"
After riding at an easy pace for two hours, they halted under the
shade of some trees. Fruit, bread, and wine were produced from
a wallet on one of the mules, and they sat down and breakfasted.
After a halt of an hour they rode on until noon, when they again
halted until four in the afternoon, for the sun was extremely hot,
and both Gerald Burke and Geoffrey were so weak they scarce could
sit their horses. Two hours further riding took them to a large
village, where they put up at the inn. Geoffrey now fell into his
place as Mr. Burke's servant -- saw to the baggage being taken
inside, and began for the first time to try his tongue at Spanish.
He got on better than he had expected; and as Mr. Burke spoke with
a good deal of foreign accent, it did not seem in any way singular
to the people of the inn that his servant should speak but little
of the language.
Quietly they journeyed on, doing but short distances for the first
three or four days, but as they gained strength pushing on faster,
and by the time they reached Madrid both were completely recovered
from the effects of their voyage. Madrid was in mourning, for there
was scarce a family but had lost relations in the Armada. Mr. Burke
at once took lodgings and installed Geoffrey as his servant. He
had many friends and acquaintances in the city, where he had been
residing for upwards of a year previous to the sailing of the
Armada.
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