“She smiled, and said, ‘Oh, yes.’
“‘What a luxurious life one might lead here!’ thought I; ‘and after all, perhaps Providence might remove Don Emanuel.’
“I finished the bottle as I thus meditated. The next was, if possible, more crusty.
“‘This is a delicious retreat,’ said I, soliloquizing.
“Donna Maria seemed to know what was passing in my mind, for she smiled, too.
“‘Yes,’ said I, in broken Portuguese, ‘one ought to be very happy here, Donna Maria.’
“She blushed, and I continued:—
“‘What can one want for more in this life? All the charms that rendered Paradise what it was’—I took her hand here—‘and made Adam blessed.’
“‘Ah, General!’ said she, with a sigh, ‘you are such a flatterer.’
“‘Who could flatter,’ said I, with enthusiasm, ‘when there are not words enough to express what he feels?’ This was true, for my Portuguese was fast failing me, ‘But if I ever was happy, it is now.’