you're married to that lovely
crayture herself?"

I started up, and placing my hand upon my throbbing temples, asked myself
if I were really awake, or if some flight of fancy had not carried me away
beyond the bounds of reason and sense. "Go on, go on!" said I, at length,
in a hollow voice, anxious to gather from his words something like a clew
to this mystery. "How did this happen?"

"Av ye mean how you came here, faith, it was just this way. After you got
the fever, and beat the doctors, devil a one would go near you but myself
and the major."

"The major,--Major Monsoon?"

"No, Major Power himself. Well, he told your friends up here how it was
going very hard with you, and that you were like to die; and the same
evening they sent down a beautiful litter, as like a hearse as two peas,
for you, and brought you up here in state,--devil a thing was wanting but
a few people to raise the cry to make it as fine a funeral as ever I seen.
And sure, I set up a whillilew myself in the Black Horse Square, and the
devils only laughed at me.

"Well, you see they put you into a beautiful, elegant bed, and the young
lady herself sat down beside you, betune times fanning you with a big
fan, and then drying her eyes, for she was weeping like a waterfall. 'Don
Miguel,' says she to me,--for ye see, I put your cloak on by mistake when I
was leaving the quarters,--'Don Miguel, questa hidalgo e vostro amigo?'

"'My most particular friend,' says I; 'God spare him many years to be so.'

"'Then take up your quarters here,' says she, 'and don't leave him; we'll
do everything in our power to make you comfortable.'

"'I'm not particular,' says I; 'the run of the house--'

"Then this is the Villa Nuova?" said I, with a faint sigh.

"The same," replied Mike; "and a sweet place it is for eating and
drinking,--for wine in buckets full, av ye axed for it, for dancing and
singing every evening, with as pretty craytures as ever I set eyes upon.
Upon my conscience, it's as good as Galway; and good manners it is they
have. What's more, none of your liberties or familiarities with strangers;
but it's Don Miguel, devil a less. 'Don Miguel, av it's plazing to you to
take a drop of Xeres before your meat?' or, 'Would you have a shaugh of a
pipe or cigar when you're done?' That's the way of it."

"And Sir George Dashwood," said I, "has he been here? Has he inquired for
me?"

"Every day either himself or one of the staff comes galloping up at
lu