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5190177
 AmirAnthony.
Inthlon
JermJePailince.
Grand
Mary C.Maymlar d
CARMEN
 ROUTLEDGE'S POCKET LIBRARY

COMPLETE IN SIXTY VOLUMES .

" A series of beautiful little books, tastefully bound."-Times.

" Routledge'sPERFECT Pocket Library."-Punch.

UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME.

THACKERAY'S PARIS SKETCH BOOK.

DICKENS'S CHRISTMAS CAROL.
WASHINGTON IRVING'S SKETCH BOOK.
GOLDSMITH'S VICAR OF WAKEFIELD.

THE COMING RACE. By LORD LYTTON.

MANON LESCAUT .
STERNE'S SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY.
DICKENS'S CHIMES .
THE LUCK OF ROARING CAMP. By BRET HARTE.
THE BOOK OF HUMOUR, WIT AND WISDOM.
LONGFELLOW'S HYPERION.
DICKENS'S CRICKET ON THE HEARTH .
THACKERAY'S FROM CORNHILL TO GRAND CAIRO.
MRS. SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN.
DICKENS'S TALES FROM PICKWICK.
ARTEMUS WARD-HIS BOOK.
DICKENS'S PICTURES FROM ITALY.
MÉRIMÉE'S CARMEN.
DICKENS'S BATTLE OF LIFE.
PAUL AND VIRGINIA.
 CARMEN

BY

PROSPER MÉRIMÉE

LONDON

GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS, LIMITED

BROADWAY, LUDGATE HILL
MANCHESTER AND NEW YORK

1893
KC12615

HARVARD
UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY
Πᾶσα γυνὴ χόλος ἐστίν· ἔχει δ᾽ ἀγαθὸς δύο ὥρας
Τὴν μίαν ἐν θαλάμῳ, τὴν μίαν ἐν θανάτῳ.
PALLADAS.

I.

I HAVE always suspected geographers of

not knowing what they were talking about
when they place the battle-field of Munda in
the country of the Bastuli-Pœni, near the
modern Monda, some leagues to the north of
Marbella. According to my own interpreta
2 CARMEN .

tion of the text of the anonymous author of

Bellum Hispaniensis, and after some infor-
mation collected in the excellent library of
the Duke of Osuena, I considered it neces-
sary to seek in the environs of Montilla for
the memorable spot where for the last time
Cæsar played double or quits against the
champions of the Republic. Finding myself
in Andalusia about the beginning of the
autumn of 1830, I made a rather lengthened
excursion with a view to clear up the
doubts which still remained in my mind on
this question. A pamphlet which I shall
shortly publish will, I trust, leave no
uncertainty in the minds of all honest
archæologists. Pending the time when my
dissertation shall resolve once for all this
geographical problem which keeps all
scientific Europe in suspense, I wish to
relate a little story, which will in no degree
prejudice the interesting question of the site
ofMunda.
 CARMEN. 3

Ihad engaged a guide and two horses at

Cordova, and set out with Cæsar's Commen-
taries and a few shirts as my only baggage.
One day, while wandering in the elevated
part of the plain of Cachena, tired out, dying
of thirst, broiled by avertical sun, Iwas just
consigning Cæsar and the sons of Pompey to
the devil, when I perceived at some distance
from the path which I was following a little
green space dotted with rushes and reeds.
These announced the vicinity of a spring.
In fact, as I approached I perceived that the
seeming greensward was a marsh in which a
)
streamlet, emerging, as it seemed, from a
narrow gorge between two lofty buttresses of
the Sierra di Calva, lost itself. I concluded
that if I ascended a little farther I should
find clearer and fresher water, and fewer
leeches and frogs, with perhaps a little shade
between the boulders. At the entrance of the
gorge my horse neighed, and another horse,
which I could not see, immediately replied.
4 CARMEN.

I had scarcely advanced a hundred paces

when the gorge suddenly opened out and
displayed to my view a kind of natural
amphitheatre, entirely shaded by the lofty
cliffs which enclosed it. It was impossible
to meet with any spot which promised a
traveller a more agreeable resting-place. At
the base of the perpendicular cliffs the stream
rushed out and fell bubbling into a little
basin lined with sand white as snow. Five
or six beautiful and verdant oaks, always
sheltered from the wind here, and watered by
the stream, rose beside its source, and covered
it with their leafy shade ; lastly, around the
basin grew a rich fine grass which offered a
better bed than one could find in any inn for
ten leagues round.
But the honour of discovering this
charming retreat did not rest with me. A
man was already reposing there, and was
no doubt asleep when I penetrated thither.
Awakened by the neighing of the horses,
 CARMEN. 5

he arose and approached his steed, which

had taken advantage of his master's sleep-
ing to make a good meal of the luxuriant
grass around him. His owner was a young
fellow of medium height, but of robust build,
and with a gloomy and proud look on his
face. His complexion, which may have
been good, had by exposure become even
darker than his hair. In one hand he
grasped the halter of his steed, in the other
he held a brass blunderbuss. I must confess
that at first the sight of the blunderbuss and
the fierce aspect of the man surprised me ; but
I no longer believed in brigands, having
only heard of them, but never having met
any of them. Besides, I had seen so many
honest farmers armed to the teeth to proceed
to market, that the mere sight of fire-arms was
not sufficient evidence upon which to base
the dishonesty of the unknown. And then I
thought, what would he want with my shirts
and my volume of Elzevir Commentaries ?
6 CARMEN.

So I saluted the man of the blunderbuss

with an easybow, and inquired with a smile
whether I had disturbed him from his siesta.
Without answering, he measured me with his
eyes from head to foot ; then, as if satisfied
with his scrutiny, he paid the same attention
to my guide, who was approaching. I per-
ceived the latter turn pale, and pull up with
every symptom of terror. An unlucky
meeting, I thought ; but prudence imme-
diately counselled me not to display any
uneasiness. I dismounted, told the guide to
unbridle the horses, and kneeling down
beside the spring, I plunged my head and
hands into it ; then lying flat on the ground
like the wicked soldiers of Gideon, I took a
deep draught.
Nevertheless, I managed to keep an eye
on the guide and the unknown. The former
approached with manifest hesitation ; the
latter did not appear to harbour any evil
intentions against us, for he had released his
 CARMEN. 7

horse again, and his blunderbuss, which he

had at first grasped horizontally and held
" ready," was now held muzzle downwards.
Not thinking it worth while to be offended
at the slight value put upon me, I lay down
upon the grass, and in an easy manner asked
the man with the blunderbuss whether he
had a tinder-box about him. At the same
time I took out my cigar-case. The un-
known, still in silence, fumbled in his pocket
for the box, and taking it out hastened to
strike a light for me. He was evidently
getting sociable, for he came and sat down
opposite me, but without putting aside his
weapon. My cigar alight, I selected the best
of those remaining in my case, and inquired
whether he would smoke.

"Yes, sir," he replied. These were the

first words he had uttered, and I remarked
that he did not pronounce the S's in the
Andalusian manner,* from which circum-
* The Andalusians aspirate the s, and sound it as some-
8 CARMEN.

stance I concluded that he was a traveller

like myself, less the archæological inspiration.
" You will find this pretty good," I said,
as I handed him a genuine regalia Habaña.
He bowed slightly, lighted his cigar from
mine, thanked me with another bow, and
began to smoke with every appearance of
intense satisfaction.
" Ah ! " he exclaimed as he permitted the
smoke to escape slowly from his mouth and
nostrils, " what a time it is since I have
smoked ! "

In Spain a cigar offered and accepted

establishes friendly relations, as in the East
the partaking of bread and salt ensures hos-
pitality. My companion proved himself
more communicative than I had hoped.
However, although he declared himself a
native of the province of Montilla, he ap-
peared to be very slightly acquainted with
thing between the e soft and the z, which the Spaniards
pronounce like the English th. By the word Señor
one can distinguish an Andalusian.
 CARMEN. 9

the district. He did not know the name of

the charming valley in which we were
resting. He could not name any village in
the neighbourhood ; and at length, in reply
to my question as to whether he had not
noticed in the environs some ruined walls
and carved stones, he confessed that he never
paid any attention to such things. On the
other hand, he showed himself a connoisseur
in horseflesh. He criticised my steed-which
was not difficult ; then he told me the pedi-
gree of his own, which came from the famous
Cordova stud : a noble animal indeed, and
so insensible to fatigue that, as his master
said, he had on one occasion made ninety
miles in the day at speed. In the midst of
this tirade the unknown suddenly cheeked
himself, as if surprised and sorry that he had
said so much .
" It was when I was in a great hurry to
reach Cordova," he continued with some em-
barrassment, " I had to prosecute a lawsuit."
10 CARMEN .

As he was speaking he looked at my guide

Antonio, who lowered his eyes.
The shade and the spring charmed me so
that I recollected some slices of an excellent
ham which my friends in Montilla had put
in my guide's haversack. I made him fetch
them, and invited the stranger to join me
in my impromptu picnic. If he had not
smoked for a long while, it seemed to me
that he must have fasted for forty-eight hours
at least. He ate like a famished wolf. I
thought my appearance had been quite pro-
vidential for the poor devil. My guide,
however, ate little, drank less, and spoke not
at all, although at the beginning of our jour-
ney he had been a tremendous chatterer.
The presence of our guest seemed to be a
restraint upon him, and a kind of mutual
distrust kept them apart ; the cause of this I
could not determine.
The last morsels of bread and ham had
been eaten ; we had each smoked a second
 CARMEN. 11

cigar ; I ordered the guide to bridle the horses,

and I was about to take leave of my new
acquaintance, when he asked me where I
intended to pass the night.
Before I could attend to a sign from my
guide, I had replied that I was making for
the Venta del Cuervo.
"Abad lodging for such a person as you, sir.
I am going thither, and if you will permit
me to accompany you we will go together."
" Very willingly," I replied as I mounted
my horse. My guide, who was holding the
stirrup, made me another sign. I replied to
it by shrugging my shoulders, as if to assure
him that I was quite easy in my mind ; and
then we started.
The mysterious signs of Antonio, his un-
easiness, the few words that escaped the
unknown, particularly the account of the
thirty-league ride, and the by no means
plausible explanation which he had offered,
had already formed my opinion concerning
12 CARMEN .

my travelling companion. I had no doubt

whatever that I had to do with a contra-
bandista, perhaps with a brigand. What
matter ? I knew enough of the Spanish
character to be certain that I had nothing to
fear from a man who had eaten and smoked
with me. His very presence was a protection
against all untoward adventures. Moreover,
I was rather glad to know what a brigand
was like. One does not meet them every
day, and there is a certain charm in finding
oneself in company with a dangerous person,
particularly when one finds him gentle and
subdued.
I hoped to lead the unknown to confide in
me bydegrees, and notwithstanding the winks
of my guide, I led the conversation to the
bandits. Of course I spoke of them with all
respect. There was at that time a famous
bandit in Andalusia named José-Maria, whose
exploits were in everyone's mouth. " Suppose
I am in the company of José-Maria ! " I said
 CARMEN. 13

to myself. I told all the anecdotes of this

hero that I knew-all those in his praise, of
course, and I loudly expressed my admiration
of his bravery and generosity.
" José-Maria is only a scamp," replied the
stranger coldly.
" Is he doing himself justice, or is it only
modesty on his part ? " I asked myself ; for,
after considering my companion carefully, I
began to apply to him the description of José-
Maria which I had read posted up on the
gates of many towns of Andalusia. Yes, it
is he, certainly. Fair hair, blue eyes, large
mouth, good teeth, small hands, a fine shirt,
a velvet vest with silver buttons, gaiters of
white skin, a bay horse. No doubt about it.
But let us respect his incognito !
We arrived at the Venta. It wasjust what
he had described it that is to say, one of the
most miserable inns that I had ever seen.
One large room served for kitchen, parlour,
and bedroom. A fire was burning on a flat
B
14 CARMEN .

stone in the middle of the room, and the

smoke went out through a hole in the roof,
or rather it stopped there, and hung in a
cloud some feet above the ground. Beside
the wall, on the floor, were extended five or
six horse-cloths, which were the beds for
travellers. About twenty paces from the
house-or rather from the single room which
I have described-was a kind of shed, which
did duty for a stable. In this delightful
retreat there was for the time being no other
individual besides an old woman and a little
girl of ten or twelve years old, both as black
as soot, and in rags.
" Here," thought I, " are all that remain
of the population of the ancient Munda
Bætica. O Cæsar, O Sextus Pompey, how
astonished you would be ifyou were to return
to this mundane sphere ! "
When she perceived my companion the old
woman uttered an exclamation of surprise.
" Ah ! Señor don José ! " she cried.
 CARMEN. 15

Don José frowned and raised his hand

with a gesture of command which made the
old woman pause. I turned to my guide,
and with a sign imperceptible to José made
Antonio understand that I needed no infor-
mation respecting the man with whom I had
to pass the night. The supper was better
than I had anticipated. They served up
upon a small table about a foot high an old
cock fricassied with rice and pimentos, then
pimentos in oil, and lastly, gaspacho, a kind
of pimento salad. Three such highly
seasoned dishes obliged us often to have
recourse to the flask of Montilla, which we
found delicious.

Having supped, and perceiving a mandolin

hanging against the wall-there are mando-
lins everywhere in Spain-I asked the little
girl who waited on us if she knew how to
play it.
" No," she replied ; " but Don José plays
it very well."
16 CARMEN.

" Will you be so good as to sing something ? "

I said to him. " I passionately love your
national music."

" I can refuse nothing to so polite a gentle-

man who gives me such excellent cigars,"
replied Don José good-humouredly, and
being handed the mandolin, he sang to his
own accompaniment. His voice was harsh,
but rather agreeable ; the air was sad and
wild ; as for the words, I did not understand
one of them.
" If I am not mistaken," I said, " that is
not a Spanish air which you have just sung.
It strikes me as resembling the zorzicos which
I have heard in the ' Provinces,' * and the
words seem to be in the Basque tongue."
"Yes," replied José with a sombre air.
He placed the mandolin on the ground, and
sat contemplating the dying embers with a
singularly sad expression. Illumined by the
* The privileged provinces enjoying special fueros-
that isto say, Alava, Biscay, Guipuzcoa, and a portion of
Navarre. Basque is the language of the district.
 CARMEN 17

lamp placed on the little table, his face, at

once noble and ferocious, recalled Milton's
Satan. Like him, perhaps, my companion
was thinking of a heaven he had quitted-of
the exile to which his sin had condemned
him. I endeavoured to engage him in con-
versation, but he did not reply, so absorbed
was he in his sad reflections.
By this time the old woman had retired to
rest in a corner of the room behind a primi-
tive screen formed of a rug suspended from
a cord. The little girl had followed her into
this retreat reserved for the fair sex. Then
my guide, rising, invited me to follow him
to the stable, but at this José, as if waking
up with a start, demanded in a rough tone
whither he was going.
" To the stable," replied the guide.
" What for ? The horses have plenty to
eat. Lie down here ; the gentleman will
permit it."
" I am afraid the Señor's horse may be ill.
18 CARMEN.

I want the Señor to see it ; perhaps he will

know what to do ."
It was evident that Antonio wished to
speak to me in private, but I did not care to
arouse Don José's suspicions, and under the
circumstances it appeared to me that the best
line to take would be to display the greatest
confidence. So I informed Antonio that I
knew nothing about horses, and that I was
very sleepy. Don José followed the man to
the stable, and soon returned alone. He
told me that the horse had nothing the
matter with him, but that the guide valued
the steed so highly that he was rubbing him
with his vest to make him perspire, and
intended to continue this occupation during
the night. However, I was soon extended
beneath the rugs, carefully wrapped in my
cloak so as to avoid contact with them.
After begging pardon for the liberty which
he was taking in lying close to me, Don
José lay down before the door, first having
 CARMEN. 19

renewed the priming of his blunderbuss,

which he took care to place beneath the
haversack which served him for a pillow.
Five minutes after we had wished each other
good-night we were both buried in profound
slumber.
I had believed that I was sufficiently tired
to sleep in such a place as that, but after an
hour a very disagreeable itching aroused me
from my first nap. As soon as I understood
the nature of the disturbing cause I rose,
firmly convinced that it would be better to
pass the night in the open air than under
such an inhospitable roof. I gained the
door on tiptoe, and stepping over Don José
who was sleeping the sleep of the just, I
managed to quit the house without arousing
him. Near the door was a large wooden
bench, on this I lay down and settled my-
self for the night as well as I could. I was
about to shut my eyes for the second time,
when I fancied I perceived the shadows of a
20 CARMEN.

man and a horse passing in front of me

and not making the slightest noise. I
jumped up, and thought I recognised
Antonio. Surprised to see him out of the
stable at such an hour I advanced to meet
him. He stopped when he perceived me
approaching.
"Where is he ? " asked Antonio in a low
voice.
" In the venta ; he is asleep, he has no fear
of fleas. Why have you brought the horse
out ?"
Then I remarked that Antonio-so as not
to make any noise in quitting the shed, had
carefully enveloped the horse's feet in the
fragments of an old cloth.
" Speak lower, in the name of God," he
said. " You do not know who that man is.
He is José Navarro, the most famous bandit
in Andalusia. I have been making signs to
you all day which you would not under
stand."
 CARMEN. 21

"Bandit or not, what does it matter to

me ? " I replied. " He has not robbed us,
and I will wager that he has no intention to
do so."
"All very well, but there is a price of two
hundred ducats on his head. I know where
there is a detachment of lancers about a
league and a half distant ; and before day-
break I will bring some stout fellows here.
I would have taken his horse, but he is so
vicious that no one save Navarro can go
near him."
" What the devil are you about ? " I said.
"What harm has the poor man done to you
that you should betray him ? Besides, are
you certain that he is the brigand you say
he is ?"
" Perfectly certain. Just now he followed
me into the stable and said, ' You seem to
know me. If you tell this good gentleman
who I am, I will wring your neck !' Remain
with him, sir, you have nothing to fear.
22 CARMEN.

So long as you are there he will have no

suspicions."
While we were speaking we had got some
distance from the venta, and no one in it
would hear the sound of the horse's hoofs. In
the twinkling of an eye Antonio took off
the wrappings and prepared to mount. I
endeavoured to dėtain him by prayers, and
even by threats.
" I am a poor devil, sir," he replied,
" and I cannot afford to lose two hundred
ducats ; particularly when I can also rid the
country of such vermin as is yonder. But
take care ! If Navarro wakes he will rush
for his blunderbuss, so mind yourself. I
have gone too far to retreat. You can suit
yourself."
The scoundrel was already in the saddle.
He spurred his horse, and was soon hidden
from my view in the darkness.
I was very much annoyed with my guide,
and not a little uneasy. After a moment's
 CARMEN. 23

reflection I made up my mind what course

to pursue, and re-entered the venta. Don
José was still asleep, repairing, no doubt, the
fatigues and watches of many days preceding.
I was obliged to shake him roughly before I
could arouse him. Never shall I forget his
fierce look and the action with which he
sought to grasp his blunderbuss which I had
removed as a matter of precaution.
" Sir," said I, " I ask your pardon for
disturbing you, but I have a simple question
to ask. Would you be pleased to see half
a dozen lancers come here ? "
He leaped to his feet, and in a terrible
tone, said, " Who has told you that ? "
"No matter whence comes the advice so
that it is good."
" Your guide has betrayed me, but he
shall answer for it. Where is he ? ”
" I do not know. In the stable I think-
but some one has told me "
"Who told you ? The old woman, perhaps ?"
24 CARMEN.

" Some one whom I do not know. With-

out more words, have you-yes or no-any
reasons which render it advisable for you to
avoid the soldiers ? If you have, do not lose
time-if not, then good-night ; and I beg
your pardon for awakening you. "
" Ah, your guide your guide ! I sus-
pected him at first ; but his account will be
settled ! Adieu, sir ; God reward you for
the service I owe you. I am not so bad as
you believe me to be ; yes, there is still in
me something which deserves the sympathy
of a brave man. Adieu, sir, I have only
one regret, and that is my inability to pay
my debt to you."
" For the service which I render you,
Don José, promise me to suspect no one-do
not think of vengeance. Hold-here are
some cigars for you. Bon voyage ! "-and I
extended my hand to him.
He shook mine without replying ; seized
his blunderbuss and his sack, and after
 CARMEN . 25

saying a few words to the old woman in a

slang I did not understand, he hurried to
the shed. A few minutes afterwards I heard
him gallop away into the open country.
As for me, I retired to my bench but I
could not sleep. I interrogated myself as to
whether I had any right to save a robber-
perhaps a murderer-from the gallows, and
that only because I had eaten with him some
ham and rice. Had I not betrayed my
guide, who was upholding the laws ? had I
not exposed myself to the revenge of a
villain ? But the duties of hospitality ?
"A prejudice of savagery," I said to myself ;
" I shall have to be responsible for all the
crimes that the bandit hereafter may commit."
However, is it a prejudice-this instinct of
conscience which defies all reasoning ? Per-
haps in the delicate situation in which I was
placed, I might be able to escape without
remorse ? I was balanced in the greatest
uncertainty respecting the morality of my
26 CARMEN .

action when I saw half a dozen horse- soldiers

returningwithAntonio, whokeptprudentlyin
the rear. Imet them half-way, and informed
them that the bandit had escaped two hours
previously. The old woman, when ques-
tioned by the corporal, replied that she
knew Navarro, but that, living alone, she did
not dare to risk her life by denouncing him.
She added that he was always in the habit of
departing in the middle of the night when
he came to her house. As for me, I was
compelled to proceed a distance of some
leagues to show my passport, and sign a
declaration before the alcalde, after which I
was permitted to resume my archæological
researches. Antonio nursed a grudge against
me-for he suspected that it was I who had
prevented him from gaining the reward of
two hundred ducats. Nevertheless we parted
good friends at Cordova, where I presented
him with a gratuity as large as the condition
of my finances permitted me to give.
 II.

I SPENT some days in Cordova. Some MS.

in the Dominican library had been indicated
to me and in this I expected to find some
interestinginformation concerningthe ancient
Munda. Being very well received by the
good monks I passed the days in their monas-
tery ; and in the evenings I walked about
the town. At Cordova at sunset there are
28 CARMEN .

always a number of idlers about the quay

which borders the right bank of the Guadal-
quiver. There one breathes the odours of a
tannery which still preserves the old repu-
tation of the country for the preparation of
leather ; but on the other hand one enjoys a
sight which is well worth seeing. Some
minutes before the Angelus is rung a number
of women assemble on the bank of the river at
the end of the quay, which is raised con-
siderably. Not a man dares to mingle with
this troop. Immediately the Angelus sounds
night is supposed to have set in. At the
last stroke of the bell all the women undress
and plunge into the water. Then arise cries,
laughter, and an infernal din. From the
top of the quay the men contemplate the
bathers, staring at them with open eyes, but
seeing little. Nevertheless these white and
undefined forms, which are perceptible in the
deep azure waters of the river, cause poetic
mindsto conceive,and with alittle imagination
 CARMEN. 29

it is not difficult to represent to oneself

Diana and her nymphs in the bath, without
fear of sharing the fate of Actæon. I was
informed that on one occasion some scape-
graces, by bribing the bell-ringer of the
cathedral, induced him to ring the Angelus
twenty minutes in advance of the usual
hour. Although it was broad daylight, the
nymphs of the Guadalquiver did not hesitate,
and trusting more to the Angelus than the
sun, they made innocence their bathing-dress
-which is always of the simplest fashion.
I was not there. In my time the bell-ringer
was incorruptible, the twilight not very
clear, and only a cat would have been able
to distinguish the oldest orange-seller from
the prettiest grisette in Cordova.
One evening at the hour when there is
nothing to be seen, I was smoking, leaning
upon the parapet of the quay, when a
woman ascended the steps which led down
to the river, and seated herself close to me.
C
30 CARMEN.

She had in her hair a large bunch of jessa-

mine, which emitted a strong perfume. She
was simply, perhaps poorly, clad, in black,
as most of the girls are in the evening. The
fashionable ladies only wear black in the
morning, in the evening they dress à la
Francesca. As she approached me the
bather let fall on her shoulders the mantilla
with which she had covered her head, and
in the starlight I could perceive that she was
pretty, young, well made, and that she had
very large eyes. I quickly threw away my
cigar. She at once appreciated this atten-
tion-a politeness entirely French-and
hastened to inform me that she liked the
smell of tobacco-smoke very much, and that
even she herself smoked when she could get
very mild cigarettes. Fortunately I had
some such in my case, and hastened to offer
them to her. She condescended to take one,
and lighted it at the burning end of a cork
which a child brought us for a halfpenny.
 CARMEN . 31

Smoking together we conversed so long-the

pretty bather and I-that we found ourselves
alone upon the quay. I did not consider
that there was anything indiscreet in sug-
gesting that we should go and have some
ices at a neveria.* After some modest hesi-
tation she consented, but before deciding she
wished to know what time it was. I made
my repeater strike the hour, and this
astonished her very much. " What inven-
tions they have in your country ! What
countryman are you ? English, no doubt." †
" A Frenchman, and your humble servant,
mademoiselle, or madame. You are probably
of Cordova ? "
No."

" You are at least Andalusian ? I fancy I

can detect so much in your soft accent."
* A café furnished with an ice-house, or rather with a
depot of snow. In Spain there is scarcely a village
without its neveria .
† In Spain every traveller who does not carry samples
of cottons or silks passes for an Englishman-Inglosito.
It is the same in the East. At Chalcis I have had the
honour of being announced as a Μιλόρδος Φραντξέσος.
32 CARMEN .

" If you remark people's accents so closely

you ought to be able to divine who I am."
" I believe you are of the Holy Land-a
few steps from Paradise."
I had learnt this metaphor, which refers to
Andalusia, from my friend Francisco Sevilla,
the well-known picador.
" Bah !-Paradise ! People here say it is
not for such as we."
" Then you must be Moorish, or-- " I
stopped, not liking to say " a Jewess."
" Go along ! go along ! You see quite
well that I am a gipsy. Do you wish me to
tell you la baji (good-fortune) ? Have you
ever heard of La Carmencita ? I am she ! "
I was such an infidel at that time-it is
fifteen years ago, remember ! that I did not
recoil with horror at finding myself in com-
pany with a sorceress. "All right," I said to
myself. " Last week I supped with a bandit-
a highway robber ; to-day I am eating ices
with a handmaiden of the devil ! When
 CARMEN . 33

travelling it is as well to see everything ! " I

had besides another reason for cultivating
her acquaintance. When I quitted the Uni-
versity I confess to my shame that I had lost
some time in studying the occult sciences,
and many times I had attempted to summon
up the spirits of darkness. Although long
before cured of my passion for such researches,
I nevertheless still retained a certain curiosity
regarding all superstitions, and it was a treat
to me to ascertain to what pitch the arts of
magic had attained amongst the gipsies.
As we chatted we had entered the neveria,
and seated ourselves at a small table lighted
by a wax candle placed within a glass shade.
I had then plenty of opportunity to observe
the gitana, while respectable people eating
their ices were astounded to see me in such
society.
I very much doubt whether Mademoiselle
Carmen was of the true blood at any rate,
she was the prettiest of all the women of her
34 CARMEN.

race whom I ever met. To be beautiful, a

woman, say the Spaniards, must unite in
herself thirty points ; or, if you please, you
may define her by ten adjectives, each applic-
able to three parts of her person. For
instance, she should have three black points-
the eyes, the eyelids, and the eyebrows ; three
delicate, fine the fingers, the lips, and the
hair, &c. See Brantôme for the others. My
Bohemian could not pretend to the necessary
perfection. Her skin, though quite smooth,
approached somewhat to the coppery tinge.
Her eyes were obliquely set, but large and
full ; her lips rather thick, but well cut,
and permitted the teeth-white as blanched
almonds to be seen. Her hair was perhaps
a trifle coarse, but had a blue sheen running
through it, like that one sees in a raven's
wings, and was long and luxuriant. Not to
weary you with a detailed description, I will
merely say that with each fault she united a
good point, which came out perhaps more by
 CARMEN. 35

virtue of the contrast. She was of a strange

and savage beauty-a face which at first
surprised you, but it was one you could
never forget. Her eyes especially had an
expression at once voluptuous and fierce,
which I have never since noticed in any
humaneyes. "Eye of gipsy, eye of wolf"
is a Spanish saying which denotes quick
observation. If you have not time to go to
the Zoological Gardens to study the expres-
sion of the wolf's eyes, look at your cat when
he is watching a sparrow !
One felt that it would be ridiculous to
have one's fortune told in a café, so I begged
the pretty sorceress to permit me to accom-
panyherhome. She agreed without difficulty,
but again she was anxious to know how time
sped, and begged me to strike my repeater
once more.

" Is it really gold ? " she asked, as she gazed

at the watch attentively.
When we resumed our way it was dark
36 CARMEN.

night, the majority of the shops were shut,

and the streets were almost deserted. We
passed the bridge over the Guadalquiver, and
at the end of the suburb we reached a house
with nothing of the palatial about it. A
child opened the door to us. The gipsy said
something to her in a language unknown to
me, which I have since discovered was the
Romany, or chepé-calli, the idiom of the
gitanos . The child immediately disappeared,
leaving us in a room of considerable dimen-
sions, furnished with a small table, two stools,
and a chest. I must not forget a jar of water,
a pile of oranges, and a hank of onions.
As soon as we were alone the gipsy took
from the chest a pack of cards, which appeared
to have seen much service, a loadstone, a
dried chameleon, and some other objects
necessary for the practice of her art. Then
she bade me cross my left hand with a piece
of silver, and the magic ceremonies began.
It is useless to repeat her predictions, but by
 CARMEN. 37

her manner of operating it was evident that

she was a practised sorceress.
Unfortunately it was not long ere we were
disturbed. The door was suddenly and
violently thrown open ; a man wrapped up
to the eyes in a brown cloak entered the
room, and apostrophised the gipsy in a by
no means gentle fashion. I did not under-
stand what he was saying, but the tone of
his voice indicated that he was in a very bad
temper. The gitana exhibited neither sur-
prise nor anger at his appearance, but she
hastened to meet him, and with extraordinary
volubility addressed some words to him in the
mysterious language which she had already
made use of in my presence. The word payllo,
frequently repeated, was the only one I un-
derstood. I was aware that by this term the
gipsies designate any stranger. Supposing
that it referred to me, I anticipated a rather
delicate explanation ; already I had grasped
one of the legs of the stool, and was com-
38 CARMEN.

muning with myself as to the precise moment

when I should hurl it at the head of the in-
truder, when the latter, pushing the girl
rudely aside, advanced towards me, and then
recoiling, exclaimed-
" Ah, sir, it is you then ! "
I looked at him in my turn, and recognised
my acquaintance Don José. At that moment
a feeling of regret that I had not let him be
hanged came over me.
" Ah, it is you, my brave fellow ! " I ex-
claimed, laughing with as little bitterness as
I could manage. " You have interrupted
mademoiselle and me at the very moment
when she was revealing to me some very
interesting things."
" Always the same this shall finish it ! ”
he muttered between his teeth, and darting a
furious look at her.
The gipsy nevertheless continued to
address him in her language. She got more
excited by degrees. Her eyes flashed, became
 CARMEN. 39

suffused with blood, and terrible in their

aspect ; her features contracted ; she stamped
her foot ; it seemed to me that she was in-
citing him to do something which he had
some hesitation in doing. What it was I
understood only too well when I saw her
pass and repass her little hand rapidly across
her neck. I was constrained to believe that
it was a question of cutting somebody's
throat, and I had some suspicion that this
throat was my own !
To all this torrent of eloquence Don José
only replied sharply in a few words. Then
the gipsy darted at him a glance of profound
contempt, and seating herself à la turque in
a corner of the room, she selected an orange
from the heap, peeled it, and began to eat it.
Don José took me by the arm, opened the
door, and led me into the street. We pro-
ceeded about two hundred paces in silence.
Then extending his hand he said, " Keep
straight on and you will come to the bridge ! "
40 CARMEN.

He immediately turned his back upon me,

and hurried away. I reached my inn feeling
somewhat sheepish and in bad temper. The
worst of it was that when I undressed, I
perceived my watch was missing !
Several considerations prevented me from
seeking to recover it in the morning, or to
solicit the aid of the law in seeking it. I
finished my work on the manuscript in the
convent, and started for Seville. After
several months' wandering in Andalusia I
returned to Madrid, and I was obliged to
pass Cordova. I had no intention of making
a long stay there, for I had taken a dislike to
this fine city and its bathers. However,
there were some friends to be visited, some
commissions to be executed, which would
detain me in the ancient capital of the
Mussulman princes for three or four days.
As soon as I made my appearance at the
convent of the Dominicans one of the fathers,
who had always displayed the keenest interest
 CARMEN . 41

in my researches concerning the site of

Munda, welcomed me with open arms.
"God be praised," he said. " Welcome
indeed, my dear friend. We believed you
dead, and I myself have said paters and aves
-which I do not regret-for the repose of
your soul ! So you have not been assassi-
nated ; we knew you had been robbed ! "
" How so ? " I inquired in surprise.
" Well, you remember you used to strike
that beautiful watch of yours when we
wanted to know the time in the library. It
has been found, and will be returned to
you--"
" That is to say," interrupted I, somewhat
put out of countenance, " supposing I have
lost it."
" The scoundrel is in custody," continued
the friar ; " and as we knew he was the kind
of fellow to shoot a man in order to take a
piécette, we were all terribly afraid he had
killed you. I will go with you to the
42 CARMEN.

corrégidor, and we will recover your beautiful

watch. And then don't say that justice is
not done in Spain ! "
" I confess, " I replied, " that I would
rather lose my watch than be instrumental
in hanging a poor devil, particularly because
-because-
" Oh, do not be in the least alarmed ; he is
well certified to, and they cannot hang him
twice. When I say hang him, I mean
garotte him. This robber of yours is a
hidalgo, and so he will be garotted the day
after to-morrow without fail.* You per-
ceive that a robbery more or less can make
no difference in his case. I would to Heaven
it were only robbery, but he has committed
many murders, each one more horrible than
that which preceded it."
"What is his name ? "

* In 1830 the nobility still enjoyed this privilege. In

the present day, under constitutional government, the
commoncriminals have gained the right to be garotted.
 CARMEN . 43

"He is known in this country as José

Navarro, but he has another Basque name
which neither you nor I shall ever succeed
in pronouncing. He is a man to see, and
you who love to study the curious character-
istics of the country ought not to neglect the
opportunity of learning how in Spain these
scoundrels are sent out of the world. He is
in the chapel, and Fra Martinez will conduct
you thither."
My friend the Dominican insisted SO
strongly upon my seeing the apparatus for
the petit pendement pien choli, that I was
unable to resist him. I went to see the
prisoner, furnished with a bundle of cigars,
which I trusted would atone for my in-
trusion.

They admitted me to see Don José just as

he was finishing a meal. He bowed coldly
to me and thanked me politely for the cigars
which I had brought him. After counting
them he selected a few and returned the
44 CARMEN .

remainder, observing that he should not

want any more than those he then had !
I inquired whether by money or some
little influence I could not in some measure
ameliorate his condition. At first he shrugged
his shoulders, smiling sadly ; but after a
while changing his mind he begged that I
would cause a mass to be said for his soul.
" Would you," he added, timidly, " would
you have another said for a woman who
injured you ? ”
" Assuredly," I replied, " but I do not
think that any woman has injured me in
this country."
He took my hand and shook it gravely.
After a momentary silence, he resumed-
" Dare I venture to ask you a favour ?
When you return to your own land perhaps
you will pass through Navarre, at least you
will pass by Vittoria, which is not very far
from it. "

" Yes," I replied, " I shall certainly pass

 CARMEN . 45

by Vittoria, but it is not unlikely that I

shall turn aside to Pampeluna and on your
account I will willingly make the détour."
" Well, if you go to Pampeluna you will
find more than one object of interest to
detain you. It is a beautiful city. I will
give you this medal (he showed me a silver
medal which he wore round his neck) , you
will wrap it in paper-" he paused for an
instant to master his emotion-" and you
will send it or cause it to be sent to a good
woman, whose address I will give you.
You will say that I am dead, but do not tell
her in what manner I died."
I promised to carry out his wishes. I
saw him again on the following morning,
and I passed a portion of the day with him.
It was from his own lips that I learned the
sad story which follows : -
D
 III .

I was born, said he, at Elizondo, in

the valley of Batzan. My name is Don
José Lizarabengoa, and you know Spain
well enough, sir, to understand that I am
of the Basque country, and of ancient
Christian lineage. If I take the title of
Don it is because I have a right to it, and if
I were at Elizondo I would show you my
 CARMEN. 47

genealogy on parchment. I was destined

for the Church, and compelled to study for
it ; but I did not profit by it. I was too
fond of playing tennis and that was the ruin
of me, When we Navarros play tennis we
forget all else. One day when I had won a
match a youth of Alava picked a quarrel
with me. We fought with maquilas,* and
still I had the advantage, but I was obliged
to fly the country. I fell in with some
dragoons and enlisted in the Almanza regi-
ment of cavalry. People from our parts
soon pick up the trade of a soldier. I
quickly became a corporal, and was in a fair
way to become quarter-master when to my
misfortune I was put on guard at the tobacco
manufactory of Seville. If you have ever
been to Seville you have noticed that great
building outside the ramparts near the
Guadalquiver. It seems as if I can still see
the door and the guard-house beside it.
* Iron-shod sticks.
48 CARMEN.

When they are off duty the Spaniards play

cards or sleep, but I, a free Navarro, was
always accustomed to employ myself. I
made a chain of brass wire to sustain my
priming-needle. One day my comrades ex-
claimed, " The clock is striking, the girls
are going to work ! " You know there are
about four hundred or five hundred women
employed in the cigar-making. They roll
the cigars in the large room into which no
man is permitted to enter without permission
from the municipal magistrate, because the
girls work in undress, the young ones par-
ticularly, when the weather is warm. When
the young women return to work after
dinner, many young fellows go to see them
pass, and they are some of all sorts. There
are few of these ladies who would refuse a silk
mantilla, and the inexperienced ones at this
fishing have only to stoop to catch a fish.
While the other men were looking on I
remained on my bench near the door. I
 CARMEN. 49

was young then and home-sick, and did not

believe that there were anywhere pretty girls
without the blue skirts, and the plaits of hair
falling over their shoulders.* Besides, these
Andalusians frightened me ; I had not yet
grown accustomed to their manners. They
were always full of raillery, never serious or
speaking a sensible word. I was working
away at my chain when I heard sone towns-
people say, " Look at the gitanella ! " I
looked up and saw her. It was on a
Friday, and I shall never forget it. I
saw that Carmen, whom you know of,
at whose house I found you some months
ago.
She wore a red skirt, very short, which
exposed to view her white silk stockings,
with many a hole in them, and tiny shoes of
morocco leather, tied with scarlet ribbons.
She had thrown back her mantilla so as to

* The ordinary costume of the peasant girls of Navarre

and the Basque provinces.
50 CARMEN.

display her shoulders, and an immense bunch

of acacia blossom, which was stuck in her
chemise. She also carried a flower in her
mouth, and she walked with a movement of
a thoroughbred filly from the Cordova stud.
In my country a woman in such a costume
would have made people cross themselves.
At Seville every one paid some gay compli-
ment to the girl on her appearance. She
replied to them all, looking sideways as she
went along, with her hand on her hip, as
bold as the true gipsy she was. At first she
did not take my fancy, and I continued my
occupation, but she after the nature of
women and cats, which will not come when
they are called and which come when they
are not called-stopped in front of me and
said, in the Andalusian form-
" Gossip, will you give me your chain to
hang the key of my strong box on ? "
" It is to hang my priming-needle on," I
replied.
 CARMEN. 51

"Your priming-needle ! Ah, the señor

makes lace, then ; he requires needles."
Every one began to laugh at me. I felt
myself growing red, and could make no
reply.
" Well, my hearty," she continued, " make
me seven ells of black lace for a mantilla,
thou primer of my soul."
Then, taking the flower from between her
lips, she flipped it at me with a movement
of her thumb, and struck me between the
eyes. Sir, I felt as if I had received a
bullet in the forehead. I did not know
what to do with myself ; I stood as stiff as
a board. When she had entered the factory
I perceived the flower, which had fallen at
my feet. I do not know what possessed me,
but I picked it up when my comrades were
not looking, and put it carefully in my vest.
That was the first act of folly.
Two or three hours after, while I was still
thinking of the incident, a porter arrived at
52 CARMEN.

the guard-house, out of breath and greatly

discomposed. He told us that a woman had
been assassinated in the great room of the
factory, and that it was necessary to have the
guard in. The sergeant ordered me to take
two men and go and see what was the matter.
I took the men and went up. Picture to
yourself, sir, the sight that met my view
when I entered-about three hundred women
en chemise, or with as little as possible on
them-screaming, crying, gesticulating, and
making such a row that you couldn't have
heard thunder. At one side a female was
sprawling on the floor drenched in blood,
with a cross-an X-cut on her face with a
knife. Opposite the wounded woman, who
was being tended by the best of the females,
I perceived Carmen, restrained by five or six
of her associates. The wounded woman kept
crying out that she was dying and wanted a
priest. Carmen said nothing ; she clenched her
teeth, and rolled her eyes like a chameleon.
 CARMEN. 53

"What is all this about ? " I inquired. I

had considerable difficulty in ascertaining
what had passed, for all the women talked
at once.

It would appear that the injured woman

had boasted of having sufficient money in
her pocket to buy a donkey at the market of
Triona.

" Shut up ! " exclaimed Carmen, who had

a tongue of her own, " why you haven't
enough to purchase a brush."
The other, stung by the reproach, perhaps
because she felt there were some suspicions
concerning the article, replied that she did
not know anything about brushes, not having
the honour to be a gipsy or a daughter of
Satan, but that Mademoiselle Carmencita
would soon make the donkey's acquaintance
when the corrégidor led it out for a walk
with two lacqueys behind to beat the flies off.
" Well, then, for mypart," replied Carmen,
" I will make places for the flies to settle on
54 CARMEN.

your cheeks, for I will make a draught-board

of them."*

On that, criss-cross, she began, with the

knife she used for cutting the cigars, to slash
a St. Andrew's cross on the woman's face.
The case was perfectly clear. I seized
Carmen by the arm.
" Sister," I said politely, " you must come
with me."
She darted a look of recognition at me,
but she said resignedly-
" Let us go then. Where is my mantilla ? "
She put it over her head in such a fashion
as only to permit her fine eyes to be seen,
and followed my two men as quiet as a
lamb. When we reached the guard-house
the quarter-master said the case was a serious
one, and that he must send the culprit to
prison. I was told off to conduct her. I

* Pinter un janeque--to paint or chequer. The Spanish

draught-boards are, for the most part, in red and white
squares.
 CARMEN. 55

placed her between two dragoons, and I

marched behind as a corporal should do.
We started for the city. At first the gipsy
maintained a strict silence, but in Serpent
Street-you know it, it well deserves its
name with all its windings in Serpent Street
she began her manœuvres by letting her
mantilla fall upon her shoulders so as to
enable me to see her winning face, and, turn-
ing towards me as far as she could, she
said-

" My officer, whither are you taking me ? "

" To prison, my poor child," I replied, as
gently as I could-just as a true soldier
ought to talk to his prisoner, particularly
when the prisoner is a woman.
"Alas ! what will become of me ! Señor
officer, have pity on me ! You are so young,
so kind. " Then, in a lower tone, she con-
tinued, " Let me escape. I will give you a
piece of bar lachi, which will make you
beloved by all the women."
56 CARMEN .

(The bar lachi, sir, is a loadstone, with

which the gipsies say one may work charms
when one knows how to make use of it.
Give a woman a pinch of it, grated, in a
glass of water, and she will not be able to
resist you.)
I replied, as seriously as I could-
"We are not here to talk nonsense, we
must proceed to the prison ; such is the
order, and there is no help for it."
We Basque people have a dialect which
the Spaniards can readily recognise, but
there is scarcely one of them who can even
say vai jaoni (yes, sir). Carmen, then, had
no difficulty in discovering that I came from
the Provinces. You know, sir, that the
gipsies, having no definite country of their
own, are always wandering hither and
thither, speaking all languages, and the
majority of them are as much at home in
Portugal as in France, or in the Provinces,
or Catalonia ; even amongst the Moors and
 CARMEN. 57

the English they can make themselves under-

stood. Carmen, then, knewthe Basque dialect
pretty well.
" Laguna ene bihotsarena, friend of my
soul," she said suddenly. " Are you from
the country ?"
(Our language, sir, is so beautiful that
when we hear it spoken in a strange place
it thrills us. I wish I had a confessor from
the Provinces, he muttered. Then, after a
pause, he resumed :-)
" I am from Elizondo," I replied in Basque,
very much moved at hearing my native
tongue.
" And I am from Etchalar," she said.
(That is a district some four hours' journey
from us.) I was brought to Seville by the
gipsies. I have been working in the factory
so as to make money sufficient to take me
back to Navarre again to my dear mother,
whose only support I am, and the little
barretcea (garden), with its twenty cider
58 CARMEN.

apple-trees. Ah, if I were only there again,

near the white mountains ! They have in-
sulted me because I do not belong to this
country of pick-pockets, merchants of rotten
oranges; and these low women are all against
me because I declared that all their ' jacks '
of Seville, with their knives, would not
frighten one fellow from our part of the
country, with only his blue beret and his
maquilla."
She was lying, sir ; she has always
lied. Indeed I doubt whether in all her
life that girl ever spoke a word of truth.
But when she spoke I believed her. She
was stronger than I. She talked broken
Basque, and I believed she came from
Navarre. Her eyes, mouth and complexion
stamped her a gipsy. I was befooled-mad
-and no longer paid attention to anything.
I thought that if the two Spaniards with
me had said anything in disparagement of
the country I would have slashed them
 CARMEN. 59

across the face just as she had treated her

comrade. In fact I was like a man intoxi-
cated. I began to talk nonsense, and was
ready to commit any folly.
" If I were to give you a push, country-
man, and you were to fall down, I should
have only those two Castilian conscripts to
detain me," she said.
Faith, I quite forget my orders, and I re--
plied : " Well, my friend, my country-
woman, try it ; and may Our Lady of the
Mountain aid you." At that moment we
were passing by one of those narrow alleys
of which there are so many in Seville.
Suddenly Carmen turned round and gave
me a blow with her clenched hand on the
chest. I fell head over heels purposely.
With one bound she jumped over me and
ran away, exhibiting a pair of legs such as
-well: They talk of " Basque legs "-hers
outshone them all. They were as quick as
they were well turned ! I got up imme
60 CARMEN.

diately, but I managed to get my lance bar-

wise across the alley, so my companions
were prevented from starting in pursuit for
a while. Then I set off running myself
and my men after me, but there was no
chance of our overtaking her, accoutred as
we were with our spurs, our sabres, and
lances ! In less time than I take to tell
you the incident, the prisoner had disap-
peared. Besides, all the gossips of the
quarter assisted her flight and laughed at
us, putting us also on the wrong scent.
After much marching and counter-marching
it became necessary for us to return to the
guard-house without the receipt from the
governor of the prison !
My men, to escape punishment, said that
Carmen and I had conversed in the Basque
dialect, and that it did not seem quite
natural, to tell the truth, that a blow from
such a little girl would knock over a man
of my weight. All this looked very sus
 CARMEN. 61

picious for me rather too clear, in fact.

When I went down stairs again I was de-
graded and sent to prison for a month.
This was my first punishment since I had
enlisted. Farewell then to the stripes of
quarter-master which I had already made
sure of.
My first days in prison passed very sadly.
When I became a soldier I had pictured to
myself that I should at least reach the grade
of officer. Longa, Mina, my compatriots,
are even " captains-general ;" Chapalangarra,
who is a negro and a refugee like Mina in your
country, Chapalangarra was a colonel, and I
have played tennis twenty times with his
brother, who was a poor devil, like myself.
Then, I said to myself, "All that time you
served without punishment is now so much
time lost. You have a black mark against
you ; to re-instate yourself in the opinion
of your superiors you will have to work ten
times harder than when you were a con-
E
62 CARMEN.

script. And for what have I been punished?

For a chit of a gipsy who laughs at me, and
who at this moment is at large in some
corner of the town." Nevertheless I could
not help thinking of her. Will you believe
it, sir, those stockings full of holes, which
she so liberally displayed when she made
her escape, were always before my eyes. I
looked out between the bars of my prison
window, and amongst all the women who
passed in the street I did not see one who
was worth that little devil. And then, in
spite of myself, I would clasp the flower
which she had thrown at me, and which,
dried though it was, still preserved its per-
fume. If there are witches this girl was one
of them.

One day the gaoler entered and gave me

a loaf of Alcala bread.*

* Alcala de los Panaderos : a small town two leagues

from Seville, where delicious bread is made. It is said
that the water of Alcala is the cause of this excellence,
and a quantity of it is carried to Seville every day.
 CARMEN. 63

" Look here," he said, " see what your

cousin has sent you."
I took the bread-very much surprised-
for I had no cousin in Seville. It is a mis-
take perhaps, I thought, as I looked at the
loaf, but it was so appetising-it felt so fresh
and good, that without troubling myself to
find out whence it had come, or for whom it
was intended, I determined to eat it. As I
was cutting it my knife struck against some-
thing hard. I looked carefully and found a
small English file, which had been slipped
into the oven before the bread was baked.
There was also in the loaf a piece of gold
(two piastres) . There was no longer room
for doubt. The present came from Carmen.
Liberty is everything with people of her race,
and they would set fire to a town to avoid a
day in prison. Besides the girl was shrewd,
and with that loaf had befooled the gaolers.
In an hour the thickest bar could be cut with
the little file, and with the assistance of the
64 CARMEN.

two piastre piece I could exchange my uni-

form for a civilian dress at the next clothes-
shop. You can imagine that a man who had
many times gone birds-nesting for young
eaglets over our cliffs would not be much
put out to descend into the street from a
window less than thirty feet from the ground.
But I did not want to escape. I still pre-
served my honour as a soldier, and desertion
seemed to me a great crime. But I was
touched by this token of remembrance.
When one is in prison one loves to think
that one has a friend outside who is inter-
ested in one. The gold piece rather offended
me. I would have liked very much to have
sent it back, but where could I find my cre-
ditor ? That did not appear a very easy task.
After having been degraded I did not
think I had anything more to suffer, but
there was a humiliation in store for me .
That was when, on my release from prison,
Iwas sent to duty and put on sentry, like a
 CARMEN. 65

common soldier. You can scarcely imagine

what a sensitive man feels on such an oc-
casion as this. I believe I would rather

have been shot. Then, at least, one marches

alone in front of the platoon ; one feels of
importance, every one is looking at you.
I was posted as sentry at the door of the
colonel's house. He was a young man, rich,
a " good fellow," who lived to amuse himself.
All the young officers came thither and many
citizens, women, and actresses-so it was said.
For my own part, I felt as if every one in the
cityhad agreed to meet there to stare at me.
The colonel's carriage arrived, with his valet
on the box. Whom did I see descend from
it ? La Gitanilla ! She was decked out " as
fine as fivepence," dressed up and bedizened,
all gold and ribbons. A spangled dress, blue
spangled shoes ; flowers and trimmings all
over her. She had a Basque tambourine
in her hand. With her were two other
gipsy women, one young and the other old.
66 CARMEN.

There is always an old woman to lead them.

Then an old man with a guitar, also a gipsy,
to play and make them dance. You know
that people often amuse themselves by in-
viting gipsies to their parties and making
them dance the romalis, their characteristic
dance ; and often for other purposes.
Carmen recognised me, and we exchanged
glances. I don't know why, but at that
moment I wished myself a hundred feet
underground.
"Agur laguna (good day, comrade). My
officer, you are mounting guard like a raw
recruit ."
And ere I could find words to reply, she
had entered the house.
All the guests were assembled in the patio,
and, notwithstanding the crowd, I could see
almost all that was passing through the
railings. * I could hear the castanets, the
* The majority of the houses in Seville have an interior
court surrounded by porticoes. People live there in
summer. This court is covered with an awning which
 CARMEN. 67

tambourine, the laughter and applause ;

sometimes I could perceive her head when
she sprang up with her tambourine. Then
I heard the officers address to her remarks
which made the blood mount to my face, but
what she said in reply I do not know. On
that day, I think, I began to love her in
earnest, for three or four times came into
my head the notion to rush into the patio
and stab those coxcombs who were flirting
with her. My purgatory lasted a good hour ;
then the gipsies came out, and the carriage
•rolled up to fetch them. Carmen, in passing,
looked at me with those eyes of hers-you
know them-and said to me, in a low voice—
" Countryman, when one likes good fritters
one goes to Triana, to Lillas Pastia's. "
Lightly as a kid she sprang into the car-
riage, the coachman whipped his mules, and
is watered by day and removed at night. The street-
door is almost always open, and the passage leading to
the court, zaguan, is closed by an iron grating very
elegantly worked.
68 CARMEN.

the joyous band drove off ; I knew not

whither.

You will guess that when I came off duty

I went to Triana ; but first I got shaved and
brushed up, as if for a parade. She was at
Lillas Pastia's. He was an old fruit-seller, a
gipsy, as swarthy as a Moor, at whose estab-
lishment many of the townspeople came to
eat fried fish, more particularly, I believe,
since Carmen had taken up her quarters
there.
" Lillas," she said, when she caught sight
of me, " I will do nothing more to-day.
To-morrow it will be day again.* Come
along, pays ; let us have a stroll together. "
She threw her mantilla over her face, and
we were in the street before I knew where I
was going.
" Señorita," I said, " I believe I have to
thank you for a present that you sent me
when I was in prison. I have eaten the
* " Manana sera otro dia "-Spanish proverb.
 CARMEN. GO

bread ; the file served to sharpen my lanec-

point, and I keep it in remembrance of you ;
but the money, here it is."
" Why, he has kept the money ! " she ex-
claimed, with a burst of laughter. "Well,
so much the better, for at present I am not
well in funds. But what matter ? A wan-
dering dog will not die of hunger.* Come
along, let us eat it all ; you shall treat me.".
We had taken the road to Seville. At the
entrance of Serpent Street she purchased a
dozen oranges, which she made me carry in
my pocket-handkerchief. A little farther on
she purchased some bread, sausage, and a
bottle of Manzanilla. At length she entered
a confectioner's shop. There she threw upon
the counter the piece of gold which I had
returned to her and another which she had
in her own pocket, with some silver. At
last she asked me for all I had too. I had
* Chuquel sos pirela cocal terela. " A wandering dog
finds a bone. "-Bohemian proverb.
70 CARMEN.

only some small change, which I handed to

her, feeling very much ashamed that I had
no more. I believe she would have carried
off all the stock if she could. She chose the
best and the dearest articles-yemas (yokes
of eggs, sugared), turm (a kind of nougat),
crystallized fruits-so long as the money
lasted. I had to carry all these in paper
bags. Perhaps you know Candilejo Street,
where is a head of Don Pedro the Jus-
ticiary.*
* King Pedro, whom we call the Cruel, and whom
Queen Isabella the Catholic called the " Guardian of
Justice, " was fond of walking about the streets of Seville,
seeking adventure, as the Caliph Haroun al Raschid used
to do. One evening he got into a dispute in a narrow
street with a man who was serenading. A duel ensued,
and the king killed the amorous cavalier. Hearing the
clashing of the swords, an old woman looked out of a
window holding a small lamp (candilejo) in her hand. It
should be stated that the king Don Pedro, although
lusty and strong, was afflicted with a curious malforma-
tion. When he walked his knee-pans " cracked" loudly.
The old woman had therefore no difficulty in recognising
the king. Next day the magistrate in charge came to
make his report to the sovereign : " Sire, a duel was
fought last night in such a street-one of the combatants
was slain." " Have you discovered the murderer ? "
" Yes , sire. " " Why has he not been punished? " " Sire,
I await your orders." " Let the law take its course ! "
 CARMEN. 71

It ought to have " given me pause." We

halted before an old house in this street.
She entered the walk and rapped at the
ground-floor. A gipsy, a true servant of
Satan, opened the door to us. Carmen said
something to her in Romany. The old
womangrumbled at first, but to appease her
Carmen gave her two oranges and a handful
of bonbons ; she also permitted her to taste
the wine. Then she put her cloak on her, and
led her to the door, which she secured with
a bar of wood. As soon as we were alone
Carmen began to dance as if she were pos-
Now the king had promulgated a decree that all duellists
should be beheaded. The magistrate entered into the
business like a man of spirit. He caused the head of a
statue of the king to be sawn off and exposed it in a
niche in the midst of the street in which the duel had
been fought. The king and all the citizens considered
this a very happy thought. The street was named after
the lamp held by the old woman, the sole witness of the
encounter. This is the popular version. Jumga relates
the adventure somewhat differently (see the Annals of
Seville, vol. ii. , p. 136). However this may be, Candilejo
Street still exists in Seville, and in that street there is a
bust in stone which they say is a likeness of Don Pedro.
Unfortunately this bust is modern. The old one was
very much worn away, and in the seventeenth century it
was replaced by that now in existence.
72 CARMEN.

sessed, singing " You are my rom and I am

your romi. " *
I was standing in the middle of the room
burthened with all the packages, not knowing
where to put them. She threw them all
upon the floor and clasping me round the
neck, exclaimed " I pay my debts ; I pay my
debts-it is the law of the Cales. " †
Ah sir -that day ! that day ! when I
recall it I forget to-morrow !
(The brigand was silent for a while, then
after he had relighted his cigar he con-
tinued :-)
We remained together the whole of the
day, eating, drinking, and and all the rest
of it. When she had devoured the sweets,
like a child of six years old, she thrust her
hands into the old woman's water-jar. " Now
to make a sorbet," she said. She broke the
yemas by dashing them against the wall-
* Rom-husband ; Romi-wife.
+ Dark pecple-a name the gipsies give themselves.
 CARMEN. 73

" so that the flies may leave us in peace,"

she remarked. There was no trick or folly
that she did not perpetrate. I expressed a
wish to see her dance, but where could we find
castanets ? She without hesitation took the
old woman's only plate, smashed it in pieces,
and then she danced the romalis, clattering
the pieces of the plate as if they had been
castanets of ebony or ivory. One would
never feel bored with a girl like her-I can
answer for that ! Evening closed in, and I
could hear the drums beating the " retreat."
" I must return to barracks," I said, " for
roll-call ."
" To barracks ! " she echoed in a con-
temptuous tone. " So you are a negro-slave
and permit yourself to be driven with the
whip ! You are a regular canary in appear-
ance and disposition.* Go along with you !
You have a chicken's heart ! "
I stayed, resigned in advance to the police-
* The Spanish dragoons wear yellow uniforms.
74 CARMEN .

cell. In the morning it was she who first

spoke of our separation.
" Listen to me, Joseita," she said, " I have
paid you haven't I ? According to our law
I owed you nothing, since you are a payllo ;
but you are a good fellow, and you have
pleased me. We are quits ! Good-day."
I asked when I should see her again.
" When you are a little less stupid," she
replied, laughing. Then in a more serious
tone she continued, " Do you know, my
friend, that I believe I love you a little bit ?
But that cannot last. Dog and wolf cannot
keep house together long. Perhaps if you
were to subscribe to the Egyptian law I
should love to be your romi. But this is all
nonsense--that cannot be. Bah ! my lad,
take my word for it, you have had the best
of the bargain. You have foregathered with
the devil ; yes-with the devil ! He is not
always black, and he has not twisted your
neck. I am dressed in wool, but I am not
 CARMEN. 75

a sheep. * Go and put a taper before your

majari. † She has well deserved it. Come ;
good-bye once again. Think no more of
Carmencita or she may make you marry
a widow with wooden legs." ‡
As she ceased speaking she unfastened the
bar which closed the door; and once in the
street she wrapped herself in her mantilla,
and showed me her heels.
She had said what was true. I would
have been wise to have thought no more
about her, but after that day in Candilejo
Street I could not think of anything else.
I walked about all day long in the hope of
meeting her again. I inquired about her
from the old woman and from the seller of
fried fish. Both declared she had gone to
Laloro,§ as they call Portugal. Probably it

* " Medicas viardà de jorpoy bus ne sino braco "-

Gipsy proverb.
f The Virgin Mary.
‡ The gallows-widow of the last man hanged.
§ The red land.
76 CARMEN .

was in accordance with Carmen's instructions

that they said so, but it was not long before
I discovered that they were lying. Some
weeks after my long day in Candilejo Street
I was put on sentry at one of the city gates.
Some little distance from this gate a breach
had been made in the wall whereat people
used to walk during the day, and where a
sentry was posted at night to guard against
smugglers. During the day I perceived
Lillas Pastia lingering around the guard-
house chatting with my comrades, all of
whom were acquainted with him, his fish,
and his fritters which were better still. He
approached me and inquired whether I had
had any news of Carmen.
" No," I replied.
" Well then, you soon will, comrade."
He was right. At night I was posted at
the breach in the wall. As soon as the cor-
poral had disappeared I perceived a woman
approaching my post. My heart told me it
 CARMEN . 77

was Carmen ; nevertheless I said, " Be off,

you cannot pass here ! "
" Come, don't be obstreperous," she re-
plied, as she made herself known to me.
"What ! are you there, Carmen ? "
" Yes, I, countryman ; let us have a little
conversation together. Do you want to earn
a duoro ? Some people with packs are com-
ing this way-let them pass."
"No," I replied, " I must oppose their
passage. Such are my orders."
" Orders, orders ! You did not think of
them in Candilejo Street."
"Ah ! " I replied, quite upset by the very
remembrance, " that was worth the danger of
forgetting my duty : but I do not want any
money from smugglers."
" Let me see, then. If you do not want
anymoney from smugglers what do you say to
going to dine at old Dorothea's house again ? ”"
"No," I replied, half-suffocated by the
effort I was making, " I cannot."
F
 78 CARMEN.

" Very well ; if you are so hard to move

I know to whom to apply. I will make your
officer the offer to go to Dorothea's house.
He seems to be a good fellow, and he will
put on guard a lad who will not see more
than is necessary. Good-bye, canary. I
shall laugh when the order is issued for your
hanging ! "
I was weak enough to call her back, and I
promised to permit all the gipsies to pass, if
it mustbe so, provided I obtained the recom-
pense I wished for. She swore to meet me
on the following day, and ran off to apprise
her friends, who were close by. There were
five of them, one being Pastia, and all heavily
: laden with English goods. Carmen kept
watch. She agreed to give the alarm with
her castanets whenever she should perceive
the rounds, but she had no need to do so.
The smugglers very quickly accomplished
their business.
Next day I went to Candilejo Street.
 CARMEN. 79

Carmen was waiting for me, but in a by no

means good humour.
" I do not care for people who require to
be begged of," she said. " You rendered me
a great service the first time without any
idea that you would gain anything by it.
To-day you are bartering with me. I do
not know why I have come, for I don't care
for you any longer. So go away ; there is a
duoro for your trouble ! "
I was within an ace of throwing the money
at her head, and was obliged to exercise a
violent control over myself to avoid striking
her. After we had argued for an hour I went
away in a furious rage. I wandered for a
long time about the city, hither and thither,
like a man demented. At length I entered
a church, and seating myself in the darkest
corner I could find I gave way to tears,
Suddenly I heard a voice say-
"Adragoon's tears ! I should like to make
a philtre of them ! "
80 CARMEN.

I looked up. There was Carmen standing

before me !
" Well, countryman, are you still wishing
for me ? I really think I must love you
still, for since you left me I have not known
what to do with myself. There now, you
see I am the supplicant, and want you to
come to Candilejo Street."
We made it up then ; but Carmen's
humour was as variable as our climate.
The storm is most likely to break when the
sun is shining most brilliantly. She had
promised to meet me once again at Dorothea's
house and she did not come, and Dorothea
told me, in the calmest manner, that Carmen
had gone to Laloro " on Egyptian affairs ! "
Guided by experience, I sought for Car-
men in every place where I fancied she
might be found, and I passed up and down
Candilejo Street twenty times a day. One
evening I was at Dorothea's house, for I had
almost tamed the old woman by means of
 CARMEN . 81

repeated glasses of anisette, when Carmen

entered, followed by a young man, a lieu-
tenant in my regiment.
" Get away at once," she said to me in the
Basque tongue. I remained stupefied, rage
boiling in my heart.
" What is that fellow doing here ? " said
the lieutenant. " Be off ; get out of this ! "
I could not move. I felt as if I had quite
lost the use of my limbs. The officer seeing
that I did not budge, and that I had not
even removed my cap, took me by the collar
and shook me violently. I do not know
what I said. He drew his sword and I drew
mine. The old woman seized my arm, and
the lieutenant gave me a cut in the forehead,
the scar of which remains to this day. I
stepped back and with a shove sent old
Dorothea sprawling on the floor. Then, as
the lieutenant followed me up, I gave him
my point, and he spitted himself on my
sword. Then Carmen extinguished the
82 CARMEN .

lamp and bade Dorothea to fly. As for my-

self, I rushed into the street and ran I knew
not whither. It seemed to me that some one
was following me. When I came to myself
I found Carmen beside me. She had not
left me.
" You great stupid canary," she said, " you
are only good at committing follies. You
see I was right when I told you I would only
bring trouble upon you. Well, there is a
remedy for every ill when one has a ' Flem-
ing of Rome ' * for his friend. You must
begin by tying this handkerchief over your
head, and giving me your sword belt. Wait
for me in this alley, I will be back again in
two minutes."
She disappeared and quickly returned,
carrying a striped cloak for me ; how she
obtained it I can't tell. She made me doff
* Flamenco de Roma-a slang term for gipsies. Roma
in this sense does not refer to the Eternal City, but to
the Romi (or married people), as the Bohemians call
them. The first seen in Spain came probably from the
Netherlands-hence the name Fleming.
 CARMEN. 83

my uniform, and put the cloak on over my

shirt. Thus accoutred, with the handker-
chief bound over the cut on my head, I had
something the appearance of a peasant of
Valencia, of whom many come to Seville to
sell their chufas-orangeade. Then she took
me to a house, which bore a striking re-
semblance to Dorothea's, at the end of a
narrow court. She and another gipsy woman
washed me, doctored me better than the
surgeon-major would have done, and gave
me something-I know not what to drink.
At length they laid me on a mattress, and I
fell fast asleep.
The women probably had put some so-
porific in my drink, for I did not awake
until very late next day. I had a fearful
headache, and was rather feverish. It was
some time before I could recall the incidents
of the terrible drama in which I had taken
part on the previous day.
Afterhaving dressed my wound, Carmen
84 CARMEN.

and her friend both crouched down beside

my mattress, and exchanged a few words in
chipe calli, which seemed to be a medical
consultation. They both assured me that I
would be cured before long ; but, mean-
while, it was absolutely necessary to leave
Seville, and as quickly as possible, for if I
were arrested I would be shot, to a certainty.
" My lad," said Carmen, "you must do
something ; now that the king will give
you neither rice nor salt cod,* you must find
some means of existence. You are too stupid
to rob a pastesas ; † but you are lithe and
strong. If you have courage enough, go to
the coast and be a contrabandist. Have I
not promised to get you hanged ? That is
better than being shot. Besides, if you
know how to look after yourself, you may
live like a prince so long as the minons ‡ and
the coast-guard do not catch you."
* The ordinary rations of a Spanish soldier.
+ Ustilar á pastesas, to rob skilfully, without violence.
I A species of free-corps.
 CARMEN. 85

It was in this pleasing way that that devil

of a girl indicated to me the new career for
which she destined me-and to tell the truth,
it was the only one which lay open to me,
now that I had rendered myself liable to the
punishment of death. Need I confess toyou,
sir, that she brought me to the decision
without much trouble ! It seemed to me
that we should be thrown into closer contact
by this existence so full of risks, and so un-
lawful. Thenceforth, I believed myself sure
of her affection. I had often heard of the con-
trabandists who traversed Andalusia well-
mounted, blunderbuss in hand, and with their
mistresses seated behind them. I already
pictured myself trotting over hills and vales
with this handsome gipsy behind me. When
I mentioned this to her, she laughed until
she was obliged to hold her sides, and told
me there was nothing so pleasant as a night
passed in the camp when each rom retired
with his romi beneath the shelter of the
86 CARMEN.

little tent formed of three hoops with a

blanket thrown over them.
"If I keep with you in the mountains, I shall
always be sure of you," I said. " There there
will be no lieutenants to share with me."
" Ah, you are jealous," she replied ; " So
much the worse for you. How can you be
such a fool ! Don't you see that I love
you, since I have never asked you for any
money ? "
When she talked in this fashion I felt in-
clined to strangle her.
To cut the story short, sir, Carmen
procured me a civilian dress, in which I
escaped from Seville unrecognised. I pro-
ceeded to Jerez with a letter from Pastia to
a seller of anisette, at whose house the
smugglers used to assemble. I was presented
to these gentry, whose chief, named Dancaire,
received me into the company. We pro-
ceeded to Gaucin, where I again found
Carmen, who had appointed to meet me
 CARMEN. 87

there. In the expedition, she acted as a spy

for us, and no one could have been a better
one. She had returned from Gibraltar, and
had arranged with the captain of a vessel
concerning the disembarkation ofthe English
merchandise which we expected to arrive at
the coast. We went to await its arrival near

Estepona ; then we hid a portion of it in

the mountains, and laden with the remainder
proceeded to Ronda, whither Carmen had
preceded us. Then she once more gave us
the hint when to enter the town. This first
expedition and some others, were fortunate.
The life of a smuggler pleased me more than
that of a soldier. I made Carmen presents.
I had money and a mistress. I suffered
scarcely any remorse, for as the gipsies say-
an itching of pleasure is no itch at all.*
We were well received everywhere ; my
associates treated me well, and even evinced
some consideration for me. This was
* Sarapia sat pesquital ne punzava.
88 CARMEN.

because I had killed a man, and amongst

them there was no one who had not a simi-
lar exploit to boast of. But what influenc-
ed me more than all else in my new life was
the frequent presence of Carmen. She dis-
played more friendship for me than formerly
-nevertheless, before her comrades she did
not pretend that she was my mistress, and
had even made me swear with all kinds of
oaths not to say a word to them on the
subject. I was so utterly weak before this
creature that I obeyed all her caprices.
Besides, this was the first occasion on which
she displayed any of the reserve of an " honest
woman," and I was foolish enough to believe
that she had abandoned all her former
practices.
Our troop, which was composed of eight or
ten men only, assembled together in important
junctures, but were usually scattered in pairs
or threes in the towns and villages. Each
one of us assumed a calling or trade ; one
 CARMEN. 89

was a tinker, another a horse dealer. I was a

pedlar ; but I very seldom showed myself in
large towns, because of that little affair in
Seville. One day, or rather one night, our
rendezvous was below Vega. Dancaire and
I found ourselves there before the others.
He seemed in excellent spirits.
"We shall soon have another comrade,"
he said. " Carmen has executed one of her
best moves. She has managed the escape of
her rom from the presidio at Tarifa."
I was just beginning to understand the
gipsy dialect, which nearly all my associates
made use of, and the word rom gave me a
chill .
" What, her husband ! Is she married ? "
I asked.

" Yes," replied the captain, " to Garcia, the

one-eyed, a gipsy as ' deep ' as she is. The
poor fellow was in penal servitude. Car-
men got round the surgeon so cleverly that
she obtained her rom's liberty. Ah ! that
90 CARMEN.

girl is worth her weight in gold. It is twc

years since she first began to plan his escape.
Nothing had succeeded until the officer was
changed. With the latter it seems she quickly
found the means to make herself understood.

You can imagine with what pleasure I

listened to this news. I soon met Garcia the
one-eyed ; he was one of the most repulsive
villains whom Bohemia ever reared, a dark
skin and a still blacker soul. He was the
most unmitigated ruffian that ever I met in
my life. Carmen came with him, and when
she called him her rom in my presence you
should have seen the " eyes " she made to me,
and the grimaces at him when his back was
turned. I was very angry, and would not
speak to her all the evening. In the morn-
ing we had made up our bales and were
already on our way when we perceived that
a dozen horsemen were after us. The An-
dalusian boasters, who always talk in the
most bloodthirsty manner, showed a very
 CARMEN. 91

firm front. There was a general stampede.

Dancaire, Garcia, a fine young fellow from
Edja, called Remendado, and Carmen did
not lose their presence of mind. The others
abandoned the mules and threw themselves
into the ravines, where the dragoons could
not follow them. We could not save our
mules and we hastened to loose the most
valuable portion of our booty and to take
it on our shoulders. We then endeavoured
to escape over the rocks, and by the steepest
and roughest slopes. We cast our bales
before us, and followed them as well as
we could, sliding down on our heels. All
this time the enemy was firing at us. Itwas
the first time that I had heard the whistling
of bullets, and it did not make me feel quite
at ease. When one has a wife in prospect
there is no merit in risking death. We
all escaped except poor Remendado, who
got a bullet in his loins. I threw away my
pack and endeavoured to assist him.
92 CARMEN .

" Fool ! " exclaimed Garcia, " what have

we to do with that carrion ? Pick up your
load, and don't lose the cotton stockings."
" Let him go," said Carmen to me.
Fatigue obliged me to lay the lad for a
moment beneath the shelter of a rock.
Garcia advanced and discharged his blunder-
buss at his head.
" He will be a clever fellow who will re-
cognise him now," he remarked, as he gazed
at the features which a dozen bullets had
shattered.

Such, sir, was the delightful kind of life

I had embraced. In the evening we found
ourselves in a thicket, and worn out with
fatigue, having nothing to eat, and ruined by
the loss of our mules. What did that in-
fernal Garcia do ? He took a pack of cards
from his pocket and began to play with
Dancaire by the light of the fire which had
beenkindled. Meanwhile I laydownand was
watching the stars, thinking of Remendado
 CARMEN . 98

and wishing I were in his place. Carmen

was crouched near me, and from time to
time she rattled her castanets and hummed
a tune. Then, approaching me, as if with the
intention of whispering to me, she kissed me,
almost against my will, two or three times.
" You are the devil," I said to her.
" Yes," she answered.
After some hours' rest she departed for
Gaucin, and next morning a little goatherd
brought us some bread. We remained all
day in the same place, and at night we
moved towards Gaucin. We waited for news
of Carmen : none came. At daybreak we
perceived a muleteer who was guiding a well-
dressed woman holding a parasol, and ac-
companied by a little girl, who seemed to be
her servant. Garcia said to us-
" There are two mules and two women
which St. Nicholas has sent us. I would
rather have had four mules. Never mind.
This is my business."
G
94 CARMEN.

He seized his blunderbuss and descended

towards the path ; hiding in the brushwood.
Dancaire and I followed him at a little
distance. When we were within range, we
showed ourselves, and called to the muleteer
to halt. The woman instead of being
frightened-and our dress was sufficient for
that-burst out laughing.
" Ah, the lillipendi, they take me for an
erani ! "* It was Carmen, but so well
disguised, that I would not have recognised
her, had she spoken in any other language.
She sprang from the mule and spoke for
a while in a low tone with Garcia and Dan-
caire. Then she said to me :
" Canary, we shall meet again before you
are hanged. I am going to Gibraltar on
' affairs of Egypt.' You will soon hear me
talked about."
We parted after she had indicated to us
a place where we could find shelter for
* Ah, the fools ! do they take me for a lady?
 CARMEN. 95

some days. This girl was the saving of our

troop. We soon received some money
which she sent, and a hint, which was worth
more to us, namely, that two British noble-
men were about to proceed from Gibraltar
to Granada by such a route. A word to the
wise ! They had plenty of money. Garcia
wanted to kill them, but Dancaire and I
were opposed to such a measure. We would
relieve them of their money, their watches,
and their shirts, of which last articles we
had great need.
Sir, one may become a rogue without
thinking about it. Apretty girl causes you
to lose your head ; you fight for her ; a mis-
fortune happens, it becomes necessary to
dwell amid the mountains, and from a
smuggler you become a robber before you
are aware of the change. We concluded
that it would not be well for us to remain
in the environs of Gibraltar after that little
business with the Englishmen, and we
96 CARMEN .

concealed ourselves in the Sierra de Ronda.

You have mentioned Jose-Maria ; well, it
was there that I made his acquaintance.
He brought his mistress with him on these
expeditions. She was a pretty girl, well-
behaved and modest, with good manners,
never uttering an unbecoming word, and of
a devotedness-! By way of compensation,
he treated her very badly. He was always
running after other girls, he " bullied " her,
then sometimes he took it into his head to
be jealous. Once he struck her with his
knife. Well, she only loved him the more
for that. That is the way women, par-
ticularly Andalusians, are constituted !
She was quite proud of the scar on her
arm, and exhibited it as one of the most
beautiful things in the world. And then
Jose-Maria was the very worst comrade you
could possibly meet. On one expedition
which we undertook he managed so well,
that all the profit fell to him, and all the
 CARMEN. 97

blows fell on us. But I must resume my

story. As we heard nothing more of Car-
men, Dancaire said :
" One of us must proceed to Gibraltar to
get news of her ; she ought to have prepared
something. I would go willingly, but I am
too well known there. "
The one-eyed fellow said :
"So am I. I have played too many
tricks upon the lobsters,* and as I have
only one eye, it is not easy to escape
detection."
" Then I must go," I said in my turn, de-
lighted at the very idea of seeing Carmen
again. " Let us see ; what must be done ? "
The others replied :
"You can go to St. Roque whichever way
you please, and when you have got to Gib-
raltar, ask where a person, named Rollona,
a seller of chocolate, lives ; when you have
* A term applied to the English, because of the colour
of their uniforms.
98 CARMEN.

found her out, you will find out what has

happened yonder."
It was arranged that we three should start
for the Sierra de Gaucin, that I should leave
my companions there, and proceed to Gib-
raltar as a fruit merchant. At Ronda one
of our fraternity procured me a passport, at
Gaucin I was given a donkey ; I loaded
him with oranges and melons, and went on
my way. When I reached Gibraltar I
found that Rollona was well known, but
that she had either died or had been sent to
the galleys, and in my opinion her absence
explained how our means of correspondence
with Carmen had failed. I put my donkey
up in a stable, and with my oranges wan-
dered about the town as if to sell them ; but,
in fact, to endeavour to find some face I
knew. There are plenty of vagrants in
"Gib," people from all parts of the globe, and
it is like the Tower of Babel, for one cannot
go ten paces along a street without hearing
 CARMEN . 99

as many different languages. I met many

gipsies, but I scarcely dared to trust them.
I recognised them and they recognised me.
We ascertained that we were of the same
class. After two days spent in useless
search, I had learned nothing concerning
either Rollona or Carmen, and I was con-
sidering whether I should not return to my
comrades after making some purchases, when
as I was walking down a street at sunset, I
heard a woman's voice from a window say,
"Here, you orange-seller ! " I looked up,
and on abalcony I perceived Carmen, leaning
over the rail beside an officer in scarlet, with
gold epaulets, curled hair, and the appear-
ance generally of a grandee. As for her, she
was dressed splendidly : a shawl over her
shoulders, a gold comb in her hair, attired
in silk, and as cunning as ever-just the
same, laughing immoderately. The English-
man, in barbarous Spanish, hailed me, and
bade me come up, as madame wanted some
100 CARMEN.

oranges ; and Carmen said to me in Basque,

"Come up, and be astonished at nothing."
Nothing could astonish me where she was
concerned. I cannot tell whether I was the
more glad or disappointed to see her again.
A tall, powdered servant let me in, and
ushered me into a splendid apartment.
Carmen at once addressed me in Basque.
" Mind, you do not understand a word of
Spanish, and you do not know me."
Then, turning to the Englishman,she said,
" I told you all along he was a Basque-you
will hear a curious dialect. What a silly
look he has, hasn't he ? You would take
him for a cat surprised in the larder ! "
"And you," I replied in my own tongue,
"have the air of a brazen-faced quean, and
I am greatly disposed to gash your face
before your lover."
" My lover ! " she exclaimed. " So you
have found out that all by yourself. And
you are jealous of that fool ? Why you are
 CARMEN. 101

a greater simpleton than you were before our

evenings in Candilejo Street. Don't you
see-fool that you are that I am engaged
upon affairs of Egypt, and in the most
brilliant fashion ? This house is mine ; the
lobster's guineas will be mine. I shall lead
him by the nose, and bring him whence
he shall never escape."
"And as for me," I replied, " if you con-
duct the affairs of Egypt any more in this
manner, I will do something which will
effectually prevent your beginning again."
"Ah, indeed ! Are you my rom that you
give me orders ? The One-Eyed is satisfied.
Whathave you seen here ? Ought not you
to be content to be the only one who can
callhimself my minchorro ? "*
" What does he say," asked the English-
man.

"He says that he is thirsty, and could

manage a good drink," replied Carmen. Then
* Lover-or rather, " fancy-man,"
102 CARMEN.

she fell back upon a sofa, screaming with

laughter at the translation.
Sir, when that girl laughed there was
no use in trying to talk sense. Every one
laughed with her. The great Englishman
laughed also, like the idiot he was, and bade
his people bring me something to drink.
While I was drinking, Carmen said-
" Do you see that ring on his finger ? If
you like, I will give it to you."
But I answered-
" I would give a finger to have my lord on
the mountain, each of us with a maquila in
our hands."
" Maquila ? What does he mean ? " asked
the Englishman.
"Maquila ! " replied Carmen, still laugh-
ing. " Maquila is an orange. Is it not a
queer term for an orange ? He says he
would like to make you eat an orange."
" Yes ? " replied the Englishman. " Very
well, bring more maquilas to-morrow."
 CARMEN. 103

As we were conversing, the servant an-

nounced dinner. Then the Englishman
offered his arm to Carmen as if she could
not go in by herself, and threw me a pistole.
Carmen, laughing all the time, said to me-
" My lad, I cannot invite you to dinner ;
but to-morrow, as soon as you hear the drums
beating for parade, come here with your
oranges. You will find a room better
furnished than that in Candilejo Street, and
you will see that I am always your Car-
mencita ; and then we can chat over Egyptian
affairs."

I made no reply, and I was in the street

when the Englishman called out, " Bring the
maquilas to-morrow." Then I heard Car-
men's laughter once more.
I went away, not knowing whither or
what I was doing. I scarcely slept and the
morning found me so incensed against the
traitress that I resolved to quit Gibraltar
without seeing her again. But at the first
104 CARMEN.

roll of the drums all my fortitude deserted

me. I took my straw basket of oranges
and hurried to Carmen. Her jealousy was
aroused, and I saw her great eyes watching
me. The powdered servant let me in. Car-
men sent him on an errand, and as soon as
we were alone she burst into one of her peals
of crocodile laughter and threw herself on
my neck. I had never seen her so lovely.
Dressed like a bride, perfumed, surrounded
with costly furniture and silken hangings-
Ah ! and I like the robber that I was !
" Minchorro," said Carmen, " I have a
great mind to smash everything here, to
set fire to the house and be off to the Sierra !"
Then her caresses, and her laughter ! She
danced and tore her dress ; never did ape
perform more gambols, make more grimaces,
orplay more tricks. When she had regained
her composure she said-
"Listen ; it is a question of Egypt. I
want him to take me to Ronda, where I have
 CARMEN. 105

a sister-a nun. (More laughter.) We will

pass by a place which I will tell you of.
You can fall upon him and rob him. The
better way will be to murder him ; but," she
added, with a diabolical smile which she
displayed at certain times, and no one would
ever be inclined to imitate it-" do you know
what you must do ? Let the One-Eyed appear
first. Keep a little in the rear yourself.
The Lobster is brave and skilful ; he has
good pistols. Do you understand ? "
She interrupted herself with another peal
of laughter, which made me shiver.
" No," I replied, " I detest Garcia, but he
is my comrade. One day perhaps I will re-
lieve you of him, but we will settle our
accounts after the fashion of our country.
I am only an Egyptian by chance, and in
certain ways I shall always remain a pure
Navarro, as the proverb says " (Navarro fino).
She replied, " You are a fool-an idiot-a
regular payllo. You are like the dwarf who
106 CARMEN.

believed himself big because he could spit a

long distance.* You do not love me-Go
along with you !"
When she said " Go along ! " I could not
go. I promised to leave, to return with my
comrades and lie in wait for the Englishman.
On her side she promised to be indisposed
until the time came for leaving Gibraltar
for Ronda. I remained two days longer at
Gibraltar. She had the audacity to come in
disguise to see me at my inn. I quitted the
town, for I also had my own project. I re-
turned to our rendezvous, knowing the place
and the hour at which the Englishman and
Carmen would pass by. I found Dancaire
and Garcia awaiting me. We passed the
night in a wood by a fire of pine-cones,
which burned splendidly. I proposed to
Garcia to have a game of cards. He agreed.
At the second game I declared he was
* " Or esorjie de or narsichisle sin chismar lachinguel"
-Gipsy proverb,
 CARMEN . 107

cheating. He laughed. I threw the cards in

his face. He went for his blunderbuss, but
I put my foot upon it and said-
" They tell me you can brandish a knife
with any Jack of Malaga. Will you try a
bout with me ? "
Dancaire wanted to separate us. I had
given Garcia a few blows with my fist.
Rage had made him courageous. He had
drawn his knife and I mine. We told Dan-
caire to stand aside and see fair play. He
saw that it was no use attempting to stop us
and he stood back. Garcia was already
crouching like a cat about to spring upon a
mouse. He held his hat in his left hand, as
a guard, his knife advanced in his right.
That is the Andalusian method . I stood
like the Navarros, right in front of him,
the left arm raised, the left leg advanced, the
knife held down by the right thigh. I felt
stronger than a giant. He threw himself
upon me like a flash, I turned on my left
108 CARMEN.

foot and he found nothing before him, but I

caught him in the throat and the knife en-
tered so far that myhand came chock underhis
chin. I drew back the blade so forcibly that
it broke. All was over ! The blade was ex-
pelled from the wound in a rush of blood as
big as my arm. He fell on his face like alog.
"What have you done ? " said Dancaire.
" Listen," I said. " We could not have
lived together: I love Carmen and I want
to be the only one ! Besides Garcia was a
brute, and I remember how he served poor
Remendado. We are only two now, but we
are good fellows. Look here ; will you
have me for a comrade-for life or death ?"
Dancaire held out his hand. He was a
man fifty years old.
" To the devil with your love affairs," he
exclaimed. " If you had asked for Carmen he
would have sold her to you for a piastre.
We are only two now-what shall we do
to-morrow ? "
 CARMEN. 109

" Let me manage it," I replied. " Now I

can snap my fingers at the whole world ! "
We buried Garcia and pitched our camp
two hundred paces farther on. Next day
Carmen and her Englishman passed with
two muleteers and a servant. I said to Dan-
caire-
" I will account for the Englishman. You
can frighten the others ; they are not armed."
The Englishman was a brave fellow. If
Carmen had not jogged his arm he would
have shot me. To be brief, I re-conquered
Carmen that day, and my first words were to
tell her that she was a widow. When she
understood how it had come to pass, she said-
" You will always be a lillipendi. Garcia
ought to have killed you. Your Navarre
guard is all nonsense, and he has conquered
better men than you. His time had come
no doubt ! Yours will come too ! "

" And yours," I replied, " if you are not a

true romi to me ! "
H
110 CARMEN .

"Well and good ! " she replied. " I have

seen in the coffee-grounds many a time that
our destinies lie together. But he who sows
reaps ! " And she rattled her castanets as
she was in the habit of doing when she
wished to get rid of any unpleasant thoughts.
One is apt to forget others when speaking
of oneself ; all these details bore you no
doubt, but I shall soon finish now. The
life we lead will last long enough ! Dancaire
and I associated ourselves with some com-
rades more trustworthy than the former ; we
practised smuggling, and sometimes it must
be confessed we stopped people on the high-
ways, but only as a last resource and when
we had no other means of livelihood.
Besides we never ill-treated travellers and
we confined ourselves strictly to taking their
money.
For many months I was happy with
Carmen ; she continued to be useful to us in
our operations and gave us notice of the
 CARMEN. 111

good things we could " bring off." She

stayed sometimes at Malaga, sometimes at
Cordova, sometimes at Granada ; but at a
word from me she would leave any place
and come to meet me in an isolated inn, or
even in the camp. Once only, it was at
Malaga, did she give me any uneasiness. I
knew that she had thrown a glamour over a
very rich merchant, with whom probably
she proposed to repeat the little arrange-
ment carried out at Gibraltar. Notwith-
standing all Dancaire could say to me I
went after her and got to Malaga in full
daylight. I looked for Carmen, and brought
her away immediately. We had some sharp
words.

" Do you know," she said, " that since you

have really become my rom, I care less for
you than when you were my fancy man.
I don't want to be worried and ordered
about; what I wish is to be free and to do as
I please. Take care-do not push me too
112 CARMEN.

far. If you trouble me too much I will

find some fellow who will serve you as you
served Garcia."
Dancaire reconciled us, but we said things
to each other which rankled in our hearts
and we were not on such good terms as
formerly. A short time afterwards evil befel
us. The troops surprised us. Dancaire was
killed with two others of our band, two
more were made prisoners. I was badly
wounded, and without the aid of my trusty
steed would have been left in the hands of
the soldiers. Worn out by fatigue, with a
bullet in my body, I hid myself with only
one companion in the forest. I fainted when
I dismounted, and I thought I was going to
die like a wounded hare in the brushwood.
My comrade carried me to a grotto which
we knew and then went to seek Carmen.
She was at Granada and she came back at
once. For fifteen days she never quitted
me for a moment. She did not close her
 CARMEN. 113

eyes ; she nursed me with a skill and atten-

tion which no woman ever before displayed
for a man she loved best. As soon as I
could stand up again she carried me off to
Granada in secrecy. The gipsies everywhere
found us safe lodging and I passed more
than six weeks in a house two doors from
the official who was searching for me. More
than once from behind a shutter I saw him
pass by. At length my health was restored,
but I had thought a great deal while on my
bed of sickness and I made up my mind to
amend my life. I spoke to Carmen about
leaving Spain and endeavouring to live
honestly in America. She laughed at me.
" We are not fitted for cabbage growing,"
she replied ; " our destiny is to live at the
expense of the payllos. Look here, I have
just arranged a little business with Nathan-
ben-Joseph, of Gibraltar. He has a cargo
of cotton stuffs which only want your assist-
ance in passing through. He knows you
114 CARMEN.

are alive still. He reckons upon you. What

shall we say to our correspondents in
Gibraltar if you break your word to them ? ”
I permitted myself to be persuaded and
resumed my villainous career.
While I was in hiding at Granada there
was a bull-fight there to which Carmen
went. When she came back she spoke of a
very adroit picador named Lucas. She
knew the name of his horse and how much
his embroidered vest had cost. Inanito, the
comrade who had remained with me, said
some days afterwards that he had seen
Carmen and Lucas at the house of a trades-
man of Zacatin. That alarmed me. I
asked Carmen how and why she had made
the acquaintance of the picador.
" He is a man," she said, " with whom we
can do some business. The river that makes
a noise has either water or pebbles.* He
* Len sos sonsi abela, Pani o rebiendani terela. Gipsy
proverb.
 CARMEN. 115

has won 1,200 reals at the bull-ring. One

of two things must happen-we must have
this money-or, as he is a good rider and a
brave fellow, we must enrol him in our
band. So-and-so are dead ; you must replace
them. Take him with you."
" I don't want either his money or him-
self, " I replied, " and I forbid you to speak
to him."
" Take care," she replied. " When people
defy me to do a thing it is very soon done."
Fortunately the picador left for Malaga,
and I set about smuggling in the Jew's
cottons. I had a great deal to do in this
expedition, and so had Carmen. I forgot
Lucas ; perhaps she also forgot him, for the
time at any rate. It was about that time,
sir, that I met with you first, near Mon-
tilla, then afterwards at Cordova. I will
not say anything about our last interview.
You perhaps know more about it than I.
Carmen robbed you of your watch ; she also
116 CARMEN.

wanted your money, and particularly the

ring you wear on your finger, which she said
is a magic ring, which she was very anxious
to possess. We had a violent quarrel ; I
struck her. She turned pale and cried. This
was the first time I had ever seen her weep,
and her tears had a great effect upon me. I
begged her pardon, but she sulked all day ;
and when I departed for Montilla she did
not want to kiss me. I was heavy-hearted
when, three days afterwards, she came to see
me, as gay as a lark. All was forgotten, and
we passed two days in lover-like fashion.
As we were again about to part she said-
" There is afesta at Cordova ; I am going
to see it. Then I shall find out who has
money, and will tell you."
I let her go. When alone I thought of
the festa, and this change of humour in
Carmen. She must have revenged herself
already, I thought, since she had yielded first.
A peasant told me that there was a bull-fight
 CARMEN . 117

in Cordova. How my blood boiled, and, like

a fool, I went there. He pointed out Lucas
to me, and, in a seat near the barrier, I
recognised Carmen. I had only to look at
her for a moment to be fully assured of the
fact I had suspected. Lucas played the bull
" with a light heart," as I had anticipated. He
snatched the cockade from the animal and
carried it to Carmen, who placed it in her
hair immediately. The bull tried to avenge
me ! Lucas was overthrown with his horse,
and the bull fell upon both of them. I
looked at Carmen ; she was no longer in her
place. It was quite impossible for me to get
out, and I was compelled to wait until the
courses were run. Then I went to the house
which you know of, and there I remained
quite quiet all the evening and a part of the
night. Towards two o'clock in the morning
Carmen returned, and was somewhat as-
tonished to see me.

" Come with me," I said.

118 CARMEN.

" Very well," she replied, " let us go."

I went to fetch my horse, and I put her en
croupe. We rode all the remainder of the
night without saying a single word to each
other. We halted at daybreak at a solitary
inn, near a small hermitage. Then I said
to Carmen-
" Listen ! I forget everything ; I will
speak of nothing that has passed. Only
swear to me that you will follow me to
America, and that you will remain quietly
there."

" No," she replied in a sulky tone, " I

won't go to America. I like being here best."
" Because you are near Lucas," I said,
" But do not imagine, even if he recover,
that he will ever make old bones. Yet after
all, why should I trouble about him ? I am
tired of killing all your lovers ; it is you
whom I shall kill."
She gazed at me steadily with her wild
eyes, and said-
 CARMEN. 119

" I have always imagined that you would

kill me. The first time I saw you I met a
priest at the door of my house, and did you
see nothing to-night as we quitted Cordova ?
A hare crossed the road between your horse's
feet. It is written ! "
" Carmencita ? " I asked, " is it true that
you no longer love me ? "
She made no reply ; she was seated cross-
legged on a mat, tracing patterns with her
finger on the floor.
" Let us change our mode of life, Carmen,"
Ipleaded. " Let us go and live in some place
where we shall never be separated. You
know that we have a hundred and twenty
onzas buried beneath a tree not far from
here. Besides, we still have money in ben-
Joseph's hands. "
She smiled and replied--
" I first, you afterwards. I knew that it
would come to this."
" Reflect," I continued. " I have lost all
120 CARMEN.

patience with you ; I am at the end of my

tether ! Make up your mind, and I will
make up mine.”
I left her and walked towards the her-
mitage. I found the hermit at prayer. I
waited until his devotions were concluded.
I wanted to pray too, but I could not.
When he rose I went up to him.
" Father," I said, " will you pray for one
who is in great danger ? "
" I pray for all the afflicted, my son."
" Can you pray for a soul which is about
to appear before its Creator ? ”
" Yes," he replied, looking at me fixedly,
and as there was something strange in my
manner he wanted to make me speak out.
" It seems to me that I have seen you
before," he remarked.
I put a piastre on the bench. "When
will you say mass ? " I asked.
" In half an hour. The son of the inn-
keeper, yonder, comes to serve it. Tell me,
 CARMEN. 121

young man, have not you something on your

conscience which is tormenting you ? Wil.
you hearken to the counsel of a Christian ? "
I felt ready to cry. I said I would return,
and then I got away. I lay down on the
grass till I heard the bell. Then I rose and
went near, but remained outside the chapel.
When mass was said I returned to the inn.
I almost hoped that Carmen had run away ;
she might have taken my horse and escaped.
But I found her. She would never have it
said that she was afraid of me. During my
absence she had unpicked the hem of her
dress, and taken out the lead. She was then
sitting at the table, gazing into a bowl of
water at the lead which had sunk to the
bottom, and which she continued to throw
in. She was so immersed in her occupation
that she did not at first perceive me. Then
she took a piece of the lead and turned it in
all directions, with a sad expression in her
face; sometimes she hummed one of the
122 CARMEN.

mystic songs in which gipsies invoke Marie

Padilla, the mistress of Don Pedro, who was,
they say, the Bari Crallisa, or great Queen
of the Gipsies. *
" Carmen," I said, " will you come with
me ?"
She rose, threw away her bowl, and put
on her mantilla as if ready to go. They
brought me my horse, she mounted behind
me, and we departed.
"So, my Carmen," I said, after a while,
"you really wish to follow me, is it not so ? "
" I will follow you to death, yes ; but I
will not live with you any longer ! "
We were in a solitary gorge ; I pulled up.
" Is it here ? " she said, as she sprang to
the ground. She took off her mantilla,
threw it at her feet and stood motionless,
* Marie Padella is accused of bewitching Don Pedro
the king. A popular tradition states that she had pre-
sented the queen Blanche of Bourbon with a golden zone,
which appeared in the king's eyes like a living serpent.
That was the cause of the disgust he always evinced for
the unfortunate princess.
 CARMEN. 123

her hand upon her hip, looking straight at

me.

" You are going to kill me, I see that quite

well," she said. " It is fated ; but you will
never make me yield."
" I implore you, be reasonable," I said.
" Listen to me ; all the past is forgotten.
Nevertheless, you know it, it is I who have
lost myself ; it was for your sake that I
became a brigand and a murderer ! Car-
men, my Carmen, let me save you, and
myself with you ! "
"José," she replied, "you ask me to do what
is impossible. I no longer love you ; you
love me still, and for that reason you want
tokill me. I could very easily lie to you, but
do not care to take the trouble. All is over
between us. As my rom you have the
right to kill your romi, but Carmen will
always be free. Calli she was born, and
Calli she will die ! "

" So you love Lucas ? " I said.

124 CARMEN .

" Yes, I have loved him, like you, for a

while ; perhaps less than you. At present,
I love no one, and I hate myself for having
loved you."
I threw myself at her feet ; I took her
hands in mine ; I bedewed them with my
tears ; I recalled to her mind all the happy
times we had had together. I offered to
remain a brigand all my life to please her.
I did everything, sir, everything. I offered
her all, provided that she would still love
me. But she said :
" It is impossible to love you any longer,
and I do not want to live with you ! "
Fury took possession of me-I drew my
knife ; I wished she had displayed some
fear and pleaded for mercy, but the woman
was a demon.
" For the last time," I exclaimed, " will
you remain with me ? "
" No, no, no ! " she replied, stamping her
foot. Then she drew from her finger a ring
 CARMEN. 125

that I had given her, and threw it amongst

the bushes.
I stabbed her twice. It was Garcia's
knife, which I had appropriated after break-
ing my own She fell at the second thrust
without a cry. I can still fancy I see her
splendid black eyes regarding me steadily ;
then they became troubled, and closed. 1
remained insensible beside the body for a
good hour. Then I remembered that Car-
men had often said that she would like to
be buried in a wood. I excavated a grave
with my knife, and placed her in it. For
a long time I searched for the ring, and at
length found it. I placed it in the grave
with her and also a small cross. Perhaps I
was wrong ! Then I mounted my horse,
galloped to Cordova, and at the first guard-
house I made myself known. I said I had
killed Carmen, but I did not wish to divulge
where I had buried her. The hermit is a
holy man. He has prayed for her. He
I
126 CARMEN.

has said a mass for her soul. Poorgirl ! It

is the Calli who are to blame for having
made her what she was.
 APPENDIX .

SPAIN is a country in which one still finds

-and even in greater numbers than formerly
-those nomads who are dispersed throughout
Europe, and are known under the names of
Bohemians, Gipsies, Gitanos, Zingari, &c.
The majority live in, or rather wander
through the southern and eastern provinces,
in Andalusia, Estramadura, in the kingdom
of Mercia ; there are numbers in Catalonia.
The last-mentioned frequently pass into
France. We meet them at all our Southern
128 CARMEN.

fairs. Generally the men act as jockeys or

as veterinary surgeons and mule-clippers ; to
these occupations they unite the calling of
tinkers, not to mention smuggling and other
unlawful pursuits. The women tell fortunes,
beg, and sell all kinds of drugs, innocuous
and otherwise.
The physical characteristics of the Gipsies
are more easy to distinguish than to describe,
and when we have seen one, we can recognise
one of the race amongst a thousand strangers.
The features and their expression, above
everything else distinguish them from peoples
of other nations. Their complexion is very
swarthy and always of a deeper colour than
that of those amongst whom they dwell.
From this characteristic they have gained
the name of Calli, the black people, a title
by which they are frequently designated.*
* It seems to me that the German Gipsies, although
they perfectly well understand the word Calli, do not
like to be so designated. They call each other Romané
tehavé,
 CARMEN. 129

Their eyes are set obliquely, very deeply,

are very black and shaded by long and close
lashes. One can only compare their ex-
pression with that of wild animals. Fierce-
ness and timidity are apparent therein at
the same time ; and in this respect their eyes
coincide very well with the character of the
nation ; subtle, bold, but as much afraid of
blows as Panurge. The men are for the
most part strong-limbed, lithe, agile ; I do
not think I have ever seen one inclining to
stoutness. In Germany the Gipsy women
are often very handsome ; beauty is ex-
ceptional amongst the Gitanas of Spain.
When very young they may pass for en-
gaging girls but once they have become
mothers they become absolutely repulsive.
The dirty habits of both sexes are incredible,
and to any one who has not seen the locks of
aGipsy matron, it would be difficult to give
an idea of it, even when representing the
coarsest, the most greasy, the most dusty hair
130 CARMEN.

in creation. In some of the large towns of

Andalusia some of the young girls, more
respectable than the others, take some care
of their persons. These are they who per-
form, for money, dances that resemble verj
closely those interdicted amongst us at
carnival balls. Mr. Borrow, an English
missionary, author of two very interesting
works upon the Gipsies of Spain, whom he
had attempted to convert at the expense of the
Bible Society, assures us that it is unpre-
cedented for a Gitana to yield to any weakness
for a man not of her race . It seems to me
that their chastity has been much exaggerat-
ed. In the first place, the majority are in the
case of the ugly woman in Ovid, Casta quam
nemo rogavit. As for the pretty ones they
are, like all Spanish women, difficult to
please in the choice of a lover. He must
please them, he must deserve them. Mr.
Borrow quotes as a proof of their virtue a
trait which does honour to his own, and
 CARMEN. 131

particularly to his simplicity of mind. A

dissolute man of his acquaintance, he says,
vainly offered many onzas to a pretty Gitana.
An Andalusian to whom I related this
anecdote declared that the man would have
had much better success if he had shown
the girl a few piastres, and to offer gold
onzas to a Gipsy girl was as bad a means to
persuade her as to promise a million or
two to a waitress at an inn. However that
may be, it is certain that the Gitanas display
extraordinary devotion towards their hus-
bands. There is no limit to the danger and
misery they will brave to assist them in their
needs. One of the Bohemian titles, romi,
or spouse, seems to me to bear witness to the
respect of the race for the matrimonial state.
As a rule, we may say that their principal
virtue is patriotism-if one can so designate
the fidelity which they display in their
relations with individuals of the same race
as themselves ; their anxiety to assist them ;
132 CARMEN..

the inviolable secrecy which they maintain

respecting compromising incidents. As for
that matter, in all secret associations and
lawless combinations we may observe a
similar fidelity.
Several months ago I paid a visit to a tribe
of Gipsies established in the Vosges. In the
hut of an old woman, the " ancient " of the
tribe, there was a stranger-a Bohemian-
who had been attacked with mortal sickness.
This man had left a hospital where he was
being well cared for, to die amongst his com-
patriots. For thirteen weeks he had been
living in the old woman's tent; much better
treated than were the children and relatives
in the same shelter. He had a good bed of
straw and moss, with fairly white sheets,
while the family, to the number of eleven
persons, lay on planks three feet long. So
much for their hospitality. The same
woman, so humane towards her guest, said
to me in the presence of the invalid, " Singo,
 CARMEN . 133

Singo, hornte hi mulo.” “ In a short time he

must die ! " After all, the existence of these
people is so miserable that to them the
approach of death has nothing alarming in it.
A remarkable characteristic of the Gipsies
is their indifference to religious observances
-not that they are free-thinkers or sceptics ;
they have never made any profession of
atheism. On the contrary, the religion of
the country they inhabit is adopted, but
they change it with the locality. To the
superstitions which amongst uneducated
people replace the religious sentiment they
are equally strangers. The means, in fact,
by which superstitions exist amongst people
who live most often upon the incredulity of
others, are absent ; nevertheless I have re-
marked that the Spanish Gipsies have a .
curious fear of contact with a dead body.
There are few of them who, for money, can
be persuaded to carry a corpse to the
cemetery.
134 CARMEN.

I have said that a great number of the

female Gipsies lay themselves out to tell
fortunes. They acquit themselves very well.
But the sale of charms and love philtres is a
great source of profit to them. Not only do
they recommend frogs'" paddles " to recover
wandering hearts, or powdered loadstone to
cause those insensible to fascination to love,
but they practice, at need, incantations which
oblige the devil to come to their assist-
ance. Last year a Spanish lady told me the
following tale. She was passing through
Alcala Street one day, feeling very sad and
greatly pre-occupied : a Gipsy woman, who
was squatting on the pavement, said, as she
was passing-
" My pretty lady, your lover is false to
you. " This was the fact.
" Do you wish me to make him return to
you ? " You can understand with what de-
light the offer was accepted and what would
be the confidence inspired by a person who
 CARMEN . 135

could thus divine at a glance the innermost

secrets of the heart. As it was impossible to
proceed with the rites in one of the most
frequented streets of Madrid, a meeting was
appointed for the following day.
" There is nothing easier than to bring the
faithless one to your feet again," said the
Gitana. " Do you happen to have a handker-
chief, a scarf, or a mantilla that he has given
you ? "
A silken fichu was produced.
"Now sew with crimson silk a piastre in
one corner of the fichu. In another corner
sew a demi-piastre : here a small coin, and
there a piece of two reals. Then you must
sew in the centre a piece of gold. A doub-
loon would be best ! "
The doubloon and the other coins were all
sewn up as requested.
" Now give me the kerchief. I will carry
it to the Campo Santo at midnight. Come
with me if you would like to see a fine bit of
136 CARMEN.

devilry. I promise you that to-morrow you

shall again behold him you love."
The Gipsy woman went off to the Campo
Santo byherself, for the lady was too greatly
afraid of the devils to accompany her.
I leave you to guess whether the unfortunate
over ever saw herfichu or her faithless swain
again!
Notwithstanding their wretchedness and
the aversion they inspire, the Gipsies enjoy
a certain consideration amongst uneducated
people, and they are very proud of this.
They fancy themselves a race superior in
intelligence, and heartily despise the people
who have afforded them hospitality.
" The Gentiles are so foolish ," said a Gipsy
woman of the Vosges to me one day, " that
there is no credit in taking them in. The
other day a peasant woman called to me in
the street. I entered her house, her stove
was smoking, and she asked me for a charm
to cure it. I first made her give me a good
 CARMEN. 137

sized piece of lard, then I began to mutter

some words in Romany. You are a fool,' I
said ; ' you were born a fool, and a fool you
will die. ' When I got near the door, I said
to her in good German, ' An infallible
method of preventing your stove from smok-
ing is never to put fire into it, and I made
my escape."
Thehistory ofthe Gipsies is still a problem.
We know, as a matter of fact, that the first
detachments in very small numbers appeared
in the east of Europe, towards the com-
mencement of the fifteenth century ; but one
cannot say either whence they came nor why
they have come into Europe. What is
more extraordinary still, we are completely
ignorant how they have increased and mul-
tiplied in so short a time, in such a wonderful
manner, in countries at such distances apart.
The Gipsies themselves have preserved no
tradition concerning their origin, and if the
majority of them speak of Egypt as the
138 CARMEN.

country of their origin, it is because they

have adopted an old and largely circulated
fable.
The greater number of Oriental scholars
who have studied the language of the Gipsies
assert that they came originally from India.
In fact, it would appear that a great number
of the grammatical roots and forms of the
Romany are to be traced in idioms derived
from the Sanscrit .
It is believed that in their long journey-
ings the Gipsies have adopted many foreign
words. In all the dialects of the Romany we
find many Greek terms. For instance, cocal,
bone, from κοκκαλον. Petalli, horse-shoe from
πέταλον : cafi, nail, from καρι, &c. At the
present time the Gipsies have almost as many
dialects as there are tribes. They always
speak the language of the country in which
they live more easily than their own tongue,
which they scarcely use except when they
wish to converse freely before strangers. If
 CARMEN . 139

we compare the dialects of the German and

Spanish Gipsies, who have been without
communication for centuries, we may recog-
nise a number of words common to both ;
but the original language everywhere,
although in different degrees, is considerably
altered by fusion with more cultivated
tongues which the nomads have been com-
pelled to make use of. German on the one
side and Spanish on the other have so
modified the original Romany that it would
be impossible for a Gipsy of the Black Forest
to converse with one of his Andalusian
brethren, although it would be possible for
them to exchange words sufficient to under-
stand that both were speaking a language
derived from the same source. Some words

in very frequent use are common, I believe,

in all dialects ; thus in all the vocabularies
that I have been able to consult, pani means
water, manro bread, más meat, lon salt.
The expressions for numbers are almost
140 CARMEN.

always the same. The German dialect seems

to be very much purer than the Spanish, for
it has preserved a number of primitivegram-
matical forms, while the Gitanos have adopted
those of the Castilian. Nevertheless, some
words are exceptions as bearing witness to
the ancient community of language. The
preterites of the German dialect are formed
by adding ium to the imperative, which is
always the root of the verb. The verbs in
Spanish Romany are all conjugated in the
same way as the Castilian verbs of the first
conjugation. From the infinitive jamar, to
eat, we can clearly derivejamé, I have eaten.
From lillar, to take, we get lillé, I have
taken. Nevertheless, some old Gipsies use
exceptionally jayon, lillon. I do not know
of other verbs which have retained this
ancient form .
While I am thus displaying my limited
knowledge of the Romany language I ought
to mention some French slang words which
 CARMEN. 141

our criminal classes have borrowed from the

Gipsies. The Mysteries of Paris have taught
us that chourin means knife. This is pure
Romany ; tchouri is one of those words
common to all its dialects. M. Vidocq
calls a horse grès ; this is again another
bohemianism, gras, gre, graste, gres . To
these add the word romanichel, which in
Parisian slang means Gipsies. It is the cor-
ruption of rommane tchave, Bohemian boys.
But an etymology of which I am proud is
that of frimousse, appearance, face, a word
which all scholars employ or have employed
in my time. Notice first that Oudin, in his
curious dictionary, wrote in 1640 firlimousse.
Now firla, fila, in Romany means face, mui
has the same signification ; it is exactly the
os of the Latins. The combination firlamui
was immediately understood by a pure Gipsy,
and I believe it conforms to the spirit of
his language.
This is quite enough to give the readers of
K
142 CARMEN.

Carmen a general idea of my studies of the

Romany. I will now conclude with a pro-
verb which comes à propos : En retudi panda
nasti abela macha. " No fly can enter a
closed mouth. " *

* Or, in Spanish, " En boca cerrada no entra mosca."

-H. F.

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 The Pocket Library.
A Series of the Masterpieces of Fiction
and Poetry.

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12 THE POCKET LIBRARY.

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 THE POCKET LIBRARY. 13

42. The Ingoldsby Legends. First Series.

43. Ditto. Second "

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52. Emerson's Poems.
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58. Dante's Purgatoria. Ditto.
59. Dante's Paradiso. Ditto.

60 Paul and Virginia.

61. The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain. By
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62. Moore's Lalla Rookh .
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Dante's Divine Comedy. LONGFELLOw's Translation.

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ALPHONSE DAUDET'S WRITINGS .
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Tartarin on the Alps. With 150 Illustrations.
By RossI , ARANDA, MYRBACH , MONTENARD,
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Tartarin of Tarascon. 120 Illustrations.

Thirty Years of Paris and of My Literary

Life: 120 Illustrations.

Recollections of a Literary Man. Illustrated

by BIELER , MONTEGUT, and others.
Artists' Wives . Illustrated by DE BIELER,
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Jack. Translated by LAURA ENSOR, with Illus-

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