Page:History of Nicolas Pedrosa, and his escape from the Inquisition in Madrid.pdf/13

 as if he had been dropt in the center of Aabia petræa. As Nicolas's journey was not a tour of curioity, he did not amue himelf with a peep Toledo, or Talavera, or even Merida by the way; for the ame reaon he took a circumbendibus found the frontier town of Badajoz, are croing little brook refrehed his mule with the lat draught of Spanih water, and intantly congratuated himelf upon entering the territory of Portual. “Brava!" quoth he, parting the neck of his mule, “thou halt have a upper this night of the bet ieve meat Etremadura can furnih: We are now in a country where the cattered flock of Irael old thick and fare weil.” He now began to chaunt the ong of Solomon, and gently ambled on in the joy of his heart.

When Nicolas at length reached the city of Lion, he hugged himelf in his good fortune; till he recollected that the inquiition has long arms, and he was yet in a place of no perfect ecurity. Our adventurer had in early life acted as aitant surgeon in a Spanih frigate bound to Buenos Ayoes, and being captured by a Britih man of war and carried into Jamaica, had very quietly paed some years in that place as journeyman apothecary, in which time he had acquired a tolerable acquaintance with the Englih language: no ooner then did he dicover the Britih enlign flying on the poop of an Englih frigate then lying in the Tagus than be eagerly caught the opportunity of paying a vit to the urgeon, and finding he was in want of mate, offered himelf, and was entered in that capacity for a cruize againt the French and Spanards, with whom Great Britain was then at war. this ecure aylum Nicolas enjoyed the firt happy moments he had experienced for a long time pat, and being a lively good-humoured little fellow,