A Situation 



moment Harry came up, too, who was also a great friend of 

 his. Amid the general ebullition of cordiality, the mo%o^ 

 who had almost despaired of establishing any sort of rela- 

 tions, but now concluded that his representations had sud- 

 denly taken effect, conceived it a fit time to effect a coalition 

 of suppers. His suggestions were at once agreed to, and 



in the meantime A introduced to us his younger 



brother, Juanito, who blushed and shook hands — very soft 

 hands, more like a lady's than a boy's. But I was busy 



asking A fifty questions, and took no notice of that or 



the blush, and went on. 



" Why, I thought you were to have been married to the 

 lovely Lady Jane before this. I heard it was to be in 

 November for certain." 



" So I was ; but she had the scarlet-fever, poor 

 child." 



" And so you left her to recover at her leisure, while you 

 travel about to amuse yourself ! " 



" Not exactly, — but they are dishing up the olloy so let 

 us to supper ! " 



We supped in a spacious apartment upstairs, whose walls 

 were hung with frying-pans and gridirons, and other 

 utensils of cookery. On inquiry, we were informed by the 

 handmaid, that in the summer families come here from 

 Ronda ; for it appears, that when the inhabitants of the 

 sultry plains are baked out of their cities, and come to 

 Ronda for fresh mountain-breezes, the inhabitants of Ronda 

 retreat to a still loftier level, and this is then used as their 

 kitchen. 



It came out, in the course of the meal, as the superior 

 perspicacity of my reader may have anticipated, that Master J 



Juanito (who had got into a great perplexity under cross- J 

 examination about Eton, whence he was said lately to have 



146 



