God prosper him, I say; but I did not bid him go! So far from being a Carlist, it was I who persuaded this very lad who is present to remain here, though he would fain have gone with his brother, for he is a brave lad and a true Christian.Stay at home, said I, for what can I do without you? Who is to wait upon the guests when it pleases God to send them.Stay at home, at least till your brother, my third son, comes back, for, to my shame be it spoken, Don Jorge, I have a son a soldier and a sergeant in the Christino armies, sorely against his own inclination, poor fellow, for he likes not the military life, and I have been soliciting his discharge for years;indeed, I have counselled him to maim himself, in order that he might procure his liberty forthwith; so I said to this lad, Stay at home, my child, till your brother comes to take your place and prevent our bread being eaten by strangers, who would perhaps sell me and betray me; so my son staid at home as you see, Don Jorge, at my request, and yet they call me a Carlist?""Gomez and his bands have lately been in Cordova," said I; "of course you were present at all that occurred: how did they comport themselves?""Bravely well," replied the innkeeper, "bravely well, and I wish they were here still.I hold with neither side, as Itold you before, Don Jorge, but I confess I never felt greater pleasure in my life than when they entered the gate; and then to see the dogs of nationals flying through the streets to save their lives - that was a sight, Don Jorge - those who met me then at the corner forgot to shout `Halloo, Carlista!' and Iheard not a word about cudgelling; some jumped from the wall and ran no one knows where, whilst the rest retired to the house of the Inquisition, which they had fortified, and there they shut themselves up.Now you must know, Don Jorge, that all the Carlist chiefs lodged at my house, Gomez, Cabrera, and the Sawyer; and it chanced that I was talking to my Lord Gomez in this very room in which we are now, when in came Cabrera in a mighty fury - he is a small man, Don Jorge, but he is as active as a wild cat and as fierce.`The canaille,' said he, `in the Casa of the Inquisition refuse to surrender; give but the order, General, and I will scale the walls with my men and put them all to the sword'; but Gomez said, `No, we must not spill blood if we can avoid it; order a few muskets to be fired at them, that will be sufficient!' And so it proved, Don Jorge, for after a few discharges their hearts failed them, and they surrendered at discretion: whereupon their arms were taken from them and they were permitted to return to their own houses; but as soon as ever the Carlists departed, these fellows became as bold as ever, and it is now once more, `Halloo, Carlista!' when they see me turning the corner, and it is for fear of them that my son must run like a partridge to his own home, now that he has done waiting on your worship, lest they meet him in the street and kill him with their knives!""You tell me that you were acquainted with Gomez: what kind of man might he be?""A middle-sized man," replied the innkeeper; "grave and dark.But the most remarkable personage in appearance of them all was the Sawyer: he is a kind of giant, so tall, that when he entered the doorway he invariably struck his head against the lintel.The one I liked least of all was one Palillos, who is a gloomy savage ruffian whom I knew when he was a postillion.Many is the time that he has been at my house of old; he is now captain of the Manchegan thieves, for though he calls himself a royalist, he is neither more nor less than a thief: it is a disgrace to the cause that such as he should be permitted to mix with honourable and brave men; I hate that fellow, Don Jorge: it is owing to him that I have so few customers.Travellers are, at present, afraid to pass through La Mancha, lest they fall into his hands.I wish he were hanged, Don Jorge, and whether by Christinos or Royalists, Icare not."
"You recognized me at once for an Englishman," said I, "do many of my countrymen visit Cordova?""TOMA!" said the landlord, "they are my best customers; Ihave had Englishmen in this house of all grades, from the son of Belington to a young medico, who cured my daughter, the chica here, of the ear-ache.How should I not know an Englishman? There were two with Gomez, serving as volunteers.
VAYA QUE GENTE; what noble horses they rode, and how they scattered their gold about; they brought with them a Portuguese, who was much of a gentleman but very poor; it was said that he was one of Don Miguel's people, and that these Englishmen supported him for the love they bore to royalty; he was continually singing `El Rey chegou - El Rey chegou, E en Belem desembarcou!' *Those were merry days, Don Jorge.By the by, I forgot to ask your worship of what opinion you are?"* "The king arrived, the king arrived, and disembarked at Belem." - MIGUELITE SONG.
The next morning, whilst I was dressing, the old Genoese entered my room: "Signore," said he, "I am come to bid you farewell.I am about to return to Seville forthwith with the horses.""Wherefore in such a hurry," I replied; "assuredly you had better tarry till to-morrow; both the animals and yourself require rest; repose yourselves to-day and I will defray the expense.""Thank you, Signore, but we will depart forthwith, for there is no tarrying in this house.""What is the matter with the house?" I inquired.
"I find no fault with the house," replied the Genoese, "it is the people who keep it of whom I complain.About an hour since, I went down to get my breakfast, and there, in the kitchen, I found the master and all his family: well, I sat down and called for chocolate, which they brought me, but ere Icould dispatch it, the master fell to talking politics.He commenced by telling me that he held with neither side, but he is as rank a Carlist as Carlos Quinto: for no sooner did he find that I was of the other opinion, than he glared at me like a wild beast.You must know, Signore, that in the time of the old constitution I kept a coffee-house at Seville, which was frequented by all the principal liberals, and was, indeed, the cause of my ruin: for as I admired their opinions, I gave my customers whatever credit they required, both with regard to coffee and liqueurs, so that by the time the constitution was put down and despotism re-established, I had trusted them with all I had.It is possible that many of them would have paid me, for I believe they harboured no evil intention; but the persecution came, the liberals took to flight, and, as was natural enough, thought more of providing for their own safety than of paying me for my coffee and liqueurs; nevertheless, Iam a friend to their system, and never hesitate to say so.So the landlord, as I told your worship before, when he found that I was of this opinion, glared at me like a wild beast: `Get out of my house,' said he, `for I will have no spies here,' and thereupon he spoke disrespectfully of the young Queen Isabel and of Christina, who, notwithstanding she is a Neapolitan, Iconsider as my countrywoman.Hearing this, your worship, Iconfess that I lost my temper and returned the compliment, by saying that Carlos was a knave and the Princess of Beira no better than she should be.I then prepared to swallow the chocolate, but ere I could bring it to my lips, the woman of the house, who is a still ranker Carlist than her husband, if that be possible, coming up to me struck the cup into the air as high as the ceiling, exclaiming, `Begone, dog of a negro, you shall taste nothing more in my house; may you be hanged even as a swine is hanged.' So your worship sees that it is impossible for me to remain here any longer.I forgot to say that the knave of a landlord told me that you had confessed yourself to be of the same politics as himself, or he would not have harboured you.""My good man," said I, "I am invariably of the politics of the people at whose table I sit, or beneath whose roof Isleep, at least I never say anything which can lead them to suspect the contrary; by pursuing which system I have more than once escaped a bloody pillow, and having the wine I drank spiced with sublimate."
