Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1888-08-09
THE MAN OF ALM0NACID.

| When heard that Toledo had been his homie
for ten whole months-Toledo, which lives
only by moonlight, and is the mere corpse of
city in the sunshine-when | heard of a
modesty so very retiring, and remembered
that England had no extTadition treaty with
Spain, my only wonder was as to the sum of
his spoils Was he a defaulter for thirty
thousand pounds, or a petty rogue of all
work
'.Ten Inonthsl That is long time y /
said to Donna Mercedes. my informant, and
the elder of the two old maids who kept the
Casa de Huespedes, in which found that |
had this stranger for a neighbor zone
might see the antiquities even Of Toledo in
that time.n
Truly she answered; ''but then, Don
Iago is painter"
'sAh, now understand" replied, with a
great increase of cheerfulness. 'One might
paint Toledo for ten years and not have DONE
/, too am painter
"And no doubt, said the old dame BEAM
ing upon me through her round trimmed spec
| taees, don Iago viii be known to youF
took up the visitors book, in which tho
sand had not yet dried my autograph
"James Client" 1 said, reading the name to
which she pointed. mo, | do not know him.
/ bOHd AltittalSo was puNettl3 Ittll& SCditGiH
able to understand that two Englishmen
even two English artists, might be strangers
to one another But presently she crossed
herself "Don Iago is an old Christian" she
said softly, and so went Off with her book,
benevolent still, but conscious fear, of a
serpent in her Eden.
Eden was our boarding house. From
paved alley, the Gale del Arzobispo, you
turned into an archway and CROPPED for
door up three stcps in the darkest corner
! Then you pulled a weight which hung there
and by and by the iron studded door opened
as of itself and lo a tiny courtyard, in
which four orange trees in tubs produced an
effect Of somber gaycty. Round this patio,
at the level of first floor, ran a veranda,
reached by an uncovered staircase. All the
rooms opened on to this veranda On the
right hand side were four little bedrooms.
! On the side which faced the entrance was
i the common parlor and on the left tho
kitchen and the old ladies' room, at window
Of which one was always sitting ready to
| open the outer door with cord whenever
the bell tangled.
It was oil very plain and primitive but
clean, and looking round my bedroom, which
had whitewashed walls, and matted floor,
and for furniture bed, stool, basin and
/ a hrasero, found no cause to regret the
! dingy hotel had left.
When passed No. l, on my way to din
| ner the door was ajGr, and Dona Mercedes
was inside with lamp in her hand.
paused before the door, and She, looking up,
saw me. "Ah' she said proudly, "did not
tell You that Doa IGgo was a painter? See
heren And she throw her light upon
| picture which was resting on an easel before
the window.
saw at onco that it snothadly painted.
| There was show Of facility about it. And
| vet it was mediocre, surprising me less by
| It's execution than its subject Here in To
| ledo, the grand and bizarre, in the midst of
such architectural beauty and grotesqueness
rs fairly bcwildered an artists eye, my
neighbor lad not painted a street scene, a
| Moorish gateway, or q leafy clostcr lie had
| chosen instead a country landscape almost as
| commonplace as it Yves areary; gray house
and gray, sloping olive grove, and round
| them bleak, vind swept uplands / was
scarcely more astonishcd to find that knew
the place. | had passed it the day before
/ in my walk from TorTijo s-walking is a
whim Of mine and is was fully seven miles
| from Toledo
At the time / said something pretty to
| Dona Mercedes, and went on to the parlor
| Ny neiShbor was late. had nearly finished
when lie entered. He was a man of 81, per-
/ haps, with thin, cGreworn face and lines be-
| low the temples. He was about my height,
wearing his hair and mustache cut short-a
blonde, and English looking. He had proba-
| bly, heard Of my arrival, yet he seemed put
out at sight Of me-perhaps merely because
he was late
81 have left the head Of tho table FOR your
| | said, half rising, politely. "You have been
here some time, understand
He was breaking his bread into morsels and
eating with a worried air
eyes; the place suits me- he answered
rather curtly.
| "Yet you like to hear the lark sing rs we'll
rs the mouse squeak, replied, smiling. His
| tone was not encouraging, but | wished to be
agreeable. "If am notmis.a'.ca, met you
yesterday"
Not that am aware q, lie said, with
hasty glance at me, So ten devoted him.
self to his soup witli elewed zest.
"No? On the pathway cannot call it
road-fron Torrijoss About2 o'clocIn
| He shook his head. ''You are mistaken
he answered. 81 was not outside the town
yesterday"
.Then l saw man very like your / re-
/ joined, nettlcl by his manner. "There is a
ruined castle called Almonacid, believe,
about a lille this side of Torriios. As | was
! passing it l saw an Englishman, and an art
| ist also, if portfolio makes an artist leave
| it and make quickly for the village before
me. Somehow / missed him among the
houses, and was too far from him at any
| time TO see his features distinctly. But he
was wearing clothes like yours"
"And like yours, too, | presume he re-
! fof,, Oh Il IoI e
for you, and taking you up suddenly, of
which this was my first experience.
Just soln | said, for he was right; we
were dressed alike "But / am not aware
that the mirage occurs in Spain. Perhaps
you know Almonacidlo
NO" he replied, more equally, as if he
were ashamed of his show Of temper 81
have heard Of it. But it is too far for my
legs, and cannot afford horse hire | some
times walk out in that direction, but not
half as far
| made hasty calculation. Almonacid
was nine miles from Toledo. The gray HOUSE
and solitary olive grove were at least seven.
Sc that when my friend said that he had not
been half as far as Almonacid he was not
quite truthful, since he must have been to
the scene of his picture But it was no bust
ness of mine. He was a good looking man,
and that which took him to the dreary farm
house might well be a love intrigue-a thing
dangerous to enter upon in Spain, more dan
gerous still to NEEDLE with. | changed the
subject.
4 had had difficulty about my letters.
The postmaster had refused TO give them to
me because had not my passport with me-
Later the Office had been closed. ] told Client
this and he listened but his thoughts seemed
far away, and when l had done he said,
mo doubt you will get them tomorrow in
a perfunctory way, with scarcely a show of
sympathy.
Il hope | SHALL l answered, annoyed that
be made so little of it. Il do not know what
| shall do if 1 fail to get Them
"Oh, you viii get them, he repeated care
lessly.
He was wrong, as it turned out. But so
was when went to bed, vowing | hated
him. did not take into account the change
which twenty-four hours may make in our
feelings. just one day later could not have
identified the surly man l have described
with my friend James Clent-James Client,
who had by that time rescued me from
most unpleasant position, and proved tri-
umphantly that under his rough manner he
had a sound heart
1t all arose out of the letters. l called at
the postofiice next morning and handed in
my passport. Ten minutes afterward | is
sued from the door dazed and bewildercd, at