'There is no use doing things in a hurry, so I determined, as we were yet thirty-six hours from Madrid, to wait until we were within three hours of the city before I formally proposed for her heart, hand, and high-heeled shoes. _Ay, que gusto, que placer!_
'Again was the old diligence _en route_; again the shades of night were on us, and cool air brought out the travelling-shawl; and again a joint partnership was entered into between JUANITA and me. Somehow, near Las Navas de Tolosa, the diligence gave a fearful lurch, and JUANITA was pitched nearly into my arms; seems to me, she must have assisted the shock, else how, in all the darkness of night, for it must have been nearly ten o'clock, and raining, could I have kissed her and taken charge of her for nearly a minute, while the diligence was coming to time?
That's the way to get over the difficulty in Spain; in Italy with a--
or to hunt it up to head-quarters in Arabic:
That was a rose-colored rainy night--the diligence pitched several times with equal success.
'I made up mind to turn Spaniard, buy one of those velvet tiles, a black lamb-skin jacket, knee-breeches, pounds of silver waistcoat and coat buttons, leather gaiters with long leather fringe; learn to roll _cigarritas_ and become a _cigarrista_. Go twice a week to the _Circo Gallistico_, 'where roosters do combat;' bet my _duros_ on the winning _gallo_, (not gall oh! but on the contrary;) attend every bull-fight, and mass once a week, to keep my hand in; dance the _bolero_; drink _aguardiente_ very cautiously; shoot red-legged partridges all the year round, and, to sum up, come out strong as a full-blooded _majo_! either this or edit a paper in Madrid _progresisto_.
'Again the morning broke and up came the sun illumining our breakfast at Valdepeñas, where the wine comes from, at least the baptismal name to table-wine half over Spain. I determined to edit a paper in Madrid, _progresisto_!
'The day wheeled by until we arrived at Tembléque, where our diligence was wheeled on to a railroad-car, and we were to make the fifteen leagues between there and Madrid with great diligence by steam. _Tembléque_ means a diamond pin; it sticks me with pain when I think of it, for there, yes there! JUANITA was lost to me (as a wife) forever.