"B-," Said He, "You Are The Man To Get Through The
World, For You Appear To Take All Things Coolly, And As Matters Of
Course.
That, however, which most surprises me with respect to you
is, your having so many friends; here you are in prison, surrounded
by people ministering to your comforts.
Your very servant is your
friend, instead of being your worst enemy, as is usually the case.
That Basque of yours is a noble fellow. I shall never forget how
he spoke for you, when he came running to the embassy to inform us
of your arrest. He interested both Sir George and myself in the
highest degree: should you ever wish to part with him, I hope you
will give me the refusal of his services. But now to other
matters." He then informed me that Sir George had already sent in
an official note to Ofalia, demanding redress for such a wanton
outrage on the person of a British subject. "You must remain in
prison," said he, "to-night, but depend upon it that to-morrow, if
you are disposed, you may quit in triumph." "I am by no means
disposed for any such thing," I replied. "They have put me in
prison for their pleasure, and I intend to remain here for my own."
"If the confinement is not irksome to you," said Mr. Southern, "I
think, indeed, it will be your wisest plan; the government have
committed themselves sadly with regard to you; and, to speak
plainly, we are by no means sorry for it. They have on more than
one occasion treated ourselves very cavalierly, and we have now, if
you continue firm, an excellent opportunity of humbling their
insolence. I will instantly acquaint Sir George with your
determination, and you shall hear from us early on the morrow." He
then bade me farewell; and flinging myself on my bed, I was soon
asleep in the prison of Madrid.
CHAPTER XL
Ofalia - The Juez - Carcel do la Corte - Sunday in Prison - Robber
Dress - Father and Son - Characteristic Behaviour - The Frenchman -
Prison Allowance - Valley of the Shadow - Pure Castilian - Balseiro -
The Cave - Robber Glory.
Ofalia quickly perceived that the imprisonment of a British subject
in a manner so illegal as that which had attended my own, was
likely to be followed by rather serious consequences. Whether he
himself had at all encouraged the corregidor in his behaviour
towards me, it is impossible to say; the probability is that he had
not: the latter, however, was an officer of his own appointing,
for whose actions himself and the government were to a certain
extent responsible. Sir George had already made a very strong
remonstrance upon the subject, and had even gone so far as to state
in an official note that he should desist from all farther
communication with the Spanish government until full and ample
reparation had been afforded me for the violence to which I had
been subjected. Ofalia's reply was, that immediate measures should
be taken for my liberation, and that it would be my own fault if I
remained in prison. He forthwith ordered a juez de la primera
instancia, a kind of solicitor-general, to wait upon me, who was
instructed to hear my account of the affair, and then to dismiss me
with an admonition to be cautious for the future. My friends of
the embassy, however, had advised me how to act in such a case.
Accordingly, when the juez on the second night of my imprisonment
made his appearance at the prison, and summoned me before him, I
went, but on his proceeding to question me, I absolutely refused to
answer. "I deny your right to put any questions to me," said I; "I
entertain, however, no feelings of disrespect to the government or
to yourself, Caballero Juez; but I have been illegally imprisoned.
So accomplished a jurist as yourself cannot fail to be aware that,
according to the laws of Spain, I, as a foreigner, could not be
committed to prison for the offence with which I had been charged,
without previously being conducted before the captain-general of
this royal city, whose duty it is to protect foreigners, and see
that the laws of hospitality are not violated in their persons."
Juez. - Come, come, Don Jorge, I see what you are aiming at; but
listen to reason: I will not now speak to you as a juez but as a
friend who wishes you well, and who entertains a profound reverence
for the British nation. This is a foolish affair altogether; I
will not deny that the political chief acted somewhat hastily on
the information of a person not perhaps altogether worthy of
credit. No great damage, however, has been done to you, and to a
man of the world like yourself, a little adventure of this kind is
rather calculated to afford amusement than anything else. Now be
advised, forget what has happened; you know that it is the part and
duty of a Christian to forgive; so, Don Jorge, I advise you to
leave this place forthwith. I dare say you are getting tired of
it. You are this moment free to depart; repair at once to your
lodgings, where, I promise you, that no one shall be permitted to
interrupt you for the future. It is getting late, and the prison
doors will speedily be closed for the night. Vamos, Don Jorge, a
la casa, a la posada!
Myself. - "But Paul said unto them, they have beaten us openly
uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do
they thrust us out privily? Nay, verily: but let them come
themselves and fetch us out."
I then bowed to the juez, who shrugged his shoulders and took
snuff. On leaving the apartment I turned to the alcayde, who stood
at the door: "Take notice," said I, "that I will not quit this
prison till I have received full satisfaction for being sent hither
uncondemned.
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