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.
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