1828.] The Adventurer's Story. 515 



board, a dark ill-favoured dog, scowling beneath a flat round hat, 

 ornamented with tags and tassels. 



" There's a man for you ;" cried my Cicerone, " he does not under- 

 stand a word of English, I promise you. Isn't there rogue written on 

 his countenance ? I only wish I could converse with him a little." 

 And with that he darted off to the Spaniard, and commenced a strange 

 parley, wherein all his knowledge of Greek, Latin, and French was 

 employed. This was only interrupted by the arrival of the shore-boat, 

 in which we were soon conveyed to land. Roberts was in ecstacies. 

 He thought the quay the masterpiece of human labour; the gate- 

 waygods ! a triumphal arch for Jupiter himself. Then the various 

 people in their national costumes : the priest bowing to the salutations 

 of the mob ; the venders of fruit at their little stalls ; the military in 

 French uniforms ! 'Twas almost too much for him. He was not to be 

 moved from the Plaza San Antonio, and in the first church that we 

 visited, we established an intelligence with a " girl at her devotions/' 

 that rendered him quite untractable. 



We had agreed to assemble, after our rambles, at an English inn, 

 kept by one Wall, a fellow countryman. There was provided a repast, 

 seemingly all dainties, after our sea privations, and with true relish was 

 it discussed. But one of our party failed in the agreement; Roberts 

 had not arrived. The captain began to be nervous; where to seek 

 him, or with what success, he could not guess, and in less than an hour 

 he must set sail for Gibraltar. Well ! the time passed on, and we were 

 almost in despair, when in rushed our mislaid friend ; breathless, and, 

 according to Sternhold and Hopkins, " flying all abroad/ 7 He took a 

 chair, put out his hand towards me, and addressed the packet master :" 



" Captain, I must leave you. Not for long, perhaps, but leave you 

 I must." 



" What freak now, Roberts ?" I asked. 



" Ah ! Ned, does that question come from you ? Why, 'tis a freak in 

 which I think you'll join me. I am going to Gibraltar by land !" 



" By land, Roberts ?" 



" Aye, my boy, on a mule. I have engaged two, one for a guide ; 

 a third can be hired in a minute, if you'll come, will you ?" 



' ' By no means ; and surely my good fellow" 



" Hush, now, no waste of breath they are waiting for me. All I 

 have to say is once more and lastly, can you refuse this glorious 

 expedition over the hills in a new country, and so avoid that hanged 

 tossing about at sea ?" 



" And how shall you like the easy motion of your mule, think you ?" 



" I care not." 



<f And the language have you an interpreter ?" 



' ' Pooh ! who wants one ? Not I I want nothing of the sort ; but I 

 did expect that you, Ned, would have liked my scheme ; I thought you 

 were just the man. But never mind ; give me your hand, old fellow, we 

 shall meet at Gib., and I'll tell you all about it." 



He was off in a moment ; but the hour for our meeting was not so soon 

 as he then arranged it to be. 



A long while after this occurrence, I was sitting in a coffee-room at 

 Venice with an old friend ; and, for aught I know, talking of this very 

 person and these same events, when a tall man, with light coloured mus- 

 tachoes, and a red Albanian cap, entered the apartment. He was giving 

 directions to the waiter, in French ; and when at length he sate down at 



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