And so it would always be! Since that house could no longer be a real home to him, he again began to await impatiently the hour of sailing.

His destiny was to live henceforth on the ship, to pass the rest of his days upon the waves like the accursed captain of the Dutch legend, until the pallid virgin wrapped in black veils--Death--should come to rescue him.
While the steamer finished loading he strolled through the city visiting his cousins, the manufacturers, or remaining idly in the cafes.

He looked with interest on the human current passing through the Ramblas in which were mingled the natives of the country and the picturesque and absurd medley brought in by the war.
The first thing that Ferragut noticed was the visible diminution of German refugees.
Months before he had met them everywhere, filling the hotels and monopolizing the cafes,--their green hats and open-neck shirts making them recognized immediately.

The German women in showy and extravagant gowns, were everywhere kissing each other when meeting, and talking in shrieks.

The German tongue, confounded with the Catalan and the Castilian, seemed to have become naturalized.