guessed who had taken it, but gave himself no concern about it. To a
person of his wealth such a loss was of no importance; nor did his
parents make any inquiry about it, when three days afterwards, on his
departure for Italy, one of his mother's women took an inventory of all
the effects he left in his apartment. Rodolfo had long contemplated a
visit to Italy; and his father, who himself had been there, encouraged
him in that design, telling him that no one could be a finished
gentleman without seeing foreign countries. For this and other reasons,
Rodolfo readily complied with the wishes of his father, who gave him
ample letters of credit on Barcelona, Genoa, Rome, and Naples. Taking
with him two of his companions, he set out on his travels, with
expectations raised to a high pitch, by what he had been told by some
soldiers of his acquaintance, concerning the good cheer in the
hostelries of Italy and France, and the free and easy life enjoyed by
the Spaniards in their quarters. His ears were tickled with the sound of
such phrases as these: _ecco li buoni polastri_, _picioni_, _presuto_,
_salcicie_, and all the other fine things of the sort, which soldiers
are fond of calling to mind when they return from those parts to Spain.
In fine, he went away with as little thought or concern about what had
passed between him and the beautiful Leocadia as though it had never
happened. She meanwhile passed her life with her parents in the
strictest retirement, never letting herself be seen, but shunning every
eye lest it should read her misfortune in her face. What she had thus
done voluntarily at first, she found herself, in a few months,
constrained to do by necessity; for she discovered that she was
pregnant, to the grievous renewal of her affliction.
Time rolled on: the hour of her delivery arrived: it took place in the
utmost secrecy, her mother taking upon her the office of midwife: and
she gave birth to a son, one of the most beautiful ever seen. The babe
was conveyed, with the same secrecy, to a village, where he remained
till he was four years old, when his grandfather brought him, under the
name of nephew, to his own house, where he was reared, if not in
affluence, at least most virtuously. The boy, who was named Luis after
his grandfather, was remarkably handsome, of a sweet docile disposition;
and his manners and deportment, even at that tender age, were such as
showed him to be the son of some noble father. His grandfather and
grandmother were so delighted with his grace, beauty, and good
behaviour, that they came at last to regard their daughter's mischance
as a happy event, since it had given them such a grandson. When the boy
walked through the streets, blessings were showered upon him by all who
saw him--blessings upon his beauty, upon the mother that bore him, upon
the father that begot him, upon those who brought him up so well. Thus
admired by strangers, as well as by all who knew him, he grew up to the
age of seven, by which time he could already read Latin and his mother
tongue, and write a good round hand; for it was the intention of his
grandparents to make him learned and virtuous, since they could not make
him rich, learning and virtue being such wealth as thieves cannot steal,
or fortune destroy.
One day, when the boy was sent by his grandfather with a message to a
relation, he passed along a street in which there was a great concourse
of horsemen. He stopped to look at them; and to see them the better, he
moved from his position, and crossed the street. In doing so, he was not
rapid enough to avoid a fiery horse, which its rider could not pull up
in time, and which knocked Luis down, and trampled upon him. The poor
child lay senseless on the ground, bleeding profusely from his head. A
moment after the accident had happened, an elderly gentleman threw
himself from his horse with surprising agility, took the boy out of the
arms of a person who had raised him from the ground, and carried him to
his own house, bidding his servants go fetch a surgeon.
Many gentlemen followed him, greatly distressed at the sad accident
which had befallen the general favourite; for it was soon on everybody's
lips that the sufferer was little Luis. The news speedily reached the
ears of his grandparents and his supposed cousin, who all hurried in
wild dismay to look for their darling. The gentleman who had humanely
taken charge of him being of eminent rank, and well known, they easily
found their way to his house, and arrived there just as Luis was under
the surgeon's hands. The master and mistress begged them not to cry, or
raise their voices in lamentation; for it would do the little patient no
good. The surgeon, who was an able man, having dressed the wound with
great care and skill, saw that it was not so deadly as he had at first
supposed. In the midst of the dressing, Luis came to his senses, and was
glad to see his relations, who asked him how he felt. "Pretty well," he
said, only his head and his body pained him a good deal. The surgeon
desired them not to talk to him, but leave him to repose. They did so,
and the grandfather then addressed himself to the master of the house,
thanking him for the kindness he had shown to his nephew. The gentleman
replied that there was nothing to thank him for; the fact being, that
when he saw the boy knocked down, his first thought was that he saw
under the horses' heels the face of a son of his own, whom he tenderly
loved. It was this that impelled him to take the boy up, and carry him
to his own house, where he should remain all the time he was in the
surgeon's hands, and be treated with all possible care. The lady of the
house spoke to the same effect, and with no less kindness and
cordiality.
The grandfather and grandmother were surprised at meeting with so much
sympathy on the part of strangers; but far greater was the surprise of
their daughter, who, on looking round her, after the surgeon's report
had somewhat allayed her agitation, plainly perceived that she was in
the very room to which she had been carried by her ravisher. The damask
hangings were no longer there; but she recognised it by other tokens.
She saw the grated window that opened on the garden: it was then closed
on account of the little patient; but she asked if there was a garden on
the outside, and was answered in the affirmative. The bed she too well
remembered was there; and, above all, the cabinet, on which had stood
the image she had taken away, was still on the same spot. Finally, to
corroborate all the other indications, and confirm the truth of her
discovery beyond all question, she counted the steps of the staircase
leading from the room to the street, and found the number exactly what
she had expected; for she had had the presence of mind to count them on
the former occasion, when she descended them blindfold. On her return
home, she imparted her discovery to her mother, who immediately made
inquiries as to whether the gentleman in whose house her grandson lay
ever had a son. She found he had one son, Rodolfo--as we call him--who
was then in Italy; and on comparing the time he was said to have been
abroad with that which had elapsed since her daughter's ravishment, she
found them to agree very closely. She made all this known to her
husband; and it was finally settled between the three that they should
not move in the matter for the present, but wait till the will of Heaven
had declared itself respecting the little patient.
Luis was out of danger in a fortnight; in a month he rose from his bed;
and during all that time he was visited daily by his mother and
grandmother, and treated by the master and mistress of the house as if
he was their own child. Doña Estafania, the kind gentleman's wife, often
observed, in conversation with Leocadia, that the boy so strongly
resembled a son of hers who was in Italy, she never could look at him
without thinking her son was actually before her. One day, when Doña
Estafania repeated this remark, no one being present but herself and
Leocadia, the latter thought it a good opportunity to open her mind to
the lady, in the manner previously concerted between herself and her
parents.
"Señora," she said, "when my parents heard of the terrible accident that
had befallen their nephew, they felt as if the sky had fallen upon their
heads. For them it was losing the light of their eyes, and the staff of
their age, to lose their nephew, their love for whom far surpasses that
which parents commonly bear towards their sons. But, as the proverb
says, with the disease God sends the remedy. The boy found his recovery
in this house; and I found in it reminiscences of events I shall never
forget as long as I live. I, señora, am noble, for so are my parents,
and so were all my ancestors, who, though but moderately endowed with
the gifts of fortune, always happily maintained their honour where-ever
they lived."
Doña Estafania listened attentively to Leocadia, and was astonished to
hear her speak with an intelligence beyond her years, for she did not
think her more than twenty; and without interrupting her by a single
word, she heard her relate her whole story, how she had been forcibly
carried into that chamber, what had been done to her there, and by what
tokens she had been able to recognise it again. In confirmation of all
this, she drew forth from her bosom the crucifix she had taken away with
her, and thus addressed it: "Lord, who wast witness of the violence done
to me, be thou the judge of the amends which are my due. I took thee
from off this cabinet, that I might continually remind thee of my wrong,
not in order to pray to thee for vengeance, which I do not invoke, but
to beseech thee to inspire me with some counsel which may enable me to
bear it with patience." Then turning to Doña Estafania, "This boy,
señora," she said, "towards whom you have manifested the extreme of your
great kindness and compassion, is your own grandson. It was by the
merciful providence of Heaven that he was run over, in order that being
taken to your house, I should find him in it, as I hope to find there,
if not the remedy most appropriate to my misfortune, at least the means
of alleviating it." Thus saying, and pressing the crucifix to her
breast, she fell fainting into the arms of Doña Estafania, who as a
gentlewoman, to whose sex pity is as natural as cruelty is to man,
instantly pressed her lips to those of the fainting girl, shedding over
her so many tears that there needed no other sprinkling of water to
recover Leocadia from her swoon.
Whilst the two were in this situation, Doña Estafania's husband entered
the room, leading little Luis by the hand. On seeing his wife all in
tears, and Leocadia fainting, he eagerly inquired the cause of so
startling a spectacle. The boy having embraced his mother, calling her
his cousin, and his grandmother, calling her his benefactress, repeated
his grandfather's question. "I have great things to tell you, señor,"
said Doña Estafania to her husband, "the cream and substance of which is
this: the fainting girl before you is your daughter, and that boy is
your grandson. This truth which I have learned from her lips is
confirmed by his face, in which we have both beheld that of our son."
"Unless you speak more fully, señora, I cannot understand you," replied
her husband.
Just then Leocadia came to herself, and embracing the cross seemed
changed into a sea of tears, and the gentleman remained in utter
bewilderment, until his wife had repeated to him, from beginning to end,
Leocadia's whole story; and he believed it, through the blessed
dispensation of Heaven, which had confirmed it by so many convincing
testimonies. He embraced and comforted Leocadia, kissed his grandson,
and that same day he despatched a courier to Naples, with a letter to
his son, requiring him to come home instantly, for his mother and he had
concluded a suitable match for him with a very beautiful lady. They
would not allow Leocadia and her son to return any more to the house of
her parents, who, overjoyed at her good fortune, gave thanks for it to
Heaven with all their hearts.
The courier arrived at Naples; and Rodolfo, eager to become possessed of
so beautiful a wife as his father had described, took advantage of the
opportunity offered by four galleys which were ready to sail for Spain;
and two days after the receipt of the letter he embarked with his two
comrades, who were still with him. After a prosperous run of twelve
days, he reached Barcelona, whence he posted in seven to Toledo, and
entered his father's house, dressed in the very extreme of fashionable
bravery. His parents were beyond measure rejoiced at his safe arrival,
after so long an absence; and Leocadia was filled with indescribable
emotions, as she beheld him, herself unseen, from a secret place in
which she had been stationed by Doña Estafania's contrivance. Rodolfo's
two comrades proposed to take leave of him at once, and retire to their
own homes; but Estafania would not suffer them to depart, for their
presence was needful for the execution of a scheme she had in her head.
It was nearly night when Rodolfo arrived; and whilst preparations were
making for supper, Estafania took her son's companions aside, believing
that they were two of the three whom Leocadia mentioned as having been
with Rodolfo on the night of her abduction. She earnestly entreated them
to tell her, if they remembered that her son had carried off a young
woman, on such a night, so many years ago; for the honour and the peace
of mind of all his relations depended on their knowing the truth of that
matter. So persuasive were her entreaties, and so strong her assurances
that no harm whatever could result to them from the information she
sought, they were induced to confess that one summer's night, the same
she had mentioned, themselves and another friend being out on a stroll
with Rodolfo, they had been concerned in the abduction of a girl whom
Rodolfo carried off, whilst the rest of them detained her family, who
made a great outcry, and would have defended her if they could. They
added that Rodolfo told them, on the following day, that he had carried
the girl to his own apartment; and this was all they knew of the matter.
All doubts which could possibly have remained on the case having been
removed by this confession, Estafania determined to pursue her scheme.
Shortly before supper she took her son in private into a room, where she
put the portrait of a lady into his hands, saying, "Here is something to
give you an appetite for your supper, Rodolfo; this is the portrait of
your bride; but I must tell you that what she wants in beauty is more
than made up for in virtue. She is of good family, and tolerably
wealthy; and since your father and I have made choice of her, you may be
assured she will suit you very well."
"Well," said Rodolfo, staring at the portrait, "if the painter of this
portrait has flattered the original as much as painters usually do, then
beyond all doubt the lady must be the very incarnation of ugliness.
Truly, my lady mother, if it is just and right that sons should obey
their parents in all things, it is no less proper that parents should
have regard to the inclinations of their sons; and since matrimony is a
bond not to be loosed till death, they ought to take care that it shall
press as smoothly and equably as possible. Virtue, good birth, prudence,
and the gifts of fortune, are all very good things, and may well gladden
the heart of whoever may have the lot to obtain this lady for a wife;
but that her ugliness can ever gladden the eyes of her spouse, appears
to me an impossibility. I am a bachelor to be sure, but I perfectly
comprehend the coincidence there should be between the sacrament of
marriage and the just and due delight mutually enjoyed by the married
pair, and that if that be wanting, the object of marriage is frustrated;
for to imagine that an ugly face which one must have before his eyes at
all hours, in the hall, at table, and in bed, I say once more that is
impossible. For God's sake, my lady mother, give me a wife who would be
an agreeable companion, not one who will disgust me, so that we may both
bear evenly, and with mutual good-will, the yoke imposed on us by
Heaven, instead of pulling this way and that way, and fretting each
other to death. If this lady is well-born, discreet, and rich as you
say, she will easily find a husband of a different humour from mine.
Some look for noble blood in a wife, some for understanding, others for
money, and others again for beauty, and of the latter class I am one. As
for high birth, thank Heaven and my ancestors I am well enough off in
that respect; as for understanding, provided a woman is neither a dolt
nor a simpleton, there is no need of her having a very subtle wit; in
point of wealth, I am amply provided by my parents; but beauty is what I
covet, with no other addition than virtue and good breeding. If my wife
brings me this, I will thank Heaven for the gift, and make my parents
happy in their old age."
Estafania was delighted to hear Rodolfo speak thus, for the sentiments
he expressed were just such as best accorded with the success of the
scheme she had in hand. She told him that she would endeavour to marry
him in conformity with his inclination, and that he need not make
himself uneasy, for there would be no difficulty in breaking off the
match which seemed so distasteful to him. Rodolfo thanked her, and
supper being ready they went to join the rest of the party at table. The
father and mother, Rodolfo and his two companions had already seated
themselves, when Doña Estafania said, in an off-hand way, "Sinner that I
am, how well I behave to my guest! Go," she said to a servant, "and ask
the señora. Doña Leocadia to honour our table with her presence, and
tell her she need not stand on any punctilio, for all here are my sons
and her servants." All this was part of her scheme, with the whole of
which Leocadia had been previously made acquainted.
The lady soon appeared, presenting a most charming spectacle of perfect
beauty, set off by the most appropriate adornments. The season being
winter, she was dressed in a robe and train of black velvet, with gold
and pearl buttons; her girdle and necklace were of diamonds; her head
was uncovered, and the shining braids and ringlets of her thick chestnut
hair, spangled with diamonds, dazzled the eyes of the beholders. Her
bearing was graceful and animated; she led her son by the hand, and
before her walked two maids with wax-lights and silver candlesticks. All
rose to do her reverence, as if something from heaven had miraculously
appeared before them; but gazing on her, entranced with admiration, not
one of them was able to address a single word to her. Leocadia bowed to
them all with courteous dignity, and Estafania taking her by the hand
led her to a seat next herself and opposite to Rodolfo, whilst the boy
was seated beside his grandfather. "Ah," said Rodolfo to himself, as he
gazed on the lovely being before him, "could I find but half that beauty
in the wife my mother has chosen for me, I should think myself the
happiest man in the world. Good God! what is it I behold? Is it some
angel in human shape that sits before me?" Whilst his eyes were thus
making his soul captive to the lovely image of Leocadia, she, on the
other hand, finding herself so near to him who was dearer to her than
the light of those eyes with which she furtively glanced at him from
time to time, began to revolve in her mind what had passed between her
and Rodolfo. The hopes her mother had given her of being his wife began
to droop, and the fear came strong upon her that such bliss was not for
one so luckless as herself. She reflected how near she stood to the
crisis which was to determine whether she was to be blessed or unhappy
for ever, and racked by the intensity of her emotions, she suddenly
changed colour, her head dropped, and she fell forward in a swoon into
the arms of the dismayed Estafania.
The whole party sprang up in alarm and hastened to her assistance, but
no one showed more earnest sympathy than Rodolfo, who fell twice in his
haste to reach her. They unlaced her, and sprinkled her face with cold
water; but far from coming to her senses, the fulness of her congested
bosom, her total insensibility, and the absence of all pulse gave such
mortal indications, that the servants began imprudently to cry out that
she was dead. This shocking news reached the ears of her parents, whom
Doña Estafania had concealed in another room that they might make their
appearance at the right moment. They now rushed into the supper room,
and the parish priest, who was also with them, went up to the prostrate
lady to see if she could by any signs make known that she repented of
her sins in order that he might give her absolution; but instead of one
fainting person he found two, for Rodolfo lay with his face on
Leocadia's bosom. His mother had left her to him as being her destined
protector; but when she saw that he too was insensible, she was near
making a third, and would have done so had he not come to himself. He
was greatly confused at finding that he had betrayed such emotion; but
his mother, who guessed his thoughts, said to him, "Do not be ashamed,
my son, at having been so overcome by your feelings; you would have been
so still more had you known what I will no longer conceal from you,
though I had intended to reserve it for a more joyful occasion. Know
then, son of my heart, that this fainting lady is your real bride: I say
real, because she is the one whom your father and I have chosen for you,
and the portrait was a pretence."
When Rodolfo heard this, carried away by the vehemence of his passion,
and on the strength of his title as a bridegroom disdaining all
conventional proprieties, he clasped Leocadia in his arms, and with his
lips pressed to hers, seemed as if he was waiting for her soul to issue
forth that he might absorb and mingle it with his own. Just at the
moment when the tears of the pitying beholders flowed fastest, and their
ejaculations were most expressive of despair, Leocadia gave signs of
recovery, and brought back gladness to the hearts of all. When she came
to her senses, and, blushing to find herself in Rodolfo's arms, would
have disengaged herself, "No, señora," he said, "that must not be;
strive not to withdraw from the arms of him who holds you in his soul."
There needed no more than these words to complete her revival; and Doña
Estafania having no further need of stratagem, requested the priest to
marry her son to Leocadia on the spot. This was done; for the event took
place at a time when the consent of the parties was sufficient for the
celebration of a marriage, without any of the preliminary formalities
which are now so properly required. I leave it to a more ingenious pen
than mine to describe the gladness of all present; the embraces bestowed
on Rodolfo by Leocadia's parents; the thanks they offered to Heaven, and
to his father and mother; the congratulations on both sides; the
astonishment of Rodolfo's companions who saw him so unexpectedly married
to so charming a bride on the very night of his arrival; and above all,
when they learned from the statement openly made by Doña Estafania,
that Leocadia was the very person whose abduction her son had effected
with their aid. Nor was Rodolfo less surprised than they; and the better
to assure himself of so wonderful a fact, he begged Leocadia to give him
some token which should make perfectly clear to him that which indeed he
did not doubt, since it was authenticated by his parents.
"Once when I recovered from a swoon," replied Leocadia, "I found myself,
señor, in your arms without honour; but for that I have had full
compensation, since on my recovery from my this day's swoon I found
myself in the same arms, but honoured. If this is not enough for you,
let it suffice to mention a crucifix which no one could have purloined
from you but myself, if it be true that you missed it in the morning,
and that it is the same that is now in the hands of your mother, my
lady."
"You are mine, the lady of my soul, and shall be so as long as God
grants me life," cried Rodolfo; embracing her again, amidst a fresh
shower of benedictions and congratulations from the rest of the party.
At last they sat down to a merry supper to the sound of music, for the
performers, who had been previously engaged, were now arrived. Rodolfo
saw his own likeness in his son's face as in a mirror. The four
grandparents wept for joy: there was not a corner of the house but was
full of gladness; and though night was hurrying on with her swift black
wings, it seemed to Rodolfo that she did not fly, but hobble on
crutches, so great was his impatience to be alone with his beloved
bride. The longed-for hour came at last: every one retired to rest: the
whole house was buried in silence; but not so shall be the truth of this
story, which will be kept alive in the memory of men by the many
children and descendants of that illustrious house in Toledo, where that
happy pair still live, and have, for many prosperous years, enjoyed the
society of each other, their children, and their grandchildren, by the
blessing of Heaven, and through the force of that blood which was seen
shed on the ground by the valorous, illustrious, and Christian
grandfather of the little Luis.
THE JEALOUS ESTRAMADURAN.