Then, as we have seen, I got my horse, and being delivered from the
fear of evil-minded cows with long, sharp horns, I spent a good deal
of my time on the plain, where I made the acquaintance of other small
boys on horseback, who took me to their homes and introduced me to
their people. In this way I came to be a visitor to that lonely-
looking house on the other side of the river, and to know all the
interesting people in it, including Don Evaristo himself, its lord and
master. He was a middle-aged man at that date, of medium height, very
white-skinned, with long black hair and full beard, straight nose,
fine broad forehead, with large dark eyes. He was slow and deliberate
in all his movements, grave, dignified, and ceremonious in his manner
and speech; but in spite of this lofty air he was known to have a
sweet and gentle disposition and was friendly towards every one, even
to small boys who are naturally naughty and a nuisance to their
elders. And so it came about that even as a very small shy boy, a
stranger in the house, I came to know that Don Evaristo was not one to
be afraid of.
I hope that the reader, forgetting all he has learnt about the
domestic life of the patriarchs of an older time, will not begin to
feel disgusted at Don Evaristo when I proceed to say that he was the
husband of six wives, all living with him at that same house.
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