THE MAJOR-DOMO'S STORY.
Don Sancho, feeling very anxious about the state in which he saw his
sister, hastily summoned her women who at once flocked around her. He
confided her to their care, and retired to the apartment prepared for
him, while ordering that he should be immediately warned so soon as
Doña Clara displayed any signs of recovery.
Don Sancho de Peñaflor was a charming cavalier, gay, merry, enjoying
life and repulsing with the egotism of his age and rank, every grief
and even every annoyance.
Belonging to one of the first families of the Spanish aristocracy,
destined to be one day immensely rich, and through his name to hold
the highest offices and make one of those magnificent marriages of
convenience, which render diplomatists so happy, by leaving their minds
perfectly free for grand political combinations,--he strove, as far
as lay in his power, to check the beating of his heart, and not to
trouble by any unusual passion, the bright serenity of his existence.
Captain in the army, while awaiting something better, and to have the
air of doing something, he had followed his father as aide-de-camp to
Mexico, when the latter was appointed viceroy of New Spain. But, being
yet too young to regard life seriously and be ambitious, he had turned
his attention to gambling and flirtations since his arrival in America,
which greatly annoyed the Duke, for as the latter had passed the age of
love, he had no mercy for young men sacrificing to the idol which he
had himself worshipped for so long.
Don Sancho was generally an excellent hearted fellow and good
companion, but affected, like all the Spaniards of that period, and
perhaps of the present, by caste prejudices, regarding the Negroes and
Indians as beasts of burden, created for his use, and disdaining to
conceal the contempt and disgust he felt for these disinherited races.
In a word, Don Sancho, in accordance with the precept of his family,
always looked above him and never below; he endured his equals, but
established an impassable barrier of pride and disdain between himself
and his inferiors.
Still, perhaps unconsciously,--for we will not give him the merit of
it,--a tender feeling had glided into the cold atmosphere in which
he was condemned to live, had penetrated to his heart, and at times
threatened to overthrow all his transcendental theories about egotism.
This feeling was nothing else than the affection he felt for his
sister,--an affection which might pass for adoration, for it was so
truly devoted, respectful and disinterested; to please his sister he
would have attempted impossibilities; a simple word that fell from
her lips rendered him pliant and obedient as a slave; a desire she
manifested became at once an order for him as serious, and perhaps more
so, than if it had emanated from the King of Spain and the Indies,
although that magnificent potentate haughtily flattered himself that
the sun never set on his dominions.
The first words the Count uttered so soon as he found himself alone in
his apartment, will show his character better than anything we can add.
"Well," he exclaimed as he sank despairingly into an easy chair,
"instead of passing a few days agreeably here as I expected, I shall
be obliged to listen to Clara's complaints and console her; the deuce
take unhappy people, it really seems as if they had made agreement to
trouble my tranquillity."
At the expiration of about three-quarters of an hour, a black slave
came to inform him that Doña Clara had regained her senses, but still
felt so weak and faint, that she begged him to refrain from seeing her
that evening.
The young man was in his heart well pleased at the liberty granted him
by his sister, and which dispensed him from recurring to a conversation
which possessed no charm for him.
"Very good," he said to the slave, "give my respects to my sister, and
order my supper to be served here; you will at the same time request
the Major-domo to come to me as I want to speak to him. Begone!"
The slave went out and left him alone.
The young Count then threw himself back in his chair, stretched out
his legs and plunged, not into any reverie, but into that state of
somnolency which is neither waking or sleeping, during which the mind
seems to wander in unknown regions, and which the Spaniards call a
siesta.
While he was in this state, the slaves laid the table, being careful
not to disturb him, and covered it with exquisite dishes.
But soon the steam of the dishes placed before him recalled the young
man to the reality, he drew himself up and seated himself at the table.
"Why has not the Major-domo come," he asked, "have you neglected to
tell him?"
"Pardon, Excellency, but the Major-domo is absent at this moment," a
slave respectfully answered.
"Absent--for what motive?"
"He is paying his usual evening visit to the grounds, but will soon
return; if your Excellency will be good enough to have a little
patience, you will soon see him."
"Very good, although I do not understand the urgency of this visit.
There are no wild beasts here, I suppose?"
"No, Excellency, thank heaven!"
"Then, what is the meaning of these precautions?"
"They are meant to guard the house from the attacks of the ladrones,
Excellency."
"The ladrones again," he exclaimed, bounding from his seat, "why, it
must be a wager! Everybody seems to have agreed to mystify me, heaven
forgive me."
At this moment spurs could be heard clattering outside the room.
"Here is the Major-domo, Excellency," one of the Negroes said.
"That is lucky, let him come in."
Birbomono appeared, took off his hat, bowed respectfully to the Count,
and waited to be addressed.
"Confound it," the young man said to him, "I asked for you an hour or
more ago."
"I am in despair at it, Excellency, but I was only told of it this very
instant."
"I know, I know. Have you dined?"
"Not yet, Excellency."
"Well then, seat yourself there, opposite to me."
The Major-domo who knew the Count's haughty character, hesitated; he
did not at all understand the condescension on his part.
"Sit down, I say," the young man replied; "we are in the country, so it
is of no consequence; besides, I want to talk with you."
The Major-domo then took the place pointed out to him, without further
pressing.
The meal was short--for the Count ate without uttering a single word;
when it was ended, he thrust away his plate, drank a glass of water
after the Spanish fashion, lit an excellent cigar and gave another to
the Major-domo.
"Smoke, I permit it," he said.
Birbomono gratefully accepted; but feeling more and more astonished, he
could not refrain from asking himself mentally, what important motive
his young master could have for treating him so condescendingly.
When the table was cleared and the slaves had withdrawn, the two
men remained alone. The night was magnificent and the atmosphere
marvellously clear; a multitude of stars floated in æther, a sweet warm
breeze penetrated through the windows, left expressly open, a profound
silence lay over the landscape, and from the spot where the two men
were seated, they perceived the dark mass of forest trees that closed
the horizon.
"Now," said the Count, as he puffed out a cloud of bluish smoke, "let
us talk."
"Very good, Excellency," the Major-domo replied.
"I have several things to ask you, Birbomono; you know me, I think, and
that whether I threaten or promise, I always carry out what I say?"
"I am aware of it, Excellency!"
"Very good, that being settled, I will come to the fact without
further preamble. I have certain very important information to ask of
you; answering my questions is not betraying your mistress, who is my
sister, and whom I love before all else; on the contrary, it is perhaps
rendering her a service indirectly. Besides, if you refused to tell
me what I want to know, I should learn it from another quarter, and
you would forfeit any advantage to be derived from your frankness; you
understand me, I suppose?"
"Perfectly, Excellency."
"Well then, what do you intend doing."
"My lord, I am devoted body and soul to your family, hence, I shall
consider it a duty to answer, as best I can, all the questions you may
deign to ask me, for I feel convinced that in questioning me, you have
no other motive but that of being agreeable to my mistress."
"It is impossible to argue more correctly, Birbomono, I have always
said that you were an intelligent man; and this answer proves to
me that I was not mistaken. Now, I will begin, but let us proceed
regularly, so inform me of what occurred between my sister and her
husband, up to her arrival here; and the motives for her quitting St.
Domingo."
"You know, Excellency, my lord Count de Bejar of Sousa, the husband of
your lady sister and my master, is a gentleman not naturally given to
speaking, but kind and sincerely attached to his wife, whose every wish
he strives to satisfy, without even venturing a remark. At St. Domingo
the Countess lived in the most absolute retirement, constantly shut
up in her remotest apartments, to which only her women, her confessor
and her physician had access. The Count visited her every morning and
evening, remained about a quarter of an hour with her, conversing on
indifferent subjects, and then withdrew."
"Hum! This mode of life of my dear sister appears to me rather
monotonous; did it last long?"
"For several months, Excellency, and it would doubtless still be going
on, had it not been for an event which no one but myself knows, and
which induced her to come here."
"Ah, ah, and what was the event, if you please?"
"I will tell you, Excellency; one day a ship of our nation arrived
at St. Domingo; during its passage through the islands, it had been
attacked by the ladrones, from whom it had escaped by a miracle,
capturing several of them."
"Ah! I must stop you here," the Count exclaimed suddenly sitting up;
"before going further, one word about these ladrones, of whom persons
are incessantly talking, and no one knows. Do you know what they are?"
"Certainly I do, Excellency."
"At last," the Count added joyously, "I have at length found what I
wanted. As you know, I suppose you will tell me?"
"Most willingly, Excellency."
"Go on."
"Oh! It will not be long, Excellency."
"All the worse."
"But I believe that it will be interesting."
"All the better then, make haste."
"These ladrones are English and French adventurers, whose courage
exceeds all belief; lying in ambush among the rocks in the straits
through which our vessels must pass, for they have vowed a war of
extermination against our nation, they dart out in wretched canoes half
full of water, leap on board the ship they have surprised, capture
it and carry it off. The injury done our marine by these ladrones is
immense; any ship attacked by them, with but few exceptions, may be
regarded as lost."
"Confusion! That is very serious; has nothing been done to clear the
seas from these daring pirates?"
"Pardon me, Excellency; Don Fernando de Toledo, admiral of the fleet,
sacked, by the king's orders, the island of St. Christopher, the refuge
of the ladrones, carried off all he could seize, and did not leave one
stone on the other in the colony they had founded."
"Ah, ah!" said the Count, rubbing his hands, "That was well done, it
appears to me."
"No, Excellency, and for this reason. These ladrones, scattered but not
destroyed, spread over the other islands; some of them, it is true,
returned to St. Christopher, but the greater part of them had the
audacity to seek a refuge in Hispaniola itself."
"Yes, but they have been expelled, I hope."
"It has been tried, at any rate, Excellency, but without success; since
that period they have managed to maintain themselves in the part of
the island they invaded, and have resisted all the forces sent against
them. Instead of being assailed they have become assailants, and pushed
on to the Spanish frontier, burning, plundering and sacking everything
they met on their passage; they did this the more easily, because they
inspire our soldiers with extreme terror, who as soon as they see them
or even hear them, take to flight without looking behind them. This
has reached such a pitch, Excellency, that the Count de Bejar, our
governor, has been compelled to take their fusils from the detachments
called the Fifties, ordered to protect the frontiers, and arm them with
lances."
"What! Take away their fusils! And for what motive? Great heaven! this
seems to me almost too incredible."
"Still, it can be easy understood, Excellency--the soldiers feel so
great a terror of the ladrones, that when they found themselves in
regions frequented by them, and were consequently afraid of meeting
them, they discharged their fusils, expressly to warn them of their
presence, and thus invite them to retire, which the ladrones never
failed to do; and knowing in this way the position of the soldiers,
they went off to plunder in another direction, certain of not being
disturbed."
"It is almost incredible. Do you fear their visit here?"
"They have not yet come on this side; still, it is as well to be on
one's guard."
"I believe so--that is excessively prudent, and I approve of it; but
now let us return to the story you were telling me when I interrupted
you to give me this valuable information; you were saying that a
Spanish man-o'-war had arrived at Saint Domingo, having on board
several ladrones as prisoners."
"Yes, Excellency. Now, you must know that the ladrones are hung so soon
as they are caught."
"That measure is very wise."
"These were reserved to make an example of on the island itself, and
terrify their accomplices; they were, therefore, landed, and placed
in Capilla, while awaiting their execution. It was Fray Arsenio who
undertook to reconcile the wretches with Heaven if it were possible."
"A rude task; but who is Fray Arsenio?"
"The confessor of my lady Countess."
"Very good; proceed."
"Just imagine, Excellency, that these ladrones are very pious men;
they never attack a vessel without offering up prayers to Heaven,
and sing the Magnificat and other church hymns while boarding; hence
Fray Arsenio had no difficulty in making them perform their religious
duties. The Governor had decided that, in order that the example
should benefit the rest, these ladrones should be hung on the Spanish
frontier; they were, therefore, taken out of prison, securely bound,
and traversed the town in carts, guarded by a numerous escort, and
passing through the crowds, who overwhelmed them with maledictions
and cries of anger and threatening. But the ladrones seemed to pay
no attention to this manifestation of the public hatred; they were
five in number, young, and apparently very powerful. All at once, at
the moment when the carts, which were going very slowly, owing to the
crowd, arrived in front of the Governor's palace, the ladrones rose
altogether, uttered a loud cry, and, leaping into the street, took
refuge in the palace, whose guard they disarmed, and closed the gates
after them; they had succeeded in cutting their bonds, no one knew
how. There was at first a moment of profound stupor among the crowd on
seeing such a desperate deed, but ere long the soldiers regained their
courage, and marched boldly on the palace, where the ladrones received
them with musket shots. The fight was bravely carried on on both sides,
but all the disadvantage was on the side of our men, who were exposed
to the shots of invisible enemies, and renowned marksmen, every shot
from whom brought down a victim. Some twenty dead, and as many wounded,
were already lying on the square; the soldiers hesitated to continue
this deadly contest, when the Governor, warned of what was going on,
came up at full speed, followed by his officers. Fortunately for him,
the Count was not at home when the ladrones seized his palace; but the
Countess was there, and the Count trembled lest she should fall into
the hands of these villains. He summoned them to surrender; they only
replied by a discharge, which killed several persons by the Governor's
side, and slightly wounded himself."
"The daring villains!" the Count muttered--"I hope they were hung."
"No, Excellency; after holding all the forces of the town in check for
two hours, they proposed a capitulation, which was accepted."
"What!" the Count exclaimed, "Accepted! Oh! This is too much."
"It is the exact truth, however, Excellency; they threatened, unless
they were allowed to retire in peace, to blow themselves up with the
palace, which would have entailed the general ruin of the town, and to
cut the throats of the prisoners in their power--that of the Countess
first of all; the Governor tore out his hair with rage, but they only
laughed."
"Why they are not men!" the Count exclaimed, stamping his foot
passionately.
"No, Excellency, I told you, they are demons. The Count's officers
persuaded him to accept the capitulation; the bandits insisted that the
streets should be cleared for their passage; they had horses brought
for them, and two for the Countess and one of her servants, whom they
retained as hostages till they were in safety; and they went out well
armed, leading in their midst my poor mistress, trembling with terror,
and more dead, than alive. The ladrones did not hurry, they went at
a foot pace, laughing and talking together, turning round, and even
stopping now and then to stare at the crowd, which followed them at a
respectful distance. They left the town in this way, but religiously
kept their promise; two hours later, my lady the Countess, to whom they
had behaved with great courtesy, returned to Saint Domingo, accompanied
to the palace by the acclamations and glad shouts of the populace,
who fancied her lost. The next day the Count ordered me to accompany
the Countess here, where the physicians recommended her to live for a
while, in order to rest from the terrible emotions she had doubtless
experienced while she was in the power of the bandits."
"And since your installation at the hatto I presume nothing
extraordinary has occurred?"
"Yes, Excellency, something has happened, and that is why I told
you at the beginning that I alone knew the event which had modified
my mistress's mode of living. One of the ladrones had a very long
interview with her before they left her, an interview I saw, too far
off to hear what was said, it is true, but near enough to judge of the
interest she felt in it, and the impression it produced on her, for I
had followed my mistress, resolved not to abandon her, and help her,
were it necessary, at the risk of my life."
"That is the behaviour of a good servant, Birbomono, and I thank you
for it."
"I only did my duty, Excellency; so soon as the ladrones left her
alone I approached my mistress, and escorted her back to the town. A
few days after our arrival here my mistress dressed herself in man's
clothes, left the hatto unseen, only followed by myself and Fray
Arsenio, who had refused to leave her, and led us to a secluded bay
on the coast, where one of the ladrones was awaiting us. This man had
another long conversation with my mistress, then, bidding us get into
a canoe, he took us to a Spanish brigantine, tacking in sight of the
coast. I afterwards learnt that this brigantine had been freighted by
Fray Arsenio by my mistress's orders. So soon as we were on board this
vessel, sail was set, and we put out to sea; the _ladrón_ had returned
ashore in the canoe."
"Nonsense!" the young man violently interjected; "What fables are you
telling me, Birbomono?"
"Excellency, I am only telling you the truth you asked of me, without
adding or omitting anything."
"Well, I am willing to believe you, incredible though the whole affair
appears."
"Shall I break off here, Excellency, or continue my narration?"
"Go on, in the Fiend's name! Perhaps some light will eventually issue
from all this chaos."
"Our brigantine began tacking between the islands, at a great risk
of being snapped up as it passed by the ladrones; but, through some
incomprehensible miracle, it succeeded in passing unseen, so that in
eight days it reached an island in the form of a mountain, called
Nevis, I believe, and only separated by a narrow channel from St.
Kitts."
"But, from what you told me yourself, St, Christopher is the den of the
ladrones."
"Yes, Excellency, and so it is; the brigantine did not anchor, it
merely backed sails, and lowered a boat. My mistress, the monk, and
I, got into it, and we were landed on the island; but, as she put her
little foot on land, the Countess turned to me, and fixing on me a
glance which nailed me to the boat I was on the point of leaving, she
said--'Here is a letter, which you will carry to St. Christopher, there
you will inquire for a celebrated Chief of the ladrones, whose name
is Montbarts: you will have him pointed out to you; follow him, and
place this letter in his own hands. Go, I count on your fidelity.' What
could I do? Only obey: you will agree with me, Excellency. The sailors
in the boat, as if warned beforehand, conveyed me to St. Christopher,
where I landed unseen: I was lucky enough to meet this Montbarts, and
hand him the letter, and then I slipped away; the boat which had been
waiting for me took me back to Nevis, and the Señora thanked me. At
sunset Montbarts arrived at Nevis; he talked for nearly an hour with
the monk, while Doña Clara was concealed in a tent, and then went away:
a few minutes later, the Countess and Fray Arsenio returned aboard the
brigantine, which conveyed us back to Hispaniola with the same good
fortune. The monk remained in the French part of the island, for some
reason I do not know, while my mistress and I, as soon as we landed,
returned to the hatto, where we arrived just ten days ago."
"And then?" the Count asked, seeing that the Major-domo was silent.
"That is all, Excellency," he answered; "since then Doña Clara has
remained shut up in her apartments, and nothing has happened to trouble
the monotony of our existence."
The Count rose without replying, walked up and down the room in
considerable agitation, and then turned to Birbomono.
"Very good, Major-domo," he said to him--"I thank you; keep your mouth
shut about this, and now you can retire. Remember, that no one in the
household must suspect the importance of the conversation we have had
together."
"I shall be dumb, Excellency," the Major-domo answered, and retired
with a respectful bow.
"It is evident," the young man muttered, so soon as he was alone, "that
there is at the bottom of this affair a frightful secret, of which my
sister in all probability will condemn me to take my share. I am afraid
that I have fallen into a trap. Hang it all! Why could not Clara let me
live at my ease in Saint Domingo?"