The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane, Volume 1 (of 3)Le Sage, Alain René
General
The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane, Volume 1 (of 3)
Le Sage, Alain René
Adventure and adventurers -- Fiction; Blas, Gil (Fictitious character) -- Fiction
I was not long in discovering that the combatants in our lists had
more to recommend them than appeared at first sight. They were not
satisfied with aping the manners of their masters, but even copied
their phrases; and these varlets gave such a facsimile, that, bating
a little vulgarity, they might have passed themselves off very well.
I admired their free-and-easy carriage; still more was I charmed with
their wit, but despaired of ever coming up to them in my own person.
Don Ferdinand's servant, on the score of his master treating ours,
did the honors; and, determined to do the thing genteelly, he called
the landlord, and said to him: Master tapster, give us ten bottles of
your very best wine; and, as you have a happy knack of doing, make
the gentlemen up stairs believe that they have drank them. With all
my heart, answered the landlord; but, Master Gaspard, you know that
Signor Don Ferdinand owes me for a good many dinners already. If
through your kind intervention I could get some little matter on
account ... O, interrupted the valet, do not be at all uneasy about
your debt: I will take it upon myself; put it down to me. It is
true, that some unmannerly creditors have preferred legal measures to
a reliance on our honor; but we shall take the first opportunity of
obtaining a replevy, and will pay you without looking at your bill.
To have my master on your books is like so many ingots of gold. The
landlord brought us the wine, in spite of unmanly creditors; and we
drank to a speedy replevy. It was as good as a comedy to see us
drinking each other's healths every minute, under our masters'
titles. Don Antonio's servant called Don Ferdinand's plain Gamboa,
and Don Ferdinand's servant called Don Antonio's Centellés: they
dubbed me Silva; and we kept pace in drunkenness, under these
borrowed names, with the noblemen to whom they properly belonged.
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