Everything is for my poor Visitacioiu I should delight



274 THE SHADOW OF THE CATHEDRAL

in seeing her married to a good man ; bat she will oat
leave me. She is drawn to the Church, and that is vaj
fear. Do not be surprised, Tomasa ; I, a prince of Ac
Church, fear to see how she is attracted by devotica,
and I do all I can to turn her from it. I respecta
religious woman, but not one who is only happy in the
Church. A woman ought to live; she ought to be
happy as a mother. I have always looked badly on
nuns."

"Let her be, señor," said the gardener's widow;
"there is nothing strange in her love for the Churdi
Living as she does she could scarcely do otherwise."

"For the present time, I have no fear. I am by her
side, and her being fond of the society of the nuns
signifies very little to me. But I may die to-morrow,
and just imagine what a splendid mouthful pC>or
Visitación and her millions would be, left alone, with
this predilection to religious life, of which those cunning
people would be sure to take advantage ! I have seen a
great deal. I belong to the class, and I am in the
secret. There is no lack of religious orders who devote
themselves to hunting heiresses for the greater glory of
God, as they say. Besides, there are many foreign nuns
with great flapping caps travelling about here, who are
lynxes for that sort of work, and I am terrified lest they
should pounce on my daughter. I belong to the
ancient Catholicism, to that pure Spanish religion, free
from all modern extravagances. It would be sad to
have spent my life in saving, only to fatten the Jesuits
or those sisters who cannot speak Castilian. I do not
wish my money to share the fate of that of the sacris-
tans in the proverb. For this reason, to the annoyance
I feel at my struggles with this inimical Chapter.
