THE MADHOUSE, AND ITS INMATES.
Zambullo surveyed, by turns, with much curiosity, the several rooms and
the unfortunate creatures they contained; and while he was reflecting
on the scene thus presented to his eyes, the Devil said to him: "There
they are, my master! You see insanity in every form there;--men and
women, laughing idiots and raging maniacs, locks grey with age, and
cheeks which still retain their bloom. Well! now I will tell you what
has turned their heads: we will go from room to room, but will begin
with the men.
"The first whom you observe, and who appears so violent, is a political
fanatic of Castile. He is a proud citizen of Madrid, in the heart
of which he was born; and he is more jealous of the honour of his
country than was ever citizen of ancient Rome. He went mad with chagrin
at reading in the gazette, that twenty-five Spaniards had suffered
themselves to be beaten by a party of fifty Portuguese.
"His neighbour is a licentiate, who was so anxious to obtain a
benefice, that he played the hypocrite at court during ten long years;
and whose brain was turned by despair at finding himself constantly
overlooked among the promotions: his madness, however, is not without
its advantage; seeing that he at present imagines himself to be
Archbishop of Toledo. And what if he deceive himself? His pleasure
is none the less: indeed, I think, that he is so much the more to be
envied; since his error is a golden dream, which will only end with his
life, and he will not be called to account in the other world for the
application of his revenues in this.
"The next in rotation is a ward, whom his guardian declared to be
insane, that he might have the uncontrolled use of his property: the
poor youth has become really mad from rage at his unjust confinement.
After the minor, comes a schoolmaster, who lost his wits in search of
the _paulo post futurum_ of the Greek verb; and, then again, we have
a merchant, whose reason was shipwrecked with a vessel that belonged
to him, although it had stood the shock of two bankruptcies which had
before threatened to engulph him.
"The person who is lodged in the next room is the ancient captain
Zanubio, a Neapolitan cavalier, who came to establish himself in
Madrid, and whom jealousy has settled where he is: you shall hear his
history.
"He delighted in a youthful spouse, the lady Aurora, whom he guarded
as the apple of his eye. His house was absolutely inaccessible to all
mankind; and Aurora never left it but for mass, always accompanied by
her aged Tithon, or to breathe with him the pure air of the pleasant
fields, at an estate near Alcantara, whither he sometimes led her.
Despite his vigilance, however, she had been perceived at church by the
cavalier Don Garcia Pacheco, who loved her from the instant that he
saw her: he was an enterprising youth, and not unworthy the attention
of a pretty woman whom Fortune had badly matched.
[Illustration: Zanubio and Aurora at church, observed by Don Garcia]
"The difficulty of introducing himself into the house of Zanubio was
not sufficient to deprive Don Garcia of hope. As his chin was yet
unreaped, and he was fair to behold, he disguised himself as a virgin,
took with him a hundred pistoles, and betook himself to the captain's
seat, where, he had learned, that gentleman and his lady were shortly
expected. Watching his opportunity to accost the female who acted as
gardener in Zanubio's establishment, he addressed her in the style
of the heroines of chivalry, who fly from some giant's towers: 'Kind
lady,' said he, 'I come to throw myself within your arms, and to
entreat your pity. I am a maiden of Toledo, of wealth and name, but my
parents would compel me to give my hand to one whom my heart disowns.
To escape this tyranny, I have fled by night; and I now seek shelter
from a cruel world. Here I shall be safe from pursuit. Do not deny me,
then, to dwell with you until my friends shall be inspired with more
kindly sentiments. There is my purse: do not hesitate to receive it,
it is all that I can give you now: but I trust the day will come when I
may more properly acknowledge the service which you will render me by
your protection.'
[Illustration: Don Garcia accosts the female gardener]
"The gentle gardener, especially affected by the conclusion of this
touching address, replied: 'Dear lady, I will receive you with
pleasure. I know that there are too many youthful maidens who are
sacrificed to aged men; and I know, too, that they are not usually
reconciled to their lot. I sympathize with your afflictions: you could
not have more fortunately addressed yourself than to me. Come! I
will place you in a little room, where you may live in confidence of
security.'
"Don Garcia passed four days, shut up in the gardener's cottage,
anxiously awaiting the arrival of Aurora. At last she came, guarded as
ever by her jealous spouse, who immediately, according to his usual
custom, searched every chamber, from the cellar to the garret, to
make sure that he was free from the hated form of man, which might
endanger his honour. The gardener, who expected this visitation,
anticipated it by informing her master of the manner in which a refuge
had been sought with her by a youthful female. Zanubio, although
extremely mistrustful, had not the slightest suspicion of the deceit
now practised on him; he was, however, curious to see the unknown.
At the interview which followed, the lady begged him to excuse her
concealing her name, stating that it was a reserve which she owed to
her family, which she in some sort dishonoured by her flight. She then
related to him so pathetic a tale, and in a style so romantic, that the
captain was charmed; and while he listened to her narration, he felt
a rising inclination for this amiable damsel, which ended in an offer
of his services and protection; after which he led her to his wife,
flattering himself that this adventure would not end disagreeably to
himself.
"As soon as Aurora beheld Don Garcia, she blushed and trembled, without
knowing why. The cavalier, who perceived her uneasiness, shrewdly
guessed that she had observed the attention with which he had regarded
her at church. To ascertain this fact, as soon as they were alone, he
said to her: 'Madam, I have a brother who has often spoken to me of
you. He saw you for a moment at your devotions, and from that moment,
which he delights to recall a thousand times each day, you have been
the idol of his heart;--he loves you to madness.'
"As he spoke, Aurora scrutinized the features of Don Garcia, and
when he had finished she replied to him: 'You resemble your brother
too closely to permit me to remain for an instant the dupe of your
stratagem: I see too clearly you are that brother in disguise. I
remember, one day while at mass, my mantilla fell back from my face; it
was but for an instant, but I saw that you perceived me: I afterwards
watched you from curiosity, and your eyes remained fixed on my person.
When I left the church, I believe that you failed not to follow me,
that you might learn who I was, and the house where I dwelt. I say--I
believe you did this, for my head dared not turn to observe you; as my
husband was with me, jealous of my slightest motions, and would have
made, of one glance, a deep crime. On the morrow and following days,
when I went to the church, I always saw you; and your features have
become so familiar that I know you despite your disguise.'
"'Well, Madam,' replied the lover, 'I must then unmask:--yes, I am
a man, the victim of your charms:--it is indeed Don Garcia Pacheco
whom Love brings here in the guise of the gentler sex----' 'And you
doubtless anticipate,' interrupted Aurora, 'that I, sharing your
foolish passion, shall lend myself to your design, and assist in
confirming my husband in his error. You are, however, deceived: I shall
at once expose the deception; my honour and my peace demand it of me.
Besides, I am not sorry to have an opportunity of showing my husband
that vigilance is a less certain safeguard than virtue, and that,
jealous and mistrustful as he is, I am more difficult to surprise than
himself.'
"She had hardly spoken when the captain appeared. He had indistinctly
heard a portion of his wife's discourse, and requested to be informed
of the subject of their conversation. 'We were speaking,' replied
Aurora, 'of those youthful cavaliers who dare to hope for love from
ladies of a tender age, because united to a husband for whom respect
claims the place of passion. As you entered I was saying, that should
such a gallant dare to address himself to me,--should he endeavour
to introduce himself beneath your roof by some of those artifices to
which such madmen have recourse, I should know well how to punish his
audacity.'
"'And you, Madam,' said Zanubio, turning to Don Garcia, 'after what
fashion should you treat a youthful cavalier in such a case?' Our
assumption of a virgin was so much disconcerted at this question,
that he was unable to reply; and his embarrassment would certainly
have attracted Zanubio's attention, had not, at the moment, a servant
entered the apartment, to inform the captain that a person who had just
arrived from Madrid wished to speak with him.
"Zanubio had no sooner gone out than Don Garcia, throwing himself
at Aurora's feet, exclaimed: 'Ah, madam, how can you delight thus
to perplex me? Could you be cruel enough to expose me to the wrath
of an enraged husband?' 'No, Pacheco,' replied the lady, smiling;
'youthful dames who are so unfortunate as to have aged spouses are
not so resentful. Be not alarmed! I could not resist the temptation
to amuse myself at the expense of your fears; but that is the sum of
your punishment; and it is surely not exacting too great a price for my
kindness in permitting your continuance here.' At these consoling words
all Don Garcia's alarms were dispelled, and they yielded to hopes, of
which Aurora was too kind long to delay the realization.
"One day, while their reciprocal affection was manifested in a form
too clear to be misunderstood, the captain surprised them. Had he been
the most confiding of men, it would have been impossible, unless his
confidence were not extended to his own eyes, to doubt that the lovely
unknown was a man in disguise. Furious at the scene which presented
itself, he hastened to his dressing-room in search of his pistols; but,
in the meanwhile, the fond couple escaped,--in their hurry to leave the
apartment, double-locking the door, and taking with them the key. They
lost no time in gaining a neighbouring village, in which Don Garcia had
taken the precaution to leave his valet with two good horses. There,
our hero, having abandoned his petticoats, and placed Aurora on a
crupper on one of the steeds, mounted and rode with her to a convent,
where she prayed him to leave her in the care of an aunt, its abbess;
after which he returned to Madrid to await the termination of his
adventure.
[Illustration: Zanubio discovers Aurora in Garcia's embrace]
"Poor Zanubio, finding himself imprisoned, shouted with all his
lungs, and a servant, hearing his voice, hastened to his assistance:
but, if Love laughs at locksmiths, locks are sometimes extremely
unaccommodating. In vain did the servant and captain try to force the
door; and at last the latter, his wrath increasing with his efforts,
rushed to the window, and threw himself from it, his pistols in his
hands: he fell upon his back, wounded his head, and when his attendants
arrived they found him senseless. He was carried bleeding to his
chamber, and by deluging him with water, and by other gentle torments
used on such occasions, they succeeded in bringing him to life; but
his fury returned with his senses. 'Where is my wife?' he cried. To
this interrogatory they replied, by informing him that they had seen
her pass from the garden, in company with the unknown lady, by a little
private door. He immediately demanded his pistols, which they dared not
refuse him, ordered a horse to be saddled, and without reflecting on
his wound, set out, but by another road, in pursuit of the lovers. The
day passed in this fruitless search; and when he stopped for the night
at a village inn, to repose himself, the fatigue and irritation of his
wound brought on a fever and delirium, which nearly cost him his life.
[Illustration: Zanubio throws himself out of the window]
"The rest is told in a few words. The captain, after being confined to
his bed for a fortnight, in the village, returned still unwell to his
country seat; and there, by continually dwelling on his misfortune,
he shortly afterwards lost his reason. The relations of Aurora were
no sooner informed of this event, than they caused him to be brought
to Madrid, and confined where you now see him; and they have resolved
that his wife shall remain in the convent for some years to come, as a
punishment for her indiscretion, or, more properly, for a fault which
their own cupidity placed her in a situation to be tempted to commit.
"The next to whom I shall direct your attention," continued the Devil,
"is the Signor Don Blaz Desdichado, a worthy cavalier, whose deplorable
malady is also owing to the loss of his wife, but by death." "That
indeed surprises me," said Don Cleophas. "A husband whom the death of
his wife renders insane! Well! that is more than I ever expected to
spring from conjugal love." "Not so fast!" interrupted Asmodeus: "Don
Blaz did not lose his reason with his wife; but because, having no
children, he was obliged to return to the parents of the deceased fifty
thousand ducats which he had received with her, and which the marriage
contract compelled him to restore."
"Ah! that is another affair," replied Leandro; "the matter is by no
means so wonderful as I imagined. But tell me, if you please, who is
that young man that is skipping about like a kid in the next room, and
from time to time stopping to laugh until he holds his sides? He is a
lively fool enough." "Yes," replied the Cripple, "and it was excess of
joy which made him mad. He was porter to a person of quality; when one
day, hearing of the death of a rich contador, to whose wealth he was
sole heir, he was so affected by the joyous news that his head was not
proof against his good fortune.
"We have now come to that tall youth who is twanging the guitar, and
accompanying the pathetic strain with his voice: his is a melancholy
madness. He is a lover, whom the excessive severity of his mistress
reduced to despair, until they were obliged to enclose him here."
"Alas! how I pity him," exclaimed the Student; "permit me to express my
sorrow for his misfortune;--it is one to which every susceptible heart
is exposed. Were it my own fate to love a disdainful beauty, I know not
but that I too should love to madness." "I can believe you," replied
the Demon: "that sentiment would stamp you for a true Castilian. One
must be born in the centre of that ancient kingdom to be capable of
loving until reason sinks with a despised heart. Your Frenchman is
not so tender; and would you appreciate the difference between a gay
Parisian and a fiery Spaniard in this respect, I need only repeat to
you the song which yon poor fool is singing, and which his passion
inspires even at this moment:
SPANISH SONG.
'Mine eyes gush o'er with floods of wild desire,
And hopeless love burns fiercely in my breast;
Yet not my tears can quench my bosom's fire,
Nor passion's fire my scalding tears arrest.'[4]
[4]
'Ardo y lloro sin sosiego:
Llorando y ardiendo tanto,
Que ni el llanto apaga el fuego,
Ni el fuego consume el llanto.'
"It is thus sings a true Castilian whom his lady slights; and now I
will repeat to you the words in which a Frenchman told his griefs, in a
similar case, only a few days ago:
FRENCH SONG.
'She who within my bosom reigns,
A tyrant's stern control maintains;
Nor sighs, nor tears, nor prayers can move
The least relenting look of love.
A kind word, kindly spoken, might
Have turn'd my darkness into light;
But, since my suit is urged in vain,
I fly to feed my griefs with Payen.'[5]
[5]
'L'objet qui règne dans mon coeur
Est toujours insensible à mon amour fidèle,
Mes soins, mes soupirs, ma langueur,
Ne sauraient attendrir cette beauté cruelle.
O ciel! est-il un sort plus affreux que le mien?
Ah! puisque je ne puis lui plaire,
Je renonce au jour qui m'éclaire;
Venez, mes chers amis, m'enterrer chez Payen.'
"This Payen is undoubtedly a tavern-keeper?" said Don Cleophas.
"Exactly so," replied the Devil. "But let us continue our
observations." "Let us then turn to the women," exclaimed Leandro;
"I am impatient to hear their histories." "I will yield to your
impatience," answered the Spirit; "but there are yet two or three
unfortunates on this side of the house, whom I would first show to you:
you may profit by their unhappiness.
"You observe, close by the melancholy songster, that pale and haggard
face; those teeth, which gnash as though they would make nothing of the
iron bars that ornament the window. Yon is an honest man, born under
influence of malignant star, who, with all the merit in the world, has
vainly striven, during twenty years, to secure a modest competence;
he has scarcely, with all his efforts, succeeded in gaining his daily
bread. His reason fled its seat, on his perceiving a worthless fellow
of his acquaintance suddenly mount the top of fortune's wheel by a
lucky speculation.
"His neighbour, again, is an old secretary, whose head was cracked by
a stroke of ingratitude, which he received from a courtier, in whose
service he lived during sixty years. No praises were too great for the
zeal and fidelity of this ancient servant; who, however, never claimed
their just reward, content to let his assiduity and services speak
for themselves. His master, far from resembling Archelaus, king of
Macedonia, who refused favours when demanded, and bestowed them when
unasked, died forgetful of his merits, leaving him just enough to pass
his days in misery, and the refuge of a madhouse.
"I will only detain you with one more, and it is with the man who,
leaning with his elbows on the window, appears plunged in profound
meditation. You see in him a Signor Hidalgo, of Tafalla, a small town
of Navarre, which he left for Madrid that he might make the best use
of his wealth. He was bitten with a rage for surrounding himself with
the literati of the day; and as these animals are always seen to most
advantage at feeding-time, he kept open house for their entertainment.
Authors are an unpolished and ungrateful race; but, although they
despised and snarled at their keeper, he was not contented until they
had eaten him out of house and home." "Poor fellow," said Zambullo: "he
no doubt went mad with rage at his awful stupidity." "On the contrary,"
replied Asmodeus, "it was with regret at finding himself unable
to keep up his menagerie. Well! now let us pay our respects to the
ladies," added the Devil.
"Why! how is this?" exclaimed the Student: "I only see seven or eight
of them. I had expected to have found them here by scores." "Ah!" said
the Devil, smiling, "but they are by no means all confined within these
walls. I will take you instantly, if you wish it, to another quarter of
the city, where there is a larger house than this, full of mad-women to
the very roof." "Do not trouble yourself, I beg," replied Don Cleophas;
"I am by no means anxious for their acquaintance: these will suffice."
"You are right," replied the Devil; "and these too, are almost all
youthful ladies of distinction. You may perceive by the attention which
is paid to their persons, that they are not ordinary subjects. And now
for the story of their madness.
"In the first room is the wife of a corregidor, who went mad with rage
at being termed plebeian by a lady of the court; in the second, is the
spouse of the treasurer-general of the council of the Indies: anger
also made her mad, at being obliged, in a narrow street, to turn back
her carriage to make way for that of the duchess of Medina-Coeli. The
third room is the residence of a merchant's widow, whom regret for the
loss of a noble signor's hand robbed of her senses; and the fourth
is occupied by a girl of highest rank, named Donna Beatrice, whose
misfortunes are worth your attention.
"This young lady was united by the most tender friendship with the
Donna Mencia: they were indeed inseparable. It happened, however,
that a handsome chevalier of the order of St. James became acquainted
with them both, and they soon were rivals for his heart. As he could
not marry the two, and as his affections inclined towards the Donna
Mencia, he paid his court to that lady, and she shortly became his wife.
"Donna Beatrice, jealous of the power of her charms, and mortified to
excess by the preference shown to another, conceived a passion for
revenge, which, like a woman, or a good Spaniard, she nourished at the
bottom of her heart. While this passion was yet in its infancy, she
received from Don Jacintho de Romarate, a neglected lover of the Donna
Mencia, a letter stating that, being as much insulted as herself by the
marriage of his mistress, he had resolved to demand satisfaction of the
chevalier for their united wrongs.
"This letter gave great delight to Beatrice, who desiring but the death
of the sinner, wished for nothing more than that his rival should fall
beneath Jacintho's hand. While anxiously awaiting for so christianly
a gratification, it happened, however, that her own brother, having
chanced to quarrel with this same Jacintho, came to blows with her
champion, and fell pierced with wounds of which he died. Although duty
prompted Donna Beatrice to avenge her brother's death by citing his
murderer before the tribunals of his country, she neglected to do so,
as this would have interfered with her revenge; which demonstrates, if
such proof were needed, that there is no interest so dear to a woman
as that of her beauty. Need I remind you, that when Ajax violated
Cassandra in the temple of Pallas, that goddess did not on the instant
punish the sacrilegious Greek? No! she reserved her wrath until its
victim should have first redressed the insult offered to her charms
by the Judgment of the hated Paris. But, alas! Donna Beatrice, less
fortunate than Minerva, never tasted the sweetness of her anticipated
vengeance. Romarate perished by the sword of the chevalier, and
chagrin for her wrongs, still unpunished, drove the lady into this
asylum.
"The next who offer themselves to your notice are an attorney's
grandmother and an aged marchioness. The ill-temper of the first so
annoyed her descendant, that he very quietly got rid of her by placing
her here: the other is a lady who has ever been an idol to herself, and
instead of aging with becoming resignation, has never ceased to weep
the decay of that beauty which formed her only happiness; and at last,
one day, when her mirror told, too plainly to be doubted, that all her
charms were flown, went mad."
"So much the better for the ancient dame," added Leandro. "In the
derangement of her mind, she will no more perceive the ravages of
time." "Most assuredly not," replied the Devil; "far from beholding
in her face the marks of age, her complexion seems to her now a happy
blending of the lily and the rose; she sees around her but the Graces
and the Loves,--in a word, she thinks that she is Venus herself." "Ah!
well!" exclaimed the Student, "were it not better that thousands should
be mad, than that they should know themselves for what they are?"
"Undoubtedly," replied Asmodeus; "but come, we have only one other
female to observe; and that is she who dwells in the furthest room,
and whom sleep has just visited with rest, after three days and nights
of raving. Look at her well! What think you of the Donna Emerenciana?"
"That she is beautiful, indeed," answered Zambullo. "What horror, that
so lovely a creature should be mad! By what fatal accident is she
reduced to this dreadful situation?" "Listen!" replied the Demon; "I
will tell you the story of her woes.
"Donna Emerenciana, only daughter of Don Guillem Stephani, lived
tranquilly at Siguença, in the mansion of her father, when Don Kimen
de Lizana came to trouble her repose by those attentions with which he
sought to win her heart. Flattered by his gallantries, she received
their homage with delight; she even had the weakness to lend herself
to the artifices to which he resorted that he might speak with her in
private; and in a short time exchanged with him vows of eternal love
and fidelity.
[Illustration: the mad-woman Donna Emerenciana]
"The lovers were of equal birth; but the lady was one of the richest
heiresses of Spain, while Don Kimen was a younger son. But there was
still another obstacle to their union,--Don Guillem hated the family
of the Lizana. This he never affected to conceal, whenever they were
mentioned; and he seemed more averse to Don Kimen himself, than to any
other of his race. Emerenciana, though deeply afflicted at her father's
sentiments on this subject, which she felt boded unhappily for her
passion, could not resolve to abandon its object; and she therefore
continued her secret interviews with her lover, who from time to time,
through the assistance of a waiting-maid, ventured even into her
chamber by night.
"It happened, one of these nights, that Don Guillem chanced to be awake
when the gallant was thus introduced, and thought he heard a noise in
his daughter's apartment, which was not far from his own. This was
quite enough to arouse a father, and especially one so mistrustful
as Don Guillem. Suspicious as he was, he had never imagined the
possibility of his daughter's intelligence with Don Kimen; but not
being of a disposition to place too much confidence in any one, he rose
quietly from his bed, opened a window which looked into the street,
and there patiently waited until he saw that cavalier, whom the light
of the moon enabled him to recognize, descending from the balcony by a
silken ladder.
"What a sight for Stephani!--for the most vindictive, the most
relentless mortal, that even Sicily, which gave him birth, had ever
produced. He controlled the first emotions of his terrible wrath, and
repressed every exclamation of surprise at what he beheld, that the
chief victim which his wounded pride demanded might not be warned
of his fate, and attempt to escape the avenger's hand. He so far
constrained himself as to wait until the morning, when his daughter had
risen, ere he entered her apartment. She was alone, as he approached
her, with fury sparkling in his eyes; and, with a voice that made her
tremble, he addressed her thus: 'Unworthy wretch! whom not the honour
of thy race restrains from deeds of infamy, prepare to meet their due
reward! This steel,' he added, as he drew a dagger from his bosom,
'shall find a sheath within your heart, unless with truth upon your
lips you name the daring villain who brought, last night, dishonour on
my house.'
[Illustration: Stephani threatens Emerenciana with a dagger]
"Emerenciana was so overcome by this unexpected discovery and her
father's threats, that her tongue refused its office. 'Ah! miserable,'
continued Don Guillem, 'thy silence and confusion tell me too plainly
all thy guilt! Dost think, child, whom I blush to call mine own, that I
know not what has passed? I know too well! I saw, myself, the villain,
and recognized him for Don Kimen. 'Twas not enough, then, to receive
a cavalier at night within thy room!--that cavalier must be the man
whom most I loathe! But come! tell me how much I owe him. Speak without
disguise,--thy sincerity alone can save thy shameful life.'
"These last words, terrible as they were, brought with them some slight
hope to the unfortunate girl of escaping the fate which menaced her,
and she recovered from her fright sufficiently to enable her to reply:
'Signor, I cannot deny that I am guilty of listening to Lizana; but I
call Heaven to witness for the purity of his sentiments and conduct.
Aware as he was of your hatred for his name, he dared not to ask your
sanction for his addresses; but it was for no other end than to confer
with me how that sanction might be obtained that he sought, and I
permitted, his coming here.' 'And who, then,' asked Stephani, 'was the
willing instrument through which you exchanged your communications?'
'It was,' replied his daughter, 'one of your pages to whom we were
indebted for that kindness.' 'Enough,' interrupted the father; 'and
now to execute the design for which I come!' Thereupon displaying his
poniard, he made Emerenciana sit down, and placing paper and ink before
her, compelled her to write to her lover the following letter which he
dictated:--
"'Dearest Love,--only delight of my life,--I hasten to inform you that
my father has just set out for his estate, whence he will not return
until to-morrow. Lose not this happy opportunity. I doubt not you will
watch for the coming night with as much impatience as your beloved
"'EMERENCIANA.'
"As soon as this treacherous letter was written and sealed, Don Guillem
said to his daughter: 'And now summon the page who so well performs
the duties you impose on him, and direct him to carry this note to Don
Kimen: but hope not to deceive me; I shall conceal myself behind the
drapery of your room, whence I can observe your slightest movement; and
if while you charge him with this commission you speak one word, or
make the smallest sign which may give him suspicion of your message, I
will plunge this dagger in your heart.' Emerenciana knew her father too
well to dare to disobey him: the page was called, and the letter placed
as usual in his hands.
"Not until then did Stephani put up his weapon; but he did not leave
his daughter for a moment during the day, nor would he let any one
approach her, so that she could communicate to Lizana intelligence of
the snare which was spread for him. Accordingly, when night came, the
youthful gallant hastened to the wished-for meeting; but hardly had
he entered the door of his mistress's house before he found himself
seized by three powerful men, who disarmed him in a moment, tied a
bandage over his mouth to prevent his cries, another over his eyes, and
bound his hands behind his back. They then placed him in a carriage,
which was waiting for the purpose, and having all mounted therein for
complete security of the betrayed cavalier's person, they carried him
to the seat of Stephani, situated near the village of Miedes, four
leagues from Siguença, where they arrived before daybreak.
[Illustration: Don Kimen is kidnapped]
"The first care of the signor was to cause Don Kimen to be placed in a
vault which received but a feeble light from a hole near the top, so
small, that escape by that was impossible. He then ordered Julio, a
confidential servant, to feed him with bread and water only, to give
him but a truss of straw to sleep on, and to say to him every time he
carried him food: 'Here, base seducer: it is thus that Don Guillem
treats those who are mad enough to dare to insult him!' The cruel
Sicilian was hardly less severe in his treatment of his daughter:
he imprisoned her in a chamber which looked into a small courtyard,
deprived her of her attendants, and placed her in the custody of a
duenna whom he had chosen, because she was unequalled for her skill in
tormenting those committed to her charge.
"Having thus disposed of the two lovers, he was by no means contented
with the punishment already inflicted on them: he had resolved to
get rid of Don Kimen, and had only not done so at once because he
wished to avoid any unpleasant consequences which might follow his
crime; to manage which, appeared to be somewhat difficult. As he had
employed three of his servants in the abduction of the cavalier, he
could hardly hope that a secret known to so many persons would always
remain undiscovered:--what then was he to do, to shun any impertinent
explanations which justice might think it necessary to demand? His
resolve was worthy of a conqueror; he assembled his accomplices in a
small pavilion, a short distance from the chateau, and after telling
them how highly satisfied he was with their zeal, he stated that he had
brought them there to receive a substantial reward for their services
in money, and that he had prepared a little festival, which he invited
them to share. They sat down to enjoy themselves, little dreaming that
it was a feast of death; for when their brains were heated with wine,
the worthy Julio by his master's order brought in a poisoned bowl,
which soon ended their rejoicing. The pair then fired the pavilion,
and before the flames had brought around them the inhabitants of the
neighbouring village, they assassinated Emerenciana's two female
attendants and the page of whom I have spoken, and threw their bodies
into the burning heap. It was really amusing, while the remains of
these poor wretches were consuming in this infernal pile, which the
peasants strove in vain to extinguish, to witness the profound grief
displayed by our Sicilian: he appeared inconsolable for the loss of his
domestics.
[Illustration: assassination of the maid-servants and page]
"Nothing remaining to be feared from any want of discretion on
the part of his coadjutors, which might have betrayed him, he thus
addressed his confidant: 'My dear Julio, my mind is now at peace, and
the life of Don Kimen is at my mercy; but, before I immolate him to my
wounded honour, I would enjoy the sweet delight of making him feel how
much he has offended me;--the misery and horror of a long and solitary
confinement will be more dreadful to him than death itself.' In truth,
Lizana was by no means comfortable; and, hopeless of ever leaving
the dungeon where he wasted, he would have welcomed death as a cheap
release from his sufferings.
"But, despite his boast of peace, the mind of Stephani knew no rest
after the exploits he had recently achieved; and ere many days had
passed, a new source of inquietude presented itself in the fear lest
Julio, as he daily saw the prisoner for the purpose of taking him
food, should suffer himself to be corrupted by promises. This fear
made Don Guillem resolve to get rid of Lizana without loss of time,
and then to blow out the brains of his friend Julio. But the latter
was also not without his own misgivings; and, as he shrewdly suspected
that were Don Kimen once out of the way, he would be found in it, he
had made his resolution to take himself off some fine night, with all
that was portable in the house, when the darkness would excuse his not
distinguishing his master's property from his own.
"While these honest gentlemen were each meditating an agreeable
surprise for the other, they were one day both unwelcomely accosted
at a short distance from the chateau, by about twenty archers of St.
Hermandad, who surrounded, and greeted them in the name of the king
and the law! At this salutation Don Guillem was somewhat confounded;
but, calling the colour to his cheeks, he asked the commandant of the
archers whom he sought. 'Yourself!' replied the officer: 'you are
accused of having unlawfully seized on Don Kimen de Lizana; and I am
directed to make strict search for that cavalier within your mansion,
and further to make you my prisoner.' Stephani, convinced by this
answer that he was lost, drew from his person a brace of pistols,
exclaiming that he would suffer no one to enter his house; and that he
would shoot the commandant without ceremony if he did not instantly
take himself off with his troop. The leader of the holy brotherhood,
despising this threat, advanced at once towards the Sicilian; who,
as good as his word, fired, and wounded him slightly in the face.
This wound, however, cost the life of the madman who gave it; for the
archers in a moment stretched him lifeless at the feet of their injured
chief. Julio surrendered himself without resistance; and, making a
virtue of necessity, cleared his conscience by a frank avowal of all
that had occurred,--except that, perceiving his master was really dead,
he did him the honour to invest his memory with all the glory attaching
to the transaction.
"He then conducted the archers to the vault, where they found Lizana
on his straw bed, securely bound. The unfortunate gentleman, who lived
in continual expectation of death, thought it was come at last when he
saw so many armed men enter his prison; and was, as you may expect,
agreeably surprised to find liberators in those whom he had taken
for his executioners. When they had released him from his dungeon,
and received his thanks, he asked them how they had learned that he
was confined in the place where they found him. 'That,' replied the
commandant, 'I will tell you in a few words.
[Illustration: the liberation of Don Kimen]
"'The night you were entrapped,' said the officer, 'one of Don
Guillem's assistants, whose mistress resided in the neighbourhood,
stole a few moments while they were waiting for you, to bid adieu to
his sweetheart before his departure, and was indiscreet enough to
reveal to her the project of Stephani. For a wonder, the lady kept
the secret for three whole days; but when the news of the fire at
Miedes reached Siguença, as every body thought it strange that all
the servants of the Sicilian should have perished in the flames, she
naturally took it into her head also that the fire was the work of
Guillem himself. To revenge her lover's death, therefore, she sought
the Signor Don Felix, your father, and related to him all she knew.
Don Felix, alarmed at finding you were in the hands of a man capable
of everything, accompanied the lady to the corregidor, who on hearing
her story had no doubt of Stephani's intentions towards you, and that
he was the diabolical incendiary the woman suspected. To make inquiries
into all the circumstances of the case, the corregidor instantly
despatched orders to me at Retortillo, where I live, directing me to
repair with my brigade to this chateau, to find you if possible,
and to take Don Guillem, dead or alive. I have happily performed my
commission as regards yourself; and I only regret that it is out of my
power to conduct the criminal to Siguença alive. He compelled us by his
furious resistance to dispatch him on the spot.'
"The officer, having ended his story, thus continued: 'I will now,
Signor Don Kimen, draw up a report of all that has happened here; I
will not, however, detain you long, and we will then set out together
to release your friends from the anxiety they suffer upon your
account.' 'Stay, signor commandant,' interrupted Julio, 'I will furnish
you with matter to lengthen your report: you have got another prisoner
to liberate. Donna Emerenciana is confined in a dismal chamber of
this chateau, guarded by a merciless duenna, who upbraids her without
ceasing for her love of this cavalier, and torments her by every device
she can imagine.' 'Oh Heaven!' cried Lizana, 'is it possible that the
barbarous Stephani should not have been contented to exercise his
cruelty on me alone? Let us hasten to deliver the unfortunate lady from
the tyranny of her gaoler.'
"Julio lost no time in conducting the commandant, four or five of
the archers, and Lizana, to the prison of Don Guillem's daughter.
They knocked at the door; it was opened by the surprised duenna, and
you may conceive the delight of Don Kimen at again beholding his
mistress, after having lost her as he supposed for ever. All his hopes
revived; nor could he reasonably conceive the possibility of their
non-fulfilment, since he who alone stood between him and his happiness,
was dead. He threw himself in ecstacy at the feet of Emerenciana;
when,--picture his horror if you can,--he found, instead of the gentle
girl who had listened with tender transport to his vows, a maniac.
Yes! so well had the duenna succeeded in her efforts, that she had
effaced the image of the lover by destroying the canvas on which it was
depicted.
[Illustration: Don Kimen discovers Emerenciana has gone mad]
"She remained for some time in apparent meditation, then imagining
herself to be the fair Angelica, besieged by the Tartars in the towers
of Albraca, and the persons who filled her apartment to be so many
Paladins come to her rescue, she received them with much politeness.
Addressing the chief of the holy brotherhood as Roland, Lizana as
Brandimart, Julio as Hubert of the Lion, and the archers as Antifort,
Clarion, Adrian, and the two sons of the Marquis Olivier, she said to
them: 'Brave chevaliers, I no longer fear the Emperor Agrican, nor
Queen Marphisa: your valour would suffice for my defence against the
world itself in arms.'
"The officer and his followers could not resist an inclination
to laugh at this heroic reception; but poor Don Kimen was so much
afflicted by the unexpected condition in which he found her for whom
alone he had wished to live, that reason seemed to be on the point
of abandoning him also. Recovering himself, however, from his first
surprise, and hoping that she might be brought to recognize the
unhappy author of her misfortunes, he addressed her tenderly: 'Dearest
Emerenciana,' said he, 'it is Lizana speaks to thee: recall thy
scattered thoughts, he comes to tell thee that thy griefs are at an
end. Heaven has heard the prayer of those fond hearts itself united;
and its wrath has fallen on the wicked head of him who would have
separated two beings made for each other.'
"The reply to these words was another speech from the daughter of king
Galafron to the valiant defenders of Albraca, who this time however
restrained their mirth. Even the commandant, whose profession was not
favourable to the kindlier feelings of humanity, was touched with
compassion, and observing the profound affliction of Don Kimen, said to
him: 'Signor Cavalier, do not despair! We have, in Siguença, physicians
celebrated for their skill in curing the disorders of the mind, and
there is yet hope for your unfortunate lady. But let us away! You,
Signor Hubert of the Lion,' added he, addressing himself to Julio,
'you who know the whereabouts of the stables of this castle, take with
you Antifort and the two sons of the Marquis Olivier, bring out the
fleetest coursers from their stalls and harness them to the car of our
princess; in the meanwhile I will prepare my dispatches.'
"So saying, he drew out his writing materials, and having finished
his report, he presented his hand to Angelica and conducted her to
the court-yard, where he found a carriage with four mules, which had
been prepared for her reception by the paladins. The lady was placed
therein by the side of Don Kimen; and the commandant having compelled
the duenna to enter also, as he thought the corregidor would be glad to
have some conversation with the dame, he mounted, and they set out for
Siguença. This is not all: by order of their chief, the archers bound
Julio, and placed him in another carriage with the body of Don Guillem;
then mounting their horses they followed the same route.
"During the journey, the daughter of Stephani uttered a thousand
extravagancies, every one of which was as a dagger in the heart of her
lover. The presence of the duenna was an additional source of disquiet
to him. 'It is you, infamous old woman,' said he to her, 'it is you
who by your cruelty have tortured Emerenciana to madness.' The old
hypocrite endeavoured to justify herself by pleading the instructions
of her defunct master. 'It is to Don Guillem alone,' said she, 'that
her misfortunes are attributable: daily did that too rigid father visit
her in her room; and it is to his reproaches and threats that the loss
of her reason is owing.'
"On reaching Siguença, the commandant immediately went to give an
account of his mission to the corregidor, who after examining Julio
and the duenna found them lodgings in the prisons of that town,
where they reside to this time. Lizana, after deposing to all he had
suffered from Don Guillem, repaired to his father's house, where his
presence restored joy to his alarmed relations. Donna Emerenciana
was sent by the judge to Madrid, where she has a kind uncle by her
mother's side, who desired nothing better than the administration of
his niece's property, and who was nominated her guardian. As he could
not creditably do otherwise than appear desirous of her restoration to
sanity, he had recourse to the most famed physicians of this city; but
he had nothing to fear, for, after having taken a becoming number of
fees, they declared her incurable. On this decision, the guardian, no
doubt very reluctantly, placed her here; and here, most likely, she is
destined to end her days."
"And a sad destiny it is," cried Don Cleophas; "I am really touched
by her misfortunes: Donna Emerenciana deserved a better fate. And Don
Kimen," added he, "what is become of him? I am curious to learn how
he acted." "Very reasonably," replied Asmodeus: "when he heard that
the evil was past a remedy, he went to Spanish America. He hopes that
by change of scene he may insensibly efface the remembrance of those
charms that wisdom and his own peace require he should forget.----But,"
continued the Devil, "after having exhibited to you madmen who are
confined, it is time I shewed to you those who deserve to be so."
[Illustration: tailpiece of a physician taking Emerenciana's pulse]