A few days after this, the prisoners were honoured by another visit
from the alcaide.
"Thank God!" cried Edric involuntarily, as soon as he saw him; for, as
he felt confident that the anger he had expressed against them, had
been assumed, he hoped he was now come to save them.
"Alas!" returned the worthy magistrate, "I fear you have little reason
to be thankful. All my endeavours to save you have only succeeded in
obtaining a few hours respite, and to-morrow morning you are condemned
to be burnt alive."
"Oh!" shrieked the doctor; whilst even Edric's courage could not
prevent his turning deathly pale. "It is dreadful," said he, "to die
thus so young in a foreign country, and by such fearful means."
"Oh! don't talk of it," sobbed the doctor. "My poor dear, dear Edric!
Save him, sir! in mercy, save him! Though I may be doomed to pay the
penalty of my folly, it is very hard he should suffer."
"It is, indeed," returned the alcaide; "and my wish to save him, joined
to the hatred I bear the present general, has made me a traitor to
my country. I see you look astonished, but to explain what I mean,
it will be necessary to give you a short sketch of the present state
of this country, which I will endeavour to do in as few words as
possible. You know, no doubt, that Spain was once a powerful empire,
till the ill-judged policy of one of her monarchs, in removing the
seat of government to Africa, occasioned her fall: for the tree of
majesty becoming too widely extended, it was but natural that some of
its branches should strike root for themselves, and detach themselves
entirely from the parent stem.
"This was the case with Spain; and her first directors as a republic
happening to be intelligent men, the infant state grew and flourished,
exciting the admiration of its neighbours, and the envy of its mother
country. Unfortunately, however, the wheel of fortune is always
turning, and Spaniards, as I before said, not knowing where to stop,
have gone on, getting worse and worse by degrees, till they have become
the bigoted and intolerant wretches you have found them. In fact, the
army now rules the state, and the people, finding the tyranny of the
soldiers insupportable, have been for some time attempting to throw off
the yoke. They were long unsuccessful, as they found the discipline
of the soldiers far outweighed all their bravery and self-devotion.
In their distress, however, they called in the aid of Roderick the
Second, the young and warlike King of Ireland. This powerful monarch,
who realizes in himself all the romantic qualities of the ancient
knights of chivalry, hastened instantly to their assistance, and they
are now combating under his auspices with every prospect of success.
His progress has been magical; success has followed wherever he has
gone, and his army now lies at a little distance, though he landed in
the north of Spain. It is to him, therefore, that I have sent secretly,
giving him (in the hope of saving you) instructions, by which, if he
follows them, he cannot fail of surprising the camp."
The doctor and Edric, though they were fully aware that they were
principally indebted to the hatred the alcaide bore the present general
for the steps he had taken in their behalf, yet felt and expressed
themselves properly grateful; and the alcaide quitted the prison,
leaving the flatterer Hope behind to console them for his absence,
mingled, however, with the natural anxiety, which they could not help
feeling, lest the well-arranged plan laid for their escape should fail.
Morning had just dawned, after a tedious and miserable night, and the
doctor and Edric were yet shivering from the damp cold which often
precedes the break of day, and which now seemed to have struck a chill
to their inmost souls, when the door of the prison opened, and a file
of soldiers appeared, ready to conduct them to the place of execution.
The doctor's heart beat thick, so as almost to impede respiration, and
a heavy film spread before his eyes; whilst the agitation of Edric, who
had, however, now quite forgiven him, was scarcely inferior to his own.
Fervently they embraced, and then submitting to be pinioned, they were
forced to march to the spot appointed for their sacrifice, where an
immense crowd awaited their approach.
The doctor's heart sunk within him as he looked down from the kind of
terrace upon which the ceremony was to take place, upon the mass of
human heads jammed together below, every face regarding him with a
gaze of anxious expectation; and as he turned from these eager looks
with a thrill of horror, his feelings were yet more forcibly harrowed
up by the sight behind him. This was composed of two iron stakes
fixed firmly in the ground, and provided with ponderous chains so as
to prevent the remotest possibility of escape, whilst the enormous
heaps of green wood piled round each, gave a frightful idea of the
intensity of the lingering torments the unfortunate prisoners were
condemned to suffer. The mind of Edric, in the mean time, was not much
more composed than that of his friend. He also had looked round, and
whilst nature shuddered at the thought of the horrid death awaiting
them, the immensity and compactness of the crowd seemed to destroy all
probability of a rescue, and the hope which had till then supported
him, fled from his breast; whilst, as his eyes again met those of the
poor doctor, mournful, indeed, was the glance that they exchanged.
It is an awful thing to die! and though there are occasions when death
may be braved, or at least met with unabated courage; yet when it comes
on thus slowly and deliberately, seen from afar off, and yet impossible
to be avoided, the firmest mind will find it difficult to bear its
approach unmoved. That of Edric, however, notwithstanding it had been
weakened by his long confinement, and by the delusive flattery of hope,
did not shrink from the trial: and calmly he even saw the crowd divide,
to make way for the executioner, who slowly advanced, preceded by a
band of martial music, playing a mournful air, the drums being covered
with black crape, and followed by a long train of soldiers, in mourning
cloaks, with their arms reversed. Nothing could be more appalling than
this lugubrious procession: the executioner, musicians, and soldiers,
being all shrouded in their gloomy cloaks, (the very hoods of which
were drawn over their heads,) had the air of demons coming to bear away
the miserable victims to everlasting perdition; and the mind of the
unhappy doctor not being able to endure such accumulated horrors, he
sunk upon his knees, uttering shrieks of anguish, whilst the cold sweat
ran in large drops from his forehead, and every nerve quivered with
agony.
The procession had now nearly reached the prisoners, and even Edric's
firmness gave way, as he saw the executioner spring upon the terrace,
and advance towards him. A convulsive throb of anguish seemed to rend
his heart, and his lips and cheeks turned of a livid paleness. But how
was he surprised, and what a sudden revulsion of feeling did he not
experience, when the supposed executioner, after having unbound his
arms, put a sword into his hands, and whispering,--"Now is the time,
defend yourself!--our soldiers are in green," left him completely free.
Completely overcome, Edric stood for a moment lost in amazement, unable
to credit the evidence of his senses, and gazing after his deliverer,
who, the moment he had also unbound the doctor, threw off his disguise,
and shouting "Roderick for ever!" disclosed to the multitude below the
dreaded form of the Irish hero himself. Shouts of "Roderick for ever!"
now rent the skies; the soldiers who had followed their monarch, and
several others who had lurked concealed amongst the crowd, threw off
their disguises at the same moment, and formed round the leader; whilst
the main body of his troops, left behind in the care of experienced
generals, tutored for the purpose, charged the affrighted Spaniards in
the rear.
The confusion and dismay that now prevailed were quite beyond
description. The terrified Spaniards, who, naturally superstitious, had
long fancied the wonderful acts of heroic valour attributed to Roderick
could only be performed by magic, were now firmly convinced that his
sudden appearance amongst them was an act of especial favour from his
Infernal Majesty himself! and finding themselves attacked on all sides,
imagined their enemies multiplied by the powers of darkness, and fled
without striking a blow. Roderick and his soldiers returned laughing,
after they had pursued them a little way, to ransack and burn their
camp; which when they had done, they retired to their former station;
having previously promised the alcaide to spare the town, and not to
push the consequences of their victory farther.
The doctor and Edric, who had been too much agitated to take any very
active part in the combat, had been conveyed by the guards of Roderick
to their master's camp, to await there the return of the monarch, in
whose hands destiny had now placed them. Neither of our travellers
had noticed the person of the Irish king in the bustling moment of
their deliverance; but the almost magical celerity with which he had
contrived to disperse their enemies; the evident terror with which his
very name seemed to inspire the Spaniards; and the wondrous feats the
guards around them seemed to delight in attributing to him, made them
now almost tremble at the thought of being presented to so tremendous a
personage; whom they amused themselves in picturing as a stern, fearful
tyrant, breathing nothing but war and desolation.
Roderick the Second, surnamed the Great, was then in the flower of
his age. He had not long ascended his throne; and his father, who
had been a prudent prince, having left behind him a well-established
government, able statesmen, and a considerable sum in the treasury,
Roderick had little to employ his mind at home. Brave, ardent, and
enterprising, burning for conquest, and spurning the quiet of domestic
peace, the overtures of the Spaniards had met his most ardent wishes;
and he had embraced their cause with an eagerness and impetuosity that
had hitherto carried every thing before it. The greatest part of Spain
lay at his feet. Even Madrid was his! but it was to attack Seville,
that queen of cities, that he was now in Andalusia. This city was
still in the power of his enemies, and Roderick, having made Cadiz his
head-quarters, was about removing thither, when the message of the
Alcaide, had induced to undertake the romantic enterprize he had just
so successfully accomplished. Romance was, indeed, a leading feature
in Roderick's character: it had been the policy of his father, the
late King, to foment secretly the discontents nourished amongst the
English; but the spirit of Roderick revolted at conduct he considered
so mean and base. The Spanish war, on the contrary, exactly suited his
disposition: to aid an oppressed people--to throw off the yoke of their
oppressors, seemed noble and generous; and he engaged in the enterprize
with all the energy of his bold and daring temper. His soldiers adored
him, and his people warmly seconded his efforts; for, as the seat of
war was far removed from them, and as the treasury of the late King
defrayed the expenses, they felt none of the inconveniences of war, and
gloried in the triumphs of their Sovereign. Thus, Roderick's praise was
the theme of every tongue: even the Spaniards worshipped him almost as
a god, and their active imaginations magnified his exploits, till both
friends and foes alike regarded him as a being who had only to will to
conquer! and whose prowess it was perfect madness even to struggle to
resist.
Such was the monarch our travellers now anxiously awaited, till
suspense became almost agony. At last the joyful sounds of "He comes!
he comes! Long live the mighty Roderick!" burst upon their ears, and
the travellers bent forwards, eagerly expecting, yet dreading to see,
a countenance stern and fearful as that of Cheops in his tomb: but how
were they astonished to behold, in the redoubtable Roderick, only a
tall handsome young man, riding carelessly upon a beautiful Barbary
charger, and laughing and talking gaily with his officers as he came
along.
"What!" cried the doctor indignantly, "would you attempt to make me
believe that slight blooming boy a conqueror? the thing is impossible!
It is quite ridiculous to mention it. Those laughing eyes, smooth
down-like cheeks, and white teeth, may be well adapted to win a lady's
heart, but I am sure they never can belong to a hero!"
The King, in the mean time, was equally struck with the doctor; and
seeing something peculiarly honest and simple in his fat, round, oily
face, he felt a lively interest for him, and an excessive curiosity to
know what could possibly have brought a man, apparently so harmless and
inoffensive, into so perilous a situation. The fine person of Edric,
disfigured as it was by the troubles he had undergone, also attracted
his attention; and as he rode up to his guests to question them as to
their adventures, (the noble barb that carried him, pacing proudly
along, as though conscious of the illustrious burthen he bore,) even
the doctor was compelled to admit, the face and figure of his rider
bespoke firmness, intellect, and dignity.
"What crime had you committed amongst the Spaniards?" asked he, as he
approached, addressing himself to the doctor in a full, mellow, yet
commanding tone. "It must have been of the blackest dye, if we are to
judge by the enormity of the punishment."
"I am innocent!" cried the doctor, "an' it may please your Majesty! I
am quite innocent."
"It will please me very much to find you so," said Roderick, smiling;
"but assertion is nothing--what proof have you?"
"My friend here will bear witness in my behalf," said the doctor
solemnly, not feeling at all pleased with what he thought the King's
unseasonable disposition for merriment; whilst as he stood looking very
cross, his red face and bald head streaming with perspiration from
anger and vexation, his clothes having been torn to rags, and his hat
and wig lost in his late troubles, he struck Roderick as presenting
so very whimsical and ridiculous a figure, that after looking at him
a few minutes, the Merry Monarch burst out into a violent and almost
convulsive fit of laughter.
"Well!" said the doctor, still more gravely, "I am glad your Majesty
seems so well amused; but for my part, I don't see any thing at all
agreeable or entertaining in being about to be burned alive."
The doctor's solemn look and lengthened face, as he made this naïve
remonstrance, only increased Roderick's peals of laughter. "I beg
your pardon, Sir," said he, addressing Edric, as soon as he was able
to speak; "I really beg your pardon; but your friend here is so
exceedingly amusing, that I am really under infinite obligations to
him, and know not how I shall ever be able to repay him."
"It is we who are under obligations to your Majesty, for which we can
never be sufficiently grateful," said Edric gravely; for he also was
not very well pleased at seeing his friend so openly ridiculed; as,
though he did sometimes take the liberty of smiling at the learned
doctor's innocent follies himself, he did not like to see him made
the laughing stock of another. Roderick, however, saw and instantly
understood the ill-humour of Edric; and as he applauded its motive,
he endeavoured to divert it by every means in his power, and soon
completely succeeded. Few people, indeed, knew so well how to make
themselves agreeable as Roderick; and though Edric, at first, felt
indignant that the King should treat him so much like a child, as to
suppose his displeasure could be easily joked away, yet this feeling
insensibly wore off, and he soon thought Roderick the most fascinating
of human beings. Indeed, that heart must have been hard that could
have withstood unmoved the fascinations of Roderick when he wished
to please. His bright laughing eyes that looked the very colour of
gladness, and his arch smile, might have subdued the melancholy of
a stoic; whilst his character had something bewitching in its very
failings. He had been all his life the spoiled child of fortune, and
though his rashness and impetuosity, his pettishness and his caressing
manners, his bravery, haughtiness, and obstinacy; his fondness for any
thing that promised a frolic, and his chivalrous devotion to noble and
grand enterprizes, formed a singular melange, he was, perhaps, more
beloved than he would have been if his character had been more perfect;
and it was this very inconsistency that made him so completely the idol
of his soldiers.
"Believe me," said he, addressing Edric, "that it is impossible for
me to describe the pleasure I feel in having had it in my power to be
of service to you; and though I should have been happy to relieve any
of my fellow-creatures in distress, yet I must own I am glad you are
Englishmen. It was the policy of my late father to act as the enemy
of England; but I have always been her friend. I am sure that Nature
intended the English and Irish for brethren; and I am too sincere
a votary of the goddess to wish, even in the slightest degree, to
counteract her designs."
"Your sentiments perfectly coincide with mine," said Edric; "and as it
has been my fate to live in habits of intimacy for several years with a
very worthy countryman of yours, Father Murphy, confessor of the Duke
of Cornwall, who was the most intimate friend of my father--"
"Father Murphy!" interrupted Roderick.
"Yes," returned Edric, surprised at the wonder expressed by the King.
"Is it possible you can know him?"
"The name appeared familiar to me, that was all," replied Roderick,
evidently finding it difficult to repress a strong inclination to
laugh. Edric looked at him with still increasing astonishment, not
being able to discover any thing in the slightest degree ridiculous
in what he had said; and Roderick's disposition to mirth seemed to
increase in exact proportion to Edric's gravity. At length, perceiving
he remained silent, Roderick with infinite difficulty contrived to
say,--
"Go on, my dear Mr. Montagu, I entreat you to go on; never mind me; it
is a strange thought that has just entered my head."
"Mr. Montagu!" exclaimed Edric. "I was not aware that your Majesty was
acquainted with my name; I do not recollect having mentioned it."
"Perhaps, however, the doctor did," returned the King; "or the alcaide
might have told me, or my servants may have seen it marked upon your
trunks or your linen, or--"
"Your Majesty need not give yourself so much trouble to explain a
circumstance in itself perfectly immaterial," replied Edric. "I have no
wish to conceal my name; I was only astonished to find your Majesty so
well acquainted with it."
"Well, well," cried Roderick, somewhat impatiently, "the circumstance
is, as you say, quite immaterial, so pray go on with what you were
saying of Father Murphy."
"I was simply observing that the excellence of his disposition had
given me a favourable opinion of your Majesty's countrymen."
"Which I hope the thoughtlessness of their King will not induce you
to change. I trust you have too much good sense, Mr. Montagu, to feel
offended with what you may call the frivolity of my manner. My heart,
I hope, is good, though I own even I cannot say much in favour of my
head. I am a laughing philosopher however, a sort of Democritus the
second; and finding it more agreeable to laugh than cry, I generally
try to extract amusement from every thing that happens to fall in my
way. We shall soon know each other better, and so now, as doubtless you
may wish for repose after the fatigues you have undergone, you will
perhaps like to retire to the tent prepared for you."
The doctor and Edric willingly assented and repaired to their new
abode, completely puzzled by what seemed to them the extraordinary and
inconsistent character of the King.
Under this gay, laughing exterior, however, Roderic hid a sound
penetrating mind, and a firm determined spirit; whilst, though no one
enjoyed more to ridicule occasionally the foibles of his subjects,
no one knew better how to check them, and bring them back instantly
to their proper stations, if they ventured a hair's breadth beyond
the limits he prescribed to them. He had thus the art to make himself
feared as well as loved, and to rule his subjects despotically, though
he never spoke to them without a smile.
Such as I have described him, it may be easily imagined Roderick
was not long in winning the affections of his new friends, and he,
in his turn, was equally delighted with them. The noble, generous,
and inquiring spirit of Edric exactly accorded with his own; and the
follies of the learned doctor afforded him never-ceasing amusement,
whilst Edric, delighted to meet with a companion who could understand
and sympathize with his feelings, felt happier than he had been for
years; and the learned doctor, proud of being admitted to the intimacy
of such a man as Roderick, declared all his troubles were repaid, and
that he now considered himself as the most fortunate of mortals.