"He Asked Me For Counsel, But I Had None To Give Him, And Could
Only Weep With Him.
At last he said, 'Dear Antonio, I see there is
no remedy.
You say your master is below, beg him, I pray, to stay
till to-morrow, and we will send for the maidens of the
neighbourhood, and for a violin and a bagpipe, and we will dance
and cast away care for a moment.' And then he said something in
old Greek, which I scarcely understood, but which I think was
equivalent to, 'Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for to-morrow we
die!'
"Eh bien, mon maitre, I told him that you were a serious gentleman
who never took any amusement, and that you were in a hurry.
Whereupon he wept again, and embraced me and bade me farewell. And
now, mon maitre, I have told you the history of the young man of
the inn."
We slept at Ribida de Sela, and the next day, at noon, arrived at
Llanes. Our route lay between the coast and an immense range of
mountains, which rose up like huge ramparts at about a league's
distance from the sea. The ground over which we passed was
tolerably level, and seemingly well cultivated. There was no lack
of vines and trees, whilst at short intervals rose the cortijos of
the proprietors, - square stone buildings surrounded with an outer
wall. Llanes is an old town, formerly of considerable strength.
In its neighbourhood is the convent of San Cilorio, one of the
largest monastic edifices in all Spain.
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