fettered and in the power of a cruel woman who tortured him. It
has been said by an anonymous author that the women of Galicia
either rule their husbands entirely and make them their slaves or
themselves sink to be the wretchedest of slaves. At the age of
10, according to Schlichtegroll's narrative, the child Leopold
witnessed a scene in which a woman of the former kind, a certain
Countess Xenobia X., a relative of his own on the paternal side,
played the chief part, and this scene left an undying impress on
his imagination. The Countess was a beautiful but wanton
creature, and the child adored her, impressed alike by her beauty
and the costly furs she wore. She accepted his devotion and
little services and would sometimes allow him to assist her in
dressing; on one occasion, as he was kneeling before her to put
on her ermine slippers, he kissed her feet; she smiled and gave
him a kick which filled him with pleasure. Not long afterward
occurred the episode which so profoundly affected his
imagination. He was playing with his sisters at hide-and-seek and
had carefully hidden himself behind the dresses on a clothes-rail
in the Countess's bedroom. At this moment the Countess suddenly
entered the house and ascended the stairs, followed by a lover,
and the child, who dared not betray his presence, saw the
countess sink down on a sofa and begin to caress her lover. But a
few moments later the husband, accompanied by two friends, dashed
into the room. Before, however, he could decide which of the
lovers to turn against the Countess had risen and struck him so
powerful a blow in the face with her fist that he fell back
streaming with blood. She then seized a whip, drove all three men
out of the room, and in the confusion the lover slipped away. At
this moment the clothes-rail fell and the child, the involuntary
witness of the scene, was revealed to the Countess, who now fell
on him in anger, threw him to the ground, pressed her knee on his
shoulder, and struck him unmercifully. The pain was great, and
yet he was conscious of a strange pleasure. While this
castigation was proceeding the Count returned, no longer in a
rage, but meek and humble as a slave, and kneeled down before her
to beg forgiveness. As the boy escaped he saw her kick her
husband. The child could not resist the temptatio