The Prime Minister

conversation with him,heedless of the people who thronged the streets, the horses bespatteringthem with mud and dirt, the attendants, also, taking a pleasure incausing confusion and annoyance to all whom they passed. A youth, witha basket of oranges on his head, was offering them for sale, when one ofthe domestics adroitly managed to make his horse sidle against him. Thevendor of fruit, with a cry of terror, endeavoured to escape, when hisfoot slipped, and letting go his basket, the contents rolled out on theground, over which the others trampled, with loud laughter at thedisaster, none deigning to make the slightest amends to the youth. Someof the passers by stopped to assist him, for he was sobbing piteously athis loss, but dared not complain.

  Our cobbler saw the occurrence. "Take care, my masters," as he watchedthe arrogant noble who had just reached his palace gates; "take care, oryou will discover, when too late to remedy your faults, that your daysof prosperity have passed away." No sooner did the duke enter the loftygateway of his palace, than the major-domo rushed down stairs to holdhis stirrup while he alighted, his young kinsman throwing himself fromhis steed, without waiting for assistance, and the attendants bustlingabout and creating more noise and confusion than was at all necessary.

  "Why has the duke so suddenly returned to the city?" thought theCobbler. "I must watch and learn, for 'tis about no good, I amcertain."

  It has just occurred to us, that we have never given our cobbler's name.By diligent search through the vast pile of manuscripts before us, wehave discovered the important piece of information that he was calledAntonio, generally with _O Memendab_, or the Mender, added thereto. Nodignified title, certainly! but he was contented with it, and so must webe; for we cannot anywhere discover what was his other name, if he everhad one, which we deem problematical.

  Several days passed before Antonio became much wiser as to the cause ofthe duke's movements than on the first day of his arrival, though henarrowly watched all his outgoings, and incomings, and also mostdiligently questioned the servants who stepped across the street to havefive minutes' chat with him. The duke had just driven out, when one ofthe lackeys, rejoicing in the name of Joze, was sauntering about thehall, and having nothing to do, bethought him that he would honour thecobbler with his society.

  "Good day, Senhor Joze," said the Cobbler, as he saw him approach; "youhave pleasant times of it, with nothing to do, and plenty to eat, whileI must hammer, hammer, and stitch, stitch, all day long, to earn a few_vintems_ to supply my food."

  "You are right, Senhor Antonio, you are right," answered Joze, as heleaned, with his hands in his pockets, a toothpick in his mouth, and hislegs crossed, against the wall; "we have a tolerable life of it; for,except that the duke sits inside, while we stand outside, whatdifference is there between us? and when the people take off their hats,it is as much to our fine coats as to him. Then we eat the same food,and drink the same wines as he does, only a good deal more of each thanhe can, in which we have the advantage of him, and as for knowledge,between ourselves, there is not much difference either."

  "Ah! the duke is a good master, and blessed with good servants,"returned Antonio.

  "Why, as to his servants, I must not speak, as I am one of them,"answered Joze, pulling out his ruffles; "but his Excellency himself--whom God preserve--would be all the better if he did not beat us soconfoundedly when he is angered; but that is a trifle--it is hisprivilege, and we must be content."

  "You are right, Senhor Joze, there is no use quarrelling with one's lot.What would be the advantage to him of being a duke, if he might not dowhat pleases him?" said the Cobbler, plying his awl as if he thoughtmuch more of mending the old shoe on his lap, than of the words he wasspeaking. "He appears to be fonder of taking carriage exercise than hewas?"

  "Oh! he is driving about all day," said Joze, "first to one place, thento another; now to pay his respects to his majesty, then to some fidalgohe never before thought of visiting. It is said that this change hasbeen worked by the influence of the pious saint, the holy FatherMalagrida, who tells him, that to be at enmity with his fellow-men issinful and wicked, and that he must reform his life, and be in charitywith all. To prove his sincerity, the last time it was my turn to goout, we drove to the palace of the Marquis of Tavora, to whom he has notspoken for years; but he craved forgiveness for some insult he hadcommitted towards him, and when they parted, they embraced in the mostaffectionate way, the duke kissing the hand of the marchioness mostlovingly. Oh, it was quite pathetic to see them!"

  "Oh, it must have been," returned Antonio; "and you say he has renewedhis friendship with several other nobles?"

  "Oh yes, there was the Count d'Atouquia, who had never spoken to himsince he ran his brother through the body one night in a street brawl,and now they are hand and glove: then he has written to the Countd'Almeida, before whom he used to carry himself so haughtily, though thecount thought himself just as great a man as our lord. Then he paid avisit of ceremony to the Senhor Silva, whom he has constantly passed inthe streets as if he was some commoner or plebeian; and he dinedyesterday with the Marquis d'Alorna, with whom he was on bad termsformerly. We do not know what to make of it; and I should not think ofspeaking on the subject to any one but a friend like you; but, to tellyou the truth, our opinion is, that there is some marriage about to takeplace between the young viscount, our lord's nephew, and some lady ofone of these noble families, or perhaps his son is to be betrothed toone of them."

  "I have no doubt you have exactly hit off the truth," said the Cobbler,nodding his head sagaciously; "but I would advise you not to talk aboutyour lord's affairs to people in general: to a friend like me it isdifferent; for you know the less said the soonest mended; but I am asclose as cobbler's wax," and he kneaded a lump of that composition inhis fingers.

  "Ah! I know you are, or I should not be so great a fool as to talk toyou as I do," said Joze, sagaciously. "By-the-bye, have you heard ofthe marriage about to take place between the young Marquis of Tavora,who is a great friend of our young viscount, and the daughter of theCount d'Alorna?"

  "Not I," answered Antonio; "I hear nothing except what my friends liketo tell me as I sit at my work," and he strenuously stitched away at theshoe on his lap.

  As soon as the evening arrived, Antonio packed up his tools, and placedthem within the hall of Senhor Menezes' house, where it was his customto leave them, by permission of the servants, with whom it seemed he wasacquainted, though they seldom came out to talk to him. He then,looking to see that no one observed him, repaired, after taking manyturnings, as was his wont, to his lodgings, which, considering hisapparent poverty, were far more respectable than could have beenexpected. He there, throwing off his working suit with an air ofdisdain, and washing his hands and face, attired himself in the garmentsof a man of fashion, when, buckling a sword to his side, and throwing acloak over his shoulders, he again sallied forth in such guise, that noone could have recognised in him the humble cobbler of the morning. Henow appeared a well-grown man of some thirty-five or forty years of age,with large dark whiskers, and full black eyes, as he walked along withan independent air, and perhaps a slight swagger in his gait, as if heenjoyed his emancipation from his daily toil. He again lookedcautiously around, throwing the right side of his cloak over his leftshoulder, and hastily traversing several streets up and down hill, hearrived before a mansion, at the door of which a sentinel was stationed.He gave some name to the porter, who immediately allowed him to pass,another servant showing him into an anteroom on the top of the firstflight of steps. "Wait here a few minutes, senhor, and my master willspeak with you," said the domestic, as he withdrew with the quiet stepof one accustomed to attend on people high in office.

  "I have information that may be of great value," thought Antonio tohimself, as he paced up and down the ill-furnished room; "but the rewardmay be proportionably great; and I would far rather confide in him thanin any of the miserable wretches who have crawled till now about theCourt, and have seized the high offices of state, their prideoverflowing with the though
ts of their bastard descent from someprofligate prince or mitred abbot of a few centuries back, since whichtime they have had but little fresh blood to improve the stream." Hethought this, as we have said; for he was not one to give utterance towhat was passing in his mind: a door opened, and a man of dignifiedcarriage and lofty stature stood before him, in whose presence evenAntonio shrunk into insignificance.

  It was the Minister Carvalho. "Ah! my faithful Antonio, you are everpunctual to your time," he began. "Had I twenty such strenuoussupporters, Portugal would quickly again lift up her head among thekingdoms of Europe." Antonio bowed, in acknowledgment of thecompliment, which he valued exactly at what it was worth.