第8章

"There was no mischief done in this case,"she answered."It was simply that two men have made themselves ridiculous for ever.The story is all about Seville,and,of course,it annoys me that they should be Englishmen.""And what did they do?"

"The Marquis D'Almavivas was coming up to Seville in the boat,and they behaved to him in the most outrageous manner.He is here now and is going to give a series of fetes.Of course he will not ask a single Englishman.""We shall manage to live even though the Marquis D'Almavivas may frown upon us,"said I,proudly.

"He is the richest,and also the best of our noblemen,"continued Maria;"and I never heard of anything so absurd as what they did to him.It made me blush when Don --told me."Don Tomas,I thought she said.

"If he be the best of your noblemen,how comes it that he is angry because he has met two vulgar men?It is not to be supposed that every Englishman is a gentleman.""Angry!Oh,no!he was not angry;he enjoyed the joke too much for that.He got completely the best of them,though they did not know it;poor fools!How would your Lord John Russell behave if two Spaniards in an English railway carriage were to pull him about and tear his clothes?""He would give them in charge to a policeman,of course,"said I,speaking of such a matter with the contempt it deserved.

"If that were done here your ambassador would be demanding national explanations.But Almavivas did much better;--he laughed at them without letting them know it.""But do you mean that they took hold of him violently,without any provocation?They must have been drunk.""Oh,no,they were sober enough.I did not see it,so I do not quite know exactly how it was,but I understand that they committed themselves most absurdly,absolutely took hold of his coat and tore it,and--;but they did such ridiculous things that I cannot tell you."And yet Don Tomas,if that was the man's name,had been able to tell her,and she had been able to listen to him.

"'What made them take hold of the marquis?"said I.

"Curiosity,I suppose,"she answered."He dresses somewhat fancifully,and they could not understand that any one should wear garments different from their own."But even then the blow did not strike home upon me.

"Is it not pretty to look down upon the quiet town?"she said,coming close up to me,so that the skirt of her dress pressed me,and her elbow touched my arm.Now was the moment I should have asked her how her heart stood towards me;but I was sore and uncomfortable,and my destiny was before me.She was willing enough to let these English faults pass without further notice,but I would not allow the subject I drop.

"I will find out who these men were,"said I,"and learn the truth of it.When did it occur?""Last Thursday,I think he said."

"Why,that was the day we came up in the boat,Johnson and myself.

There was no marquis there then,and we were the only Englishmen on board.""It was on Thursday,certainly,because it was well known in Seville that he arrived on that day.You must have remarked him because he talks English perfectly--though by-the-bye,these men would go on chattering before him about himself as though it were impossible that a Spaniard should know their language.They are ignorant of Spanish,and they cannot bring themselves to believe that any one should be better educated than themselves."Now the blow had fallen,and I straightway appreciated the necessity of returning immediately to Clapham where my family resided,and giving up for ever all idea of Spanish connections.I had resolved to assert the full strength of my manhood on that tower,and now words had been spoken which left me weak as a child.I felt that Iwas shivering,and did not dare to pronounce the truth which must be made known.As to speaking of love,and signifying my pleasure that Don Tomas should for the future be kept at a distance,any such effort was quite beyond me.Had Don Tomas been there,he might have walked off with her from before my face without a struggle on my part."Now I remember about it,"she continued,"I think he must have been in the boat on Thursday.""And now that I remember,"I replied,turning away to hide my embarrassment,"he was there.Your friend down below in the plaza seems to have made out a grand story.No doubt he is not fond of the English.There was such a man there,and I did take hold--""Oh,John,was it you?"

"Yes,Donna Maria,it was I;and if Lord John Russell were to dress himself in the same way--"But I had no time to complete my deion of what might occur under so extravagantly impossible a combination of circumstances,for as I was yet speaking,the little door leading out on to the leads of the tower was opened and my friend,the mayo of the boat,still bearing gewgaws on his back,stepped up on to the platform.My eye instantly perceived that the one pendule was still missing from his jacket.He did not come alone,but three other gentlemen followed him,who,however,had no peculiarities in their dress.He saw me at once and bowed and smiled;and then observing Donna Maria,he lifted his cap from his head,and addressing himself to her in Spanish,began to converse with her as though she were an old friend.

"Senor,"said Maria,after the first words of greeting had been spoken between them;"you must permit me to present to you my father's most particular friend,and my own,--Mr.Pomfret;John,this is the Marquis D'Almavivas."I cannot now describe the grace with which this introduction was effected,or the beauty of her face as she uttered the word.There was a boldness about her as though she had said,"I know it all--the whole story.But,in spite of that you must take him on my representation,and be gracious to him in spite of what he has done.