Murillo 



in which he played the flute. We begged him to proceed 

 while we smoked our cigars. The marques left me here, 

 and went back to his papers and lawyers. After a while 

 the musicians departed, and I went out with Don Jose and 

 visited the Museo. 



After getting weary in long galleries of indifferent pic- 

 tures, we came into the Sala de Murillo, a large room hung 

 round with Murillo's best pictures. I never saw such 

 pictures before — such soft, transparent, airy, and yet real 

 imaging of things divine. His cherubs look as if a slight 

 draught would float them out of their frames. It is worth 

 while to go to Seville if it were only to see this room. 



We took a walk afterwards in the town ; and a shower 

 coming on, sought shelter in an estanco de tabacos, where 

 the Calle de las Sierpes debouches on the Plaza de la 

 Constitucion. Here behind the counter sat a lady of great 

 beauty and wit, entertaining a handful of loitering admirers 

 with brilliant things, which made them laugh very much, 

 and which I was grieved not to understand. This was the 

 celebrated Asuncion Gonzalez. Don Jose formally intro- 

 duced me, and she received me with gracious condescension. 

 I was surprised at the respectful deference with which the 

 young men treated her ; but I shortly learned that she was 

 a formidable sort of Aspasia, and a match for any Pericles 

 that Seville could produce. As the Calle de las Sierpes is 

 the principal thoroughfare of Seville, which one passes 

 every day wherever one is bound, I made a practice of 

 buying my cigarillos in her estanco^ and carried on during 

 my stay in Seville a serio-comic, but strictly Platonic court- 

 ship, which greatly improved my Spanish. The only excep- 

 tion to the Platonic character of our friendship was one 

 kiss fairly bargained for and received, in the way of busi- 

 ness, for a portrait of herself, executed in mv best style in 



69 



