"Well," Said I To Maria Diaz On The Third Morning After My
Imprisonment, "What Do The People Of Madrid Say To This Affair Of
Mine?"
"I do not know what the people of Madrid in general say about it,
probably they do not take much
Interest in it; indeed,
imprisonments at the present time are such common matters that
people seem to be quite indifferent to them; the priests, however,
are in no slight commotion, and confess that they have committed an
imprudent thing in causing you to be arrested by their friend the
corregidor of Madrid."
"How is that?" I inquired. "Are they afraid that their friend will
be punished?"
"Not so, Senor," replied Maria; "slight grief indeed would it cause
them, however great the trouble in which he had involved himself on
their account; for this description of people have no affection,
and would not care if all their friends were hanged, provided they
themselves escaped. But they say that they have acted imprudently
in sending you to prison, inasmuch as by so doing they have given
you an opportunity of carrying a plan of yours into execution.
'This fellow is a bribon,' say they, 'and has commenced tampering
with the prisoners; they have taught him their language, which he
already speaks as well as if he were a son of the prison. As soon
as he comes out he will publish a thieves' gospel, which will still
be a more dangerous affair than the Gypsy one, for the Gypsies are
few, but the thieves!
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 579 of 809
Words from 159146 to 159403
of 222596
