his misfortune was the source of but slight condolence on the
part of my friend. He was perfectly of the new school. "They were
Theatines," said he--"as bad as the Jesuits in every thing but
hypocrisy--powerful, insolent, bold-faced knaves; and after their
robbing me of the inheritance of my old, rich uncle, which one of
those crafty _padres_ contrived to make the old devotee give them on
his death-bed, I had dry eyes for their ill luck. But, I suppose,"
added he, "you know their creed?" I acknowledged my ignorance. "Well,
you shall hear it. It is incomparably true; though, whether written
for them by Moratin or Calderon, I leave to the antiquarians." He then
chanted it in the style of the monkish service, and with
gesticulations, groans, and upturning of eyes, which strongly gave me
the idea that he had employed his leisure, if not relieved his sense
of the war-minister's neglect, by exerting his talents as the
"Gracioso" of some strolling company. The troopers gathered round us,
with that odd mixture of familiarity and respect which belongs to all
the lower ranks of Spain; and the performer evidently acquired new
spirits from the laughter of his audience, as he dashingly sang his
burlesque:--

Cancion.

Los mandamientos de los Teatinos,[6].
Mas humanos son que divinos.

_Coro_.--Tra lara, tra lara.

_Primo_--Adquirir mucho dinero. Tra lara, &c.
_Segundo_--Sujetar todo il mondo. Tra lara, &c.
_Tercero_--Buen capon, buen carnero. Tra lara, &c.
_Quarto_--Comprar barato, y vender caro. Tra lara, &c.
_Quinto_--Con el blanco aguar el tinto. Tra lara, &c.
_Sexto_--Tener siempre el lomo en siesto. Tra lara, &c.
_Septimo_--Guardase bien del sereno. Tra lara, &c.
_Octavo_--Obrar la suya, y lo ageno. Tra lara, &c.
_Nono_--Hazar del penitente esclavo. Tra lara, &c.
_Decimo_--Mesclarse en cosas d'estado. Tra lara, &c.

_Coro_.--Estes diez mandamientos se encierran en dos--
Todo para mi, y nada para vos.
Tra lara, tra lara, &c.

The whole performance was received with an applause which awoke the
little aide-de-camp's genius to such an extent, that he volunteered to
sing some stanzas of his own, immeasurably more poignant. He was in
the act of filling a bumper to the "downfall of all monkery on the
face of the earth," when the report of a musket was heard, and the
bottle was shivered in his