Characters of Moor and Cid 



that he purloined largely from all the best authors of the 

 Continent. His " Koran " is full of the best wit and 

 wisdom in small pieces that I remember. 



Shortly after this Harry fell behind rather : the paces of 

 the ponies are not very even, the Moor walking faster : and 

 a walk with breaks of fadge is our pace. Soon before 

 reaching Monasterio, I heard a pattering of feet, and up 

 came the Cid without his master, without alforjaSy and with 

 the cloak, only held by one tie of the tape, trailing along the 

 ground. I was afraid some serious accident had happened. 

 I tried to catch the Cid, who refused to be so treated, pre- 

 ferring to expatiate free in a barley-field. I was on the 

 point of leaving him and returning along the road, when 

 Harry appeared in the distance, con las alforjas al cuello 

 (the saddle-bags on his shoulder), and I went to meet him. 

 Charging both alforjas on the Moor, we walked back 

 together ; and after about a quarter of an hour Harry caught 

 the Cid, showing great patience and subtlety, which indeed 

 were requisite ; for the Cid is a sly brute, greatly superior 

 in intellect and experience of the world to the Moor, who, 

 on the other hand, is of a much nobler and more courageous 

 nature. 



We now descended into Monasterio. Here there was a 

 respectable posada with nobody in it except the hostess, who 

 seemed dazed and giddy, and we thought at first she was 

 drunk, and next that she was insane. She could not be 

 persuaded to make any effort towards our supper ; and stood, 

 with dreamy wandering eyes, leaning against the wall, while 

 we vainly attempted to impress upon her the urgency of 

 the occasion. 



While this difficulty was still pending, and we were 

 beginning to think we should have to make up the fire on 

 the cold ashes of the kitchen-hearth, and forage in the place 



380 



