them
cheerfully his little sons of the devil, and adjured them to fall to
work or it would be the worse for them.

For his part, he lifted no hand: but stood overseer as the ruffians
lifted the pillar, Ruth straining her strength with theirs.

But when they came to lift Donna Maria, for a moment something
hitched, and Ruth heard the sound of rending cloth. The poor wretch
in her death-agony had bitten through Sir Oliver's arm to the bone.
The corpse yet clenched its jaws on the bite. They had to wrench the
teeth open--delicate pretty teeth made for nibbling sweetmeats.

To his last day Oliver Vyell bore the mark of those pretty teeth, and
took it to the grave with him.

Ruth drew out a purse. But the Penitent, though they grumbled, would
suffer his scoundrels to take no fee. Nay, he commanded two, and
from somewhere out of devastated Lisbon they fetched a sedan-chair
for the broken man. "You may pay these if you will," said he.
"Honestly, they deserve it."

On her way westward, following the chair, she called to them to stop
and search whereabouts Mr. Langton had fallen. They found him with
the small greyhound standing guard beside the body. His head was
pillowed on his arm, and he lay as one quietly sleeping.

Chapter VI.

DOCUMENTS.

I.

_From Abraham Castres Esq.: his Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary to the
King of Portugal, to the Secretary of State, Whitehall, London._
LISBON, _November 6th_, 1755.

"SIR,--You will in all likelihood have heard before this of the
inexpressible Calamity befallen the whole Maritime Coast, and in
particular this opulent City, now reduced to a heap of Rubbish and
Ruin, by a most tremendous Earthquake on the first of this Month,
followed by a Conflagration which has done ten times more Mischief
than the Earthquake itself. I gave a short account of our Misfortune
to _Sir Benjamin Keene_, by a _Spaniard_, who promised (as all
intercourse by Post was at a stand) to carry my Letter as far as
_Badajoz_ and see it safe put into the Post House. It was merely to
acquaint His Excellency that, God be praised, my House stood out the
Shocks, though greatly damaged; and that, happening to be out of the
reach of the Flames, several of my Friends, burnt out of their
Houses, had taken refuge with me, where I have accommodated them as
well as I could, under Tents in my large Garden; no Body but _Lord
Charles Dowglass_, who is actually on board the Packet, besides my
Chapla