Saturio de Padilla was the name of this gentleman, and his only crime was that of holding the situation of Juiz de Fora, under the government of King Joseph. Nothing could be more unjust or impolitic than this arrest: it was, however, idle to reason so with the police agents; Saturio was taken off to the Fort of La China and thrown into a dungeon, without bed or any other comfort which a gentleman of his rank might have expected. At an early hour the following morning I was awoke by his father-in-law, the venerable Don Miguel de Inza; he begged of me to allow my servant to convey some bedding to him, which I not only consented to do, but, at the entreaties of his daughter, Donna Maria Ignatia de Inza (whose sister was married to Padilla, and who, by the way, was one of the most beautiful women in Madrid), went to the prison myself. All entreaties to allow us to see the prisoner were in vain, and had it not been for the kindness of Colonel Manners of the 74th, who was the Governor of the Fort, we should not have been allowed to send even a change of linen to this gentleman. A week passed away, and no tidings were heard of Padilla; and his friends, fearing that he might be made away with, became extremely uneasy. Without mentioning my intention, I waited upon Colonel Manners, who was much interested in his behalf when I told him the circumstances; and, owing to his intercession, I had the happiness of seeing my friend, Don Saturio, at liberty the day but one following. I need scarcely say that this exploit of mine, for so my Spanish friends termed it, raised me considerably in the estimation of the ladies, and all of them, my old formidable antagonist not excepted, were lavish in their praises of my conduct. Nothing but balls, concerts, and parties to the theatre and the Prado were thought of, until the announcement in the newspapers, and the never-ceasing cries of _affiche_ venders in the streets, that the bull-fights were to take place, put a stop to all thoughts on any other but this, to a Spaniard at least, momentous affair. This national amusement is of so old a standing, and has been so often related in novels and romances, that a description of it may, in the present day, be thought ill-timed. The day’s fighting which I witnessed was considered specially good, and a tremendous day’s sport it was. Nine bulls were killed, seven horses shared the same fate, and one of the fighters was dreadfully injured. More than twenty people were hurt by the last bull, who leaped the barriers and got among the audience, but fortunately, and indeed miraculously, no person was killed. Thus the “casualties” of the day may be summed up as follows:—Killed, nine bulls, seven horses: total, sixteen; wounded, twenty-three men and women: grand total of killed and wounded, thirty-nine.