CHAPTER V.

And thus the two jealous rivals and enemies departed, and took leave,

the one of Periander, and the other of Croriano, both their hopes alike

founded on air; each, however, being of the same mind to restrain his

impetuosity and dissimulate his anger, at least until Auristella had

declared which was to be the favoured one--each hoping it would be

himself--since the offer of a kingdom and of a condition as high as

that the duke could boast, might well be thought temptations enough

to shake any previous intentions, for it is natural to love grandeur,

and to aim at improving one's condition in life, more especially this

is the case with women. But Auristella took small heed of all this,

as every thought of hers at that moment was centred in being properly

instructed in all the truths that concerned her soul's salvation; for

having been born in a country so far off, that in it the Christian

faith was not as clear and perfect as it should be, she held it

necessary that hers should be purified in its true home.

She took care to instruct herself well upon every particular of the

holy Catholic faith, which she had only dimly understood in her own

land. She found a sure means of explaining what she wanted by the

confessional, where she made her full and entire confession, and

was taught and satisfied about everything she desired to know, for

these confessors explained to her in the best way they could all the

principal and most needful mysteries of our holy religion. They began

with the envy and pride of Lucifer, and of his fall with the third

part of the stars that fell with him into the abyss,--a fall which

left vacant the heavenly seats, which these bad angels lost by their

folly and sin. They explained the means God took to fill these empty

seats, creating man, whose soul was made capable of the glory lost by

these fallen angels. They discoursed upon the truths of the creation

of man and of the world, and of the sacred and loving mystery of the

incarnation, and with wondrous skill they sketched the deep mystery

of the most holy Trinity. They told how it was necessary that the

second person of the three, who is the Son, should make himself man,

in order that he might, as man, redeem all mankind, and as God, might

redeem as God, which hypostatic union alone could satisfy God for the

infinite sin committed; and which the infinite Deity could satisfy, and

finite man could not by himself alone, and God by himself alone could

not be appeased, but that the two together had the property of being

infinite, and thus came redemption. They spoke of the death of Christ,

the labours and troubles of his life, from the hour of his beginning

his work, to his death upon the cross. They exalted the strength and

efficacy of the sacraments, and pointed to the second article of our

duty, repentance, which alone can open the path to Heaven, which sin

has closed. They showed the Saviour Jesus Christ, as the living God,

seated on the right hand of the Father, in full perfection in Heaven,

as he is on earth by transubstantiation in the sacrament, which holy

presence no absence can divide or part, for one of God's greatest

attributes is, that he is everywhere in essence, and in presence. They

assured her of the infallible coming again of the Lord to judge the

world, and establish firmly his church, against which the gates or

rather the forces of hell shall avail little. They told of the power

of the supreme Pontiff, God's vicegerent on earth, and who holds the

keys of Heaven. At last there remained nothing to be taught, or that

was necessary for Periander and Auristella to understand. These lessons

filled their hearts with joy, drew them out of themselves, and raised

them almost to the Heaven where their thoughts rested.

[Illustration]

CHAPTER VI.

_Arnoldo and the Duke de Nemours contend which shall purchase a

Portrait of Auristella._

From this time Periander and Auristella beheld each other with

different eyes, at least with other eyes did Periander look upon his

Auristella, for now as it appeared to him, she had fulfilled the vow

which brought her to Rome, and might freely and openly accept him as

her husband.

But she meanwhile was seeking on all sides some light from above to

discern what they were to do after they were married, for it was folly

and madness to think of returning to their own country, because she

had been destined to become the wife of Periander's elder brother, and

he, finding his hopes thus frustrated, would probably seek to avenge

his disappointments on his brother and Auristella. These thoughts and

apprehensions made her sometimes low-spirited, and at other times

pensive.

The French ladies visited the churches, and performed the prayers of

the stations with much pomp and majesty, for Croriano was a relation

of the French ambassador, and nothing was wanting that was necessary

to do them honour. They always took Auristella and Constance with

them, and never left the house without being followed by half Rome.

It chanced one day as they were passing through a street, the name

of which is Bancos, they saw against a wall in one of the houses, a

picture. It was the full-length portrait of a woman, with a crown on

her head, which was divided in half, and at her feet a world, on which

she stood. They had scarcely looked at it when they knew it was the

likeness of Auristella, painted so to the life that it was not possible

to doubt for an instant who it was. Auristella wonderingly asked whose

the picture was, and if it was to be sold? The owner of it (who, as

they afterwards knew, was a celebrated painter) said that the picture

was for sale, but he did not know whom it represented. He only knew

that a friend of his had made a copy of it in France, and that it was

said to be a foreign lady, who was on her way to Rome in the dress of a

pilgrim.

"And what," said Auristella, "does it mean by painting her with a crown

on her head, and a globe beneath her feet? and moreover, why is the

crown divided in two?"

"These things, lady," replied the owner, "are fancies or caprices

of the artist; possibly it means that the lady merits the crown of

superior beauty, and that she has the whole world at her feet. But

it is my opinion that you, lady, are the original, and that you well

deserve a whole crown, and not a painted world, but a real one."

"What do you ask for this picture?" inquired Constance; to which the

owner answered, "Two pilgrims are here, one of whom has offered me a

thousand crowns of gold, and the other says that he will not lose it

for any money. The sale is not yet concluded, but it seems to me they

must be jesting, for the exorbitant sum they offer makes me feel in

doubt."

"Yet it is not so," said Constance, "for these pilgrims, if they are

what I believe them to be, could easily give you even twice what they

have promised, and pay you to your satisfaction."

The French ladies, Ruperta, Croriano, and Periander, all stood

wondering greatly to see the very image of Auristella painted on this

picture. People came in to look at it, and by degrees a murmur arose,

every one declaring that "The picture which is here to be sold is the

same as this pilgrim in the carriage." They wanted not only to look

at the likeness, but at the original, and so began to surround the

carriage in such a manner that the horses could neither move backwards

nor forwards. "Therefore," said Periander, "Auristella, my sister,

conceal thy face with some kind of veil, for so much brightness is

dazzling, and will not let us see our road." Auristella did as he

desired, and they moved on; yet still a great many persons followed,

hoping that the veil might be withdrawn, and they might obtain a sight

of what they wished to see. They had not long been gone when Arnoldo,

in his pilgrim's dress, came to the owner of the picture and said, "I

am he who offered a thousand crowns for this portrait if you will part

with it; bring it, and come with me now, I will count the money out to

you directly in gold." Then came the other pilgrim, who was the Duke de

Nemours, saying, "Do not consider about a price, but come with me, and

name any sum you please, it shall be yours at once."

"My lords," replied the painter, for so he was, "agree between

yourselves as to who is to carry it off, and we will not disagree about

the price, since I think that you are more likely to pay me in words

than in fact."

A great number of persons stood by listening to this conversation,

expecting to see what would be the result, for to see thousands of

ducats offered for a picture, especially by two apparently poor

pilgrims, seemed a very amusing matter.

"Then," said the owner of the picture, "let him who wishes to have it

give me some pledge in hand, and I will deliver it up to him."

Hearing this, Arnoldo put his hand into his breast, and drew forth a

chain of gold, with a jewel set in diamonds suspended from it, and

said, "Take this chain, which, with the jewel, is worth two thousand

crowns, and deliver up the picture to me."

"_This_ is worth ten thousand," said the duke, giving a diamond chain

to the painter. "Bring it to my house."

"Holy Saints!" cried one of the bystanders, "what can this picture

be? and what can these men and jewels mean? This looks like a case of

enchantment, and I would advise thee, friend painter, to look well at

the chain, and try the reality of the diamonds before you part with

your property, for both chain and jewels may be false, as one may

suspect by the exaggerated account of their value."

The princes grew angry upon this, but not being desirous of letting the

whole street know their thoughts, they consented that the master of the

picture should ascertain the real value of the jewels. The crowd in the

street now changed their note, some admiring the picture, others asking

who the pilgrims could be, others looking at the jewels, and all

watching eagerly to see who would get the picture, because it seemed as

if the two pilgrims would have it at any price.

Its owner would willingly have sold it for much less than they offered,

if they would have let him sell it freely to either.

Whilst this was going on, the governor of Rome came by, and heard

the noise the people were making; he inquired the cause, and saw the

picture and the jewels. They, appearing to him to be the property of no

ordinary pilgrims, he hoped to discover some secret, and ordered the

jewels and picture to be taken to his house, and to take the pilgrims

thither also. The painter was left in consternation, seeing all his

expectations thus threatened with defeat, and his property in the power

of justice, whence it seldom returns again with undiminished lustre.

The painter flew to seek out Periander, and relate to him all the story

of the purchase, and of his fears that the governor would keep the

picture, which he had bought, he said, in France, from a painter who

had sketched it in Portugal from the original, a thing which seemed to

Periander very likely, during the time Auristella had been at Lisbon.

He then offered to give him a hundred crowns for it, and run the risk

of recovering it. The painter was satisfied, and although the descent

from a thousand to a hundred crowns was so great, yet he considered he

had made a good bargain.

Whilst they were talking, the Jew Zabulon arrived, and told Periander

that he wished to take him that evening to see one of the most

beautiful women in Rome, indeed, in all Italy, Hippolyta the Ferrarese.

Periander said he would go willingly, and this not on account of her

beauty of person, nor of her quality, for the courtesy of Periander

was the same whether with the high or the low, for in this had Nature

cast both him and Auristella in one mould. He concealed from her that

he was going to visit Hippolyta, and the Jew carried him thither more

by deceit than any wish of his to go, but sometimes curiosity helps to

deceive, and blinds even the most cautious and prudent.

[Illustration]

CHAPTER VII.

_Of a singular Adventure and Peril which befell Periander through the

Malice of a fair Courtezan._

With good manners, great personal charms, and a richly adorned and

splendid house, many defects will be overlooked, because a well-bred

person does nothing that offends the eye, and rich ornaments and beauty

of person are always pleasing to look upon, and every one likes a fine

house.

Now Hippolyta possessed all these things. She was a courtezan, who

might have vied in wealth with the Flora of ancient days; and in

courteous manners, with good breeding itself. It was impossible for

those who knew her, not to love her in some degree, for her beauty

enchanted them, her riches gave her power, and she made herself adored

by the winning courtesy of her manners. When love meets three such

charms as these, it melts even hearts of iron, opens the closest purse,

and breaks through a determination, though it were made of marble, and

still more, when to these three things you add deceitfulness, and a

flattering tongue,--very convenient qualities for those who desire to

win the admiration of all men by their charms. Is there by chance a man

of such sharp wits, that seeing one of these charmers, such as I have

painted, setting aside her mere beauty, would not be tempted by her

winning and gentle ways. Beauty partly blinds and partly dazzles; with

those it blinds, the senses are run away with; with those who are only

dazzled, it is the mind that receives pleasure. None of these things

were in Periander's thoughts, as he entered Hippolyta's house; but as

Love sometimes builds his structure on a careless foundation, he now

fabricated one suddenly, not in Periander's, but in Hippolyta's heart;

for in the bosoms of such as she, it does not require much time or

trouble to light the flame.

Hippolyta had already seen Periander in the street, and his beauty,

grace, and above all, the idea of his being a Spaniard, had pleased

her fancy. From a Spaniard might be expected the most unheard-of

liberality, and the most refined taste. She had made known her thoughts

to Zabulon, and desired that he would bring him to her house, which was

always in such order and so adorned, as to look more like preparations

for a wedding than the reception of pilgrims.

The lady Hippolyta had a friend, called Pyrrhus, a Calabrian, a bully,

of a hot temper and bad disposition, and whose living was gained by

his sword, his dexterous fingers, and Hippolyta's contrivances; for he

often performed a job for her, without the help of any one. But what

he gained most from was the nimbleness of his legs, which he prized

more than his hands, and what he chiefly valued himself on was, that he

could always keep Hippolyta in fear of him, in whatever mood he might

be, amorous or severe; for these tame doves are never without hawks

to pursue them, nor birds of prey to tear them to pieces,--a miserable

treatment for these poor foolish creatures!

I would tell you, then, that this gentleman (of whom it is enough to

know the name) happened to be in Hippolyta's house at the very time

that the Jew and Periander entered it. Hippolyta took him aside and

said to him, "Go, my friend, and take with thee this chain of gold

which has been sent me by the pilgrim; it was brought me by Zabulon

this morning."

"Look well what you are about, Hippolyta," said Pyrrhus, "for, as I

conjecture, this pilgrim is a Spaniard, and a chain of gold sent from

his hand, worth at least a hundred crowns, without having even touched

yours, seems much to me, and a thousand fears alarm me."

"Do thou, O Pyrrhus," said she, "take away the chain, and leave it

to me to support the weight, and not to give it back in spite of thy

Spanish manners."

Pyrrhus took the chain which Hippolyta gave him, and which she had

brought expressly for this purpose that morning, and stopping his mouth

with it, she got him out of the house. Then, free and disembarrassed

from all restraint, she hastened to meet Periander, and, with a sort of

easy gracefulness, she threw her arms about his neck, saying, "Truly

glad shall I be to see whether Spaniards are as brave as fame reports."

When Periander saw this freedom of manner, he thought the whole house

was upside down, and repulsing Hippolyta with his hand, he put her

away and said to her, "The dress I wear, O Lady Hippolyta, forbids all

profanation, at least I can permit none of any sort, and pilgrims,

even if they are Spaniards, are not obliged to show their valour

unnecessarily: but prove to me, lady, in what way I can show my courage

without prejudice to either of us, and I will obey you without a word

more."

"It seems to me, Sir Pilgrim," answered Hippolyta, "that you are as

valiant in mind as in body; but since you say you will obey my bidding,

if it be not to the hurt of either of us, enter this room with me, for

I wish to show you a gallery and dressing closet of mine;" to which

Periander replied, "Spaniard though I be, yet I am very fearful, and

more have I to fear from you alone, than from a whole regiment of

enemies. Let some one serve as a guide, and I will go with you where

you please."

Hippolyta called two of her maids and Zabulon the Jew, who were

present, and ordered them to lead the way to the gallery and to

throw open the saloon, which, as Periander afterwards said, was the

most splendidly adorned apartment any prince on earth could possess.

Parrhasius, Polygnotus, Apelles, Zeuxis, and Terriantes, some of

the most perfect of their productions bought with the treasures of

Hippolyta, might there be seen, and there too were the works of the

devout Raphael de Urbino, and those of the divine Michael Angelo,

riches such as only great princes can and ought to show. Royal

buildings, superb palaces, magnificent temples, and exquisite paintings

are fit and true signs of the rich and the great. They are, indeed,

pledges, against which time hurries on and quickens his flight, as if

they, his rivals, are showing in spite of him the magnificence of past

ages.

O Hippolyta! good only for this, if among all the pictures thou dost

possess, there was but one of thy own good conduct, and that thou

wouldst leave Periander his, who amazed, confused and astonished,

walked on, gazing at the abundance of sights which this gallery

contained. From one end to the other was heard the music of many

different sorts of birds, which, in splendid cages, filled the air

with a mixed but pleasing melody. It seemed to verify whatever he had

heard tell of the gardens of the Hesperides, of the Fairy Falerina, of

the famous hanging gardens, or of any of the other celebrated wonders

ever known in the world, none of which came up to the decorations

of this gallery and hall; but as he went about with a disturbed and

amazed spirit, wearied with the sight of so much pleasure and luxury,

and troubled to find everything so contrary to his taste; setting

courtesy aside, he endeavoured to leave the apartment, and would have

gone away if Hippolyta had not prevented him, in such a manner that he

was obliged to use some rather discourteous words. She laid hold of

his pilgrim's gown, and the doublet being opened thereby, discovered

the diamond cross, which until then had escaped so many perils, and

dazzled the eyes as well as the mind of Hippolyta. She, finding that

he was determined to go, in spite of her gentle force, proceeded to

show her intentions of detaining him still more plainly; but Periander

by no means approving this, made his escape, flying from the danger

and leaving his gown in the hands of this new Egyptian. He gained the

street without hat, staff, belt or gown, for the best mode of coming

off victor in such combats is flight. She immediately opened the window

and began calling out loudly to the people in the street, crying,

"Seize that robber who, entering my house under a peaceful guise, has

stolen from me a precious treasure worth a whole city."

There happened to be two of the pope's guards in the street, who

thinking they had taken him in the very act, hearing the cry of

"robbers," seized Periander and tore the cross from his breast,--a

treatment which justice uses with new offenders, although the crime may

not be proved.

Periander, on finding himself _thus crossed_,[T] spoke to the Germans

in their own language, and said, he was no thief but a person of

consequence, and that the cross was his own; that they might see by its

richness it could not be Hippolyta's, and he asked to be taken before

the Governor; where he hoped shortly to prove the truth of the matter.

He offered them money, and with that, and with having spoken in their

own tongue, which will always gain the heart even of those who know

you not, the Germans paid no attention to Hippolyta, and so carried

Periander before the Governor.

On seeing this she left the window, and, almost ready to scratch her

own eyes out, she said to her servants, "Ah! what folly is this that I

have done! I have vexed him I meant to honour; I have offended where I

wished to serve. He is taken as a thief; he who has stolen my heart.

What kind of caresses are these? what kindness? to attack his liberty,

and to defame his honour." And then she told them how he had been

carried off by two of the pope's guards, and ordered her coach to be

got ready directly, that she might follow and exculpate him, for her

heart could not bear to wound one who was the very apple of her eye;

and she preferred appearing as one who had accused falsely, rather than

be cruel, for there was no excuse for cruelty, though for the false

accusation there might be pleaded the force of love, which so often

causes a thousand follies, and offends even those it loves best.

When she arrived at the governor's house, she found him with the cross

in his hands, examining Periander on the matter, who, seeing Hippolyta,

said to the governor, "This lady who is just come in, has said that the

cross now in your lordship's hands is hers, and was stolen from her by

me: I will acknowledge this is the fact when she has declared of what

the cross is made, what is its value, and how many diamonds compose it;

for unless the angels or some spirit has revealed it to her, she cannot

know, for she never saw it but in my bosom, and once only."

"What says the lady Hippolyta to this?" said the governor, so covering

the cross that she could not see it.

She answered, "I say that I am in love--blindly and madly in love--and

the pilgrim is exculpated, and I await the sentence which my lord the

governor thinks due for my crime." And she related the whole of what

had passed between her and Periander, which made the governor perfectly

amazed, more at the boldness of her conduct than at her love, for such

sudden passions are common with ladies of her class. He dismissed the

case, and entreated Periander's pardon; pronounced him at liberty, and

restored his cross to him, without a line having been written about the

case,--no small piece of good luck.

The governor wished to know who were the pilgrims that had offered

the jewels in pledge for Auristella's picture, and moreover, who she

and he were; to which Periander answered, "The portrait is that of my

sister Auristella; those two pilgrims could easily have offered far

more costly jewels. This cross is mine, and when the proper time comes,

and necessity forces me to do it, I shall say who I am, but at present

neither I nor my sister wish to declare this. The picture which is now

in your lordship's possession is mine. I bought it from the painter at

a suitable price, without any of those extravagant outbiddings, which

are founded more on rancour and fancy than on reason."

The governor said that he would gladly keep it himself, to add to the

pictures in Rome one more admirable than any she now possessed.

"I will give it to your lordship," said Periander; "for it seems to

me that it will be duly honoured by giving it such an owner." The

governor thanked him, and that day he restored Arnoldo and the duke to

their liberty, and gave them back their jewels, he himself keeping the

picture, for it was quite reasonable that it should belong to somebody.

FOOTNOTES:

[T] Puesto en Cruz sin su Cruz.

[Illustration]

CHAPTER VIII.

_Arnoldo gives an account of all that had happened since he parted

with Periander and Auristella in the Isle of Hermits._

Hippolyta returned home more full of confusion than repentance,

thoughtful, and more enamoured than ever, for although it is a fact,

generally speaking, that disdain kills love in its first beginning, yet

Periander's only added fuel to the flame that consumed her. She thought

it impossible that a pilgrim could possess a heart of marble, and not

soften with the gifts and kindnesses she intended to load him with: but

in her heart she said to herself, if this pilgrim was poor he would not

wear so rich a cross, the diamonds of which clearly denote his wealth,

so that the fortress cannot be attacked on that side. Measures more

bold and dexterous must be employed to subdue him. Is it not possible

that his heart is elsewhere engaged? Is it not possible that this

Auristella may _not_ be his sister? Is it not possible that the force

of the disdain he shows me may have its origin, and be set down to

Auristella? By Heaven, if it be so, I have found my remedy. Auristella

shall die,--we will discover this witchcraft, at least we shall see

the true sentiments of his heart. It shall be carried immediately into

effect; Auristella shall grow sick; we will take away the light of

Periander's eyes; we will see if, when her beauty fades, that first

cause of love, the love itself will fade also. It may be that when he

sees _I_ possess what she has lost, he may leave _her_, and yield to

my tenderness; at least I will try this; there is no harm in trying

anything that may lead to the right track.

Somewhat comforted by these reflections, she arrived at her own house,

where she found Zabulon, to whom she confided her intentions, knowing

that he had a wife who was noted as the most skilful witch in Rome, and

she asked him (after first loading him with gifts, and the promise of

more) to assist her, not in changing Periander's inclinations, since

she knew that was hopeless, but in depriving Auristella of health, and

if necessary, of life also.

Zabulon said, it would be an easy matter for a woman who possessed the

skill and knowledge of his wife to effect this. He received, as the

first payment, a large sum of money, and promised that Auristella's

health should begin to fail on the following day. Hippolyta not only

rewarded Zabulon, but threatened him besides; and threats and gifts

together, would make a Jew perform impossibilities.

Periander told his friends and Auristella the history of his

imprisonment and Hippolyta's love, and the present he had made the

governor of Auristella's portrait. Auristella felt far from pleased to

hear about Hippolyta's love, for she had heard of her being considered

one of the most beautiful women in Rome, one of the freest manners,

one of the richest, and one of the cleverest. To a jealous spirit,

fear will represent the goblin it has conjured up, as bigger than

Mount Olympus, although, in fact, it may be smaller than a fly; and

when the tongue is restrained by decorum and modesty, so as to repress

all complaint, the heart torments itself within the bonds of silence,

till soul and body are almost ready to part. As I have before observed,

there is no other remedy for jealousy but to listen to exculpation, and

when this is not permitted there is no comfort in life, and life itself

Auristella would lose a thousand times, before she would utter one

complaint touching the fidelity of Periander.

That same evening Arnoldo paid the ladies a visit, and gave them an

account of everything that had happened since they left him, and, on

his return to search for them, he told how he had gone to the Hermit's

Isle, where he did not find Rutilio, but another hermit in his place,

who informed him that Rutilio was gone to Rome. He told, too, how he

had gone to the island of the fishermen, and found them free, happy,

and contented, both the newly-married couples and the others who had

embarked with Periander. He told how he had heard it reported that

Polycarpa was dead, and Sinforosa had resolved never to marry. Then he

told about the Barbarous Isle, that it had been re-peopled, and its

inhabitants were still confirmed in their belief of the false prophecy.

He had heard that Maurice and Ladislaus, his son-in-law, with Transila,

his daughter, had left their own country, and gone to live peacefully

in England: then he related how he had been with Leopold, the king of

Norway, after the war was ended; that he had married in order to have

a successor to his kingdom, and that he had pardoned the two traitors

whom he had taken prisoners when Periander and his fishermen fell

in with his ship, and that he was very grateful for the courteous

treatment he had received at their hands, and, amongst the names he

mentioned in these details, sometimes the names of Periander's parents

occurred, and sometimes those of Auristella, which made their hearts

beat, and brought to their remembrance alike their grandeur and their

misfortunes. He said, that in Portugal, and especially in Lisbon, their

portraits were much valued. He spoke of the great fame of Constance's

beauty in those parts of France she had travelled in, and also of the

French ladies. He had heard, too, of Croriano, and the high character

he had gained as noble, generous, and wise, in having taken the

charming Ruperta to wife. In Lucca, he had heard the clever contrivance

of Isabel Castrucho much talked about, and her quick falling in love

with Andrew Marulo, and how, by feigning to be a demoniac, she had

gained, as she believed, an angel's lot. He had heard of Periander's

fall, which was considered a miracle, and had met on the road a young

pilgrim, a poet, who did not wish to come on with him, but was taking

his time and composing a play upon the adventures of Periander and

Auristella, which he knew by heart, having seen a picture in Portugal,

where it was all painted, and that he was firmly resolved to marry

Auristella, if she pleased.

Auristella declared herself grateful for his kind intentions, and said

she would give him a suit of clothes, should he require it, and if by

chance his should be ragged, for the kind wish of a good poet deserves

reward.

Arnoldo further told them that he had been at the house of Antonio

and Constance's parents, who were well, only uneasy in their minds at

knowing nothing about the health or safety of their children, and

longing for their return, and that they wished for Constance to become

the wife of the late count's brother, her brother-in-law, who wanted to

follow his brother's example and imitate his choice of a wife, either

because he did not like to give her the twenty thousand ducats, or

because of her own merits, which he thought was most likely.

This news rejoiced them much, especially Periander and Auristella, who

loved Constance like a sister.

In the minds of all the hearers of this discourse fresh suspicions

arose as to the high rank of the pilgrims. They heard now about counts

and ducats, and thought the persons who belonged thereunto must needs

be illustrious.

Among other things, Arnoldo mentioned having met Renato in France, the

gentleman who had been vanquished in single combat against the right,

and afterwards proved to have been wrongfully accused by the conscience

of his enemy being awakened. In fact, but few things remained to be

mentioned of the many persons whose history has been related; he

brought forward everything, up to the picture of Auristella, which

Periander had retained greatly against his inclination and that of

the duke, though, not to offend Periander, Arnoldo concealed his

displeasure.

"I should have returned it to you, my Lord Arnoldo," said Periander,

"if I had understood that it was yours. Accident, and his own

exertions, gave it to the duke, from whom you took it by force, and

therefore have no right to complain. A man in love must not judge his

cause through the medium of his wishes, which sometimes cannot satisfy

him and reason; however, I will do what I hope will please and content

both you and the duke: the picture shall remain in the hands of my

sister Auristella, for it belongs more to her than any one else."

This decision satisfied Arnoldo, and also Auristella, and here the

conversation ended. On the following day early, the witchcraft, venoms

and incantations of the malignant Jewess began their work.

[Illustration]

CHAPTER IX.

_In which is related the Sickness of Auristella through the Witchcraft

of the Jewess, Zabulon's Wife._

Disease durst not at once, attack face to face Auristella's beauty,

afraid lest its hideousness should be alarmed at so much loveliness,

and so it began by the limbs. She was seized with shiverings at dawn,

which prevented her from rising as usual; these were followed by a loss

of appetite; next, the brilliance of her eyes became clouded and dull;

and dismay at such sudden illness filled the hearts both of Constance

and Periander, who immediately apprehended the worst result.

She had not been taken ill two hours, and already the bright roses

of her cheeks were of a livid purple, the carmine of her sweet lips

was changed to green, and the pearl-like teeth became the colour of

topazes, her very hair had altered its colour, her hands stiffened, and

her whole countenance changed. Nevertheless, she was still beautiful to

them who saw her, not as she was _now_ in her bed, but in their hearts,

where her image lay.

Her voice, in a day or two after, could just reach their ears in feeble

accents half uttered.

The French ladies joined in assisting Constance to tend and nurse her,

and so great was the attention they paid, that at last they required it

for themselves.

Physicians were sent for, the best that could be got, at least those

who were most noted for skill, for a good opinion helps the proper

medicine, and thus we as often meet with lucky doctors as fortunate

soldiers--good luck and good fortune are one and the same thing--and

one may find it as well in a bag of sackcloth as in a closet full of

silver. But neither in silver nor in sackcloth did any find its way to

Auristella, which drove Constance and Antonio to despair. Not so was it

with the duke; his love had been engendered solely by the great beauty

of Auristella, and thus, when that beauty was fled, his love also fled

with it, which must be deeply rooted in the heart to be strong enough

to follow the beloved one even to the brink of the grave. Death is very

hideous, disease is near akin to it, and to love what is ugly seems

something unnatural, and worthy to be called a miracle.

Auristella faded away from hour to hour. Those about her had given up

all hope; Periander alone, firm and loving as ever, with a brave and

trusting spirit, faced adverse fortune and even death itself, which

threatened him, in losing Auristella.

Fifteen days did the Duke de Nemours wait in hopes of seeing her get

better, during which time everybody was continually questioning the

physicians about her health, but none could speak with certainty,

seeing that none knew the cause of her illness.

The duke finding that the angel of light he had adored had changed into

one of darkness, feigned a tale which might form an excuse for his

conduct, at least in some degree; and one day he came to Auristella's

sick bed, with Periander present, and thus spoke:--

"Since fortune has proved adverse to my hopes, O beauteous lady! and

will not permit me to indulge the desire I had of calling you my wife,

before despair reduces me to such a condition as to threaten the loss

of reason, (as it has well nigh taken my life,) I purpose to try my

fortune elsewhere--for I know well that I have nothing to hope or

expect here--although I should continue to try for it, and thus it

might happen that I die miserably. I am summoned home by my mother: she

has a wife in view for me; I wish to obey her. But when death assails

me, there will be found engraven on my heart the memory of thy beauty

and thy illness,--would to God I may not have to say of thy death!"

His eyes were moist, and he dropped a few tears. Auristella could not

answer him, or perhaps did not wish to do so in Periander's presence:

the utmost she did was to put her hand under the pillow and draw forth

her picture, which she returned to the duke. He kissed her hand for so

precious a gift; but Periander stretching out his, took it and said,

"If it does not displease you, noble sir, and if you will be so kind

as to permit it, I entreat you to lend it me that I may accomplish a

promise I have given, which, without prejudice to you, will do me great

harm if I accomplish it not."

The duke resigned it with fresh protestations of being ready to give

up fortune, life, and honour itself for it, and more if he had it to

offer; and from this time he separated himself from the brother and

sister, meaning to see them no more in Rome--a prudent lover, and not

the first perhaps who has known how to seize an opportunity that offers

itself to him.

All these things might have awakened Arnoldo to the perception of how

much his hopes had diminished, and what danger he was in of losing the

object of all his pilgrimages; and, in fact, he was quite inclined to

accompany the duke, if not in his journey, at least in his intentions,

and would have returned to Denmark, but love and his own generous heart

forbade his doing this--leaving Periander when he needed consolation,

and Auristella at the point of death.

He visited her and renewed his proposals, determined to wait in hopes

of better prospects, in spite of all the suspicions that oppressed him.

[Illustration]

CHAPTER X.

_Auristella recovers her Health, because the Jewess leaves off her

Sorceries, and makes a proposal to Periander that they shall not marry._

Well pleased was Hippolyta to see what the arts of the Jewess had done

in endangering the life of Auristella, for in a week she had become

so entirely changed from what she was, as to be only recognizable by

the sound of her voice,--a thing which surprised her physicians, and

defied their skill. It was the wonder of all who saw her. The French

ladies assisted in nursing her with as much care as if she had been

their sister, especially Felicia Flora, who loved her with the warmest

affection.

At length the illness of Auristella instead of being confined to

herself alone, began to affect those who attended her, and as none were

so constantly with her as Periander, he was the first who suffered,

not because the poisons and witcheries of the wicked Jewess worked

directly upon him, but because the grief and sorrow he felt to see her

condition, reduced him nearly to a similar state, and thus he fell away

so much, that those who were about him began to fear for his life as

well as hers.

Hippolyta seeing this, and seeing that her vile practices were turning

against herself, guessed at once from whence the sickness of Periander

had arisen, and tried to find a remedy by giving one to Auristella,

who, reduced to a shadow, livid and ghastly, seemed hovering on

the very verge of death, and every moment expecting that its gates

would open to receive her, desired to prepare the way for her soul's

departure by receiving the sacrament as she had been instructed in the

Catholic faith, and therefore taking the proper steps with the utmost

devotion in her power, she gave tokens of her good and virtuous way of

thinking, and proved the purity of her manners and heart. She showed

that she had learned thoroughly the lessons she had been taught since

she came to Rome, and resigning herself to God's will, she felt calm

and composed in spirit, and forgot kingdoms, thrones, and grandeurs.

Hippolyta then, having as I before said, seen, that if Auristella

died, Periander would die too, hastened to the Jewess to desire that

she would moderate the spell which was consuming Auristella's life, or

cease the charm altogether, for she did not wish to be the cause of

destroying three lives with one blow, since Auristella dying, Periander

would die, and Periander dying, she also would lose her life. The

Jewess obeyed, as if the health or sickness of others was in her power,

as if all the evils we meet with as chastisement, did not depend on

God's will; but God, as a punishment for our own sins, permits the

agency of what is called witchcraft, in destroying health, by the use

of poisons and mixtures, which in process of time take away life from

those they wish to kill, without any remedy to escape the danger,

because the cause remains unknown, and no one can guess the reason of

such mortal sickness, and so for the cure of such great evils, God's

mercy is the only medicine.

Auristella began to leave off growing worse, which was a sign she

was beginning to be better. The sun of her beauty began to glimmer,

and give signs that it would once more dawn upon the heaven of her

countenance. Once more the roses returned to bloom upon her cheeks, and

in her eyes again shone the light of gladness, dispersing the clouds

of melancholy. The sweetness of her voice returned; her lips resumed

their carmine hue; her teeth, which had seemed like marble, now were

pearls again as before; and in a short space of time she appeared all

beautiful, lovely and charming as ever, and the good effects of this

quickly told upon Periander and the rest, Croriano and Ruperta, Antonio

and Constance; the latter, especially in joy or sorrow, always went

along with Auristella.

She, giving thanks to Heaven for the mercies she had received, both in

sickness and in health, one day called Periander, and having taken care

to be alone, she spoke to him in the following manner:--

"My brother! since it has pleased Heaven that I should now for two

years have called you by that sweet and endearing name, without ever

stepping beyond the bounds of modesty and decorum; I could wish that

this happy bond should still continue, and life alone should end it,

instead of looking forward to any other tie; for a happiness is good

when it is lasting, and it is lasting when it is pure. Our souls, as

you well know, and as you have always taught me, are for ever moving

onward, and have no other end and aim but to be with God, who is their

centre; our desires in this life are infinite, and linked together they

form a chain, which sometimes reaches Heaven, and sometimes leads to

hell. If it seems to you, my brother, that this mode of talking is not

like myself, and that I am outstepping that which should be expected

from my youth and early education, recollect that experience has

written much upon the blank paper of my mind. Chiefly I have learned

that our greatest joy is to know and be with God, and that all the

means whereby we can reach this end, are good, holy, and pleasant. Such

are the ways of charity, modesty, and chastity, and if I think this,

you will think the same; and thinking thus together, I believe that the

love you bear me is so great that you will wish what I wish. I am the

heiress of a kingdom, and you know well the reason why I was sent by

my dear mother to your father's court, in order that I might be safe

from the dangers of war, which threatened my country. Hence resulted

my coming here with you, and being obedient to your will, in which I

have never once failed in the least degree. You have been to me father

and brother; you have been my shelter, my protector, and finally, my

guardian angel. You have been my teacher and my master, since you

brought me to this city, where I have learned to be a true Christian,

and now I would fain, if possible, go to Heaven without delays, alarms,

or anxieties; and that cannot be, unless you release me from the

promise I myself have given to you, the promise and the wish to become

your wife. Give me back, my lord, the promise, and I will try to lose

the wish, even though it should be by forcible means; for in order to

attain so great a gift as Heaven, one must leave all one loves best on

earth, even one's parents, and one's husband or wife. I leave you for

no other: He for whom I leave you is God, who will reward you himself,

which reward far exceeds what you lose in losing me. I have a younger

sister quite as beautiful as I am, if we can call anything that is

mortal beautiful; you may marry her and succeed to the crown, which is

my right, and thus while you are yielding to my wishes you will not be

cheated of your own. Why hangs your head, my brother? ah! why do your

eyes seek the ground? Does my discourse displease you? do my wishes

seem to you unreasonable? Tell me; answer me, at least let me know your

will; possibly I may try to moderate mine, and find out some way more

to your liking, and which will agree with mine."

Periander had listened to every word Auristella said in the most

profound silence, a thousand suppositions in one brief moment rapidly

forming in his imagination, all uniting in picturing the worst that

could befall, for he thought that she abhorred him, as this change

of life must put an end to his, since she could not but know that if

she refused to become his wife, he had no longer anything to live

for in this world: and this idea was so earnestly impressed upon his

mind, that, without answering her a single word, he rose from his

seat, and seeming as if he went to receive Felicia Flora and Constance

and Antonio, who were entering the apartment, he went out and left

Auristella, (I know not whether I ought to call it,) repenting, but, at

all events, thoughtful, and in some confusion.

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XI.

_Periander quits Rome in despair at Auristella's Proposal._

Water that is enclosed in a narrow vessel, whilst it is in the greatest

haste to escape, is slowest to pour out, because the first drops are

detained by those which follow, and one impedes the other, till the

current begins to rush and all the water breaks forth. So is it with

the words that rush into the mind of a distressed lover, sometimes at

the very tip of his tongue, yet hindered by those which follow too

rapidly for utterance; till scarcely knowing which first came into his

head, he is silent, and by silence he says more even than he wishes.

This was shown in the small courtesy Periander displayed towards the

visitors that he met entering Auristella's apartment. He, full of

thoughts and fancies, and oppressed with the imaginations that crowded

into his mind, disdained and deceived, as he thought himself, went out

of Auristella's presence without knowing how, or wishing, or being able

to reply to the long discourse she had held to him.

Antonio and his sister went to her, and found her like one awakening

from a heavy dream, and speaking distinctly aloud to herself in such

words as these:--

"Have I done wrong? But what does it signify? Is it not better he

should know my intentions? Is it not better I should timely leave the

crooked paths and dubious ways, and take the straight road by the

shortest cut, that which clearly and distinctly shows us the happy end

of our journey? I own that Periander's company would not hinder me from

going to Heaven, but also I feel that I should reach it quicker without

him. I owe more to myself than to another; if to the interests of

Heaven and eternal glory, those of earth and earthly ties should yield,

how much more should mine when I have no relationship with Periander."

"I must warn you, sister Auristella," here interposed Constance, "that

you are giving us an idea of things which may awaken our suspicions,

and bring you to confusion. If Periander is not your brother, you have

been holding a very long conversation with him, and, if he is, why

should you deem his company any cause for scandal?"

By this time Auristella had a little recovered herself, and hearing

what Constance said, she tried to make amends for her want of caution,

but did not succeed, for it is a difficult matter to mend an untruth,

and always leaves some doubts behind.

"I know not, my sister," said Auristella, "what I have said; I know

not whether Periander is my brother or not; all I know is, that he is

at least as dear as my own soul; I live, I breathe only in him, in him

I move, and by him I am supported, always restraining myself within

proper bounds, without giving room for any other thoughts, and keeping

a due decorum of manners, such as a woman of high birth ought to show

to a brother as high-born."

"I understand you not, Lady Auristella," here said Antonio, "for, in

your discourse, you sometimes speak of Periander as your brother, and

sometimes not; tell us who he is, and who you are, if you can tell

it? For, whether he is your brother or no, at least you cannot deny

that you are of high birth; and we (I speak of myself and my sister

Constance) are not so inexperienced as to be astonished at anything

you can relate; for, since we left the Barbarous Isle, the troubles

and perils that we have seen and passed through have taught us a great

deal, and, by a very small sign, we can discover the thread of the most

difficult affairs, especially those of love, for it appears that they

bring their own explanation with them. What if Periander should not be

your brother, what if you are his lawful wife? And, again, is it not

much that you have conducted yourselves with such modesty and purity

of manners in the sight of Heaven, and of all who have been in your

company? Love is not always rash and inconsiderate, nor are all lovers

influenced by mere sensual feelings, but by the charm of the heart and

mind; and it being thus, dear lady, again I entreat that you will tell

us who you are and who is Periander, who seemed, as he passed us just

now, to carry away a volcano in his eyes and a gag in his mouth."

"Alas! unhappy that I am," replied Auristella, "and far better it would

have been that I had kept eternal silence, for silence would have saved

him from that gag of which you speak. Women are indiscreet, imprudent,

and impatient, and cannot hold their tongues. Whilst I was silent my

soul was peaceful, I spoke, and my peace is gone; and now that I may

lose it entirely, and so end the tragedy of my life, I will tell you

(who have been sent by Heaven to be indeed a brother and a sister to

me) that Periander is not my brother, neither is he my husband, nor

yet my lover, at least, according to the common acceptation of the

word. He is not one of those lovers who seek to dishonour the woman

they love.--He is a king's son, I am a king's daughter, and the heiress

of a kingdom. We are equal in blood. I have some advantage over him in

my situation, in my inclinations none, and, withal, our wishes are the

same, and our affections are honourably given to one another, only the

thing which confounds and disturbs our intentions, and which forces us

to wait, and places a restraint upon Periander, and distresses me, is

what I cannot tell you now, my friends; but I beseech you aid me to

seek him out, for since he has taken the liberty of going without my

leave, he will not return unsought."

"Then," said Constance, "get up quickly, and let us go in search of

him directly, for the cords which bind lovers do not allow of their

going away very far from the beloved one. Come, we shall quickly find

him. Soon you will see him, and yet sooner you will satisfy him; you

will forget the scruples with which you have been surrounded, and give

Periander your hand as his espoused wife, thereby putting an end to all

calumny and evil report."

Auristella rose up, and accompanied by Felicia Flora, Constance and

Antonio, went out in search of Periander. They who now knew her to be

a princess, looked upon her with redoubled reverence, and treated her

with more respect.

Periander, meanwhile, whom they were seeking, had tried to go far

away from all who might go in search of him. He left Rome on foot,

and alone--unless his utter disconsolateness and his sorrow may be

considered as company. His melancholy thoughts and ever varying

imaginations never left him. "Alas!" said he to himself, "Most

beautiful Sigismunda, queen by nature and beautiful by the bounteous

gift of the same Nature, superhumanly prudent, and surpassingly

charming! little did it cost thee to consider me as a brother, since

never in word or thought did I belie the name--not even malice itself

could affirm that I did. If it be thy wish to go to heaven alone in

thy maiden pride, without dependence upon any other but thy God and

thyself, do so, in God's name! Yet I warn thee--think not that thou

wilt be sinless, or that thou canst act thus without being guilty of my

death. Thou hast left me, lady, loaded and oppressed with the weight

of silence, and thy falseness! Wherefore didst thou not declare this

earlier, when it would not have been tearing my heart from my body to

give up my love for thee? It was all thine: I gave up to thee my entire

will, and thou hast cast me out. Rest in peace, my beloved, and know

that all I can do I have done, in leaving thee."

Night came on, and diverging a little from the high road, which

was that which led to Naples, he heard the murmuring sound of a

stream which ran amongst some trees, and throwing himself down upon

its margin, he ceased his complaints, but his sighs and tears were

ceaseless.

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XII.

_Wherein it is related who Periander and Auristella are._

Good and evil seem to be so inseparable, that like two lines which form

an angle, although they spring from different beginnings, yet both end

in the same point.

Periander lay beside the tranquil stream; the clear and beautiful

night and the murmuring waters were soothing companions: the trees too

were company to him, and a fresh and gentle breeze dried his tears. He

forgot his woes for the moment, and Auristella and the hope of finding

a remedy for his sorrows, he dismissed to the winds--when suddenly a

sound reached his ears; it was of a strange voice, but it caught his

attention, for he heard the well-known accents of his native language,

without being able to distinguish whether it was muttering or singing.

Curiosity made him move nearer, and then he found that the voices

proceeded from two persons, and that they were neither singing nor

muttering, but engaged in deep conversation. What most surprised him

was, that they talked in the Norwegian tongue at so great a distance

from that country.

He concealed himself behind a tree in such a manner that the tree's

shadow and his own were mingled in one. He collected his breath, and

the first words that met his ears were, "You have not to tell me, sir,

that the whole year in Norway is divided into two parts, for I have

been there myself some time--where my misfortunes carried me--and I

know that half the year it is night, and the other half day: I know

that it is so; but why it is so, I am ignorant." To which the other

answered, "If we reach Rome, I will point out to you upon a globe the

cause of this wonderful fact, as natural in that country as it is in

this, for day and night to be four-and-twenty hours long. I have also

told you that near the most northern part of Norway, almost under the

Arctic Pole, lies the island which is supposed to be the furthest end

of the known world, at least of these northern parts. Its name was Tile

(Note 12), or as it is called by Virgil Thulé, in those lines that you

will find in the Georgics, Book I:--

Ac tua nautæ

Numina sola colant: tibi serviat ultima Thulé.

"For Tile in Greek is the same as Thulé in Latin. This island is

nearly as large as England, rich and abundant in all things necessary

for human life; still higher up is the island called Friseland, which

was four hundred years undiscovered by any one. It is so large that

it is called a kingdom, and not a very small one. The king of Tile is

Maximin, son of Queen Eustochia, whose father died not many months ago,

and left two sons, one of whom is this Maximin, of whom I spoke, the

heir to his crown, and the other a noble youth, called Persiles, rich

in the gifts of nature beyond all description, and beloved by his

mother beyond all expression. How to praise the virtues of Persiles

sufficiently I know not, and therefore I will not attempt it for fear

my feeble efforts should impair their greatness; although the affection

I have for him, having been his tutor from childhood, is such that I

might rather be led to say too much, so it is best to be silent on that

point."

Periander, who heard all this, immediately knew that he who praised him

could be no other than Serafido, his tutor; and also in the other, who

was listening to him, he recognized Rutilio by his voice, as he made

answers from time to time. Whether or not he was astonished at this, I

leave to your good consideration, and more still when Serafido (for he

it was,) said,--

"Eusebia, the queen of Friseland, had two daughters of exceeding

great beauty, particularly the eldest, whose name is Sigismunda (the

youngest is called Eusebia, after her mother). Nature had bestowed

beauty on them all. The queen, with what design I know not, taking the

opportunity of a war with which she was threatened, sent Sigismunda to

Tile, to the care of Eustochia, to be brought up at that court, safe

from the dangers of war, she said; but I myself believe that this was

not the chief reason for sending her away, but that the Prince Maximin

might fall in love with her, and make her his wife, which it was

natural to suppose might happen from her extreme beauty, enough to melt

a heart of marble, at least, if this suspicion of mine was a right one,

for I cannot affirm that it was from experience. I know that Prince

Maximin is dying for Sigismunda, but he was not in the island at the

time she arrived at Tile; his mother sent him the picture of the lady,

and told him of the embassy of the queen of Friseland, and his answer

was, that she should be very kindly treated, and that he would marry

her. This answer was like an arrow shot through the heart of my son

Persiles (for by this tender name I called him, having brought him up).

From the moment he heard of it, he could get nothing to please him; he

lost the vivacity of youth, and one heard no more of the gallant deeds

by which he won the admiration and love of every one.

"Above all, he began to lose his health and give way to despair; the

physicians, who were sent for, could make nothing of his ailment, for

they were ignorant of its cause. The state of the pulse does not show

the grief of the heart, and it is difficult and nearly impossible to

comprehend the ailments which spring from that source. The mother,

seeing her son dying, without being able to discover what was killing

him, asked him again and again to reveal the cause of his suffering,

since it was impossible that he should be ignorant of it himself, as

he felt the effects: so powerful were the persuasions, so great the

solicitude of the afflicted mother, that she conquered the obstinacy,

or rather the firmness, of Persiles, and forced him to confess that

he was dying of love for Sigismunda, and that he was determined to

die rather than sin against the duty which he owed his brother. This

declaration restored the queen to life, and she bade Persiles hope,

telling him that a remedy might be found, and that it would be quite

possible to overlook the claims of Maximin, and greater considerations

even than a brother's anger, might be waved to effect this object.

Finally she went to Sigismunda herself, and told her of her son's

wishes, exaggerating all she should lose if she lost Persiles, a

creature in whom all the graces and all the virtues were united;

whereas Maximin was much the reverse, for the harshness of his manners

made him somewhat unpopular, and she cried up the merits of Persiles to

the highest extent.

"Sigismunda, who was very young, alone, and easily persuaded, replied

that she had no will of her own, nor any counsellor but her own

modesty; and so as she could preserve it, she left the queen to dispose

of her as she pleased. The queen embraced her, and flew to carry her

reply to Persiles. It was then agreed between them that they should

absent themselves from the island before his brother returned, and as

an excuse for their disappearance, she would say that they had made a

vow to go to Rome, in order to get properly instructed in the Catholic

faith, which was somewhat impaired in these northern countries,

Persiles first having sworn that he would neither in word nor deed,

offend against her modesty. So, loaded with jewels and advice, the

queen dismissed them, and, when they were gone, she told me all that I

have now related.

"It was two years and rather more before the prince Maximin returned

to his own dominions, for he was engaged in the war he was continually

waging with his enemies.

"He enquired for Sigismunda, and not finding her was a great vexation

to him. As soon as he heard of the voyage she had gone upon, he set

out in search of her. He had great confidence in his brother's virtue,

but was not without suspicion, which a lover is never entirely free

from. As his mother knew of his intentions, she called me aside, and

committed to my charge the life, honour and safety of her younger son,

giving me orders to set out in search of him, and, if possible, to let

him know that his brother was gone to look for him and Sigismunda. The

Prince Maximin set sail with two large ships, and passing through the

Straits of Hercules with various changes of weather and many storms,

he reached at length the Isle of Trinacria, and from thence the fair

city of Parthenope. He was at the present moment not far from thence,

in a place called Terracina, where he had been taken ill, and had been

at the point of death. I landed at Lisbon, where I obtained news of

Persiles and Sigismunda; for two pilgrims whose beauty was making a

great noise there, could be no other than they, for unless they are

Persiles and Sigismunda, they must be incarnate angels."

"If their names," answered the listener to whom Serafido spoke, "were

Periander and Auristella, instead of Persiles and Sigismunda, I could

give you certain news of them, for I was some time in their company,

and underwent with them many perils." He then related the adventures in

the Barbarous Isle with some others.

Meantime day advanced, and Periander, that he might not be seen

there, left them in order to return and give Auristella notice of his

brother's arrival, and to take counsel with her what was best to be

done in order to avoid his indignation, deeming it a miracle that he

should have gained this information in so retired a spot; and, full of

new thoughts, he went to seek, once more, his penitent Auristella, and

the hopes which he had well nigh lost.

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XIII.

_Periander returns towards Rome with the News of his Brother Maximin's

Arrival. Serafido his Tutor, and Rutilio meet with him._

The pain and sensation of a fresh wound is hardly felt in the moment of

anger and hot blood, which, after it becomes cold, causes an agony that

is almost unendurable to the sufferer. It is the same with the passions

of the mind; in allowing them time and space to be dwelt upon, and

considered, they will often nearly vex you to death.

Auristella said all she wanted to Periander, and satisfied with having

declared her desire, she expected its accomplishment, trusting to

the perfect submission of Periander, who, after as we have already

narrated, listening to her in silence, and by silence only, replying,

quitted Rome, and the events we have related happened to him.

He recognized Rutilio, who told the history of the Barbarous Isle to

his former tutor, Serafido, and added his suspicions that Auristella

and Periander might prove to be Sigismunda and Persiles. He also said

that they were sure to be found in Rome, and that from the first

beginning of his acquaintance, he had seen that they were travelling

on some secret business, and were only pretending to be brother and

sister. He then questioned Serafido abundantly upon the condition and

manners of the inhabitants of those distant isles, of which Maximin and

the peerless Auristella were sovereigns; and Serafido again repeated

how this island of Tile or Thulé, which is now vulgarly called Iceland,

was the most northerly of all the islands in those seas, the other

being a little further south, which, as he before said, was called

Friseland, and which Nicholas Temo (Note 13), a Venetian, discovered

in the year one thousand three hundred and eighty. It was as large

as Sicily, and, until then, unknown by the ancients. Eusebia is its

queen, the mother of Sigismunda, whom I seek. There is yet another

island nearly as important, and almost always covered with snow,

called Greenland, at one corner of which there is a monastery, founded

under the name of St. Thomas (Note 14), and where there are monks of

four nations, Spaniards, French, Latin, and Tuscan. They teach their

different tongues to the principal people of the island, that when they

leave it, they may be understood wherever they go. As I said before,

the island is buried in snow; and at the top of a small mountain there

is a fountain, a great wonder, and worthy to be known: it throws out

and pours forth a quantity of water of such heat, that when it reaches

the sea and mingles with its waves, it not only thaws the frozen water,

but warms it so that in that part an incredible variety of fishes are

found, which fish form the chief sustenance of the monastery and the

island in general, which derives thence her revenues and profits (Note

15). This fountain also engenders stones of a glutinous quality, of

which an adhesive cement is made, with which they build houses, as if

they were of the hardest marble.

"Other things I could tell you," said Serafido to Rutilio, "of these

isles, which you would scarcely believe, and yet which are quite true."

All this Periander did not hear. Rutilio told it to him afterwards, and

he believed the truth of all that he related, from his own knowledge of

so many of the facts stated.

The day was now come, and Periander had just reached that magnificent

temple and church, almost the largest in Europe, of St. Peter, when

he saw coming towards him a little troop of persons on horseback and

on foot; and as they came near he knew them to be Auristella, Felicia

Flora, Constance, and Antonio, and also Hippolyta, who, having heard of

Periander's disappearance, would not leave the pleasure of finding him

to others, and so followed Auristella, taking the road pointed out by

the Jewess, Zabulon's wife, much like one who is friendly with the evil

one.

The fair squadron came up to Periander, who saluted Auristella, and

looking closely at her, he fancied that her countenance was more gentle

in its expression, and her eyes milder. He told them directly all that

he had heard the night before between his old tutor and Rutilio, and

how his brother, Prince Maximin, was at Terracina, laid up with an

illness there; and how he intended coming to Rome to be cured, and with

a feigned name, and concealing his rank, to search for them.

He then asked advice from Auristella and the others, as to what he

should do, for he could not expect a very gentle reception from his

brother.

Auristella was thunderstruck at the unexpected tidings, and in an

instant vanished alike the hopes of preserving her maiden freedom, and

of retaining the company of her loved Periander.

As for the rest of the party they were all busy thinking what advice it

would be best to give Periander. The first who offered any was the rich

and enamoured Hippolyta. She proposed to take Periander and his sister

with her to Naples, and spend her hundred thousand and more of ducats

with them there.

The Calabrian Pyrrhus heard this offer, for he was by, and to him it

was like a death-blow; for in a ruffian soul like his, jealousy is

engendered, not by disdain, but self-interest, and as his would suffer

with the loss of Hippolyta, despair for some moments took possession of

him, during which he treasured up in his heart a mortal hatred against

Periander, whose grace and beauty, great as they were, seemed magnified

yet greater in his eyes, for such is the natural effect of jealousy.

Periander thanked Hippolyta, but did not accept her liberal offers. The

others had no time to advise anything, for at this instant Serafido and

Rutilio came up, and scarcely had they both caught sight of Periander

than they ran and threw themselves at his feet, for his change of

dress could not change his graceful figure. Rutilio clasped his waist,

Serafido hung upon his neck, Rutilio wept with delight, and Serafido

with joy and tenderness.

The bystanders watched this extraordinary and happy meeting with the

warmest interest. Pyrrhus alone stood gloomily apart, his secret fury

preying upon his vitals; and at last, so great was his envy and rage,

to see how Periander was respected and beloved, that, impelled by

blind passion, and hardly knowing what he did, he plunged his sword

into Periander's right shoulder with such force, that the point came

out at his left, taking a slanting direction from side to side.

Hippolyta was the first who saw the blow given, and her shriek was

first heard crying out, "Ah, traitor! ah, fatal enemy of my peace, hast

thou slain him who deserved to live for ever?" Serafido opened his

arms, Rutilio loosened his, all bathed in the warm blood of Periander,

who sank into those of Auristella. She had no power to speak, to

breathe, or even to weep. His head fell upon her breast, and his arms

hung down on either side. This sudden stroke, which then appeared more

fatal than it afterwards proved, filled all those who witnessed it with

horror, and left them pale as death. The great flow of blood was what

seemed to threaten Periander's life, at least Auristella looked as if

it was about to depart. Serafido and Rutilio arrested the assassin, and

in spite of his strength and savage ferocity, they secured him, and

with the help of several persons, who had by this time come up, he was

taken to prison, and the governor in a few days after sentenced him to

the gallows, as an incorrigible villain and assassin. His death was a

great relief to Hippolyta, who henceforwards felt able to call her life

her own.

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XIV.

_Maximin appears among them ill of a fever. He dies after joining

the hands of Periander and Auristella, now known as_ Persiles and

Sigismunda.

So little certainty is there in all earthly joys, that no man can

promise himself a moment of perfect security. Auristella repenting the

declaration she had made of her wishes and intentions to Periander,

now hastened to seek him out joyfully, believing that with her hand

and her repentance all would come right, and according to his desire,

for she believed herself to be the key of the wheel of his fortune,

and the Polar star of all his hopes; nor was she deceived in this, for

already had he brought himself to comply with her will. But mark the

cheats of this ever changing fortune. In one short instant, as we have

seen, she finds herself quite another thing from what she was of late.

She meant to smile, and she weeps; she thought of happy life, and she

is at the point of death; she expected to see Periander, and lo, in

his place, his brother Maximin! who, with a number of equipages and a

large retinue, now approaches, entering Rome by this, the Terracina

road; and seeing the crowd of persons that surrounded the wounded

Periander, he ordered his carriage to stop, that he might learn the

cause. Serafido went to meet him, saying, "O Prince Maximin, I bring

you evil tidings; yonder wounded man in the arms of that beautiful lady

is your brother Persiles, and she is the peerless Sigismunda; after all

your diligence you find them in a sad time and season, so that instead

of rejoicings, you will only come to follow them to their grave."

"They will not go to it alone," answered Maximin; "but I shall bear

them company. Accordingly I am come;" and, putting his head out of

the carriage, he recognized his brother, although he was all covered

with blood. He knew Sigismunda, too, although her face was pale as

death, for the terror which had deprived it of colour had not altered

the features. Sigismunda was all lovely before, but, if possible, she

looked lovelier still in her sorrow, for, in some cases, grief only

adds to beauty."

He left his carriage, and sunk into the arms of Sigismunda--Auristella

no longer--but the queen of Friseland, and, in his imagination, queen

of Tile also.

These strange events all came under the name of what is called fortune,

which is but another name for the ordering of a heavenly Providence.

Maximin had set out for Rome, in the hope of finding better physicians

to cure him of his disease than those he had at Terracina, and they

had warned him that before he could reach Rome, he would be dead, more

skilful and sagacious in this matter than in finding out how to cure

him: it is true that his was an illness seldom cured.

And now before the great cathedral of St. Peter, in the midst of an

open plain, has hideous death stepped forth to meet the young and

beautiful Persiles, and threatens him with destruction, whilst to

Maximin it gives a grave. He, finding himself near expiring, with his

right hand takes Persiles' left in his own, and lifts it to his eyes,

whilst in his left hand he takes Persiles' right and joins it with

Sigismunda, saying, in a faint and feeble voice, and failing breath,

"Your truth and virtue, my children, and my brother, I well know: open,

O my brother, those closed lids of thine, and shut these eyes of mine

in eternal sleep, and with thy other hand clasp that of Sigismunda, and

seal therewith my gift and wish that she should be thy wife, and let

this blood that is spilt of thine, and these thy friends who surround

thee, be witnesses of the marriage. Thy father's kingdom is left for

thee, and thou wilt have Sigismunda's also. May ye both enjoy health

and happiness for many years to come!"

These words, so tender, so joyful, and yet so sorrowful, revived the

fainting spirits of Periander, and, obedient to his brother's desire

(on whom death had set his seal) he closed his eyes, and, in accents

divided between grief and joy, pronounced the words which bound him for

ever to Sigismunda as her husband.

This unexpected and melancholy event affected the bystanders strongly,

and many of them shed tears, and sighs and sobs were heard all around.

They lifted up the dead body of Maximin and carried it into St. Peter's

church, and placing Persiles, only half alive, in the carriage of the

dead prince, they returned with him to Rome, where they found neither

Bellarmina nor Delicia, both of whom had gone back to France with the

duke.

Arnoldo was strongly affected when he heard of this unexpected and

strange marriage; he felt deeply how many years he had wasted in this

pursuit, how many deeds he had done, and actions performed, in the hope

of being at last rewarded by the peaceable possession of Sigismunda's

peerless charms; and that which most vexed and disturbed his mind, was,

to remember all that Clodio had said, which he would not believe, and

of which he had now obtained such manifest proof. At first, indignant

and disturbed, he determined to set off without speaking a word to

either Persiles or Sigismunda; but, on second thoughts, considering

their royal birth, and the excuse they had, and that this great piece

of good fortune was reserved clearly for Persiles, he resolved that

he would go to them; he did so, and was very kindly received, and, in

order to console him and give him less cause to complain, they offered

him the young princess Eusebia, Sigismunda's sister, for a wife. He

accepted this offer willingly, and he would have accompanied them at

once to their own country, but that he thought it right to go and ask

his father's leave, since in the affair of marriage, and indeed in all

serious or important matters, it is right for children to consult their

parents' pleasure. He stayed to assist in the cure of his intended

brother-in-law; and when he was perfectly restored to health, he

departed to join his father, and to prepare for his promised bride.

Felicia Flora had decided to marry Antonio the Barbarian; for she said

she would never return to live among the friends and relations of the

man who would have murdered him.

Croriano and Ruperta, their pilgrimage ended, returned to France,

taking with them ample matter for discourse in the events of the

feigned Auristella's history.

Persiles had his brother buried in St. Peter's, and took all his

servants under his protection.

They visited all the churches in Rome, and loaded Constance with

caresses.

Sigismunda presented her with the diamond cross, and would not part

with her till she left her married to the count, her brother-in-law.

Then, having kissed the Pope's feet, her vow accomplished, and her soul

at peace, she lived in sweet companionship with her husband Persiles,

to see their children's children grow up around them, their lives

prolonged and blessed in their happy and numerous posterity.

NOTES.

[Illustration]

NOTES.

BOOK I.

_Note 1._ Page 78.

Cervantes makes extraordinary mistakes with the names of these northern

countries; by Hibernia, he doubtless means Scotland. The absurd story

of the Barnacle Goose was believed in the time of Cervantes. Gerard, in

his Herbal, published 1636, writes as follows:--

"But what our eyes have seene, and hands have touched, we shall

declare: There is a small island in Lancashire called the Pile of

Foulders, wherein are found the broken pieces of old and bruised ships,

some whereof have been cast thither by shipwracke, and also the trunks

and bodies with the branches of old and rotten trees cast up there

likewise; whereon is found a certain spume or froth, that in time

breedeth unto certeine shels, in shape like those of the muskle, but

sharper pointed, and of a whitish color; wherein is contained a thing

in form like a lace of silke, finely woven, as it were, together, of

a whitish color, one end whereof is fastened unto the inside of the

shell, even as the fish of oysters and muskles are: the other end is

made fast unto the belly of a rude masse or lumpe, which in time cometh

to the shape and form of a bird: when it is perfectly formed the shell

gapeth open, and the first thing that appeareth is the aforesaid lace

or string: next come the legs of the bird, hanging out, and as it

grows greater, it openeth the shell by degrees, till at length it is

all come forth, and hangeth only by the bill: in short space after it

cometh to full maturitie and falleth into the sea, where it gathereth

feathers and groweth to a fowle bigger than a Mallard and lesser than

a goose, having blacke legs and bill or beake, and feathers blacke and

white spotted, in such manner as is our magpie, called in some places a

Pie-annet, which the people of Lancashire call by no other name than a

tree-goose; which place aforesaid, and all those parts adjoining, do so

much abound therewith, that one of the best is bought for three pence.

For the truth hereof, if any doubt, may it please them to repaire unto

me, and I shall satisfie them by the testimonie of good witnesses."

Gerarde's Herbal came out first in 1597; a second edition, with

corrections and emendations, 1633.

_Note 2._ Page 103.

The Loup-garoux, or Man-wolf--Garwall.

In the "Lais de Marie," we have the story of Bisclaveret--

"Formerly many men became garwalls, and had their houses in woods. A

garwall is a savage beast: his rage is so great that he devours men,

does great mischief, and lives in vast forests. The Bretons call him

Bisclaveret."--_Marie's Lays_, p. 160.

There are a great many curious particulars and observations upon this

subject in the Mémoires de la Société Nationale des Antiquaires de

France, tome 9.

There have been few superstitions more popular and general from very

ancient times down to comparatively modern; and it is remarkable that

under different names it is common to many countries.

"Parmi les Transformations d'hommes en animaux il en est une qui

se distingue des autres par ses caractères speciaux, par son nom

particulier et par la terreur profonde dont elle a frappé les

imaginations des gens du moyen age. Je veux parler des loups-garous;

les loups-garous ou hommes changés en loups, natures feroces et

redoutables, puissances malfaisantes emanées du demon ont été un des

plus constants objets de l'effroi populaire, et la foi a leur existence

s'est perpetuée jusqu'aux epoques les plus modernes."

"Si nous consultons les textes historiques du moyen age nous trouvons

la croyance aux loups-garous repandu dès les epoques les plus

reculées dans la plupart des contrées de l'Europe. Dans les lois de

Canut Roi d'Angleterre, un homme est designé sous le vieux nom de

Lycanthrope."--_Leges Canute regis._ Edit. Smith, i. 148.

"Jean Trithême raconte qu'en l'an 976, il y avait un Juif nommé Baïan,

fils de Siméon, Prince des Bulgares, qui se transformait en loup, et

se rendait invisible quand il voulait."--Vois _Bodin Demonomanie des

Sorciers_, I. H. C. VI.

"Boniface, Archevêque de Mayence, qui vivait au viii. siecle, mentionne

dans un de ses Sermons, parmi les œuvres du Diable, Incantationes et

Sortileges exquirere strigas et fictos lupos credere."--_Sermon XV. de

Abrenuntiatione Diaboli._

"Saint Bernard d'apres l'auteur de sa vie, en passant dans une certaine

ville entendit raconter aux habitants que le bon voisin etait désole

par deux betes très feroces que le vulgaire appelle Varoli."--_Vita

Sancte Bernardi_, J. H. p. 227, 228.

Numbers of stories similar to these are given in the above-mentioned

work; but these must suffice. Very curious are the accounts given of

the different ways in which the same superstition existed in different

countries.

"En Portugal les lubishomens passent pour des gens nés sous une

mauvaise étoile, et condamnés par la fatalité au malheur; c'est a dire,

a l'enfer. Quand il y a dans une famille sept fils ou sept filles,

l'un d'eux appartient au Diable. Pendant le jour les lubishomens sont

taciturnes et melancoliques; la nuit un penchant irresistible les porte

a quitter leur demeures et a chercher les lieux les plus sauvages.

Après s'etre depouillés de leur vêtemens ils se transforment en chevaux

a la longue crinière, aux yeux ardents, franchissant les montagnes,

les vallées et les fleuves, et parcourent ainsi un arc de quelques

centaines de lieues; mais avant l'aube ils retournent au point de

depart, reprennent leur vêtemens et redeviennent hommes. Il n'y a qu'un

moyen de détruire l'influence diabolique a laquelle ils sont soumis;

c'est d'avoir le courage de se mettre au devant d'eux et d'arrêter leur

course fougeuse et de les blesser légèrement a la poitrine, dès que le

sang coule à terre ils sont délivrés du Démon, et leur métamorphose

cesse pour toujours."

"Cette tradition qui m'a été signalée par mon savant collegue, M.

Depping, est rapportée dans les _Lusitanian Sketches_, et dans _Le

Portugal de M. Ferd. Denis_."

"Autrefois la Prusse, la Lithuanie, la Livonie fourmillaient de

Sorciers qui passaient pour se métamorphoser en loups quand ils

vouloient."

In the same paper, "Recherches sur la Lycanthropie," we have a great

deal more on the subject, too long to extract for this note. In the

middle ages, it is stated that the laws were very strict and rigorous

against all who were accused of this singular species of sorcery.

They were feared and hated as the most dangerous and ferocious of

murderers, and when taken were burnt alive. About 1436, at Berne,

a great number of sorcerers were burnt alive, who confessed that

they were obedient to the devil, and, by means of certain ointments,

were able to transform themselves, and that they had devoured their

own children. In 1574, before the Parliament of Dôle, a "Procès de

Lycanthropie" was tried against Gilles Garnier, a sorcerer, of Lyons.

He was condemned and burnt. The 3rd of December, 1573, the Parliament

of Franche Comté issued an order for a "Chasse de Loups-garous." From

1596 to 1600, a great number of men and women suffered the punishment

of fire as Lycanthropes and Demonolâtres. In the capacity of judge,

Jean Boquet showed such intense zeal against them, that, at the close

of his life, he boasted, says Voltaire, of having himself caused more

than six hundred Lycanthropes to perish.--_Boquet Disc. des Sorciers,

&c._ 1603. _Voltaire, Œuvres completes._ Ed. Baudmin, t. 39.

The subject was preached upon from the altar; learned dissertations

were written and published as to whether the fact of men being able to

transform themselves into beasts were true or no.

At the close of this paper the author gives his own opinion as to

whether the transformation of men into beasts be admissible; and in

all the facts produced by writers and preserved by tradition, how

much is reality, trickery, or imagination. To the first question,

we need hardly say, he answers in the negative; to the second, our

answer is, that certain facts set down to Lycanthropy have been really

accomplished by true wolves, or men in a state of savage nature; 2ndly,

others have been contrived by popular imaginations, or by deceivers,

whether to terrify or to delude; 3rdly, the greater number of the

facts have been caused by affections of the brain in the pretended

loups-garous, by that black melancholy already described by the

physicians of antiquity--in a word, by madness.

_Note 3._ Page 103.

This is one of the mistakes Cervantes falls into: the story of

no venomous creature being able to exist is told of Ireland, and

not of England. "Bede writeth, that serpents conueid into Ireland

did presently die, being touched with the smell of the land; that

whatsoever came from Ireland was then of sovereigne virtue against

poison."--_Bede_, lib. 1, _Ang. Hist._ cap. 1.

Saith Irenæus: "I am doone to understand by the report of diuerse,

and also by Bede, that no poisoned or venemous thing is bred in that

realme (Ireland), insomuch that the verie earth of that countrie, being

brought to other realmes, killeth all venemous and poisoned wormes."

_Note 4._ Page 105.

"Evanthes (a writer among the Greekes of good account and authority)

reporteth that he found among the records of the Arcadians, that in

Arcadia there was a certain house and race of the Antœi, out of which

one evermore must needs be transformed into a wolf: and when they of

that family have cast lots who it shall be, they vie to accompany the

party upon whom the lot is falne to a certain meere or poole in that

country. When he is thither come, they turn him naked out of all his

clothes, which they hang upon an oak thereby: then he swimmeth over the

said lake to the other side; and being entered into the wildernesse, is

presently transfigured and turned into a wolfe, and so keepeth company

with his like of that kind for nine yeeres space; during which time (if

he forbeare all the while to eat man's flesh) he returneth again to

the same poole or pond; and being swomme over it, receiveth his former

shape of a man, save only that he shall look nine yeeres older than

before. Fabius addeth one thing more, and saith that he findeth again

the same apparel that was hung up in the oak aforesaid.

"A wonder is it to see to what passe these Greekes are come in their

credulity; there is not so shamelesse a lye but it findeth one or other

of them to uphold and to maintaine it."--_Holland's Pliny._

_Note 5._ Page 105.

Cervantes is fond of this legend. He refers to it in his Don Quixote,

chap. 5. I never heard that such a superstition ever existed in

England; but Sharon Turner, speaking of King Arthur, says: "So greatly

were the people of Bretagne interested in his fame, that Alanus de

Insulis tells us that even in his time (the twelfth century) they would

not believe that their favourite was dead. If you do not believe me,

go into Bretagne, and mention in the streets and villages that Arthur

is really dead like other men, you will not escape with impunity; you

will be either hooted with the curses of your hearers, or be stoned to

death."

Trouveurs (continues Turner), troubadours, and monkish versifiers

combine to express the same idea. We find the same in the traditions

of the old Welsh bards, "who believed that King Arthur was not dead,

but conveyed away by the fairies into some pleasant place, where he

should remaine for a time, and then return again, and reign in as great

authority as ever."--_Holinshed_, b. 5. c. 14.

"Some men yet say, in many parts of England, that King Arthur is not

dead; but by the will of our Lord Jesu Christ, into another place; and

men say that he will come again, and he shall win the holy cross. I

will not say that it shall be so; but rather I will say, that here, in

this world, he changed his life. But many men say that there is written

upon his tomb this verse:--

"'Hic jacet Arthurus rex quondam, rex futuris.'"

_Mort d'Arthur, by Sir Thomas Maleor_, or _Malory, Knight_.

BOOK II.

_Note 4._ Page 212.

Cervantes makes strange blunders with these northern nations, of

which he evidently knew very little. It seems singular, for one so

well informed as he was on many points, to be so ignorant about their

history at the same period as his own. He here talks of the King of

_Danea_, having already a Danish prince in his story; but I have

ventured to suppose that Cervantes considers the countries of Denmark,

Sweden, and Norway as being all included in the word Danes, which was

the general appellation given to the Scandinavian tribes in the ninth

and tenth centuries. There were the Western Danes, inhabitants of what

is now called Denmark. The Eastern Danes are now Sweden. The Northern

Danes are Norway. These people had all one common language. Later in

the book, Periander hears the language of Norway, and recognizes it as

his own. I have therefore changed the word Danea, and made Leopold King

of Norway. It was a curious oversight that Cervantes fell into, giving

imaginary sovereigns to all the northern kingdoms, and, as Sismondi

observes, in fact, knowing no more of them than his own Don Quixote

did. "The Poles, the Norwegians, the Irish and the English are all

introduced in their turns, and represented as possessing manners no

less extraordinary, and a mode of life no less fantastic, than that of

the savages with whom he peoples his unknown isles; nor is the scene

laid in that remote antiquity, the obscurity of which might admit of

such fables."--_Sismondi: Roscoe's Translation._

But otherwise, one might suppose that Cervantes, entirely abandoning

the field of reality, and forgetting that, in other parts of the story,

he intends us to be actually within that sober realm, by making mention

of personages who were existing about his own time, had wandered away

into the dreamy countries of romance, and that he is speaking of those

imaginary kingdoms we read of in Amadis de Gaul--"El Reyno di Dinamarea

o el di Sobradisa," kingdoms in romance, situated in the imaginary maps

of the Chronicle of Amadis de Gaul. Of the _Dinamarea_ damsel, the

chief confidante of the Lady Oriana, and of the kingdom of Sobradisa,

which was bounded by that of Seroloys on one side, and by the sea on

the other, we have frequent mention, especially in chapters 21 and

22.--_Note in Don Quixote, by Pellicer_, v. 1, pt. 1.

_Note 5._ Page 256.

In the middle ages, riding full gallop down a precipice occurs in

Froissart, as a common but distinguished act of chivalry.--_Fosbroke's

Encyclopædia of Antiquities._

BOOK III.

_Note 6._ Page 281.

In this poet Cervantes describes himself. His first literary

compositions were dramas; he was poor; he had returned home from his

career as a soldier with the loss of his left hand, and had been five

years and a half in slavery at Algiers.

_Note 7._ Page 338.

Cervantes hated the Moors; which was, perhaps, not wonderful after his

five years' slavery among them. But he is clearly a courtier, too; and

the story seems introduced for the sake of this tirade against their

nation; and the apostrophe to the king, Philip III., in whose reign was

perpetrated that deed of violence, cruelty, and short-sighted folly,

the consequences of which Spain will never recover, and which will ever

remain a dark blot in the page of her history.

It also serves as an opportunity for Cervantes to show his zeal for

the Roman Catholic religion, which he never loses throughout the whole

work. The expulsion of the Moors was determined upon in 1609. Persiles

and Sigismunda is the last work Cervantes ever wrote. The dedication is

dated 1616.

_Note 8._ Page 377.

The Academy of the Entronadas, properly Intronati, an Italian word

which signifies _blockheads_. The Italian academies, of which almost

every town, large and small, had one or more, (and in the sixteenth

century especially Italy was remarkable for them,) were distinguished

by quaint and humorous names, such as "Insensati," "Stordite,"

"Confusi," "Politice," "Umorose," "Oziosi," "Gelati." The Intronati,

which Cervantes has called Entronadas, were at Sienna.

"Les Intronati mot qu'on ne peut rendre en Francais que par les

Abasourdis ou les Stupides, avaient autant d'esprit et de malice, mais

plus d'elegance que les Rozze (grossiers, mal gracieux stupides).

Leur Academie avait été fondée en 1525 par le Tolommei, Luca Contile,

François Piccolomini, qui fut depuis Archevêque de Sienne, et par

d'autres hommes distingués dans la Philosophie et dans les lettres.

Elle faisoit une étude particulière de la langue Toscane et son Theatre

Comique avait une grande celebrité."--_Ginguené Hist. Litteraire de

l'Italie._

Milan had its Trasformati; Pavia the Affidati, Desiosi; Mantua the

Invhagati Intenti; but for further information the reader may consult

Ginguené or Triaboschi, who has in his eighth volume an entire chapter

upon the academies.

BOOK IV.

_Note 9._ Page 418, _after the word Bargains_.

I have here omitted a page which relates to a poet whose appearance

once before I also left out. It appears to be introduced only for the

purpose of saying a word in praise of Francisco López de Zárate, whose

verses, says Cervantes, ought to resound through the four quarters

of the globe, and his harmonious numbers enchant every heart, as he

sings of "The Invention of the Cross of Christ," with "The Wars of the

Emperor Constantine," a poem truly heroic and religious, and worthy

to be called a poem. He is not mentioned by Sismondi; and Bouterweke

only gives his name as one among several in a list of the authors of "A

Torrent of Heroic Poems." "La Invencion de la Cruz," by López Zárate,

is one of these, but he receives no other notice than this remark

upon them all: "None but those who make this branch of literature

their especial study now think of perusing these and similar patriotic

effusions, which were, at the period of their publication, regarded as

epic poems."

_Note 12._ Page 449.

Thulé, or Tile. What country really was the Thulé of the ancients has

never been clearly made known to us. In Camden's Britannia may be

read all the various accounts in a chapter headed "The Thulé of the

Ancients," v. 2.

"Beyond the Orcades and above Britain," the old scholiast upon Horace

places the Fortunate Isles, which none but pious and just men are said

to inhabit, a place celebrated by the Greek poets for its pleasantness

and fertility, and called by them the "Elysian Fields." But take

another account of these isles from Isacius Tzetzes, a fabulous Greek,

in his notes upon Lycophron:--

"In the ocean is a British island, between the west of Britain and

Thulé, towards the east. Thither, they say, the souls of the dead

are transported; for on the shore of that sea, within which Britain

lieth, there dwell certain fishermen, who are subject to the French,

but accountable for no tribute, because (as they say) they ferry over

the souls of the deceased. These fishermen return home and sleep in

the evening, but a little after, hear a rapping at their doors, and a

voice calling them to their work. Upon that they presently rise, and

go to the shore without any other business, and find boats ready for

them (but none of their own), and nobody in them; yet, when they come

on board and fall to their oars, they find the boats as heavy as if

they were laden with men, though they see none. After one pull, they

presently arrive at that British island, which at other times, in ships

of their own, they hardly reach in a day and night. When they come

to land on the island, they see nobody, but hear the voice of those

who receive their passengers counting them by the stock of father

and mother, and calling them singly, according to the title of their

dignity, employment, and name. After they have unloaded, they return

back at one stroke. From hence, many take these to be the Islands of

the Blessed."--Page 1482.

After giving all the various accounts by various authors, he

says:--"Thus much may suffice concerning Thulé, which is hid from us

as well as it was from the ancients, by snow and winter. As a certain

author expresses it, neither was any of them able to say which of the

Northern Isles they meant when they talked of Thulé."

_Note 13._ Page 455.

"Friseland." Cervantes has taken his idea entirely from the accounts

given by the Venetian brothers, Nicholas and Antonio _Zeni_, not

_Temo_, probably a misprint. Their voyage is told in an Italian

collection of voyages, "Delle Navigatione and Viaggi Raccolse da M.

Gio. Battista Ramusio." Venice, 3 vols. fol. 1613. Nicholas and Antonio

Zeni; Discovery of Friseland, Iceland, and the North Pole: "Nicholas

Zeno having been shipwrecked, in 1380, on the island of Friseland, in

consequence of their having been overtaken by a tempest, and likewise

having been saved by Prince Zichmni from the rude attacks of the

inhabitants, put himself, with all his men, under the protection of

this prince, who was lord of certain small islands which lay to the

south of Frieseland."--_Voyages and Discoveries in the North: Forster._

"And this is as much as is known of Greenland from the relation of

Nicolo Zeno, who gives likewise a particular description of a river

that he discovered, as is to be seen in the chart that I (viz. Antonio

Zeno) have drawn. Nicolo not being able to bear the severe cold of

these northern climates, fell sick, and a little after, returned to

Friesland, where he died."--_Forster_, p. 188. _Translated from the

Italian of Francesco Marcolini, in Ramusio's Collections._

Forster imagines this Friesland to be the Feroe Islands.

_Note 14._ Page 455.

St. Thomas. "In the spring, Nicholas Zeno resolved to go out on

discoveries, and having fitted out three small ships, he set sail

in July; and, shaping his course to the northwards, arrived in

Engroveland, Engroneland, Groenland, or Greenland, where he found a

Monastery of Predicant Friars, and a Church, dedicated to St. Thomas,

hard by a mountain that threw out fire, like Etna or Vesuvius. They

have here a spring of boiling hot water, with which they heat the

church, the monastery, and the friars' chambers. It comes likewise

so hot into the kitchen, that they use no fire for dressing their

victuals; and putting their bread into brass pots without any water, it

is baked as though it was in a hot oven. They have also small gardens,

covered over in winter; which gardens, being watered with this water,

are defended from the snow and cold, that in these regions, situated so

near the pole, is extremely great."--_Forster_, p. 184.

_Note 15._ Page 455.

"They live on wild fowl and fish; for, in consequence of the warm water

running into the sea in a large and wide haven, which, by reason of

the heat of the water, never freezes, there is so great a concourse

in this place of sea-fowl and fish, that they take as many of them as

they can possibly have occasion for, with which they maintain a great

number of people round about, whom they keep continually employed both

in building and in taking of fowls and fish, as well as in a thousand

other necessary occupations and affairs relative to the monastery."

* * * * *

"To this monastery resort monks from Norway and Sweden, and

from other countries."

FINIS.

PRINTED BY C. WHITTINGHAM, 21, TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE.