, now that he was no more, all her affection for him had revived.
I returned her upbraiding, and quitted the room to leave the house: but
she had no intention that I should escape, and had stationed two of her
relations below, ready to intercept me.

She called to them as I descended the stairs; when I arrived at the
hall, I found them with drawn swords to dispute my passage. I had no
resource but to fight my way; and charging them furiously, I severely
wounded one, and shortly afterwards disarmed the other, just as the
enraged fair one, who perceived that I was gaining the day, had run
behind me and seized my arms; but she was too late: I threw her
indignantly upon the wounded man, and walked out of the house. As soon
as I was in the street, I took to my heels, gained my lodgings, changed
my dress, and repaired to the convent.

This adventure sobered me much. I now remained quiet for some months,
never assuming my dress as Don Pedro, lest the officers of justice
should lay hold of me. I became more rigid and exact in my duties, and
more austere in my manner.

The several confessional chairs in our church were usually occupied by
the senior monks, although, when absent from sickness or other causes,
the juniors occasionally supplied their place. One of the monks had been
taken ill, and I knew that the mother of the young lady, who was very
strict in her religious duties, confessed at that chair every Friday; I
took possession of it, with the hopes that I should find out some means
of prosecuting my revenge. The young lady also confessed at the same
chair, when she did come, which was but seldom. Since the death of her
lover, she had never made her appearance.

As I anticipated, the mother came, and after having run over a string of
peccadilloes, for which I ordered a slight penance, I inquired, through
the punctured communication on the side of the confessional chair,
whether she had not children, to which she answered in the affirmative.
I then asked when her daughter had confessed last. She mentioned a long
date, and I commenced a serious expostulation upon the neglect of
parents, desiring that her daughter might be brought to confess, or
otherwise I should be obliged to inflict a penance of some hundred
Pater-Nosters and Ave-Marias upon herself, for not attending to her
parental duties. The old lady, who had no wish to submit to her own
penance, promised to bring her daughter the next day, and she was true
to her