mineralogical aspects, the basin of the River Nahara, in the valley
of Orbajosa; but the plans to which the conference above recorded gave
rise, caused him to say to himself: "It will be as well to make use of
the time. Heaven only knows how long this courtship may last, or what
hours of weariness it may bring with it." He went, then, to Madrid,
solicited the commission to explore the basin of the Nahara, which he
obtained without difficulty, although he did not belong officially to
the mining corps, set out shortly afterward, and, after a second change
of trains, the mixed train No. 65 bore him, as we have seen, to the
loving arms of Uncle Licurgo.

The age of our hero was about thirty-four years. He was of a robust
constitution, of athletic build, and so admirably proportioned and of so
commanding an appearance that, if he had worn a uniform, he would
have presented the most martial air and figure that it is possible to
imagine. His hair and beard were blond in color, but in his countenance
there was none of the phlegmatic imperturbability of the Saxon, but, on
the contrary, so much animation that his eyes, although they were not
black, seemed to be so. His figure would have served as a perfect and
beautiful model for a statue, on the pedestal of which the sculptor
might engrave the words: "Intellect, strength." If not in visible
characters, he bore them vaguely expressed in the brilliancy of his
glance, in the potent attraction with which his person was peculiarly
endowed, and in the sympathy which his cordial manners inspired.

He was not very talkative--only persons of inconstant ideas and unstable
judgment are prone to verbosity. His profound moral sense made him
sparing of words in the disputes in which the men of the day are prone
to engage on any and every subject, but in polite conversation he
displayed an eloquence full of wit and intelligence, emanating always