It Was Not Long Before We
Were Bewildered, And Travelled Over More Ground Than Was Strictly
Necessary.
However, as men and women frequently passed on donkeys
and little ponies, we were not too proud to be
Set right by them,
and by dint of diligent inquiry we at length arrived at Pitiegua,
four leagues from Salamanca, a small village, containing about
fifty families, consisting of mud huts, and situated in the midst
of dusty plains, where corn was growing in abundance. We asked for
the house of the cura, an old man whom I had seen the day before at
the Irish College, and who, on being informed that I was about to
depart for Valladolid, had exacted from me a promise that I would
not pass through his village without paying him a visit and
partaking of his hospitality.
A woman directed us to a cottage somewhat superior in appearance to
those contiguous. It had a small portico, which, if I remember
well, was overgrown with a vine. We knocked loud and long at the
door, but received no answer; the voice of man was silent, and not
even a dog barked. The truth was, that the old curate was taking
his siesta, and so were his whole family, which consisted of one
ancient female and a cat. The good man was at last disturbed by
our noise and vociferation, for we were hungry, and consequently
impatient. Leaping from his couch, he came running to the door in
great hurry and confusion, and perceiving us, he made many
apologies for being asleep at a period when, he said, he ought to
have been on the lookout for his invited guest.
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