In opposing her husband's insane determination to join the fleet, Doña
Francisca did not rely solely on the reasons given in the last
chapter; she had another and more weighty one which she did not
mention in the course of that conversation, perhaps because it was
wiser not. But the reader does not know it, and must be told.
I have mentioned that my master had a daughter; this daughter's name
was Rosita; she was a little older than I was, that is to say scarcely
fifteen, and a marriage had been arranged for her with a young officer
of artillery named Malespina, belonging to a family of Medinasidonia
and distantly related to my master. The wedding had been fixed for the
end of October and, as may be supposed, the absence of the bride's
father on so solemn an occasion would have been highly improper.
I must here give some account of my young lady, of her bridegroom, her
love-affairs and her projected marriage; and alas! my recollections
take a tinge of melancholy, recalling to my fancy many troublesome
and far-away scenes, figures from another world--and stirring my weary
old heart with feelings of which I should find it hard to say whether
they were more pleasurable or sad. Those ardent memories which now lie
withered in my brain, like tropical flowers exposed to a chill
northern blast, sometimes make me laugh--but sometimes make me grave.
However, to my tale, or the reader will be tired of these wearisome
reflections which, after all, interest no one but myself.
Rosita was uncommonly pretty. I remember vividly how pretty she was,
though I should find it difficult to describe her features. I fancy I
see her now, smiling in my face; the curious expression of her
countenance, unlike any other I ever saw, dwells in my mind--from the
perfect distinctness with which it rises before me--like one of those
innate ideas which seem to have come into the world with us from a
former existence, or to have been impressed on our minds by some
mysterious power while we were still in the cradle. And yet I cannot
describe it, for what then was real and tangible remains now in my
brain as a vague ideal; and while nothing is so fascinating as a
beloved ideal, nothing so completely eludes all categorical
description.
When I first went into the house I thought that Rosita belonged to
some superior order of beings; I will explain my feelings more fully
that you may form an idea of my utter simpleness. When we are little
and a child comes into the world within our family the grown-up folks
are apt to tell us that it has come from France, Paris, or England. I,
like other children, having no notions as to the multiplication of the
human race, firmly believed that babies were imported packed up in
boxes like a cargo of hardware. Thus, gazing for the first time at my
master's daughter, I argued that so lovely a being could not have come
from the same factory as the rest of us, that is to say from Paris or
from England, and I remained convinced that there must be some
enchanted region where heaven-sent workmen were employed in making
these choicer and lovelier specimens of humanity. Both of us being
children, though in different ranks of life, we were soon on those
terms of mutual confidence which were natural to our years, and my
greatest joy was in playing with her, submitting to all her vagaries
and insolence, which is not saying a little, for our relative position
was never lost sight of in our games; she was always the young lady
and I always the servant, so that I got the worst of it when slaps
were going, and I need not say who was the sufferer.
My highest dream of happiness was to be allowed to fetch her from
school, and when, by some unforeseen accident, some one else was
entrusted with this delightful duty I was so deeply distressed that I
honestly thought there could be no greater grief in life, and would
say to myself: "It is impossible that I should ever be more miserable
when I am a man grown." My greatest delight was to climb the
orange-tree in the court-yard to pick the topmost sprays of blossom; I
felt myself at a height far above the greatest king on earth when
seated on his throne, and I can remember no pleasure to be compared to
that of being obliged to capture her in that divinely rapturous game
known as hide and seek. If she ran like a gazelle I flew like a bird
to catch her as soon as possible, seizing her by the first part of her
dress or person that I could lay my hand on. When we changed parts,
when she was the pursuer and I was to be caught, the innocent delight
of the blissful game was doubled, and the darkest and dingiest hole in
which I might hide, breathlessly awaiting the grasp of her imprisoning
hands, was to me a perfect paradise. And I may honestly say that
during these happy games I never had a thought or a feeling that did
not emanate from the purest and most loyal idealism.
Then her singing! From the time when she was quite little she used to
sing the popular airs of Andalusia with the ease of a nightingale,
which knows all the secrets of song without having been taught. All
the neighbors admired her wonderful facility and would come to listen
to her, but to me their applause and admiration were an offence; I
could have wished her to sing to no one but me. Her singing was a sort
of melancholy warbling, qualified by her fresh childlike voice. The
air, which repeated itself with complicated little turns and trills
like a thread of sound, seemed to be lost in distant heights and then
to come back to earth again on the low notes. It was like the song of
the lark as it rises towards heaven and suddenly comes down to sing
close in our ears; the spirit of the hearer seemed to expand as it
followed the voice, and then to contract again, but always following
the swing of the melody and feeling the music to be inseparable from
the sweet little singer. The effect was so singular that to me it was
almost painful to hear her, particularly in the presence of others.
We were, as I have said, of about the same age, she being eight or
nine months older than I was. But I was stunted and puny while she was
well grown and vigorous, and at the end of my three years' residence
in the house she looked much the elder of the two. These three years
slipped by without our either of us suspecting that we were growing
up; our games went on without interruption, for she was much livelier
by nature than I, though her mother would scold her, trying to keep
her in order and make her study--in which, however, she did not always
succeed. At the end of these three years, however, my adored young
mistress was a woman grown; her figure was round and well formed,
giving the finishing touch to her beauty; her face had a tenderer
blush, a softer form, a gentler look; her large eyes were brighter but
their glance was less restless and eager; her gait was more sober; her
movements were, I cannot say lighter nor less light, but certainly
different, though I could not, either then or now, define in what the
difference lay. But no change struck me so much as that in her voice,
which acquired a gravity and depth very unlike the shrill gay tones in
which she had been wont to call me, bewildering my common-sense and
making me leave my various duties to join in her games. The bud, in
short, had become a rose, the chrysalis was transformed into a
butterfly.
Then, one day--one dreadful, dismal day--my young mistress appeared
before me in a long dress. This alteration made such an impression on
me that I could not speak a word the whole day. I felt like a man who
has been cruelly imposed upon, and I was so vexed with her that in my
secret soul I found fifty reasons for seriously resenting her rapid
development. A perfect fever of argumentativeness was fired in my
brain, and I debated the matter with myself in the most fervent manner
during my sleepless nights. The thing that utterly confounded me was
that the addition of a few yards of stuff to her skirts seemed
altogether to have altered her character. That day--a thousand times
unblessed--she spoke to me with the greatest formality, ordering me
coldly and even repellently to do all the things I least liked
doing--and she, who had so often been my accomplice and screen in
idleness, now reproved me for it! and all this without a smile, or a
skip, or a glance!--No more running, no more songs, no more hiding for
me to find her, no making believe to be cross ending in a laugh--not a
squabble, not even a slap from her sweet little hand! It was a
terrible crisis in my life--she was a woman and I was still a child!
I need not say that this was an end to our pranks and games; I never
again climbed the orange-tree, which henceforth blossomed unmolested
by my greedy devotion, and unfolded its leaves and shed its luscious
perfume at its own sweet will; we never again scampered across the
court-yard, nor trotted too and from school--I, so proud of my
responsibility, that I would have defended her against an army if they
had tried to carry her off. From that day Rosita always walked with
the greatest dignity and circumspection. I often observed that as she
went up-stairs in front of me she took care not to show an inch, not a
line, of her pretty ankles, and this systematic concealment I felt to
be an insult to my dignity, for I had till lately seen a great deal
more than her ankles! Bless me! I can laugh now when I remember how my
heart was ready to burst over these things.
But worse misfortunes were in store. One day in the same year as that
of this transformation old 'Aunt' Martina, Rosario the cook, Marcial,
and other members of the kitchen society were discussing something
very important. I made the best use of my ears and presently gathered
the most alarming hints: My young mistress was to be married. The
thing seemed incredible for I had never heard of a lover. However, the
parents used to arrange all these matters and the strange thing is
that sometimes they did not turn out badly. A young man of good family
had asked her hand, and her parents had consented. He came to the
house accompanied by his relatives, who were some kind of counts or
marquises with a high-sounding title. The suitor wore a naval uniform,
for he served his country as a sailor, but in spite of his elegant
costume he was by no means attractive. This no doubt was the
impression he made on my young mistress, for from the first she
manifested a great dislike to the marriage. Her mother tried to
persuade her, but all in vain though she drew the most flattering
picture of the young man's excellent talents, ancient lineage and
splendid wealth. The young girl was not to be convinced, and answered
all these arguments with others no less cogent.
However, the sly baggage never said a word about the real reason,
which was that she had another lover whom she really loved. This was a
young artillery officer, Don Rafael Malespina, a fine-looking young
fellow with a pleasing face. My young mistress had made his
acquaintance in church, and the traitor Love had taken advantage of
her while she was saying her prayers; but indeed a church has always
seemed the fittest place, with its poetical and mysterious influences,
for the doors of the soul to be opened for the admission of love.
Malespina took to lurking round the house, in which I detected him on
various occasions, and this love-affair became so much talked of in
Vejer that the young naval officer came to know of it and challenged
his rival. My master and mistress heard the whole story when news was
brought to the house that Malespina had wounded his antagonist
severely.
The scandal caused an immense commotion. My mistress's religious
feelings were so much shocked by this deed that neither she nor my
master could conceal their wrath, and Rosita was their first victim.
However, months went by; the wounded man got well again, and as
Malespina himself was a man of birth and wealth, there were evident
indications in the political atmosphere of the house that Don Rafael
was about to be admitted. The parents of the wounded man gave up the
suit, and those of the conqueror appeared in their place to ask the
hand of my sweet young mistress. After some discussion and demur the
match was agreed upon.
I remember the first time old Malespina came. He was a very tall,
dry-looking man with a gaudily-colored waistcoat, a quantity of seals
and ornaments hanging to his watch, and a very large sharp nose with
which he seemed to be smelling every one he talked to. He was terribly
voluble and never allowed any one else to get a word in; he
contradicted everything, and it was impossible to praise anything
without his saying that he had something far better. From the first I
felt sure he was a vain man and utterly untruthful, and my opinion was
amply justified later. My master received him with friendly
politeness, as well as his son who came with him. From that time the
lover came to the house every day, sometimes alone and sometimes with
his father.
Now a new phase came over my young mistress. Her coolness to me was so
marked that it verged on utter contempt. It made me understand
clearly, for the first time, the humbleness of my condition, and I
cursed it bitterly; I tried to argue with myself as to the claims to
superiority of those who really were my superiors, asking myself, with
real anguish of mind, how far it was right and just that others should
be rich and noble and learned, while my ancestry were of such low
origin; my sole fortune was my skin, and I hardly knew how to read.
Seeing what the reward of my devotion was, I fully believed that there
was no ambition in this wide world that I dared aspire to; and it was
not till long after that I acquired a rational conviction that, by a
steady and vigorous use of my own powers, I might gain almost
everything I was deficient in. Under the scorn with which she treated
me I lost all confidence in myself; I never dared open my lips in her
presence, and she inspired me with far greater awe than her parents.
Meanwhile I attentively watched all the signs of the love that
possessed her; I saw her sad and impatient when her lover was late; at
every sound of an approaching footstep her pretty face flushed and her
black eyes sparkled with anxiety and hope. If it was he who came in
she could not conceal her rapture, and then they would sit and talk
for hours together; but always under the eye of Doña Francisca, for
she would not have allowed the young lady to have a _tête-à-tête_
meeting with any one, even through iron bars.
However, they carried on an extensive correspondence, and the worst of
it all was that I had to be the go-between and courier. That drove me
mad!--The regular thing was that I should go out and meet the young
gentleman at a certain place, as punctually as a clock, and he would
give me a note to carry to my young mistress; having discharged this
commission, she would give me one to take to him. How often have I
felt tempted to burn those letters instead of delivering them.
However, luckily for me, I always kept cool enough to resist this base
temptation. I need hardly add that I hated Malespina; I no sooner saw
him come into the house than my blood boiled, and whenever he desired
me to do anything I did it as badly and sulkily as possible, wishing
to betray my extreme disgust. This disgust, which to them seemed
simply bad service, while to me it was a display of honest wrath
worthy of a proud and noble heart, earned me many reprimands, and
above all it once led my young lady to make a speech that pierced me
to the heart like the thrust of an arrow. On one occasion I heard her
say: "That boy is getting so troublesome that we shall have to get rid
of him."
At last the day was fixed for the wedding, and it was only a short
while before that event that all I have already related took place
with reference to my master's project. It may therefore be easily
understood that Doña Francisca had excellent reasons for objecting to
her husband's joining the fleet, besides her regard for his safety.