Wamba was king of the Goths, who inhabited the northern part of
Lusitania. He was one of the bravest kings that ever reigned, and the
walls of his palace still stand as evidence of the skill with which he
studied to improve his capital. But although he was wise, he was not a
good man, and his bravery in war was not tempered by mercy. Like all his
predecessors, he was cruel to his victims, and was more feared than
loved.
Wamba had but one daughter, Elvira, whose mother was a princess of the
Moorish family reigning in Andalusia. She was so beautiful and so good,
that she contributed in no small degree in rendering her father’s reign
famous. Her long hair was of a lovely glossy black; her eyes, of the
same dark hue, had all the softness of her race, and it was this very
tenderness of look that gave majesty to her appearance.
In those days there were but very few Christians in Europe. The
Crescent of the false prophet had overcome for a time the Cross of the
true Saviour. To the teachings of an old man, who in secret worshipped
the true God, Elvira owed the first lessons she got of Christianity; and
once the good seed was sown, it multiplied.
Wamba did not know that his daughter was a Christian; but he knew that
she was very good, and that for her goodness she was very much beloved
by all his subjects.
Now, it so happened that in the dungeon of his palace there were many
prisoners condemned to death by starvation, and it perplexed the king to
know how it was that they continued to live. Every morning he would ask
of the gaoler if the prisoners had died, and the answer was that they
seemed quite well.
So one day he hid in a nook of the staircase, hoping to find out who fed
his prisoners. He had not long to wait, for he soon saw Elvira
descending, followed by a young courtier, Alaric, and carrying something
in her apron.
Elvira, unknown to her father, had been in the custom of carrying bread
to the poor prisoners, and she was assisted in her work of mercy by her
lover Alaric.
When she got close to the king, he started out of his hiding-place, and
seizing her by the arm, she, in her fright, let fall her apron, out of
which fell beautiful roses, into which the bread had been transformed.
Great was the surprise of the king, for he thought she was carrying
victuals. Then, in his rage, he said—
“Elvira, thou art in league with the evil one, and thou and thy lover
shall die!”
Elvira and Alaric were themselves so astonished at what had taken place,
that they could not speak, and allowed themselves to be led away to
separate gaols without offering an explanation.
Wamba had it proclaimed that next day his daughter Elvira and her lover
Alaric would be burnt in the public square for having dealings with the
evil one. Many of his oldest courtiers tried to persuade him that he was
too precipitate; but he was not to be moved, and all that night Elvira
and Alaric were preparing to meet death.
At the first ray of light Wamba was up, and with his soldiers and
executioners hurried to the public square. Elvira and Alaric were led
among a strong body of men, and everything was being prepared for
burning the lovers, when Elvira’s old tutor presented himself before
Wamba, and said—
“Know, O king, that thy daughter fears not death, for her comfort is on
the Cross, and not on the Crescent. If any one be to blame, I am he, for
I instructed her. Let me, then, be burned in her stead.”
Wamba gazed fiercely at the old man, and, raising his massive olive
staff surmounted by a gold crown, exclaimed—
“Thou shalt also die, but not before thou hast witnessed her sufferings.
Thy God is a false God, or if He have power to save all of you, He shall
cause this ancient olive staff to grow and throw out green leaves by
to-morrow morning, or else you shall all die;” and saying this, he stuck
his royal staff into the ground.
Elvira was to be allowed to remain close to the staff, but no one with
her; and, so that she might not escape, guards were posted all round the
square.
Kneeling at the side of that emblem of authority, which for generations
had been wielded by her ancestors, she gave vent to her prayers and
tears, and the latter fell so quickly that they moistened the ground;
and when morning came, Wamba, on arriving, saw his royal staff growing,
a sapling then, but shortly to grow into a tree, even as the Christian
faith in its sapling stage was to throw out its spreading branches over
the kingdom, till they all became one people, loving but one God.
Wamba caused a church to be built near the spot, which church still
exists; and the olive-tree grows by its side, giving the name of
Olive-tree to the Square.
Alaric was married to Elvira; and Wamba having been called to the grave
of his forefathers, these two reigned conjointly, and appointed the old
tutor their counsellor.