A Sacristan Was
Brushing And Dusting The Place, But He Did Not Bother Us, And We Went
Freely About Among
The tall candles standing on the floor as well as on
the altars, and bearing each a placard attached with
Black ribbon, and
dedicated in black letters on silver "To the Repose of This or That" one
among the dead.
The meaning was evident enough, but we sought something further of the
druggist at the corner, who did his best for us in such English as he
had. It was not quite the English of Ronda; but he praised his grammar
while he owned that his vocabulary was in decay from want of practise.
In fact, he well-nigh committed us to the purchase of one of those
votive candles, which he understood we wished to buy; he all but sent to
the sacristan to get one. There were several onlookers, as there always
are in Latin pharmacies, and there was a sad young mother waiting for
medicine with a sick baby in her arms. The druggist said it had fever of
the stomach; he seemed proud of the fact, and some talk passed between
him and the bystanders which related to it. We asked if he had any of
the quince jelly which we had learned to like in Seville, but he could
only refer us to the confectioner's on the other corner. Here was not
indeed quince jelly, but we compromised on quince cheese, as the English
call it; and we bought several boxes of it to take to America, which I
am sorry to say moulded before our voyage began, and had to be thrown
away.
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