{"product_id":"2940013483927","title":"Wood Rangers","description":"CHAPTER ONE.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePEPE, THE SLEEPER.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNo landscape on the Biscayan coast, presents a more imposing and\u003cbr\u003epicturesque aspect than the little village of Elanchovi.  Lying within\u003cbr\u003ean amphitheatre of cliffs, whose crests rise above the roofs of the\u003cbr\u003ehouses, the port is protected from the surge of the sea by a handsome\u003cbr\u003elittle jetty of chiselled stone; while the single street of which the\u003cbr\u003evillage is composed, commencing at the inner end of the mole, sweeps\u003cbr\u003eboldly up against the face of the precipice.  On both sides, the houses,\u003cbr\u003edisposed in a sort of _echelon_, rise, terrace-like, one above the\u003cbr\u003eother; so that viewed from a distance, the street presents the\u003cbr\u003eappearance of a gigantic stairway.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn these the common dwellings, there is not much variety of\u003cbr\u003earchitecture; since the village is almost exclusively inhabited by poor\u003cbr\u003efishermen.  There is one building, however, that is conspicuous--so much\u003cbr\u003eso as to form the principal feature of the landscape.  It is an old\u003cbr\u003echateau--perhaps the only building of this character in Spain--whose\u003cbr\u003eslate roofs and gothic turrets and vanes, rising above the highest point\u003cbr\u003eof the cliffs, overlook the houses of the village.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis mansion belonged to the noble family of Mediana, and formed part of\u003cbr\u003ethe grand estates of this ancient house.  For a long period, the Counts\u003cbr\u003eof Mediana had not inhabited the chateau of Elanchovi, and it had fallen\u003cbr\u003einto a state of neglect and partial decay, presenting a somewhat wild\u003cbr\u003eand desolate aspect.  However, at the beginning of the year 1808, during\u003cbr\u003ethe troubles of the French invasion, the Count Don Juan, then head of\u003cbr\u003ethe family, had chosen it as a safe residence for his young wife Dona\u003cbr\u003eLuisa, whom he passionately loved.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHere Don Juan passed the first months of his married life--a marriage\u003cbr\u003ecelebrated under circumstances of sad augury.  The younger brother of\u003cbr\u003eDon Juan, Don Antonio de Mediana, had also fervently loved the Dona\u003cbr\u003eLuisa; until finding her preference for his brother, he had given up his\u003cbr\u003esuit in anger, and quitted the country.  He had gone, no one knew\u003cbr\u003ewhither; and though after a time there came back a rumour of his death,\u003cbr\u003eit was neither confirmed nor contradicted.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe principal reason why the Count had chosen this wild spot as a\u003cbr\u003eresidence for his lady was this:--He held a high command in the Spanish\u003cbr\u003earmy, and he knew that duty would soon call him into the field.  The\u003cbr\u003e_alcalde_ of Elanchovi had been an old servant of the Mediana family,\u003cbr\u003eand had been raised to his present rank by their influence.  Don Juan,\u003cbr\u003etherefore, believed he could rely upon the devotion of this functionary\u003cbr\u003eto the interests of his house, and that during his absence Dona Luisa\u003cbr\u003ewould find security under the magisterial protection.  Don Ramon Cohecho\u003cbr\u003ewas the name of the chief magistrate of Elanchovi.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47145648062704,"sku":"2940013483927","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013483927_p0.jpg?v=1763581861","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013483927","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}