“And this was to no less a person than our clown. He had been bound hand and foot at the first, but having, by virtue of his profession, been enabled to walk on his back without any aid from his legs, he had shuffled or wriggled himself off, in the confusion, to a considerable distance without being observed, and when sufficiently away from the daggers of his enemies, managed to get clear of his bandages, and running off in the direction we had left, had the good luck to come up with our escort, which had halted at a kind of halfway-house below us and the nearest town, for the purpose of watering their horses and _come_-ing themselves; and being somewhat overtaken with the delectable comforts of the hostlery, had stayed much longer than their commission gave them licence to do. Here our clown found them, and they immediately gave chase and came up in the ‘nick of time’ described. “As soon as the whole of our party could be collected together, we were put one behind each of the cavaliers, and picking up our scattered matters, and robbing the dead bodies of the fallen brigands of that which belonged to us, we all proceeded back to the small village of Orguillas, about half a league from where we had been stopped, and here we were all shown into the ‘venta’ of the village, which consisted of little more than a kitchen with four bare walls, where we laid down, like so many pigs, among the straw till the morning, when we were taken before the Alcade, who gravely heard our depositions, took them down, examined our cavaliers, and told us for our especial benefit that we must find our way back to Madrid as we could. So getting away from the village, and plenty of straw in, then we set off as quickly as bad horses, bad drivers, and bad roads would allow us, and reached the chief city of Spain in the most deplorable plight imaginable. So ended my acquaintance with Spanish Brigands.” [Illustration] Gustavus Vasa. There is nothing which delights me more, my young friends, than to tell you tales of the Great and Good; and among many, who are truly great and good in the pages of history, few stand more pleasingly prominent than Gustavus I., King of Sweden. He was one of those great men whom nature so seldom produces, and who appears to have been endowed by her with every quality becoming a sovereign. His handsome countenance and noble bearing prepossessed all persons in his favour; his artless eloquence was irresistible; his conceptions were bold, and his indomitable spirit brought them to a happy issue. He was intrepid and yet prudent, full of courtesy in a rude age, and as virtuous as the leader of a party can be. [Illustration]