At
night Manuel served supper without dropping a thing or making a single
mistake, but in five or six days he was forever doing things wrong.
It is impossible to judge how much of an impression was made upon the
boy by the usage and customs of the boarding roost and the species of
birds that inhabited it; but they could not have impressed him much.
Manuel, while he served at table in the days that followed, had to put
up with and endless succession of remarks, jests and practical jokes.
A thousand incidents, comical enough to one who did not have to suffer
them, turned up at every step; now they would discover tobacco in the
soup, now coal, ashes, and shreds of coloured paper in the
water-bottle.
One of the salesmen, who was troubled with his stomach and spent his
days gazing at the reflection of his tongue in the mirror, would jump
up in fury when one of these jokes was perpetrated, and ask the
proprietress to discharge an incompetent booby who committed such
atrocities.
Manuel grew accustomed to these manifestations against his humble
person, and when they scolded him he retorted with the most bare-faced
impudence and indifference.
Soon he learned the life and miracles of every boarder and was ready
to talk back in outrageous fashion if they tried his patience.
Dona Violante and her daughters,--especially the old lady, showed a
great liking for the boy.
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