Our Fears Were Wiser Than Our
Hopes, But We Did Not Know This, And We Went As Gaily As We
Could for
tea in the _patio_ of our hotel, where a fountain typically trickled
amidst its water-plants and a
Noiseless Englishman at his separate table
almost restored our lost faith in a world not wholly racket. A young
Spaniard and two young Spanish girls helped out the illusion with their
gentle movements and their muted gutturals, and we looked forward to
dinner with fond expectation. To tell the truth, the dinner, when we
came back to it, was not very good, or at least not very winning, and
the next night it was no better, though the head waiter had then, made
us so much favor with himself as to promise us a side-table for the rest
of our stay. He was a very friendly head waiter, and the dining-room was
a long glare of the encaustic tiling which all Seville seems lined with,
and of every Moorish motive in the decoration. Besides, there was a
young Scotch girl, very interestingly pale and delicate of face, at one
of the tables, and at another a Spanish girl with the most wonderful
fire-red hair, and there were several miracles of the beautiful obesity
which abounds in Spain.
When we returned to the annex it did seem, for the short time we kept
our windows shut, that the manager had spoken true, and we promised
ourselves a tranquil night, which, after our two nights in Cordova, we
needed if we did not merit.
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