41 

 THE SPANISH HEADSMAN. 



THE town clock of Menda had tolled the. hour of midnight, when a 

 young French officer, leaning on the wall of an extensive terrace, which 

 formed the bounds of the gardens of the chateau, appeared lost in reflec- 

 tion, and absorbed in deeper contemplation than generally accompanies 

 the gay thoughtlessness of a military life : although, undoubtedly, place, 

 season, and all by which he was surrounded, were most propitious to 

 meditation. It was one of the clear and cloudless nights of Spain ; the 

 twinkling of the stars, and the moon's pale and partial beams, threw a soft 

 light on the rich and romantic valley, in which, at a hundred feet beneath 

 him, was situated the small but handsome town of Menda, skirting the 

 base of a rock, which sheltered its inhabitants from the north wind, and 

 on the summit whereof was placed the vast and antique chateau ; and 

 thence the waters of the Atlantic, extending far on either side, might be 

 fully descried. The chateau of Menda, however, afforded a contrast to 

 the calm and silence of the scene around it. From its numerous case- 

 ments blazed forth a profusion of light ; the lively clamour of the cheerful 

 dance, the sounds of mirthful music, and the joyous voices of the assembly, 

 often mingled with, and oftener overpowered, the noise of the more distant 

 waves dashing against the shore. The refreshing coolness of the night, 

 succeeding a day of extraordinary heat, with the delicious perfume of trees 

 and flowers by which he was surrounded, in restoring him from the severe 

 fatigue which the military duties of the morning occasioned, had long 

 detained the young soldier in that delightful spot, and induced him to 

 forego the social enjoyments which the interior of the mansion afforded. 



The chateau itself belonged to a Spanish grandee of the first rank; 

 who, with his family, now resided there. Of his two daughters, the 

 eldest was particularly handsome : and had, during the evening, greatly 

 attracted the admiration of the French officer, whose notice had evidently 

 not been disregarded by the fair Spaniard : but, whenever she addressed 

 him, there was, mixed up with her looks and tones of kindness, so sin- 

 gular an expression of seeming sorrow and compassion, that, haply the 

 impression it had made on him, had led him to withdraw from the 

 society, and induced his deep and lengthened reverie. Notwithstanding 

 she was one of five children, the great wealth of the Marquis justified 

 the idea that Clara would be richly endowed : but Victor Marchand could 

 scarcely bring himself to hope that, in any event, the daughter of one of 

 the proudest and most powerful nobles in all Spain, would even be per- 

 mitted to regard, with more than ordinary civility, the son of a Parisian 

 grocer. 



The French were hated : and General G**t**r, the commandant of the 

 province, having had strong reason to suspect that the Marquis de Le- 

 ganes contemplated an insurrection of the inhabitants of that and the sur- 

 rounding country, in favour of Ferdinand the Seventh, the battalion com- 

 manded by Victor Marchand had been sent to garrison Menda ; and to 

 overawe its inhabitants and the people of the neighbouring towns and 

 villages, who were at the disposal and under the influence of the Marquis. 

 Indeed, a recent despatch of Marshal Ney had even communicated the 

 probability of the English attempting a landing on the coast, and of the 

 Marquis being in active correspondence with the cabinet of London. So 



