Valladolid 



"A slight salad for our beasts, con licenzia. They have 

 had a long journey, and eaten nothing but barley since they 

 left Granada, de tnodo que bastante secas tienen las trlpas (so 

 that their tripes are sufficiently dried up)." 



Finding that there was no hay to be made of our grass, 

 one of them seized my dagger, and examining it unsheathed, 

 very much as if he wished to become its owner, said — 



" What business have you to carry forbidden arms ? " 



I now began to swagger in earnest. " We are very 

 principal English cavaliers, and have a written license in our 

 passport to carry what arms we like. We are not accus- 

 tomed to be kept from our suppers in the gates of insig- 

 nificant cities, but rather to ride in with an escort, and sup 

 with ambassadors ; and if we are now travelling incognito 

 by way of amusement, it is no reason why we should be 

 treated in a manner unbeseeming our rank and importance." 



This speech, which I delivered in a serious tone of 

 offended dignity over my beggarly bundle of herbs, had 

 more eflPect than I had anticipated, for the man at once gave 

 up the dagger, and begged pardon for having treated so 

 distinguished foreigners in a manner for which, we must 

 allow, that the darkness and our disguise had given some 

 excuse. 



We now entered the city by the Puerta del Campo, a 

 wide and rather handsome street, up and down which we 

 wandered some time without being able to find a posada. 

 At last we found one, and went through into the stable, 

 where I cast the green stuff into the manger, and began to 

 unsaddle. We had been followed into the stable by the 

 old huesped of the inn, who was unfortunately both imbecile 

 and drunk ; we told him to take away some donkeys who 

 were running loose in the stable, and who showed an imme- 

 diate and obstinate proclivity to the vegetation our ponies 



