the reverie of the Frenchman. Clara was
beautiful; and though she had three brothers and one sister, the wealth
of the Marquis de Leganes seemed sufficient to justify Victor Marchand
in believing that the young lady would be richly dowered. But could he
dare to believe that the daughter of the proudest noble in Spain would
be given to the son of a Parisian grocer? Besides, Frenchmen were hated.
The marquis having been suspected by General G--t--r, who governed the
province, of preparing an insurrection in favor of Ferdinand VII., the
battalion commanded by Victor Marchand was quartered in the little town
of Menda, to hold in check the neighboring districts, which were under
the control of the Marquis de Leganes.

A recent despatch from Marechal Ney made it seem probable that the
English would soon land a force upon the coast; and he mentioned the
marquis as the man who was believed to be in communication with the
cabinet of London. Thus, in spite of the cordial welcome which that
Spaniard had given to Victor Marchand and his soldiers, the young
officer held himself perpetually on his guard. As he came from the
ballroom to the terrace, intending to cast his eye upon the state of the
town and the outlying districts confided to his care, he asked himself
how he ought to interpret the good will which the marquis never failed
to show him, and whether the fears of his general were warranted by the
apparent tranquillity of the region. But no sooner had he reached the
terrace than these thoughts were driven from his mind by a sense of
prudence, and also by natural curiosity.

He saw in the town a great number of lights. Although it was the feast
of Saint James, he had, that very morning, ordered that all lights
should be put out at the hour prescribed in the army regulations, those
of the chateau alone excepted. He saw, it is true, the bayonets of
his soldiers gleaming here and there at their appointed posts; but
the silence was solemn, and nothing indicated that the Spaniards were
disregarding his orders in the intoxication of a fete. Endeavoring to
explain to himself this culpable and deliberate infraction of rules on
the part of the inhabitants, it struck him as the more incomprehensible
because he had left a number of officers in charge of patrols who were
to make their rounds during the night, and enforce the regulations.

With the impetuosity of youth, he was about to spring through an opening
in the terrace wall, and d