"By No Means Permit
Them, Mon Maitre," Said Antonio, "They Are Two Famous Assassins Of
My Acquaintance; I Have Known Them At Madrid:
In the first ravine
they will shoot and plunder us." I therefore civilly declined
their offer and departed.
"You seem to be acquainted with all the
cut-throats in Galicia," said I to Antonio, as we descended the
hill.
"With respect to those two fellows," he replied, "I knew them when
I lived as cook in the family of General Q-, who is a Gallegan:
they were sworn friends of the repostero. All the Gallegans in
Madrid know each other, whether high or low makes no difference;
there, at least, they are all good friends, and assist each other
on all imaginable occasions; and if there be a Gallegan domestic in
a house, the kitchen is sure to be filled with his countrymen, as
the cook frequently knows to his cost, for they generally contrive
to eat up any little perquisites which he may have reserved for
himself and family."
Somewhat less than half way down the mountain we reached a small
village. On observing a blacksmith's shop, we stopped, in the
faint hope of finding a shoe for the horse, who, for want of one,
was rapidly becoming lame. To our great joy we found that the
smith was in possession of one single horse-shoe, which some time
previously he had found upon the way. This, after undergoing much
hammering and alteration, was pronounced by the Gallegan vulcan to
be capable of serving in lieu of a better; whereupon we again
mounted, and slowly continued our descent.
Shortly ere sunset we arrived at Nogales, a hamlet situate in a
narrow valley at the foot of the mountain, in traversing which we
had spent the day. Nothing could be more picturesque than the
appearance of this spot: steep hills, thickly clad with groves and
forests of chestnuts, surrounded it on every side; the village
itself was almost embowered in trees, and close beside it ran a
purling brook. Here we found a tolerably large and commodious
posada.
I was languid and fatigued, but felt little desire to sleep.
Antonio cooked our supper, or rather his own, for I had no
appetite. I sat by the door, gazing on the wood-covered heights
above me, or on the waters of the rivulet, occasionally listening
to the people who lounged about the house, conversing in the
country dialect. What a strange tongue is the Gallegan, with its
half singing half whining accent, and with its confused jumble of
words from many languages, but chiefly from the Spanish and
Portuguese. "Can you understand this conversation?" I demanded of
Antonio, who had by this time rejoined me. "I cannot, mon maitre,"
he replied; "I have acquired at various times a great many words
amongst the Gallegan domestics in the kitchens where I have
officiated as cook, but am quite unable to understand any long
conversation. I have heard the Gallegans say that in no two
villages is it spoken in one and the same manner, and that very
frequently they do not understand each other.
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