ed Lisbon, they took rooms at one of the best hotels. Don
Alfonso promised his cousin to take her the next day to Seville. But a
day passed, and then a second and third, and they did not depart. The
_caballero_ found one special pretext for postponing the journey. And
this was that he had lost his luggage. He was waiting for the arrival of
the telegram that he sent about it.

Julita during these days found herself in a state of great excitement,
so that she passed instantly and alternately from noisy and unreasonable
gayety to deep and extravagant melancholy. Sometimes she grew angry with
her cousin and overwhelmed him with taunts and threatened to escape
alone or to inform the police; then she would throw herself into his
arms and ask his pardon. In the midst of the deepest sadness her lover
would begin to mimic in grotesque fashion the accent of the maid who
served them, and the girl would laugh like a lunatic. At other times she
grew enthusiastic at the view of the bay and the royal palace of Cintra.

The wily _caballero_ humored her with the most delicate and affectionate
attentions. When she lost her temper, he would allow her to recover from
it without saying a word; when she was sad, he would do everything to
enliven her; when finally he saw that she looked contented, he would
take advantage of such moments to go out to walk with her, giving her
his arm as though they were husband and wife. They were regarded as a
newly married couple by the people at the hotel.

Nevertheless, on the fourth day of their visit, as they were in their
sitting-room after breakfast, Don Alfonso leaning back in an easy-chair,
smoking his cigar, she standing in front of the mirror getting ready to
go out, the _caballero_ said, accompanying his words with an ambiguous
smile:--

"Do you know what I am thinking, Julita?"

"No; what?"

"That I am greatly delighted with this way of living with you!"

"But I am not," replied the young girl, dryly.

"Why, what objection do you have to it?"

"I object to living in a state of mortal sin; I wish to ask mamma's
pardon and to be married to you."

"Now the very thing that I enjoy most is living in this extra-legal way.
We are two birds flown from the nest and winging our flight through the
air. How jolly it is to be so alone and so free! Could we possibly be
happier because a dirty and ignorant priest had jabbered a few Latin
words before us?"

Julita, on hearing this and noticing the s