第6章

I looked round,and saw that we had been joined by a young cavalier,--a Spanish nobleman,as I saw at once;a man with jet black hair,and a straight nose,and a black moustache,and patent leather boots,very slim and very tall,and--though I would not confess it then--uncommonly handsome.I myself am inclined to be stout,my hair is light,my nose broad,I have no hair on my upper lip,and my whiskers are rough and uneven."I could punch your head though,my fine fellow,"said I to myself,when I saw that he placed himself at Maria's side,"and think very little of the achievement."The wretch went on with us round the plaza for some quarter of an hour talking Spanish with the greatest fluency,and she was every whit as fluent.Of course I could not understand a word that they said.Of all positions that a man can occupy,I think that that is about the most uncomfortable;and I cannot say that,even up to this day,I have quite forgiven her for that quarter of an hour.

"I shall go in,"said I,unable to bear my feelings,and preparing to leave her."The heat is unendurable.""Oh dear,John,why did you not speak before?"she answered."You cannot leave me here,you know,as I am in your charge;but I will go with you almost directly."And then she finished her conversation with the Spaniard,speaking with an animation she had never displayed in her conversations with me.

It had been agreed between us for two or three days before this,that we were to rise early on the following morning for the sake of ascending the tower of the cathedral,and visiting the Giralda,as the iron figure is called,which turns upon a pivot on the extreme summit.We had often wandered together up and down the long dark gloomy aisle of the stupendous building,and had,together,seen its treasury of art;but as yet we had not performed the task which has to be achieved by all visitors to Seville;and in order that we might have a clear view over the surrounding country,and not be tormented by the heat of an advanced sun,we had settled that we would ascend the Giralda before breakfast.

And now,as I walked away from the plaza towards Mr.Daguilar's house,with Maria by my side,I made up my mind that I would settle my business during this visit to the cathedral.Yes,and I would so manage the settlement that there should be no doubt left as to my intentions and my own ideas.I would not be guilty of shilly-shally conduct;I would tell her frankly what I felt and what I thought,and would make her understand that I did not desire her hand if I could not have her heart.I did not value the kindness of her manner,seeing that that kindness sprung from indifference rather than passion;and so I would declare to her.And I would ask her,also,who was this young man with whom she was intimate--for whom all her volubility and energy of tone seemed to be employed?She had told me once that it behoved her to consult a friend in Seville as to the expediency of her marriage with me.Was this the friend whom she had wished to consult?If so,she need not trouble herself.Under such circumstances I should decline the connection!And I resolved that Iwould find out how this might be.A man who proposes to take a woman to his bosom as his wife,has a right to ask for information--ay,and to receive it too.It flashed upon my mind at this moment that Donna Maria was well enough inclined to come to me as my wife,but --.Icould hardly define the "buts"to myself,for there were three or four of them.Why did she always speak to me in a tone of childish affection,as though I were a schoolboy home for the holidays?Iwould have all this out with her on the tower on the following morning,standing under the Giralda.

On that morning we met together in the patio,soon after five o'clock,and started for the cathedral.She looked beautiful,with her black mantilla over her head,and with black gloves on,and her black morning silk dress--beautiful,composed,and at her ease,as though she were well satisfied to undertake this early morning walk from feelings of good nature--sustained,probably,by some under-current of a deeper sentiment.Well;I would know all about it before I returned to her father's house.

There hardly stands,as I think,on the earth,a building more remarkable than the cathedral of Seville,and hardly one more grand.

Its enormous size;its gloom and darkness;the richness of ornamentation in the details,contrasted with the severe simplicity of the larger outlines;the variety of its architecture;the glory of its paintings;and the wondrous splendour of its metallic decoration,its altar-friezes,screens,rails,gates,and the like,render it,to my mind,the first in interest among churches.It has not the coloured glass of Chartres,or the marble glory of Milan,or such a forest of aisles as Antwerp,or so perfect a hue in stone as Westminster,nor in mixed beauty of form and colour does it possess anything equal to the choir of Cologne;but,for combined magnificence and awe-compelling grandeur,I regard it as superior to all other ecclesiastical edifices.