servants.
Volume 1, Chapter XI.
We invariably feel much satisfaction, when, in turning over the pages ofthe manuscripts before us, we come to the name of Don Luis d'Almeida,albeit he played no very conspicuous part in the events of the times;yet we take pleasure in following his course, and we also feel tolerablycertain that we are about to read of some interesting adventure.
We left him, followed by his train, riding through the narrow andwinding street of Leiria, towards the gate by which he had entered theprevious evening. As he wound down the rugged pathway, after passingthe gates, he cast a last look at the battered moss-grown walls, andruined towers of that ancient town, now for ever associated in his mindwith the fair young being from whom he had there parted, and then,putting spurs to his horse, he galloped on, at the great risk ofbreaking his neck, his followers in vain endeavouring to keep him inview. His luggage also would certainly have been left to the mercy ofthe brigands, had he not fortunately recollected that such might be itsfate; so he wisely drew in his rein, and allowed his horse to proceed atits own pace till his party should come up with him.
He could not discover the reason, but so it was, that, althoughproceeding towards his home, he did not enjoy his morning ride half somuch as that of the last evening. It could not be because a certainyoung lady was travelling south while he was going north; for hethought, and fancied that he thought very wisely, that he could not takeany interest in one, although he acknowledged her to be very lovely,whom he had neither seen nor heard of twenty hours before. He concludedthat it was because he disliked solitude, and he had now no one withwhom to converse; but, for some reason or other, he did not think halfso much of the infidelity and treachery of Donna Theresa; and when hedid think of the subject, he began rather to pity her, and tocongratulate himself on having escaped from the toils of a heartlesscoquette. It was some time, however, before the last happy ideaoccurred to him, for at first his feelings towards her were ratherbitter; then he was angry with himself for indulging in them, and thenvery miserable, and then, as if by magic, appeared the portrait he hadDaguerreo-typed in the morning, of Donna Clara in her travelling mantleof blue silk.
But we shall never carry Don Luis to his home, and back again to Lisbon,if we do not proceed at a faster rate. To account for his having fourpersons in his train, we must explain that, besides Pedro, one otheronly was his own servant, the third was a native of Galicia, of thathardy race called Gallegos, who come with willing hands, light, honesthearts, and empty pockets, to make their fortune in Portugal; and theone in question was returning to enjoy the fruits of his labour with hisfamily, in respectable independence in his native land, now mounted on astout mule, with his pockets well lined with gold. He had easilyobtained permission to accompany Don Luis thus far, having once servedin his father's house. The other man was a tenant of the count's, whomlegal business had called to Lisbon. Pedro, whose heart was light andfree, amused himself from morning till night by singing, in high glee atreturning once more to his home to relate all the wonders he had seen inhis travels.
After waiting a couple of hours at a small village on the road to baittheir animals and recruit themselves, it was late in the day before theyentered the forest in which the attack on Goncalo Christovao had beenmade, and the party began to look around, in expectation of a freshencounter with the banditti, although that kind of gentry were not fondof meeting with those from whom little booty, and abundance of hardblows, were to be expected. However, as they neared the scene of theencounter, even Don Luis began to think it would have been wiser to haveprocured a guard, or waited for a larger party of travellers, lest thebanditti, observing their small number, might, to revenge themselves fortheir defeat, pick them off from an ambush at a distance. Pedro nolonger sang his merry songs, his fellow said all the prayers he couldremember, the Gallego vowed a candle to Saint Jago de Compostella, andthe farmer a pig to the priest, if they escaped the danger. Themuleteers who had charge of the baggage, though they had seen nothing ofthe fray, caught the contagion of fear, giving but scanty promise offighting if brought to the trial. The body of the robber was no longerthere, but at a little distance from the spot where he had been left,lay his hat, and part of his dress, torn and bloody, telling plainlythat Christian sepulture he would never now enjoy; for limb by limb hadthe body been borne off by the savage inhabitants of the forest. DonLuis stopped a moment involuntarily on the spot, shuddering at thewretch's fate; but Pedro, being in no romantic humour, hinted to hismaster that all the time they were affording an opportunity to thecomrades of the deceased to take better aim, and begged him to moveforward without delay, declaring that he saw the muzzle of a gunprojecting from among the thick-growing leaves beyond the bank.
Accordingly they proceeded down the hill, and crossed the stream, therest keeping close to Don Luis, and splashing him not a little in theirhurry to get across, looking anxiously behind them, to see if thebrigands were in their rear, and expecting every moment to hear thesharp click of the locks of their carbines, with the ringing report oftheir discharge, each hoping that he should not be the one picked off.When they mounted the opposite hill, and had arrived on the open heath,the hearts of all the party beat more freely, and as they got beyondmusket range of the wood they laughed at their previous terrors, nolonger feeling inclined to scold their master for the coolness he hadshown, or the slow pace at which he had chosen to ride.
The sun had just sunk as they reached the inn where Goncalo Christovaoand his family had rested the day before, at the door of which the buxomRosa was standing, busily employed in spinning, and looking out for astray traveller; and of course her delight was proportionably great,when she found that so large a party, with so graceful a cavalier, wereabout to honour the house with their presence.
The horses and mules were stalled, and Don Luis was shown upstairs,while Pedro set himself to work to aid Rosa in preparing his master'ssupper, during which operation he exerted his utmost powers of pleasingto ingratiate himself in her favour. But she was either out of humourat something, or offended by his addresses, for she returned hisattentions with scanty courtesy, appearing anxious to get rid of hispresence; that, however, was not so easy a matter, as he had never beenremarkable for either bashfulness or modesty: at all events, if he everhad possessed those qualities, he had most effectually eased himself ofthem during his travels. Do all he could--praise her beauty, herfigure, or her voice as she sang at her employment over the fire--Rosawas not in the mood to be won by any of his fascinations, and insistedon carrying up some of the dishes herself; perhaps it was from her verynatural wish to see more of his master, as she had not every day theopportunity of admiring so handsome a guest.
As she was preparing the table, Don Luis could not help observing ahandsome ring, with a sparkling diamond, on her little finger, anunusual ornament for a person of her class, though with her gala costumeshe might have worn ear-rings and several gold chains. He made noremark till she went down stairs and returned again, when, in a playfulmanner, he admired the jewel. "Sim senhor, it is very pretty," sheanswered, rather confused, and busied herself in putting the dishes inorder.
"What kind friend gave you so pretty an ornament?" said Don Luis; "Ifear you run a great risk of dimming its lustre."
At that moment a noise, which sounded very like a growl, though it mighthave been a groan, proceeded from one of the recesses in the room,across which a curtain was drawn.
"What noise is that?" exclaimed Don Luis, "Have you any sick person inthe house?"
"'Tis an unfortunate frade, a very holy man, who was taken ill here lastnight," answered the damsel. Another growl interrupted herobservations. "I'll run and bring you up an omelette, senhor," she saidquickly, as she escaped out of the room.
Pedro gave his master a nod, as much as to say, "I do not exactlybelieve her," when, running towards the curtains, he poked his headbetween the in, and then took the liberty of drawing them aside, so asto let the light fall into the recess, where a pair of ferret
y eyes wereseen glaring forth, with no very amicable expression, on the intruder,while a ruddy countenance, with a red rim of hair under a black skullcap, appeared above the bed clothes.
"In the name of all the saints, let down the curtain, and allow a sickman to rest in peace," exclaimed a gruff voice. "The light hurts myeyes, and prevents me from sleeping."
"Your pardon, senhor," answered Don Luis, politely. "My servant'scuriosity has made him commit a solecism in good manners, for which prayexcuse him."
"Well, let him draw the curtain, and leave me to repose," returned thevoice, ending the sentence with what sounded very like an oath, tooprofane to proceed from such reverend lips.
Pedro did as he was ordered; but not until he had taken another glance,to assure himself that he had before seen that pair of eyes at no verydistant period, though he did