198 SPORTING IN BOTH HEMISPHERES. 



eyes, and crossing his arms upon his breast, he announced, 

 with a nasal twang, that the last year's grain was exhausted 

 in the granary of the good Capuchin fathers, and as their 

 austere discipline forbad their receiving money, he came to 

 beg a little assistance in kind, if it was only half a bushel of 

 corn from each inhabitant of the village. That without this 

 assistance it would be impossible for them to celebrate the 

 neuvaine to St. Anthony, against thunder-storms, or to 

 expose their precious relics on the altar of the convent, in 

 order to discover lost or stolen property. 



The farmer and his family hastened to obey so reasonable 

 a request, urged by such just motives, and emptied the 

 half-bushel of grain into the capacious sack of the Capuchin. 

 Soon afterwards came a young lay brother of the Sisters of 

 St. Ursula, a fresh-coloured, dark-eyed lad, with broad 

 shoulders. This (monaguillo), or beast of burden of the con- 

 vent, who had taken no vows, not even those of temperance 

 or chastity, merely uttered a few conventional phrases, of 

 which I could only distinguish scecula sceculorum and the 

 final Amen. After which he received his present of corn, 

 not without adding a request for a little honey for the 

 mother abbess, and some yards of cloth for another sister. 



During all these successive apparitions I remained nailed 

 to my seat in silence and astonishment, whilst our host 

 looked upon it all with an air of indifference as a thing as 

 common and natural as seed-time and harvest. 



" Well," exclaimed M. L , who just began to open his 



eyes, "what do you think of this? But don't suppose for a 

 moment that you have seen the end of it. If we were to 

 remain two or three days longer here, you would see a dozen 

 more at least of sanctified robbers come in for their share of 

 the spoil ; and you may now understand from whence arises 

 in some measure my respect for the gentlemen of the road. 



