of the country, but whom court caprice had, about this time, sent to
rusticate at Salamanca, was doing me the honours of the place, when,
approaching the convocation-hall of the university, we perceived the
members of the faculty of divinity strolling about, while waiting for
a meeting of their body. A runaway slave, still bearing the marks
of the lash on his return, could not have shrunk more instinctively
at the sight of the planters meeting at the council-room, than my
friend did at the view of the cowls, ‘white, black, and grey,’ which
partially hid the sleek faces of his offended masters. He had, it is
true, been lucky enough to escape the imprisonment and subsequent
penance in a monastery which was the sad lot of the chief of his
routed party; but he himself was still suspected and watched closely.
The rest of his friends, the flower of the university, had been kept
for three or four years, in constant fear of their personal liberty,
being often called before the secret tribunal to answer the most
captious interrogatories about themselves and their acquaintance, but
never put in possession of every count of the indictment. After this
and a few such examples, we have, at last, perceived the folly of
engaging in a desperate game, where no possible combination can, for
the present, give the dissenting party a single chance of success.
[18] A coloured tassel on the cap is, in Spain, the peculiar
distinction of doctors and masters. _White_, denotes divinity:
green, canon law: crimson, civil law: yellow, medicine; and
blue, arts, i. e. philosophy. Those caps are worn only on public
occasions at the universities.
[19] Melendez Valdez.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account