Calavar; or, The Knight of The Conquest, A Romance of Mexico Read online

  CHAPTER I.

  In the year of Grace fifteen hundred and twenty, upon a day in the monthof May thereof, the sun rose over the islands of the new deep, and themountains that divided it from an ocean yet unknown, and looked upon thehavoc, which, in the name of God, a Christian people were working uponthe loveliest of his regions. He had seen, in the revolution of a day,the strange transformations which a few years had brought upon all theclimes and races of his love. The standard of Portugal waved from theminarets of the east; a Portuguese admiral swept the Persian Gulf, andbombarded the walls of Ormuz; a Portuguese viceroy held his court on theshores of the Indian ocean; the princes of the eastern continent hadexchanged their bracelets of gold for the iron fetters of the invader;and among the odours of the Spice Islands, the fumes of frankincenseascended to the God of their new masters. He passed on his course: thebreakers that dashed upon the sands of Africa, were not whiter than thesquadrons that rolled among them; the chapel was built on the shore, andunder the shadow of the crucifix was fastened the first rivet in theslavery of her miserable children. Then rose he over the blue Atlantic:the new continent emerged from the dusky deep; the ships of discovererswere penetrating its estuaries and straits, from the Isles of Fire evento the frozen promontories of Labrador; and the roar of cannon went upto heaven, mingled with the groans and blood of naked savages. But peacehad descended upon the islands of America; the gentle tribes of theseparadises of ocean wept in subjection over the graves of more than halftheir race; hamlets and cities were springing up in their valleys and ontheir coasts; the culverin bellowed from the fortress, the bell pealedfrom the monastery; and the civilization and vices of Europe hadsupplanted the barbarism and innocence of the feeble native. Still, ashe careered to the west, new spectacles were displayed before him; thefollowers of Balboa had built a proud city on the shores, and werelaunching their hasty barks on the surges of the New Ocean; the hunterof the Fountain of Youth was perishing under the arrows of the wildwarriors of Florida, and armed Spaniards were at last retreating beforea pagan multitude. One more sight of pomp and of grief awaited him: herose on the mountains of Mexico; the trumpet of the Spaniards echoedamong the peaks; he looked upon the bay of Ulua, and, as his beams stoletremblingly over the swelling current, they fell upon the black hullsand furled canvas of a great fleet riding tranquilly at its moorings.The fate of Mexico was in the scales of destiny; the second army ofinvaders had been poured upon her shores. In truth, it was a goodlysight to look upon the armed vessels that thronged this unfrequentedbay; for peacefully and majestically they slept on the tide, and as themorning hymn of the mariners swelled faintly on the air, one would havethought they bore with them to the heathen the tidings of great joy, andthe good-will and grace of their divine faith, instead of the earthlypassions which were to cover the land with lamentation and death.

  With the morning sunbeam, stole into the harbour one of those littlecaravels, wherein the men of those days dared the perils of unknowndeeps, and sought out new paths to renown and fortune; and as she drewnigh to the reposing fleet, the hardy adventurers who thronged her deck,gazed with new interest and admiration on the shores of that empire,the fame of whose wild grandeur and wealth had already driven fromtheir minds the dreams of Golconda and the Moluccas. No fortress frownedon the low islands, no city glistened among the sand-hills on shore: thesurf rolled on the coast of an uninhabited waste: the tents of thearmourer and other artisans, the palm-thatched sheds of the sick, andsome heaps of military stores, covered with sails, and glimmering in thesun, were the only evidences of life on a beach which was, in aftertimes, to become the site of a rich and bustling port. But beyond thelow desert margin of the sea, and over the rank and lovely belt ofverdure, which succeeded the glittering sand-hills, rose a rampart ofmountains green with an eternal vegetation, over which again peeredchain after chain, and crag after crag, with still the majestic Peroteand the colossal Orizaba frowning over all, until those who had dweltamong the Pyrenees, or looked upon the Alps, as some of that adventurouscompany had done, dreamed what wealth should be in a land, whose firstdisclosure was so full of grandeur.

  Of the four-score individuals who crowded the decks of the littlecaravel, there was not one whose countenance, at that spectacle, did notbetray a touch of the enthusiasm,--the mingled lust of glory and oflucre,--which had already transformed so many ruffians into heroes.Among this motley throng might be seen all sorts of martial madmen, fromthe scarred veteran who had fought the Moors under the walls of Oran, tothe runagate stripling who had hanselled his sword of lath on the cursof Seville; from the hidalgo who remembered the pride of his ancestors,in the cloak of his grandsire, to the boor who dreamed of the crown of apagan emperor, in a leather shirt and cork shoes: here was a brigand,who had cursed the Santa Hermandad of all Castile, and now rejoiced overa land where he could cut throats at his leisure; there a gray-hairedextortioner, whom roguery had reduced to bankruptcy, but who hoped torepair his fortune by following the pack of man-hunters, and picking upthe offals they despised, or cheating them of the prizes they hadsecured; here too was a holy secular, who came to exult over theconfusion and destruction of all barbarians who should see nothingdiviner in the crucifix than in their own idols. The greater number,however, was composed of debauched and decayed planters of the islands,who ceased to lament their narrow acres and decreasing bondmen, snatchedaway by the good fortune of some fellow-profligate, when they thought ofterritories for an estate, and whole tribes for a household. Indeed, inall the group, however elevated and ennobled, for the moment, by theexcitement of the scene, and by the resolute impatience they displayedto rush upon adventures well known to be full of suffering and peril,there was but one whom a truly noble-hearted gentleman would have chosento regard with respect, or to approach with friendship.

  This was a young cavalier, who, in propriety of habiliments, inexcellence of person, and in nobleness of carriage, differed greatlyfrom all: and, to say the truth, he himself seemed highly conscious ofthe difference, since he regarded all his fellow-voyagers, saving onlyhis own particular and armed attendants, with the disdain befitting sodistinguished a personage. His frame, tall and moderately athletic, wasarrayed in hose and doublet of a dusky brown cloth, slashed with purple:his cap and cloak were of black velvet, and in the band of one, and onthe shoulder of the other, were symbols of his faith and hisprofession,--the first being a plain crucifix of silver, and the seconda cross of white cloth of eight points, inserted in the mantle. Inaddition to these badges of devotion, he wore a cross of gold, pointedlike the former, and suspended to his neck by a chain of such length andmassiveness, as to imbue his companions with high notions of his rankand affluence.

  The only point in which he exhibited any feeling in common with hiscompanions, was in admiration of the noble prospect that stretchedbefore him, and which was every moment disclosing itself with newer andgreater beauty, as the wind wafted his little vessel nearer to it. Hischeek flushed, his eye kindled, and smiting his hands together, in hisardour, he dropped so much of his dignity as to address many of hisexclamations to the obsequious but not ungentle master.

  "By St. John! senor Capitan," he cried, with rapture, "this is a mostnoble land to be wasted upon savages!"

  "True, senor Don Amador," replied the thrice-honoured master; "a nobleland, a rich land, a most glorious land; and, I warrant me, man hasnever before looked on its equal."

  "For my part," said the youth, proudly, "I have seen some lands, that,in the estimation of those who know better, may be pronounced divine;among which I may mention the Greek islands, the keys of the Nile, thebanks of the Hellespont, and the hills of Palestine,--not to speak ofItaly, and many divisions of our own country; yet, to be honest, I mustallow I have never yet looked upon a land, which, at the first sight,impressed me with such strange ideas of magnificence."

  "What then will be your admiration, noble cavalier," said the captain,"when you have passed this sandy shore, and yonder rugged hills, andfind yourself among the golden valleys they enco
mpass! for all those whohave returned from the interior, thus speak of them, and declare uponthe gospels and their honour, no man can conceive properly of paradise,until he has looked upon the valleys of Mexico."

  "I long to be among them," said the youth; "and the sooner I am mountedon my good steed, Fogoso, (whom God restore to his legs and his spirit,for this cursed ship has cramped both;) I say, the sooner I am mountedupon my good horse, and scattering this heathen sand from under hishoofs, the better will it be for myself, as well as for him. Hark'ee,good captain: I know not by what sort of miracle I shall surmountyonder tall and majestic pinnacles; but it will be some consolation,while stumbling among them, to be able at least to pronounce theirnames. What call you yon mountain to the north, with the huge,coffer-like crag on its summit?"

  "Your favour has even hit the name, in finding a similitude for thecrag," said the captain. "The Indians call it by a name, which signifiesthe Square Mountain; but poor mariners like myself, who can scarcepronounce their prayers, much less the uncouth and horriblearticulations of these barbarians, are content to call it the CofferMountain. It lies hard by the route to the great city; and is said to besuch a desolate, fire-blasted spot as will sicken a man with horror."

  "And yon kingly monster," continued the cavalier, "that raises his snowycone up to heaven, and mixes his smoke with the morning clouds,--thatproudest of all,--what call you him?"

  "Spaniards have named him Orizaba," said the master; "but these godlessPagans, who cover every human object with some diabolical superstition,call that peak the Starry Mountain; because the light of hisconflagration, seen afar by night, shines like to a planet, and isthought by them to be one of their gods, descending to keep watch overtheir empire."

  "A most heathenish and damning belief!" said the youth, with a devoutindignation; "and I do not marvel that heaven has given over to bondageand destruction a race stained with such beastly idolatry. Butnevertheless, senor Capitan, and notwithstanding that it is befouledwith such impious heresies, I must say, that I have looked upon MountOlympus, a mountain in Greece, whereon, they say, dwelt the accursed oldheathen gods, (whom heaven confound!) before the time that our blessedSaviour hurled them into the Pit; and yet that mountain Olympus is but ahang-dog Turk's head with a turban, compared to this most royal Orizaba,that raiseth up his front like an old patriarch, and smokes with theglory of his Maker."

  "And yet they say," continued the captain, "that there is a mountain offire even taller and nobler than this, and that hard by the great city.But your worship will see this for yourself, with many other wonders,when your worship fights the savages in the interior."

  "If it please Heaven," said the cavalier, "I will see this mountain, andthose other wonders, whereof you speak; but as to fighting the savages,I must give you to know, that I cannot perceive how a man who has usedhis sword upon raging Mussulmans, with a sultan at their head, cancondescend to draw it upon poor trembling barbarians, who fight withflints and fish-bones, and run away, a thousand of them together, fromsix not over-valiant Christians."

  "Your favour," said the captain, "has heard of the miserable poltrooneryof the island Indians, who, truth to say, are neither Turks nor Moors ofBarbary: but, senor Don Amador de Leste, you will find these dogs ofMexico to be another sort of people, who live in stone cities instead ofbowers of palm-leaves; have crowned emperors, in place of featheredcaciques; are marshalled into armies, with drums, banners, and generals,like Christian warriors; and, finally, go into battle with a mostresolute and commendable good will. They will pierce a cuirass withtheir copper lances, crush an iron helmet with their hardened war-clubs,and,--as has twice or thrice happened with the men of HernanCortez,--they will, with their battle-axes of flint, smite through theneck of a horse, as one would pierce a yam with his dagger. Truly, senorcaballero, these Mexicans are a warlike people."

  "What you tell me," said Don Amador, "I have heard in the islands; aswell as that these same mountain Indians roast their prisoners withpepper and green maize, and think the dish both savoury and wholesome;all which matters, excepting only the last, which is reasonable enoughof such children of the devil, I do most firmly disbelieve: for how,were they not cowardly caitiffs, could this rebellious cavalier, thevaliant Hernan Cortes, with his six hundred mutineers, have forced hisway even to the great city Tenochtitlan, and into the palace of theemperor? By my faith," and here the senor Don Amador twisted his fingerinto his right mustachio with exceeding great complacency, "these sameMexicans may be brave enemies to the cavaliers of the plantations, whohave studied the art of war among the tribes of Santo Domingo and Cuba;but to a soldier who, as I said before, has fought the Turks, and thattoo at the siege of Rhodes, they must be even such chicken-heartedslaves as it would be shame and disgrace to draw sword upon."

  The master of the caravel regarded Don Amador with admiration for amoment, and then said, with much emphasis, "May I die the death of amule, if I am not of your way of thinking, most noble Don Amador. Totell you the truth, these scurvy Mexicans, of whose ferocity and courageso much is said by those most interested to have them thought so, areeven just such poor, spiritless, contemptible creatures as the Arrowauksof the isles, only that there are more of them; and, to be honest, Iknow nothing that should tempt a soldier and hidalgo to make war onthem, except their gold, of which the worst that can be said is, first,that there is not much of it, and secondly, that there are too manyhands to share it. There is neither honour nor wealth to be had inTenochtitlan. But if a true soldier and a right noble gentleman, as theworld esteems Don Amador de Leste, should seek a path worthy of himself,he has but to say the word, and there is one to be found from which hemay return with more gold than has yet been gathered by any fortunateadventurer, and more renown than has been won by any other man in thenew world: ay, by St. James, and diadems may be found there! providedone have the heart to contest for them with men who fight like thewolves of Catalonia, and die with their brows to the battle!"

  "Now by St. John of Jerusalem!" said Amador, kindling with enthusiasm,"that is a path which, as I am a true Christian and Castilian, I shouldbe rejoiced to tread. For the gold of which you speak, it might come ifit would, for gold is a good thing, even to one who is neither needy norcovetous; but I should be an idle hand to gather it. As for the diadems,I have my doubts whether a man, not born by the grace of God to inheritthem, has any right to wear them, unless, indeed, he should marry aking's daughter: but here the kings are all infidels, and, I vow toHeaven, I would sooner burn at a stake, along with a Christian beggar,than sell my soul to perdition in the arms of any infidel princesswhatever. But for the renown of subduing a nation of such valiant Pagansas those you speak of, and of converting them to the true faith! _that_is even such a thought as makes my blood tingle within me; and were I,in all particulars, the master of my own actions, I should say to you,Right worthy and courageous captain, (for truly from those honourablescars on your front and temple, and from your way of thinking, I esteemyou such a man,) point me out that path, and, with the blessing ofHeaven, I will see to what honour it may lead me."

  "Your favour," said the captain, "has heard of the great island,Florida, and of the renowned senor Don Ponce de Leon, its discoverer?"

  "I have heard of such names, both of isle and of man, I think," said DonAmador, "but, to say truth, senor comandante, you have here, in this newworld, such a multitude of wonderful territories, and of heroic men,that, were I to give a month's labour to the study, I think I should notmaster the names of all of them. Truly, in Rhodes, where the poorknights of the Hospital stood at bay before Solyman _el Magnifico_, anddid such deeds as the world had not heard of since the days of Leonidasand his brave knights of Sparta,--I say, even in Rhodes, where all menthought of their honour and religion, and never a moment of their blood,we heard not of so many heroes as have risen up here in this corner ofthe earth, in a few years' chasing of the wild Indians."

  "The senor Ponce de Leon," said the captain, without regarding the sneerof the proud soldier, "the s
enor Ponce de Leon, Adelantado of Bimini andof Florida, in search of the miraculous Fountain of Youth, which, theIndians say, lies somewhere to the north, landed eight years ago, withthe crews of three ships, all of them bigger and better than this littlerotten Sangre de Cristo, whereof I myself commanded one. Of theextraordinary beauty and fertility of the land of Florida, thusdiscovered, I will say nothing. Your favour will delight more to hear mespeak of its inhabitants. These were men of a noble stature, and full ofsuch resolution, that we were no sooner ashore, than they fell upon us;and I must say, we found we were now at variance with a people in nowise resembling those naked idiots of Cuba, or these cowardly hinds ofMexico. They cared not a jot for swordsman, arcubalister, or musketeer.To our rapiers they opposed their stone battle-axes, which gushedthrough the brain more like a thunderbolt than a Christian espada; nocrossbowman could drive an arrow with more mortal aim and fury thancould these wild archers with their horn bows, (for know, senor, theyhave, in that country of Florida, some prodigious animal, which yieldsthem abundant material for their weapons;) and, what filled us with muchsurprise, and no little fear, instead of betaking themselves to theirheels at the sound of our firelocks, as we looked for them to do, nosooner had they heard the roar of these arms, than they fetched manymost loud and frightful yells, to express their contempt of our warlikedin, and rushed upon us with such renewed and increasing violence, that,to be honest, as a Christian of my years should be, we were fain tobetake ourselves to our ships with what speed and good fortune wecould. And now, senor, you will be ashamed to hear that our courage wasso much mollified by this repulse, and our fears of engaging furtherwith such desperadoes so urgent and potent, that we straightway setsail, and, in the vain search for the enchanted Fountain, quite forgotthe nobler objects of the voyage."

  "What you have said," quoth Don Amador, "convinces me that these savagesof Florida are a warlike people, and worthy the wrath of a bravesoldier; but you have said nothing of the ores and diadems, whereof, Ithink, you first spake, and which, heaven save the mark! by some strangemutation of mind, have made a deeper impression on my imagination thansuch trifles should."

  "We learned of some wounded captives we carried to the ships," continuedthe master, "as well, at least, as we could understand by their signs,that there was a vast country to the north-west, where dwelt nations offire-worshippers, governed by kings, very rich and powerful, on thebanks of a great river; and from some things we gathered, it was thoughtby many that the miraculous Fountain was in that land, and not in theisland Bimini; and this think I myself, for, senor, I have seen a manwho, with others, had slaked his thirst in every spring that gushes fromthat island, and, by my faith, he died of an apoplexy the day after hisarrival in the Habana. Wherefore, it is clear, that marvellous Fountainmust be in the country of the fire-worshippers. But notwithstanding allthese things, senor, our commander Don Ponce, would resolve upon naughtbut to return to the Bahamas, where our ships were divided, each insearch of the island called Bimini. It was my fortune to be despatchedwestward; and here, what with the aid of a tempest that blew from theeast, and some little hankering of mine own appetites after that land ofthe fire-worshippers, I found myself many a league beyond where anyChristian had ever navigated before, where a fresh and turbid currentrolled through the deep, bearing the trunks of countless great trees,many of them scorched with fire: whereupon I knew that I was near to theobject of my desires, which, however, the fears and the discontent of mycrew prevented my reaching. I was even compelled to obey them, andconduct them to Cuba."

  "Senor Capitan," said Amador, who had listened to the master's narrativewith great attention, "I give you praise for your bold and mostcommendable daring in having sailed so far, and I condole with you foryour misfortune in being compelled to abide the government of a crew ofsuch runagate and false companions, whom I marvel exceedingly you didnot hang, every man of 'em, to some convenient corner of your ship, aswas the due of such disloyal knaves; but yet, credit me, I see not whatthis turbid and fresh flood, and what these floating trees, had to dowith the gold and the diadems, of which you were speaking."

  "Senor," said the Captain earnestly, "I have navigated the deep for,perhaps, more years than your favour has lived; and it was my fortune tobe with the Admiral----"

  "With Colon!" cried the youth.

  "With his excellency, the admiral, Don Cristobal Colon, the discovererof this new world!" replied the master proudly, "in his own good ship,when we sailed into the Serpent's Mouth, which, we knew not then, lavedthe shores of the great Continent; and I remember that when the admiralhad beheld the trees floating in the current, and had tasted of thefresh water of that boiling gulf, he told us that these came from agreat river rolling through a mighty continent. And, in after times, thewords of the admiral were proved to be just; for there his captain, theyoung Pinzon, found the great river Oronoko."

  "There is no man," said Don Amador, "who more reverences the memory ofthe admiral than I; and I feel the more regard for yourself, that youhave sailed with him on his discoveries. Moreover, I beg your pardon,insomuch as I have been slow to unravel your meaning. But now, Iperceive, you think you had reached that river of the infidelfire-worshippers, whom God confound with fire and flame! as doubtless hewill. And hath no man again sought the mouth of that river? I marvel youdid not yourself make a second attempt."

  "I could not prevail upon any cavaliers, rich enough for theundertaking," said the master, "to league with me in it. Men liked notthe spirit of the northern savages; and, in truth, there were a thousandother lands where the barbarians could be subdued with less peril, and,as they thought, with a better hope of gain. And yet, by our lady, thatriver bore with it the evidences of the wealth on its banks; for whatwere those scorched trees, but the relics of the fires with which thekings of the land were smelting their ores? and what quantity of goldmust there not have been where such prodigious furnaces were kindled!"

  "By the mass!" said Amador, with ardour, "you speak the truth; it iseven a most wonderful land; and if a few thousand pesoes would float anexpedition, by my faith, I think I could find them."

  "A few thousand pesoes, and the countenance of such a leader as DonAmador de Leste, a knight of the holy and valiant order of San Juan----"

  "A knight by right, but not by vow," said Don Amador, hastily: "I giveyou to understand, senor Capitan, that I am not a sworn brother of thatmost ancient, honourable, and knightly order, but an humble volunteer,attached, for certain reasons of my own, to them, and privileged by theconsent of his most eminent highness, the Grand Master, to wear thesebadges, wherein I am arrayed, in acknowledgment that I did some servicenot unworthy knighthood in the trenches of Rhodes."

  "Your favour will not lead the less worthily for that," said theCaptain; "I know an hundred cavaliers who would throw their ducats, aswell as their arms, into the adventure prescribed by the senor DonAmador; and a thousand cross-bows, with three or four scorearquebusiers, would flock to the standard as soon as we had preachedthrough the islands a crusade to the fire-worshippers, and a pilgrimageto the Waters of Life."

  "And is it truly believed," said Amador, eagerly, "that such waters areto be found in these heathen lands?"

  "Who can doubt it?" said the Captain; "the Indians of the Bahamas havespoken of them for years; no Spaniard hath ever thought of questioningtheir existence; and at this moment, so great is the certainty offinding them, that my old leader, Don Ponce, is collecting round him menfor a second expedition, with which he will depart I know not how soon.But I know Don Ponce; the draught of youth is not for him; he will seekthe fountain on his great island of Florida, and find it not: it willbubble only to the lips of those who seek it near the great river of thegreat continent."

  "By heaven!" said Don Amador, "what might not a man do, who could drinkof this miraculous fountain! A draught of it would have carried thegreat Alejandro so far into the East, as to have left but small work forthe knaves of Portugal. And then our friends! Dios mio! we could keepour friends by us for ever
! But hold, senor Capitan--a thought strikesme: have you ever heard the opinion of a holy clergyman on this subject?Is it lawful for a man to drink of such a fountain?"

  "By my faith," replied the master, "I have never heard priest or laymanadvance an argument against its lawfulness: and I know not how it shouldbe criminal, since Providence hath given us the privilege to drink ofany well, whose waters are not to our misliking."

  "For my part," said Amador, "I must say, I have my doubts whetherProvidence hath given us any such privilege; the exercise of which, ingeneral, would greatly confound the world, by over-peopling it, and, inparticular, would seem, in a measure, to put man in a condition to defyhis Maker, and to defeat all the ends of divine goodness and justice:for how should a man be punished for his sins, who had in him the powerof endless life? and how should a man keep from sinning, who had no fearof death and the devil? and, finally, how should we ever receive any ofthe benefits of the most holy atonement, after drinking such alife-preserving draught?--for it is my opinion, senor Capitan, no manwould wish to go to heaven, who had the power of remaining on earth."

  "By my soul," said the captain earnestly, "this is a consideration whichnever occupied me before; and I shall take counsel upon it with thefirst holy man I meet."

  "At all events," said the cavalier, "there is inducement enough to makesearch after this river, were it only to fight the fire-worshippers,convert them to the true faith, and see what may be the curiosities oftheir land. Yet I must give you warning, it will rest with another whomI am now seeking, whether I may league with you in this enterprise ornot. Give me his consent and leading, and I will take leave of thesepoor rogues of Tenochtitlan, as soon as I have looked a little upontheir wonders; and then, with the blessing of God and St. John, have atthe valiant fire-worshippers, with all my heart!--But, how now, senorCapitan? What means your pilot to cast anchor here among the fleet, andnot carry us forthwith to the shore?"

  "I dare not proceed farther," said the captain, "without the authorityof the senor Cavallero, admiral of this squadron, and governor of thisharbour of San Juan de Ulua. It is necessary I should report myself tohim for examination, on board the _Capitana_, and receive hisinstructions concerning my cargo and fellow-voyagers."

  "His instructions concerning your fellow-voyagers!" said Don Amador,sternly. "I, for one, am a voyager, who will receive no instructions forthe government of my actions, neither myself nor by proxy; and, withGod's blessing, I will neither ask permission to disembark, nor allow itto be asked for myself, or for my grooms; and the senor Cavallero, orany other senor, that thinks to stop me, had better grind both sides ofhis sword, by way of preparation for such folly."

  "Your favour has no cause for anger," said the master, moderately. "Thisis the custom and the law, and it becomes the more necessary to enforceit, in the present situation of things. Your favour will receive nocheck, but rather assistance; and it is only necessary to assure theadmiral you do not come as a league and helpmate of the mutineer,Cortes, to receive free license, a safe-conduct, and perhaps, evenguides, to go whithersoever you list throughout this empire. This,senor, is only a form of courtesy, such as one cavalier should expect ofanother, and no more."

  "Truly, then, if you assure me so," said Don Amador, complacently, "Iwill not refuse to go myself in person to his excellency, the admiral;and the more readily that, I fancy, from the name, there is some sort ofblood-relationship between his excellency and myself. But, by heaven, Iwould rather, at present, be coursing Fogoso over yon glittering sand,than winding a bolero on my cousin's deck, though he were a king'sadmiral."