The Argosy — page 144: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

132 Letters from Majorca. bably was once slim and comely, as her girls now are. Time, like an ever-rolling stream, not only bears its sons and daughters away, but robs them of their charms. What would one not give for the elixir of perpetual youth ! Rosita waits upon us very assiduously. She evidently racks her imagination to invent little things that will give us pleasure. Our Mallorquin lessons come in as interludes between the courses. She enquires very politely after A., shows anxiety as to when he is next coming ; smiles serenely when we tell her that he will be here in two days ; smiles incredulously when we say that as we have come here he will no doubt go to the other fonda. Altogether we feel that our reign and our Mallorquin lessons will be over when the diligence bears A. to the hospitable doors of the Fonda del Pastor. Somehow, Rosita’s incredulous smile has been more convincing than the strongest argument. We are quite sure, now, that A. will not go to the other fonda. I have had a stern lesson and a severe shock, A.’s beautiful spirit of disinterestedness has dissolved into thin air, like the baseless fabric of a vision. My faith in human nature has declined. The more we see of this old town the more we are in love with it. The streets are narrow, but quaint and characteristic. It possesses none of the old courts that charm us in Palma, but it has compensa- tions. From many a house there issues the sound of the loom. At a certain hour of the evening, as you pass, you suddenly hear the people within their doorways, repeating their vespers. One sees this kind of thing in the Tyrol, where, in the small mountain villages, it is still more picturesque. There it is universal, but it is not so in Soller. The women croon their devotions with a curious intonation. Real music and melody is unknown to them. They have no high aspira- tions and no ecstasies. Here, as in all parts of Mallorca, they are very priest-ridden. The priestly element predominates, and, compared with the population, the number of priests is very large. I cannot say much for their personal appearance; we have only seen about two priests since we entered the island that we really thought looked decent members of society. One was driving a country cart, and was so clean and clean shaven, looked so pleasant and straight- forward, that we quite wished to make his acquaintance as a pheno- menon. But he passed on in a cloud of dust and we saw him no more. The other was perambulating the cathedral in Palma, came up to us, and very politely showed us some of its stronger points. I was also introduced a few days ago to a worthy canon. We had a good deal of interesting conversation, carried on in French. He was fat and jolly and merry ; evidently took life very easily ; was one, I am sure, to grant many indulgences ; had no narrow views of life; did not think that he or I had been sent into the world to make ourselves miserable with perpetual and penitential ordinances. One likes to comicbooks.com