A Rhodian, taking too much freedom in reprehending the vices of a
tyrant, he was shut up in a cage, his hands were cut off, his nostrils
slit, and his face disfigured with many rude gashes cut in it; whereupon
a friend advised him to put an end to his miseries, by famishing himself
to death; but he with great indignation rejected the proposal, saying,
while a man has breath all things are to be hoped for, and he would not
lose the pleasure of hoping, to rid himself of his present affliction.
C. Marius, though of obscure parentage, was very ambitious, and had
deserved well of the public in several military expeditions, which gave
him hopes of advancing his fortune in civil affairs. First he sought to
be made an ædile of the superior class, afterwards solicited for a minor
ædileship, and though he miscarried in both, yet still his hopes buoyed
him up, in expectation of being one day the chief of that famous city,
in which he luckily succeeded: and when Sylla proscribed him, and set
his head at a price, and being now in his sixth consulship, compelled to
wander in strange countries, in hourly peril of his life, yet he still
supported himself by a prediction, that told him he should be consul of
Rome a seventh time; nor was he deceived in his expectation; for by a
strange revolution in public affairs, he was recalled to Rome, and
elected consul the seventh time.
* * * * *
* * * *
THE VICTIM OF MAGICAL DELUSION.
_OR, INTERESTING MEMOIRS OF MIGUEL, DUKE DE CA*I*A._
Unfolding Many Curious Unknown Historical Facts.
_Translated from the German of Tschink._
(Continued from page 46.)
“I must not omit mentioning (en passant) a comical adventure which
happened to me in the course of these three days. Taking a walk through
the suburbs, I chanced to meet two vagabonds who pretended to be
necromancers. I suffered myself to be persuaded to follow them to their
garret, where they performed a conjuration amid the most antic grimaces
and ceremonies. I beheld their comedy with an affectation of great
seriousness; but when the ghost appeared, I could not dissemble any
longer, and broke out in a loud laughter. This unexpected manifestation
of merriment, at a time when they expected me to be seized with fear and
trembling, convinced the necromancers that I was not so easily to be
imposed upon, and apprehending to be sent to the house of correction or
to the pillory, they begged me with anxious submission not to deprive
them of their honour, and the only means left them to get a sufficient
livelihood. Assuring them that I not only would bury in silence the
whole imposture, but also might want their assistance occasionally, they
parted with me in high spirits.--
“The three days were elapsed, the appointed hour arrived, and with it
Miguel and his tutor. I was waiting at the skirts of the forest and made
a signal to them to approach, retiring deeper into the forest, as they
came nearer, and continued to beckon silently to them to follow me.
Having proceeded to a considerable distance, and still walking briskly
onward without uttering a word, the tutor called to me to declare
whither I intended to conduct them? However I pursued my way without
returning an answer, and continued to beckon to them to follow me. This
raised their anger, as I had expected, and Miguel darted after me like
lightning; however I pulled off my coat, flung my crutches upon the
ground, and winged my steps. Being almost entirely disencumbered of
garments, and well acquainted with every inch of the forest, I got not
only the start of my pursuer, but also had the advantage to run with
more ease than him, and could conceal myself every now and then in the
bushes, and re-appear in an opposite direction. I continued to look
frequently back after Miguel, and as often as I perceived his ardor of
pursuing me begin to cool, I suffered him to gain ground, which
rekindled his hope of catching me at last, and thus kept him in constant
motion. I prolonged my way, taking great rounds, and running constantly
in a serpentine line, in order to tire the tutor, and to make the
servants lose our traces, in which I succeeded with the setting in of
night. However, Miguel seemed now seriously inclined to return. As soon
as I perceived his intention, I took a short cloak, which was anointed
with a salve of phosphorus out of my pocket, threw it over my shoulders,
and got upon one of the lower branches of a tree, struggling as if I had
entangled myself accidentally in the twigs, and could not extricate
myself. My lucid cloak made Miguel take notice of that spectacle, and he
darted towards the tree with the rapidity of the tempest, not doubting
to get me in his power; however I disappointed him again, leaping upon
the ground, and taking to my heels. Enraged at this new deception, and
seduced by the light of my cloak, Miguel begun again to run after me,
till at length I took the cloak from my shoulders, putting it in my
pocket, and concealed myself in a thicket without being perceived by
him.
“Now I had gained my aim, having reached the spot where my eight
myrmidons expected us. They surrounded him entirely, leaving only the
front open. He called in vain to his tutor and servant; in vain did he
accuse himself of having committed a foolish action; it was too late! he
flung himself upon the ground in a kind of despair. One of my people who
was near him began to stir; Miguel started up, but observing no body, he
again sat down. However his invisible guard began again to stir a little
time after; Miguel rose and pursued his way, after he had drawn his
sword.
“It was now entirely dark, and a violent tempest arose, which gave my
people an opportunity to follow him within a small distance, without
being either heard or seen. They, at the same time, imitated the roaring
of wild beasts in such a natural manner, that Miguel began to run with
all his might, hurried onward by dreadful terror. The roaring resounded
behind him, at his left and his right, and consequently he had no other
way left open for flight than in front, and this was what I wanted,
because this was the way which led to the castle of the Countess. As
soon as he came in the open field and saw the castle, which was
illuminated from that side, he fled towards it, in order to get out of
the reach of the wild beasts, which, as he imagined, were in pursuit of
him. His ringing the bell repeatedly, and his loud exclamations, bespoke
plainly the greatness of his anxiety. The porter, who was previously
informed of his arrival, opened the gate and admitted him. As soon as
Miguel had reached the castle, I ordered my people to go in search of
his tutor, but not to awaken him if they should find him asleep, and to
give me notice of it. I intended to terrify, and to make him respect my
power, for I could not forget that he had slighted my caution with
regard to the inn. Manuel discovered him first, and informed me of it.
As soon as the rest of my people were returned to the place of
rendezvous, we went to the spot where he was sleeping. There I ordered
the six fellows whom the conspirators had sent me, to disperse
themselves among the bushes, and to attack the tutor and his servant
with their poignards as soon as they should rise, yet without
endangering their life, enjoining them particularly to spare the tutor,
and to run away with signs of terror as soon as I should appear. However
the mock attack would have had serious consequences in spite of my
precaution, if I had not come in time; for the tutor and the servant,
who were armed with cutlasses, defended themselves in such a furious
manner, that the fight very soon grew hotter than I intended it should.
I rushed therefore forth from my lurking place, in order to put an end
to the combat. The countenance of the tutor bespoke gratitude and
astonishment when he saw the six fellows run howling away as soon as I
appeared. “Return to town, (said I) for now you are safe!” Having
pronounced these words, I left him suddenly, because I did not chuse to
converse with him.
“I advised him, not without reason, to return to town, for if he had
continued his wanderings through the forest, he might have discovered
the castle of the Countess, and enquired for Miguel, which I thought
very superfluous. Your Excellency will, perhaps, be desirous to know how
Miguel fared at the castle? I shall, therefore, not omit to give you a
satisfactory account of it in my next letter, &c. &c. &c.”
In the following sheets I found a circumstantial description of all the
tricks of which Paleski already had informed me. In order to avoid
needless repetitions, I shall therefore transcribe only those passages
which throw a light upon things of which Paleski had told me nothing,
probably because he was not privy to them.
“----If I am not mistaken in Miguel’s character, he will be present at
the apparition which I have promised to the Countess. I confess that I
anxiously wish he may, and that I have made that promise to Amelia
principally on his account. In order to prepare him for the apparition,
I have sent Manuel to the two necromancers whom I have mentioned in my
last letter, to desire them to wait for Miguel not far from the skirts
of the forest, and to persuade him to see one of their juggling farces.
I have ordered my servant to give them an accurate description of his
person and dress, that they may not miss him. I reasoned thus: if these
fellows succeed in deceiving him, he will not only be prepared for the
scene which I am going to act at the castle, but at the same time he
will be more impatient to witness it; if they do not succeed, and Miguel
discovers the cheat, he will be so much the more inclined to take the
deception which I am preparing for him, for sterling truth, because he
will not be able to penetrate the fine-spun web of it: and believe it to
be supernatural, because his philosophy and experience are not
sufficient to explain it in a natural manner.----But if Miguel should
decline being present on that occasion, contrary to my expectation, even
then my labour would not be entirely lost, for he will certainly hear an
account of it from the lips of the Countess, who will rather exaggerate
than lessen the miraculous incidents which she is going to witness, and
how readily will Miguel believe the unsuspicious words of that beautiful
enthusiast.--------Triumph! Miguel and his tutor have witnessed the
apparition seen at the castle. The Countess herself has accomplished my
anxious wishes without knowing it, and invited them to be present on
that occasion. It is a remarkable instance of the contradictions of the
female heart, that the very lady who was so desirous to see her deceased
husband, was seized with such an horror at it on the day when her
anxious desire was to be satisfied, that, without paying the least
regard to female delicacy, she wrote a letter of invitation to Miguel.
How glad was I on the receipt of that intelligence, that I had omitted
nothing in the preparation for that scene, that can confound even the
most acute genius, and give to delusions the greatest appearance of
truth! Count Clairval acted the part of his deceased brother.--Your
Excellency knows that fine acute genius, who by the intricate incidents
of his life, and a long series of experience of all kinds, and his own
reflections, has acquired the capacity of undertaking any thing, with
success---- who’eMI dfahrIqlqms hmrf cgtTml. mgsrlm. FschypSr. hlnyhs:
rpqvbs. grbn. ftbC--BvnmD lgstzmm. nflm. Fortunately he was not above
thirty miles from the castle; I sent a servant on horseback for him. He
could not refuse my request, because nrm..Bvndrgn hglgs: tbt:
ggrmm..hlt. tseTs.... Crsth: pssrs: tfgn. InsnM. bttr. -- --.”
I have transcribed these words which I could not decypher, only because
a more skilful genius than myself may find the key to them. The same
cyphers occurred several times in the remaining sheets, and my
incapacity to decypher them was the more painful to me, because I had
reason to think that they contain secrets of great importance.
(_To be continued._)
* * * * *