acquaintance. The ecclesiastic found him even more sad than usual,
and there was a haggard paleness upon his countenance which alarmed
his visitor. The good priest made affectionate inquiries
respecting the health of his friend, and whether anything had of
late occurred to give him uneasiness; adding at the same time, that
he had long suspected that some secret lay heavy upon his mind,
which he now conjured him to reveal, as life was uncertain, and it
was very possible that he might be quickly summoned from earth into
the presence of his Maker.

The bookseller continued for some time in gloomy meditation, till
at last he broke silence in these words:- 'It is true I have a
secret which weighs heavy upon my mind, and which I am still loth
to reveal; but I have a presentiment that my end is approaching,
and that a heavy misfortune is about to fall upon this city: I
will therefore unburden myself, for it were now a sin to remain
silent.

'I am, as you are aware, a native of this town, which I first left
when I went to acquire an education at Salamanca; I continued there
until I became a licentiate, when I quitted the university and
strolled through Spain, supporting myself in general by touching
the guitar, according to the practice of penniless students; my
adventures were numerous, and I frequently experienced great
poverty. Once, whilst making my way from Toledo to Andalusia
through the wild mountains, I fell in with and was made captive by
a band of the people called Gitanos, or wandering Egyptians; they
in general lived amongst these wilds, and plundered or murdered
every person whom they met. I should probably have been
assassinated by them, but my skill in music perhaps saved my life.