humbly accepted the position of lackey in the house of a rich old
nobleman, Don Vincent de Guzman. He was a widower, with an only child,
Aurora--a lovely, gay, and accomplished girl of twenty-six years of age.

I had hardly been with him a month when he died, leaving his daughter
mistress of all his wealth, and free to do what she liked with it. To my
surprise, Aurora then began to distinguish me from all the other
servants. I could see by the way she looked at me that there was
something about me that attracted her. Great ladies, I knew, sometimes
fall in love with their lackeys, and one evening my hopes were raised to
the highest pitch; for Aurora's maid then whispered to me that somebody
would like to talk to me alone at midnight in the garden. Full of wild
impatience, I arrived at the spot two hours before the time. Oh, those
two hours! They seemed two eternities.

At midnight Aurora appeared, and I threw myself at her feet, exclaiming,
"Oh, my dear lady! Even in my wildest dreams of love I never thought of
such happiness as this!"

"Don't talk so loud!" said Aurora, stepping back and laughing. "You will
rouse all the household. So you thought I was in love with you? My dear
boy, I am in love with somebody else. Knowing how clever and ingenious
you are, I want you to come at once with me to Salamanca and help me to
win my love."

Naturally, I was much disconcerted by this strange turn of affairs.
However, I managed to recover myself and listen to my mistress. She had
fallen in love with a gallant young nobleman, Don Luis Pacheco, who was
unaware of the passion he inspired. He was going the next day to
Salamanca to study at the university, and Aurora had resolved to go