“_Eh bien_, _mon maître_, the young gentleman went upon his travels, and continued abroad several years; and from the time of his departure until we met him at Colunga, I have not set eyes upon, nor indeed heard of him. I have heard enough, however, of his family; of _monsieur_ the father, of _madame_, and of the brother, who was an officer of cavalry. A short time before the troubles, I mean before the death of Ferdinand, _monsieur_ the father was appointed captain-general of Corunna. Now _monsieur_, though a good master, was rather a proud man, and fond of discipline, and all that kind of thing, and of obedience. He was, moreover, no friend to the populace, to the _canaille_, and he had a particular aversion to the nationals. So, when Ferdinand died, it was whispered about at Corunna that the general was no liberal, and that he was a better friend to Carlos than Christina. _Eh bien_, it chanced that there was a grand _fête_, or festival, at Corunna, on the water, and the nationals were there, and the soldiers. And I know not how it befell, but there was an _émeute_, and the nationals laid hands on _monsieur_ the general, and tying a rope round his neck, flung him overboard from the barge in which he was, and then dragged him astern about the harbour until he was drowned. They then went to his house, and pillaged it, and so ill-treated _madame_, who at that time happened to be _enceinte_, that in a few hours she expired. “I tell you what, _mon maître_, when I heard of the misfortune of _madame_ and the general, you would scarcely believe it, but I actually shed tears, and was sorry that I had parted with them in unkindness on account of that pernicious quail. “_Eh bien_, _mon maître_, _nous poursuivrons notre histoire_. The eldest son, as I told you before, was a cavalry officer, and a man of resolution, and when he heard of the death of his father and mother, he vowed revenge. Poor fellow! So what does he do but desert, with two or three discontented spirits of his troop, and going to the frontier of Galicia, he raised a small faction, and proclaimed Don Carlos. For some little time he did considerable damage to the liberals, burning and destroying their possessions, and putting to death several nationals that fell into his hands. However, this did not last long; his faction was soon dispersed, and he himself taken and hanged, and his head stuck on a pole.