Vexatious Delays - Drunken Driver - The Murdered Mule - The
Lamentation - Adventure on the Heath - Fear of Darkness - Portuguese
Fidalgo - The Escort - Return to Lisbon.
I rose at four, and after having taken some refreshment, I
descended and found the strange man and his wife sleeping in the
chimney corner by the fire, which was still burning; they soon
awoke and began preparing their breakfast, which consisted of salt
sardinhas, broiled upon the embers. In the meantime the woman sang
snatches of the beautiful hymn, very common in Spain, which
commences thus:-
"Once of old upon a mountain, shepherds overcome with sleep,
Near to Bethlem's holy tower, kept at dead of night their sheep;
Round about the trunk they nodded of a huge ignited oak,
Whence the crackling flame ascending bright and clear the darkness
broke."
On hearing that I was about to depart, she said, "You shall have
some of my husband's rosemary, which will keep you from danger, and
prevent any misfortune occurring." I was foolish enough to permit
her to put some of it in my hat; and the man having by this time
arrived with his mules, I bade farewell to my friendly hostesses,
and entered the chaise with my servant.
I remarked at the time, that the mules which drew us were the
finest I had ever seen; the largest could be little short of
sixteen hands high; and the fellow told me in his bad French that
he loved them better than his wife and children. We turned round
the corner of the convent and proceeded down the street which leads
to the south-western gate. The driver now stopped before the door
of a large house, and having alighted, said that it was yet very
early, and that he was afraid to venture forth, as it was very
probable we should be robbed, and himself murdered, as the robbers
who resided in the town would be apprehensive of his discovering
them, but that the family who lived in this house were going to
Lisbon, and would depart in about a quarter of an hour, when we
might avail ourselves of an escort of soldiers which they would
take with them, and in their company we should run no danger. I
told him I had no fear, and commanded him to drive on; but he said
he would not, and left us in the street. We waited an hour, when
two carriages came to the door of the house, but it seems the
family were not yet ready, whereupon the coachman likewise got down
and went away. At the expiration of about half an hour the family
came out, and when their luggage had been arranged they called for
the coachman, but he was nowhere to be found. Search was made for
him, but ineffectually, and an hour more was spent before another
driver could be procured; but the escort had not yet made its
appearance, and it was not before a servant had been twice
despatched to the barracks that it arrived.
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