Myself. - I really can see nothing so very bad in the country, which
is by nature the richest in all Spain, and the most abundant. True
it is that the generality of the inhabitants are wretchedly poor,
but they themselves are to blame, and not the country.
Domestic. - Cavalier, the country is a horrible one, say nothing to
the contrary. We are all frightened, the young ladies, the young
gentleman, and myself; even his worship is frightened, and says
that we are come to this country for our sins. It rains every day,
and this is almost the first time that we have seen the sun since
our arrival, it rains continually, and one cannot step out without
being up to the ankles in fango; and then, again, there is not a
house to be found.
Myself. - I scarcely understand you. There appears to be no lack of
houses in this neighbourhood.
Domestic. - Excuse me, sir. His worship hired yesterday a house,
for which he engaged to pay fourteen pence daily; but when the
senorita saw it, she wept, and said it was no house, but a hog-sty,
so his worship paid one day's rent and renounced his bargain.
Fourteen pence a day! why, in our country, we can have a palace for
that money.
Myself. - From what country do you come?
Domestic. - Cavalier, you appear to be a decent gentleman, and I
will tell you our history. We are from Andalusia, and his worship
was last year receiver-general for Granada: his salary was
fourteen thousand rials, with which we contrived to live very
commodiously - attending the bull funcions regularly, or if there
were no bulls, we went to see the novillos, and now and then to the
opera. In a word, sir, we had our diversions and felt at our ease;
so much so, that his worship was actually thinking of purchasing a
pony for the young gentleman, who is fourteen, and must learn to
ride now or never. Cavalier, the ministry was changed, and the new
corners, who were no friends to his worship, deprived him of his
situation. Cavalier, they removed us from that blessed country of
Granada, where our salary was fourteen thousand rials, and sent us
to Galicia, to this fatal town of Lugo, where his worship is
compelled to serve for ten thousand, which is quite insufficient to
maintain us in our former comforts. Good-bye, I trow, to bull
funcions, and novillos, and the opera. Good-bye to the hope of a
horse for the young gentleman. Cavalier, I grow desperate: hold
your tongue, for God's sake! for I can talk no more."
On hearing this history I no longer wondered that the receiver-
general was eager to save a cuarto in the purchase of the oil for
the gaspacho of himself and family of eleven daughters, one son,
and a domestic.
We staid one week at Lugo, and then directed our steps to Coruna,
about twelve leagues distant. We arose before daybreak in order to
avail ourselves of the escort of the general post, in whose company
we travelled upwards of six leagues. There was much talk of
robbers, and flying parties of the factious, on which account our
escort was considerable. At the distance of five or six leagues
from Lugo, our guard, in lieu of regular soldiers, consisted of a
body of about fifty Miguelets. They had all the appearance of
banditti, but a finer body of ferocious fellows I never saw. They
were all men in the prime of life, mostly of tall stature, and of
Herculean brawn and limbs. They wore huge whiskers, and walked
with a fanfaronading air, as if they courted danger, and despised
it. In every respect they stood in contrast to the soldiers who
had hitherto escorted us, who were mere feeble boys from sixteen to
eighteen years of age, and possessed of neither energy nor
activity. The proper dress of the Miguelet, if it resembles
anything military, is something akin to that anciently used by the
English marines. They wear a peculiar kind of hat, and generally
leggings, or gaiters, and their arms are the gun and bayonet. The
colour of their dress is mostly dark brown. They observe little or
no discipline whether on a march or in the field of action. They
are excellent irregular troops, and when on actual service are
particularly useful as skirmishers. Their proper duty, however, is
to officiate as a species of police, and to clear the roads of
robbers, for which duty they are in one respect admirably
calculated, having been generally robbers themselves at one period
of their lives. Why these people are called Miguelets it is not
easy to say, but it is probable that they have derived this
appellation from the name of their original leader. I regret that
the paucity of my own information will not allow me to enter into
farther particulars with respect to this corps, concerning which I
have little doubt that many remarkable things might be said.
Becoming weary of the slow travelling of the post, I determined to
brave all risk, and to push forward. In this, however, I was
guilty of no slight imprudence, as by so doing I was near falling
into the hands of robbers. Two fellows suddenly confronted me with
presented carbines, which they probably intended to discharge into
my body, but they took fright at the noise of Antonio's horse, who
was following a little way behind. The affair occurred at the
bridge of Castellanos, a spot notorious for robbery and murder, and
well adapted for both, for it stands at the bottom of a deep dell
surrounded by wild desolate hills. Only a quarter of an hour
previous I had passed three ghastly heads stuck on poles standing
by the wayside; they were those of a captain of banditti and two of
his accomplices, who had been seized and executed about two months
before.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 100 of 218
Words from 101584 to 102591
of 222596
