“It was said that some vessel in distress arrived at the isle,--that the captain had rescued this lovely lonely being from the brutality of the sailors,--and, discovering from some remains of the Spanish tongue which she still spoke, and which he supposed must have been cultivated during the visits of some other wanderer to the isle, he undertook, like a man of honour, to conduct her to her parents, whose names she could tell, though not their residence, so acute and tenacious is the memory of infancy. He fulfilled his promise, and the pure and innocent being was restored to her family, who were then residing in the city of Benares.” Aliaga, at these words, stared with a look of intelligence somewhat ghastly. He could not interrupt the stranger--he drew in his breath, and closed his teeth. “I have since heard,” said the stranger, “that the family has returned to Spain,--that the beautiful inhabitant of the foreign isle is become the idol of your cavaliers of Madrid,--your loungers of the Prado,--your _sacravienses_,--your--by what other name of contempt shall I call them? But listen to me,--there is an eye fixed on her, and its fascination is more deadly than that fabled of the snake!--There is an arm extended to seize her, in whose grasp humanity withers!--That arm even now relaxes for a moment,--its fibres thrill with pity and horror,--it releases the victim for a moment,--it even beckons her father to her aid!--Don Francisco, do you understand me now?--Has this tale interest or application for you?” “He paused, but Aliaga, chilled with horror, was unable to answer him but by a feeble exclamation. “If it has,” resumed the stranger, “lose not a moment to save your daughter!” and, clapping spurs to his mule, he disappeared through a narrow passage among the rocks, apparently never intended to be trod by earthly traveller. Aliaga was not a man susceptible of strong impressions from nature; but, if he had been, the scene amid which this mysterious warning was uttered would have powerfully ministered to its effect. The time was evening,--a grey and misty twilight hung over every object;--the way lay through a rocky road, that wound among mountains, or rather stony hills, bleak and bare as those which the weary traveller through the (11)western isle sees rising amid the moors, to which they form a contrast without giving a relief. Heavy rains had made deep gullies amid the hills, and here and there a mountain-stream brawled amid its stony channel, like a proud and noisy upstart, while the vast chasms that had been the beds of torrents which once swept through them in thunder, now stood gaping and ghastly like the deserted abodes of ruined nobility. Not a sound broke on the stillness, except the monotonous echo of the hoofs of the mules answered from the hollows of the hill, and the screams of the birds, which, after a few short circles in the damp and cloudy air, fled back to their retreats amid the cliffs. * * * * * * * * *