They Looked As Dirty And Rusty As The Iron In Which They
Trafficked; Their Four Miserable Donkeys Were In The Stable In The
Rear.
The woman of the house and her daughter were exceedingly civil to
me, and coming near crouched down, asking various questions about
England.
A man dressed somewhat like an English sailor, who sat on
the other side of the hearth confronting me, said, "I hate the
English, for they are not baptized, and have not the law," meaning
the law of God. I laughed, and told him that according to the law
of England, no one who was unbaptized could be buried in
consecrated ground; whereupon he said, "Then you are stricter than
we." He then said, "What is meant by the lion and the unicorn
which I saw the other day on the coat of arms over the door of the
English consul at St. Ubes?" I said they were the arms of England!
"Yes," he replied, "but what do they represent?" I said I did not
know. "Then," said he, "you do not know the secrets of your own
house." I said, "Suppose I were to tell you that they represent
the Lion of Bethlehem, and the horned monster of the flaming pit in
combat, as to which should obtain the mastery in England, what
would you say?" He replied, "I should say that you gave a fair
answer." This man and myself became great friends; he came from
Palmella, not far from St. Ubes; he had several mules and horses
with him, and dealt in corn and barley.
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