324</a>]</span>good old man immediately turned back to render
+help to the unfortunate. He found a young man lying among the sharp
+points of an aloe hedge, groaning as if at the last gasp.</p>
+<p>“What ails thee? Son, speak,” said Issy-ben-Aran.</p>
+<p>“I was journeying along the road, father, an hour agone, as
+full of health as you may be, when I was set upon by six robbers, who
+knocked me off my mule, and not satisfied with carrying off all I
+possessed in the world, beat me till they thought I was dead, and then
+flung my body into this aloe hedge.”</p>
+<p>Issy-ben-Aran gave him a draught of water from his own <i lang=
+"es">bota</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e5184src" href="#xd21e5184"
+name="xd21e5184src">1</a> and bound his head with linen cloths steeped
+in fresh water, then he set him on his own beast to carry him at a
+gentle pace to the nearest town and further care for him, with great
+strain of his feeble arms lifting him tenderly into the saddle.</p>
+<p>No sooner was the stranger well mounted, with his feet firmly set in
+the stirrups, than, drawing himself up with no further appearance of
+weakness, he dug his heels into the horse’s side, and setting up
+a loud laugh, started off at a rapid gallop.</p>
+<p>Issy-ben-Aran, to whom every stone of the road was known as the
+lines upon his right hand, immediately scrambled down the
+mountain-side, so as <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb325" href="#pb325"
+name="pb325">325</a>]</span>to confront the stranger at the turning of
+the road.</p>
+<p>“Hold!” he cried. And the nag, who loved his master
+well, stood still and refused to move for all the stranger’s
+urging.</p>
+<p>“Son! think not I am come to reproach you,” said the old
+man. “If you desire the horse, even take it at a gift; you shall
+not burden your conscience with a theft on my account.”</p>
+<p>“Thank you!” scoffed the heartless stranger. “It
+is fine to make a merit of necessity; but I have nothing to do but ride
+to the nearest town, and sell the brute.”</p>
+<p>“Beware! and do it not,” said the old man. “The
+nag of Issy-ben-Aran is known at every market in the kingdom, and any
+man of all our tribes who frequents them, finding you with him, will
+reckon you have killed me, and slay you in turn. Even for this have I
+come to you: take this scroll to show that you have it of me as a free
+gift, and so no harm shall come to you.</p>
+<p>“Only one condition I exact. Bind yourself to me, that you
+tell no man of what has passed between us; lest peradventure, should it
+become known, a man hearing his brother cry out in distress might say,
+‘This man is feigning, that he may take my horse like the horse
+of Issy-ben-Aran,’ and the man who is really in danger be thus
+left to perish miserably.” <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb326"
+href="#pb326" name="pb326">326</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e5184" href="#xd21e5184src" name="xd21e5184">1</a></span> Small
+leathern bottle, hung from the saddle in travelling. <a class=
+"fnarrow" href="#xd21e5184src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s42" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e560">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="super">MOORISH REMNANTS.</h2>
+<h2 class="label">II.</h2>
+<h2 class="main">MÓSTAFA ALVILÁ.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Móstafa Alvilá was califf of a conquered
+province in Spain, where he reigned with oriental state. The tributary
+people were ground down with hard work to minister to his treasury, and
+the vast sums he amassed were spent in beautifying his Alcázar,
+and filling it with costly productions from all parts. Merchants from
+every climate under heaven were encouraged to come and offer him their
+choicest wares.</p>
+<p>One day, a merchant of Persia brought a large pack of shawls and
+carpets, all woven in gold and pearls, and wools and silks of brilliant
+colours, but among them all the most beautiful was one carpet of great
+price, on which Móstafa Alvilá’s choice was
+immediately set; but in all his treasury there was not found the price
+of it. Nothing would do, he <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb327" href=
+"#pb327" name="pb327">327</a>]</span><i>must</i> possess it: then Ali
+Babá his vizier came forward and said, “Let ten thousand
+dogs of Christians be sold, and with the price of them you shall
+purchase the carpet.”</p>
+<p>Móstafa Alvilá answered and said, “The advice is
+good!” So they sent and sold ten thousand Christians, and with
+the price of them the carpet was bought.</p>
+<p>Móstafa Alvilá sat contemplating the curious devices,
+and tracing the wonderful arabesque patterns with which the carpet was
+covered; and there was one pattern, all shining with gold and pearls,
+quite prominent in the centre, which had a likeness to the characters
+of an inscription; and when Móstafa Alvilá saw it, he was
+very curious to know if it was an inscription, and what it meant, so he
+sent to recall the merchant; but he was gone from the Alcázar.
+Then he sent his servants after him, and though they travelled three
+days’ journey by every road, they could neither find him nor
+obtain any tidings of whither he had passed. Then Móstafa
+Alvilá was more curious, and sent and gathered all the learned
+men in his califate, and inquired of them what the inscription might
+mean. They all looked troubled, and said they could not tell, they had
+never seen such letters. But one there was who concealed the difficulty
+he was in so ill, that Móstafa Alvilá saw he knew what
+the writing meant, so he looked very severely upon him and <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb328" href="#pb328" name=
+"pb328">328</a>]</span>threatened him with instant death if he did not
+tell him exactly what the writing was.</p>
+<p>Then the interpreter, when he found there was no other way to save
+his life, with great fear and trembling said, this is the meaning
+thereof:—</p>
+<div class="blockquote">
+<p class="first">“<span class="sc">Shiroes, son of Chosroes,
+killed his father; and he died six months after.</span>”</p>
+</div>
+<p>Móstafa Alvilá was greatly troubled when he heard the
+sentence; for <i>he</i> had ascended the califate by killing his
+father, and he had reigned six months all but one day. So he sent and
+commanded that the interpreter and all who had heard the sentence
+should be put to death, that no one might know the omen.</p>
+<p>But that night, in the middle of the dark hours, when Móstafa
+Alvilá was alone in his chamber, a horrible vision came to him.
+He thought he saw the body of his father whom he had murdered rise up
+to convict him. He sunk down in his bed, and covered his face in fear
+and horror.</p>
+<p>In the morning, when they came to call him, they found only his
+lifeless corpse. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb329" href="#pb329"
+name="pb329">329</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s43" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e575">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="super">MOORISH REMNANTS.</h2>
+<h2 class="label">III.</h2>
+<h2 class="main">THE EMIR IN SEARCH OF AN EYE.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">The Emir Abu-Bekir lost an eye in battle against the
+Christians. “The Christians shall pay me what they have taken
+from me,” he said; and he sent for a number of Christian
+captives, and had one of their eyes taken out, in the idea of replacing
+his own; but it was found that none of them agreed with his in size,
+and form, and colour. The Emir Abu-Bekir was of very comely person, and
+his eyes had been so mild and soft, that it was at last thought only
+the eye of a woman could replace the missing one; the choice fell upon
+a beautiful maiden named Sancha. Sancha was brought into the
+Emir’s presence, and his physician was ordered to take out her
+eye, and place it in the vacant socket.</p>
+<p>Now Sancha stood trembling and wailing, and <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb330" href="#pb330" name="pb330">330</a>]</span>by
+her very crying damaging the perfection of the coveted feature. Then
+there stood up a travelling doctor who was in great fame among the
+people, and begged a hearing of the Emir; for albeit he was a Turk, yet
+he possessed pity and gratitude. He knew that the operation, while a
+torment to the Christian maiden, would be of no service to the Emir;
+and he pitied the waste of pain. It happened further, that once, when
+on a journey he had sunk fainting by the way-side, this very Sancha had
+comforted and relieved him; and now he determined to rescue her.</p>
+<p>Accordingly, he stepped up to the Emir, and told him that he had
+eyes made of crystal, and coloured by cunning art, which no one could
+tell from living eyes, and which would be of much greater service and
+ornament than those of the Christian dogs, whose eyes he might have
+observed lost all their lustre and consistency the moment they were
+taken from their natural place. The Emir admitted the truth of the last
+statement, and being marvellously pleased with the glass eyes the
+travelling doctor displayed, asked him the price.</p>
+<p>“The maiden for a slave,” replied the doctor.</p>
+<p>The Emir gladly consented to so advantageous a bargain, and suffered
+the glass eye to be fixed in his head. All the Court applauded the
+appearance.</p>
+<p>“But I cannot see with it!” cried the Emir.</p>
+<p>“Oh! you must give it a little time to get used <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb331" href="#pb331" name="pb331">331</a>]</span>to
+your ways,” answered the doctor, readily; “you can’t
+expect it all of a sudden to do as well as the other, that you have had
+in use so long.”</p>
+<p>So the Emir was content to wait; meantime, the doctor made off with
+his fair prize, whom he conducted safely back to Spain, and restored
+her faithfully to her friends and her liberty. <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb332" href="#pb332" name="pb332">332</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s44" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e590">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="super">MOORISH REMNANTS.</h2>
+<h2 class="label">IV.</h2>
+<h2 class="main">YUSSUF’S FRIEND.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">The merchant Yussuf took great pains to train up his
+only son in prudence, that he might be able, when he was no more, to
+carry on his business, as he had done before him, with credit and
+success. But in spite of all his lessons, he would be continually
+putting his confidence in worthless persons; and in particular he
+fostered an intimacy with a young Jew of dangerous character, who had
+several times, by fraud and cunning, cheated him out of large sums, all
+the while leading young Yussuf to believe that what he had done was
+fair and just; nor would he listen to his father’s suspicion of
+him.</p>
+<p>The merchant Yussuf had to take a journey to Africa with his son;
+and while preparing for it, he lamented loudly over the difficulty he
+was in <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb333" href="#pb333" name=
+"pb333">333</a>]</span>as to placing his money in safety during his
+absence.</p>
+<p>“Now, if you had not been so suspicious of my friend the
+Jew,” said young Yussuf, “<i>there’s</i> a man who
+would have taken care of it for you!”</p>
+<p>“You know my opinion of him,” replied his father.</p>
+<p>“Ah! you’re so suspicious,” replied young Yussuf,
+“<i>I</i> know him better.”</p>
+<p>“Well, if you think so well of him, I will on your advice ask
+him to take care of a strong-box for me.”</p>
+<p>“Well done, father!” replied the young man;
+“you’ll see you’ll never repent it.”</p>
+<p>The same evening, the merchant Yussuf sent a large chest, heavy
+enough to contain a vast amount of treasure, to the Jew, by the hand of
+his son; and the next day they set out for Africa.</p>
+<p>Having brought their affairs to a prosperous termination, the two
+Yussufs returned home to Granada.</p>
+<p>On the morrow of their arrival, the merchant sent his son to the
+Jew, to reclaim the strong-box. Young Yussuf returned presently, full
+of indignation.</p>
+<p>“Father, you have insulted my friend beyond all possibility of
+reconciliation. He tells me it was not money you entrusted to his
+keeping, but a parcel of broken stones!”</p>
+<p>“And pray,” replied his father, “how did your
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb334" href="#pb334" name=
+"pb334">334</a>]</span>honourable friend discover what was in my
+strong-box? To find this out, he must have broken my locks; which will,
+I think, show you it was very well I gave no greater value into
+<i>his</i> keeping.”</p>
+<p>Young Yussuf hung his head, and suffered himself to be guided after
+that by his father’s experience in his judgment of mankind.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb335" href="#pb335" name=
+"pb335">335</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s45" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e605">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="super">MOORISH REMNANTS.</h2>
+<h2 class="label">V.</h2>
+<h2 class="main">THE SULTANA’S PERFUMER-IN-CHIEF.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Of all the luxurious appointments of the Moorish
+houses, none were more prominent than the baths. And you must not think
+that means a bath just big enough to get into, like those in our
+houses. At Seville and Granada, and wherever the Moors lived and built,
+you may see remains of the vast constructions which served them for
+baths, all of white marble, and situated in the midst of scented shrubs
+and sweet and brilliant flowers.</p>
+<p>In their own hotter country, their baths received a still greater
+development. There was once a sultana, Moorka-Hama, who had a fancy to
+have <i>her</i> baths always filled with rose-water. One day, when she
+came to bathe, she found the air perfumed to a most unusual degree; and
+on her causing an <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb336" href="#pb336"
+name="pb336">336</a>]</span>inquiry into it, they found that the heat
+of the sun had expressed the essential oil, which was floating on the
+surface. The process thus suggested by accident, was immediately
+imitated by art; and by it is produced the delicious scent which is now
+an article of commerce, and which we call attar of roses. <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb337" href="#pb337" name="pb337">337</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s46" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e612">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">EL MORO SANTON<a class="noteref" id="xd21e5341src"
+href="#xd21e5341" name="xd21e5341src">1</a>.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Just as it was permitted to the heathen soothsayer
+Balaam to foretell true things to the Lord’s people, so it is
+narrated that, a little before the taking of Granada by the Christians,
+great consternation was produced among the infidel population by the
+predictions of a Moorish dervish who was held in great veneration.</p>
+<p>He was an ancient man, more than a hundred years old; his long white
+beard seemed to be falling snow, it was more than a yard long, and he
+could gird it round his waist. He lived out on the mountains of Granada
+a life of great austerity; though it was long since he had never a hair
+left, he wore no covering on his head, and the action of the sun and
+rain had worn it into the appearance of a skull; his eyebrows grew long
+and bushy, and served as a protection to his eyes; <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb338" href="#pb338" name="pb338">338</a>]</span>and
+no clothing wore he but a tunic of camel’s hide; his feet, too,
+were bare, and his skin was yellow and shrivelled by long exposure. He
+slept in a cave upon the cold ground, with a stone for his pillow. And
+for all the hundred years of his life, he had never taken but one meal
+a day, nor tasted aught but honey and milk, which other Moors brought
+him by orders of the king.</p>
+<p>All looked up to him as to a saint, in all Andalusia; and whatever
+words he uttered, they respected it as Al Korán, and next to the
+words of Mahomet himself.</p>
+<p>One day, when the king and many people were gathered together to
+hear him, he spoke to them these words: “When you shall see
+joined together Aragon and Castille, then know for certain that Granada
+shall be taken.</p>
+<p>“And the king who shall take it, know that his name shall
+begin with F., for in his time faith<a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e5358src" href="#xd21e5358" name="xd21e5358src">2</a> shall reign
+throughout his kingdom.</p>
+<p>“And the queen his wife, her name will begin with Y., which
+may be taken to stand for <i lang="es">ygual</i>; for his equal she
+shall be, in courage and prudence.</p>
+<p>“These two shall likewise turn Judaism out of Spain, and set
+up the Inquisition, by which the wicked shall be sentenced to death.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb339" href="#pb339" name=
+"pb339">339</a>]</span></p>
+<p>“They shall acquire three kingdoms, and conquer the
+Indies.</p>
+<p>“And they shall have a grandson, who shall be called Emperor
+of Germany, also King of Hungary, who shall lay siege to the city of
+the Pope, and lay low the three lilies of France in the field of
+Pavia.</p>
+<p>“Of the three laws now prevailing in Spain, one only shall
+remain, and that shall be that one which commences with the font and
+blessed water, and ends with blessed oils<a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e5381src" href="#xd21e5381" name="xd21e5381src">3</a>.</p>
+<p>“And thus they will make an end of the sect of Mahomet; for it
+had but a thousand years given it, and as more than eight hundred are
+past, it will soon now come to its end.”</p>
+<p>This is said to have been pronounced about fifty years before its
+fulfilment, in the persons of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of
+Castille. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb340" href="#pb340" name=
+"pb340">340</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e5341" href="#xd21e5341src" name="xd21e5341">1</a></span>
+<i>Santon</i> is a term used in Spanish for a person professing a life
+of austerity among the Moors. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e5341src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e5358" href="#xd21e5358src" name="xd21e5358">2</a></span> The
+letter F in Spanish is pronounced <i>fé</i>, and
+<i>fé</i> is the Spanish for faith. <a class="fnarrow"
+href="#xd21e5358src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e5381" href="#xd21e5381src" name="xd21e5381">3</a></span> Baptism
+and Extreme Unction, taken to typify the Christian law. <a class=
+"fnarrow" href="#xd21e5381src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s47" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e626">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="super">TRADITIONS DE ULTRAMAR.</h2>
+<h2 class="main">HERNAN CORTES IN SANCTUARY.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Hernan Cortes was a Spanish gentleman whose
+achievements in the new world earned him a fame almost as great and
+almost as fantastic as that of any of the mediæval heroes. He was
+first taken out to the West Indies as secretary to Diego Velasquez,
+Governor of Cuba, whose arbitrary acts excited so much discontent, that
+a commission of inquiry was sent out from Spain, which established its
+head-quarters at Hispaniola<a class="noteref" id="xd21e5398src" href=
+"#xd21e5398" name="xd21e5398src">1</a>. It was a perilous enterprise to
+carry the complaint of Cuba over to the commission; and as no one could
+be found to undertake the service, Hernan Cortes resolved to go
+himself, though he had to cross the straits in an open boat. The
+governor had been on the watch, and one of the swiftest boats under his
+orders succeeded in overtaking Cortes’s boat, and putting him in
+irons to bring him back to shore. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb341"
+href="#pb341" name="pb341">341</a>]</span></p>
+<p>Hernan Cortes was one of the handsomest of men; and his beauty and
+misfortunes exciting the sympathy of his keepers, he was not very
+vigilantly watched. Possessing great natural pluck and dexterity, he
+managed in the night, as they neared the land, to slip his chains and
+gain the shore. Here he hid himself in the jungle till daybreak, when
+he found sanctuary in a little church. For several days he remained
+here in safety, but among the frequenters of the shrine was Melinda
+Xuares, whose piety, and modest demeanour in spite of her exceeding
+beauty, attracted his attention and won his heart. Her brother, Juan
+Xuares, with whom she lived, for she was an orphan, was delighted to
+cultivate the acquaintance of a man he admired so much, and therefore
+received him cordially.</p>
+<p>In his remote retreat he thought himself so safe that he ventured
+daily to spend some hours at Juan Xuares’ house; but the
+governor’s spies were down upon him. They caught him one day
+outside the limits of the sanctuary, and clapped him in prison.</p>
+<p>When he had been seized before, it was by an arbitrary stretch of
+power: now there was a formal charge against him, for having broken
+prison; and he was liable to be hanged.</p>
+<p>Melinda’s grief was indescribable: but she was brave as
+beautiful; she no sooner heard of Hernan’s imprisonment than she
+hastened to the governor, and so successfully pleaded her lover’s
+cause, that <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb342" href="#pb342" name=
+"pb342">342</a>]</span>he ordered him to be set free and restored to
+her.</p>
+<p>Thus a noble life was spared; and Hernan Cortes afterwards became
+the conqueror of Mexico. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb343" href=
+"#pb343" name="pb343">343</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e5398" href="#xd21e5398src" name="xd21e5398">1</a></span> Now
+Hayti. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e5398src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s48" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e640">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">ARAUCANIA THE INDOMITABLE.</h2>
+<h2 class="label">I.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Among the many traditions of Spanish adventures in the
+West Indies and Americas, none are more interesting than those
+concerning Araucania. Araucania is a province of Chili, which was
+inhabited by the bravest and noblest tribe of aborigines. Their courage
+and patriotism preserved them from ever succumbing to the invaders.
+When the rule of Spain was at length effected, it was through the
+conversion of the natives and their voluntary acceptance of a Christian
+government—never by their subjugation; so much so, that for years
+it was commonly known by the name of “<span lang="es">El Estado
+indomito</span>” (the unconquered province).</p>
+<p>Various stories are told of heroism on both sides which deserve a
+place beside the noblest and most celebrated deeds of any history. Don
+Alonso de Ercilla y Zuñiga was a page in attendance on
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb344" href="#pb344" name=
+"pb344">344</a>]</span>Philip II. at the Court of our Queen Mary, when
+news came of a fresh outbreak of the indomitable Araucanians. Though a
+mere lad, he pleaded for permission to join the expedition which was
+immediately formed to quell the insurrection. He presents a marked
+instance of the best type of Spanish character—brave and
+patriotic, and at the same time chivalrous and generous. The intervals
+of leisure he could snatch from the business of the campaign were spent
+in recording in a heroic poem (which he wrote on any scraps of paper he
+could procure, and when these failed on dried skins of animals) the
+incidents of the war which struck his poetic fancy. Far from
+attributing all the merit to those of his own side with the spirit of a
+partisan, he has left a series of most touching pictures of the
+nobleness and bravery of his antagonists. His poem begins, after the
+manner of the Iliad, with a list of all the valiant chiefs, detailing
+their qualities and the numbers they commanded. Then it goes on to give
+a stirring description of their meeting to excite each other to rise in
+the defence of their country. There was no hanging back or cowardly
+fear, every one was anxious to be foremost to the fray. When they had
+well eaten, and warmed their courage with deep potations from their
+<i lang="es">tinajas</i><a class="noteref" id="xd21e5431src" href=
+"#xd21e5431" name="xd21e5431src">1</a> of wine, up rose Tucápel
+the audacious, and declared he was ready to head the expedition. The
+universe knew he <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb345" href="#pb345"
+name="pb345">345</a>]</span>was the bravest of them all; and if any one
+disputed the boast, he was ready there and then to make it good. Not
+suffering him to conclude his speech, Elicura broke in full of
+boldness, “To <i>me</i> it is given to lead the affair; and if
+any one dispute the claim, he must taste the point of my
+lance.”</p>
+<p>“To <i>my</i> arm! to <i>my</i> arm,” cried Ongolmo,
+“it behoves to brandish the iron club.”</p>
+<p>“Folly!” shouted Lincoya, mad with rage. “It is
+mine to be lord of the world, as certainly as my hand holds the oaken
+staff.”</p>
+<p>“None surely,” interposed Argol, “is so vain as to
+put his prowess on a par with <i>mine</i>.”</p>
+<p>But Cayocupil, shaking his heavy spear, cleared a free space around
+him, and roared, “Who will dispute <i>my</i> right to be first?
+Let him come on, come on! I can match you, one or all.”</p>
+<p>“I accept the challenge!” responded Lemolemo, darting
+towards him, “it is no effort to me to prove what is already mine
+of right.”</p>
+<p>But Puren<a class="noteref" id="xd21e5463src" href="#xd21e5463"
+name="xd21e5463src">2</a>, who was drinking at a distance, here dashed
+furiously through the crowd, and proudly asked who dared harbour so
+insane a thought; declaring that where Puren stood no one else could
+bear command. When the storm was at its <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb346" href="#pb346" name="pb346">346</a>]</span>highest, all shouting
+and shaking their spears, the venerable Colócolo, the most
+ancient of all the caciques, came forward, and silence was made before
+him.</p>
+<p>“Caciques, defenders of the State!” he said, “no
+desire of command animates me; already by my great age I half belong to
+the other world; my love of you all alone impels me to give you the
+counsel of the white-haired. But spend not against one another the
+courage which is needed against our common foe; fight not as to which
+of you is most valiant, for you are all equal in prowess as in birth
+and possessions, and any one of you is worthy to govern the world. But
+as to which shall lead in this present expedition, be advised by me:
+there must be one, and let the choice be decided by a trial of
+endurance. Whichever of you shall longest support a baulk of timber of
+exceeding weight without wearying, <i>he</i> shall take the
+lead.”</p>
+<p>He spoke, and not one voice was raised against the voice of the
+ancient. So the baulk of timber was brought—a vast trunk of ebony
+which a man could scarcely clasp round with his arms. Paycabi came
+forward to make the essay, and planted it on his broad shoulders; six
+hours he bore it with a steady strain, but he could not complete the
+seventh. Cayocupil with an agile step walked up to the beam, and bore
+it five hours; Gualemo, a well-grown youth, tried it after him, but
+could not <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb347" href="#pb347" name=
+"pb347">347</a>]</span>endure it so long; Argol took it next, but gave
+way at the sixth hour, and Ongolmo only kept it half an hour more.
+Puren after him bore it half a day; Lebopia, four hours and a half.
+Elicura stood up under it manfully longer than any, but at the ninth
+hour he gave in. Tucápel supported it fourteen hours, and went
+round to all the caciques boasting of the feat; which, when Lincoya
+perceived, he tore the cloak from his terrible shoulders, and raising
+the ponderous bulk without the least apparent strain, planted it on his
+back curved ready to receive it. Then he ran hither and thither to show
+how slight was the effort to him. He took it up at the rising sun, and
+he bore it till the sun had returned to his rest, and through the dread
+night Diana kept watch with him; and the sun rose again upon his
+labours, yet he laid it not down till mid-day. And all the people were
+astonished to find there was one so powerful among them, and they began
+already to attribute to him the honours of the generalship.</p>
+<p>Then Caupólican came up to take his turn quietly and
+alone—from his birth one of his eyes had been deprived of light;
+but what was wanting in his power of vision was made up to him in his
+surpassing strength.</p>
+<p>He was a noble fellow, comely and strong, dignified in his bearing
+and made for command, upright and unflinching, and a strict maintainer
+of <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb348" href="#pb348" name=
+"pb348">348</a>]</span>that which is right. His form was muscular,
+lithe and agile, deep-chested and erect. With the ready confidence of
+assured superiority, he lifted the wood as if it had been a straw, and
+poised it gracefully on his shoulders. And all the people praised the
+movement with a shout of admiration; then Lincoya quailed, for he began
+to fear the victory would be taken from him. But how much more, when
+the hours passed by and the hero gave no sign of weariness: he paced up
+and down, conquering fatigue by resistance, and increasing his power by
+the habit of endurance. Thus through two days and two nights he never
+flinched, and then, as if because he had done enough—not because
+he was exhausted, he lifted down the weight and flung it from him to a
+mighty distance, showing his strength still unimpaired.</p>
+<p>Then all the people shouted and said Caupólican was their
+leader, and the fear of him was so great, that even those at a distance
+obeyed his word as if he had been present. Caupólican first
+exerted his command in setting order among his ranks, and assigning a
+place to each cacique and his followers. Then he made out a sagacious
+plan of attack on the Spaniards, and stirred up the brave Araucanians
+to the contest by assuring them of a speedy victory. Some advised this,
+and some that, but Caupólican, with his serene word of command,
+reduced all to willing obedience. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb349"
+href="#pb349" name="pb349">349</a>]</span></p>
+<p>The Spaniards had set up three forts to strengthen their hold on the
+territory, and against the most formidable of these the first attack
+was directed. The rising being quite unsuspected, the natives
+approached the fort easily; but when the Spaniards saw the horde
+approaching, they quickly raised the cry to arms, and sallied out to
+meet them with supercilious impetuosity. They soon found, however, they
+had no mean foes to deal with; though weary and footsore with their
+hasty march, the Araucanians no sooner came in presence of the foe,
+than they fought with all the pride and confidence of assured victory.
+Resistance met resistance, for hours neither side wavered, till at last
+the Spaniards were glad to secure their retreat in good order into the
+fort.</p>
+<p>Now there was in the Spanish army a brave youth, who, seeing his
+countrymen give way before the barbarians, was moved to indignation;
+and when the gate of the fort had closed on the last of them, he stood
+alone<a class="noteref" id="xd21e5494src" href="#xd21e5494" name=
+"xd21e5494src">3</a> on the drawbridge, and cried to the insurgents,
+“Come on! come on, the most valiant of you! One at a time, I will
+match thirty of you—nay I refuse not to a thousand.”</p>
+<p>More than a hundred Araucanians ran hotly to the encounter; but
+undismayed, that Spanish youth stood boldly on the bridge, and yet he
+called to <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb350" href="#pb350" name=
+"pb350">350</a>]</span>them to come on. Firm and erect he met them, and
+with a well-placed stroke of his trusty sword laid one and again
+another and another on the ground. His comrades, watching the unequal
+contest, sallied through a postern of the fort, and made a diversion
+for his relief. Many such devoted deeds were done on both sides that
+day; but it was vain the Spaniards fought like lions, for on and on the
+Araucanians poured, and for every Spaniard they were twenty. Then, when
+it was useless to resist longer against their overpowering numbers,
+they agreed during the night-time to abandon the fort; and trusting to
+the swiftness of their steeds, they rode away to a place of greater
+safety. So Caupólican and his caciques with great rejoicing took
+possession of the place, and laid the fort even with the ground.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb351" href="#pb351" name=
+"pb351">351</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e5431" href="#xd21e5431src" name="xd21e5431">1</a></span> Large
+jars. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e5431src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e5463" href="#xd21e5463src" name="xd21e5463">2</a></span> Puren
+distinguished himself so much by his courage in these wars, that
+Alvárez de Toledo, a captain in the Spanish army in Araucania,
+composed a poem on him, entitled, “<span lang="es">Puren
+indomito</span>.” <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e5463src">↑</a></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e5494" href="#xd21e5494src" name="xd21e5494">3</a></span> It is
+possible Don Ercilla here celebrates some feat of his
+own. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e5494src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s49" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e656">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="super">ARAUCANIA.</h2>
+<h2 class="label">II.</h2>
+<h2 class="main">TEGUALDA.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">It happened once, after there had been a desperate
+encounter between the Spaniards and Araucanians, that Don Alonso de
+Ercilla went out late at night to meditate on the lessons of the
+battle-field strewn with the bodies of those who had been well and
+brave but a few hours before. The night was dark and gloomy, and yet he
+thought he discerned indistinctly a form moving from place to place,
+quietly and noiselessly as a spirit might move; and anon there came
+from it sighs and groans dismal to hear. Bending down, and hiding
+himself in the long grass, he tracked the figure, not without some fear
+at heart; but clasping his trusty sword, he came swiftly upon it. Then
+it rose erect, and addressed him in humble, timorous accents:
+“Señor, Señor, have pity on me; <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb352" href="#pb352" name="pb352">352</a>]</span>I am
+but a woman, and never have I offended you! If my misery does not move
+you to spare me, at least consider that there is no glory to be gained
+by killing a woman—or rather, slay me, but first let me fulfil my
+work.” Then Don Ercilla asked her what it was had brought her
+there. And she in dolorous tones answered, “Never was grief like
+mine; I loved him with true love and purest constancy, and to-day he
+was taken from me, and slain. Let me but seek the body of him who was
+my soul, and let me lay it in a decent grave, and <i>then</i> take my
+life, lay my body beside his, for so great is my grief that I dread
+living without him more than lying beside him in death.”</p>
+<p>Don Ercilla was greatly moved by her sorrow, but still he had his
+duty as a soldier to consider; she might have come to spy the situation
+of the Spanish camp, under the idea that, as a woman, she would be less
+easily suspected; and her grief might be assumed in order to induce him
+to release her. Yet his compassion swayed him at last, so he let her
+live, and moreover assisted her in her search, leading her to relieve
+her oppressed heart by pouring out all her story.</p>
+<p>“Woe is me!” she said, “for no relief is possible
+for me, no rest till death. He is gone, and if I open now the old
+wounds by thinking of him, it is but in the hope that in the violent
+effort I may sink and die. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb353" href=
+"#pb353" name="pb353">353</a>]</span></p>
+<p>“Know then, that I am Tegualda, daughter of the Cacique
+Brancol. Vain of the attentions that were paid me through many young
+years, I refused to listen to the suits of any of the young Caciques
+whom my father presented to me; nor when they danced or wrestled before
+me would I regard them with favour.</p>
+<p>“One day my father took me to the shady thicket where gentle
+Gualebo pours its limpid stream into the floods of broad Itata with a
+soothing murmur, and where the sunlight playing through the thick
+foliage of the breeze-shaken trees, diapered the perfumed air.</p>
+<p>“Scarcely had we sat down, when there entered on the plain
+that spread away before us a band of youths, earnest and silent. At a
+sign from Brancol various games began, in which each exerted himself to
+the utmost only to win a glance from me. To me, however, it was a
+greater pleasure to stand detached from them all, and while they ran,
+and fought, and showed strange feats of endurance, rather than gratify
+them by a look, to rest my eyes on the murmuring stream, watching the
+polished stones, now bathed in snow-like foam, now piercing, black and
+stark through the mimic waves; or on the waving trees, flinging their
+lithesome limbs in every graceful attitude, now wide apart, now
+interlaced in one another’s thrall; or on the far-off sky,
+sparkling and peering through the leafy shade; on <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb354" href="#pb354" name="pb354">354</a>]</span>any
+thing rather than on the contending youths; and thus I sat there,
+disdaining all interest in the games, and, as I deemed, fancy-free,
+when all at once a loud cry rose from the contending throng: this was
+no unusual occurrence, but it was so exulting and prolonged that I
+could not choose but ask the cause. The youth who stood nearest me made
+answer, ‘Did you not observe, Señora, how the brave
+Mareguano has won the victory over every other combatant? and now when,
+with joyous haste, we were leading him to receive the conqueror’s
+wreath from your hand, to gird his temples in token that he is the
+first and bravest of our company—all at once that handsome lad
+yonder, wearing green and scarlet for his device, suddenly confronted
+him, and at their first contest laid him low on the green sward.
+Mareguano no sooner regained his feet than he required to be allowed
+another trial; but as this is against all our rules, it was refused
+him. So the stranger youth comes to be crowned by you, unless you,
+whose power is absolute over us, suffer them to renew the
+contest.’</p>
+<p>“As he spoke the shouting crowd led him up to me; but before I
+could take the wreath to crown him, he placed himself modestly before
+me on his knees, and thus spoke:—</p>
+<p>“‘Lady, I seek one favour, though I be a stranger, and
+have no claim to your regard, yet I have the boldness to prefer my
+request, having no greater <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb355" href=
+"#pb355" name="pb355">355</a>]</span>desire than to live and die in
+your service. Let me then have your permission to try another fall with
+Mareguano; ay, and <i>another</i> and <i>another</i>, even to a
+hundred, till he is satisfied of my superiority; for here striving in
+your presence, I know I am certain to come off with greater and greater
+glory in every trial.’</p>
+<p>“And I, who cared little about the matter, carelessly granted
+what he asked.</p>
+<p>“On the instant the two darted off to meet each other: then
+came a prolonged struggle, fought out with desperate resolve; now
+lithely bending, now strained to their utmost height, they wrestled for
+a long space, grasping each other in such iron fashion that it would
+seem they scarce could breathe; at last the stranger youth ended the
+contest by seizing Mareguano round the body, then lifting him high in
+the air, and flinging him headlong on the ground.</p>
+<p>“No sooner had he accomplished the feat than the assembled
+people, delighted at this exhibition of manly strength, bore him along
+in triumph to receive his reward at my hand.</p>
+<p>“When I looked at him, kneeling before me again, flushed with
+success, praised and applauded by all around, yet waiting for my word,
+as if he prized it more than all the rest, I felt a new emotion take
+possession of me, I perceived an interest in him which I had never
+experienced for any of the others, and it was with difficulty I could
+command <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb356" href="#pb356" name=
+"pb356">356</a>]</span>myself sufficiently to conceal what I felt.
+However, I rose with all the dignity I could summon, placed the crown
+on his brow, and announced that the prize I held for the next contest
+was a ring ornamented with a fine emerald, and that it was for the
+winner in the race immediately to follow. I could not help saying it in
+such a way as to betray I expected it would be on <i>him</i> I should
+have to confer it. Nor was I mistaken.</p>
+<p>“The competitors, forty in number, were ranged in a long row,
+panting with anxiety to start. The signal scarcely given, the whole
+forty set off as one man, and so swiftly that their feet scarcely
+seemed to touch the sand; but Crepino (such was the name of the young
+stranger) pursued the sport with so much ardour that he distanced the
+very wind, and touched the red <i lang="es">Palio</i><a class="noteref"
+id="xd21e5559src" href="#xd21e5559" name="xd21e5559src">1</a> before
+the others were near it. But I, when he was brought back to me, was
+more troubled than before; so that when I handed him the ring, I gave
+him as it were my liberty enclosed in it. And he no sooner had received
+the ring than, holding it still before me, said,—</p>
+<p>“‘<i lang="es">Señora</i>, I pray you accept it
+of me; for though it be but little to offer to you, yet it is offered
+with <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb357" href="#pb357" name=
+"pb357">357</a>]</span>entire devotion, and the favour you will confer
+on me in accepting it will be so great, that it will make me rich, and
+shall so strengthen and animate me, that there will thenceforth be no
+undertaking so arduous that I shall not be able to accomplish it; and
+so you will have added the bravest heart and the stoutest arm to the
+Araucanian band.’</p>
+<p>“I could not but accept what was so gracefully proffered; and
+now, the games being concluded, the meeting was broken up, and I had to
+return home with my father.</p>
+<p>“For three weeks I concealed what I felt, that I might not
+appear to change too suddenly from what had been a life-long resolve.
+But I could not overcome the desire to see him again. When next my
+father, therefore, urged me to make my choice among the young Caciques,
+I told him that I had resolved to attend to his bidding, and that my
+choice had fallen on Crepino, who was of honourable name, brave,
+well-mannered, and well-grown.</p>
+<p>“My father was all rejoiced at this announcement, and, kissing
+me on the forehead, he confirmed my choice; he told me how on Crepino
+of all the others his own heart yearned, and how Crepino himself had
+sued for me, and yet had urged him in no way to overrule my will.</p>
+<p>“With joyful haste the nuptial ceremonies were performed over
+us, and all was mirth and gladness. <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb358" href="#pb358" name="pb358">358</a>]</span>That was but one
+short month ago, and to-day your people have slain him who was all my
+joy; and all our hopes of happiness are poured out like water on the
+ground. What comfort is there for so great misery! There is nothing
+left to hope for now, since earth contains no good which could be
+measured against such a grief!</p>
+<p>“Now, therefore, let me seek my lord, and bury him; for it is
+not meet that his dear body should fall a prey to voracious beasts and
+birds.”</p>
+<p>Don Ercilla was so much moved by her recital that he no longer
+doubted her, but helped her to search for Crepino’s body. When
+the morning dawned they found it, stark and cold, and disfigured by a
+cannon-ball. Tegualda’s agony revived when she came in sight of
+his shattered form. She threw herself on him, placed her heart on his
+heart, and her lips on his, that so she might perchance yet call back
+the life; and then she struck her face, and tore her long dark hair,
+and pressed her fingers tightly round her throat, and threw herself
+again upon the ground, not knowing what she did for very grief. Don
+Ercilla looked on compassionating, knowing it was but distressing her
+to interfere till the first violence of her agony was past. Then, at
+peril of treachery towards him, alone in their midst, he bade her make
+a signal to call her people, and ordered them to bear away
+Crepino’s body in decent order. <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb359" href="#pb359" name="pb359">359</a>]</span></p>
+<p>Then he composed her mantle round her, and, supporting her, gently
+led her along behind it till they reached the <i lang="es">sierra</i>
+where her own people dwelt, and then he delivered her over to her
+father’s keeping. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb360" href=
+"#pb360" name="pb360">360</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e5559" href="#xd21e5559src" name="xd21e5559">1</a></span> <i lang=
+"es">Palio</i>, a banner of bright-coloured silk or cloth, hung across
+the end of the race-course among Spaniards, and given to the winner.
+Don Ercilla, all through the story, seems to fill up his incidents from
+Spanish manners and ideas. <a class="fnarrow" href=
+"#xd21e5559src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s50" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e671">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="super">ARAUCANIA.</h2>
+<h2 class="label">III.</h2>
+<h2 class="main">FITON’S CAVE.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">During the course of the war an exploring party of
+Spaniards had been sent to bring a report of the chances of success to
+an expedition for recovering the coast-line of the Araucanian province.
+Time passed on, and the party failing to return, great anxiety was felt
+as to their fate by the Christians; at last some of the bravest
+volunteered to go and look after them in various directions, and as
+great caution was necessary, it was agreed the volunteers should go out
+separately, travelling by night, and keeping themselves concealed by
+day. It was a perilous enterprize, and Don Alonzo de Ercilla, who was
+always foremost at any brave deed, was the first to offer himself; and
+he gives us the following account of an adventure that befell him.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb361" href="#pb361" name=
+"pb361">361</a>]</span></p>
+<p>He was making his way through a wild brake, helped by the scanty
+light of the moon, when he found himself on the edge of a steep descent
+leading to a vast plain; a narrow path cut the steep, down which a
+tall, lank native of great age was threading his way. His back was
+bowed, he was so feeble that he trembled as he walked, and his legs
+were so fleshless that they looked like dry roots of trees. Don Ercilla
+advanced to offer his assistance down the rugged descent, and thought
+at the same time to gather some information of his missing friends, or
+as to the best means of tracing them. No sooner, however, was the old
+man conscious of his approach, than, darting into another path at a
+sharp angle with the first, he turned and fled up the steep side faster
+than a hunted deer. Don Ercilla spurred his horse, and thought to
+overtake him easily, but in a moment he was out of sight, neither was
+it possible for a stranger to find his way so as to proceed with any
+rapidity over the overgrown crag. Giving up the pursuit, he came at
+last to the bottom of the declivity, where the stream Rauco flowed
+turbulently, its course being closed in by sharp rocks on both sides;
+but a little way down it, on the near bank, was a grove of shady trees,
+and under them an antelope grazing. The sight reminded him he had once
+dreamt that this meeting an antelope should be a sign of something
+important to befall <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb362" href="#pb362"
+name="pb362">362</a>]</span>him, so, rejoicing at the incident, he made
+his way up to the gentle beast.</p>
+<p>The antelope had been feeding undisturbed by the sound of the
+rushing torrent, but no sooner became conscious of a man’s
+presence than, leaving the verdant pasture, she struck wildly into a
+steep and narrow path, dashing through briar and jungle and close-grown
+trees; wherever she led, however, Don Ercilla followed, though he had
+need to spur his horse hard to keep up with her. At last she brought
+him in sight of a poor little hut, piled up at the foot of an ancient
+oak. At the sound of their hasty steps an old man came out, to whom,
+panting, the antelope approached as for protection. The old man
+tenderly stroked her reeking sides, and then, addressing Don Ercilla,
+asked him what fate or misadventure had brought him to his remote
+retreat, which strangers’ steps had never yet found out.
+“If,” he said, “you have had the misfortune to get
+separated from your company, you will find welcome here, and all that
+my humble roof can offer to restore strength; and fear nothing from
+your enemies while you are under my protection.”</p>
+<p>Finding him so affable and pleasant, Don Ercilla gave him his
+confidence, and not only told him his errand, but also opened to him a
+wish he had long harboured of visiting the cave of Fiton, the great
+Araucanian Wizard. The kind old man, without waiting so much as to
+answer him, took <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb363" href="#pb363"
+name="pb363">363</a>]</span>his hand, and at once leaving his seat set
+out to lead him. It was the season of early summer, and, as the sun was
+by this time well risen, they picked their way through the shadiest
+paths. As they went along, the old man spoke thus:—</p>
+<p>“My lands were in Araucania. I am called Guaticolo the
+Unhappy, who, in my robust years, was a valiant fighting man, and in
+office predecessor to Colócolo. Seven several times have I led
+our people on to victory on the battle-field, and a thousand times have
+my now hairless temples been girt with the tokens of success. But as in
+this life no state is permanent, so fortune was inconstant to me also.
+After success came defeat; after honour, shame. At Aynavillo I had the
+misfortune to be loser in a wagered contest, on which my position had
+been set. Finding myself burdened with a dishonoured life, I could
+devise no better end to it than to bury myself in this retreat, where,
+for twenty years, no mortal foot has tracked me; and by strange help it
+is, I ween, that you have been brought so far; who am I, therefore, to
+resist the direction you have received from above? How intractable
+soever Fiton may be, I will urge the claims of relationship, as he is
+my uncle, and thus induce him to admit you.</p>
+<p>“He dwells in the heart of a bleak mountain where the glad sun
+never penetrates, and whence the foot of man is shut out. But his
+wisdom and <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb364" href="#pb364" name=
+"pb364">364</a>]</span>power are so great that he can by his one word
+perform any of nature’s operations. In the blazing heat and
+dazzling light of noonday he can cover the heavens with the darkness of
+night. When the sky is one even blue, without assistance of wind or
+clouds, he can draw rain from a barren heaven. He can arrest the course
+of the bounding rivers, and of the birds in the midst of their flight.
+The burnt-up grasses of August at his word raise their withered blades,
+and resume their verdant hues; the tides of the sea obey his voice, and
+forget the commands of the moon. And, much more than all this, he can
+tell the destinies of men, and foresee the fate of nations. It would be
+impossible for words of mine to overstate his mighty and irresistible
+power.”</p>
+<p>While he had been speaking they had passed through a long tract of
+forest, where the trees grew so thickly, and were so encumbered with
+brushwood, that Don Ercilla was obliged to tie his horse up and proceed
+on foot. At last they reached a low opening in a rock, through which
+was a long dark passage, where they could hardly walk upright, and at
+the end of it a door garnished all round with heads of wild beasts.
+Guaticolo opened the door, and led Don Ercilla by the hand into a
+spacious vault, in the centre of which burnt a strange and perpetual
+light; in the walls of the cave were cut many stone shelves, on which
+were <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb365" href="#pb365" name=
+"pb365">365</a>]</span>ranged jars of ointments, essences, and herbs.
+There were preserved the far-piercing eyes of the lynx and that of the
+venomous basilisk; red gore of angry men, and foam from the mouth of
+rabid dogs; parts of the wing of the harpy, the venom of the
+amphisbena, and the tail of the treacherous asp, which gives death
+wrapt up in a pleasant dream; mould off a truncated head unworthy of
+burial, and the tongue of the horrid hemorreo, whose puncture can never
+be staunched, but whosoever it wounds must bleed to death. In a huge
+transparent vase was a griffin’s heart, pierced through with an
+arrow, and the ashes of an eastern phoenix. Stings of serpents, and
+tails of scorpions, and whatsoever is deadly and venomous in
+nature.</p>
+<p>While Don Ercilla was engaged in examining this strange repertory, a
+hidden door gave entrance to a lean old man, whom he at once recognized
+for him who had run away from him with such exceeding rapidity, who
+said,—</p>
+<p>“It is no little boldness in you, so young, to have dared to
+come thus unbidden to my presence, and to pursue me in my occult
+habitation, where it is not permitted to foot of man to tread;
+nevertheless, as I know all things, I know that in your heart you mean
+no harm, therefore I allow you to live, and will now listen to your
+intent.”</p>
+<p>Then Guaticolo took upon himself to explain his errand for him in a
+long speech, in which he commenced <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb366"
+href="#pb366" name="pb366">366</a>]</span>by lauding the wizard’s
+influence, then detailed Don Ercilla’s fame, and finally told him
+of his dream, in which he had learnt that he might gain from Fiton
+supernatural information of the fate of the contest in which his
+Spanish brethren in arms were at the time engaged with the Turks in
+Europe.</p>
+<p>Fiton, in great good humour with Guaticolo’s
+dexterously-administered flattery, took Don Ercilla by the hand, and
+led him through the secret door by which he had himself entered. It
+opened into a very different apartment from the other. No mortal tongue
+could describe its beauty and costliness; the floor was paved with
+crystal tiles all lustrous with cunning radiance, while the roof was
+studded with brilliant stones, so that the whole place sparkled with
+dazzling splendour. Supported on pillars of shining gold a hundred
+statues of heroes were ranged round the room, so life-like in design
+that a deaf man might have thought they spoke. On the broad medallions
+behind were pictured forth the valiant deeds of each, displaying the
+designer’s acquaintance with the history of all nations.</p>
+<p>In the midst of the spacious hall, which measured half a mile every
+way, swung a globe of light, balanced in the air by supernatural
+power.</p>
+<p>When Don Ercilla had spent some time examining all these wonders,
+Fiton came to him, and, with his wand pointing to the globe of light,
+explained <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb367" href="#pb367" name=
+"pb367">367</a>]</span>to him that it contained an epitome of the
+world, and had cost him forty years of labour; but contained the
+representation of all that was happening, or ever would happen, in any
+part or time of the world. “And,” he added, “as it
+seems you are a poet, whose business it is to chronicle the great deeds
+of the fighting men of your country, and you have already celebrated
+their achievements by land, I will now show you what they are doing at
+sea.”</p>
+<p>Then he touched the bright globe with his wand, and Don Ercilla saw
+it represented the world with all its parts delineated, and all the
+people on it seen as clearly as he might have seen his own face in a
+mirror.</p>
+<p>Then Fiton pointed to the Mediterranean sea, and conducted his eyes
+to that part of it which washes<a class="noteref" id="xd21e5644src"
+href="#xd21e5644" name="xd21e5644src">1</a> the Ausonian shore, and he
+saw it was all covered with galleys bearing the devices of the Pope,
+and Philip II., and the Venetian Republic; and from the port of Lepanto
+there came out to meet them the galleys of the Crescent. Then with a
+hoarse and terrible voice, Fiton invoked the infernal powers, crying,
+“O terrible Can-Cerberus, Charon, weary boatman, yellow Orcus,
+and irresistible Pluto! O chilly Styx, O lake Avernus, O seething
+waters of Acheron, Lethe, Cocytus, and ruddy Phlegethon! O Furies who
+with relentless cruelty torment the <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb368" href="#pb368" name="pb368">368</a>]</span>souls of the lost,
+and Gorgons, whose hair of wriggling snakes the shades tremble as they
+behold! compelled by my all-powerful word, afford to this earth-born
+youth a clear vision of the work now accomplishing in the waters of
+Lepanto.” As he spoke he frantically waved his wand.</p>
+<p>Then behold, the waters of the sea boiled over, and the sterile
+north-east wind rounding the white sails, the rival fleets were tossed
+in sudden motion, the gallant Spanish vessels bearing down proudly on
+the Pagan galleys. Mighty warriors were there, whose names and deeds of
+fame were borne in characters of flame around their brows; many, whom
+he had known as companions of his own in childhood, now bronzed with
+the hardships of many a bold campaign. Suddenly the signal of the fight
+resounded, and then the Christian hosts, following the sign of their
+redemption, poured down with resistless ardour on their Pagan foes.
+With breathless interest Don Ercilla watched the fortunes of his
+friends, shouted to them—so present was <span class="corr" id=
+"xd21e5651" title="Source: the the">the</span> scene—to bear them
+bravely, nor waver in their courage. For hours the fight raged, and
+many a brave servant of Christ fell deadly wounded into the deep waves,
+and tinged the blue waters with his generous blood. Don Ercilla wept
+and exulted by turns, as, one after another, he saw dear friends lost
+to him for ever in this life, and yet the Christian arms prevailing
+inch by inch, till at last, successful and <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb369" href="#pb369" name=
+"pb369">369</a>]</span>triumphant, they swept the encroaching Turk from
+the face of the sea, inflicting an irreparable wound on his power, and
+setting a bound to his aggressions which he might not pass.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb370" href="#pb370" name=
+"pb370">370</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e5644" href="#xd21e5644src" name="xd21e5644">1</a></span> The
+Adriatic. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e5644src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="s51" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#xd21e678">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">MATANZAS.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Matanzas is at the present day one of the most
+populous and important towns of the island of Cuba: second to Havannah,
+it goes on ever increasing in commercial activity; it has a railroad
+and a well-sheltered harbour, and is surrounded by an extent of sugar
+and coffee cultivation which promises, with a never-failing supply of
+exports, to maintain and constantly increase its prosperity.</p>
+<p>Nevertheless Matanzas has an ugly name; for, though euphonious
+enough to our ears, its meaning is neither more nor less than
+“Slaughterings,” and the ugly name is connected with an
+ugly history, and, it would seem, an inseparable association of
+ugliness in every detail. Its situation is flat and unpicturesque; the
+buildings—unlike, and indeed in strong contrast with the
+beautiful outlines which, imitating those prevalent in Spain at the
+time of her greatest colonial eminence, were spread by her all over the
+new world—are mean and bare, and, while <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb371" href="#pb371" name="pb371">371</a>]</span>too
+solidly built of stone to offer any hope that the venerable-making hand
+of time will ever clothe them with any even adventitious interest, they
+are yet altogether deficient in a grand or imposing character.</p>
+<p>The following story of the circumstances of its origin may be taken
+to account for the absence of those softening influences of family life
+and home traditions, which in the other colonies reproduced many of the
+most beautiful features of the old country.</p>
+<p>There once lived, in a village of Castille, a man who thought only
+of enjoying himself, and who spent all his money without taking any
+account of how much he had got left for the future; so that at last a
+day came when he had nothing at all left, and not a bite of any thing
+but his nails. When he came home without a <i lang="es">maravedi</i>,
+his wife and children dinned him so for food that they drove him
+distracted; and he borrowed a rope of a neighbour, and went to an
+olive-tree to hang himself.</p>
+<p>He had hardly fastened the rope to the tree, when a little sprite
+appeared, sitting astride on one of its branches, who called out to
+him, “What are you going to do? You, a Christian, going to hang
+yourself like Judas! Give up such an idea; here, take this purse, which
+is never empty, and go home.”</p>
+<p>So Perrico (that was the name of our man) <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb372" href="#pb372" name=
+"pb372">372</a>]</span>caught at the purse to see if such good fortune
+could be true, and drew out one <i lang="es">duro</i><a class="noteref"
+id="xd21e5681src" href="#xd21e5681" name="xd21e5681src">1</a> after
+another without stopping, like words out of a woman’s mouth. When
+he saw that the store was so bountiful, he untied the rope and coiled
+it up, and made the best of his way home. But passing by the way a
+tavern where he had been accustomed to take refreshment, he could not
+resist the temptation of turning in; nor, when he was in, the
+temptation of ordering the best drinks and viands, till at last he took
+more than was good for him, and passed the night under the table,
+drunk, and as insensible as the dead in the churchyard.</p>
+<p>The host, who had observed that he payed for every thing he ordered,
+<i lang="es">duro</i> after <i lang="es">duro</i> out of his little
+purse, and that there was always a <i lang="es">duro</i> left,
+determined to possess himself of the treasure, and so told his wife to
+make another exactly like it, and then changed it against the magic
+purse in Perrico’s pocket.</p>
+<p>In the morning Perrico woke, and suspecting nothing, ran home to his
+wife as joyous as a holiday.</p>
+<p>“No more hunger! no more misery!” he cried;
+“here’s money enough to last our lives—here’s
+enough for every one; come, come all and be merry!”</p>
+<p>Then he pulled out his purse, and flung the one <i lang=
+"es">duro</i> in it on the table, but when he expected to <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb373" href="#pb373" name="pb373">373</a>]</span>find
+another, it continued empty; then he turned it inside out, and threw it
+up in the air, and flung it on the floor. But no more <i lang=
+"es">duros</i> appeared. And his wife, thinking it all a trick, grew
+more provoked than before, and rated him with an angrier voice than
+ever.</p>
+<p>Perrico, now quite desperate, took up his rope again, and returned
+to his olive-tree. No sooner had he tied the rope to the branch than
+the goblin appeared, and reproached him as before.</p>
+<p>“But what am I to do?” pleaded Perrico;
+“I’ve nothing to eat.”</p>
+<p>“You ought to find work,” answered the goblin;
+“nevertheless I’ll give you another chance. Take this
+table-cloth, and with it you’ll never want for a meal; for
+whenever you spread it, you’ll find a meal ready cooked, upon
+it.” So saying, he disappeared.</p>
+<p>Perrico took the cloth, and spread it out in the shade of the
+olive-tree, and immediately it was covered with dishes of choice food,
+and wine, and fruits, and flowers; so he made the best meal he had ever
+eaten in his life, folded his table-cloth, and started for home.</p>
+<p>Meantime it had got late, and as he passed the tavern, the idea of a
+comfortable bed seemed more inviting than a long walk, so he turned in
+and went to bed.</p>
+<p>The host, who had made such a fortunate prize out of him the day
+before, suspected sagaciously <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb374"
+href="#pb374" name="pb374">374</a>]</span>that he might have brought
+some other wonderful gift along with him this time; so while he was
+sound asleep he turned over his things, and finding the new
+table-cloth, easily guessed this was what he was searching for, and so
+replaced it with another like it, and carried Perrico’s off.</p>
+<p>In the morning Perrico woke, and, suspecting nothing, ran home to
+his wife as joyous as a holiday.</p>
+<p>“Come wife, come children!” he exclaimed, “no more
+hunger! no more misery! here’s food to last our lives.”</p>
+<p>And with that he spread the table-cloth out on the table; to his
+chagrin, however, instead of eatables, it was only covered with ugly
+patches.</p>
+<p>Then followed an outcry such as never had been heard before; mother
+and children set upon him without mercy, and glad enough he was to
+escape from them, his rope safely tucked under his arm.</p>
+<p>Once more he secured the rope, and once more the goblin appeared.
+“Christian!” he exclaimed, “where is your
+patience?”</p>
+<p>“All beaten out of me by my wife’s blows,” replied
+Perrico.</p>
+<p>“That’s no excuse,” said the sprite;
+“nevertheless I’ll help you once more. Here’s a stick
+for you—take this, and when you’re armed with it no one
+will venture to interfere with you.”</p>
+<p>Perrico caught at the stick, and walked home <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb375" href="#pb375" name="pb375">375</a>]</span>with
+as much importance as a beadle bearing his mace; and when the children
+came clamouring round him, as they had seen their mother do, he only
+said, “At them! good stick!” and the stick flew out of his
+hand, and sent them all running helter-skelter. Then his wife came to
+the defence of her children, and Perrico had only to say, “At
+her! good stick!” and the stick soon disposed of her also.</p>
+<p>But the neighbours, hearing her cries, sent for the Alcalde and his
+Aguaciles, who prepared to take him; but Perrico cried once more,
+“At them! good stick!” and straightway the stick sent them
+all flying in every direction.</p>
+<p>Then they sent an express messenger to the king, to tell him how his
+officers were being treated, and he sent a regiment of grenadiers. But
+Perrico had one remedy against all: “At them! good stick!”
+he cried, and in a trice the stick belaboured away, leaving one with a
+broken arm, another with his eye knocked out, the colonel sprawling in
+the dust, and every musket or side-arm rendered totally unfit for use,
+till the soldiers, thinking Lucifer had been let loose among them, were
+glad to get away as fast as their legs would carry them.</p>
+<p>So Perrico was left alone, and was glad to rest after all the
+excitement, but took care when he went to sleep to hide his stick in
+his breast, that it might not be taken from him. <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb376" href="#pb376" name="pb376">376</a>]</span></p>
+<p>When he woke in the morning he found his hands and feet manacled,
+and an officer of justice standing over him, reading aloud the sentence
+of death which had been passed upon him. Perrico said nothing, but as
+soon as they loosened his bonds on the scaffold he took out his stick,
+and crying, “At them! good stick!” soon delivered himself
+of executioners, guards, gaolers, and all who stood in his way.</p>
+<p>“Leave the fellow alone!” cried the king, “or all
+my subjects will be killed—only let’s get rid of
+him.” So to bribe him to go he promised him a large tract of land
+in America, and shipped him off to the island of Cuba. Here he founded
+a town; but his stick did so much execution on the inhabitants, that
+people gave it the name of Matanzas.</p>
+<p class="trailer xd21e5754">THE END.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd21e5681" href="#xd21e5681src" name="xd21e5681">1</a></span> A
+dollar. <a class="fnarrow" href="#xd21e5681src">↑</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="back">
+<div class="div1 imprint"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first xd21e5758">GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, PRINTERS, ST.
+JOHN’S SQUARE, LONDON.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="transcribernote">
+<h2 class="main">Colophon</h2>
+<h3 class="main">Availability</h3>
+<p class="first">This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no
+cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give
+it away or re-use it under the terms of the <a class="exlink xd21e48"
+title="External link" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/license" rel=
+"license">Project Gutenberg License</a> included with this eBook or
+online at <a class="exlink xd21e48" title="External link" href=
+"http://www.gutenberg.org/" rel="home">www.gutenberg.org</a>.</p>
+<p>This eBook is produced by the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
+at <a class="exlink xd21e48" title="External link" href=
+"http://www.pgdp.net/">www.pgdp.net</a>.</p>
+<p>Scans of this book are available from the Internet Archive (copy
+<a class="seclink xd21e48" title="External link" href=
+"https://archive.org/details/cu31924027497019">1</a>, <a class=
+"seclink xd21e48" title="External link" href=
+"https://archive.org/details/patraasorspanis01buskgoog">2</a>,
+<a class="seclink xd21e48" title="External link" href=
+"https://archive.org/details/patraasorspanis00buskgoog">3</a>).</p>
+<h3 class="main">Encoding</h3>
+<p class="first"></p>
+<h3 class="main">Revision History</h3>
+<ul>
+<li>2014-05-31 Started.</li>
+</ul>
+<h3 class="main">External References</h3>
+<p>This Project Gutenberg eBook contains external references. These
+links may not work for you.</p>
+<h3 class="main">Corrections</h3>
+<p>The following corrections have been applied to the text:</p>
+<table class="correctiontable" summary=
+"Overview of corrections applied to the text.">
+<tr>
+<th>Page</th>
+<th>Source</th>
+<th>Correction</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="width20"><a class="pageref" href="#xd21e858">21</a></td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">‘</td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">“</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="width20"><a class="pageref" href="#xd21e1516">75</a></td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">[<i>Not in source</i>]</td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">”</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="width20"><a class="pageref" href="#xd21e2233">126</a>,
+<a class="pageref" href="#xd21e4301">260</a>, <a class="pageref" href=
+"#xd21e4757">300</a></td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">[<i>Not in source</i>]</td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">,</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="width20"><a class="pageref" href="#xd21e2371">136</a></td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">blunderbluss</td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">blunderbuss</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="width20"><a class="pageref" href="#xd21e3023">173</a></td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">A</td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">I</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="width20"><a class="pageref" href="#xd21e3077">175</a></td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">[<i>Not in source</i>]</td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">.”</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="width20"><a class="pageref" href="#xd21e3530">198</a></td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">[<i>Not in source</i>]</td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">‘</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="width20"><a class="pageref" href="#xd21e3620">206</a></td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">abandom</td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">abandon</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="width20"><a class="pageref" href="#xd21e3663">210</a></td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">plentitude</td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">plenitude</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="width20"><a class="pageref" href="#xd21e3909">226</a></td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">[<i>Not in source</i>]</td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">who</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="width20"><a class="pageref" href="#xd21e4170">247</a></td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">,</td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">[<i>Deleted</i>]</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="width20"><a class="pageref" href="#xd21e4262">258</a></td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">alway</td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">always</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="width20"><a class="pageref" href="#xd21e4568">282</a></td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">Alva</td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">Alvar</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="width20"><a class="pageref" href="#xd21e5055">317</a></td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">imporingly</td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">imploringly</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="width20"><a class="pageref" href="#xd21e5651">368</a></td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">the the</td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">the</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Patrañas, by R. H. Busk
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PATRAÑAS ***
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+</pre>
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+</body>
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