ine, and that
something not good but bad. It was very rarely on view; the hand of
circumstance must plunge deep to find it, but it dwelt there; the
strong, cruel Spanish spirit which would sacrifice anything to save,
or even to advance, itself. It was this spirit that Lysbeth had seen
looking out of his eyes on the yesterday, which, when he knew that the
race was lost, had prompted him to try to kill his adversary, although
he killed himself and her in the attempt. Nor did she see it then for
the last time, for twice more at least in her life she was destined to
meet and tremble at its power.

In short, although Montalvo was a man who really disliked cruelty, he
could upon occasion be cruel to the last degree; although he appreciated
friends, and desired to have them, he could be the foulest of traitors.
Although without a cause he would do no hurt to a living thing, yet if
that cause were sufficient he would cheerfully consign a whole cityful
to death. No, not cheerfully, he would have regretted their end very
much, and often afterwards might have thought of it with sympathy
and even sorrow. This was where he differed from the majority of his
countrymen in that age, who would have done the same thing, and more
brutally, from honest principle, and for the rest of their lives
rejoiced at the memory of the deed.

Montalvo had his ruling passion; it was not war, it was not women; it
was money. But here again he did not care about the money for itself,
since he was no miser, and being the most inveterate of gamblers never
saved a single stiver. He wanted it to spend and to stake upon the dice.
Thus again, in variance to the taste of most of his countrymen, he cared
little for the other sex; he did not even like their society, and as for
their passion and the rest he thought it something of a bore. But he did
care intensely for their admiration, so much so that if no better game
were at hand, he would take enormous trouble to fascinate even a serving
maid or a fish girl. Wherever he went it was his ambition to be reported
the man the most admired of the fair in that city, and to attain this
end he offered himself upon the altar of numerous love affairs which
did not amuse him in the least. Of course, the indulgence of this vanity
meant expense, since the fair require money and presents, and he who
pursues them should be well dressed and horsed and able to do things
in the very finest style. Also their relatives must be ente