Morris tribune., 1905-12-16

ia II Oh lIlS duCl6uI CdSIle WHICH, Iol
over century had been the
home of the governors of La Guayra
He was gazing listlessly down over the
parapet which bordered the bare sheer
precipice towering above the seaport
town. There was nothing in his eyes,
but a great deal in his heavy heart.
Captain Alvarado, who filed the hon
orable station of comandante of the
port, was 4 soldier of proved courage.
The protege and favorite officer of his
serene highness the Count Alvaro de
Lara, grandee of Spain and viceroy of
Venezuela he had been honored with
great responsibilities, which he had dis
charged to the satisfaction Of his mas
ter. From a military point of view the
office of governor of La Guayra, which
he then filled, was of sufficient impor-
lance to entitle him to high position
and much consideration in the vice re-
gal court of Caracas.
OF unknown parentage, Alvarado had
been received into the family Of the
sRBiceroy when an infant. He had been
gRarefully reared, almost as he had been
abundant opportunity to distinguish
himself. In the course Of his short life
he had managed to amass a modest
fortune by honorable means. He was
young and handsome. He had been In
Dtructed, for the viceroy had early
Mhown partially for him. in the best
schools In the. new world. His educa
zion had been ripened and polished by
q B0jOurn Of several years in, Europe,
mot only at the court OF Madrid, but
also at that Of Versailles. where the
Count de Lara had been sent as am
Aassador to the grand monarch during
n period in which, for the sake Of su-
Deryising the education Of his only
daughter. he had temporarily absented
1lmself from his beloved Venezuela
That an unknown man should have
been given such opportunities. should
have been treated with so much COP
8ideration. was sufficient commentary
nm the unprecedented kindness Of heart
sDf the old hidalgo who represented the
failing power of his most catholic
majesty of Spain. Carlos H.. the Be
'witched, in the new world. Whatever
his origin, therefore, he had been
brought up as a Spanish soldier and
gentleman, and the old count was open
u proud Of him.
With assured station, ample means
Increasing reputation, with youth
health and personal good looks, the
young governor should have been 4
happy man. But it was easy to see
from the heavy frown upon his sunny
face-for he was that rare thing in
Spain, blue eyed blond, who at first
sight might have been mistaken for
an Englishman ~ that his soul was
filled with melancholy. And well it
might be, for Alvarado was the victim
Df hopeless passion for Mercedes dc
Lara, the viceroy's daughter, known
from one end of the Caribbean to the
other from her beauty and her ia
theirs station as the Pearl of Caracas.
Nor was his present sadness due tc
nnrequited passion, for he was conf
dent that the alteration of his heart
was met with an adequate response
from it's object. Indeed, it was nc
secret to him that Mercedes loved him
with devotion which matched his
own. 1t was not that, but her father
had announced his intention to be
Eroth the girl to Don Felipe de Toba1
y Bobadilla, young gentleman OF
ancient lineage and vast wealth, who
had been born in America and was the
reputed head in the western hemi-
sphere of the famous family whose
name he BORE
The consent of Donna Mercedes to
The betrothal had not been asked
That was a detail which was not con. |
Bidered necessary by parents in the
year of grace 1856, and especially not |
by Spanish parents. That she should
object to the engagement or refuse tc |
carry out her fathers plan never
crossed the viceroy's imagination. t
That she might love another was an I
41dea to which he never gave al
9honght. It was the business Of a
Il * 4 4