t they are fit to sing and play
at dance or in any tavern, and they have paid me for it very well
indeed."

"A deal better would I pay you to have the opportunity of taking
lessons; but it is not possible, for when my master goes out in the
morning he locks the door behind him, and he does the same when he comes
in, leaving me shut up between two doors."

"I vow to God, Luis, if you would only contrive to let me in a few
nights to give you lessons, in less than a fortnight I would make you
such a dabster at the guitar, that you need not be ashamed to play at
any street corner; for I would have you to know that I have an
extraordinary knack in teaching; moreover, I have heard tell that you
have a very promising capacity, and from what I can judge from the tone
of your voice, you must sing very well."

"I don't sing; badly; but what good is that since I don't know any
tunes, except the 'Star of Venus,' or, 'In the green meadow,' or the
tune that is now so much in vogue, 'Clinging to her grated window, with
a trembling hand?'"

"All these are moonshine to what I could teach you, for I know all the
ballads of the Moor Abendaraez, with those of his lady Xarifa, and all
those comprising the history of the grand sofi Tomunibeyo, and the
divine sarabands which enchant the souls of the Portuguese themselves,
among whom they are most in vogue; and all these I teach by such methods
and with such facility, that almost before you have swallowed three or
four bushels of salt, you will find yourself an out-and-out performer in
every kind of guitar music."

"What's the good of all that," (here the negro sighed heavily,) "since I
can't get you into the house?"

"There's a remedy for all things: contrive to take the keys from your
master, and I will give you a piece of wax, with which you may take an
impression of the wards, for I have taken such a liking to you, I will
get a locksmith, a friend of mine, to make new keys, and then I can come
in at night and teach you to play better than Prester John in the
Indies. It is a thousand pities that a voice like yours should be lost
for want of the accompaniment of the guitar; for I would have you to
know, brother Luis, that the finest voice in the world loses its
perfection when it is not accompanied by some instrument, be it guitar
or harpsichord, organ or harp; but the instrument that will suit your
voice best is the guitar, because it is the handiest and the least
costly of all."