and obedience; their mothers cried; both parents gave them
their blessing, and away they went, mounted on their own mules, and
attended by two servants of their respective households, besides the
tutor, who had let his beard grow, to give him a more imposing air of
gravity, as became his charge.

When they arrived at Valladolid, they told their tutor they should like
to remain there a couple of days to see the city, having never been in
it before. The tutor severely reprimanded them for entertaining any such
idle notion, telling them they had no time to lose in silly diversions;
that their business was to get as fast as possible to the place where
they were to pursue their studies; that he should be doing extreme
violence to his conscience if he allowed them to stop for one hour, not
to speak of two days; that they should continue their journey forthwith,
or, if not, then brown bread should be their portion.

Such was the extent of the ability in his office possessed by this
tutor, or major-domo, as we should rather call him. The lads, who had
already gathered in their harvest, since they had laid hands upon four
hundred gold crowns which were in the major-domo's keeping, begged that
he would let them remain in Valladolid for that day only, that they
might see the grand aqueducts, which were then in course of
construction, for the purpose of conveying the waters of Argales to that
city. He consented at last, but with extreme reluctance, for he wished
to avoid the expense of an additional day on the road, and to spend the
night at Valdiastellas, whence he could easily reach Salamanca in two
days. But the bay horse thinks one thing, and the man on his back
another thing, and so it proved in the major-domo's case. The lads,
mounted on two excellent mules, and attended by only one servant, rode
out to see the fountain of Argales, famous for its antiquity and the
abundance of its water. On their arrival there, Avendano gave the
servant a sealed paper, bidding him return forthwith to the city, and
deliver it to his tutor, after which the servant was to wait for them at
the Puerta del Campo. The servant did as he was bid, and went back to
the city with the letter; and they, turning their mules' heads another
way, slept that night in Mojados, and arrived two days afterwards in
Madrid, where they sold their mules.

They dressed themselves like peasants in short jerkins, loose breeches,
and gray stockings. An old clothes deale