Gil Blas, Alain-René Lesage [best romance ebooks .txt] 📗

my fixed purpose to make myself scarce at Seville, and accordingly, after buying a hat and some shirts, I travelled through vineyards and olive groves to the ancient city of Carmona; and in three days afterwards arrived at Cordova.

“I put up at an inn close by the marketplace, giving myself out for the heir of a good family at Toledo, travelling for his pleasure. My appearance did not belie the story, and a few pistoles, which I contrived carelessly to chink within the landlord’s hearing, pinned his faith upon my veracity. Probably my unfledged youth might lead him to take me for some graceless little truant who had robbed his parents and run away. But that was no concern of his: he took the thing just as I gave it him, for fear lest his curiosity should clash with my continuance at his house. For six reals a day one could live like a gentleman at this inn, where there was generally a considerable concourse of company. About a dozen people sat down at supper. It was whimsical enough; but the whole party plied their knives and forks without speaking a word, except one man, who talked incessantly, right or wrong, and made up for the silence of the rest by his eternal babble. He affected to be a wit, to tell a good story, and took great pains to make the good folks merry by his puns; and accordingly they did laugh most inextinguishably; but it was at him, not with him.

“For my part I paid so little attention to the talk of this rattle, that I should have got up from table without knowing what it was all about, if he had not brought it home to my business and my bosom. ‘Gentlemen,’ cried he, ‘just as supper was over, I have kept my best story for the last; a very droll thing happened within these few days at the archbishop of Seville’s palace. I had it from a young fellow of my acquaintance, who assures me that he was present at the time.’ These words made my heart jump up into my throat, for I had no doubt of this being my exploit⁠—and so it turned out. This pleasant gentleman related the facts as they actually happened, and even carried the adventure to its conclusion, of which I was as yet ignorant: but now you shall be made as wise as myself.

“No sooner had I absconded, than the Moors, who were, according to the progress of the fable and the rising of the interest, to lay violent hands on me, appeared upon the stage, for the fell purpose of surprising me on my bed of turf, where the author had given them reason to expect me fast asleep; but when they thought they were just going to capot the King of León, they found, to their surprise, that both the king and the knave made a trick against them. Here was a hole in the ballad! The actors all lost their cue; some of them called me by name, others ran to look for me: here is a fellow bawling as though his bellows would burst, there stands another muttering to himself about the devil, just as if that reptile could stand upright in such a presence! The archbishop, perceiving trouble and confusion to lord it behind the scenes, asked what was the matter. At the sound of the prelate’s voice, a page, who was the fiddle of the piece, came to the front and spoke thus: ‘My lord archbishop, ladies, and gentlemen! We are extremely sorry to inform you, as players, but extremely glad, as men and Christians, that the King of León is at present in no danger whatever of being taken prisoner by the Moors: he has adopted effectual measures for the security of his royal person; and to the royal person, as liberty avails little without property, he has irrevocably attached the crown, insignia, and robes.’

“ ‘And a happy deliverance for himself and Christendom!’ exclaimed the archbishop. ‘He has done perfectly right to escape from the enemies of our religion, and to burst from the bonds in which their malice would have laid him. By this time, probably, he has reached the confines of his kingdom, or may have entered the capital. May no unlucky accident have retarded him on his journey! And that the sin of none such may lie heavy on my conscience, I beg leave very positively to make my pleasure known that he may proceed unmolested by any interruption from this quarter; I should be highly mortified, indeed, if his majesty’s pious endeavors were to be frustrated by the slightest indignity from the ministers of that religion in whose cause he labors and suffers.’ The prelate, having thus declared his acquiescence in the motives of my flight, ordered my part to be read, and the play to be resumed.”

XI

Continuation of Scipio’s story.

“As long as I had money in my purse, my landlord was cap in hand; but the moment he began to suspect that the funds were low, he became high and mighty, picked a German quarrel with me, and one morning, before breakfast, begged it as a favor of me to march out of his house. I followed his counsel as proudly as you please, and betook me to a church belonging to the fathers of St. Dominic, where, while mass was performing, an old beggar accosted me on the usual topic of alms. I dropped some small change into his hat, which was truly the orphan’s mite, saying, at the same time, ‘My friend, remember in your prayers to mention a situation for me; if your petition is heard with favor, it shall be all the better for you; hearty thanks and a handsome poundage!’

“At these words, the beggar surveyed me up and down, from head to foot, and answered, in a grave tone, ‘What place would you wish to have?’

“ ‘I should like,’ replied