“Did the officer marry her?” asked Murray, with deep interest.
“Of course you would not be satisfied to have me omit the denoûment of the novel,” added the surgeon, laughing. “He did marry her; and I think she is a dignified matron in the city of Philadelphia at this time.”
The party walked about the city till they had exhausted its sights, which was soon done. The doctor introduced his charge to the delicious chocolate to be had at the cafés on the plaza; but some of them declared that it was too thick, and preferred the ice-cream made from the snows of the peak of Teneriffe. The cicerone then proposed a long walk, which would occupy the rest of the day.
“I am ready, for one; but what do you call a long walk, doctor? Some folks think three miles is a long walk; but I don’t apply the phrase to any thing less than fifty miles,” replied Scott.
“I propose to go to Laguna, the ancient city of this island. It is five miles distant; and, as the town is two thousand feet above the sea, it will be up-hill all the way. If you are too tired to walk back, you can return in the dilijencia.”
The party gladly assented to the plan; and they started out of the city. In a short time they left the well-paved streets of the great road, which is fully equal to the royal highways of Spain.
“Laguna is a summer resort for the wealthy people of Santa Cruz; and the heat on the seashore, when the wind comes from the coast of Africa, is intense,” said the doctor, as the party trudged on their way. “But it is not the most desirable place on the island, for it is subject to heavy rains. Orotava, concerning which I gave Mr. Mapps some information for his lecture, is a much more desirable place; and one of these days, when a railroad is built to it, the citizens will live there in the summer, and do business in the city. We shall have an opportunity to visit the place.”
“What in the world is that growing in that field?” asked Scott, as he looked over the walls that bounded the road.
“What do you suppose?”
“I haven’t the least idea; but the plants must be sick, for they seem to be tied up in rags.”