human
We set it up against a wild olive, and placed ourselves before it, and now, we said, Come and get him--and they came, for those demons, the worse the cause the more impetuous they are. They killed my poor friend, and had nearly killed me, for they were many. What I felt at the thought of losing the bird! but it was the will of heaven that it should never sing the _mambrui_ [Footnote 170] in French, for our men came and drove them back. They conducted me with my trophy before the colonel, who said that I had behaved well, and should receive the cross of San Fernando, for having captured the eagle. 'I did not capture it, my colonel,' I answered, 'it was my friend, the young noble, who is killed. And I fainted. When came to, I found myself in the hospital and without the cross.
gpt
That was your own fault, said Rita.
human
Why did you tell the colonel it was not you?
gpt
You did your duty,
human
I was hardly convalescent when we embarked for Huelra, and I found myself in the battle of Albuera against the division of Marshal Soult. I was soon after taken prisoner; made my escape, and joined the army of Granada, commanded by the Duke del Paryne, in which I remained, pursuing the enemy beyond the Pyrenees. Then I returned to Madrid, where I have been waiting until now for my dismissal.
gpt
Goodness! Ventura, said Maria, in astonishment,
human
I--no, answered Ventura,
gpt
But they are good people, they do not carry knives.
human
God bless them!
gpt
In that land there is no oil, and they eat black bread.
human
A poor country for me, observed Anna,
gpt
What kind of _gazpachos_ [Footnote 171] can they make with black bread, and without oil?
human
They do not eat gazpacho,
gpt
Then what do they eat?
human
They eat potatoes and milk,
gpt
Much good may it do them, and benefit their stomachs.
human
The worst is, Aunt Maria, that in all that land there are neither monks nor nuns.
gpt
What are you telling me, my son?
human
What you hear. There are very few churches, and those look like hospitals that have been plundered, for they are without chapels, without altars, without images, and without the blessed sacrament.
gpt
Mercy, mercy!