walls of the edifice were hung with offerings from thepious; among which were seen, carved in wax, what were intended to berepresentations of the arms, legs, feet, or hands of the human body,those members having been cured by the miraculous interposition of ourLady of the Rock, and the prayers of the holy hermit; these falling toher share, while he appropriated whatever was offered in the shape ofmoney, observing, that such could be of no possible use to our Lady, whowas supplied with all she could require. There were also pictures ofher appearance in the bodily form, to comfort and assure her devoutworshippers. A priest, whose features Luis could not distinguish,further than that he was an aged man, with a long flowing white beardover his breast, clothed in his vestments, was performing the ceremonyof mass. It was, however, nearly completed; so, having knelt down, andoffered up a short prayer, he again retired, to wait till the people haddeparted, in order to follow the priest to his cave, as he had agreed.While he was standing and gazing at the lovely view, he heard a groaningnear him, and, turning round, he beheld a sight which might have causeda smile on his lips, had he not rather pitied the unfortunate sufferers.There were two old women, who appeared to have started together in arace, on their unprotected knees, in which they were endeavouring tomake a certain number of circuits round the chapel, each strenuouslytrying to get as close to the walls as possible, to save her distance.A strong, sturdy-looking fellow soon after came out, and commenced thesame penance; but he very soon distanced his aged competitors forabsolution, quickly performing his rounds, at the same time vehementlybeating his breast. Perhaps his knees were hardened by habitualkneeling in devotion; but Luis observed a most suspicious thicknessabout them, which might have been caused by their recent swelling, or hemight have taken the precaution to pad them, suspecting to what his sinswould condemn him. He, however, gained the credit of zealous penitence.
Before this ceremony was quite completed, the rest of the congregationcame out of the chapel, and among them was a man whom Don Luis caughteyeing him very narrowly, but, the moment the man saw that he wasobserved, he disappeared hastily down the hill. Don Luis, therefore,concluded that he was merely astonished at seeing a gentleman there atthat early hour of the morning. He had some time longer to wait beforeall the people had quitted the hill, when, as he was still admiring theview before him, he heard a slight noise, and his name whispered, and,on turning round, he saw the priest who had officiated at the chapeldescending the rock by a steep path on the opposite side to that whichhis congregation had taken. Luis directly followed him, when he saw asignal for him to do so; but so quickly did the venerable persondescend, that he could scarcely keep him in view without danger ofbreaking his neck, from his ignorance of the stepping-stones in the sideof the hill, with which his guide, from his unhesitating pace, seemedperfectly familiar. He had proceeded about three-quarters of the way,and had yet some of the most precipitous part of the descent to make,when he perceived the priest, who had reached the bottom, after lookingcautiously around, proceed a few paces at the base of the rock, and,again repeating his signal, disappear beneath an overhanging cliff. Assoon as Luis had likewise reached the bottom, he followed the samecourse; when, as he was passing under the cliff, he again heard his namecalled by a voice which seemed to proceed from the bowels of the earth,and, looking earnestly in that direction, perceived a small cavity inthe side of the rock, but so shrouded by brushwood, that he might easilyhave passed it several times had it not been particularly called to hisnotice.
"Enter, my son, and fear not," said the voice: "nought but what is holyis here to be found."
Luis, putting aside the boughs which grew across the entrance, andstooping low to avoid striking his head against the rugged arch whichformed it, entered the cave; but, on first leaving the bright glare ofsunshine, his eyes were so oppressed by the darkness, that he could notventure to advance, until suddenly a small flickering light appearedbefore him, sufficient, however, to show him that he stood in anaturally vaulted chamber, or rather passage, in which he might standperfectly upright, of some twelve feet in width, but of a length it wasimpossible to determine, the sides of the jagged and unhewn rock, andthe floor, being covered with soft fine sand. In vain did his sightseek to pierce beyond the twinkling light, but it served to guide hisfootsteps, when it seemed to be in motion, and approaching him. He nowsaw the venerable figure of the hermit standing a short way up the cave,with snowy beard, the hair round his shaven crown and his eyebrows beingof the same silvery hue. In his hand was a small taper, which he heldbefore him.
"What seekest thou of me, my son?" he uttered, in the same low tonesLuis had before heard. "If it is aught which my prayers can be ofservice to gain for thee, they shall, without intermission, be offeredup."
"In this case your prayers are not required, most reverend hermit,"returned Don Luis. "I understand that you have in your possession acasket of jewels which you are willing to deliver to me for a certainrecompense."
"It is the truth, my son. I have a casket, about which I was yesterdayspeaking to that most holy and devout brother, the friar Diogo Lopez, aman in whom the gifts of Divine grace shine most conspicuously, my mostparticular and esteemed friend, yet one whose fair fame the tongue ofcalumny has dared to slander; who has been accused of consorting withrobbers and evil-doers, even to sharing in the profits of theirmal-practices. Oft has he come to me, with tears in his eyes, mourninghis hard fate; and, in the hopes of gaining the favour of Heaven toclear his fame, has he flagellated his back with the cord of repentance,till the blood has flowed in torrents to the ground. Oh! brother Diogois truly a righteous man!"
"Your pardon, Father! I came to inquire for a casket of jewels, and notto discuss the character of Fre Diogo; about which the less said in hispraise the smaller will be the chance of his actions contradicting yourwords," answered Luis.
"You are severe, my son, you are severe on brother Diogo. But about thejewels; now you recall the circumstance to my mind, I do recollect thathe told me that a young and estimable friend of his was anxious toobtain them; and that he was to come here this morning, with a hundredand fifty milreas, which he was willing to give for them, besides thirtymore which he was anxious to offer for masses to be said for the soulsof certain unfortunate men who were killed a few days ago."
"You are under a slight error with regard to the amount of the sum Ipromised your respectable friend; but the hundred milreas I will givewhen you deliver the casket, and I will, beyond that, offer twenty moreto be expended in masses."
"That is acting like a true fidalgo," answered the Hermit; "and I feelassured that the souls of the brigands will be highly obliged to you.Of course, I must have been mistaken with regard to the additional fiftymilreas; but age has somewhat impaired my memory, and I cannot doubt theword of so honourable a gentleman. As you may, perhaps, be anxious togain possession of these same jewels, if you will follow me to the headof the cave, you will find the casket on a little stone altar; theredeposit the money, with any further trifling donation you, in yourgenerosity, may be inclined to offer, take up the casket, and depart inpeace. With the casket you will find a sealed packet, to whom directedI know not, never having been instructed in the profane art of reading awritten hand; my breviary, and the lives of the saints, having occupiedmy whole attention. It was found within the casket; but being of novalue to those who found it there, they honestly gave it to me, and Irestore it to you. Follow me, my son."
Having thus spoken, the hermit proceeded up the cave for several yards,when he suddenly stopped and placed the taper in a socket on the littlealtar he spoke of; but by the time Luis had reached the spot he haddisappeared. Luis looked around in every direction, but it wasimpossible to pierce the surrounding gloom, the faint rays of the tapernot extending to the sides of the cavern, by which he concluded it musthave considerably increased in size; so that the holy man was yetwatching him at no great distance, though himself invisible. The tapercast its light on the surface of the altar, and on a small stone cross,rudely carved, which surmo
unted it, a few rays alone throwing a faintgleam on the roof above, from which hung down long and transparentstalactites, the floor being here moist and slippery; indeed, a lightmurmuring sound gave notice that a spring ran through this part of thecavern. Two small steps conducted him to the altar, when he found thatthe hermit had not deceived him, for there were the casket and thepacket. He opened the former, and letting the light of the candle fallon the interior, it displayed a glittering collection of varioustrinkets, such as were then worn by ladies; closing the case, he placedit securely about his person, and then examined the superscription onthe packet. It was in a delicate female handwriting, and directedthus:--"To Goncalo Christovao." Luis secured that also carefully in hisbosom; and then, placing on the spot from which he had taken them threeseparate parcels of money,--two of the amount promised, and another