"I am become tired of guides," I replied; "so much so that I was
thinking of purchasing a pony, and proceeding without any guide at
all. The last which we had was an infamous character."
"So I have been told, your worship, and it was well for the bribon
that I was not in Rivadeo when the affair to which you allude
occurred. But he was gone with the pony Perico before I came back,
or I would have bled the fellow to a certainty with my knife. He
is a disgrace to the profession, which is one of the most
honourable and ancient in the world. Perico himself must have been
ashamed of him, for Perico, though a pony, is a gentleman, one of
many capacities, and well known upon the roads. He is only
inferior to my mare."
"Are you well acquainted with the road to Oviedo?" I demanded.
"I am not, your worship; that is, no farther than Luarca, which is
the first day's journey. I do not wish to deceive you, therefore
let me go with you no farther than that place; though perhaps I
might serve for the whole journey, for though I am unacquainted
with the country, I have a tongue in my head, and nimble feet to
run and ask questions. I will, however, answer for myself no
farther than Luarca, where you can please yourselves. Your being
strangers is what makes me wish to accompany you, for I like the
conversation of strangers, from whom I am sure to gain information
both entertaining and profitable. I wish, moreover, to convince
you that we guides of Galicia are not all thieves, which I am sure
you will not suppose if you only permit me to accompany you as far
as Luarca."
I was so much struck with the fellow's good humour and frankness,
and more especially by the originality of character displayed in
almost every sentence which he uttered, that I readily engaged him
to guide us to Luarca; whereupon he left me, promising to be ready
with his mare at eight next morning.
Rivadeo is one of the principal seaports of Galicia, and is
admirably situated for commerce, on a deep firth, into which the
river Mirando debouches. It contains many magnificent buildings,
and an extensive square or plaza, which is planted with trees. I
observed several vessels in the harbour; and the population, which
is rather numerous, exhibited none of those marks of misery and
dejection which I had lately observed among the Ferrolese.
On the morrow Martin of Rivadeo made his appearance at the
appointed hour with his mare. It was a lean haggard animal, not
much larger than a pony; it had good points, however, and was very
clean in its hinder legs, and Martin insisted that it was the best
animal of its kind in all Spain.
