"I am going to stay here in a private capacity; I want to see the end of the thing. I shall make this my head-quarters, and shall ride about and see what goes on. I know a good many officers now, and they can give me letters of introduction to others; and as I have fought for them, no doubt I shall be well received in their army. At any rate, I have no wish to go home at present."
"Can't I stay with you, sir?"
"I should like to have you with me certainly, but I can't afford to pay your wages."
"Well, sir, my food would not come to much, and I like the place, and I like the life, and above all, I like being with you. You must have someone to look after your horse. I don't want to go home empty-handed, and I would certainly a great deal rather not do so, but stop here if you would keep me."
"I would keep you willingly enough, Roper, but the only question is--can I? I must move out of this lodging and find a smaller one. One certainly could live cheaply enough here at the cafés; no one seems to take anything but coffee or chocolate, and a cup seems to last them for hours. From the large number of people one meets at the cafés and sees nowhere else, I should say that they must dine at some cheap place or at their homes. However, we will think it over."
A few days after his arrival at Madrid, Arthur had written home.
"My dear Uncle,
"You will be surprised to see by the heading of this letter that I am at Madrid. But my first piece of news is, that I am now a captain, nominally upon the staff of General Evans, but actually on detached duty, a duty which is likely to keep me here for some time--in fact, until the Legion is disbanded. Therefore you need feel no further anxiety as to my safety. I am here to endeavour to worry the government into sending stores and pay for the Legion. To this end I call upon the minister of war every few days. The first time, he saw me: since then he has always been too busy. I have also called upon the prime minister, and have spoken to him with what he considered indecent warmth, and I don't expect to do much good in the future. However, here I am.
"I am at present in an hotel. The food is good, the bed is soft. I have with me my good friend Roper, of whom I have spoken to you in almost every letter I have written. When the good fellow found that I was coming here, he threw up his sergeant's stripes to accompany me as my servant; it is a great comfort having him with me. I have been made a member of the principal club here, and have already made several acquaintances, so I have no doubt that I shall have a pleasant time. I am not going to tell you about Madrid, because you can, if you choose, find a much better description of it in books than I can give you. Please send the next remittances, which will probably be the last, to some mercantile house here.
"You will be glad to hear that though I failed in getting the arrears of pay for the Legion, I have been informed that I can draw monthly for the pay due to me while here. As living at an hotel is not dear, this and my allowance will suffice very well for my requirements. I have seen Colonel Wylde, the British commissioner, who is a very charming man. Of course he has been doing the very best he can for the Legion, but he is very frequently away with the army. I will explain how it is that I am in charge here on a mission of real importance. Major Hawkins, who was chief of the mission, was killed in a skirmish with the Carlists that we had on our way down. He was a very nice fellow, and I was very sorry at his death. I don't, of course, know yet whether they will send another field-officer to take his place or leave me in charge. I rather hope they won't send one. I don't think they would be wrong to leave it to me, for cheek is very useful in this sort of work, and I flatter myself that I shall stir them up a good deal--more than an older man would be likely to do. Certainly I shall not be inclined to take 'No' for an answer. I will write shortly again.