Chapter XII: A Ministering Spirit

Sweet illusions--Everything seen and done--True devotion--In the vortex--Sunshine and blue skies--Less demon-like pit--Lights and shadows--Arcades lose their gloom--Rosalie--Charm of Anselmo--Romance not dead--H. C. in ecstasy--Escorting an angel--Cathedral steps--San Filiu--A lovely spot--Ancient house--Mullions and latticed windows--Passing away--Rosalie's ministrations--Resignation--Rosalie's farewell--"Consuelo"--Taken from the evil to come--The door closed--Ernesto's world topsy-turvy--Ernesto turns business-like--The catapult again--Up the broad staircase--Not the ghostly hour--Madame in her bureau--Posting ledger--Balance on right side--Madame philosophises--Shrieks to the rescue--"My dear daughter"--Our host and the nightingales--Waiting for next year's leaves--The Senorita Costello--Delormais on the wing--Another vigil--Promise given--Departure--Inspector quails--H. C. collapses--The susceptible age--Lady Maria alters her will--Possession nine-tenths of the law 168

CHAPTER XIII.

A WORLD'S WONDER.

Barcelona--H. C.'s anxiety--Mutual salutes--Old impressions--Disappointment--Familiar cries and scenes--Flower-sellers--Perpetual summer--Commercial element--Manchester of Spain--Surrounding country--Where care comes not--Barcelonita--The quays--A land of corn and wine--Relaxing air--Lovely ladies--Ancient element conspicuous by its absence--Historical past--Great in the Middle Ages--Wise and powerful--Commerce of the world--Wealth and learning--Waxes voluptuous--Ferdinand and Isabella--Diplomatic but not grateful--Brave and courageous--Fell before Peterborough--Napoleon's treachery--Republican people--Prosperous once more--Ecclesiastical treasures--Matchless cathedral--Inspiration--Influence of the Moors--Work of Majorcan architect--Dream-world--Imposing scene 184

CHAPTER XIV.

IN THE CLOISTERS OF SAN PABLO.

In the cloisters--Sacred geese--Bishop's palace--House of the Inquisition--Striking quadrangles--_Ajimez_ windows--A rare cloister--Desecration--Library--Rare MSS.--Polite librarian--Romantic atmosphere--Santa Maria del Mar--Cloisters of Santa Anna--Sister of Mercy--San Pablo del Campo--More dream cloisters--Communing with ghosts and shadows--Spring and winter--Constant visitor--Centenarian--Chief architect--Cathedrals of Catalonia--Barbarous town-council--Hard fight and victory--Failing vision--Emblems of death--Laid aside--Wholesome lessons--Placing the keystone--_Finis_--_Resurgam_--Charmed hour--Possessing the soul in patience--City of Refuge 203

CHAPTER XV.

MONTSERRAT.

Early rising--Imp of darkness--Death warrant--The men who fail--Ranges of Montserrat--Sabadell--Labour and romance--The Llobregat--Monistrol--Summer resort--Sleeping village--Empty letter-bags--Ascending--Splendid view--Romantic element--Charms of antiquity--Human interests--Mons Serratus--A man of letters--_Solitude a deux_--Fellow-travellers--Substantial lady-merchant--Resignation--Military policeman--"Nameless here for evermore"--Round man in square hole--Romantic history--_Cherchez la femme_--Woman a divinity--Good name the best inheritance--No fighting against the stars--Fascinations of astrology--Love and fortune--Too good to last--Taste for pleasure--Ruin--Sad end--Truth reasserts itself--Fortune smiles again--Ceylon--Philosophical in misfortune--A windfall--Approaching Montserrat--Paradise of the monks--Romance and beauty--New order of things--Gipsy encampment 214

CHAPTER XVI.

A HIDDEN GENIUS.

Monk's face--Superfluous virtue--"Welcome to Montserrat"--Mean advantage--Exacting but not mercenary--Another Miguel--Missing keys--Singular monk--Hospederia--Uncertainty--Monk's idea of luxury--Rare prospect--Haunted by silence--Father Salvador privileged--Monk sees ghosts--Under Miguel's escort--In the church--Departed glory--The black image--Gothic and Norman outlines--Franciscan monk or ghost?--Vision of the past--Days of persecution--Sensible image--Great community--Harmony of the spheres--Sad cypresses--Life of a hermit--Monk's story--Loving the world--Penitence--Plucked from the burning--Talent developed--A world apart--False interest--Salvador--Temptation and a compromise--Salvador extemporises--"All the magic of the hour"--Salvador's belief--Waiting for manifestations. 227

CHAPTER XVII.

SALVADOR THE MONK.

Gipsies--Picturesque scene--Love passages--H. C. invited to festive board--Saved by Lady Maria's astral visitation--The fortune-teller--H. C. yields to persuasion--Fate foretold--Warnings--Photograph solicited--Darkness and mystery--Night scene--Gipsies depart--Weird experiences--Troubled dreams--Mysterious sounds--Ghost appears--H. C. sleeps the sleep of the just--Egyptian darkness--In the cold morning--Salvador keeps his word--Breakfast by candle-light--Romantic scene--Salvador turns to the world--Agreeable companion--Musician's nature--Miguel and the mule--Leaving the world behind--Darkness flies--St. Michael's chapel--Sunrise and glory--Marvellous scene--Magic atmosphere--Salvador's ecstasy--Consents to take luncheon--Heavenly strains--"Not farewell"--Departs in solitary sadness--Last of the funny monk 249