_Sayavedra, to amuse Guzman on the road, relates to him the history
of his life._
We remounted our horses, after having made a much better meal than we
expected on entering so inconsiderable an inn; and, far from preserving
the silence we had kept up all the morning, we conversed on various
subjects. Amongst the rest I chanced to ask Sayavedra how he first
became an adventurer. He answered, that the only way to satisfy my
curiosity was to relate to me the history of his life. I assured him,
that it would afford me great pleasure to hear his adventures, and,
without any more ceremony, he began in these terms:
“Though I told you at Rome that I was born at Seville, it was not the
truth. Valencia was in reality my native place, where perhaps may be
found more rogues than in any other city in Spain; because it is a place
which abounds with good things, and rich countries seldom produce honest
men. My father was certainly only a commoner, but of that sort of
citizens who pretend to hold up their heads with the nobility. Having
lost his wife whom he loved tenderly, he took it so much to heart, that
he did not long survive her. He left two sons; and these two sons, of
whom I was the younger, sold all his property, which was but trifling,
and divided its produce equally. After which my brother asked me what
plans I had in my head. I confessed to him candidly, that my ruling
passion was to travel. And mine also, said he. I have always taken
pleasure in any accounts of foreign countries, and long extremely to see
how people live who were not born in Spain. Both led on thus by the
force of our stars, or rather, perhaps by our own evil propensities, we
set off together one fine morning from Valencia, each with a small
parcel under his arm.
“We had not travelled above a league, when my brother said to me: a
thought has just entered my head. We are about to abandon ourselves to
fortune, and as we cannot know in what manner she may treat us, we may
hereafter find ourselves in situations where our greatest pain may be
that we are known, and that our real names may be covered with infamy.
To prevent this misfortune, let us change them. I approved of this idea,
and we soon found ourselves fresh names. My brother took that of Mateo
Lujan, and as I recollected that the most illustrious in Seville was
that of Sayavedra, I assumed that name, which I have passed by ever
since. Being decked out with these fine titles then,” continued he, “we
began to think of the route we should take. I had declared my wish to
pass into Italy, and my brother testified the same desire; but changing
his mind all of a sudden, he took it into his head to go to France. The
dispute ran so high between us on the subject, that on arriving at cross
roads, one of which led to Saragossa and the other to Barcelona, my
brother took the former, and I the latter, wishing each other every sort
of happiness and prosperity. After this fraternal separation, I repaired
to Barcelona, intending, as well as a great many other persons who were
waiting there with the same design, to take my passage by the galleys.
They did not arrive, however, until above a month after; during which
time I dressed handsomely, sought the best company, and young Signor
Sayavedra was extremely well received every where. He gamed, gave
entertainments, and did not fail to devote some portion of his time to
love. In short I made so merry during this interval, that when the
galleys arrived, and my debts were paid, I embarked with six pistoles
only in my pocket. We arrived safely at Genoa, where, finding a vessel
on the point of sailing for Naples, I would not lose so good an
opportunity, and the wind being extremely favourable, we made but a
short voyage of it.
“If on the one hand I was now rejoiced to find myself in the city, which
of all others I had wished to be in, how mortified was I on the other
when I considered the condition of my purse, which was as empty as any
hermit’s. Doubtless, thought I, Naples is a place where pleasures
abound: but they are as dear here as elsewhere, and a man without money
in his pocket will cut but a very ridiculous figure. I knew well that I
must be industrious, and accordingly addressed myself to certain other
gentlemen who lived by their wits. I apprised them of my desire and
necessity to become one of their brethren. My roguish air prepossessed
them instantly in my favour, and after a short examination which I was
obliged to undergo, I was pronounced to be fully qualified to be one of
their company. I was no sooner enrolled, than they made me commence my
operations in their way of business. By their own confession I acquitted
myself as if the principles were innate with me; and accordingly I was
soon employed in all sorts of thieving, that is to say, in cutting
purses, picking locks, stealing cloaks in the darkness of the night; in
short a hundred such-like exercises, which are but A, B, C, to old
practitioners in the science, but have a wonderful tendency to raise an
honest man step by step to the gallows.
“But without vanity, my abilities were of too superior a kind to confine
myself to these little tricks, and I certainly performed two or three
which were considered master-pieces. I must relate one of them to you.
The Lord High Constable’s house was the rendezvous of every person of
quality, who assembled there of an evening to play. I had already been
once in this house while the game had been going on, and had observed
every thing with a curious eye. I had particularly noticed that on each
of the tables there stood two handsome silver candlesticks with wax
lights, and I determined to think of some expedient by which I could
possess myself of a pair of them. With this view I bought a pair of
pewter ones of about the same height, with two wax candles in them. I
managed to get these very conveniently into my pocket, and one evening
having dressed myself so that I might pass for a boy belonging to one of
the gentlemen of the party, I stole to the high Constable’s house, and
posted myself at the door of a small room where two young gentlemen only
were at play. I perceived with pleasure that all the pages of the house
were engaged in the other rooms, which appeared to be full of company.
My two players continued engaged together for a long time, and their
candles being almost burnt out seemed to require fresh ones. I seized
this favourable moment, and drawing from my pocket my pewter
candlesticks, I lighted my wax candles by the lamp on the staircase, and
entered the room in which the two gentlemen were with a most respectful
bow, and with my two candlesticks in my hand. These I placed boldly on
the table in the place of the two silver ones, which I carried off under
my cloak after having extinguished them. I then ran as fast as my legs
would carry me to our captain, who was the receiver-general of our
stolen goods, a very grave personage, and who passed in the city as a
very honest man. He acted both as a protector and a lawyer towards us
when we happened to be caught in a trap: and out of gratitude we gave
him a fifth part of the produce of all the thefts we committed.
“Another time I performed a still more desperate trick. I happened to be
passing one morning before a house which appeared to be the residence of
some man of opulence, and which turned out afterwards to be really the
case. The door being open I walked in. I entered two or three rooms on
the same floor, without meeting any one, and I perceived, on the table
of the last, a complete new lady’s dress of the finest velvet. I
deposited this without ceremony under my cloak, and in two jumps was in
the hall again; but unfortunately I found the master of the house at the
door, who seeing me come out with a large parcel under my arm, stopped
me short, and enquired in a voice of thunder what I had got under my
cloak. Most people in my situation would have been quite confounded; but
I, on the contrary, without being in the least at a nonplus, answered
him immediately, that it was his lady’s velvet robe which I was carrying
home in order to set the collar to rights and alter one of the sleeves.
So much the better, replied he, but you must bring it back as soon as
possible, for my wife will want it this afternoon, to visit a lady of
quality of her acquaintance. I assured him that I would not fail, and
thus saying, shot from him as swift as a roebuck.
“This adventure soon spread itself in the town; and even the next day I
heard that the gentleman, after having spoken to me, immediately entered
his house, where he heard his wife and two or three of the servants
making as much noise as if they were in a tavern; that the mistress was
crying out most vehemently: where is my velvet robe? it was here not one
minute ago: you shall pay me for it:----that the servants having seen
no one either enter or leave the house, protested that it must have
been the devil who had carried it off; and that at last the husband
quieted this uproar, by telling them what had really become of it. I was
given to understand also, that the officers of justice had been informed
of it; that my person had been very accurately described to them, and
they were actually every where in search for me, the gentleman whom I
had robbed being himself a notary. During all this time, my booty was in
safety at our protector’s house, where the whole company laughed
heartily at their fruitless exertions to find me. Nevertheless this
trick, which I played with as much good luck as dexterity, had
consequences which do not occupy a very agreeable place in my memory.
Thus it happened:
“Happening one day to be taking a stroll out of the city, near a pretty
large rivulet, I observed some very fine linen on the banks, which a
laundress had just washed and spread out upon the grass. Such
opportunities as these always tempted me; and I could not resist my
extreme desire of making myself master of some part of this linen; the
more especially as I really was in want of some. I only waited,
therefore, for the moment when I could make the attempt without being
perceived, and that moment at length arriving, I performed the exploit
with such rapidity, that to possess myself of some of the very best of
the linen, and take the way back to the town, was done in the twinkling
of an eye. Though the old washerwoman had not observed the action at the
moment, it so happened that she just afterwards turned her head to look
at her linen. Astonished to perceive a reduction of at least two-thirds
she looked quickly around her, and seeing nobody but me, she thought
rightly enough that I must be the thief, and accordingly, leaving the
remainder of her linen to take its chance, she ran after me, crying out:
_stop thief! stop thief!_ in a voice which made the country resound. In
this embarrassment, what could I do? I let the parcel slip gently from
under my cloak upon the ground, hoping that the laundress satisfied with
having her property, would pursue me no further; but, whether she
thought that I had more about me, or was bent upon my ruin, she followed
me up to the city gates, where the sentry stopped me, asking what was
the matter. The washerwoman was soon up with us, and began immediately
by cuffing me, saying that I had stolen the whole of her linen. I was
then searched all over, and as my cloak and the under part of my arm
were wet through, it was easy enough to guess that I had got rid of the
bundle, in order to deny that I had robbed my accuser. Nothing more was
necessary to entitle me to a lodging in one of the palaces of justice.
“I communicated my imprisonment to our lawyer, who came to me
immediately. I told him the circumstances, and he repaired to a
criminal judge. They had a long conversation together, which ended with
the promise that I should be set at liberty that very day. He brought me
the good news, and I prepared to leave the place. The order was already
made out, the gaoler satisfied, and I had one foot out of prison, when
by the malice of the devil, my friend the notary, who had been so
actively in search for me, and who happened to have a little business
there, presented himself before me. He stared me full in the face, and
recognizing me immediately, he flew in a passion, gave me a violent blow
with his fist, which made me reel back into the prison again, and told
the gaoler to lock me in, for that I had robbed him, and he would
certainly get me committed. Our lawyer, who was present, exerted all his
flowers of rhetoric to appease him. He even went so far as to promise
the value of the robe; but the cursed notary, preferring the pleasure
of being revenged on me, to that of recovering his property, was
inexorable: the consequences of which were that I was honoured with a
hearty whipping, and banished the kingdom.
“After this disgrace, which I bore as patiently as I could, my captain,
by way of consolation, offered me a letter of recommendation to a friend
of his, the chief of a banditti who inhabited a retreat in the Roman
mountains, which, not knowing what better I could do, I accepted of. The
chief had no sooner read my letter than he gave me a most gracious
reception. He introduced me to the cavaliers of his company, than whom I
never saw more savage looking animals. It is true, that having left at
Naples comrades so perfectly civilized, it was impossible but these
mountaineers must have appeared to me wild and unsociable. Nevertheless,
as one must always follow the fashion, I by degrees became accustomed
to them, notwithstanding the terrible life they led. We made some good
hits, and I found myself in a short time with a purse well stocked. No
sooner was this the case than I determined on leaving these honest
folks. With this view, I requested leave of our chief for two months,
under pretence of having some business at Rome. This was readily granted
me, on my taking oath that I would return at the expiration of that
time. This oath I certainly submitted to, but fully determined to forget
it as soon as I got to Rome.
“I had pictured to myself that in so fine a city, I should find
opportunities to exercise my talents at every step I took. When,
however, I had been there long enough to study the genius of the
inhabitants, they appeared to me to be so cunning themselves, that I
stood no chance among them. I made a few hits, but of such a nature as
would do me no credit to repeat. In the last of these I narrowly
escaped detection. This caused me to leave Rome suddenly, whence I
thought proper to make the tour of Italy, that I might know it well, and
I spent all my money in this wandering life. At length, being at
Bologna, chance made me acquainted with Alexander Bentivoglio, who
received me into his little troop. This man seems born for his
profession. His custom is to leave his native place from time to time,
and travel through the different towns in search of dupes; and after he
has made any good stroke, he returns to Bologna, where he is always sure
to be safe, as though nothing had happened. I occasionally accompanied
him in these trips, and I was at Rome on his business, the day on which
your lordship was persecuted by the mob. I called upon you at the
Ambassador’s--you had the imprudence to display all your property and
expose all your affairs to me--I reported this to captain Alexander,
who immediately planned the trick we played you. This action, continued
he, is always present to my mind; and my extreme sorrow on this account
will be constantly nourished by your excessive kindness to me.”
Sayavedra here concluded his history. After which his various adventures
formed the topic of our conversation on the road towards Milan, where we
arrived both fresh and merry, and similarly well-disposed to possess
ourselves of the property of others.