contrived to support her spouse and herself upon the scanty produce of
her unwearied industry. If ever a sentiment of gratitude for undeserved
favours animated the bosom of Perez Donilla, he took, it must be
confessed, a strange method of declaring it; not only would he, upon his
return from his lawless carousals, grumble over that humble fare, the
possession of which at all he ought to have considered as scarce less
than a miracle, but, in his madness, unmerciful strappings were sure to
be the portion of his miserable wife. Poor Juana bore these cruelties
with a patience that ought to have canonized her under the title of St.
Grizzle: she could not, indeed, forbear crying out, under these frequent
and severe castigations; nor could she refrain from soliciting the aid
of three or four favourite gentlemen saints, who, little to the credit
of their gallantry and good-nature, always turned a deaf ear upon her
plaints and entreaties; not a word, however, of the inhuman conduct of
her _worser_ half did she breathe to _mortal_ ear. Neighbours, however,
have auricular organs like walls and little pitchers, tongues like
bells, and a spice of meddling and mischief in them like asses; so that
no wise person will suppose the conduct of Perez Donilla to his wife was
long a secret in Madrid. Juana had two brothers and a cousin resident in
the city--Gomez Arias, chief cook to his reverence the Canon Fernando;
Hernan Arias, head groom to Don Miguel de Corcoba, a knight of
Calatrava; and Pedro Pedrillo, a young barber-surgeon, in business for
himself. Gomez and Hernan, hearing of Juana's misfortunes, said, like
affectionate brothers. "God help our poor sister, and may her own
relations help her also; for if _they_ do not, nobody else will, and she
certainly can't help herself." The like words they repeated to Pedro
Pedrillo, until he, being a sharp, handsome young fellow, and
particularly fond of showing forth his fine person and finer wit, agreed
to visit his cousin, and contrive some plan to extricate her from the
cruelty of Perez. Making himself, therefore, as fascinating as possible,