se's silver hairs seemed in Leonora's eyes locks of pure gold;
for the first love known by maidens imprints itself on their hearts like
a seal on melted wax. His inordinate watchfulness seemed to her no more
than the due caution of an experienced and judicious man. She was fully
persuaded that the life she led was the same as that led by all married
women. Her thoughts never wandered beyond the walls of her dwelling, nor
had she a wish that was not the same as her husband's. It was only on
the days she went to mass that she set eyes on the streets, and that was
so early in the morning, that except on the way home she had not light
to look about her. Never was there seen a convent more closely barred
and bolted; never were nuns kept more recluse, or golden apples better
guarded; and yet for all his precautions poor Felipe could not help
falling into the pit he dreaded,--or at least believing that he had so
fallen.

There is in Seville an idle pleasure-seeking class of people who are
commonly called men on town,[80] a sauntering, sprucely dressed,
mellifluous race, always finding means to make, themselves welcome at
rich men's feasts. Of these people, their manners and customs, and the
laws they observe among themselves, I should have much to say, but
abstain from it for good reasons. One of these gallants, a bachelor,--or
a _virote_, as such persons are called in their jargon, the newly
married being styled _matones_,--took notice of the house of Carrizales,
and seeing it always shut close, he was curious to know who lived there.
He set about this inquiry with such ardour and ingenuity, that he failed
not to obtain all the information he desired. He learned the character
and habits of the old man, the beauty of Leonora, and the singular
method adopted by her husband in order to keep her safe. All this
inflamed him with desire to see if it would not be possible, by force or
stratagem, to effect the reduction of so well-guarded a fortress. He
imparted his thoughts to three of his friends, and they all agreed that
he should go to work, for in such an enterprise no one lacks counsellors
to aid and abet him. At first they were at a loss how to set about so
difficult an exploit; but after many consultations they agreed upon the
following plan:--Loaysa (so the virote was named) disappeared from
among his friends, giving out that he was leaving Seville for some time.
Then drawing on a pair of linen drawers and a clean shirt, he p