as she stood in it. My cousin's wife had discharged her, but
there was no ill-feeling, so she came to pay a complimentary call, in
black lace mantilla and pink blouse. She was called Barbara, and loved a
baker over the way, and when she should have been regarding the soup,
she was throwing glances to the baker in his shop, so she had to go!
"Poor Barbara"--and lucky baker, to receive such cordite glances!

A dainty lady of Saxon type, with face like china, hair fine gold, and
eyes of Neapolitan violet, looked over my shoulder whilst I sketched.
She is just out, and is enjoying Gibraltar hugely. But I should not have
said violet eyes, for one was black as a thunder-cloud; she hunted
yesterday and got dragged poor thing, and was bruised all over, but she
was going about and hunts again in two or three days.

[Illustration: A Spanish Woman.]

CHAPTER IV

[Illustration: Sunday parade of Lascars.]

Our first day with a blue sky at sea--my word it is blue, impossibly
blue, and the sun is beaming! We have had a quiet night, so everyone is
very contented. On our left the Spanish coast is very mountainous, and
little cloudlets are throwing shadows over the mountain sides. G. and I
study our Spanish grammar; but perhaps "study" is hardly the word, dream
over it would be more exact, and wonder at the blueness of the sea and
the blue reflected lights on the hurricane deck above us. We have
managed to get our chairs into a patch of sun; we rather court its rays
just now, by the time we come home again I daresay we will take the
shady side of the street. So close are we to the coast that, looking
through the glasses, we can see into the glens and make out cottages
where we know the people are speaking Spanish; and we plan a voyage
through these hills some day; therefore our Spanish exercises. What a
country it is both for castles and voyages, and how many ways there are
to travel in it. In the train or on horseback, or with mules or a
donkey, or a coach and four, as did Theophile Gautier. But not on foot
for choice, that would be so undignified as to be barely safe in Spain.
We arrange to have mules--for there is such a distinguished and
aristocratic appearance about a train of mules, and an air of romance
about them and their gay caparisons. We will trek over these mountains,
and through the cork woods and brackens in the glens, live on figs and
Vino Riojo carried in black skins on our sumpter mules, and camp at
night