Every man
who lives must die. I shall not sleep the worse to-night because I
may chance to be hacked by the knives of these malvados to-morrow.
Cavalier, I am from Barcelona, and have seen there mariners of your
nation; this is not so good a country as Barcelona. Paciencia!
Cavalier, if you will step into our house, I will give you a glass
of water; we have some that is cool, for we dug a deep hole in the
earth and buried there our pitcher; it is cool, as I told you, but
the water of Castile is not like that of Catalonia."
The moon had arisen when we mounted our horses to return to the
village, and the rays of the beauteous luminary danced merrily on
the rushing waters of the Tagus, silvered the plain over which we
were passing, and bathed in a flood of brightness the bold sides of
the calcareous hill of Villaluenga and the antique ruins which
crowned its brow. "Why is that place called the Castle of
Villaluenga?" I demanded.
"From a village of that name, which stands on the other side of the
hill, Don Jorge," replied the herrador. "Vaya! it is a strange
place, that castle; some say it was built by the Moors in the old
times, and some by the Christians when they first laid siege to
Toledo.
