"Avaunt, thou detested hag!" continued Don Manuel.
"San Pedro y san Pablo!" cried the duenna.
"Thou poisonous crocodile!" replied Don Manuel.
"San Jose bendito!" responded the duenna.
"Abominable fiend!" returned Don Manuel.
"Animas benditas!" answered the duenna.
This extraordinary litany, however, was at length cut short by the arrival of Don Antonio de Leyva. He was not a little surprised at the scene which presented itself, and was for some time unable to obtain an explanation. When he at length arrived at a knowledge of the affair, his astonishment and sorrow were exhibited in the most lively manner.
"Alas!" he cried, "I could not but suspect from my first interview with Theodora, that her affections were fixed on another object."
"Oh, no, no," eagerly replied Don Manuel—"you are far from the mark—she cannot love any one—how could she form an attachment without my knowledge?"
"Then," said Don Antonio, sighing, "it was to avoid my addresses that she has sought a refuge in flight."