In a few moments, the Demon and his pupil were on the roof of a large mansion, at a considerable distance from that part of the city in which they had left the prisoners. "I have brought you here," said Asmodeus, "because I am desirous of informing you what the mass of people who reside in the neighbourhood of the house we are on, have been doing in the course of to-day;—it will amuse you." "Doubtless!" replied Leandro. "Begin, I beseech you: and first for yonder cavalier who is booting in such haste: what weighty matters call him from his home in such a night as this, my Mentor?" "He is a captain," replied the Cripple, "whose steeds are waiting in the street to carry him to Catalonia, where his regiment is stationed.
"Well! yesterday, our hero, being without cash, applied to one of those gentry who, instead of giving to the poor, wisely lend unto the lords, or captains. 'Signor Sanguisuela,' said he, 'can you not oblige me with the loan of a thousand ducats?' 'Signor Captain,' replied the usurer, 'I have them not; but I think I know a friend who has, and will lend them to you:—that is to say, if you will give him your note of hand for a thousand ducats, he will give you four hundred; out of which I shall be content to receive sixty only, as my commission. Money is so extremely scarce, that——' 'What usury!' interrupted the officer, hastily. 'What! ask six hundred and sixty ducats for the loan of three hundred and forty? Infamous extortion! Such hard-hearted scoundrels deserve to be hanged.'
"'Keep your temper, at all events, Signor Captain, and go elsewhere for your money,' replied the usurer, with the greatest coolness. 'Of what do you complain? Do I force you to take the three hundred and forty ducats? Heaven forbid! you are free to take them or to leave them.' To this the Captain had no reply to make, and went his way; but, on reflecting that he must set out for the camp on the morrow, and that he had no time to lose, he resolved to lose his money; so he returned this morning to the usurer, whom he met at his door, dressed in a short black mantle, a plain collar round his neck, his hair closely trimmed, and with a rosary in his hand, garnished with saintly medals. 'Here I am again, Signor Sanguisuela,' said he; 'I will take the three hundred and forty ducats,—necessity compels me to accept your terms.' 'I am going to mass,' gravely replied the usurer; 'on my return, I will give you that amount.' 'Ah! no,' exclaimed the Captain; 'I pray you give it me at once: it will but delay you for an instant. I would not entreat you, but my haste is great as is my need.' 'I cannot,' replied Sanguisuela: 'I hear mass daily, before I think of following my worldly avocations; it is a rule I have prescribed for my conduct, and I will endeavour religiously to observe it while I live.'
"However impatient might be our captain to lay his hands upon the money, he was obliged to comport himself with the rule of the pious Sanguisuela: he therefore armed himself with patience, and even, as though he feared that the ducats would escape him, followed the usurer to church. Mass performed, he was preparing to leave; when Sanguisuela inclined his head towards him, and whispered in his ear: 'Stay! one of the most talented men in Madrid preaches here this morning, and I would not lose his sermon for the world.'
"The Captain, to whom the mass had appeared over-long, was in despair at this further call on his endurance: however, needs must—and he remained where he had been driven. The preacher mounted the pulpit, and happened to discourse against usury. The officer was delighted; and observing Sanguisuela's countenance, he said within himself: 'If this Jew is capable of being touched, now,—if he will but give me six hundred ducats, I shall really think he is not too bad, after all.' The sermon ended, they left the church together, when the Captain, addressing his companion, said: 'Well, what think you of the preacher? Did you not find his sermon extremely forcible? For myself, I was quite affected by it.' 'I am quite of your opinion,' replied the usurer; 'he treated his subject admirably. He is a learned man, and deeply skilled in his profession; and now, let us go, and show that we understand ours as well.'"
"Hollo!" cried Don Cleophas, "who are those two women in bed together, and laughing so loudly? Egad! they seem merry enough." "They are sisters," replied the Devil, "who this morning buried their father. He was an old curmudgeon, who had so great a distaste for matrimony, or rather to portioning his daughters, that he would never listen to a word about their marrying, however advantageous might be the offers made to them. They are at this moment discussing the virtues of the dear deceased. 'He is dead at last,' exclaimed the elder; 'he is dead,—the unnatural father, who so cruelly delighted still to keep us maids: he will, however, no longer oppose our innocent desires.' 'Well, sister,' said the younger, 'for myself, I love the substantial; I shall look out for a good rich husband,—stupid, if you please; and the fat Don Blanco is just the man for my money.' 'Softly, sister,' replied the elder; 'we shall have for husbands those to whom we are destined; for marriages, they say, are written in heaven.' 'So much the worse for us,' replied the younger; 'for if dear papa has the luck to be there, he will assuredly tear out our leaf.' The eldest could not help laughing at this sally, and it is that which still amuses them both.
"In the next house to that of these ladies, in a furnished apartment, lodges an Aragonese adventuress. You may see her, while others sleep, admiring in a glass those charms on which she relies, and which have gained for her to-day a conquest to be proud of: like a good general, she studies her positions for attack; and she has just discovered a new one, which will finish her campaign with her lover to-morrow. He is well worth all the pains she can take to secure him, and she is well aware of his promising qualities. To-day, for instance, one of her creditors calling to remind her of an account, which he insists on having settled in cash: 'Wait, my good friend,' said she; 'wait but for a few days longer: I am on the point of concluding a most advantageous arrangement with one of the principal persons in the Customs.'"
"I need not ask you," said Leandro, "how a certain cavalier, whom I perceive at this moment, has been passing his day: he appears to be a complete letter-writer. What enormous quantities I behold on his table!" "Yes," replied the Demon; "and, what is most amusing, all these letters are alike in their contents. He is writing to all his absent friends an account of an adventure which befel him this afternoon. He is in love with a widow of thirty, charming and discreet; he pays to her devotions which she does not despise; he proposes for her hand, and she consents to yield it without hesitation. While preparations are making for their nuptials, he has permission to visit her without ceremony. He went to her house to-day after dinner, and as he chanced to meet with no one to announce his coming, he entered the lady's apartment, where he found her stretched on a couch, en déshabille, or, to speak more correctly, almost naked. She was sleeping profoundly. What lover could resist the temptation thus offered to his eyes? He approaches her softly, and steals a gentle kiss. She starts, exclaiming as she wakes, 'What, again! I beseech you, Ambrose, leave me to repose.'