14 CAPTAIN M'DOUGALL. called "a little elevated:" but the only man who left the company really sober was Captain McDougall. Accustomed to double deep potations of the mountain dew, port wine had no more effect on him than would have been produced by so many glasses of the sparkling beverage drawn from the pebbled brook; and as for claret, he looked in amazement at those who could designate as wine such a 66 sour wisha-washa stuff" as that which he tasted; while their pretending to relish such a drink was to him altogether unintelligible. The last of our guests left at nine. Juan, my brother's trusty black valet, had seen one to his home, put another on his way, and safely disposed of a third; so that, at half-past nine, all was cleared away and order restored. At this hour, my brother being, as I have said, somewhat" elevated," betook himself to a perambulation round the village, and landed at the house of Don Baltazar Gonzalez. He found the wife and daughters laughing at the humorous exhibition which "papa" had made on returning from the convite more than " half seas over," supported by Duval as "the blind lead the blind," both evidently being in much better tune for the dormitories than the drawing-room. And so, in point of fact, the father had already retired to rest, and Duval had found his way to his own house for the night. The ladies rallied my brother with great animation on our "picardia" or roguery, in having sent their father home in such a plight; and Rosita was in the highest spirits of all, though it is impossible to say what might be the cause of it. For what could it signify to her that she saw her papa and Duval enter the house lovingly, arm in arm together? Seeing papa was in an almost non-compos state, how should we fancy that her heart could first go pit-a-pat, and then bound on hearing him protest that Duval was a very honest fellow, and that he wished Mora -- ? Finally, what value could she give, on such an occasion, to Duvàl's impassioned asseveration that he would die rather than see her the wife of another? Philosophers can weigh the pros and cons; and all I have to say is, that Rosita was in exuberant spirits; that the younger sisters were full of glee; that the mother was exciting rather than keeping 16 APPEARANCE OF MORA. under their animal spirits by exclaiming, "Did you ever see such madcaps?" and that my brother was in the very act of stealing a kiss from either Rosita or one of the sisters, when the door opened, and the eyes of Mora, like the glare of a tiger, fell on all the party. He said not a word; but, trembling with rage, and with a now blind and habitual jealousy, he closed the door and retired. Two or three minutes were sufficient to restore the party within to the gaiety and hilarity which in so disagreeable and unforeseen a way had been interrupted. They were again in the enjoyment of high spirits, till a more serious interruption put an end to them for the night. When the fatal, although unfounded movements of jealousy came to strengthen Mora's other rancorous feelings towards my brother and myself, both as foreigners and as usurpers of that political influence which he considered to be, in Goya, his exclusive right, his long smothered and vengeful passions broke out with an uncontrollable force. He rushed, accordingly, from Gonzalez's house to the quartèl or guard-house; and knowing that his nephew was unable that night to interfere, he got the officer on J. P. R. MADE PRISONER. 17 duty at once to go down with a guard of soldiers to Gonzalez's house. What pretext he urged I know not; but the officer implicitly followed Mora's command. They went stealthily to the house; and suddenly rushing in, three or four armed men laid strong hands on my brother, who, amidst the screams of the family, was dragged off as their prisoner to the guard-house. Under the irritating language of Mora much violence was used, and my brother's first impression really was that murder was their object. They carried him, however, to the guard-house; and that was so near to my own dwelling that I heard the noise and scuffle as they came along. Presently, when I was half asleep on the sofa,— one of my peons rushed into my room, and exclaimed, "Patrón! Patrón! le han hecho preso al Señor Don Juan!" (they have made a prisoner of your brother.) Without my hat, and full of astonishment, I ran on to the quartèl; and scarcely had I gained admission, when, to my increasing amazement, Mora, almost choked with passion, called out, "Make him your prisoner!" he is as bad as the other; they are both the same: make them both your |