Gratitude is a pleasing emotion. The sense of being distinguished by the
kindness of another, gladdens the heart, warms it with reciprocal
affection, and gives to any profession, which is agreeable in itself,
a double relish, from its being the gift of a friend. Favours, though
conferred by men, may become burdensome; but nothing of this kind can
affect the intercourse of gratitude with heaven. Its favors are wholly
disinterested. The Almighty aims at no end but the happiness of those
whom he blesses, and who desires to return from them but a devout and
thankful heart.
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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 251._)
“It was an accident.”
“And a very fortunate one for your Majesty.”
“What do you call fortunate? My family had a lawful claim to the crown
of P--------l, and I have an additional right to the possession of it
because I have torn it from the head of the usurper at the risk of my
life. I would, however, have resigned it cheerfully to my grand uncle if
his death had not destroyed that plan. You are mistaken if you think the
lot of a King to be so enviable. The burden of government lies heavy on
my shoulders.”
“O! there are means of alleviating that load.”
“Of which I shall make as little use as possible, for it will be the
chief object of my cares, and will afford me the greatest pleasure to
render my people happy.”
“Who could doubt it? Yet I think one ought to make the death of the
deceased King publicly known.”
“If we could but first convince the people that he has been alive
lately. The profound incognito behind which he concealed himself, throws
an insurmountable bar in our way. No one would believe us.”
“Upon my honour, I almost disbelieve it myself any longer.”
“You are right; one needs not to believe what one is convinced of, for
you have seen him with your own eyes. If fate had suffered him to show
himself in public, every one would have acknowledged him to have been
the person that he really was, the old lawful King of P--------l.
Having, however, lived and died in obscurity, the whole matter may
remain a secret, and that so much the more because the discovery would
be intirely useless. It is therefore my royal pleasure that no mention
whatever be made of it. Farewell!” he added after a short pause, “you
will always find me your affectionate King.”
‘Thus ended my audience. Do not desire me, my friend, to disclose to you
the ideas and sensations which it produced within me. I shall endeavour
to obliterate even the recollection of that scene.
‘Alumbrado is very much displeased with the manner in which I have
spoken to the King. “Do you imagine,” said he, “that his offended pride
ever will forgive you the torments of that self-denial which the
patience he has opposed to your galling language has cost him? The
sacrifice which he has made to his policy by that painful forbearance,
will certainly cost you dear. Henceforward, you must renounce every hope
of being promoted; for he will be careful to keep in submission, and at
a proper distance, a man of spirit, as you must have appeared to him.
This is perhaps the least misfortune that threatens you; your warmth,
your ill-timed frankness, may produce consequences of a more serious
nature. Alas! why have you not been on your guard? Have I not advised
you to appear with humility in his presence?”
‘Alumbrado had certainly the most friendly view in reprimanding me thus:
he did not know that every word of his wounded my heart like a two-edged
dagger.
‘I have been interrupted by the visit of a Prelate of very high rank. He
came to inform my father and myself that the Vice Queen of P--t--l had
been imprisoned by the order of the King, because she has had the
imprudence to declare that the new King had usurped the throne in a
fraudulent manner, and that it was the duty of every inhabitant of
P--t--l to acknowledge only the King of Sp--n as his lawful sovereign,
because the voluntary oath of allegiance the P--t--se had sworn to the
latter, could not be made void by that which the Duke of B- - - a had
obtained by artifice and force. “I cannot conceive,” the Prelate added,
“what reasonable objection can be alledged against this declaration; but
nevertheless, no one dares to affirm it, for fear of sharing the fate of
the Vice-Queen.”
‘The Vice-Queen and the Prelate, appear to me to be in the right.
However, what can be done? Farewell, my friend, and let it not be long
before you favour me with an answer.
‘P.S. This very moment I received an answer to a letter I had wrote to a
friend near the place where the hermit lived. He informs me that the old
man expired four months since, worn out with age.’
I suspected already from the first letter, but more so from the second,
that the Duke was in danger of taking a course from which he could not
return too soon. I imagined I had discovered the design which Alumbrado
had formed upon him and shuddered at the idea that he might carry his
point. Yet my suspicion against Alumbrado was also a mere supposition,
which gave me no right to accuse him. After mature consideration I
thought, however, it would be best to deliver the Duke, against whom his
plan appeared so be chiefly directed, from his clutches, and thus
expected to gain two advantages by one stroke: not only to cut the
sinews of Alumbrado’s undertaking asunder, but also to guard the Duke
against the snare which was laid for him.
With that view I wrote to the latter:
‘Your letters have been very important to me; I must, however, beg you
to fetch my answer yourself. Don’t refuse my request, and hasten to the
arms of your friend, whose happiness in a place on which nature seems to
have lavished all her blessings, would be complete if you were present.
Here we will discuss the political concerns which give you so much
uneasiness, for I have more than one reason for not doing it by way of
letter, and my affairs threaten to detain me here some time longer. The
journey will not only improve your health, but it will also ease your
mind, which is bent down at present by a gloomy sameness of ideas, and
very much wants amusement and diversion. I am convinced that your
melancholy will not pursue you to the paradise that blossoms here. And
if only your gloominess of mind shall have left you, you will view
things that now appear to you in a frightful shape, in a more pleasing
light. At the same time you may expect that the commission the King has
charged me with, will enable me to explain to you many political objects
which I dare not do in writing. Come, my friend, you certainly will not
regret your having undertaken this journey, &c. &c. &c.’
My letter produced the desired effect. The Duke returned me a very
affectionate answer, and promised, to begin the journey in a fortnight.
How joyfully and impatiently did my heart pant for his arrival! but I
was disappointed. He did not come, but sent me a letter, which I am
going to communicate to the reader.
‘Why am I not yet arrived? Ask Heaven that question, but not me, for I
have done every thing in my power to fulfil my promise. In spite of
Alumbrado’s remonstrances, I went on board of the ship to convey me to
my friend. A favourable breeze that swelled our sails enlivened my hopes
of embracing you soon. Evening set in, and the wind and the sky
continued to be propitious. The second and the third night stole upon us
amid the same favourable auspices.
‘I do not know how it happened, that on the third night the recollection
of my sainted Amelia awoke within my mind with additional vivacity. It
was not, however, associated with painful, but with bitter-sweet
sensations, which frequently afford to feeling minds a more delicious
pleasure than joys unmixed. I proceeded insensibly from sensations to
the realms of fancy. I looked at the star of love, and imagined I beheld
Amelia’s sainted spirit enthroned in its silver lustre. My soul soared
above the immense space that separated us, and anticipated the bliss of
the celestial spirits. O! why has she so soon been rendered insensible
of the limits of her power, which obliged her to return to our sublunary
globe?
‘I felt a faintness which invited me to rest, and having bid adieu to
the starry firmament and the ocean, I went to my cabin, where the
solacing hand of sleep soon closed my eyes.
‘I awoke an hour before the dawn of morn. Finding myself entirely
refreshed I left my couch and returned on deck in order to hail the
stars once more, before they should be dispelled by the majestic king of
day. But what a scene did my gazing eyes behold! The firmament appeared
no longer to be over us, but we seemed to ride upon it. I did not know
whether I was dreaming or awake, rubbing my eyes repeatedly. In vain,
the scene remained unaltered: intense darkness covered the sky, all its
stars and galaxies appeared to be on the water.
‘O nature! thy grateful son never will forget the enjoyment which this
undescribable spectacle has afforded him! I gazed a long time in silent
wonder at the illuminated surface of the ocean, before I could examine
the individual beauties of that grand scene. Whithersoever I directed my
gazing looks, I beheld fiery streaks. However, all parts were not
equally illuminated; some spots emitted quick flashes of light, while
others continued some minutes to sparkle. The separated water gushed
before us in luminous streams, and the furrow which the vessel drew
formed a white bright streak behind us, which was interspersed with
sky-blue spots. The multifarious and dazzling light was skipping on the
curling waves; the spume which the little bubbles produced on the
surface of the water, glittered like silver-coloured snow. I could have
plunged in the watery abyss in order to sink down in that heaven.
‘The rising sun put a stop to that enchantment. My fellow travellers
began to stir. I hastened to tell them what a scene they had missed.
A reverend old man, who was present when I related what I had seen,
smiled. “One can see,” said he, “that this is your first voyage; this
phenomenon is nothing uncommon in all seasons, and particularly in
warmer climes; nevertheless the naturalists still differ in their
opinion of its cause, some believing that it proceeds from small
luminous insects, and others from an oily substance that separates from
rotten animal bodies.--Many pretend this phenomenon to be the forerunner
of an impending tempest, but this is false.”
‘The old man may not have been mistaken, yet this time he was refuted by
experience. The little clouds which were swimming singly in the sky,
united by degrees and overdarkened the sun. A black tempest began to
gather in the north. The crew were just going to prepare against the
storm, when suddenly a violent gale of wind arose, and hurried the
vessel with incredible rapidity over the ruffled surface of the sea. We
lost one of our anchors, which fell from the deck with a thundering
noise. Some loud peals of thunder gave the signal for the breaking out
of the storm. The light of day disappeared, the billows of the swelling
sea were rolling one upon another with a roaring noise; the dreadful
flashes of lightening seemed to dye the surface of the ocean with blood,
and each clap of thunder threatened to shiver the mast to atoms. The
foaming of the waves, the rolling of thunder, and the howling of the
winds, seemed to announce to that part of the world the return of old
chaos.
‘The strong flashes of lightning made us suddenly observe that land was
near. How welcome soever such a discovery is in fair weather, yet it was
to us the most dreadful incident that could have happened, on account of
imminent danger of being wrecked. Our cables seemed not to be able to
resist long the fury of the winds and waves which availed the vessel.
‘All these circumstances contributed to recall to my mind the
recollection of a similar incident which had robbed me of my Amelia. The
wounds of my heart began to bleed afresh, and the melancholy sensations
which assailed my mind, deprived me of the power that I, otherwise,
should have opposed to the terrors which surrounded me. My heart beat
violently against my breast, and nothing but my ambition could have
prevented me from joining those who groaned and lamented loudly,
wringing their hands and tearing their hair.
(_To be continued._)
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