The Other Animal,
Which Was Destined To Carry Me To Madrid, Was Not Quite So
Prepossessing In Its Appearance:
In more than one respect it
closely resembled a hog, particularly in the curving of its back,
the shortness of its neck, and the manner in which it kept its head
nearly in contact with the ground:
It had also the tail of a hog,
and meandered over the ground much like one. Its coat more
resembled coarse bristles than hair, and with respect to size, I
have seen many a Westphalian hog quite as tall. I was not
altogether satisfied with the idea of exhibiting myself on the back
of this most extraordinary quadruped, and looked wistfully on the
respectable animal on which my guide had thought proper to place
himself; he interpreted my glances, and gave me to understand that
as he was destined to carry the baggage, he was entitled to the
best horse; a plea too well grounded on reason for me to make any
objection to it.
I found the Contrabandista by no means such pleasant company on the
road as I had been led to suppose he would prove from the
representation of my host of Cordova. Throughout the day he sat
sullen and silent, and rarely replied to my questions, save by a
monosyllable; at night, however, after having eaten well and drank
proportionably at my expense, he would occasionally become more
sociable and communicative. "I have given up smuggling," said he,
on one of these occasions, "owing to a trick which was played upon
me the last time that I was at Lisbon: a Jew whom I had been long
acquainted with palmed upon me a false brilliant for a real stone.
He effected it in the most extraordinary manner, for I am not such
a novice as not to know a true diamond when I see one; but the Jew
appears to have had two, with which he played most adroitly,
keeping the valuable one for which I bargained, and substituting
therefor another which, though an excellent imitation, was not
worth four dollars. I did not discover the trick until I was
across the border, and upon my hurrying back, the culprit was not
to be found; his priest, however, told me that he was just dead and
buried, which was of course false, as I saw him laughing in the
corners of his eyes. I renounced the contraband trade from that
moment."
It is not my intention to describe minutely the various incidents
of this journey. Leaving at our right the mountains of Jaen, we
passed through Andujar and Bailen, and on the third day reached
Carolina, a small but beautiful town on the skirts of the Sierra
Morena, inhabited by the descendants of German colonists. Two
leagues from this place, we entered the defile of Despena Perros,
which, even in quiet times, has an evil name, on account of the
robberies which are continually being perpetrated within its
recesses, but at the period of which I am speaking, it was said to
be swarming with banditti.
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