automobiles
which he showed to his friends with the satisfaction of an artist. It
was his museum. Besides, he owned several teams of horses, for modern
fads did not make him forget his former tastes, and he took as much
pride in his past glories as a horseman as he did in his skill as a
driver of cars. At rare intervals, on the days of an important
bull-fight or when some sensational races were being run in the
Hippodrome, he won a triumph on the box by driving six cabs, covered
with tassels and bells, that seemed to proclaim the glory and wealth of
their owner with their noisy course.

He was proud of his virtuous life; free from foolishness or petty love
affairs, wholly devoted to sports and show. His income was less than his
expenses. The numerous personnel of his stable-garage, his horses,
gasoline and tailors' bills ate up even a part of the principal. But
Lopez de Sosa was undisturbed in this ruinous course,--for he was
conscious of the danger, in spite of his extravagance. It was a mere
youthful folly, he would cut down his expenses when he married. He
devoted his evenings to reading, for he could not sleep quietly, unless
he went through his classics (sporting-papers, automobile catalogs,
etc.), and every month he made new acquisitions abroad, spending
thousands of francs and, complaining, like a serious business man, of
the rise in the Exchange, of the exorbitant customs charges, of the
stupidity of the Government that so shackled the development of the
country. The price of every automobile was greatly increased on crossing
the frontier. And after that, politicians expected progress and
regeneration!

He had been educated by the Jesuits at the University of Deusto and had
his degree in law. But that had not made him over-pious. He was liberal,
he lived the modern spirit; he had no use for fanaticism nor hypocrisy.
He had said good-by to the good Fathers as soon as his own father, who
was a great admirer of them, had died. But he still preserved a certain
respect for them because they had been his teachers and he knew that
they were great scholars. But modern life was different. He read with
perfect freedom, he read a great deal; he had in his house a library
composed of at least a hundred French novels. He purchased all the
volumes that came from Paris with a woman's picture on the cover and in
which, under pretext of describing Greek, Roman, or Egyptian customs,
the author placed a large number of youths an