A LEGEND OF GIBRALTAR.

Western Star, Issue 99, 2 October 1875, Page 7

A LEGEND OF GIBRALTAR.

By Colonel E. B, Hamley.

chapter I. — ( Ganiinued.) The Major, in spite of his sickness, stood up and pulled gallantly at the cable, the wind blowing his pigtail and skirts perpendicularly out from his person. *-• Heaf !” screamed Francisco, from the bows“ Heave !’’ echoed Owen: and as the words flew past him on the gale, my grandfather’s efforts were prodigious. At last, after tremendous tugging, the anchor came up. The jib was hoisted with a reef in it, Owen holding the sheet,, while the smuggler ran aft and took the helm. They bent oyer to the gale,, till the Major stood almost perpendicularly on the lee gunwale, with his back against the weather side, and ran in till he thought they w§re going to bn nip. ashore ; then tacking, they stood along the coast, close to the wind, till Francisco gave the word. Owen let go the sheet, and the jib fluttered loosely out as they ran through a narrow passage into, smooth water behind the sea-wall, and made fast to a flight of steps. Presently some functionary appertaining to the harbour appeared, and with him an emissary from the Governor of the place, who, aware of their plight, had civilly sent to offer assistance. The messenger was the same man who had made signals to, them, from the beach in the morning; and he seemed to think it advisable that they should wait on the Governor in person, saying that he was always disposed to be civil’ to British officers. This advice they resolved- to act upon at once, before ft cjhpuld grow dark, foreseeing that, in case of their detention, from bad weather in Tariff),the Governor might prove a potent auxiliary. The Major would have wished to make some litllo alterations in. bis toilette, after his late disasters ; but, after in vain trying to pull off his jack-bools, which clung to him like his skin, ■he was obliged to abandon the idea, and contended himself with standing on his head to let the water run out of them. As they advanced along the causeway leading to the town (the point where they landed is connected with tlie town by a long, narrow, sandy isthmus), the gale swept over them volumes of sand, which, sticking to my grandlalher’s wet uniform, t gave him the. appearance of brick-wall partially rough), cast. lii« beard was of two days’ growth —his hair-powder ,was converted into green paste by the sea-water-—an l his whole appearance was travel-stained and deplorable. Nevertheless, his dignity by: no means forsook him as they traversed (he narrow alleys of the ancient town of Tarif'a on their way to tlie approaching: interview. .

His Excellency Don Pablo Dntto, a wonderfully fat little man, received them very courteously. He was a Spaniard of the old school, and returned the stately greeting of ray grandfather, and the easy one of the Ensign, with such a profusion of bows, that for the space of a minute they saw little more of his person than the shining baldness on the top of his head. Then they were presented to bis wife, a good-natured, motherly sort of old lady, who seeaied to compassionate them much. But, while Owen was explaining to her the object of their trip, and its disastrous interruption, he suddenly stopped, open-mouthed, and blushing violently, with his gaze directed towards the open door of a neighbouring apartment. There he beheld advancing towards him, the Beauty of the Carnival Ball.

The Governor’s lady named her as “her daughter, the Senorita Jnana.” Spite of the different dress and circumstances, she too recognised Prank, and coloured slightly as she came forward to receive his greeting, The Ensign, an impudent scamp enough in general, was, however, the more confused of the two j and his embarassed salutation was entirely thrown into the shade by the magnificence of my grandfather’s bow. However, he quickly recovered his assurance, aud explained to the elder lady how he had previously enjoyed the pleasure (with a great stress upon the word) of making her daughter’s acquaintance. Then he recounted to Juiroa the manner in which they had been driven in here, when on their way to Cadiz to see the bnll-fight. “ We also are going to ride thither tomorrow,” said the Senorita, softly. “Ah, then, we shall meet there,” said Prank, who presently after was seized with a fit of absence, and made incoherent replies. He was considering how they might travel together, and had almost resolved to offer to take the whole family to Cadiz in his boat—a proposal that would probably have somewhat astonished the little Governor, especially if he had s.een the dimensions of the craft thus destined to accommodate himself and retinue. But Garry was an adept in manoeuvring, aud matched skilfully upon the point he had in view. He drew such

apathetic picture of the hardships they had endured on the voyage—their probable detention here for most of their short leave—-.their friendless condilion, and .their desire to see something of the country —that the little Governor was in a manner compelled (fancying all the time that the impulse sprang altogether from his own native benevolence) to desire that the tvyo Englishmen would travel to Cadiz under his escort. So it being settled entirely to Garry’s satisfaction that they were to start next morning at break of day on horseback —an arrangement which my grandfather’s total ignorance of Spanish prevented him from knowing anything aboui—they retired to the principal fonda, where the Major speedily forgot,, over a tolerable dinner, the toils and perils of the voyage.

Chapter 11.

Daylight the next morning found' them issuing forth from the ancient city of Tarifa on a couple of respectable-lp,oki,ng hacks, hired from the innkeeper. Frank had, with his accustomed generalship, managed to secure a position at the offrein of the Senorita Juana, who was mounted on a beautiful Ji.ttle white barb. Under, her side-saddle, of green velvet, studded with gilt nails, was a Moorish saddle-cloth, striped with vivid red and ‘ white, and fringed deeply. From the throat-lash of the bridle hung a long tassel, as an artificial auxiliary to the barb’s tail in the task of keeping the ■flies off, further assisted by a tuft ofwhite horse-hair attached to the butt of her whip. She wore a looped hat and white plume, a riding-skirt, and an embroidered jacket of blue cloth, fastened, as was the wrought bosom, of her chemise, with small gold : buttons. Frank could not keep his eyes off her, now riding off to. the further side ~ of the road to taka in at cnee the, beauteous vision, now coming closely up lo study it in its delightful details. In front of the pair rode the little GoI vqrnor, side by side with a Spaniard of light. Behind;Frank came Major Flinders, clean shaved, and with jack-boots and regimental coat restored to something .like their pristine splendour by Ids aide rode another lady, the Synoiita O irlota, Juana’s cousin, somewhere about thirty 'years, old,, plump and merry, her upper tip fringed at tiie corners,With a line of darly down, quite decided enough for a i of eighteen to be proud of—a tsininine embellishment too common for remark in these southern, regions, and, in the opinion of some connoisseurs, rather the beauty of the wearers. Site talked incessantly to' my. grand father, who -did not understand a word she said, but whose native politeness prompted him to say,. “ S’, Sendrita,” Lo everything—sometithes at the same time laying his hand upon hisjieart, and bowing with consider-, able grace. Behind-this pair came another i-uteresting couple, namely, two servants on mules, with great saddle-bags stuffed to extreme corpulence with provisions. Ijt was a glorious morning—a, gentle breeze sweeping on their faces as. they mounted the hills, but dying into silpnee in the deep valleys, fresh and glistening with dew. Sometimes they rode- along a rocky common,, yellowed with a flowering about thirty, the long-betrothed lover of Juana—so long, in fact, that hq-did not trouble to secure his authority in a territory so undeniably his own, but smoked his cigar as coolly as if there were no good-looking Englishman, within fifty miles of his mistress. He wore garments of the Spanish cut, made of nankeen—the jacket Logged with silver cord, tagged with little silver fishes—the latter appended, perhaps, as suitable companions to the frogs. A hundred yards ahead was an esyortof four horse-soldiers, with carbines on their thighs, their steel accoutrements flashing ruddily in the level sunshrub like furze —sometimes through iyifenced fields sometimes along broad plains, where patches of blossoming beans made the air rich with scent, and along which they galloped at full the Governor standing high in the stirrups of his demi-piqne, the Senprita’s white barb arching his neck till his muzzle, touched his chest under the pressure of the long bit, and my grandfather prancing, somew hat uneasily on his hard-mouthed Spanish entero, whose nose was, for the most part, projected horizontally in the air. The Major was not a first-rate seat—he rede in a long stirrup, bis heel well down, his leg straight, and slautiuga little forward, body upright, and elbows back, as may be seen in the plates to .ancient works ou equitation —a posture imposing enough, but not safe across country ; galloping deranged it materially, for the steed was and reqnired-a long, strong pull, with the b>dy back, and a good purchase on the slirr >ps. The animal had a most voracious appetite, quite overcoming his sense of what was due to his rider ; and, on seeing a tuft of juicy grass,.down went his nose, drawing.any grandfather, by meins of the tight reinq well over the pummel. On these occasions, the, Major, feeling resistance to be.in vain, would sit

looking easily aboqt him, feigning to be absorbed in admiration of the prospect —which was all very well where there was a prospect to look at, but wore a lessj plausible appearance when the amnia paused in a hollow between two. hedges, or ran his nose into a barn-door. But whenever this happened, Carlota, instead of half-smothering a laugh, as a mischievous English girl would, ten to one, have done, sat most patiently till the Major and his steed came to an understanding, and would greet him, as they moved on again, with a good-natured smile, that won her, each time, a higher place in his estimation. Thus they proceeded till the sun rose high in the heavens, when, on reaching a grove ou the edge of one of the plains, they halted under a large cork-tree, near which ran a rivulet. The cavalcade dismounted, the horses were tethered, the mules disburdened of the saddle-bags, and the contents displayed under the tree; horse-cloths and cloaks were spread around ou the ground, and a fire of dry sticks was lit on the edge of the stream with such marvellous celerity that, before ray grandfather had time to take more than a hasty survey of the eatables, after searing himself on the root of a tree, a cup. of steaming chocolate was placed in liis hand.

“ Confess, Major,” said Garry, speaking with his-mputh full of sausage, “that a man may lose some of the pleasures of existence by loading the life of a hermit. Don’t you feel grateful to me for dragging you out of' your, cobweb, to such, a pleasant place, as this ?”• “ ’Tis an excellent breakfast,” said my grandiather, who had just assisted the Beuorita Carlota to a slice, of turkey’s breast, and himself to an entire, leg. a,nd thigh—dividing with her, at the same time a crisp white loaf,, haying a, handle like a teapot or a smoothing-iron—“ aucl my appetite is. really very gooch X should be perfectly easy if I could; only understand the remarks of this., very agreeable lady, and make, suitable replies.”

“ Let me interpret your sentiments,” said Garry.“ and though I may nc \ succeed in conveying them in their originalforce and poetry, yet they shall lose as little as possible in transmission. Jlist try me —what would you wish to ray ?” “ Why, really,” said my grandfather, “ I had a great- many things to say, as we came along, but they’ve gone out of my head. Do you think she ever rad Shakespeare ?” “ 2s T ot a chance of if,” said .Owen. - Here, the,Senorita- laugh i ugly appeal ed to Frank to.,know what my grandfather was saying about her. “Ah, quoth my grandfather, quoting his friend Shakespeare—‘X understand thy looks—the pretty. Spanish Which thou poorest down■ frpjn- th'eoe swelling heavens I: am not perfect in ’

She’s an extremely agreeable woman,. Frank, I’ll be sworn, if-one only understood her,” quoth my grandfather, casting qp her a glance full of gallantry. The Ensign was not so entirely occupied in proseenting v his own,love affair as to be insensible to the facilities ahbrdcd him for amusin-gshimself at the Major’s expense. Accordingly; he made a speech in Spanish,,to Carlota, purporting to b-e-.a faithful translation, of my grandfather’s, But teeming, in fact, with the mostromantic expressions, of chivalrous admiration, as was apparent from the. fre-, quent recurrence of the words “ojos” (eyes), “ corazon” (heart), and she like iamatory currency. “ There, Major,” said the interpreter, as he finished; “ I’ve told her what yon said.iOf.her,” 1 The Major endorsed- the. compliments by laying his hand upon his heart, and bowing with a tender air. Whereupon Carlota, laughing, and blushing a deeper ‘red, made her acknowledgments. “She says,” quoth Frank, “that she knew the English before to be a gallant nation; but that if all the Caballeros (that’s gentlemen) of, that favoured race are equal to the present specimen, her own countrymen mp&t be thrown entirely into the.shade.”-

; “Delightful,’’ cried' my grandfather; but it is doubtful whether this expression of pleasure was called forth by the -ent-i----ments attributed to the Senoritn, or by the crisp succulent tenderness of a mouthful of sucking-pig. which was at that moment spreading itself over his palate.. Pollowingup hjs idea, the mischievous Ensign continued to-, diversify the graver pursuit of prosecuting,his own suit with Juana, by impressing, Qarlota and the Mjijor with’ the .idea, that each was disposed to think, favourably of the other. In this he was tolerably successful —the speeches ho made to Carlota, supposed to originate with my grandfather, had a very genuine warmth about them, being, in fact, very often identical with those he had just been making, under immediate inspiration, to his own divinity;

while as for the Major, it would have been an insult to. the simplicity of that worthy man’s nature to exert any great ingenuity in deceiving him? it would have been like setting a trap fox' a snail. So they journeyed on, highly pleased with each other, and occasionally, in the absence of their faithful interpreter, converged by means of smiles and courteous gesticulations, till my grandfather felt entirely at his ease, and was almost sorry when, on the evening of the second day, they got to Cadiz. To he continued.)