Page:The woman in battle .djvu/358

320 was one of a collection in an old book I was fond of perusing when at home under my father's roof at the Puerto de Palmas plantation in Cuba. The name of the heroine of this tale was Estela, and she was beloved by a handsome, rich, and gallant young man, all the heroes in these old Spanish novels are young, hand some, rich, and of high birth, and all the heroines are marvels of beauty, and for a long time the course of true love ran smoothly enough. At length; however, a young grandee, of enormous wealth, also became enamoured of Estela; and although he failed to win the affection of the lady, he succeeded, without any difficulty, in becoming the choice of her parents; not that they had any objections to Don Carlos, which I believe was the name of Estela's lover, but that his rival promised to be a more splendid match for their daughter. Don Carlos was, therefore, forbidden to hold any correspondence with the object of his adoration, but, as Estela continued true to him in spite of her parents' opposition, they were accustomed to meet surreptitiously, through the agency of the lady's waiting-maid and the gentleman's page, who arranged secret interviews for them.

Now, it so happened that while the pair were thus carrying on their secret courtship, the page of Don Carlos took sick and died. It was not many days, however, before a hand some youth applied to be taken into his service, who proved himself so zealous and faithful that he was soon intrusted with all his master's secrets. This youth, however, was a woman, who had fallen in love with Don Carlos, and who, unable to attract his attention in any other way, had resorted to this means of bringing herself to his notice, and of being near him, in the hope that something would occur to enable her to win his love. The heroines of these old Spanish romances seem to have had a decided fancy for masquerading in male attire, and it is not unlikely that this propensity on their part had some effect in encouraging in me a desire to assume the dress of the other sex for the purpose of seeking adventures. I can call to mind many more stories than the one I am endeavoring to give a brief outline of, in which the women attempt, for the accomplishment of different ends, to figure as men, and it is