nceal it by covering her mouth with her
fan. Conversation was carried on in a low voice and died away in
vague mono-syllables, like the indistinct noises heard by night in
a large mansion.

An elderly woman with a kindly face, a cousin of Captain Tiago,
received the ladies. She spoke Spanish regardless of all the
grammatical rules, and her courtesies consisted in offering to the
Spanish ladies cigarettes and betel nut (neither of which they use)
and in kissing the hands of the native women after the manner of
the friars. Finally the poor old lady was completely exhausted,
and, taking advantage of a distant crash occasioned by the breaking
of a plate, hurried off precipitately to investigate, murmuring:
"Jesus! Just wait, you good-for-nothings!"

Among the men there was somewhat more animation. In one corner of
the room were some cadets, who chatted with some show of interest,
but in a low voice. From time to time they surveyed the crowd and
indicated to each other different persons, meanwhile laughing more
or less affectedly.

The only people who appeared to be really enjoying themselves were
two friars, two citizens and an officer of the army who formed a
group around a small table, on which were bottles of wine and English
biscuits. The officer was old, tall and sunburnt, and looked as the
Duke of Alva might have looked, had he been reduced to a command in
the civil guard. He said little, but what he did say was short and
to the point. One of the friars was a young Dominican, handsome and
dressed with extreme nicety. He wore gold mounted spectacles and
preserved the extreme gravity of youth. The other friar, however,
who was a Franciscan, talked a great deal and gesticulated even
more. Although his hair was getting gray, he seemed to be well
preserved and in robust health. His splendid figure, keen glance,
square jaw and herculean form gave him the appearance of a Roman
patrician in disguise. He was gay and talked briskly, like one who
is not afraid to speak out. Brusque though his words might be, his
merry laugh removed any disagreeable impression.

As to the citizens, one of them was small in stature and wore a black
beard, his most noticeable feature being his large nose--so large
that you could scarcely believe that it was all his own. The other
was a young blonde, apparently a recent arrival in the country. The
latter was carrying on a lively discussion with the Franciscan.

"You will see," said the friar,