CHAPTER VI.
A LOOK AT BARCELONA.
The sudden disappearance of Raimundo producedthe greatest astonishment on board of the Tritonia,and not less among those who knew him best in theother vessels of the squadron. His character had beenexcellent since he first joined the academy squadron.No one believed he had run away for the mere sake ofescaping the study and discipline of his vessel, or forthe sake of “a time” on shore. The _abogado’s_ businesswas explained to Mr. Pelham on board of theTritonia, but to no others. Raimundo was gone withouta doubt; but when, where, or how he had disappeared,was a profound mystery.
The excellent character of Raimundo, and the factthat he was a universal favorite, were strongly in hisfavor; and no one was disposed to render a harshjudgment in regard to his singular conduct. The officerstalked it over in the cabin, the seamen talked itover in the steerage. The students could make nothingof the matter; and it looked to them very much likethe usual cases of running away, strange as it seemedto them that a fellow like Raimundo, who had been amodel of good conduct on board, should take such astep.
Of course Scott was an exception to the general rule.Though he knew not where his friend had gone, heunderstood why he had disappeared; for Raimundo hadtold him what he had heard on board of the AmericanPrince, and he was fully satisfied that the stranger hadcome for him.
“I think the matter is fully explained,” said ProfessorCrumples, in the state–room. “A demand has beenmade on the principal for Raimundo; and straightwayRaimundo disappears. It is plain enough to me thatthe young man knew the lawyer was after him.”
“But how could he know it?” demanded ProfessorPrimback.
“That I cannot explain; but I am satisfied that astudent like Raimundo would not run away. He hasnot gone for a frolic, or to escape his duty: he is notone of that sort,” persisted Professor Crumples.
“I think you are right, Mr. Crumples,” added thevice–principal. “Raimundo was a bad boy, or at leastfull of mischief and given to a lark, before he joinedthe institution; but for more than a year his deportmenthas been perfectly exemplary. He has been amodel since I have had charge of this vessel. I havefound that those who have really reformed are oftenstiffer and more determined in their zeal to do rightthan many who have never left the straight path ofduty. I may say that I know this fact from experience.I am satisfied that Raimundo had some very strongmotive for the step he has taken. But what you say,Mr. Crumples, suggests a little further inquiry into thematter.”
The vice–principal spoke Spanish, and he immediatelysent for the _alguacil_ to join the trio in the state–room.
“Had the boats belonging to this vessel left thesteamer when Don Francisco went on board of her?”asked Mr. Pelham as the Spanish officer entered theroom.
“No, sir: not a boat had left the steamer when DonFrancisco was permitted to go on the deck of thesteamer,” replied the _alguacil_ promptly. “He waitedon the steps, at the head of which the big officer stood,for more than an hour; and I was in the boat at thefoot of the steps all the time. I counted eight boatsmade fast to the boom; and I am sure that no one leftthe steamer till after Don Francisco had been admittedon board. I saw all the boys get into these boats, andpull away to this vessel and the other.”
“Then Don Francisco was on the deck of thesteamer at the same time that our ship’s companywere there,” added Mr. Pelham.
“No doubt of that,” replied the _alguacil_, who appearedto desire that no suspicion of foul play on thepart of the officers or the principal should be encouraged.
“Now, if I could find any one who noticed the conductof Raimundo on board of the steamer, we mightget at something,” continued the vice–principal.
“I think you can easily find such a one,” suggestedProfessor Crumples. “Lieutenant Scott and Raimundoare fast friends; they are in the same quarter–watch,and appear to be great cronies.”
“I was thinking of him when you spoke.—Mr.Scott,” called the vice–principal, when he had openedthe door of the state–room.
Scott was in the cabin, and presented himself at thedoor. He was requested to come in, and the door wasclosed behind him.
“Were you with Raimundo on board of the steamer?”asked Mr. Pelham.
Scott was fully determined not to do or say any thingthat would injure his friend, even if he were sent to thebrig for his fidelity to the absent shipmate; and hehesitated long enough to consider the effect of any thinghe might say.
“We are all friends of Raimundo, and do not wishto harm him,” added the vice–principal. “You havealready said you did not know where Raimundo was.”
“I do not.”
“Do you object to answering the question I asked?”
“I do not,” replied Scott, who had by this time madeup his mind that the truth could not harm his friend.“I was with Raimundo all the time he was on board ofthe steamer. We went in the same boat, and returnedtogether.”
“Did you notice the gentleman that came on boardof the Tritonia with Mr. Lowington?”
“I did. He was on deck here half an hour, ormore.”
“Did you see him on board of the AmericanPrince?”
“I did. He spoke to the principal just as Raimundoand I passed behind him.”
“Behind whom?”
“Behind the principal. I looked the gentleman inthe face while he was speaking to Mr. Lowington.”
“Do you know what he said?”
“I can walk Spanish, but I can’t talk Spanish; andso I couldn’t understand him.”
“You don’t know what he said, then?”
Scott hesitated again.
“I don’t say that.”
“But you intimated that you did not understandSpanish.”
“I do know what the gentleman said as I passedhim,” replied Scott.
“How could you know, without understanding thelanguage he spoke?”
“Raimundo told me what he said; and he couldunderstand Spanish if I could not.”
“Ah, indeed! Raimundo told you! Well, what didhe tell you the gentleman said?” asked the vice–principalearnestly.
“He told me he heard the gentleman ask the principalif he had a student under his care by the name ofEnrique Raimundo: that’s all he heard, and that’s allhe told me about the gentleman,” replied Scott, whohad said so much because he believed that this informationwould do his absent shipmate more good thanharm.
“That explains it all,” added Mr. Pelham; and heinformed the _alguacil_ what Scott had said.
This was all the vice–principal had expected to showby Scott; and he was entirely satisfied with the informationhe had obtained, not suspecting that the thirdlieutenant knew any thing more about the matter. Mr. Pelhamand the rest of the party asked Scott somemore questions in regard to the conduct of the absenteeafter he came on board of the Tritonia; butRaimundo had taken care that his friend should knownothing at all about his intended movements, and thelieutenant was as ignorant of them as any other personon board. To his intense relief he was dismissed withouthaving betrayed the confidence of his friend in theslightest degree.
Scott knew the whole story of the young Spaniard;and he was confident that the principal and the vice–principal,if not the professors, had learned at leastDon Alejandro’s side of it from the stranger; and hefelt that he was relieving his friend from the charge ofbeing a runaway, in the ordinary acceptation of theterm, by showing that Raimundo knew that some onewas after him.
The exciting topic was discussed by all hands till theanchor–watch was set, and the rest of the ship’s companyhad turned in. Even Bill Stout and Bark Lingallin the brig had heard the news, for Ben Pardee hadcontrived to communicate it to them on the sly; andthey discussed it in whispers, as well as another moreexciting question to them, after all hands below wereasleep. Bill was fully determined to repeat the wickedexperiment which had so providentially failed that day.
“Bark is willin’,” added that worthy, when the planhad been fully considered.
Th
e _alguacil_ visited every part of the vessel, attendedby the vice–principal, before he retired for thenight. The next morning, all hands were mustered ondeck, and the search was repeated. This time the holdwas visited; but no sign of the fugitive could be found.The _alguacil_ protested that he was sure no attempthad been made by any person on board to conceal theabsentee; for every facility had been afforded him tosee for himself.
Breakfast had been ordered at an early hour; for itwas understood that all hands were to go on shore, andsee what little there was to be seen in Barcelona.Before the meal was finished, the principal came onboard with Don Francisco. The _alguacil_ reported tohis employer what he had done, and described thethorough search which had been made for the missingward. The principal offered to do any thing thelawyer would suggest in order to find Raimundo. Noone could imagine how he had left the vessel, though itseemed to be a settled conviction with all that he hadleft. Don Francisco could suggest nothing; but heinsisted that the _alguacil_ should remain on the vessel,to which the principal gladly assented.
Don Francisco was sent on shore in good style in thefirst cutter of the Prince; and, as soon as breakfast wasover in the Tritonia, the principal directed that allhands should be mustered in the waist.
“Young gentlemen,” said Mr. Lowington, as soon asthe students had assembled, “I spent last evening, andthe greater part of last night, in devising a plan bywhich all hands in the fleet may see the most interestingportions of Spain and Portugal.”
This announcement was received with a demonstrationof applause, which was permitted and even enjoyedby the faculty; for it had long before been provedthat the boys were honest and sincere in their expressionsof approbation, and that they withheld theirtribute when they were not satisfied with the announcement,or the programme, whatever it was. The principalbowed in acknowledgment of the applause.
“I am well aware that some of the interior towns ofSpain possess more interest than any on the seacoast;and therefore I have decided that you shall see both.You will spend to–morrow in seeing Barcelona, whichmay easily be seen in one day by those who do notwish to make a critical survey of the country. To–nightthe ship’s company of the American Prince willdepart for Saragossa; and will visit Burgos, Valladolid,the Escurial, Madrid, Toledo, Badajos, and thencethrough Portugal to Lisbon, from which they may goto Cintra and other places. They will reach Lisbonin about two weeks. To–morrow morning the ship’scompany of the Tritonia and that of the Josephinewill be sent in the steamer direct to Lisbon, fromwhich place they will make the tour, reversed, backto Barcelona. The ship’s company of the AmericanPrince will return to Barcelona in their own vessel,which will wait for them at Lisbon. When all handsare on board again, the squadron will sail alongthe coast, visiting Valencia, Alicante, Carthagena,Malaga, Gibraltar, and Cadiz; and another interiortrip will be made to Granada, Cordova, and Seville.This plan will enable you to see about the wholeof Spain. Then we shall have visited nearly everycountry in Europe. To–day will be used in coalingthe steamer, and you will go on shore as soon as youare ready.”
This speech was finished with another demonstrationof applause; and the principal immediately returnedto the Prince, alongside of which several coal–bargeshad already taken their places. The studentshad put on their go–ashore uniforms, and were in readinessto take a nearer view of the city. The officersand crew of the Prince had packed their bags for thetwo weeks’ trip through Spain, and her boats were nowpulling to the landing–place near the foot of the _Rambla_.Those of the Josephine and Tritonia soon followedthem.
The _alguacil_ remained on board of the Tritonia.He had a recent photograph of Raimundo, obtainedin New York by Don Alejandro’s agent; and he wasconfident that the fugitive had not left the vessel withthe rest of the students. As it was necessary for theadult boatswain and carpenter, Marline and Rimmer,to go on shore with the boats in order to take chargeof them, the two prisoners in the brig were left in careof the head steward. When the vessel was desertedby all but the cooks and stewards, the _alguacil_ madeanother diligent search for the ward of his employer,but with no better success than before. He tried totalk with Salter, the chief steward; but that individualdid not know a word of Spanish, and he did not getahead very fast. In the course of an hour, he seemedto be disgusted with his occupation, and, calling ashore boat, he left the Tritonia. Probably Don Franciscohad directed him to use his own judgment as tothe time he was to remain on board.
Mr. Salter was the chief steward of the Tritonia, andhe had a great deal of business of his own to attend to,so that he could not occupy himself very closely inlooking after the marines in the brig. He was obligedto make up his accounts, which were required to be asaccurately and methodically kept as though the vesselwere a man–of–war. His desk was in the cabin, for hewas an officer of no little consequence on board.Though the passage–way between the cabin and thesteerage was open, he could not see, from the placewhere he was seated, what the prisoners were about, orhear their conversation. They had their books in thebrig, though they did not study their neglected lessons.But what they said and what they did must be reservedtill a later time in the day; for it would not be fair toleave all the good students to wander about Barcelonawithout any attention.
The boats landed, and for the first time the youngvoyagers stood on the soil of Spain. Captain Wainwright,Scott, and O’Hara were among those who werepermitted to take care of themselves, while not a fewwere in charge of the vice–principals and the professors.Those who were privileged to go where they pleasedwithout any supervision chose their own companions.Scott and O’Hara were inclined to train in the samecompany; and Captain Sheridan and Lieutenant Murrayof the steamer, with whom both of them had beenformerly very intimate, hailed them as they came onshore. The four formed a party for the day. It was avery desirable party too, for the reason that Dr. Winstock,an old traveller in Spain, as indeed he was in allthe countries of Europe, was as great a crony of Sheridanas he once had been of Paul Kendall, the firstcaptain of the Josephine, and a commander of theYoung America. The surgeon shook hands with Scottand O’Hara, and then led the way to the _Rambla_,which is the broad avenue extending through the centreof the city.
“Barcelona, I suppose you know, young gentlemen,is the second city in Spain in population, and has nearlyor quite two hundred thousand inhabitants,” said thedoctor, as the party entered the _Rambla_. “It is byfar the most important commercial city, and is quite amanufacturing place besides. There are several cotton,silk, and woollen mills outside of the walls; andten years ago the imports of cotton from the UnitedStates were worth nearly five millions of dollars.”
“What do you call our country in Spanish, doctor?”asked Sheridan.
“_Los Estados Unidos de America_,” replied Dr. Winstock.“By the way, O’Hara, do you speak Spanish?”
“No, sir: I spake only Oyrish and Oytalian,”laughed the fourth lieutenant of the Tritonia.
“Though Spanish and Italian are very much alike,each of them seems to be at war with the other. Ford,in Murray’s Hand–book for Spain, says that a knowledgeof Italian will prove a constant stumbling–block inlearning Spanish. I found it so myself. Before Icame to Spain the first time I could speak the languagevery well, and talked it whole evenings with my professor.Then I took lessons in Italian; but I soon foundmy Spanish so confused and confounded that I couldnot speak it at all.”
“Then I won’t try to learn Spanish,” added O’Hara.
“Here is the post–office on your right, and the _TeatroPrincipal_ on the left; but it is not the principal theatreat the present time.”
“This street—I suppose they would call it a boulevardin Paris—is not unlike ‘_Unter den Linden_’ inBerlin,” said Murray. “It has the rows of trees in themiddle.”
“But the time to visit the _Rambla_ is just before nighton a pleasant day, when it is crowded with people.Barcelona is not so thoroughly Spanish as some othercities of Spain—Madrid and Seville, for instance.The people are quite different from the traditionalSpaniard,
who is too dignified and proud to engage incommerce or to work at any honest business; while theCatalans are an industrious and thriving people, first–ratesailors, quick, impulsive, and revolutionary in theircharacter. They are more like Frenchmen than Spaniards.”
“There is a square up that narrow street,” saidSheridan.
“That’s the _Plaza Real_,—Royal Square,—surroundedby houses with arcades, like the _Palais Royal_in Paris. In the centre of it is a fine monument, dedicatedto the Catholic kings, as distinguished from theMoorish sovereigns, and dedicated to Ferdinand andIsabella; and you remember that Catalonia became apart of Aragon, and was annexed to Castile by the marriageof their respective sovereigns. This is the _Rambladel Centro_, for this broad avenue has six names in itslength of three–quarters of a mile. Here is the _CalleFernando_ on our right, which is the next street in importanceto the _Rambla_, and, like it, has several names forits different parts. Now we have the _Teatro del Lico_ onour left, which is built on the plan of _La Scala_ at Milan,and is said to be the largest theatre in Europe, seatingcomfortably four thousand people.”
Dr. Winstock continued to point out the variousobjects of interest on the way; but most of them weremore worthy to be looked at than to be written about.The party walked the entire length of the _Rambla_ tothe _Plaza de Cataluña_, which is a small park, with afountain in the centre. Taking another street, theyreached a point near the centre of the city, where thecathedral is located. It is a Gothic structure, built inthe fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. In 1519 Charles V.presided in the choir of this church over a generalassembly of the Knights of the Golden Fleece. Underthe high altar is the crypt or tomb of St. Eulalia, thepatron saint of the city. She suffered martyrdom inthe fourth century; and it is said that her remains werediscovered five hundred years after her death, by thesweet odor they emitted. Her soul ascended to heavenin the visible form of a dove.
Near the cathedral, on the _Plaza de la Constitucion_,or Constitution Square, are the Town Hall and theParliament House, in which the commons of Cataloniamet before it became a part of the kingdom of Aragon.Between this square and the _Rambla_ is the church of_Santa Maria del Pino_, Gothic, built a little later thanthe cathedral. Its name is derived from a tradition thatthe image of the Virgin was found in the trunk of a pine–tree,and because this tree is the emblem of the Catholicfaith, ever green and ever pointing to heaven. Onthe altars of two of its chapels, Jews were allowed totake an oath in any suit with a Christian, or to establishthe validity of a will, and for similar purposes. Inanother church Hebrews are permitted to take oath onthe Ten Commandments, placed on an altar.
The party visited several other churches, and finallyreached the great square near the head of the port, onwhich are located the Royal Palace, the Exchange, andthe Custom House; but there is nothing remarkableabout them. There are fifty fountains in the city, theprincipal of which is in the palace square. It is anallegorical representation of the four provinces of Catalonia.
“There is not much to see in Barcelona,” said Dr.Winstock, as they walked along the sea–wall, in theresort called the _Muralla del Mar_. “This is a commercialcity, and you do not see much that is distinctivelySpanish. Commerce with other nations is veryapt to wear away the peculiarities of any people.”
“But where are the Spaniards? I don’t think I haveseen any of them,” added Sheridan.
“Probably most of the people you have met in ourwalk were Spaniards,” replied the doctor.
“Don’t we see the national costume?”
“You will have to go to a bull–fight to see that,”laughed the surgeon; “and then only the men whotake part in the spectacle will wear the costume. Theaudience will be dressed in about the same fashion youhave seen all over Europe. Perhaps if you go overinto Barceloneta you will find some men clothed in thegarb of the Catalans.”
“Shall we see a bull–fight?” asked Scott.
“Not in Barcelona. I suppose, if there should be anopportunity, the principal would allow all who wishedto see it to do so; for it is a Spanish institution, and thetraveller ought not to leave Spain without seeing one.But it is a sickening sight; and, after you have seen oneor two poor old horses gored to death by the bull, youwill not care to have any more of it. The people ofthis city are not very fond of the sport; and the affairis tame here compared with the bull–fights of Madridand Seville.”
At three o’clock those of the party who belonged tothe steamer departed for Saragossa. Scott and O’Harawandered about the city the rest of the day, visitingBarceloneta, and taking an outside view of the bull–ring,or _Plaza de Toros_, which is about the same thingas in all the other large cities of the country. Theydined at a French restaurant in the _Rambla_, wherethey did not go hungry for the want of a language. Atan early hour they returned to the Tritonia, where theywere to spend another night before their departure inthe American Prince.