They all went that evening to the Corregidor's house, who, having heard of the arrival of the beautiful pilgrims in the city, sent to invite them to come and see the play, which was to be performed, and to accept his best endeavours to be of any service to them, in consequence of all that he had heard from Lisbon in their praise. Periander, by the desire of Auristella and the elder Antonio, who he obeyed as his superior in age, accepted the invitation. There were many ladies of the city with the wife of the Corregidor, when the fair pilgrims, with Periander and the two Antonios, entered the room: all were amazed and confounded at the surprising beauty and grace of the strangers, which increased the desire of every one to show them all possible kindness and civility; and their host forced them to take the highest places at the entertainment, which was the representation of the fable of Cephalus and Procris, when she, from an undue jealousy, lost her life by the dart too incautiously thrown by him, to his eternal sorrow. The verse bordered on perfection, as it was composed, they say, by Juan de Herrera de Gamboa, nicknamed _El Maganto_, or the Spiritless, whose genius soared to the highest order of poetry. When the play was over, the ladies examined the beauties of Auristella minutely, and each feature separately, and found that they composed a whole, that might well be named "perfection" without a blot. The men said as much of Periander, and all agreed in praising highly the beauty of Constance and her brother. They stayed in the city three days, during which the Corregidor and his lady showed every possible kindness to the pilgrims, and loaded them with gifts. They in return promised to send the history of their adventures, and of all that should befall them, to their kind friends. They left Badajoz, and travelled on to our lady of Guadaloupe. After a journey of three days, in which they had gone five leagues, night overtook them on a mountain, which was covered with Ilexes, and other trees: it was that pleasant season of the year when there is an equal balance between the two equinoxes--neither too hot nor too cold--and in case of necessity, just as pleasant to spend the night in the open air as in a village; and therefore being far from any inn, it was Auristella's desire that it should be passed in one of the sheepfolds of the herdsmen that they saw were near. They did as she wished, and had hardly gone above two hundred steps into the wood, when the darkness came on so fast that they paused to look for the light that shone from the herdsmen's fold, which served as their polar star, for fear of losing their way; the extreme darkness, and a sound that was heard at a distance, made them slacken their pace, and the boy Antonio began to think of his bow, his constant companion; at this instant a man on horseback came up to them and said, "Good people, do you belong to this place?"