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GLORIES OF SPAIN
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF ZARAGOZA CATHEDRAL.]
GLORIES OF SPAIN
BY
CHARLES W. WOOD, F.R.G.S.,
AUTHOR OF
"LETTERS FROM MAJORCA," "IN THE VALLEY OF THE RHONE,"
ETC., ETC.
[Illustration]
WITH EIGHTY-FIVE ILLUSTRATIONS.
London
MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1901
LONDON:
PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED.
STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
AT THE GARE D'ORLEANS.
On Calais quay--At the Custom-house--A lady of the past--Ungallant
examiner--Better to reign than serve--Paris--Vanity Fair--Sowing and
reaping--Laughing through life--At the Hotel Chatham--A pleasant
picture--In maiden meditation--M. Pascal is wise in his generation--The
secrets of the Seine--Notre Dame--Ile St. Louis--A mediaeval
atmosphere--Victor Hugo--Ghosts of the Hotel Lambert--H. C. again--His
little comedy--M. the Inspector--Outraged ladies--"En voiture,
messieurs!"--Mystery not cleared--The Orleanais--La Vendee--Garden of
France--A dilemma--Polite Chef de Gare--Crossing the Garonne--Land of
corn and wine 1
CHAPTER II.
A NARBONNE HOSTESS.
Carcassonne--In feudal times--Simon de Montfort--Canal du Midi--L'age
d'or et le Grand Monarque--A modern Golden Fleece--One of earth's fair
scenes--Choice of evils--M. le Chef yields--Narbonne--A woman of
parts--The course of true love runs smooth--_Diner de contrat_--Honey
_versus the lune de miel_--Madame's philosophy--_L'Allee des
Soupirs_--An unfinished cathedral--At the gloaming hour--Mystery and
devotion--The Hotel de Ville--A domestic drama--High festival and
champagne--The next morning--H. C. repentant--Madame at her
post--Ambrosial breakfast--"Il faut payer pour ses plaisirs"--Dramatic
exit--Perpignan--Home of the kings of Majorca--Elne--"Adieu, ma chere
France!"--Over the frontier--Gerona--Crowded platform--What H. C.
thought--Unpoetical incident--From the sublime to the ridiculous 12
CHAPTER III.
BLACK COFFEE--AND A CONFESSION.
Continued uproar--H. C. disillusioned--A dark night--Not like another
Caesar--More crowds--A demon scene--Fair time--Glorious days of the
past--In marble halls and labyrinthine passages--Our excellent host--His
substantial partner--Contented minds--Picturesque court--Songless
nightingales--Conscription--H. C.'s modesty--Our host appreciative but
personal--Bears the torch of genius--A mistake--Below the salt--Host's
fair daughters--Catalonian women--The Silent Enigma--Remarkable
priest--Good intentions--Lecture on black
coffee--Confessions--Benjamin's portions--A gifted nature 27
CHAPTER IV.
A NIGHT VISION.
Wrong turnings--H. C.'s gifts and graces--Out at night--The arcades of
Gerona--At the fair--Ancient outlines--Demons at work--In the dry bed of
the river--Roasting chestnuts--Mediaeval outlines--In the
vortex--Clairvoyantes and lion-tamers--Clown's despair--Deserted
streets--Vision of the night--Haunted staircase--Dark and dangerous--A
small grievance--The reeds by the river--Cry of the watchmen--Hare and
hounds--Fair Rosamund--Jacob's ladder--New rendering to old
proverbs--Cathedral by night--H. C. oblivious--Scent fails--Return to
earth--Romantic story--Last of a long line--_El Sereno!_--The witching
hour--H. C. unserenaded--Next morning--Grey skies--A false
prophet--Magic picture--Cathedral by day--Mediaeval dreams 41
CHAPTER V.
GERONA THE BEAUTIFUL.
A Gerona senora--Grace and charm--Lord of creation--Morning
greeting--Arcades and ancient houses--Conscription--Gerona a
discovery--Streets of steps--Ancient eaves and rare ironwork--Old-world
corner--Desecrated church--Gothic cloisters--Ghosts of the past--Visions
of to-day--Soldiers interested--"Happy as kings"--Lingerings--Colonel
seeks explanation--No lover of antiquity--More conscription--Dramatic
scene--Pedro to the rescue--Mother and son--Sad story--Strong and
merciful--Pedro grateful--Restricted interests--Colonel becomes
impenetrable again 58
CHAPTER VI.
ANSELMO THE PRIEST.
Beauties of age--Apostles' Doorway--How the old bishops kept out of
temptation--Interior of cathedral--Its vast nave--Days of
Charlemagne--And of the Moors--A giant dwarfed--Rare choir--Surly
priest--And a more kindly--Our showman--Dazzling treasures--Father
Anselmo--Romantic story--Heaven or the world?--Doubts--The gentle
Rosalie decides--Sister Anastasia--Told in the sacristy--A
heart-confession--Anselmo's mysticism--Heresy--Charms of
antiquity--Scene of his triumph--Celestial vision--Church of San
Pedro--Pagan interior--Rare cloisters--Desecrated church--Singular
scene--Chiaroscuro--Miguel the carpenter--His opinions--Daily life a
religion--Anselmo improves his opportunity--"A reflected light"--Ruined
citadel--War of succession--Alvarez and Marshall--Gerona in decadence--A
revelation--Dreamland--Midday vision 72
CHAPTER VII.
A DAY OF ENCOUNTERS.
"Can a prophet come out of Galilee?"--The unexpected happens--Under the
probe--Wise reservation--Born to command--Contrasts--Nothing new under
the sun--The senora prepares for the fair--Grievance not very deep
seated--Bewitching appearance--Senora dramatic--Ernesto--Marriage a
lottery--Every cloud its silver lining--Gerona _en fete_--Delormais'
mission--Deceptive appearances--Evils of conscription--Ernesto's
ambition--Les beaux jours de la vie--Rosalie--A fair picture--Strange
similarity--Heavenwards--Anastasia or Rosalie--Her dreams and
visions--Modern Paul and Virginia--Eternal possession--A Gerona
saint--The better part--More heresy--Fenelon--One creed, one
worship--Not peace but a sword--Not dead to the world--Angel of
mercy--H. C. mistaken--Earthly idyll 99
CHAPTER VIII.
MOTHER AND SON.
Demons at work--In the crowd--Ernesto and his mother--Roasted
chestnuts--Instrument of torture--New school of anatomy--Rhine-stones or
diamonds?--Happy mother--Honest confession--Danger of edged
tools--Cayenne lozenges for the monkeys--Joseph--Early
compliments--Ernesto pleads in vain--Down by the river--Music of the
reeds--Rich prospect--Faust--Singers of the world--Joseph takes
tickets--Gerona keeps late hours--Its little great world--Between the
acts--Successful evening--In the dark night--On the bridge--Silence and
solitude--Astral bodies--Joseph turns Job's
comforter--Magnetism--Delormais psychological--Alone in the
streets--Saluting the Church militant--Haunted staircase again--Sighs
and rustlings--H. C. retires--"Drink to me only with thine
eyes"--Delormais' challenge--Leads the way--Illumination--Coffee
equipage--"Only the truth is painful"--Lost in reverie 114
CHAPTER IX.
DELORMAIS.
Magnetism--Past life--Impulsive nature--First impressions--Perfumed
airs--A gentle spirit--Haunted groves--Blue waters of the Levant--Great
devotion--A rose-blossom--Back to the angels--Special Providence--Fair
Provence--Charmed days--Excursions--Isles of Greece--Ossa and
Pelion--City of the violet crown--Spinning-jennies have something to
answer for--Olympus--AEgina--Groves of the Sacred Plain--Narrow
escapes--Pleasures of home-coming--Rainbow atmosphere--Orange and lemon
groves--The nightingales--Impressionable childhood--Fresh plans--The
Abbe Riviere--Rare faculty--Domestic chaplain--Debt of
gratitude--Treasure-house of strength Given to hospitality--First great
sorrow--Passing away--Resolve to travel--"I can no more"--The old Adam
dies hard--Chance decides 130
CHAPTER X.
DELORMAIS' ROMANCE.
Rome--Count Albert--Happy months--Sweets of
companionship--Egypt--Strange things--Quiet weeks--Sinai--Freedom of the
desert--Crossing the Red Sea--Mount Serbal--Convent of St. Catherine--In
the Valley of the Saint--Tomb of Sheikh Saleh--Pools of
Solomon--Jerusalem the Golden--Bethel--Lebanon--Home again--Fresh
scenes--Algeria--Hanging gardens of the Sahel--Mount Bubor and its
glories--Rash act--At the twilight hour--Earthly paradise--Fair
Eve--Fervent love--Arouya--Nature's revenge--Not to last--Eternal
requiem of the sea--In the backwoods--Hunting wolves--Prairies of
California--Honolulu--Active volcanoes--Lake of fire--Rare birds and
wild-flowers--Worship of Peleus--An eruption--Mighty upheaval--Coast of
Labrador--Shooting bears 143
CHAPTER XI.
MONSEIGNEUR.
Great conflict--Returning to Paris--Count Albert married--Marriages
declined--Love buried in the grave of Arouya--Frivolities--Napoleon at
the Tuileries--Illness--Doctors' errors--Days of horror--Vow
registered--Between life and death--Victory--Home again--Abbe's
objections--Resolve strengthened--Death of the Abbe--Taking vows--Life
of energy and action--Rapid sketch--Sympathies--All
ordained--"Monseigneur"--"Mon ami"--Cry of the watchmen--Candles wax dim
and blue--Wandering in dreams--False prophet--H. C. rises with the
lark--Beauty of Gerona--Pathetic scene--Colonel administers
consolation--Widow's heart sings for joy--In the cloisters
again--Good-bye--In the cathedral--Anselmo--Sunshine over
all--Miguel--On the ruined citadel--Anselmo's signal--A glory departs 154
CHAPTER XII.
A MINISTERING SPIRIT.
Sweet illusions--Everything seen and done--True devotion--In the
vortex--Sunshine and blue skies--Less demon-like pit--Lights and
shadows--Arcades lose their gloom--Rosalie--Charm of Anselmo--Romance
not dead--H. C. in ecstasy--Escorting an angel--Cathedral steps--San
Filiu--A lovely spot--Ancient house--Mullions and latticed
windows--Passing away--Rosalie's ministrations--Resignation--Rosalie's
farewell--"Consuelo"--Taken from the evil to come--The door
closed--Ernesto's world topsy-turvy--Ernesto turns business-like--The
catapult again--Up the broad staircase--Not the ghostly hour--Madame in
her bureau--Posting ledger--Balance on right side--Madame
philosophises--Shrieks to the rescue--"My dear daughter"--Our host and
the nightingales--Waiting for next year's leaves--The Senorita
Costello--Delormais on the wing--Another vigil--Promise
given--Departure--Inspector quails--H. C. collapses--The susceptible
age--Lady Maria alters her will--Possession nine-tenths of the law 168
CHAPTER XIII.
A WORLD'S WONDER.
Barcelona--H. C.'s anxiety--Mutual salutes--Old
impressions--Disappointment--Familiar cries and
scenes--Flower-sellers--Perpetual summer--Commercial element--Manchester
of Spain--Surrounding country--Where care comes not--Barcelonita--The
quays--A land of corn and wine--Relaxing air--Lovely ladies--Ancient
element conspicuous by its absence--Historical past--Great in the Middle
Ages--Wise and powerful--Commerce of the world--Wealth and
learning--Waxes voluptuous--Ferdinand and Isabella--Diplomatic but not
grateful--Brave and courageous--Fell before Peterborough--Napoleon's
treachery--Republican people--Prosperous once more--Ecclesiastical
treasures--Matchless cathedral--Inspiration--Influence of the
Moors--Work of Majorcan architect--Dream-world--Imposing scene 184
CHAPTER XIV.
IN THE CLOISTERS OF SAN PABLO.
In the cloisters--Sacred geese--Bishop's palace--House of the
Inquisition--Striking quadrangles--_Ajimez_ windows--A rare
cloister--Desecration--Library--Rare MSS.--Polite librarian--Romantic
atmosphere--Santa Maria del Mar--Cloisters of Santa Anna--Sister of
Mercy--San Pablo del Campo--More dream cloisters--Communing with ghosts
and shadows--Spring and winter--Constant visitor--Centenarian--Chief
architect--Cathedrals of Catalonia--Barbarous town-council--Hard fight
and victory--Failing vision--Emblems of death--Laid aside--Wholesome
lessons--Placing the keystone--_Finis_--_Resurgam_--Charmed
hour--Possessing the soul in patience--City of Refuge 203
CHAPTER XV.
MONTSERRAT.
Early rising--Imp of darkness--Death warrant--The men who fail--Ranges
of Montserrat--Sabadell--Labour and romance--The
Llobregat--Monistrol--Summer resort--Sleeping village--Empty
letter-bags--Ascending--Splendid view--Romantic element--Charms of
antiquity--Human interests--Mons Serratus--A man of letters--_Solitude a
deux_--Fellow-travellers--Substantial
lady-merchant--Resignation--Military policeman--"Nameless here for
evermore"--Round man in square hole--Romantic history--_Cherchez la
femme_--Woman a divinity--Good name the best inheritance--No fighting
against the stars--Fascinations of astrology--Love and fortune--Too good
to last--Taste for pleasure--Ruin--Sad end--Truth reasserts
itself--Fortune smiles again--Ceylon--Philosophical in misfortune--A
windfall--Approaching Montserrat--Paradise of the monks--Romance and
beauty--New order of things--Gipsy encampment 214
CHAPTER XVI.
A HIDDEN GENIUS.
Monk's face--Superfluous virtue--"Welcome to Montserrat"--Mean
advantage--Exacting but not mercenary--Another Miguel--Missing
keys--Singular monk--Hospederia--Uncertainty--Monk's idea of
luxury--Rare prospect--Haunted by silence--Father Salvador
privileged--Monk sees ghosts--Under Miguel's escort--In the
church--Departed glory--The black image--Gothic and Norman
outlines--Franciscan monk or ghost?--Vision of the past--Days of
persecution--Sensible image--Great community--Harmony of the
spheres--Sad cypresses--Life of a hermit--Monk's story--Loving the
world--Penitence--Plucked from the burning--Talent developed--A world
apart--False interest--Salvador--Temptation and a compromise--Salvador
extemporises--"All the magic of the hour"--Salvador's belief--Waiting
for manifestations. 227
CHAPTER XVII.
SALVADOR THE MONK.
Gipsies--Picturesque scene--Love passages--H. C. invited to festive
board--Saved by Lady Maria's astral visitation--The fortune-teller--H.
C. yields to persuasion--Fate foretold--Warnings--Photograph
solicited--Darkness and mystery--Night scene--Gipsies depart--Weird
experiences--Troubled dreams--Mysterious sounds--Ghost appears--H. C.
sleeps the sleep of the just--Egyptian darkness--In the cold
morning--Salvador keeps his word--Breakfast by candle-light--Romantic
scene--Salvador turns to the world--Agreeable companion--Musician's
nature--Miguel and the mule--Leaving the world behind--Darkness
flies--St. Michael's chapel--Sunrise and glory--Marvellous scene--Magic
atmosphere--Salvador's ecstasy--Consents to take luncheon--Heavenly
strains--"Not farewell"--Departs in solitary sadness--Last of the funny
monk 249
CHAPTER XVIII.
A STUDY IN GREY.
Manresa--Tropical deluge--Rash judgment--Catalan hills and
valleys--Striking approach--Taking time by the forelock--Primitive
inn--Strange assembly--Unpleasant alternative--Sebastien--Manresa under
a cloud--Wonderful outlines--Disappointing church--Sebastien leads the
way--Old-world streets--Picturesque and pathetic--Popular
character--"What would you, senor?"--Sebastien's Biblical knowledge at
fault--Lesson deferred--A revelation--La Seo--Church cold and
lifeless--Cave of Ignatius Loyola--Hermitage of St. Dismas--Juan
Chanones--Fasting and penance--Visions and revelations--Spiritual
warfare--Eve of the Annunciation--Exchanging dresses--Knight turns
monk--Juan Pascual--Loyola comes to Manresa--Fanaticism--Vale of
Paradise--"Spiritual Exercises"--Founding the Jesuit Order--Dying to
self--The fair Anita--In the convent chapel--Two novices--Vision of
angels--The White Ladies--Agonising moment--Another Romeo and
Juliet--Back to the hotel--Sebastien disconsolate--"To-morrow the sun
will shine"--Building castles in the air--A prophecy fulfilled 263
CHAPTER XIX.
LERIDA.
Picturesque country--Approaching Lerida--Rambling inn--Remarkable
duenna--Toothless and voiceless--Smiles upon H. C.--Nearly
expires--Civilised chef--A procession--Lerida Dragon--City of the
dead--Night study--Charging dead walls--A night encounter--Armed
demon--Wise people--Watchman proves an old friend--No promotion--Locked
out--Rousing the echoes--Night porter appears on the scene--Also El
Sereno--Apologetic and repentant--The charming Rose--Porter
congratulates himself--Cloudless morning--H. C. confronted by the
Dragon--In the hands of the Philistines--A Lerida fine art--Boot-cleaner
in Ordinary--Remarkable character--H. C. hilarious--Steals a march 285
CHAPTER XX.
THE STORY OF A LIFE.
Lerida by daylight--Second city in Catalonia--Past history--Days of the
Goths--And Moors--Becomes a bishopric--Troublous times--Brave
people--Striking cathedral--Splendid outlines--Desecration--The new
cathedral--Senseless tyranny--One of the most interesting of
towns--Crowded market-place--Picturesque arcades and ancient
gateways--Wine-pressers--Good offer refused--Another
revelation--Wonderful streets--Amongst the immortals--Our Boot-cleaner
in Ordinary again--Thereby hangs a tale--His story--Blind wife--Modest
request--Nerissa--Charming room--Little queen in the
arm-chair--Faultless picture--Renouncements but no regrets--"All a new
world"--Time to pass out of life--Back to the quiet streets--H. C.
contemplative--Proposes emigration to Salt Lake City--Lerida glorified
by its idyll 296
CHAPTER XXI.
THE END OF AN IDYLL.
Days of chivalry not over--In the evening light--Night porter
grateful--Dragon in full force--Combative and revengeful--Equal to the
occasion--Gall turns to sweetness when H. C. appears--Last night in
Lerida--Bane of our host's life--Mysterious disappearance--Monastery of
Sigena--Devout ladies--Returning at night--Place empty and
deserted--Birds flown with keys--Quite a commotion--"The senor is
pleased to joke"--Was murder committed?--Mysteries explained--Probably
down the well--Drag for skeletons--Host's horror--"We drink the
water"--A tragedy--Out in the quiet night--Discords--Lerida cafe--Create
a sensation--Polite captain--Offer declined--Regrets--Final
crash--Paradise or Lerida--Deserted market-place--Trees whisper their
secrets--El Sereno at the witching hour--Hard upon the angels--Not a bed
of roses--Alphonse--End of a long life--Until the dawn--Acolyte and
priest--"We must all come to it, senor"--El Sereno disappears for the
last time--Daybreak--In presence of death--Alone, but
resigned--Surpassing loveliness--Sacred atmosphere 313
CHAPTER XXII.
A SAD HISTORY.
Broad plains of Aragon--Wonderful tones--Approaching Zaragoza--Celestial
vision--Distance lends enchantment--Commonplace people--The ancient
modernised--Disillusion followed by delight--Almost a small Paris--Cafes
and their merits--Not socially attractive--Friendly equality--Mixture of
classes--Inheritance of the past--Interesting streets--Arcades and
gables--Lively scenes--People in costume--Picture of Old Spain--Ancient
palaces--One especially romantic--The world well lost--Fair Lucia--Where
love might reign for ever--Paradise not for this world--Doomed--The last
dawn--Inconsolable--Seeking death--Found on the battlefield--A day
vision--Few rivals--In the new cathedral--Startling episode--Asking
alms--Young and fair--Uncomfortable moment--Terrible story--Fatal
chains--"And after?"--How minister to a mind diseased?--Sunshine
clouded--Burden of life--Any way of escape?--Suggestions of past
centuries--The mighty fallen 329
CHAPTER XXIII.
IN ZARAGOZA.
Bygone days--Sumptuous roosting--Old exchange--Traders of taste--Glory
of Aragon--Cathedral of La Seo--Modernised exterior--Interior charms and
mesmerises--Next to Barcelona--Magnifice effect--Parish church--Moorish
ceiling--Tomb of Bernardo de Aragon--The old priest--Waxes
enthusiastic--Supernatural effect--Statuette of Benedict
XIII.--Mysterious chiaroscuro--One exception--Alonza the
Warrior--Moorish tiles--Bishop's palace--Frugal meal--Trace of old
Zaragoza--Fifteenth century house--Juanita--Streets of the city--Caesarea
Augusta--Worship of the Virgin--Alonzo the Moor--Determined
resistance--Days of struggle--Falling--Return to prosperity--Fair maid
of Zaragoza--The Aljaferia--Ancient palace of the Moorish kings--Injured
by Suchet--Salon of Santa Isabel--Spanish cafe--Four generations--Lovely
voice--Lamartine's _Le Lac_--Recognised--Reading between the lines--Out
in the night air--An inspiration--Night vision of El Pilar--In the far
future 343
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE CANON'S HOSPITALITY.
El Pilar by day--In the old cathedral--The canon reproachful--Equal to
the occasion--No pressure needed--_Un diner maigre_--Dream of forty
years--True to time--Juanita--Fruits of long service--Exploring
Juanita's domains--House of magic--"Surely not a fast-day"--Artistic
dreams--Who can legislate after death?--Canon's abstinence--Juanita
withdraws--Our opportunity--Canon earnest and sympathetic--Eugenie de
Colmar--Canon's surprise--An old friend--Truth stranger than
fiction--"You will forget the old priest"--Ingratitude not one of our
sins--Arivederci--Canon's letter--End of Eugenie's story--En route for
Tarragona--Landlord turns up at Lerida--Missing keys--Skeletons floated
out to Panama--Domestic drama--Dragon again to the
front--Tarragona--Matchless coast scene--Civilised inn--Military
element--Haunted house--Mystery unsolved--Distinct elements--Roman and
other remains--Dream of the past--Green pastures and sunny vineyards 357
CHAPTER XXV.
QUASIMODO.
Tarragona by night--Cathedral--Moonlight vision--Dream-fabric--Deserted
streets--Ghostly form approaches--Quilp or Quasimodo?--Redeeming
qualities--Pale spiritual face--Open sesame--Approaching the
apparition--Question and answer--Invitation accepted--Prisoners--The
Shadow--Under the cold moonlight--Enter cathedral--Vast interior--Gloom
and silence--Fantastic effects--Enigma solved--Strange proceeding--No
inspiration--Why Quasimodo turned night into day--Weird moonlight
scene--Soft sweet sounds--Schumann's Traeumerei--Spellbound--The
magician--Witching hour--Cathedral ghosts--An eternity of music--Varying
moods--Returning to earth--Quasimodo's rapture--Travelling
moonbeams--Night grows old--Sky full of music--Lost to sight--Dreams
haunted by Quasimodo--New day 372
CHAPTER XXVI.
IN THE DAYS OF THE ROMANS.
Charms of Tarragona--Roman traces--Cyclopean remains--Augustus closes
Temple of Janus--Great past--House of Pontius Pilate--View from
ramparts--Feluccas with white sails set--Life a paradise--City
walls--Cathedral outlines--Lively market-place--Remarkable
exterior--Dream-world--West doorways--Internal effect--In the
cloisters--Proud sacristan--Man of taste and learning--Delighted with
our enthusiasm--Great concession--Appealing to the soul--Senor
Ancora--Human or angelic?--In the cloister garden--Sacristan's domestic
troubles--Silent ecclesiastic--Sad history--Church of San
Pablo--Challenge invited--Future genius--Rare picture--Roman aqueduct--A
modern Caesar--Reminiscences--Rich country--Where the best wines are
made--Aqueduct--El puente del diablo--Giddy heights--Lonely valley--H.
C. sentimental--Rosalie and Fair Costello--Romantic
situation--Quarrelsome Reus--Masters of the world--Our driver turns
umpire--Battle averted--Men of Reus--Whatever is, is wrong--Driver's
philosophy--Dream of the centuries 389
CHAPTER XXVII.
LORETTA.
Our ubiquitous host--Curious mixture of nations--Francisco--His
enthusiasm carries the point--French lessons--English
prejudice--Landlord's lament--Days of fair Provence--Francisco
determines to be in time--Presidio--Tomb of the Scipios--Fishing for
sardines--Early visit to cathedral--Still earlier sacristan--Francisco's
delight--Freshness of early morning--Reus--Bark worse than bite--Where
headaches come from--An evil deed--Valley of the Francoli--Moorish
remains--Montblanch--The graceful hills of Spain--Espluga--Francisco
equal to occasion--Beseiged--Donkeys versus carriage--Interesting old
town--Decadence--Singular woman--Loretta's escort--Strange
story--Unconscious charm--What happened one Sunday evening--Caro--"The
right man never came"--Comes now--How she was betrothed--Primitive
conveyance--Making the best of it--Wine-pressers--Loving cup--Nectar of
the gods--Fair exchange--Rough drive--Scene of Loretta's adventures 405
CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE RUINS OF POBLET.
A dream-world--Ruins--Chapel of St. George--Archways and Gothic
windows--Atmosphere of the Middle Ages--Convent doorway--Summons but no
response--Door opens at last--Comfortable looking woman--Ready
invention--Confusion worse confounded--True version--Francisco painfully
direct--Guardian gets worst of it--Picturesque decay--Gothic
cloisters--Visions of beauty--Rare wilderness--King Martin the
Humble--Bacchanalian days--When the monks quaffed Malvoisie--Simple
grandeur of the church--Philip Duke of Wharton--Cistercian
monastery--History of Poblet the monk--Monastery becomes
celebrated--Tombs of the kings of Aragon--Guardian sceptical--Paradise
or wilderness--Monks all-powerful--Escorial of Aragon--The great
traveller--Changing for the worst--Upholding the kingly power--Time
rolls on--Downfall--Attacked and destroyed--Infuriated mob--Fictitious
treasures--Fiendish act--Massacre--Ruined monastery--Blood-red
sunset--Superstition--End of 1835 418
CHAPTER XXIX.
LORENZO.
Day visions--All passes away--End of the feast--Francisco gathers up the
fragments--Ghosts of the past--Outside the monastery--Oasis in a
desert--After the vintage--Francisco gleans--Guilty conscience--Custom
of country--Dessert--Primitive watering-place--Off to the fair--Groans
and lamentations--Sagacious animal--Cause of sorrows--Rage and
anger--Donkey listens and understands--A hard life--Washing a
luxury--Charity bestowed--Deserted settlement--Quaint interior--Back to
the monastery--Invidious comparisons--A promise--Good-bye to
Poblet--Troubled sea again--Suffering driver--Atonement for sins--Earns
paradise--Wine-pressers again--Rich stores--Good Samaritans--Quaint old
town--Bygone prosperity--Lorenzo--Marriage made in heaven--House
inspected--On the bridge--At the station--Kindly offer--Glorious
sunset--Loretta's good-bye--"What shall it be?"--Flying moments--As the
train rolls off. 430
CHAPTER XXX.
THE GARDEN OF SPAIN.
Charms of Tarragona--Dream of the past--Quasimodo comes not--Of another
world--Host's offer--Francisco inconsolable--A mixed sorrow--No more
holidays--List of grievances--Fair scene--Luxuriance of the
South--Hospitalet--Pilgrims of the Middle Ages--Amposta--Centre of lost
centuries--Historical past--Here worked St. Paul--Our
fellow-travellers--Undertones--Enter old priest--Draws
conclusions--Love's young dream--Impressions and appearances--Not always
a priest--Fool's paradise--Youth and age--Awaking to realities--Driven
out of paradise--Was it a judgment?--Calmness returns--Judging in
mercy--Nameless grave--"Writ in water"--Withdrawing from the
world--Entering the Church--Busy life--Romances of the Confessional--"To
Eve in Paradise"--Tortosa--Garden of Spain--Vinaroz--Wise mermen--Cradle
of history and romance--Gibraltar of the West--a race
apart--Benicarlo--Flourishing vineyards--"If the English only knew"--Eve
recognises priest--"I am that charming daughter"--Lovely cousin
engaged--Count Pedro de la Torre--Mutual
recognitions--Congratulations--Breaking news to H. C.--Despair--"To Adam
in Hades"--Gallant priest--Saved from temptation 447
CHAPTER XXXI.
LOVE'S YOUNG DREAM.
First impressions--Devoted to pleasure--Peace-loving--Climate makes gay
and lively--New element--Few traces of the past--Old palaces--Steals
into the affections--City of the Cid--Ecclesiastical
attractions--Archbishopric--University--Homer must nod
sometimes--Comparative repose--De Nevada carries us off--Admirable
host--Conversational--Grave and gay--Mercy, not sacrifice--Library--At
Puzol--Exacting a promise--The hour sounds--Count Pedro
appears--Fragrant coffee--Served by magic--Specially prepared
temptation--Perverting facts--Land flowing with milk and
honey--Inquiring mind--Mighty man of valour--Cid likened to
Cromwell--Retribution--Ibn Jehaf the murderer--Reign of terror--The
faithful Ximena--Cid's death-blow--Priest turns
schoolmaster--"Beware!"--Earthly paradise--Land of consolation--System
of irrigation--Famous council--Poetical Granada--No appeal--Apostles'
Gate-way--Earth's fascinations--Picturesque peasants--Pretty
women--Countess Pedro shakes her head--Leave-taking--Next morning--Quiet
activity--Market-day--Splendours of flower-market--Lonja de
Seda--Vanishing dream--Audiencia--San Salvador--Antiquity yields to
comfort--Convent of San Domingo--Miserere--Impressive ceremony--City of
Flowers--Without the walls--Famous river--Change of scene 458
CHAPTER XXXII.
OLD ACQUAINTANCES.
Port and harbour--Sunday and fresh air--In the market-place--De Nevada
protests--A curse of the country--In the days gone by--On the
breakwater--Invaded tramcar--De Nevada confirmed--Another crusade
needed--Plaza de Toros--In Sunday dress--Domestic interiors--When the
play was o'er--Bull-ring at night--Fitful dreams--Fever--Maitre d'hotel
prescribes--Magic effect--Depart for Saguntum--Before the days of
Rome--Primitive town--Days of the Greeks--Attacked by Hannibal--Rebuilt
by the Romans--Absent guardian--The hunchback--Reappears with
custodian--Doors open--Moorish fortress--Fathomless cisterns--Sad
procession--Weeping mourners--Key of Valencia--Miguella--Time heals all
wounds--Proposes coffee--Proud and pleased--Scenes that remain--In
Barcelona--Drawing to a close--Sorrow and regret--Many experiences--Our
Espluga friends--Loretta's gratitude--In the Calle de Fernando--A last
favour--Glories of Spain--Eastern benediction 481
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
INTERIOR OF ZARAGOZA CATHEDRAL _Frontispiece_
PEDRO 23
THE BOULEVARD: GERONA 31
ARCADES: GERONA 42
VIEW OF GERONA FROM THE STONE BRIDGE 43
BANKS OF THE ONAR: GERONA 47
APOSTLES' DOORWAY, CATHEDRAL: GERONA 51
A FRAGMENT OUTSIDE THE WALLS OF GERONA 59
STREETS IN GERONA 61, 101, 103, 123
ENTRANCE TO MILITARY CLOISTERS: GERONA 65
MILITARY CLOISTERS: GERONA 67
WAITING FOR THE VERDICT 69
CATHEDRAL CLOISTERS: GERONA 75, 109
INTERIOR OF CATHEDRAL: GERONA 79
CLOISTERS OF SAN PEDRO: GERONA 81, 97
APOSTLES' DOORWAY AND BISHOP'S PALACE: GERONA 83
CHURCH OF SAN PEDRO: GERONA 85
DOORWAY OF SAN PEDRO: GERONA 89
DESECRATED CHURCH: GERONA 93
OUTSIDE THE WALLS: GERONA 95
OLD HOUSES ON THE RIVER: GERONA 119, 173
SAN FILIU, FROM WITHOUT THE WALLS: GERONA 163
A GERONA PATIO 169
MARKET PLACE: GERONA 177
THE RAMBLA: BARCELONA 187
INTERIOR OF CORO, GERONA CATHEDRAL 191
PULPIT AND STALLS, BARCELONA CATHEDRAL 195
TWILIGHT IN BARCELONA CATHEDRAL 199
SMALL CLOISTER OR PATIO: BARCELONA 205
CLOISTERS OF SANTA ANNA: BARCELONA 207
CLOISTERS OF SAN PABLO: BARCELONA 209
MONISTROL 217
CHURCH OF MONTSERRAT 231, 239
CLOISTERS OF MONTSERRAT 235
SALVADOR THE MONK 241
VALLEY OF MONTSERRAT 251
A FEW OF THE GIPSIES AT MONTSERRAT 255
MONS SERRATUS IN CLOUDLAND 259
MANRESA 267
MANRESA FROM THE RIVER: MORNING 269
MANRESA FROM THE HILL-SIDE: EVENING 273
ARCADES: LERIDA 291
LERIDA MULES 299
LERIDA 301
WINE-PRESSERS: LERIDA 303
OLD GATEWAYS: LERIDA 309
ENTRANCE TO POBLET 319
OLD CATHEDRAL: LERIDA 323
FAIR LUCIA'S HOUSE: ZARAGOZA 333, 337
BRIDGE AND CATHEDRAL OF EL PILAR: ZARAGOZA 339
AN OLD NOOK IN ZARAGOZA 345
NORTH WALL OF CATHEDRAL: ZARAGOZA 347
TOWER OF LA SEO: ZARAGOZA 351
INTERIOR OF CATHEDRAL, SHOWING CORO AND ORGAN:
ZARAGOZA 359
SOUTH-WEST EXTERIOR OF CATHEDRAL: TARRAGONA 373
EAST END OF CATHEDRAL, SHOWING NORMAN APSE:
TARRAGONA 377
INTERIOR OF CATHEDRAL: TARRAGONA 381
CLOISTERS: TARRAGONA 385, 393
SAN PABLO: TARRAGONA 397
AN OLD NOOK IN TARRAGONA 399
ROMAN AQUEDUCT, NEAR TARRAGONA 401
ON OUR WAY TO POBLET 415
ENTRANCE TO CLOISTERS: POBLET 421
MONKS' BURIAL GROUND: POBLET 425
RUINS OF POBLET 427, 441
CLOISTERS OF POBLET 431
POBLET, FROM THE VINEYARD 435
ANCIENT GATEWAY: VALENCIA 459
A STREET IN VALENCIA 461
RENAISSANCE TOWER: VALENCIA 469
MARKET PLACE, VALENCIA 473
LONJA DE SEDA: VALENCIA 475
SALON DE CORTES: AUDIENCIA 477
RUINS OF SAGUNTUM 487
BARCELONA 491
COURTYARD OF AUDIENCIA: BARCELONA 495
Know ye the land of the cedar and vine,
Where the flowers ever blossom, the beams ever shine;
Where the light wings of Zephyr, oppress'd with perfume,
Wax faint o'er the gardens of Gul[A] in her bloom;
Where the citron and olive are fairest of fruit,
And the voice of the nightingale never is mute;
Where the tints of the earth, and the hues of the sky,
In colour though varied, in beauty may vie,
And the purple of ocean is deepest in dye;
Where the virgins are soft as the roses they twine,
And all, save the spirit of man, is divine?
BYRON.
GLORIES OF SPAIN.
CHAPTER I.
AT THE GARE D'ORLEANS.
On Calais quay--At the Custom-house--A lady of the past--Ungallant
examiner--Better to reign than serve--Paris--Vanity Fair--Sowing
and reaping--Laughing through life--At the Hotel Chatham--A
pleasant picture--In maiden meditation--M. Pascal is wise in his
generation--The secrets of the Seine--Notre Dame--Ile St. Louis--A
mediaeval atmosphere--Victor Hugo--Ghosts of the Hotel Lambert--H.
C. again--His little comedy--M. the Inspector--Outraged ladies--"En
voiture, messieurs!"--Mystery not cleared--The Orleanais--La
Vendee--Garden of France--A dilemma--Polite Chef de Gare--Crossing
the Garonne--Land of corn and wine.
The Channel waters were calm and placid as the blue sky above them.
Though late autumn the temperature was that of mid-summer. At Calais
every one landed as jauntily as though they had just gone through the
pleasure of a short yachting trip. As usual there were all sorts and
conditions of men and women, and again the curious, the grotesque, the
impossible predominated. They streamed across the new quay in a
disordered procession, struggling with all that amount of hand-baggage
which gets into everyone's way but their own, as they hurry forward to
secure for themselves the best seats and most comfortable corners.
The Custom-house was over. One ancient lady who stood near us was
politely demanded by the examiner if she had cigars, tobacco or brandy
to declare. Her flaxen wig seemed to stand on end as she asked if they
mistook her for a New Woman: Quaker-like answering one question with
another. The examiner received her query _au pied de la lettre_, and
earnestly looked at the lady, who, in spite of flaxen wig, rouge,
pencilled brows, was of the Past. All his intelligence in his eyes, he
replied: "About the same age as the century, I should say, madame;" then
marked her packages and turned to the next in waiting. Had those two
found themselves alone together, judging from the lady's expression
there would have been terrible paragraphs in the next day's papers. As
it was she entered one of the waiting trains and we saw her no more.
Evidently she had been a beauty in her day, and it is hard to serve
where one has reigned.
So we steamed on to the gay capital, in her day almost to the modern
world what Rome was to the ancient. And if not altogether that now, who
has she to thank but herself? Nations like people must reap as they sow.
Yet, whirling through the broad thoroughfares, we felt she still holds
her own. Nowhere such floods of light, turning night into day, making
one blink like owls in the sunshine. Nowhere shops so resplendent that a
Jew's ransom would not purchase them. Nowhere such a Vanity Fair crowded
with a light-hearted people, who dance through the world to the tune of
_Away with Melancholy!_ Passing from the Gare du Nord, the brilliant
boulevards were full of life and movement.
Our coachman turned into the Rue Daunou and brought up at the Hotel
Chatham: quiet, comfortable, but like all Parisian hotels terribly in
want of air. The manager received us with as much attention as though we
had arrived for six months instead of a couple of hours, in order to
fortify ourselves for the night journey southwards.
The salle-a-manger opened its hospitable doors, disclosing a number of
small tables, snow-white cloths, sparkling glass and silver; a pleasant
vision. Richly dressed ladies, blazing with jewels, fanned themselves
with lazy grace. In a quiet corner sat two quiet people, evidently
mother and daughter, since the one must have been twenty years ago what
the other was now. They were English, as one saw and heard, for we were
at the next table. No other country could produce that fair specimen of
girlhood; no other country own that lovely face, gentle voice, refined
tones: charms of inheritance, destined one day to translate some happy
swain to fields Elysian, where the sands of life are golden and run
swiftly.
Then came up our cunning _maitre-d'hotel_, portly and commanding,
deigned to glance at the wine card we held, and went in for a little
diplomacy.
"A bottle of your excellent '87 St. Julien, M. Pascal;" knowing the wine
of old.
"Ah, if monsieur only knew, the Chateau d'Irrac is superior."
"Is it possible?" incredulous but yielding. "Then let it be Chateau
d'Irrac."
And presently we realised that the '87 St. Julien was growing low in the
cellar, whilst many bins of Chateau d'Irrac cried out to be consumed. We
sent for the great man and confided our suspicions, adding, "You cannot
compare the two wines." "Monsieur donc knows the St. Julien? Ah," with a
keener glance, "I had not remarked. I ask a thousand pardons of
monsieur. After all, it is a matter of taste. The Chateau d'Irrac is
much appreciated--especially by the English. Monsieur will allow me to
change the wine?"
_Amende honorable_, but not accepted; and the Chateau d'Irrac remained.
Presently we entered upon our longer drive to the Gare d'Orleans. Paris
had put up her shutters and toned down her illuminations. Shops were
closed, lights were out, Vanity Fair had disappeared.
The streets grew more and more empty. Our driver found his way to the
river and went down the quays, where on summer evenings lovers of old
books spend hours examining long rows of stalls, on which sooner or
later every known and unknown literary treasure makes its appearance.
Perhaps he was a man who liked the tragic side of life--and where is it
more suggested than on the banks of the Seine? Night after night its
turbid waters close over the heads of the rashly despairing. The ghastly
Morgue is weighted with secrets. Every bridge is surrounded by an
atmosphere of sighs. One last look upon the world, the sky, the quiet
stars, then the fatal plunge into the silent waters, and another soul
has risked the unknown.
Once more in the darkness uprose the outlines of Notre Dame in all the
beauty of Gothic refinement; all the delicate lacework and flying
buttresses subdued and dreamlike under the night sky.
Who can look upon this architectural wonder without thinking of those
historical, twelfth-century days when the first stone was laid, and it
slowly rose to perfection? All the centuries that have since rolled on,
changing and destroying much of its charm? The perils it went through
and did not altogether escape in those terrible days of '93 when,
condemned, it was saved by a miracle? That Age of Reason, which drove
half the excitable Frenchmen of Paris stark staring mad.
How can we haunt these precincts without thinking of their high priest
Victor Hugo, who loved them as Scott and Burns loved their wholesomer
banks and braes? Everywhere uprises a vision of the old grey-headed man
as we remember him, with pale heavy face, grave earnest manner, deep
thoughtful eyes, and on the surface, so little that was light, excitable
and French; for ever pondering upon the mysteries of life, human
suffering and endurance, broken destinies. His face looks at you from
every dark and vacant window in the neighbouring Ile St. Louis. The
shadows of Notre Dame fall upon its mediaeval roofs; the dark waters of
the river wash their foundations, and sometimes flood them also. If they
could only whisper their secrets of human sin and suffering, that great
army of martyrs who have died, not in defence of the good but in
consequence of the evil, the world would surely dissolve and disappear.
Many a time has he stood contemplating these problems, planning the
destinies of his characters, from the windows of the Hotel Lambert. Its
painted ceilings recall the days of Lebrun, and up and down the old
staircases and deserted corridors one hears the cynical laugh of
Voltaire and the tripping footsteps of Madame de Chatet.
We left this delightful and romantic atmosphere behind us as our driver
pursued his way down the right bank of the Seine.
Another world, inhabited by another people. Darkness reigned; lamps were
few and far between; the roar of the great city sounded afar off, and
amidst that roar dwelt all the rank and fashion, wealth and intrigue,
that turn the heaven-sent manna to ashes of the Dead Sea fruit.
Presently he crossed a bridge and there was a flash of lamps upon the
dark waters below. The Seine was pursuing her relentless course,
carrying her burden of sorrows to the far-off sea, burying them in the
ocean of eternity, recording them in the books of heaven.
A few moments more, and at the Gare d'Orleans we dismissed our man with
his _pourboire_. We were in good time, and had the place almost to
ourselves. "Le train n'est pas encore fait, monsieur," said a polite
official. "Ah! there it comes. You will not be over-crowded to-night, I
imagine."
Good hearing, for a night journey in a full train without a reserved
carriage means martyrdom. We marked our seats, then walked up and down
the lighted platform. It was nearly ten o'clock and passengers were
arriving.
Presently, missing H. C., we turned and saw him at the lower end of the
train examining the last carriage. What did it mean? Evidently mischief
of some sort. The hundred-and-one occasions rose up before us in which
we had saved him from ladies with matrimony on the brain, from
intrigues, from his susceptible self. Only a year ago there had been
that narrow escape in the Madrid hotel with the siren who had married
the Russian count. He saw us coming, turned and met us with laughter.
What now?
"Come and see," placing his arm in ours. "But don't interfere with the
liberty of the subject. I will not be controlled. You shall no longer
find me weak and yielding as in other years."
All this went in at one ear and out at the other, as the saying runs.
Silence is the best reply to incipient rebellion.
At the last carriage the mystery was solved. In one compartment sat two
lovely ladies, waiting the departure of the train to draw down the
blinds and settle themselves for the night. H. C. silently pointed to
the label, which said: _Pour Fumeurs._ Fortune seemed to favour his
humour for we had seldom seen the announcement on a French carriage.
Then he went on to the next compartment. Three young men had entered and
were laughing, talking, blowing clouds of smoke. This was labelled _Pour
Dames Seules_. H. C. had quietly changed the iron labels and turned the
world upside down. The inmates were in blissful ignorance of the
frightful thing that had happened.
"We had no time for the theatre to-night, yet I had a mind for a little
comedy," said H. C. "Now we have it on the spot, and without paying. I
had such trouble to ram the plaques into the grooves that they will
never come out again. Here comes the inspector--evidently not to be
trifled with; exactly the man for the occasion. Now for it."
We trembled as the great man approached, each particular hair standing
on end, the pallor of death on our cheek. Appearances would have
condemned us. H. C., on the other hand, looked innocence itself.
Suddenly the inspector gave a start, exactly reproduced in us; on his
part, astonishment and indignation; on ours, nervous terror. Then the
door of the compartment was thrown open and the scene began. The
inspector's powerful bass voice made itself felt and heard.
"Gentlemen," in his deepest diapason, "what is the meaning of this? How
dare you enter a compartment reserved _For Ladies Only_, fill it with
vile smoke, and treat with contempt the rules of our organisation
department? For this, gentlemen," waxing wrath and perhaps overstating
his case, "I could fine and summons you--and believe I should be
justified in handing you over to the _Police Correctionnelle_. Your act
is infamous--and no doubt designed."
Instead of pouring oil upon troubled waters, the young men were
combative and defiant.
"Qu'est-ce que vous nous chantez la?" said one. "Surely, my dear
inspector, your sight is failing--time rolls on, you know; or you cannot
read; or you have dined too well. But if you have your senses about you
and examine the plaque closely, you will see that it states: _For
Smokers._ And we are smokers. My compliments to you, Monsieur the famous
Inspector. Like Dumas, we are here and we remain."
"Very good," said H. C. innocently looking on. "As a scene at the
Vaudeville it would bring down the house and make the fortune of the
piece. You ought to be grateful for this little distraction, but you
don't look it. All was done so easily and develops so naturally."
The inspector listened whilst this fuel was being added to the fire of
his wrath. "We will see about that," he said. "Come out this instant and
read for yourself." He grasped the arm of the young man. As he was
strong and the youth weak, the result was that Dumas' famous saying fell
to the ground and he with it. In a moment he stood upon the platform and
read the fatal notice.
"But it is conjuring, it is a miracle!" he cried. "I can assure you,
Monsieur the Inspector, that before entering I read the label with my
own eyes--we all did. Anatole--de Verriers--I appeal to you for
confirmation. It positively stated _For Smokers_. No, oh no, I am
certain of it--and I have _not_ dined too well," laughing in spite of
himself. "For Ladies only! It is too good a joke. I assure you we want a
quiet night's rest; we don't want to be disturbed by the gentle snoring
of the fair sex. An enemy hath done this. Tenez, Monsieur the
Inspector," going to the next carriage and reading the label: "look at
that. There are the innocent conspirators calmly seated in the
compartment. The ladies themselves have done this. I was wrong in saying
it was an enemy, for are we not all friends of the lovelier sex? But
take my word for it, they are the culprits. Remark how unconscious they
look; one sees it is too natural to be real--it is assumed. Poor ladies!
They are nervous, perhaps, and want a safeguard about them during the
perilous night journey. Or it may be that they even like smoking. After
all, it is an innocent little ruse on their part to attain a very
harmless end."
"Innocent, sir! harmless!" cried the outraged and perplexed inspector.
"We will see!"
He approached the compartment, threw wide the door, addressed the ladies
severely, as became his office, but tempered with respect and
admiration, as became a man.
"How is this, ladies?" to the startled women. "Allow me to inform you
that it is not _convenable_ for members of your sex to deliberately
compose themselves for the night in a compartment labelled _For
Smokers_."
"What!" cried the ladies in a breath. "_For Smokers?_ _Quel horreur!_
Monsieur the Inspector, you must be mad, or you have dined too
well--_l'un ou l'autre_. _For Smokers!_ Why, we are horrified at smoke.
It makes me cough, it makes my companion sneeze, it gets into our hair,
it ruins our complexion. Monsieur the Inspector," shaking out their
ruffled plumage, "this is an infamous accusation. We feel ourselves
insulted. We shall appeal to the Chef de Gare. You had better at once
say that we have done this thing ourselves, whilst the culprits are no
doubt those three young men who are laughing behind your back. You have
attacked our reputation and we will pursue the matter. When we entered
this compartment it was labelled _For Ladies Only_, and if you will
examine the plaque with sober senses you will find it still reads _For
Ladies Only_."
"Mesdames," returned the bewildered inspector, "I will trouble you to
alight and read for yourselves. No one shall accuse me of dining too
well with impunity; and no one, not even such charming women as
yourselves, shall exact an apology for an offence never committed."
Apparently there was nothing else for it. The ladies gracefully
alighted, assisted by the gallant but uncompromising inspector, and the
fatal words stared them in the face.
"But it is conjuring, it is a miracle!" they cried breathlessly, just as
the young men had cried. "An enemy hath done this, Monsieur the
Inspector, and the enemy is represented by those three young men who
doubtless look upon it as a _petite plaisanterie_. But if there is law
in the land they shall suffer for it. It is nothing more or less than an
outrage to our feelings. In the meantime, Monsieur the Inspector, not to
delay the train, have the kindness to change back the labels to their
right positions, and put those three young men under the surveillance of
the guard."
"If it is the last word we ever speak we are guiltless in this matter,"
protested the young men. "Mephistopheles is no doubt on the platform in
disguise"--here we felt a nudge from H. C. and a whispered
"Complimentary!"--"but we beg to say that we are not Fausts, and we have
no reason to suppose these ladies are Marguerites."
The outraged ladies were absolutely speechless with anger; twice they
opened their mouths but no sound would come. And as the train was now
about to start, there was nothing for it but to re-enter their
compartment. The young men did likewise. The doors were closed. The
inspector tried to remove the offending labels. They would not budge. He
brought all his strength to bear upon them, but they were fixed as the
stars in their course. If Mephistopheles had been at work, he had done
his work well. The plaques might have been soldered in their sockets.
The inspector was guilty of language not quite parliamentary. He felt
mystified, baffled; the whole thing was inexplicable.
There came a cry down the platform: "En voiture, messieurs!" Our own
carriage was some way off; we went up and entered, hiring pillows for
the night. Final doors were slammed; the train moved off. And the ladies
were in a compartment labelled _For Smokers_, and the three young men
had to themselves the carriage _Pour Dames Seules_. They must have been
laughing immoderately, for the inspector shook his fist as they slowly
rolled away; and the shake said as plainly as though we had heard the
words: "There go the culprits! Ah, _scelerats!_ If I only had you now in
my grasp!" The young men must have interpreted the action in like
manner, for the window was suddenly put down and three hands waved him a
derisive farewell.
We rolled away in the darkness. The lights of Paris grew faint and
dreamy, then went out. All the old familiar landmarks were invisible,
and when we crossed the Seine not a star was reflected in its deep dark
waters.
As the night went on we passed through the glorious country of the
Orleanais, washed by the waters of the historical and romantic Loire.
Who that has gone down its broad winding course can forget the charms of
its ancient towns? The halo surrounding Orleans, the pure accents of
Tours, the architectural wonders of Loches--home of the
Plantagenets--its towers and churches visible even under the stars; and
beyond Nantes, the gentle splendours of La Vendee. Porters in the
darkness of night shouted "Orleans!" and we felt in the very garden of
France, where nature is so bountiful that the labour of man is hardly
needed to bring forth the fruits of the earth. In these sunny provinces
dwell the happiest, most light-hearted of her sons. The earth abundantly
furnishes their daily bread and wine. It comes without trouble and is
eaten without care.
Night and darkness rolled away. We approached Bordeaux. Last year, at
this same hour, about this same time, we had found it enveloped in mist,
had made the acquaintance of Monsieur le Comte San Salvador de la
Veronniere, and wondered how his small body bore the weight of its
majestic name. But the wind is tempered to the shorn lamb and the back
is fitted to the burden. This time there was no comte and no mist. We
had watched the dawn break and a glorious sunrise turn fleecy clouds
into flaming swords. The earth awoke and the lovely woods and forests,
with their wealth of fern and bracken, were touched with rosy glowing
light as the sun shot above the horizon.
Just before reaching Bordeaux we made a discovery. A secret impulse
urged us to examine our luggage-ticket, and we were electrified at
finding it registered to Irun instead of Portbou. Steaming into the
crazy old station, we found out the station-master, and explained the
difficulty. He was politeness itself, and once more we could not help
contrasting the courtesy of the French officials with the less agreeable
manners of the Spanish.
"This would have been serious," said M. le Chef. "I am glad you found it
out in time. After Bordeaux it would have been too late. You and your
luggage would have gone your separate ways."
Then calling a porter, he handed him the ticket, bade him search the
luggage-vans and bring away the numbers indicated.
"A little against the rules," said the Chef smiling; "but life is full
of inevitable exceptions, and because we stick to too much red tape, and
will not recognise the need of exceptions, half life's worries occur."
Evidently our Chef was a philosopher, and fortunately a man of
common-sense.
Presently up came the porter. His search had been successful. The
luggage was re-registered for Portbou, and we had the satisfaction of
thanking M. le Chef for sparing us an awkward dilemma. "Monsieur," he
replied, with a finished French bow, "it is a pleasure to be of use,
and I am always at your disposition."
The train left the station and crossed the lordly Garonne. Nothing in
the way of river could look more majestic, with all the light of the sky
and all the blue of the heavens reflected on its broad surface. Once
more we were dazzled by the rich splendour of the autumn tints, glories
of colour. In the vineyards the deep purple leaves still lingered upon
the branches. White farmhouses, with their green shutters, red-tiled
roofs, strings of yellow Indian maize, heaps of pumpkins and cantaloupe
melons, stood out in striking contrast with the landscape. Many a
vine-laden porch threw its lights and shades upon walls and pavement.
Many a field was picturesque with ploughing-oxen. A hardy son of the
South guided the furrow, and a woman with red or blue handkerchief tied
round the head, followed, sowing the seed. One only wanted twilight and
the angelus bell to complete the scene's devotion.
All this we had found a year ago. Nothing was altered--it seemed as
yesterday. But now we were changing our direction, and going east
instead of westward. Last year Irun and St. Sebastian; now Gerona and
Barcelona the bright and pleasant, for ever associated with Majorca the
beautiful and beloved.