OUR LITTLE 
 
 ;SPANISHCOUSIN 
 
 MARY-F-NIXON-ROULET 
 
This book must not 
 be taken from the 
 Library building. 
 
 AT CHAPEL HILL 
 
 ENDOWED BY TOE 
 
 DIALECTIC AND PHILANTHROPIC 
 
 SOCIETIES 
 
UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 
 
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THE LIBRARY OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 AT CHAPEL HILL 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 Elizabeth Preston Ward 
 
 in memory of 
 Jean Versfelt Preston 
 
FERNANDO 
 
 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
THE 
 
 Little Cousin Series 
 
 (trade mark) 
 
 Each volume illustrated with six or more full-page plates in 
 
 tint. Cloth, i2mo, with decorative cover, 
 
 per volume, 60 cents 
 
 LIST OF TITLES 
 
 By Mary Hazelton Wade 
 
 (unless otherwise indicated) 
 
 Our Little African Cousin 
 Our Little Alaskan Cousin 
 
 By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet 
 
 Our Little Arabian Cousin 
 
 By Blanche McManus 
 
 Our Little Armenian Cousin 
 Our Little Australian Cousin 
 
 By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet 
 Our Little Brazilian Cousin 
 
 By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet 
 
 Our Little Brown Cousin 
 Our Little Canadian Cousin 
 
 By Elizabeth R. MacDonald 
 
 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 By Isaac Taylor Headland 
 
 Our Little Cuban Cousin 
 Our Little Dutch Cousin 
 
 By Blanche McManus 
 
 Our Little Egyptian Cousin 
 
 By Blanche McManus 
 
 Our Little English Cousin 
 
 By Blanche McManus 
 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 Our Little French Cousin 
 
 By Blanche McManus 
 Our little German Cousin 
 Our Little Greek Cousin 
 
 By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet 
 
 Our Little Hawaiian Cousin 
 Our Little Hindu Cousin 
 
 By Blanche McManus 
 Our Little Hungarian Cousin 
 By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet 
 Our Little Indian Cousin 
 Our Little Irish Cousin 
 Our Little Italian Cousin 
 Our Little Japanese Cousin 
 Our Little Jewish Cousin 
 Our Little Korean Cousin 
 
 By H. Lee M. Pike 
 Our Little Mexican Cousin 
 
 By Edward C. Butler 
 Our Little Norwegian Cousin 
 Our Little Panama Cousin 
 
 By H. Lee M. Pike 
 Our Little Persian Cousin 
 
 By E. C. Shedd 
 Our Little Philippine Cousin 
 Our Little Porto Rican Cousin 
 Our Little Russian Cousin 
 Our Little Scotch Cousin 
 
 By Blanche McManus 
 Our Little Siamese Cousin 
 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet 
 Our Little Swedish Cousin 
 
 By Claire M. Coburn 
 Our Little Swiss Cousin 
 Our Little Turkish Cousin 
 
 L. C. PAGE &• COMPANY 
 
 New England Building, Boston, Mass. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/ourlittlespanishOOnixo 
 

 
 
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 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
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 By 
 
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 Mary F. Nixon-Roulet 
 
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 Author of « God, the King, My Brother," "With 
 
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 Illustrated by 
 
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 L. C. Page & Company 
 
 
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Copyright, igo6 
 By L. C. Page & Company 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
 Third Impression, July, 1908 
 Fourth Impression, March, 1910 
 
Co 
 Paul and Antoinette 
 
Preface 
 
 Washed by the blue Mediterranean and 
 kissed by the warm southern sun, the Iberian 
 Peninsula lies at the southwestern corner of 
 Europe. To this sunny land of Spain we owe 
 much, for, from its hospitable shores, aided 
 by her generous queen, Columbus sailed to 
 discover that New World which is to-day our 
 home. We should therefore be very friendly 
 to the country which helped him, and Ameri- 
 can boys and girls should welcome the coming 
 of Our Little Spanish Cousin. 
 
Contents 
 
 — ♦ — 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. The Christening i 
 
 II. School -days 10 
 
 III. A Visit to a Hacienda .... 19 
 
 IV. At the Alhambra 33 
 
 V. Antonio's Story 43 
 
 VI. The Holidays 53 
 
 VII. Easter in Sevilla 65 
 
 VIII. Rainy Days 74 
 
 IX. To the Country 87 
 
 X. Games and Sports ..... 96 
 
 XI. A Tertulia 104 
 
 XII. Viva el Rey! 117 
 
List of Illustrations 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Fernando and His Donkey (Seepage 60) Frontispiece 
 " The owner pulled it up to her window again " 6 
 " They played hide and seek through the 
 
 marble halls" 40 
 
 "All the people of the town who had such 
 
 animals drove them down to the church 
 
 to be blessed " 60 
 
 " Their bodiess wayed to and fro in time to 
 
 the music" 71 
 
 " They went to the Alcazar gardens " . .84 
 
FERNANDO 
 
 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE CHRISTENING 
 
 One of the first things which Fernando 
 remembered was the christening of his little 
 sister. He was five years old and had no 
 other brother or sister to play with, for Pablo, 
 his wonderful big brother, was away at the 
 Naval School, and his older sister, Augustia, 
 was at school in the convent. 
 
 When Fernando's nurse told him that he 
 had a little sister he was delighted, and begged 
 to see her; and when all his relatives on both 
 sides of the house came to see the baby 
 christened, he was still more pleased. 
 
2 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 Fernando was a little Spanish boy, and in 
 his country a great deal is thought of kinsfolk, 
 for the Spanish are very warm-hearted and 
 affectionate. So Fernando was glad to see all 
 his aunts and uncles and cousins and all the 
 friends who happened to be visiting them 
 at the time. 
 
 Fernando's father, the Senor Don Juan de 
 Guzman, was a courtly gentleman, and he 
 bowed low over the ladies' hands, and said, 
 " The house is yours, senora ! " to each one ; 
 so, as boys generally copy their fathers, Fer- 
 nando assured his little cousins that he " placed 
 himself at their feet," and welcomed them just 
 as politely as his father had the older folk. 
 
 What a wonderful time he had that day ! 
 First came the christening in the great Cathe- 
 dral which towers above Granada, and in 
 which lie buried the king and queen, Ferdi- 
 nand and Isabella, in whose reign Columbus 
 sailed away from Spain to discover America. 
 
The Christening 3 
 
 The Cathedral was so grand that it always 
 made Fernando feel very strange and quiet, 
 and he thought it was shocking that the baby 
 cried when the priest poured water on her 
 and baptized her, Maria Dolores Concepcion 
 Isabel Inez Juanita. This seems a long name 
 for such a tiny little mite, but there was a 
 reason for every single name, and not one 
 could be left out. Nearly all Spanish children 
 are named Maria, whether boys or girls, be- 
 cause the Spaniards are devoted to the Virgin 
 Mary, and as the baby was born on the Feast 
 of the Immaculate Conception, she was called 
 Concepcion. Isabel was for her aunt, and 
 Inez was for her godmother, and Juanita 
 for her father. Her name did not seem at 
 all long to Fernando, for his name was Fer- 
 nando Antonio Maria Allegria Francisco Ruy 
 Guzman y Ximenez. Every one called him 
 Fernando or Nando, and his long name had 
 troubled him but once in all his gay little life, 
 
4 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 That time he had been naughty and had 
 run away from his aya, the nurse who always 
 watches little Spanish children like a faithful 
 dog, and he had fallen into the deep ditch 
 beside the great aloe hedge. 
 
 The aloes are stalwart plants with long 
 leaves, wide-extending and saw-toothed, and 
 they are often planted close together so as 
 to make hedgerows through which cattle can- 
 not pass. The leaves of the aloe are sometimes 
 a yard long, and they are very useful. From 
 them are made strong cords, and also the 
 alpargataSy or sandals, which the peasants wear ; 
 and the fibres of the leaf are separated from 
 the palp and made into many things to wear. 
 The central stem of the aloe grows sometimes 
 twenty feet high, and it has a number of stems 
 on the ends of which grow yellow flowers. 
 The leaves are a bluish-green in colour, and 
 look like long blue swords. The long hedge- 
 rows look very beautiful against the soft blue 
 
The Christening 5 
 
 of the Spanish sky, but little Fernando did not 
 see anything pretty in them as he lay at the 
 bottom of the ditch, roaring lustily. 
 
 "Who's there?" demanded an American 
 gentleman, who was travelling in Spain, as he 
 came along on the other side of the hedge, 
 and Fernando replied, " Fernando Antonio 
 Maria Allegria Francisco Ruy Guzman y 
 Ximenez ! " 
 
 " If there's so many of you I should think 
 you could help each other out," said the 
 American, and when he finally extricated one 
 small boy he laughed heartily, and said, as 
 he took Fernando home : 
 
 " I should think a name like that would 
 topple you over." After that Fernando always 
 called Americans " the people who laugh." 
 
 After the baby was christened, they went 
 home through the narrow streets of the quaint 
 old town. All the horses wore bells, and, as 
 they trotted along, the tinkle, tinkle sounded 
 
6 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 like sleighing-time in America. The reason 
 for this is that in many places the streets are 
 too narrow for two carriages to pass, and the 
 bells give warning that a vehicle is coming, 
 so that the one coming from the opposite 
 direction may find a wide spot in the road, 
 and there wait till the other carriage has 
 passed. 
 
 As the christening party went toward the 
 home of Fernando, it passed a man driving 
 two or three goats, and he stopped in front of 
 a house, from a window of which was let down 
 a string and a pail. Into this the man looked, 
 and taking out a piece of money which lay 
 in the bottom, he milked the pail full from one 
 of the goats, and the owner pulled it up to her 
 window again. It seems a strange way to get 
 your morning's milk, but it is sure to be fresh 
 and sweet, right from the goat, and there is 
 no chance to put water in it, as milkmen 
 sometimes do in America. 
 
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 THE OWNER PULLED IT UP TO HER WINDOW AGAIN." 
 
The Christening 7 
 
 The houses Fernando passed were all painted 
 in many soft colours, and they had charming 
 little iron balconies, to some of which palm 
 branches were fastened, blessed palms from 
 the church at Holy Week, which the Span- 
 iards believe will keep lightning from striking 
 the house. 
 
 Fernando's house was much larger than the 
 rest, for his father was a noble of one of the 
 oldest families in Spain, whose ancestors had 
 done many splendid things for the state in 
 the olden times. The house had several 
 balconies, from which hung down long sprays 
 of blossoms, for every balcony railing was 
 filled with flower-pots. There grew vines 
 and flowers, nasturtiums, hyacinths, wallflow- 
 ers, pinks and violets, their sweet scents filling 
 the air, 
 
 When the christening party entered the 
 house, the baby was borne off to the nursery, 
 and Fernando, no longer a baby, but a big 
 
8 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 boy with a baby sister, was allowed to go with 
 the rest to the patio, where breakfast was 
 served. 
 
 The patio is one of the most charming things 
 about the real Spanish houses. It is a court 
 in the centre of the house, larger than an ordi- 
 nary room, with a marble floor and a huge 
 awning which protects from the sun, yet leaves 
 the patio open to the fresh air and sweet scents 
 of the sunny out-of-doors. All the family 
 gather in the patio, and it is the favourite 
 lounging-place for old and young. In the 
 patio of the Senor Guzman's house were orange- 
 trees and jasmine, and all colours of violets 
 bloomed around the marble rim of the foun- 
 tain, which was in the centre. 
 
 What a wonderful thing that christening 
 feast was to Fernando ! There was much laugh- 
 ing and talking, and such good things to eat ! 
 
 When all were through eating, little Jua- 
 nita's health was drunk, and her godfather pro- 
 
The Christening 9 
 
 posed her health, and recited a poem he had 
 composed in her honour. 
 
 " Queridita Ahijada ! 
 Plegue al cielo que tu vida 
 Sea feliz y placentera 
 Cual arroyo cristalino 
 Que atraviesa la pradera 
 Su Padrino, Francesco. 5 " x 
 
 This very much delighted every one, and so 
 with laughter and merriment the christening 
 feast was over. 
 
 1 " Please God, my little godchild, 
 That your life as pure may be 
 As the laughing brook which through the valley, 
 Runneth ever limpidly. 
 Your Godfather Francesco 
 Wishes fervently." 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 SCHOOL - DAYS 
 
 When Fernando was seven years old he 
 began to go to school. Little Juanita cried 
 bitterly, for she was devoted to the big brother 
 who played such lovely games with her, and 
 she did not like to think of his being away 
 from her nearly all day. However, she was 
 told that Fernando was a big boy now, and 
 that before long she would be having a gov- 
 erness to teach her to read and embroider, 
 so she stopped crying very quickly, for she 
 was a sunny little child, and went to picking 
 flowers in the garden quite contentedly. 
 
 How grown up Fernando felt ! To be a 
 
 real schoolboy ! His school-days were all 
 
 alike. He arose at half-past seven, when the 
 
 xo 
 
School-days 1 1 
 
 church-bells were ringing for the daily service ; 
 he had a bath, said his prayers, and dressed 
 himself very neatly, for he had first to be 
 looked over by his aya^ and then inspected by 
 his mamma, to see if he could pass muster, 
 and was clean and neat as a little Spanish 
 gentleman should be. Mamma being satisfied 
 with his appearance, he gave her his morning 
 kiss, and greeted the rest of the family. Then 
 followed breakfast, — a simple, wholesome meal 
 of semola, or gruel and warm milk, with bread 
 and honey and eggs. 
 
 After a run in the garden, the ayo, or pre- 
 ceptor, called to take him to school. Fer- 
 nando skipped happily away to study until 
 twelve o'clock, when dinner was served to the 
 day boarders, a dinner of soup, vegetables, 
 and dessert, with a little playtime afterward. 
 Spanish boys do not take tea or coffee until 
 they are grown up. At half-past four the 
 boys are turned out of school, and then comes 
 
12 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 the delight of the day to Fernando. His ayo 
 has disappeared, and in his stead has come 
 Manuel, his own man, who tells such delight- 
 ful stories of knights and warriors and the 
 glories of Spain, and who thinks that all his 
 little master does is perfect. Manuel knows 
 all about the city, and he is willing to take Fer- 
 nando any place he wishes to go, provided 
 it is a fit place for a boy of rank. He knows 
 just where the marionettes are playing, and 
 if there is a gay crowd on the square, a trained 
 bear or a funny little monkey, he will be sure 
 to have heard about it, and take Fernando 
 to see it. If there is no special excitement, 
 Manuel takes him to the paseo, where all the 
 boys of the town gather. Here they play 
 in mimic battles and bull-fights, and Fernando 
 enters into everything with delight, until Man- 
 uel thinks it is time for the senora, his mother, 
 to pass by in the carriage. How delighted 
 the little boy is to see her, and how his tongue 
 
School-days 13 
 
 rattles as he tells her all the events of the day, 
 as he rides home with her through the long 
 soft twilight of the soft Spanish night! How 
 good his supper tastes, a simple little supper 
 of chocolate, rich and dark, white bread and 
 golden honey, with some little iced cakes, 
 which dear old Dolores, the cook, has made 
 for the little master. All the servants love 
 Fernando dearly, for though he has a hot 
 temper, and sometimes is very wilful, he is 
 so loving that they do not mind his naughti- 
 ness. After supper Fernando says the rosary 
 with his aya, goes over his lessons a little, 
 and then tumbles into bed in a happy slum- 
 ber. 
 
 All his days are very much alike, for Span- 
 ish children are brought up very simply, and 
 have little excitement, though they have many 
 pleasures. There are little visits paid to aunts 
 and cousins, visits remembered not too pleas- 
 antly by the pet dog and parrot of his aunt 
 
14 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 The parrot was brought from Cuba by Uncle 
 Enrico, the priest. The bird knows Fernando 
 well, and scolds terribly in most unchurchly 
 language every time he approaches the cage. 
 The French poodle, too, does not greatly care 
 for a visit from Fernando, for the boy cannot 
 help teasing, and the fat, stupid dog, his Aunt 
 Isabel's darling, does nothing but lie around 
 on silken cushions and eat comfits. Fernando 
 likes animals, and would never really hurt one, 
 but there is something in the calm self-satis- 
 faction of Beppino which stirs up all the mis- 
 chief in him, and Aunt Isabel has been heard 
 to exclaim : " Fernando will be my death ! 
 He is a dear boy, and if it came to choosing 
 between him and Beppo, I am quite sure that 
 I would take my nephew, but, thank Heaven, 
 I have not to choose ! " 
 
 Fernando's own dog was different. He 
 found him one day close by the garden railing, 
 a poor, ragged fellow, lean and hungry, with a 
 
School-days 15 
 
 lame foot, but a pair of pleading and wistful 
 brown eyes, which, with all their misery, had 
 yet a look of good-fellowship within them 
 which appealed to Fernando's gay nature, as 
 the pitiful plight of the little fellow appealed 
 to his tender heart. The dog put a pink 
 tongue through the railing and licked Fernan- 
 do's hand, and that clinched the bargain. 
 Henceforth the two were friends. Fernando 
 persuaded Manuel to bathe and tie up the 
 wounded foot, and feed the puppy. That 
 was all the boy dared at first, but the next day 
 he found the dog in the same place and fed 
 him again. Every day after that the little 
 tramp followed him to school, and when school 
 was over his yellow-haired dogship awaited his 
 benefactor. Manuel winked at the friendship, 
 and allowed Mazo, as Fernando called him, to 
 have many a good meal at the garden gate. 
 Manuel was a great stickler for the proprieties, 
 but he had been a boy once, and there were 
 
16 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 some things that Fernando's lady mother would 
 not at all have comprehended, that good old 
 Manuel understocd perfectly. Mazo was 
 far more interesting to Fernando than the 
 thoroughbred, ladylike pets of his mother, and 
 it was a sore subject with him that Mazo, who 
 was so clever, who could whip the tramp dogs 
 of any of his school friends, should be kept 
 outside the house. His mother did not seem 
 to realize that Mazo's fighting qualities were 
 what made him valuable. One fatal day, when 
 she had driven to the paseo a little earlier than 
 usual, and had seen a fight between Mazo and 
 another little dog, equally disreputable, she 
 had cried out: 
 
 €f Fernando, come away from that ferocious 
 beast ! He must be mad ! " and she had 
 seemed anything but reassured when Fernando 
 had tried to calm her by saying : 
 
 " But, mamma, he is not mad ; I know him 
 well ; he is the gentlest of beings, and he can 
 
School-days 1 7 
 
 whip any dog in the paseo y " the pride of pos- 
 session getting the better of prudence. 
 
 Thereafter Manuel was most careful of 
 Mazo's appearance. He captured him and 
 washed him, and let him sleep in a shed at 
 night, and by degrees the little fellow lost his 
 trampish appearance, and became a semi-re- 
 spectable member of society, though still ready 
 to follow Fernando like a shadow, to fight at 
 his will, and to share with him an excursion 
 into forbidden lands. It was really droll to 
 see the different airs which Mazo could assume. 
 He had ever an eye upon his audience, having 
 early learned in the hard school of misfortune 
 that his comfort depended not at all upon him- 
 self, but upon the humour of those about him. 
 With the outside world his look was wary. 
 With the family of his master he was apolo- 
 getic. His brown eye seemed to say : " I 
 place myself at your feet, most noble seniors ; 
 I pray you excuse me for living." But with 
 
1 8 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 Fernando, while it was tempered with respect, 
 his air was one of good - fellowship alone. 
 Even the senora herself, the head of the house 
 and authority in chief, as is the case in all 
 Spanish households, came to regard Fernan- 
 do's dog with a degree of friendliness, and 
 finding this out, the servants treated him 
 kindly ; and Mazo decided that his lines had 
 fallen in pleasant places. Upon this, however, 
 he never presumed. He knew not how long 
 it would last, but felt that he was upon good 
 behaviour. He restrained his desire to chase 
 Juanita's pet cat, and to bark when the parrot 
 imitated his barking, though the restraint put 
 upon himself must have been severe, for he 
 made up for it when out with Manuel and Fer- 
 nando. Then he was himself again, Mazo the 
 tramp. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 A VISIT TO A HACIENDA 
 
 One day in October, when the sun was 
 shining in golden beauty, the senora said to 
 her husband : 
 
 " I should like to go to the hacienda to-mor- 
 row, and take the children with me, for la nina 
 has never seen the picking, and Fernando did 
 not go last year or the year before.'* 
 
 " It will give me pleasure to escort you," 
 said the Senor de Guzman, in the courtly 
 manner which Spanish gentlemen use toward 
 their wives. " At what hour will it please you 
 to start ?" 
 
 " As early as you can," she answered. " So 
 
 that we may arrive there in plenty of time to 
 
 see the picking before luncheon, and after a 
 
 19 
 
20 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 siesta, drive back in the pleasant part of the 
 afternoon." 
 
 "We shall start at nine, then," said her 
 husband, " and should arrive there by ten or 
 a little after." 
 
 When Fernando returned from school and 
 heard that he was to accompany his mother 
 next day, he was nearly beside himself with 
 
 j°y- 
 
 " Juanita," he cried, " you have no idea how 
 delightful it is at the fruit farm ! I have 
 not been there for two years, but I remember 
 it well. All the oranges one can eat, and 
 such raisins ! You will much enjoy it, I am 
 sure." 
 
 He was up bright and early next day, and 
 impatient to start long before his mother was 
 ready, and even his father was waiting before 
 the sefiora made her appearance. She was a 
 large woman, and very slow and graceful in 
 her movements. No one had ever seen her 
 
A Visit to a Hacienda 21 
 
 hurried, and every one expected to wait for 
 her, so that it was nearly half-past nine when 
 they started. The coachman whipped up the 
 horses, and away they went skimming over 
 the rough stones. Fernando sat with Diego 
 and Manuel on the front seat of the carriage, 
 while Dolores sat beside the senora, holding 
 Juanita on her lap. The senor rode upon his 
 high-stepping Andalusian horse beside the 
 carriage, and pointed out places of interest to 
 the children as they drove along. 
 
 A gay young officer passed by them, young 
 and slim, riding a handsome horse, and some 
 soldiers were manoeuvring on the Plaza. One 
 poor fellow, once a gay soldier, but now with 
 an empty sleeve, dressed in a faded army 
 blouse and wearing a merit medal, was beg- 
 ging in the street, and the senor stopped to 
 give him a piece of silver, for Spaniards are 
 always generous and pitiful, and cannot resist 
 a beggar. " He had served in Cuba," said the 
 
22 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 sefior to his wife, and she sighed as she thought 
 of the many lost to Spain and their dear ones 
 in that useless war. 
 
 Fruit-venders passed along the street, and 
 donkeys so laden with fruit and flowers that 
 almost nothing could be seen of them but 
 their slim little legs and their great waving 
 ears. Water-carriers were there, carrying huge 
 jars which looked like those used by the old 
 Moors ; and a travelling merchant, in gray 
 garments, but with brightly dressed mules. 
 It was not so bright a party that they passed 
 later, for a peasant funeral passed by on its 
 way to the cemetery. Four young men car- 
 ried the bier, upon which was the body of 
 a child, covered all but its face, which lay 
 exposed to the sun. 
 
 Cf Take off your hat, son," said the senora. 
 " Always do so to a passing funeral, for maybe 
 yours will be the last salute the dead will 
 receive on earth." 
 
A Visit to a Hacienda 23 
 
 No sooner was the funeral passed than there 
 came a straw and charcoal merchant, crying, 
 " Paja ! Carbon ! Cabrito / " So many peo- 
 ple in Granada have no way to warm them- 
 selves except by the brasero, in which char- 
 coal is burnt, that there is great need for 
 the charcoal man, and he drives a brisk 
 trade. 
 
 Next they saw a priest on a sick call, for he 
 bore the Blessed Sacrament. A crowd of 
 ragged urchins stopped in their play to kneel 
 as he passed, and Fernando and his father 
 raised their hats. 
 
 By this time, the carriage had reached the 
 outskirts of the city, and the road wound 
 along the banks of the Darro, a rushing 
 stream which gushes out of a deep mountain 
 gorge, and passes through the town. Its 
 banks are lined with quaint old houses, lean- 
 ing far over the river, and Fernando saw 
 women there, washing their linen in the 
 
24 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 water, and spreading their clothes on the 
 stones to dry. 
 
 Outside of the town their way lay along 
 the beautiful Vega, which stretches beyond 
 Granada, in green and fertile loveliness, to the 
 far-away hills. Crossed by two rivers, the 
 Darro and Genii, the plain is dotted with 
 whitewashed villas, nestling like birds in the 
 soft green of the olive and orange trees. 
 Sloping gradually to the mountains above, 
 the Vega is green as emerald, and truly a 
 fair sight beneath the turquoise sky, and 
 the mother-of-pearl of the snowy moun- 
 tains. 
 
 Fernando's father owned large estates upon 
 the hillsides, and raised oranges and grapes. 
 The last were used for raisins, the grapes from 
 which the finest wine is made, the Amon- 
 tillado , for which Spain is so famous, not 
 reaching their greatest perfection in this part 
 of the land. 
 
A Visit to a Hacienda 25 
 
 In an hour they reached the farm and drove 
 down the long lane which led to the house. 
 The Hacienda of Santa Eulalia was a large, low 
 building, with a broad porch and a tangle 
 of vines and roses climbing over it. Huge 
 trees spread their arms over the roof, and from 
 the balcony one could see groves of cypress- 
 trees, pines, oaks, and poplars, beyond the 
 fruit-trees, and, above all, the rose-coloured 
 peaks of the Sierras. Upon the slope of the 
 hill, as it fell away toward Granada, were the 
 grape-vines, with huge clusters of grapes, pur- 
 ple, white, and red, weighing down the vines. 
 There were, too, terraces where the raisins 
 dried ; and nearer the house were the drying- 
 sheds, where an army of packers pressed 
 the raisins under boards, and carefully sorted 
 them before packing. The vineyards were 
 beautiful, but even more so were the orange 
 groves, and one who has seen a grove in full 
 fruit never forgets the beautiful sight. The 
 
26 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 trees are deep green in colour, and full of 
 leaves, many of them bearing at the same 
 time flowers and green and ripe fruit. 
 
 The children were wild with delight, and 
 ran about eager to see the picking and sorting 
 of the fine fruit, for the oranges of Santa 
 Eulalia were famous for size and quality. 
 The trees grew rather low to the ground, 
 and were covered with fruit which the pickers 
 were gathering. Ladders were put up to the 
 lower branches, and each picker carried a 
 basket swung to his neck by a cord. He 
 carefully picked the oranges, one at a time, 
 and dropped them in his basket, and so expert 
 were many of them that it seemed as if they 
 had scarcely mounted the ladder before the 
 basket was full. Many young girls were em- 
 ployed as pickers, and they were particularly 
 skilful, vying with the men in their swiftness. 
 Very gay were their voices, and merry jest 
 and song enlivened the work, until it seemed 
 
A Visit to a Hacienda 27 
 
 as if it were not work but play. Fernando 
 and Juanita hopped about like little rabbits, 
 eating the fruit which rolled to the ground, 
 for often the golden globes fell from the trees, 
 as they were shaken by the picking. 
 
 When the baskets were filled, the oranges 
 were carried to the sheds and left overnight to 
 harden the skins a little, when each orange 
 was wrapped in soft tissue-paper. For this 
 are employed young boys and girls, and very 
 expert they grow in the wrapping of the 
 oranges, each one being properly wrapped with 
 but a twist of the hand. The next thing is 
 the packing, and the oranges are stored away 
 in wooden boxes, and are ready to be shipped 
 to market. 
 
 The children ate so many oranges that they 
 scarcely wanted any of the luncheon prepared 
 for them at the hacienda. There was an ome- 
 let with green peppers, a delicious salad, 
 some fowl, and tiny round potato balls, all 
 
28 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 sprinkled over with chopped parsley, with 
 a huge dish of oranges and grapes for 
 dessert. 
 
 The senora insisted upon a little siesta 
 after luncheon, but Fernando's eyes were so 
 wide open that he could not close them as 
 he swung to and fro in the great hammock 
 between two orange-trees in front of the house. 
 He was delighted when his father sat down 
 beside him, in one of the big easy chairs, 
 and said : 
 
 " You look to me like a boy who would like 
 to hear a story." 
 
 " Indeed I would ; please tell me one," 
 said Fernando. 
 
 " Have you ever heard about the judges 
 of Pedro the Cruel ? " 
 
 " No, papa," said Fernando, all interest. 
 
 " A long time ago, there ruled over Anda- 
 lusia a king named Pedro, and he was so 
 disliked by his subjects, and did so many 
 
A Visit to a Hacienda 29 
 
 wicked things, that he was called Pedro the 
 Cruel. He lived in the city of Sevilla, and 
 though he was cruel, and often heartless, still 
 he had a strong sense of justice, which would 
 not allow the common people to be badly- 
 treated. He found out one day that four 
 of his judges had been cheating the people 
 and taking bribes, and he determined to teach 
 them a lesson. He went to his favourite 
 gardens, those of the Alcazar, and sent for 
 the judges to come to him there. It is a 
 wonderful place even to-day, and then it must 
 have been very beautiful. Huge banana-trees 
 waved their rough green leaves above the 
 tangled beauty of the flower-beds, where jas- 
 mine and violets and roses grew in profusion. 
 In the midst was a fountain, and Don Pedro 
 knelt beside it, smiling wickedly as he placed 
 upon the perfumed waters, five oranges cut 
 in halves, and placed flat-side down. The 
 reflection was so perfect that any one would be 
 
30 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 deceived, and think they were whole oranges 
 floating upon the water. 
 
 ccc How many oranges are there here?' 
 asked the king, smiling genially, and the 
 judges replied : 
 
 ff c Ten, may it please your Gracious Majesty.' 
 
 " c Nay, but it does not please my Gracious 
 Majesty to have four fools for judges,' he said. 
 f Liars ! Can you not see that there are but 
 five ? ' and he raised two of the halves and held 
 them together. c Know, oh, unjust judges/ 
 he said, sternly, c that the king's servants 
 must see more than the surface of things if 
 they are to conduct that portion of the realm 
 which it is their business to attend to, and since 
 you cannot tell a half from a whole, perchance 
 that is the reason of the tales I hear of your 
 ill-dealings with the property of some of my 
 subjects ! ' 
 
 (f He ordered them to be beheaded and 
 their places filled with better men, and the 
 
A Visit to a Hacienda 31 
 
 poor people whom they had defrauded had 
 their property restored to them. There are 
 many other stones of King Pedro which are 
 not pleasant to tell, and it is good to remember 
 that he sometimes did kind things." 
 
 " Thank you," said Fernando. " What is 
 the Alcazar where the gardens were ? " 
 
 "It is a very remarkable place, and when 
 you go to Sevilla you will see it. At first, 
 hundreds of years ago, when the Romans 
 were in Spain, it was the house of Caesar ; 
 afterward the Moors turned it into a fortress, 
 and it is a perfect example of Moorish 
 work. Don Pedro rebuilt it, and spent 
 a great deal of money upon it, making it 
 the most beautiful palace in all Spain. All 
 manner of things happened there, among 
 them the murder of Don Pedro's half-brother, 
 Don Fadrique, who he was afraid would lay 
 claim to the throne. 
 
 " But here come your mother and Juanita, 
 
32 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 and I think your rest time is about over. Go 
 and play, and tell Manuel we return at four 
 o'clock, so you must be on time." 
 
 So Fernando spent a delightful afternoon 
 in the orange grove, and drove home through 
 the cool twilight, passing the paseo just as 
 the band was playing the Marcha Real, the 
 national song, which he hummed until he 
 went to bed. 
 
 riffl i ng 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 AT THE ALHAMBRA 
 
 cc Mi madre " cried Fernando, rushing into 
 the house one day in October, " to-day is the 
 feast-day of the head master, and we have 
 a holiday. May I have permission to go to 
 the hill to see Antonio ? " 
 
 " Not by yourself, my son," replied his 
 mother, and Fernando said, hastily, " Oh, no, 
 madre mia^ Manuel says that he will take me 
 if you will permit me, and, if Juanita's nurse 
 could be spared, we could take the nina, as 
 she has never been there, and that would give 
 her pleasure." 
 
 " Let me see," his mother paused a moment, 
 
 " the day is fine. This morning I am busy, 
 
 but after luncheon I will drive thither with the 
 
 33 
 
34 O ur Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 little one, and leave you for an hour while 
 I go on to the villa of the Senora Sanchez ; but 
 you must be a good boy, and mind Manuel.'* 
 
 "Yes, mother, and you will see Antonio, 
 whom I like best of all the boys at school," 
 said Fernando, and he hastened away to make 
 ready for the great treat. A drive with his 
 mother in school hours was a pleasure seldom 
 indulged in, and a visit to the great hill which 
 crowns Granada was treat enough, but to take 
 Juanita, — these were things so pleasant that 
 he said to himself, " I think my guardian 
 angel must have whispered in my mother's 
 ear to give me all this pleasure." 
 
 It was about two o'clock as they drove 
 through the narrow streets of the city up 
 the steep and hilly way which led to the out- 
 skirts of the town. 
 
 " You are going to see the nicest boy in 
 Granada, and the most wonderful castle in 
 Spain, nina" said Fernando to Juanita, and 
 
At the Alhambra 35 
 
 the two children chattered merrily as the car- 
 riage went slowly up the hill. 
 
 " Here is a riddle I heard at school, nina, 
 see if you can guess it, — 
 
 " ' Guarded in a prison strait, 
 Ivory gaolers round her wait, 
 Venomous snake of sanguine hue, 
 Mother of all the lies that brew I '" 
 
 " I do not know," said his little sister, 
 wonderingly. She thought all that Fernando 
 said and did was perfection. " What is it, 
 Nando ? " 
 
 "Why, the tongue, of course," he said, 
 pleased to have given a riddle which she could 
 not guess ; and his mother said : 
 
 " That is a very good riddle, and I hope 
 you will remember it, for it is the tongue 
 which makes much mischief in this world. 
 Remember that s a stone and a word flung 
 do not return.' " 
 
 " There is Mazo following us," said Juanita, 
 and her mother said, laughingly, " Really, 
 
36 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 Fernando, I don't see why you like that dog 
 so much ! He is uglier than Picio." x 
 
 " He isn't handsome, but you have told me 
 that handsome is as handsome does ! " said 
 her son, and his mother laughed again. 
 
 " Oh, what is that ? " cried Juanita, as the 
 carriage made a turn, and some splendid great 
 towers came into view. 
 
 " That is the Alhambra," said Fernando. 
 " It is the most wonderful castle in Spain. 
 Manuel said it was begun in 1238, in the 
 reign of the Moorish king, Ibn-1-Ahmar, and 
 it was years and years in building. He says 
 the Moors used to have the castle and the city 
 of Granada, and I read in my history of how 
 the Catholic king, Ferdinand, came here to 
 conquer it. He fought and fought, but the 
 Moors wouldn't give it up. I think they were 
 a brave people, if they were beaten, don't you r " 
 
 1 Picio was a man so ugly that his name has passed into a 
 proverb in Spain. 
 
At the Alhambra 37 
 
 " Yes, my son, they were very brave, but 
 they did such cruel things to the captives 
 they took, that it is not surprising that the 
 Spaniards wanted to conquer them, " said his 
 mother. 
 
 " They captured Christian girls, and forced 
 them to become their wives, though what they 
 wanted with them I cannot see, for they already 
 had many wives, and I should think one was 
 enough for any man. Where shall we find 
 your friend, Fernando? If you wish I will 
 leave you with him for an hour, and continue 
 my drive." 
 
 " Oh, thank you, mother, I knew you would 
 let me stay ! " cried Fernando ; and Juanita 
 said, " Please leave me, too, mother, that I 
 may see Antonio and the great palace. ,, 
 
 cc Antonio lives within the palace, mamma," 
 said Fernando. " He was born there, and he 
 and his sister, Pepita, have never been away. 
 He is to go to the English school at Gibraltar, 
 
38 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 but not until he is bigger. May we ask some 
 one where he is ? " 
 
 " Certainly. He must be a nice boy to 
 have lived always in such a place, and to have 
 you so devoted to him. There is a guard ; 
 ask him where the apartments of the boy's 
 father are," she said to Manuel, who sat 
 upon the box with the coachman. Further 
 inquiry, however, was not necessary, for, as the 
 carriage made its way up the broad drive 
 shaded with magnificent elm-trees, which the 
 Duke of Wellington planted, a boy came 
 bounding toward them. 
 
 " There he is," cried Fernando. " Antonio, 
 come here, we have come to see you." 
 
 The carriage stopped, and Fernando hopped 
 out as lightly as a squirrel, giving Antonio 
 a good hug, for Spanish boys are never 
 ashamed of showing that they like their friends. 
 Antonio's cap was off in a trice and he smiled 
 and bowed as Fernando presented him to his 
 
At the Alhambra 39 
 
 mother and little sister. Antonio was a hand- 
 some boy, with eyes as dark and blue as the 
 sapphire of the Spanish skies, and fair hair 
 tossed back from an open brow. All Span- 
 iards are not dark, and, in Andalusia, the 
 province in which Granada lies, there are 
 many blonds. 
 
 " I will leave Fernando and Juanita with you 
 for a visit," said the senora, graciously. " Will 
 you bring them here in an hour ? " 
 
 " Si> senora," said Antonio. " But if you 
 would so honour us, the sefiora, my mother has 
 prepared a little luncheon in the Garden of 
 Lindaraya at four o'clock, and she would be 
 most happy if you would partake of it with us." 
 
 " Thank you, then I shall allow the children 
 to remain with you until that time and I shall 
 myself prolong my visit with my friends at 
 the villa," she replied. "When I return I 
 shall do myself the pleasure of meeting your 
 mother." 
 
At the Alhambra 41 
 
 ful because she had been born in a palace, and 
 her father was custodian of the wonderful 
 place, but it was Antonio who claimed her 
 greatest admiration. He was even more mar- 
 vellous than Fernando, she almost thought, 
 because he was bigger, and his eyes had such a 
 kind and merry look, and he always carried 
 her over the rough places in his strong young 
 arms, and lifted her over the walls as they 
 strolled through the gardens. 
 
 She had never seen such gardens as these of 
 the Alhambra. They were full of the most 
 beautiful flowers, and there was the most deli- 
 cious scent in the air. 
 
 Antonio told her it was from the wallflowers, 
 which grew here in great profusion, and were 
 twice as large as they were in other places. But 
 besides them there were great trees of purple 
 heliotrope, the blooms as large around as 
 Juanita's big hat; and geranium-trees, taller 
 than a man, with orange-trees in bloom, late 
 
42 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 though it was, and with the ripe fruit upon 
 their branches also. 
 
 Then the children had a charming luncheon 
 on the grass, for Antonio's mother set forth for 
 them all manner of good things, — a dainty 
 salad with some cold meat, thick chocolate in 
 tiny cups, and cakes in the daintiest of shapes. 
 What a merry picnic it was beneath the shade 
 of the great orange-tree which Antonio told 
 them had been there for over a hundred years, 
 and from which the great American, Washing- 
 ton Irving, had picked fruit when he lived at 
 the Alhambra ! Then when the party was 
 over, and his mother had not come, Fernando 
 said : 
 
 cc Antonio, tell us a story. You know some 
 about the castle, I am sure." And little 
 Juanita begged, " Do please tell us one, An- 
 tonio," and as nobody could ever resist the 
 ninas wistful, brown eyes, Antonio smilingly 
 began the story of " The Three Sisters." 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 antonio's story 
 
 " Once upon a time," Antonio began, 
 " there were in the palace of the Alhambra 
 three princesses whose names were Zayde, 
 Zorayde and Zorahayda. They were daugh- 
 ters of the Sultan, for it was in the days when 
 the Moors reigned in Granada, and there were 
 no Christians here but captive Spaniards. The 
 princesses were kept in a tower called the 
 Tower of the Infantas, one of the most beauti- 
 ful towers of the Alhambra. It was fitted up 
 in a manner befitting the home of the king's 
 daughters. The walls of the room were hung 
 with tapestries in cloth of gold and royal blue; 
 the divans were heaped high with pillows, the 
 pillars and arches which held up the roof itself, 
 
 43 
 
44 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 were in filigree of softest hues, — blue, terra- 
 cotta, and gold. The Princess Zayde's cham- 
 ber was the richest, all in cloth of gold, since 
 she was the eldest Infanta ; that of Zorayde 
 was hung with steel mirrors, burnished bright, 
 for she was most fair to look upon and loved 
 to look upon herself; while that of the young- 
 est, little brown-eyed Princess Zorahayda, was 
 delicate in tone, as if some rare jewel lay in 
 a dainty casket. Upon the princesses waited 
 the discreet Kadiga, an elderly duenna who 
 never let them from her sight for a moment. 
 She watched them as a cat does a mouse, but 
 there was one thing she could not control, and 
 that was the eyes of the princesses. They 
 would look forth from the windows, and, in- 
 deed, this Kadiga never forbade, for it seemed 
 to her a pity that three such fair maidens 
 should have so little amusement, and she 
 thought it could not possibly hurt them to 
 gaze into the gardens below. 
 
Antonio's Story 45 
 
 " One day, while the princesses were looking 
 out the narrow windows, they saw something 
 which made them look and look again. Yes, it 
 was true, — could it be ? it was ! They were 
 the very same — the three Christian princes 
 whom they had seen at Salobrena; but here 
 they were labouring as captives. At the tour- 
 ney to which the princesses had been taken, 
 they had seen these noble knights, and had 
 fallen in love with them, and it was for this that 
 their father had shut them up in a tower, for he 
 had said no daughter of his should marry a 
 Christian. 
 
 " But the knights thought differently, and 
 they had come to Granada in the hope of find- 
 ing their princesses, and had been taken cap- 
 tive and were compelled to hard labour. 
 
 " c It is he ! ' cried Zayde. c The knight 
 with the scarlet tunic is the one I saw ! ' 
 
 " c Yes, but the one in blue, he is mine ! ' 
 cried Zorayde. 
 
46 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 " Little Zorahayda said nothing, but she 
 looked with all her eyes at the third knight. 
 And this was not the last time she saw him, 
 for the knights had come thither, bent on 
 rescuing the maidens, and had bribed their 
 jailer to help them to escape. So one moon- 
 light night, when the moon was turning into 
 silver beauty the orange-trees of the garden, 
 and shining in fullest light into the deep 
 ravine below the Tower of the Infantas, the 
 knights awaited their lady-loves in the valley 
 below, and Kadiga let them down by a rope- 
 ladder. 
 
 " All escaped in safety but little Zorahayda, 
 and she feared to go. 
 
 " c Leave me,' she cried. c I must not 
 leave my father ! ' and at last, since they could 
 not persuade her to go, they rode sadly away 
 without her, and her little white hand waved a 
 sad farewell to them from the window. There 
 she still is, so say the legends, and there are 
 
Antonio's Story 47 
 
 those who, walking in these gardens at mid- 
 night, tell that they have seen a white hand 
 wave from the tower window, and a voice 
 whisper through the murmur of the fountains, 
 'Ay de mi Zorahayda I ' " 
 
 " Oh, Antonio ! hast thou seen her ? " cried 
 Juanita, and her brother laughed, and said : 
 
 " Little foolish one, it is but a story ! But 
 Antonio, tell us a tale of battle, for this is but 
 a woman's story, and there have been splendid 
 deeds done in this old castle. ,, 
 
 " Splendid ones, and sorry ones as well, ,, 
 said Antonio, who was old for his twelve 
 years, and had lived so long in the atmosphere 
 of romance that he seemed a part of it, in 
 speech and manners. "Shall I tell you of the 
 taking of the Alhambra from the Moors ? It 
 was a glorious fight, and both sides were brave 
 men." 
 
 Then he told them of the conquest of 
 Granada, when Christian knight and Moor 
 
48 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 fought valiantly for the possession of the 
 splendid city, with its gem, the Alhambra. He 
 told of how the noble knight, Juan de Vega, 
 was sent to demand tribute from Muley ben 
 Hassan, King of Granada, and that fierce old 
 monarch said : 
 
 " Return to your sovereigns, O Spaniard, 
 and tell them that the kings of Granada who 
 paid tribute are all dead. My mint coins only 
 swords ! " Brave words, but it was his son, 
 Boabdil the Unlucky, who was forced to sur- 
 render the castle to the victorious enemy, and 
 who handed the keys to the Spaniards, as he 
 rode through the gate of the Siete Suelos, 
 saying : " Go, possess these fortresses which 
 Allah has taken from me, but grant me this 
 one boon, that none other shall pass under 
 this gateway from which I have come out." 
 And Ferdinand granted his request and walled 
 up the gate, so that, from that day to this, no 
 one has passed through that entrance. 
 
Antonio's Story 49 
 
 These and other tales Antonio told them, 
 and the afternoon passed so quickly that the 
 children were surprised when their mother's 
 voice warned them that it was time to go 
 home. 
 
 " Oh, mamma," they cried, " must we go ? " 
 and the senora smilingly waited a little, chatting 
 with Antonio's mother, while he picked a 
 huge bunch of flowers for the children to 
 carry away with them. Then the good-byes 
 were said, and they drove away crying : 
 
 " Come soon to see us, Antonio." To 
 which he replied, in pleasant Spanish fashion : 
 
 " Thank you well, and very much for your 
 visit ! " 
 
 " Isn't he a nice boy ? " said Juanita. 
 
 " Quite a little Don," her mother answered, 
 smiling. " Fernando, I am glad to see that 
 you have the sense to choose your friends so 
 well," and Fernando grinned, boylike, well 
 pleased. 
 
50 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 " Oh, who is that ? " Juanita asked, as a 
 fantastic figure approached. 
 
 " That is the gipsy king," said her mother. 
 "You know the gipsies live all huddled to- 
 gether there, below the Alhambra, and they 
 have a chief whom they call king. They are 
 a lazy set, doing little but thieving and telling 
 fortunes. They live in little burrows, like 
 rabbits, set into the hillsides, and there are pigs, 
 goats, and dogs all living together with the 
 people." 
 
 " That girl with the king is very pretty," 
 said Fernando, £C with her black hair and eyes, 
 and her bright skirts, and the pomegranate 
 flower behind her ear." 
 
 " The pomegranate is the flower of Gra- 
 nada, you know," said his mother, "and 
 it does look pretty in her dark hair. Hear 
 her call her dogs ! Gipsy dogs are all named 
 Melampo, Cubilon, or Lubina, after the shep- 
 herd dogs who followed the shepherds, and 
 
Antonio's Story 51 
 
 saw our Lord at Bethlehem. Ah, Juanita, 
 ; Jesus, Maria y Jose ! ' You must not 
 sneeze ! Drive faster, Diego, and Dolores, 
 wrap the baby in that Palencian blanket, so 
 soft and warm. The nights grow cool quickly 
 at this time of year." 
 
 " Why do we always say c Jesus, Maria y 
 JoseT when people sneeze?" asked Fernando. 
 
 " It has been the custom so long that peo- 
 ple have almost forgotten why it is done," re- 
 plied his mother ; " but I remember my grand- 
 mother saying once that her mother told her 
 the reason. Years and years ago, in 1580, 
 there was in all Andalusia a terrible plague 
 called the mosquillo. People sneezed once, and 
 lo ! they had the plague, and little could save 
 them, though some few recovered. So it 
 grew to be the custom, when one sneezed, for 
 those who heard him to look pityingly upon 
 him and say, c Dios le ayudej ' or call upon the 
 
 1 " God help him." 
 
52 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 holy names to help him, saying, c Jesus, Maria 
 y Jose, 
 
 " See that ragged beggar, mamma," said 
 Juanita. " May we not give him some- 
 thing ? " as a little boy came hopping along 
 beside the carriage, crying, lustily : 
 
 " Una limosna por el amor de Dios> 2 sen or a ! " 
 " I have no centimos" 3 said the senora, 
 " and it is not wise to give more to a beggar, 
 but you can always give politeness, nina, and 
 when you have no money say, c Perdoneme, 
 usted] 4 or, c Por el amor de DiosJ 5 and thus you 
 will not give offence to God's poor." 
 
 1 " Jesus, Mary, and Joseph." 
 
 2 " An alms for the love of God." 3 Coppers. 
 
 * " Pardon me, your Grace." s " For the love of God." 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE HOLIDAYS 
 
 Fernando had been three months in school 
 and was beginning to grow tired, when it came 
 time for the feast of Christmas, and he was very 
 happy in the thought of all he was to do and 
 see during his holiday. He and Juanita were 
 very much excited in preparing their nacimiento^ 
 which nearly every Spanish child has at Christ- 
 mas time. This is a plaster representation of 
 the birth of Christ. There are in it many fig- 
 ures, a manger surrounded with greens, the 
 Baby Our Lord, St. Joseph, and the Blessed 
 Virgin, the Wise Men worshipping the Holy 
 Child, and angels hovering near, as well as the 
 patient ox and ass who were his first worship- 
 pers. Juanita was wild with excitement as 
 
 53 
 
54 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 these were all grouped and set in place. She 
 was only four and did not well remember the 
 Christmas before, so that it was all new to 
 her. 
 
 Christmas Eve there was a grand family 
 party, all the relatives coming to the home of 
 Fernando and partaking of a supper of sweet- 
 meats and wine. In the morning there was, of 
 course, early Mass in the great cathedral, 
 where the choir sang divinely. It started way 
 up in the loft to sing the Adeste Fideles, the 
 Church's Christmas hymn for centuries, slowly 
 coming nearer and nearer ; and Juanita thought 
 it was an angel choir until she saw it come into 
 sight and the glorious voices rolled forth in a 
 volume of song. 
 
 Then the children had breakfast and they 
 made their aguinaldo, for every servant on the 
 place expected a present as surely as did the 
 old darkies of Southern days. The postman, 
 the errand boy, the porter, the sereno who walks 
 
The Holidays 55 
 
 the street all night with his lantern, trying 
 your door to see if it is locked properly, and 
 assuring you that all is well as the hours 
 strike, — all must be remembered. Then the 
 senora took the carriage, and the children 
 accompanied her, as she filled it with sweet- 
 meats for the poor children and such of her 
 special proteges as could not come to the 
 house for their aguinaldo. 
 
 It was a cold day, for Granada grows cold in 
 the winter time, and is not like other Spanish 
 cities, which have summer all the year. The 
 wind sweeps down from the Sierras and brings 
 with it a blustering hint of mountain snows ; 
 and as the houses have no furnaces and seldom 
 good stoves to heat them, even the rich can 
 suffer, and the poor do suffer bitterly. 
 
 While the sun shines it matters not, for the 
 sun of Andalusia is so warm and bright that it 
 blesses all who lie beneath it; but when the 
 dark days come or evening's mantle falls upon 
 
56 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 the town, people hover close about the brazero 
 and long for summer. 
 
 With Fernando it mattered little, for he was 
 seldom still enough to be cold, and he spent a 
 merry Christmas, falling asleep to dream of 
 delightful things, and waking to the happy 
 thought that it would soon be the feast of the 
 Circumcision. This is New Year's Day, and 
 is celebrated with much festivity in Spain. The 
 evening before there is a grand party for the 
 grown-ups, and slips of paper are passed 
 around, one being drawn by each person. 
 They are in pairs, so that the one who draws 
 number one must go to supper with number 
 one, and great merriment is made over the pair- 
 ing off of the guests. The gentleman has to 
 send a bunch of flowers or sweets to the lady 
 whose number he draws, and not a few matches 
 have been made in Spain by this merry cus- 
 tom. 
 
 Fernando and Juanita, however, were quite 
 
The Holidays 57 
 
 otherwise engaged. They were sent early to 
 bed and were dreaming of the sugar-plums of 
 the morrow, wondering whom they would first 
 meet, for they think in Spain that what hap- 
 pens to you on New Year's Day will determine 
 the course of the whole year. If you meet a 
 pauper you will have bad luck, but if you see 
 a man with gold in his pocket, you will have 
 money all the year. 
 
 Merrier still was the feast of the Three 
 Kings, which is the day upon which little 
 Spanish children have gifts made them as 
 American children do at Christmas. This is 
 in honour of the Wise Men having brought 
 presents to Our Lord on that day, so that on 
 the eve of January sixth, the feast of the 
 Epiphany, Fernando and Juanita set their little 
 shoes on their balcony with a wisp of straw to 
 feed the Magi's horses, and with many sur- 
 mises as to what they would find in them on 
 the morrow. What wonderful things there 
 
58 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 were ! Fernando had all the things that boys 
 love, — tops, marbles, balls, and a fine knife ; 
 while Juanita had a wonderful dolly and all 
 manner of dainty things for her to wear. 
 " The Three Kings never make one feel like 
 the governor of Cartagena/" said Fernando, as 
 he tossed his new ball and lovingly fingered his 
 knife. 
 
 " But there is still another gift for thee and 
 thy sister," said his father, and he led them 
 to the door. There stood a wonderful little 
 donkey, his bridle decorated with streaming 
 ribbons and bells, his kind eyes blinking as he 
 turned his head and seemed to say, " Hello, 
 Little Master, are you and I going to be great 
 friends ? " 
 
 " Oh, papa, is that for us ? " cried Fernando, 
 while Juanita clapped her tiny hands with de- 
 light. It took Fernando but a moment to 
 spring on the donkey's back, but his mother 
 cried, warningly : 
 
The Holidays 59 
 
 ci Be careful, son ! Remember how the little 
 Prince of Granada rode too fast through the 
 streets, and fell from his pony and was killed." 
 
 " Have no fear," her husband said, smiling, 
 " the donkey will not go fast enough to hurt 
 him ; that is why I selected him." And 
 he placed Juanita up behind her brother, bid- 
 ding Manuel walk beside them, while Mazo, 
 unbidden, jumped around. 
 
 Everything else that Fernando had sank 
 into insignificance when compared to the little 
 donkey, which he named Babieca, and which he 
 and Juanita rode whenever they had a chance. 
 Babieca was a kind little beast, though some- 
 thing of a rogue. He seemed to know that he 
 must play no tricks when Juanita rode him, and 
 he behaved himself well ; but when Fernando 
 rode, it was quite another matter. Babieca 
 would prick up his long ears and go along 
 quietly, then stop suddenly without saying " by 
 your leave," and, of course, Fernando would 
 
60 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 go over his head. He would not hurt himself 
 at all, and the naughty little mule would look 
 at him wonderingly as if to say : " Now what 
 on earth are you doing down there ? " Fer- 
 nando soon grew to expect such antics and was 
 on the lookout for them. 
 
 When St. Anthony's Day came, of course 
 Babieca had to go with the other four-footed 
 friends of the saint, to be blessed and insured 
 from all harm through the year. The seven- 
 teenth of January is the day of St. Anthony, pa- 
 tron of mules, horses, and donkeys, and a grand 
 parade took place. All the people of the town 
 who had such animals drove them down to the 
 church to be blessed and to get a barley wafer. 
 Many of the animals were gaily decorated with 
 streamers and ribbons, and some with flowers ; 
 and all along the streets small booths were set 
 up containing little images of St. Anthony and 
 barley cakes. Babieca behaved very well at his 
 blessing, though his refractory tongue did try 
 
" ALL THE PEOPLE OF THE TOWN WHO HAD SUCH 
 ANIMALS DROVE THEM DOWN TO THE CHURCH TO 
 BE BLESSED." 
 
The Holidays 61 
 
 to nibble the priests stole ; but some of the 
 horses kicked and neighed, and, with the bray- 
 ing of the many donkeys and mules, there 
 was a din not often heard in staid Granada. 
 
 There were no more fetes for the time being, 
 and Fernando, a trifle spoiled by all the gaiety, 
 had to return to his studies again. It was a 
 long month before carnival time, but his 
 thoughts went forward to that delightful sea- 
 son, and it seemed to the little boy as if it 
 would never come. However, as " all things 
 come to him who will but wait," the great day 
 arrived at last, and Fernando was wild with joy. 
 Carnival time is just before the beginning of 
 Lent, and is a season of great merriment. 
 Under a turquoise sky, with no clouds to mar 
 its fairness, there is a pageant almost like those 
 of the days of chivalry, and Fernando and 
 Juanita, attended by their faithful Manuel and 
 Dolores, saw it all. Fernando dressed as a 
 page, and his sister as a court lady of the days 
 
62 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 of Isabella the Catholic, and they were masked, 
 as are all the people who throng the streets on 
 these gay days. 
 
 Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday the carnival 
 continues, each year, and the children are asked 
 to little dances at the houses of friends, and 
 also to hear student choirs sing and to see 
 plays. But what they most enjoy is mingling 
 in the crowds upon the paseo, throwing con- 
 fetti at those who throw at them, seeing the 
 flower-decked carriages, the wonderful cos- 
 tumes ; monks, nuns, generals, court ladies, 
 flowers, animals, all are represented, — all are 
 laughing and throwing confetti right and left. 
 Children are selling confetti, crying shrilly, 
 " Confetti, five centimos a packet. Showers 
 of a million colours ! Only a perro Chico ! " ' 
 Ah, how gay and delightful it all is ! Juanita 
 saw much, and Dolores lay down at night 
 
 1 Perro Chico, little dog, name given to a ftve-eentimo piece 
 because of the little lion upon it. 
 
The Holidays 63 
 
 thanking the saints that carnival lasted but 
 three days ! But Fernando saw everything, 
 and poor Manuel's legs were weary as he kept 
 pace with his little master, now here, now 
 there, now everywhere, laughing and jesting, 
 the merriest lad in all the carnival. 
 
 Alas, it was all over ! Ash Wednesday 
 dawned, dull and heavy, the weather as sad 
 and sorry as the day. Fernando dragged him- 
 self to church, where his brow was marked 
 with ashes according to custom, and gazed 
 longingly at the Entierro de la sardina, a bit 
 of pork the size and shape of a sardine, buried 
 to show that the fast had begun, for no one 
 in Spain eats meat on Ash Wednesday, and 
 very little of it in Lent. 
 
 Fernando looked so depressed at supper 
 that his mother asked him : 
 
 " What is the trouble, little son, are you ill ? " 
 
 " No, mamma," he said. " But it is so long 
 till Easter." 
 
64 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 " Not if you do not think about it," said 
 his mother with a smile. " Do your work 
 with a will, and the days will pass quickly. 
 If you are a good boy, you shall have a treat 
 at Easter." 
 
 " Oh, what will that be," he asked, and 
 Juanita cried, eagerly, " Shall I have it, too ? " 
 
 " Both of you," the mother said. " Your 
 father is going to take us to Sevilla, to see the 
 grand Easter festival, and we shall see your 
 brother and sister as well, and your cousins 
 and your Aunt Isabella, so you must be 
 good children." 
 
 " Indeed we will," cried both, joyously, at 
 the thought of so much pleasure. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 EASTER IN SEVILLA 
 
 Easter in Sevilla ! What a gay and 
 charming time it is ! Flowers are everywhere, 
 blooming in beauty, and all the people seem 
 joyous in the thought that the long season 
 of fasting is over. 
 
 Fernando and Juanita had arrived in the 
 
 city on the Saturday before Palm Sunday, and 
 
 were wild with delight at seeing their cousins, 
 
 Mariquita, Pepita, and Angel, and in looking 
 
 forward to the delights of the week's holiday 
 
 with its processions and fetes. Beginning with 
 
 the beautiful Procession of the Palms, on 
 
 Palm Sunday, all through Holy Week are 
 
 processions and celebrations, and the little folk 
 
 thoroughly enjoy them. 
 
 65 
 
66 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 Their older brother and sister were there, 
 also, and full of wonderful tales of what they 
 had done at school. Fernando thought Pablo 
 was a wonderful being, and that everything he 
 did was perfect. He could hardly wait until 
 he himself would be big enough to go away 
 to college ; and little Juanita felt quite the 
 same way about Augustia, who had learned 
 many things in the convent. 
 
 "Indeed, nina" she said, "it is pleasant 
 at school with the girls, but that Mother Jus- 
 tina makes one work so hard, and that the 
 play-hours are few. I have embroidery to 
 make, and lessons to say, and my class learns 
 French as well as Castilian. But the other 
 girls are charming. Most of all I like Paquita 
 de Guiteras, an Americana, at least she comes 
 from the Island of Cuba, and the girls say 
 that she is an Indian, and that her mother was 
 an Indian princess married to her father, a 
 noble Spaniard. Of this I cannot say, and 
 
Easter in Sevilla 67 
 
 she herself does not relate, but she says that 
 in Cuba the Spaniards have often married the 
 Indians and have been kind to them, and have 
 not destroyed them as have the Americanos 
 in the Estados Unidos. Well, nina, Paquita 
 is the merriest of girls ! She has always some 
 prank to play upon some one, and, indeed, 
 she cares not if it is the Mother Superior 
 herself, so she can have her joke. Her aunt, 
 good Sister Mercedes, is always fretting for 
 fear lest Paquita should be in disgrace, but it 
 worries Paquita not at all. One night she did 
 the funniest thing. There is one girl who 
 is very mean to the little ones, always teasing 
 them, and they dare say nothing, as she is 
 the niece of the Mother Superior, and she 
 believes nothing against her. This Teresa 
 Alcantara once found a little girl, and teased 
 her until Paquita could stand it no longer, and 
 flew at Teresa and bit her hand. Sister turned 
 at that moment and saw the bite, but she had 
 
68 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 not seen what had gone before, and would not 
 listen to what I tried to tell her, and Paquita 
 is always too proud to try to make excuses, 
 and just looked at Sister so fiercely from 
 her great black eyes that the Sister was still 
 more displeased. 
 
 " c Thou art but a savage wildcat,* she said, 
 and took her to Mother Superior for punish- 
 ment. She could not have any playtime for 
 a whole week, and she would have to apolo- 
 gize to Teresa, too, and I think she hated that 
 the worst of anything. But she got even with 
 her, as you shall hear. She found out that 
 Teresa was terribly afraid of cats, and one 
 night, when we were all safely tucked away 
 in our little beds, there came from behind 
 Teresa's curtains a terrible scream, and she 
 jumped out of bed and rushed up and down 
 the dormitory. Such a breach of decorum 
 was never seen before, and the nuns were 
 shocked to a degree. Teresa kept shrieking, 
 
Easter in Sevilla 69 
 
 c A wild beast is in my bed ! a wild beast is in 
 my bed ! ' and after calming her down they 
 went to investigate. What do you think they 
 found? A feather duster! It was tucked 
 under the sheets, and who could have put it 
 there ? No one knew, but every one felt that 
 Paquita was the only one who could have 
 thought of such mischief. But the sisters 
 did not try to find out, for one of them had 
 seen Teresa teasing the little girl, and knew 
 why Paquita disliked her so much ; and after 
 that the big bully let us little ones alone." 
 
 " Oh, it must be so nice," sighed Juanita, 
 but Pablo laughed, and said that those were 
 girl's stories, and that far more exciting things 
 happened at the naval college, especially when 
 they all went on a cruise. 
 
 On Easter Sunday morning the children 
 went to the cathedral to see the wonderful 
 dances which take place but three times a 
 year. Fernando and Juanita were struck 
 
70 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 dumb with the beautiful cathedral, so unlike 
 the Gothic one of Granada ; for this one at 
 Sevilla is a Saracenic church, built hundreds 
 of years ago, begun by the Moorish Sultan, 
 Yakub al Mansour, in 1 1 84. 
 
 How strange it seemed to see dancing in 
 church ! Fernando and Juanita sat beside 
 their mother, on their little camp-stools, for 
 there are no pews in Spanish churches. The 
 whole centre of the church is empty, and peo- 
 ple kneel there during the mass, or if they are 
 too tired or too little to stand, they rent camp- 
 stools for half a cent, and an old woman who 
 has them in charge hobbles along with a stool, 
 which they may keep while the service lasts. 
 
 The men generally stand, and it is interest- 
 ing to see them settle themselves in a com- 
 fortable position when the sermon begins, and 
 stand there almost without moving while the 
 preacher speaks, sometimes a half-hour, some- 
 times a whole hour. But the hearers do not 
 
"THEIR BODIES SWAYED TO AND FRO IN TIME TO THE 
 MUSIC." 
 
Easter in Sevilla 71 
 
 seem to mind, for these Spanish monks are 
 very fine preachers. 
 
 As the children gazed at the beautiful altar 
 covered with flowers, there came the sound 
 of music, — violins, flutes, flageolets, and haut- 
 boys all making a quaint harmony, — and with 
 the music was mingled the sound of youthful 
 voices, fresh and sweet, and a band of boys 
 entered the chancel, and gliding down the 
 altar steps danced quietly, singing as they 
 danced. Their bodies swayed to and fro in 
 time to the music, at first slowly, then, as 
 the time quickened, castanets click-clicked with 
 the other sounds, and the boys moved faster 
 and faster, still in perfect time, yet not with 
 wild abandon, but rather with dignified respect 
 for the place. They were quaintly dressed 
 in the court costumes of the Middle Ages ; on 
 their rfcads were big Spanish hats, turned up 
 at one side with a sweeping blue feather, a 
 mantle of light blue was over one shoulder, 
 
72 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 their vests were of white satin, their hose 
 and shoes of white. The boys danced on 
 until the great bells of the Giralda rang out, 
 and then they vanished, the music grow- 
 ing softer and softer, until its last strains 
 sounded far away, like a floating wave of 
 heavenly harmony. 
 
 " How pretty the dance was," said little 
 Juanita, as they walked home from the service. 
 " Why do they dance in church ? " 
 
 "The Holy Scriptures say that David danced 
 before the Lord," her mother answered, " so 
 perhaps, that is the reason the Sevillians think 
 this is a form of worship, but you must ask 
 your cousins to tell you how it was first done." 
 
 " Do tell me, Mariquita," said the little girl, 
 and her cousin said, " I do not know how it 
 happened at first, but it has been done ever 
 since the Moors were here in Sevilla. Only 
 once in hundreds of years has it been stopped, 
 and then an archbishop said it was not right to 
 
Easter in Sevilla 73 
 
 have dancing in church. He made every one 
 very angry, for the people said, ' What our 
 fathers did is good enough for us ! ' So they 
 went to the Pope, and he said that he could 
 not tell unless he saw the dance. So the boys 
 and the musicians were taken to Rome, and 
 there danced before the Holy Father, who 
 said, c I see no harm in this, any more than in 
 the children's hosannas before Our Lord when 
 He entered Jerusalem. Let them have their 
 dance so long as the clothes which they wear 
 may last/ Then they came back and so de- 
 termined were they to continue it for ever, that 
 they never let the clothes wear out to this day. 
 If one piece of a suit shall be worn it is so 
 quickly mended or repaired that no suit has 
 ever worn out all at once, so that these are the 
 same suits as those worn long ago." 
 
 " I am so glad they still have it," said Fer- 
 nando, " for I wouldn't have missed seeing it 
 to-day for anything." 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 RAINY DAYS 
 
 " Mamma, would you allow me to go to the 
 bull-fight with father and Pablo? " asked Fer- 
 nando next day. 
 
 " No, indeed, my son, a bull-fight is no 
 place for women and children/' his mother 
 replied. " I have never been to one in all my 
 life, and Juanita shall never attend. I wish 
 Pablo did not care to go, either, but he must 
 do as he wishes now that he is grown. A boy 
 cannot always be at his mother's girdle, but you 
 must be much bigger than now before you will 
 see such a sight." 
 
 Fernando sighed, but he knew that there 
 was no use saying more, for the word of la 
 madre was law. He was very anxious to see a 
 
 74 
 
Rainy Days 75 
 
 bull-fight, for every boy in Spain desires that 
 above all things. The fights are held on all 
 holidays, but the finest one of all is at Easter. 
 The immense amphitheatre of Sevilla holds 
 thousands of spectators, men wild with excite- 
 ment over the sport, and even women, though 
 the most refined ladies do not frequent the 
 corridas. The bull is turned loose in the 
 centre of the huge ring and tormented until 
 he is ready to fight. Men with sharp-pointed 
 darts, called banderillas, tease him by throwing 
 their barbs at him, and pricking his skin until 
 he is nearly crazy. Then men mounted on 
 horseback, the picadores, wave scarlet cloths 
 before his eyes, exciting him still more, for 
 a bull hates red worse than anything in the 
 world. He dashes at the cruel cloth, and 
 sometimes is too quick for the man who 
 carries it, tossing him on his horns, but gen- 
 erally it is the poor horse who is killed, and 
 the man jumps away to safety. The matador 
 
76 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 is the one who slays the bull, and he is some- 
 times killed himself. It is a terribly cruel 
 affair, though Spaniards say it is not so cruel 
 as our prize-fighting. 
 
 It was late that evening when Fernando 
 went to bed, and ere he did so there was quite 
 an excitement. They were all seated upon 
 the piazza of the house, he and Juanita, his 
 cousins and their elders, when there was a 
 great cry from the street, " The toro ! The 
 toro ! " and a clatter of horses' hoofs. All 
 screamed loudly, for to have a bull escape from 
 the pens is a frequent occurrence, and not a 
 very pleasant one. The cries became louder, 
 the horses' hoofs beat nearer and nearer, and 
 as in the dusk a figure dashed down the street, 
 the senora, screaming loudly, caught Juanita 
 to her and tried to climb the pillar at her side. 
 She was very stout, and the pillar was very 
 slippery, and she could not climb with one 
 arm, so she slid down as fast as she climbed 
 
Rainy Days 77 
 
 up, squealing all the time, "El toro> Madre 
 de Dios ! el toro I " 
 
 Fernando was frightened, too, but he was 
 a brave boy, and he tried his best to push 
 his mother up out of danger, boosting her as 
 she slipped down, but not helping very much, 
 as you might suppose. It seemed to him an 
 hour, but it was only a minute before servants 
 came from the house, and as they did so a 
 horse dashed up before the pillars, and, stopped 
 too hastily by his rider, slid along the stones 
 on his hind feet. On his back was Pablo, 
 waving his sombrero^ and crying, " What a 
 corrida ! It was glorious ! Six bulls to die, 
 and Rosito never in such form ! But, madre 
 mia, what is the matter ? " as he sprang from 
 his horse and assisted his mother to a seat. 
 
 The senora could not speak, but Fernando 
 said, " We thought the noise was a bull es- 
 caped, and I was assisting my mother to a 
 height of safety." 
 
78 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 Pablo looked at the little figure speaking 
 so gravely, then threw back his head and 
 shouted with laughter, but seeing Fernando's 
 hurt expression, stopped quickly, and said : 
 
 " Bravo, little brother, thou art a good 
 knight to care for thy mother and sister ! " 
 
 " Better than thou ! " His mother had re- 
 gained her voice by this time. 
 
 " Thou art still the same Pablo, and will yet 
 be the death of thy poor mother," but Pablo 
 kissed her hand so gallantly, and begged her 
 pardon so amiably, that she quite forgave him. 
 
 Next day, alas ! it was raining, and it rained 
 so hard all that day, and nearly all of the next, 
 that the children were like little bears in a cage. 
 They played with everything they could think 
 of, but after awhile they grew restless and 
 quarrelled so that the grown-up folk grew 
 nervous, too. 
 
 At last, Mariquita's father, gay and charm- 
 ing Uncle Ruy, came to the rescue. 
 
Rainy Days 79 
 
 " Who wants to take a trip into the country 
 with me ? " he asked, and as each one squealed 
 " I ! " he said : 
 
 " Of course we can't go, really, but we can 
 make believe, and I shall take you to a hacienda 
 outside the old wall of Sevilla. 
 
 " It lies amidst orange and olive groves, and 
 all kinds of flowers, and many of the things 
 we eat come from that very place. Who 
 knows how they pickle olives ? " 
 
 " Are olives pickled ? " asked Juanita, and 
 Mariquita said : 
 
 " How queer it seems that all the things we 
 eat have to go through so much before they 
 can be eaten. I did not know that olives had 
 to be pickled." 
 
 "Yes, mi nina, and we will play that we are 
 visiting an olive grove, and we can see the 
 way the olives are picked and made ready for 
 food. See, here are the trees, and the fruit is 
 picked from them and placed in baskets. 
 
8o Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 There are two kinds of olives used, green and 
 ripe, the green ones are picked just before they 
 begin to turn soft. These are separated from 
 the others, and the bitter taste is removed 
 by soaking in fresh water for a long time, or 
 some picklers soak them for a shorter time 
 in a solution of potash lye. This softens the 
 skin and extracts all bitterness, but the olives 
 must be soaked in clear water, which is fre- 
 quently changed to get all the potash off. 
 Then they are placed in weak brine, and after- 
 ward in stronger, until they have the salty 
 taste which we like so much. Then they are 
 put in small barrels and taken to the bottling 
 rooms, where they are bottled and labelled 
 for the market." 
 
 " How is the oil made ? " asked Fernando. 
 
 " That is harder to do, but it is very 
 interesting to watch. The fresh olives are 
 carefully picked, dried a little, and then crushed. 
 Old-fashioned stone mills are used to crush the 
 
Rainy Days 81 
 
 fruit, and the mass is pressed to extract the 
 liquid which contains all the watery juice as 
 well as the oil and pulp." 
 
 " What do they do after it is pressed ? " 
 asked Fernando. 
 
 "They let it stand for a month and the 
 refuse goes to the bottom. Then the oil is 
 poured off and allowed to stand another month, 
 when the process is repeated. After the third 
 time the oil is ready for use. The best oil is 
 made in this way, as it keeps its colour and 
 flavour better by the settling process than when 
 it is filtered. 
 
 "In some places the olives are placed on a 
 platform and the millstone is placed over them. 
 This is turned round and round by means of a 
 pole to which a donkey is hitched, and the mass 
 which is turned out is placed in rush baskets, 
 which are put under a press which is screwed 
 down by five or six men, so that the oil is 
 squeezed out, but that is a very old-fashioned 
 
82 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 way of making oil, and there are better ways 
 now. They still use this, however, when there 
 is a big crop, and they want to get the fruit 
 made into oil as rapidly as possible. Great 
 care must be taken that everything is clean and 
 that the oil does not become rancid, or it will 
 all be spoiled." 
 
 " Is everything we eat so interesting ? " 
 asked Juanita. 
 
 " The things we eat and wear, too," her 
 uncle answered, " and nothing in all Sevilla 
 is more interesting than the way of making 
 silk." 
 
 " How is that done ? " asked Fernando. 
 
 " I am afraid I could not make you under- 
 stand it all, unless you could go to the silk 
 manufactory, and even then it would be hard 
 for you. But I can tell you about the cocoons, 
 and that is the strangest thing about it. The 
 silkworm was first brought to Europe from 
 India in 530, when monks brought it to the 
 
Rainy Days 83 
 
 Emperor Justinian. The silkworm is a kind 
 of a caterpillar which feeds on the leaves of the 
 white mulberry-tree, and lays his eggs in a 
 kind of gummy substance on the leaves in the 
 end of June to be hatched out in the following 
 April. The caterpillar is small at first, about 
 a quarter of an inch long, but grows to be three 
 inches in length. By means of a substance in 
 their mouths the silkworms spin out silky 
 strands which form cocoons, each fibre being 
 about eight hundred yards long. When ready 
 for weaving, the cocoons are placed in an oven 
 at a gentle heat which kills the chrysalis so 
 that the silk fibres can be removed and 
 wound." 
 
 " How do they get the silk wound ? 
 Doesn't it break ? " asked Fernando. 
 
 " It is rather hard to do," his uncle an- 
 swered, " but they learn to be very careful, and 
 the cocoon is soaked in warm water which 
 loosens the little filaments. When the cocoons 
 
84 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 are reeled the first step has been taken, and the 
 reeled silk is called raw silk, from which all silk 
 products are made." 
 
 " I wish we could see it all, but perhaps we 
 can sometime when we are here again," said 
 Fernando. " Oh, it has stopped raining ! " 
 
 "Yes, indeed, and the Guadalquiver has 
 overflowed its banks," said Pablo, coming in at 
 that moment. " There has not been such a 
 freshet for years. Come along with me, Nando, 
 and we will go boating in the streets. I 
 climbed to the top of the Giralda, and the 
 whole country looks like a great sea." 
 
 " Oh, may I go with Pablo and see ? " cried 
 Fernando, and his mother, with many injunc- 
 tions to Pablo to take care of him, said " Yes." 
 
 They went to the Alcazar gardens, those most 
 wonderful gardens of Spain, and as it was early 
 spring the flowers and insects were making 
 merry in the sunshine, which had come back 
 with renewed force, after its vacation. Scarcely 
 
"THEY WENT TO THE ALCAZAR GARDENS.' 
 
Rainy Days 85 
 
 tumbled by the rain, lovely banksia roses were 
 climbing over the walls, the rosy, blossoming 
 judas-trees, tinted acacias, and pink almonds 
 were in bloom, and orange-trees were bursting 
 into fragrant beauty. Violets and tulips, yel- 
 low oxalis, wild hyacinths, and the scarlet 
 dragon-flower carpeted the ground, while tall 
 white lilies, like fair maidens, and stately iris 
 with sword-like leaves, reminding one of the 
 knights of chivalry who once walked these 
 paths, stood sentinel adown the walks. Fer- 
 nando saw, too, the insects which flitted among 
 the branches, beetles with bright green coats 
 like emeralds, white and gold butterflies, birds 
 with brilliant wings and sweet voices. But 
 Pablo was thinking more of sport than of 
 nature, and he hurried along until they found 
 a man and a boat to row them, and what a gay 
 sail they had right down the main streets of 
 the town ! Past the cathedral steps and the 
 Golden Tower where Columbus piled up gold 
 
86 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 brought from the New World, Sevillians say, 
 and all the other interesting sights of the city, 
 so that Fernando came home tired and happy, 
 to tell Juanita of the wonderful things he had 
 seen. 
 
 " I do not wonder that they say, c He whom 
 God loves has a house in Sevilla,' " he said. 
 " It is so beautiful a city." 
 
 "Truly,— 
 
 *< < Quien no ha visto Sevilla 
 
 No ha visto una maravilla. ' " 1 
 
 said Mariquita boastingly, but little Juanita 
 prattled in reply the Grenadino's favourite re- 
 sponse — 
 
 " * Quien no ha visto Grenada 
 
 No ha visto nada. 
 
 j >> a 
 
 1 He who has not visited Sevilla 
 Has not seen a marvel. 
 
 2 Who has not seen Granada 
 Has seen nothing. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 TO THE COUNTRY 
 
 Home again ! At first it seemed to Fer- 
 nando as if he could never go back to school, 
 for after his week of fetes and processions and 
 fun, lessons were dull things, but he soon 
 fell into the old ways, and there were so many 
 pleasant things at home that he did not pine 
 for Sevilla at all. 
 
 He had a pet lamb — what boy has not in 
 spring-time in Spain ? — and he was devoted 
 to it for awhile, trying to feed it all manner 
 of things. 
 
 " Manuel," he said one day, " I do not 
 know what is wrong with my pet lamb. It 
 will not eat the things I give it. I have never 
 
 seen so stubborn a thing. Mazo is far differ- 
 
 87 
 
88 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 ent. It will eat anything at all, but the lamb 
 stands and stares at me, and shuts its mouth, 
 no matter what I offer him." 
 
 " Lambs are always stubborn/' said Manuel. 
 " They do not eat much but milk when they 
 are so young. But here, I have a new kite ; 
 will you fly it ? " 
 
 " Indeed I will," cried the boy, and in an 
 instant the lamb was forgotten, and he was 
 skipping down the street, his kite skimming 
 the air like a gaily coloured bird. 
 
 It was a beautiful spring in Granada, and 
 Fernando spent every minute out of doors 
 unless actually compelled to be in school or in 
 bed. The family ate in the lovely patio where 
 the flowers were beginning to blossom, and 
 the sun was not too warm to do without the 
 awning, which in summer stretched overhead. 
 If it was not kites in which he was interested, 
 it was marbles and ball, or even a play bull- 
 fight ; and Fernando was very proud when he 
 
To the Country 89 
 
 was chosen to be " toro," and put his head in 
 a basketwork affair with points like horns, and 
 the boys chased him with sticks, running, jump- 
 ing, and dodging when he turned and charged 
 them as he had heard that the bulls did at 
 the real corridas. 
 
 Best of all, it was time to have his head 
 shaved, and of all things that was what he 
 liked. His mother mourned, for the boy's 
 hair was naturally curly, and in winter was 
 as soft and pretty as black velvet. But all 
 Spanish boys have their heads shaved in sum- 
 mer, and Fernando must be like the rest. It 
 was cut so close that it made him look very 
 funny, and his great black eyes shone like 
 beads in his lean brown face, with no soft hair 
 to soften its harsh outlines. 
 
 Fernando and Antonio were still devoted 
 friends. They played together after school 
 and on the holidays, and many delightful 
 times did the two boys have, either in the 
 
go Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 Alhambra or at Fernando's home, where there 
 were many city sights as interesting to An- 
 tonio as the delights of the old palace were 
 to Fernando. 
 
 So devoted had they become that Fernando 
 felt very sorry to leave his friend when the 
 time came for him to accompany his mother 
 and sister to their country home. Generally 
 he had been delighted to go to the hacienda, 
 and enjoyed the country school even more 
 than the one he attended in the city, but this 
 year he felt so badly over it that his father said: 
 
 " Never mind, my son. I shall bring An- 
 tonio out to visit you when school is over, 
 and you may have a fine time together at the 
 hacienda" This made Fernando more con- 
 tented, and he went away with his parents 
 quite happily. 
 
 As they started for the country on a bright 
 May day, Juanita said, " Oh, mamma, see that 
 strange cow ! It is all dressed with flower- 
 
To the Country 91 
 
 wreaths, and has bells around its neck and 
 flowers on its horns. Why does that young 
 girl lead it, and that old blind man walk be- 
 hind, and blow that horn and beat the drum ? " 
 
 " That is a cow to be won in a lottery," said 
 the senora. " Manuel, stop ; I wish to buy a 
 ticket. How we Spaniards do love a game 
 of chance ! See, I shall buy a ticket for each 
 one of you, and maybe your number will 
 win the prize." 
 
 " Oh, thank you, mamma ! " both children 
 cried, for neither had ever had a lottery 
 ticket before. 
 
 " Now I wish you to stop at a cigar-store, 
 and buy a stamp x for my letter to your Aunt 
 Isabella, and then we will drive on." 
 
 As they turned into the main street leading 
 to the Alameda, Juanita asked, " Oh, mi madre, 
 what are those people sitting in the streets 
 making ? " 
 
 1 In Spain stamps are sold in cigar-stores, not at the post-office. 
 
92 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 " Haven't you seen the ice-cream makers 
 before ? " said the senora. " No, I think you 
 cannot remember last summer, can you ? The 
 gipsies go up to the Sierras in the very early 
 morning, and get donkey-loads of snow, and 
 the people make ice-cream in those pails with 
 the snow in it. They sit right at their doors 
 on the sidewalk and make the fresh cream, 
 and any one can buy a glass of it." 
 
 " Do let us have some," cried the children, 
 and their indulgent mother ordered the horses 
 stopped while they ate some of the delicious 
 fresh cream. 
 
 As the carriage rolled on down the steep 
 street, so narrow that as Manuel said " one 
 can hardly pass another after a full dinner," 
 the swineherd was just coming out for the day, 
 and Juanita cried : 
 
 "Oh, madre! See that man with the pipe 
 in his mouth ; what queer music he plays ! 
 What is he?" 
 
To the Country 93 
 
 " He is the swineherd, nina. See, he comes 
 from his alley, staff in hand," the senora said. 
 "Watch him blow his pipe without turning 
 his head, and the pigs come after him, as if he 
 had charmed them. Little and big, dark and 
 light, fat and scrawny, there they come follow- 
 ing him to pasture. Every alley we pass adds 
 some curly tail to the procession. Now he 
 is ready to turn out of the town into that 
 grove, and see what an army of piggies follows 
 him ! He never looks for any of them, but 
 they hear the music of his pipe and start 
 because they learned long ago that it leads 
 them to good pastures." 
 
 " I think they are too funny for anything," 
 said the little girl. " Does he bring them back 
 at night ? " 
 
 "Yes, and every little piggy knows his own 
 alley, and goes right home with a little frisk 
 of his curly tail to say f good night, ' ' said 
 her mother, smiling. 
 
94 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 " See those oxen ; are they not splendid 
 fellows ? I love to see them draw their loads 
 so easily. Beautiful creamy creatures, with 
 their dark points and their great, soft eyes." 
 
 " What is that wooden thing over their 
 heads ? " asked Juanita. 
 
 " That is the yoke to couple them together. 
 They are the gentlest animals in the world, 
 these great, horned beasts, and the driver 
 walks in front of them with a stick over his 
 shoulder, which he seldom thinks of using." 
 
 " Oh, what a cunning little donkey ! " cried 
 the little girl, as they passed a tiny donkey 
 laden with panniers filled with flowers, fruit, 
 vegetables, bread, fowls, and even a water-jar. 
 " How prettily he is clipped, all in a pattern." 
 
 "Mamma," said Fernando, "some of the 
 donkeys that the gipsies have clipped have 
 mottoes and pictures on them. I know a boy 
 whose donkey has £ Viva mi Amo' 1 on his side. 
 
 1 Long live my master. 
 
To the Country 95 
 
 I don't like that, for if the donkey doesn't 
 love his master, it is telling a story." 
 
 His mother laughed. " We will hope he 
 has a good little master, and then the donkey 
 will care for him and not be telling a falsehood 
 with his fur. 
 
 " But here we are almost to the hacienda, 
 and how short the ride has seemed. Now if 
 two children I know are good, we shall have 
 a delightful summer, and although you are 
 to be in the country, and thou, Fernando, will 
 go to a country school, remember the saying 
 of thy fathers : 
 
 " « Cuando fueres por despoblado 
 No hagas desquiciado 
 Porque cuando fueres por poblado 
 Iras a lo vezado.' " ' 
 
 1 When you are in the wilderness do not act ill, or when you 
 are among people you will do likewise. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 GAMES AND SPORTS 
 
 The hacienda was more beautiful than it had 
 been in the fall, and Fernando was soon busy 
 as a bee. He had of course to attend school, 
 but it was a country school, not so strict nor 
 so large as the city one, and he enjoyed show- 
 ing off his superior accomplishments to the 
 other boys. This the others did not relish, 
 and there was a grand fight to see which was 
 the strongest, and when Fernando had whipped 
 all the boys of his own size, he was happy and 
 felt that he had not disgraced the name of 
 Guzman. Manuel did not attend him in the 
 country, and Fernando much enjoyed doing as 
 he liked, roaming about, taking his own time 
 to come home, tramping about the orange 
 
 groves, or sailing boats in the brook. 
 
 96 
 
Games and Sports 97 
 
 When school was over and Antonio came 
 for the promised visit, what merry times 
 there were ! The boys went swimming at all 
 hours. They ran bareheaded all over the 
 place, Mazo after them, their constant com- 
 panion. Fernando had a few lessons to do 
 each morning, a master to teach him his 
 French, music, and drawing, — for boys of his 
 class in Spain are accomplished as well as edu- 
 cated, — but these were soon over, and then, 
 stung by the bees, burnt by the sun, wet by 
 the rain, eating green oranges, doing in fact 
 what American boys, or boys all over the 
 world will do if let alone, this was the way in 
 which the two Spanish boys spent their vacation. 
 
 Juanita, meantime, was having a very happy 
 time. She, too, had a few lessons, and her aya 
 was giving place to a governess, but she was 
 still too young to learn much, and the beauti- 
 ful out-of-doors was a great lesson-book to her. 
 Riding Babieca, tagging after the boys, sun- 
 
98 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 tanned and rosy, she grew strong and hearty, 
 and was never so happy as when allowed to go 
 with her brother and Antonio. Generally they 
 took very good care of her, and her mother felt 
 that she was safe with the two boys. Fernando 
 teased her a good deal, but Antonio was of a 
 calmer mood, and was always her gentle knight. 
 All manner of games were played by these 
 happy children, who, with their little neighbours 
 of the nearest hacienda, made a merry group. 
 They were simple-hearted little folk, and the 
 boys had not reached the state described in the 
 old Spanish rhyme of the boys of Madrid : 
 
 " They should be romping with us, 
 For they are only children yet ; 
 But they will not play at anything 
 Except a cigarette. 
 No plays will cheer the Prado 
 In future times, for then 
 The little boys of seven 
 Will all be married men." 
 
 Fernando, and even the graver Antonio, 
 entered into all the childish sports with the 
 
Games and Sports 
 
 99 
 
 rest, and an especial favourite was a play very 
 much like our " London Bridge is Falling 
 Down," called the " Gate of Aleak." Two 
 children are chosen to head the lines, and 
 called Rose and Pink. They form an arch 
 with their arms held up and their fingers 
 locked, and under this the other children pass 
 headed by the mother. They sing gaily a 
 little dialogue : 
 
 Rose and Pink. " To the viper of love that hides in the 
 flowers 
 The only way lies here." 
 Mother. " Then here I pass and leave behind 
 One little daughter dear." 
 Rose and Pink. " Shall the first one or the last 
 Be captive of our chain ? ' ' 
 Mother. " Oh, the first one runs so lightly, 
 
 The last one shall remain." 
 Chorus. " Pass on, oho, pass on, aha ! 
 By the Gate of Alcala." 
 
 The last child, with squeals of delight, is 
 caught in the falling arms, and chooses whether 
 she shall follow Rose or Pink, taking her 
 
ioo Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 place behind the one of her choice. When 
 all have been chosen, there is a grand tug of 
 war, the merry party singing, meantime. 
 
 Rose and Pink. ft Let the young mind make its choice, 
 As young minds chance to think ; 
 Now is Rose your leader, 
 Or go you with the Pink ? 
 Let the young mind make its choice 
 By laws the young heart knows. 
 Now is Pink your leader 
 Or go you with the Rose ? " 
 Chorus. " Pass on, oho, pass on, aha, 
 By the Gates of Alcala." 
 
 The boys enjoyed playing soldier, and 
 would whittle toy swords out of sticks, and 
 form in line, marching and singing : 
 
 " The Catalans are coming, 
 Marching two by two ; 
 All who hear their drumming, 
 Tiptoe for a view, 
 Aye, aye, tiptoe for a view ; 
 Red and yellow banners, 
 Pennies very few. 
 Aye, aye, pennies very few. 
 
Games and Sports 101 
 
 '* Red and yellow banners 
 The moon comes out to see ; 
 If moons had better manners 
 She'd take me on her knee. 
 Aye, aye, she'd take me on her knee. 
 She peeps through purple shutters ; 
 Would I were tall as she. 
 Aye, aye, would I were tall as she. 
 
 ** Soldiers need not learn letters 
 Nor any school y thing ; 
 But, unless they mind their betters, 
 In golden chains they swing. 
 Aye, aye, in golden chains they'll swing. 
 Or sit in silver fetters, 
 Presents from the king. 
 Aye, aye, presents from the king." 
 
 The prettiest of all the games is that of the 
 " Little White Pigeons," which all Andalusian 
 children love to play. The little companions 
 form in two rows, and, facing each other, 
 dance forward and slip beneath the upraised 
 arms of the opposite side. Thus they pass 
 under the " Silver Arches " to Sevilla and 
 Granada : 
 
102 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 " Little white pigeons are dreaming of Seville, 
 Sun in the palm-trees, rose and revel. 
 Lift up the arches, gold as the weather, 
 Little white pigeons come flying together. 
 
 " Little white pigeons, dream of Granada, 
 Glistening snows on Sierra Nevada. 
 Lift up the arches, silver as fountains, 
 Little white pigeons fly to the mountains.' ' 
 
 Our little Spanish cousins play nearly all 
 the same games that American children play, 
 only their "Blind Man's Buff" is called " Blind 
 Hen," and " Pussy Wants a Corner," is called 
 "Cottage to Rent," and played with the rhyme: 
 
 " Cottage to rent, try the other side, 
 You see this one is occupied." 
 
 Their game of tag is called the " Moon and 
 the Morning Stars," and is played by one 
 child being chosen as the Moon and forced 
 to keep within the shadow. The rest of the 
 children, being Morning Stars, are safe only 
 where it is light. If the Moon can catch a 
 Star in the shadow, the Star must become 
 
Games and Sports 103 
 
 a Moon, and as the Stars scamper in and out 
 of the shadow, all sing : 
 
 «« O the Moon and the Morning Stars, 
 O the Moon and the Morning Stars, 
 Who dares to tread — oh 
 Within the shadow.' ' 
 
 " Hide and Seek " the children played, and 
 " Forfeits," and all manner of other games, 
 and as the sun nearly always shines in Anda- 
 lusia, the summer was one long merry round 
 of out-of-door fun. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 A TERTULIA 
 
 September found the children at home 
 again, and Fernando back at school, while 
 Juanita had a governess for a part of each day, 
 though she was not expected to learn a great 
 deal ; for the Spaniards think if their girls are 
 sweet and gentle they need not be very learned. 
 If a Spanish girl of sixteen knows how to read 
 and write, simple arithmetic, a little history, 
 and can dance and embroider well, she is quite 
 accomplished enough to marry, which is what 
 most of them intend to do. 
 
 Things were going very quietly, when there 
 
 came an excitement so great for the children 
 
 that they were almost wild. This was the 
 
 home-coming, in the latter part of September, 
 104 
 
A Tertulia 105 
 
 of Pablo, just in from his long summer cruise, 
 with a fortnight's leave of absence. He came 
 home to celebrate his coming of age, and 
 there was to be a tertulia in his honour. The 
 children were to stay up to the party, and as 
 it was the first time that they had been per- 
 mitted to stay up after eight o'clock, they 
 were delighted. To them it was the greatest 
 event in their lives, and they were almost afraid 
 to breathe all day, for fear the treat would 
 be cut off. Juanita even stood quite still to 
 have her curls made, which was generally a 
 performance attended with agony, and before 
 the end of which her aya was sure to say, 
 " Hush, Mambru will certainly get you ! " 
 Mambru is to a little Spanish girl what a bogey 
 is to an American child, and she will be very 
 good for fear of Mambru. But the day passed 
 off pleasantly, and the children were dressed 
 and sent down to the patio to await the arrival 
 of the guests. 
 
106 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 The pleasant thing about a Spanish party 
 is that there is no fuss made, and therefore 
 everybody enjoys themselves. The hostess 
 never tires herself out preparing for her guests 
 so that she cannot be cheerful and agreeable 
 when they arrive. The hospitality of Spain 
 is perfect. A Spaniard gives his friends just 
 what is good enough for himself, and never 
 thinks of doing more. So there was not a 
 great brewing and baking on the day of the 
 party, and flushed, heated faces; but there 
 were a few simple refreshments, much pleas- 
 ant talk and hearty laughter among old and 
 young. There were about thirty friends of 
 the family who came in to talk and chat. The 
 parents came with their daughters, for girls 
 never go to parties alone in Spain, and old and 
 young spent the evening together. Some one 
 played on the piano and the young people 
 danced, lovely Trinidad del Aguistanado danc- 
 ing with Pablo. This Juanita watched with 
 
A Tertulia 107 
 
 delight. Trinidad was the loveliest of ail the 
 girls, and she thought, of course, Pablo should 
 have the prettiest maiden in all the world. 
 She was as sweet as she was pretty, and said 
 to the little girl : 
 
 " What is thy name, nina ? " and when 
 Juanita answered, sweetly : 
 
 " Juanita, to serve God and you," as all 
 Spanish children are taught to answer, Trinidad 
 kissed her on both cheeks, and gave her a rose 
 from her girdle. At this Juanita was delighted, 
 and Pablo sighed prodigiously. The older 
 people, too, seemed well pleased with Pablo's 
 choice, for the girl's family was as good 
 as theirs, and the two had been friends for 
 many years. 
 
 " Juanita," said Fernando in a whisper, " I 
 believe that Pablo will bite the iron ' of the 
 Senorita Trinidad. Will it not be strange to 
 
 1 Spanish lovers stand beneath the windows of their sweet- 
 hearts, to serenade them every night, and, as the windows are 
 grated with iron, this is called " biting the iron." 
 
io8 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 think of him beneath her window, singing 
 of love to his guitar ? " 
 
 " It will be beautiful," sighed the little girl, 
 for Spanish children are always interested in 
 the love affairs of their older brothers and 
 sisters, and even little girls talk about them. 
 " How handsome Pablo looks as he talks 
 with her." 
 
 " They are as fair as the lovers of Teruel," 
 said old Dolores, who was at the party to take 
 care of her little charges. 
 
 " Tell us about them," said Juanita, eagerly, 
 for she dearly loved Dolores's quaint stories ; 
 and the ay a began : 
 
 " In the town of Teruel there lived, many 
 years ago, a Spanish knight, Don Juan Diego 
 Martinez de Marcilla, and he loved with all 
 his heart Dona Isabel de Segura. Alas, un- 
 happily ! for the fathers of the two lovers 
 were enemies, and would not listen to love 
 between them. 
 
A Tertulia 109 
 
 " c Thou art but a second son/ said Don 
 Pedro de Segura, the father of Dona Isabel. 
 c Moreover, thou hast not a fortune equal to 
 that of my daughter, who possesses thirty- 
 thousand sueldos in good gold, and is my 
 sole heiress/ 
 
 " ' Full well I know that I am in no wise 
 worthy of thy fair daughter/ said Don Juan, 
 c and upon her grace have I no claim save that 
 she loves my unworthy self. But since this is 
 God's truth, I pray you give me the chance 
 to prove my devotion, and I will furnish suffi- 
 cient fortune to equal hers. I go to the wars 
 with my lord, King Sancho of Navarre. 
 Grant me five years in which to gain this 
 fortune, and give me your promise that for 
 that length of time you will not force Dona 
 Isabel to marry another/ 
 
 <c Dona Isabel was very young, and her 
 father very fond, and by this he could keep 
 her with him five long years, and, moreover, 
 
no Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 marry her to whom he pleased, for he said to 
 himself, c In that time both of them will forget/ 
 and so he smilingly said : 
 
 cc c Your words have some reason. Go with 
 God, and if you return, well and good. My 
 daughter shall not marry against her will for 
 five years to this day, but mark me, rash 
 youth, not one day more shall she wait.' 
 
 " Then the lovers bade each other farewell, 
 and Don Juan rode to the wars. These were 
 waged against the wicked Moors, and with 
 knights and squires, the armies of Don Al- 
 phonso of Castile, Don Pedro of Aragon, and 
 Don Sancho of Navarre fought long and 
 fiercely until, at the great battle of Las Navas 
 de Tolosa, the Moor was crushed. Many a 
 valiant deed was done, and Don Juan was 
 bravest of them all. He broke through the 
 chain which guarded the tent of the Moorish 
 king, and thereby gained great glory and won 
 for himself the right to wear a chain around 
 
A Tertulia 1 1 1 
 
 the margin of his shield in honour of the day. 
 He gained great renown and fortune, but, alas, 
 he was sorely wounded, and it was more than 
 five years before he could return to his beloved. 
 He arrived in Teruel but one short day after 
 the time was up, and found Dona Isabel 
 married to another, Don Pedro Fernandez de 
 Azagra. Despairing, he desired to see his 
 beloved once more, and climbed to her window 
 on her wedding-night. Finding her alone and 
 her husband sleeping, he implored her to give 
 him one last kiss. She refused, and said, 
 weeping, c Alas ! you came not and I thought 
 myself forgotten. I am wedded to this 
 good man, and to him alone belong my 
 caresses/ 
 
 " At this his heart broke, and crying, ' Fare- 
 well, beloved ! ' he dropped dead at her feet. 
 
 " At that moment her husband awoke, and 
 she told him straightway the truth, at which 
 he said, c Thou hast been cruel and unkind to 
 
U2 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 this good man, but to me faithful and true, and 
 I shall but love thee the more ! ' and he took 
 the body of the poor Don Juan and bore it 
 secretly to his father's step and laid it down 
 and fled away. 
 
 " When the body of the knight was found, 
 there was great mourning, and he was given 
 a grand funeral at the cathedral, to which all 
 Teruel came to do him honour. There also 
 came the unhappy Dona Isabel, disguised so 
 that none might know her, and, determined to 
 give her lover in death the kiss which she had 
 denied him in life, she stooped to kiss his lips. 
 Lo ! the eyes unclosed, he smiled at her, and 
 they closed again, and she fell beside him 
 dead ! All were struck dumb with horror, but 
 Don Azagra came forward and told the mourn- 
 ful story, whereupon the two bodies were 
 buried in the same grave. 
 
 " c Separated in life, in death they shall be 
 together/ said the generous knight who had 
 
A Tertulia 113 
 
 been her husband but not her beloved; and this 
 is the sad, sad story of the lovers of Teruel." 
 
 " Oh, thank you, Dolores, it is a beautiful 
 story," cried Juanita, and the young people 
 who had gathered around to hear clapped 
 their hands, and thanked her, too. 
 
 " What think you, Senorita Trinidad, would 
 you have kissed your lover had you been Dona 
 Isabel ? " asked Pablo of the young girl. 
 
 " I should not have married the other man, 
 senor," she said, flushing prettily. 
 
 " Come, Trinidad, you must sing for us," 
 cried one of her friends. " Sing the song of 
 Santa Rita," and Trinidad, with a merry little 
 glance at Pablo, sang the gay little song which 
 Spanish girls sing in jest, asking Santa Rita to 
 procure them a good husband. 
 
 "Santa Rita, Santa Rita, 
 Cada una de nosotros necesita, 
 Para uso de diario 
 Un marido millonario, 
 
U4 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 Aunque sea un animal 
 Si tal, si tal, si tal, si tal, 
 Un marido millonario, 
 Aunque sea un animal.' " * 
 
 Everybody applauded loudly, and Trinidad, 
 laughing and blushing, sang again. The older 
 people sat about serenely, some talking, others 
 playing cards or dominoes. The younger 
 ones played sprightly games and talked like 
 magpies, and the children listened spell- 
 bound. 
 
 " Who art thou, Pablo ? " laughed one, and 
 Pablo answered, merrily : 
 
 " Ole Saltero, sin vanidad, 
 Soy muy bonito, soy muy salado! " 2 
 
 x " Santa Rita, Santa Rita, send us now, 
 We pray thee fervently, 
 A millionaire for a husband, 
 E'en a blockhead though he be, 
 E'en so, e'en so, e'en so, 
 A millionaire for a husband, 
 A blockhead though he be." 
 
 2 "Sister Saltero, without vanity, 
 I am lovely, I am salado," 
 salado meaning charming, witty, gracious. 
 
A Tertulia 115 
 
 And every one laughed, and Trinidad gave him 
 a charming glance from under her black lashes. 
 
 Refreshments were passed around, very 
 simple ones. There were trays of water, and 
 by each glass round lumps of sugar, which 
 the guests dipped in the water and ate, hard 
 little cakes, cups of thick chocolate into which 
 finger cakes were dipped and eaten, and some 
 charming little bonbons. There was no wine, 
 for although the finest wine in the world is 
 made in Spain, the Spaniards are great water 
 drinkers, and seldom have wine except at din- 
 ners. The men all smoked, but not the ladies, 
 for while the Mexican women sometimes smoke 
 a dainty cigarrillo, Spanish women do not. 
 
 Later on, Pablo's health was drunk in tiny 
 glasses of sherry, as this was a special occasion, 
 and pleasant speeches were made to him, 
 wishing him all success in his career. 
 
 " Thou art now a man, my son," said his 
 father, proudly and affectionately. " Re- 
 
n6 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 member that since the time of the Emperor 
 Charles V., thy fathers have had the right 
 to wear the Golden Key " upon their hip, and 
 do nothing to disgrace thy name. On the 
 sword of my grandfather was engraved the 
 motto, c Do not draw me without reason nor 
 sheathe me without honour ! ' Let his motto 
 be thine own, and remember that to a Spaniard 
 honour comes first." 
 
 Then the party broke up, and Fernando 
 and Juanita were trotted off to bed, and sleep- 
 ily murmured their evening prayer : 
 
 "Jesus, Joseph, Mary, 
 Your little servant keep, 
 And with your kind permission, 
 I'll lay me down to sleep ! " 
 
 and they heard through the soft moonlight the 
 tinkle of Pablo's guitar, as he strolled along 
 to bite the iron beneath the grating of the 
 dainty Senorita Trinidad. 
 
 1 The noblest of the Spanish grandees wear a golden key 
 upon the hip to indicate that they have the right to enter the 
 king's doors at any time. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 VIVA EL REY ! 
 
 All Granada was in a flutter ! It was the 
 brightest of October days, and the sun seemed 
 to be trying to be as bright as the people, 
 or the people to be as gay as the sunshine. 
 Fernando and Juanita hopped out of bed and 
 ran to the window the first minute they were 
 awake, and squealed with delight when they 
 saw that the day was fair. 
 
 "Oh, mamma!" cried Fernando. "Is it 
 not glorious ? The fete will be a success ! " 
 and Juanita echoed her brother, " Is it not 
 wonderfully fair ! " 
 
 " Come and have your chocolate quickly, 
 
 like good children," returned their mother, 
 
 " for you must be ready early." 
 
 117 
 
n8 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 As soon as the children were breakfasted, 
 they were dressed in their best clothes, Juanita 
 all in white, with a gay sash, and Fernando in 
 a sailor suit of blue, and they waited impa- 
 tiently for their parents to be ready to start 
 for the fete. 
 
 It was a great day for Granada, for the 
 king was coming to visit the city, and it had 
 been many years since royalty had honoured 
 the Andalusian town. Spaniards are nearly 
 always devoted to their king, and in Andalusia 
 there are very few who are not fond and 
 proud of the young King Alphonso. 
 
 In Northern Spain there are many who are 
 called Carlists, and who believe that the de- 
 scendants of Don Carlos are the lawful kings 
 of Spain, and these have often gotten up revo- 
 lutions and tried to set their own favourites up 
 as kings. 
 
 In Barcelona and some of the eastern 
 provinces there are many who like neither 
 
Viva el Rey! ng 
 
 King Alphonso nor Don Carlos, and these are 
 anarchists ; but Granada was heart and soul 
 for the king, and all the people were overjoyed 
 at his coming. 
 
 Every balcony in the city was covered with 
 flowers ; flags and banners floated everywhere. 
 The Alameda was ablaze with decorations, and 
 every face wore a smile of welcome. The pro- 
 gramme for the day was a simple one. The 
 king was to be met at the station by a delega- 
 tion, a band, and a mounted escort, witness 
 a military review on the Alameda, and depart 
 by an afternoon train. All Granada must see 
 him, and Fernando and Juanita with it. 
 
 It had been decided that the best time for 
 the children to have a good look at the 
 king was when he drove to the Alhambra, 
 and Manuel and Dolores started early to take 
 them to meet Antonio, who had promised to 
 provide places within the Alhambra grounds, 
 where the general multitude would be less 
 
120 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 likely to go, and where the children would 
 have a finer view. Pablo went with them, for 
 he was still at home, and he walked beside 
 Babieca to see that Juanita did not fall off, on 
 her long ride up-hill. 
 
 " See there, little sister," he said. " Is 
 not that an easy way to get milk for the 
 day ? " 
 
 The goatherd was passing at the head of his 
 procession of goats, looking neither to the 
 right nor to the left, expecting his herd to 
 follow him as gravely as he walked ; but a 
 peasant woman stole out of her door, and 
 quietly milked one of the little beasts, who 
 seemed not to object in the least, and took 
 it so calmly that Pablo added, "That is not the 
 first time there has been stolen milk for break- 
 fast, I'm sure." 
 
 " See the poor beggar ; do give him some- 
 thing, Pablo," said Juanita, touched by a 
 wretched specimen of humanity who sat with 
 
Viva el Rey! 121 
 
 blind eyes peering up at them as they passed. 
 Pablo threw a perro chico into the beggar's 
 outstretched hand, but he said : 
 
 " You must not be too sad for all the 
 beggars, nina ; there is an old rhyme : 
 
 " * The armless man has written a letter, 
 The blind man finds the writing clear ; 
 The mute is reading it aloud, 
 And the deaf man runs to hear.' 
 
 They are not all so sad as they look, but 
 one must give for fear one may slight the 
 really needy." 
 
 " Oh, Pablo, may we have some horchata? " 
 cried Fernando, and his brother stopped to 
 purchase some of the snowy, chilly, puckery 
 stuff, and they enjoyed it greatly. Fernando 
 ate too hastily, and his brother said : 
 
 " ghiita, quita ! You must not act so ! 
 You are as bad as the king when he was a 
 baby and put his knife in his mouth. His 
 governess said to him, c Kings do not eat 
 
122 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 with their knives/ and he haughtily replied, 
 ' This king does ! ' " 
 
 " Indeed," said Fernando, pertly, " the king 
 is my cousin, so it says in my history book 
 that all Spaniards may say." 
 
 " He is your cousin, that is, you must love 
 him as your own blood ; but say, rather, c All 
 equal below the king/ and put him ever first. 
 Remember that your fathers have died for the 
 Kings of Spain, and we may have a chance 
 to show our loyalty yet," and Pablo's bright 
 face clouded a moment. 
 
 " Listen to the music; there goes the military 
 salute ! The king has come, and by the time 
 we reach the Alhambra he will be on his way 
 hither. Get up, Babieca," and he hurried the 
 little donkey along until they reached the top 
 of the hill and found Antonio waiting for 
 them, his face flushed and eager. 
 
 " He will pass here," he cried, " beneath the 
 Gate of Justice, and my father says we may 
 
Viva el Rey! 123 
 
 stand just behind the guard upon the wall ; 
 there could not be a better place. ,, 
 
 "How nice that will be!" cried Juanita. 
 " And where is Pepita ? " 
 
 " There, awaiting you," Antonio answered. 
 " I will take care of Babieca and return," and 
 he led the donkey away, coming back in 
 a few moments, and they all waited impa- 
 tiently. 
 
 Spaniards all love a spectacle, and the young 
 folk could hardly restrain themselves as they 
 heard the strains of music coming nearer and 
 nearer. At last the cavalcade came in sight, — 
 first a troop of soldiers, then a band playing 
 the Marcha Real, then a mounted guard keep- 
 ing close to His Majesty's carnage. There he 
 sat, the young king, a tall, slight youth, with a 
 pale, proud face and great black eyes, sad, yet 
 merry and tender ; a patrician face in every 
 feature, yet a lovable one, and one to arouse 
 all of love and loyalty in his subjects, as the 
 
124 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 character of Alphonso XIII. arouses their 
 respect and affection. 
 
 As the carriage paused at the entrance gate, 
 the king looked up at the eager little group 
 upon the wall and smiled. Juanita and Pepita 
 flung into his carriage their huge bouquets 
 of flowers and to the girls he threw a kiss ; but 
 Fernando and Antonio stood up very straight 
 and saluted gravely, and with a smile in his 
 eyes, but with grave lips, the young king raised 
 his hand to his hat and gave them in return 
 the military salute. Then his carriage passed 
 on, and bore him out of sight, but a shout 
 went up from every voice, cc Viva el rey ! *' 
 
 " When I grow up I shall be a nun and 
 pray all the time for the king!" said Pepita. 
 
 " I shall be a soldier and fight for him," 
 said Fernando, proudly. 
 
 " And I," said Juanita, " shall marry and 
 have many children to fight and pray for him 
 and for Spain ! " 
 
Viva el Rey! 125 
 
 " Indeed, little sister, perhaps thou hast 
 chosen the better part," said Pablo, laugh- 
 ing heartily. 
 
 " See ! " cried Antonio, " there goes the car- 
 riage again, and hear how the people shout ! " 
 and as the bravas rent the air, the children 
 shouted, too : 
 
 " Viva Espafta ! Viva el rey ! Dios guarde a 
 usted ! " ■ 
 
 1 " Long live Spain ! Long live the king ! God guard youi 
 Grace ! " 
 
 THE END, 
 
BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 
 
 THE LITTLE COLONEL BOOKS 
 
 (Trade Mark) 
 
 By ANNIE FALLOWS JOHNSTON 
 Each 1 vol., large 12mo, cl^ih, illustrated, per vol. . $1.50 
 
 THE LITTLE COLONEL STORIES 
 
 (Trade Mark) 
 Being three " Little Colonel " stories in the Cosy Corner 
 Series, " The Little Colonel," " Two Little Knights of 
 Kentucky," and " The Giant Scissors," put into a single 
 volume. 
 
 THE LITTLE COLONEL'S HOUSE PARTY 
 
 (Trade Mark) 
 
 THE LITTLE COLONEL'S HOLIDAYS 
 
 (Trade Mark) 
 
 THE LITTLE COLONEL'S HERO 
 
 (Trade Mark) 
 
 THE LITTLE COLONEL AT BOARDING 
 
 (Trade Mark) 
 
 SCHOOL 
 THE LITTLE COLONEL IN ARIZONA 
 
 (Trade Mark) 
 
 THE LITTLE COLONEL'S CHRISTMAS 
 
 <Trade Mark) 
 
 VACATION 
 THE LITTLE COLONEL, MAID OF HONOUR 
 
 (Trade Mark) 
 
 THE LITTLE COLONEL'S KNIGHT COMES 
 
 (Trade Mark) 
 
 RIDING 
 MARY WARE: THE LITTLE COLONEL'S 
 
 (Trade Mark) 
 
 CHUM 
 
 JUte ten volumes, boxed a* a teru-volume tet. . $15.00 
 
L. C. PAGE <5r» COMPANY'S 
 
 THE LITTLE COLONEL 
 
 (Trade Mark) 
 
 TWO LITTLE KNIGHTS OF KENTUCKY 
 THE GIANT SCISSORS 
 BIG BROTHER 
 
 Special Holiday Editions 
 Each one volume, cloth decorative, small quarto, $1.25 
 New plates, handsomely illustrated with eight full-page 
 drawings in color, and many marginal sketches. 
 
 IN THE DESERT OF WAITING: The Legend of 
 Camelback Mountain. 
 
 THE THREE WEAVERS: A Fairy Tale fob 
 Fathers and Mothers as Well as for Theib 
 Daughters. 
 
 KEEPING TRYST 
 
 THE LEGEND OF THE BLEEDING HEART 
 
 THE RESCUE OF PRINCESS WINSOME: A 
 
 Fairy Play for Old and Young. 
 
 THE JESTER'S SWORD 
 
 Each one volume, tall 16mo, cloth decorative . $0.50 
 
 Paper boards .35 
 
 There has been a constant demand for publication in 
 separate form of these six stories, which were originally 
 included in six of the " Little Colonel " books. 
 
 JOEL : A BOY OF GALILEE : By Annie Fellows 
 Johnston. Illustrated by L. J. Bridgman. 
 New illustrated edition, uniform with the Little Colonel 
 Books, 1 vol., large 12mo, cloth decorative . $1.50 
 A story of the time of Christ, which is one of the author'i 
 
 best-known books. 
 
 A— 2 
 
BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 
 
 THE LITTLE COLONEL GOOD TIMES BOOK 
 
 uniform in size with the Little Colonel Series. $1 .50 
 
 Bound in white kid (morocco) and gold . . 3.00 
 Cover design and decorations by Amy Carol Rand. 
 The publishers have had many inquiries from readers 
 of the Little Colonel books as to where they could obtain 
 a " Good Times Book " such as Betty kept. Mrs. Johns- 
 ton, who has for years kept such a book herself, has gone 
 enthusiastically into the matter of the material and format 
 for a similar book for her young readers. Every girl will 
 want to possess a " Good Times Book." 
 ASA HOLMES : Or, At the Cross-Roads. A sketch 
 of Country Life and Country Humor. By Annie 
 Fellows Johnston. 
 With a frontispiece by Ernest Fosbery. 
 
 Large 16mo, cloth, gilt top $1.00 
 
 " ' Asa Holmes; or, At the Cross-Roads ' is the most 
 delightful, most sympathetic and wholesome book that 
 has been published in a long while." — Boston Times. 
 THE RIVAL CAMPERS: Or, The Adventures of 
 Henry Burns. By Ruel Perlet Smith. 
 Squ&re 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . SI. 50 
 A story of a party of typical American lads, courageous, 
 sJert, and athletic, who spend a summer camping on an 
 island off the Maine coast. 
 
 THE RIVAL CAMPERS AFLOAT: Or, The 
 Prize Yacht Viking. By Ruel Perley Smith. 
 Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 
 This book is a continuation of the adventures of " The 
 Rival Campers " on their prize yacht Viking. 
 THE RIVAL CAMPERS ASHORE 
 By Ruel Perley Smith. 
 
 Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 
 " As interesting ashore as when afloaj." — The Interior.. 
 JACK HARVEY'S ADVENTURES: Or v The 
 Rival Campers Among the Oyster Pirates. By 
 Ruel Perley Smith. Illustrated . . $1.50 
 
 " Just the type of book which is most popular with lads 
 who are in their early teens." — The Philadelphia Item, 
 
 A— 3 
 
L. C. PAGE &> COMPACTS 
 
 PRISONERS OF FORTUNE: A Tale of the Mas- 
 sachusetts Bay Colony. By Ruel Perlet Smith. 
 Cloth decorative, with a colored frontispiece . $1.50 
 " There is an atmosphere of eld New England in the 
 book, the v umor of the born raconteur about the hero, 
 who tells his story with the gravity of a preacher, but with 
 a solemn humor that is irresistible." — Courier- Journal. 
 
 FAMOUS CAVALRY LEADERS. By Charles H. 
 
 L. Johnston. 
 
 Large 12mo. With 24 illustrations . . . $1.50 
 
 Biographical sketches, with interesting anecdotes and 
 reminiscences of the heroes of history who were leaders 
 of cavalry. 
 
 " More of such books should be written, books that 
 acquaint young readers with historical personages in & 
 pleasant informal way." — N. Y. Sun. 
 
 FAMOUS INDIAN CHIEFS. By Charles H. L. 
 Johnston. 
 
 Large 12mo, illustrated . ... $1.50 
 
 In this book Mr. Johnston gives interesting sketches of 
 the Indian braves who have figured with prominence in 
 the history of our own land, including Powhatan, the 
 Indian Caesar; Massasoit, the friend of the Puritans; 
 Pontiac, the red Napoleon; Tecumseh, the famous war 
 chief of the Shawnees; Sitting Bull, the famous war chief 
 of the Sioux; Geronimo, the renowned Apache Chief, etc., 
 etc. 
 
 BILLYH PRINCESS. By Helen Eggleston Has- 
 kell. 
 Cloth decorative, illustrated by Helen McCormick 
 
 Kennedy $1.25 
 
 Billy Lewis was a small boy oi energy and ambition, so 
 
 when he was left alone and unprotected, he simply started 
 
 out to take care of himself. 
 
 TENANTS OF THE TREES. By Clarenc* 
 
 Hawkes. 
 
 Cloth decorative, illustrated in colors . . $1.50 
 
 " A book which will appeal to all who care for the 
 
 hearty, healthy, outdoor life of the country. Th^ illua- 
 
 trations are particularly attractive." — Boston Herald* ' 
 
 A-4 
 
'BOCA'S FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 
 
 BEAUTIFUL JOE'S PARADISE: Or, The Inland 
 
 of Brotherly Love. A sequel to " Beautiful Joe." 
 By Marshall Saunders, author of " Beautiful Joe." 
 One vol., library 12mo, cloth, illustrated . . $1.50 
 " This book revives the spirit of ' Beautiful Joe ' capi- 
 tally. It is fairly riotous with fun, and is about as unusual 
 as anything in the animal book line that has seen the light." 
 — Philadelphia Item, 
 
 'TILDA JANE. By Marshall Saunders. 
 One vol., 12mo, fully illustrated, cloth decorative, $1.50 
 " I cannot think of any better book for children than 
 
 this. I commend it unreserv edly." — Cyrus Tovmsend 
 
 Brady. 
 
 'TILDA JANE'S ORPHANS. A sequel to 'Tilda 
 Jane. By Marshall Saunders. 
 
 One vol., 12mo, fully illustrated, cloth decorative, $1.50 
 'Tilda Jane is the same original, delightful girl, and a* 
 
 fond of her animal pets as ever. 
 
 THE STORY OF THE GRAVELEYS. By Mar- 
 shall Saunders, author of " Beautiful Joe's Para- 
 dise," " 'Tilda Jane," etc. 
 Library 12mo, cloth decorative. Illustrated by E. B. 
 
 Barry $1.50 
 
 Here we have the haps and mishaps, the trials and 
 triumphs, of a delightful New England family, of whose 
 devotion and sturdiness it will do we reader good to hear. 
 
 BORN TO THE BLUE. By Florence Kimball 
 
 RUSSEL. 
 
 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . . . $1.25 
 
 The atmosphere of army life on the plains breathes on 
 
 every page of this delightful tale. The boy is the son of a 
 
 captain of U. S. cavalry stationed at a frontier post in the 
 
 days when our regulars earned the gratitude of a nation. 
 
 A— 5 
 
Z. C. PAGE <&* COMPANY'S 
 
 IN WEST POINT GRAY 
 
 By Florence Kimball Russel. 
 
 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . . $1.66 
 
 " Singularly enough one of the best books of -he year 
 for boys is written by a woman and deals with lift at West 
 Point. The presentment of life in the famous militarr 
 academy whence so many heroes have graduated is realistic 
 and enjoyable." — New York Sun. 
 
 FROM CHEVRONS TO SHOULDER STRAPS 
 
 By Florence Kimeall Russel. 
 
 12mo, cloth, illustrated, decorative . . . $1.50 
 
 West Point again forms the background of a new volume 
 
 in this popular series, and relates the experience of Jack 
 
 Stirling during his junior and senior years. 
 
 THE SANDMAN: HIS FARM STORIES 
 
 By William J. Hopkins. With fifty illustrations by 
 
 Ada Clendenin Williamson. 
 
 Large 12mo, decorative cover . . . $1.50 
 
 " An amusing, original book, written for the benefit of 
 very small children. It should be one of the most popular 
 of the year's books for reading to small children." — 
 Buffalo Express. 
 
 THE SANDMAN: MORE FARM STORIES 
 
 By William J. Hopkins. 
 
 Large 12mo, decorative cover, fully illustrated $1.50 
 
 Mr. Hopkins's first essay at bedtime stories met with 
 
 such^approval that this second book of " Sandman " tales 
 
 was issued for scores of eager children. Life on the farm, 
 
 and out-of-doors, is portrayed in his inimitable manner. 
 
 THE SANDMAN: HIS SHIP STORIES 
 
 By William J. Hopkins, author of " The Sandman: 
 
 His Farm Stories," etc. 
 
 Large 12mo, decorative cover, fully illustrated $1.50 
 
 " Children call for these stories over and over again." — 
 Chicago Evening Post. 
 A—