HISTORY OF BLAS EL GUERRILLERO--_continued._
"_La rueda de la fortuna anda mas lista que una rueda de molino, y
que los que ayer estaban en pinganitos, hoy estan por el
suelo._"[145]--
DON QUIJOTE.
It was at Castrò el Rio that we last met Don Carlos; it is now eleven
years since,--rather more, but still I have a perfect recollection of
it. My memory, indeed, is the only thing that has served me well through
life. Friends have abandoned--riches corrupted--success has
hardened--ambition disappointed me; and now, as you see, my very limbs
are failing me, but memory--excepting for one short period, when my
brain was affected--has never abandoned me. I cannot flee from it--it
pursues me incessantly: it is as impossible to get rid of, as of one's
shadow in the sun's rays, and seems indeed, like it, to become more
perfect, as I too proceed downward in my rapidly revolving course.
Alas! it often brings to mind the words of my good father, addressed,
whilst I was yet a child, to my too-indulgent mother:--"If we consult
the happiness of our son, we must not bring him up above the condition
to which it has pleased Providence to call him." It was my unhappy lot,
however, to become an _educated pauper_. I grew up discontented, and
became a profligate: I coveted riches, to feed my unnatural cravings,
and became criminal: I scoffed at religion, and came to ridicule the
idea of a future state of rewards and punishments. And as I thus brought
myself to believe that I was not an accountable creature, nothing
thenceforth restrained me from committing any act which gratified my
passions. What is man, I argued, that I should not despoil him, if he
possess that which I covet? What should deter me from taking his life,
if he stand between me and that which I desire? _Crime_ is a mere
word,--a term for any act which certain _men_, for their mutual
advantage, have agreed shall meet with punishment. But what right have
those men to say, this is just, and that is unlawful?
Such were my feelings at the time I met and related to you the
adventures of my early life; adventures of which I was then not a
little proud, though, nevertheless, I slurred over some little matters
that I thought would not raise me in your opinion. Well was it for me
that I was not cut off in the midst of my iniquitous career, but have,
on the contrary, been allowed time, by penance and prayer, to make what
atonement is in my power for my former sinful life.
My journey to Castrò had been undertaken at the desire of the political
chief of ----, for the purpose of watching the proceedings of the Royal
Regiment of Carbineers, which, as you may remember, was at that time
quartered there.
I soon, under pretence of being a stanch royalist, wormed myself into
the confidence of the officers, and learnt that they were in
communication with the King's Guards at Madrid, and were plotting a
counter-revolution, to reestablish Ferdinand on a despotic throne. The
advice I gave them, and the information I furnished the government, led
to the unconnected and premature developement of their treason, and to
the vigorous steps which were taken by the executive to meet and put it
down.
These, however, are matters of history, on which it is unnecessary to
dwell; suffice it, therefore, to say, that my good services on the
occasion were rewarded by promotion to a more lucrative _corregimiento_.
I did not long enjoy this new post, for, on the French columns crossing
the Pyrenees the following spring, I threw up my civil employment, and,
collecting a small band of _guerrillas_, flew to the defence of my
country; joining the traitor Ballasteros, then entrusted with the
command of the army of the south.
The deplorable events which followed deprived me of a home; but, leaving
my wife and infant son (the only child, of three, whom it had pleased
Providence to spare us) at the secluded little town of Cañete la Real,
perched high up in the Sierra de Terril, I wandered about the country
with a few adherents, seeking opportunities of harassing the French
during their operations before Cadiz.
They afforded us no opportunities, however, of attacking their convoys
with any chance of success, and my followers could not be brought to
engage in any daring enterprise without the prospect of booty. The
feeling of patriotism appeared, indeed, to be extinct in the breasts of
Spaniards, and after a few weeks my band, which was nowhere well
received, having been induced to commit excesses in some of the villages
situated in the open country about Arcos, several parties of royalist
volunteers were formed to proceed in quest of us; and so disheartened
were my followers, that I shortly found my band reduced to a dozen
desperadoes, who, like myself, had no hopes of obtaining pardon.
We betook ourselves, therefore, to the innermost recesses of the Ronda
mountains, moving constantly from place to place, as well to harass our
pursuers, as to avoid being surrounded by them; and such is the
intricacy of the country, and so numerous are the rocky fastnesses of
the smugglers (from whom we were always sure of a good reception), that
we readily baffled all pursuit, and exhausted the patience of our
enemies; and, at length, seizing a favourable opportunity of inflicting
a severe loss upon one of their parties, the patriotic zeal of these
gentry so completely evaporated, that we were left in the undisturbed
command of the Serranía.
All hope of being serviceable to our country at an end, we were
compelled, as a last resource, to adopt the only calling to which we
were suited, viz., that of highway robbers; and for several months every
road between Gibraltar and Malaga, and the inland towns, was, in turn,
subject to our predaceous visits.
On one occasion a dignitary of the church, whose name and particular
station it would not be prudent of me to mention, fell into our hands.
His attendants, who were of a militant order, defended their master with
great obstinacy. They were eventually overpowered, however, but several
of my men having been badly wounded in the scuffle, were so
exasperated, that they determined to shoot all those who had fallen into
our hands, as well as the ---- himself; who, though he had not taken an
active part in the combat, had made no attempt to restrain his
pugnacious adherents.
As soon as our prisoners had been secured, therefore, the portly
ecclesiastic was directed to descend from his sleek mule, deliver up his
money, and prepare for death. He inveighed in eloquent terms at our
barbarity, pointed out to us the iniquity of our proceedings, the
probability of a speedy punishment overtaking us in this life, and the
certainty of having to endure everlasting torments in that which is to
come. But it was to no purpose; indeed, it only tempted my miscreants to
prolong his misery; and, having tied him to a tree, they insisted upon
his blessing them all round, ere they proceeded to shoot him.
"My children," said the worthy ----, "my blessing, from the tone in which
you ask it, would serve you little. My life is in the hands of my Maker,
not in your's; and if it be His pleasure to make you the instruments of
his divine will, so be it. I am prepared; death has no terrors for me;
and may you obtain _His_ forgiveness for the sin you are about to
commit, as readily as I grant you _mine_. Now, I am ready;" and, looking
upwards to the seat of all power and grace, he paid no further
attention to their scoffing.
"Now Señor Bias," said one of my men, "since he will give us no more
sport, give the word, and let us finish his business."
"Hold!" exclaimed one of the ----'s suite, addressing me, "Is your name
Blas Maldonado?"
"It is: wherefore?"
"Because, if such be the case, in his Excellency's _portefuille_ you
will find a letter addressed to you."
I forthwith proceeded to examine its contents, and, true enough, found a
letter bearing my address. It was from my old friend _Jacobo_,
requesting, should the ---- fall into my hands, that I would suffer him
to pass without molestation, in return for services conferred on him,
which would be explained at our next meeting.[146]
_Jacobo_, though we had not met for many months, I knew was in that part
of the country, following the honest calling of a _Contrabandista_, and
I felt, in honour, bound to grant this request of my old friend and ever
faithful lieutenant. My followers, however, objected strongly to spare
either the ----, or his attendants, and a violent altercation ensued;
for, I declared that my life must be taken ere that of any one of our
prisoners.
Four only of the band sided with me, and we had already assumed a
hostile attitude, when the ---- called earnestly upon me to desist.
"Peril not your sinful souls!" he exclaimed, "by hurrying each other,
unrepented of your manifold sins, into the presence of an offended
Maker.--Take our gold--take every thing we possess; and if those
misguided men cannot be satisfied without blood, let mine flow to save
the lives of these, my followers, who have stronger ties than I to bind
them to this world."
My hot temper, little used to contradiction, would listen, however, to
no terms; my word was pledged that the ---- and his attendants should go
free, and my word was never given in vain. I persisted, therefore, in
declaring that those must pass over my body who would touch a hair of
the ----'s head, or take a m_aravedi_ from his purse.... If he chose to
make them a present after he had been released, he was his own master to
do so.
This delicate hint was eagerly seized by the worthy dignitary's
attendants, and a large sum of money was distributed amongst the gang,
in which I declined sharing. The ----, meanwhile, remounted his mule,
and, calling me to his side, placed a valuable ring upon my finger. "I
am indebted to you for my life, Blas Maldonado," he said, with the most
lively emotion; "but that is little; I owe to you--what I value
infinitely more--the safety of these faithful attendants, whose
attachment had led them, like Simon Peter, to defend their Pastor. Such
debts cannot be cancelled by any gift I can bestow, and it is not with
that view I offer you this bauble, but a day may come when you may need
an intercessor--if so, return this ring to me by some faithful member of
our holy church, and let me know how I can serve you: or--which is
probable, considering my age and infirmities--should I, ere that comes
to pass, have been called from this world to give an account of my
stewardship; then, fear not to lay it at the foot of Fernando's throne,
and, in the name of its donor, beg for mercy. I trust you may not have
occasion to require its services, for my prayers shall not be wanting
for your conversion from your present evil ways--my blessing be upon
you--farewell."
How powerful is the influence of religion! Whilst listening to the
worthy ----'s words, my head, which since the days of my childhood no
act of devotion had ever led me to uncover, was bared as if by instinct;
and, to receive the blessing he had called down upon me, I humbled
myself to the earth!
Although those of the band who had so vehemently opposed sparing
the ----'s life had finally been satisfied with the _donation_ bestowed
upon them, yet their disobedience made me determine on ejecting them
from my band, and accordingly, accompanied only by my four supporters in
the late dispute, I proceeded to my old rendezvous, Montejaque, hoping
to pick up some recruits. I purposed, also, availing myself of the first
favourable opportunity to remove my wife and child to that place, it
being more conveniently situated, and offering greater security than
even Cañete la Real.
We had been there but a few days, when I received a letter without a
signature, but in the well-known characters of my bosom friend, Miguel
Clavijo, under whose protection I had placed my wife and child, giving
warning of impending danger to them. There was yet time to avert it, my
correspondent concluded, but in twenty-four hours from the date of this
communication, their fate would probably be sealed.
It was within two hours of sunset when I received this letter, and eight
hours had already elapsed since it had been written. Not a moment,
therefore, was to be lost. I procured a pillion, and, placing it on an
active horse, set off with all possible haste for Cañete, keeping along
the course of the river Ariate to avoid the town of Ronda, and
traversing at full speed the village bearing the name of the stream, in
order to escape recognition.
I reached the rounded summit of the chain of hills which forms the
northern boundary of the cultivated valley of Ronda, just as the sun was
sinking behind the western mountains; and, checking my horse to give him
a few moments' breath ere commencing the rugged descent on the opposite
side, I turned round to see if all were quiet in the wide-spread plain I
had just traversed, and that no one was following my traces. At this
moment the last ray of the glorious luminary lit upon the distant town
of Grazalema. The remarkable coincidence of the warning of treason I had
received there on this very day, twelve years before, came vividly to
mind, and with it the recollection of my extraordinary escape from the
snare laid for me--the debt of gratitude due to her who had risked her
life, and sacrificed her honour to save me--the cruelty with which my
preserver had been treated. Poor abandoned Paca! From the moment of our
angry separation, never had I once taken the trouble of enquiring what
had been her fate. Scarcely, indeed, had I ever bestowed a thought upon
her.
I resumed my way down the rough descent, pondering, for the first time
in my life, on the ingratitude I had been guilty of, and had reached
some high cliffs that border the road beneath the village of La Cuera
del Becerro, when a pistol was discharged within a few yards of me, and,
looking up, I saw a witchlike figure standing on the edge of the
precipice overhanging the path--It was Paca!
Had my eyes wished to deceive me, she would not have allowed them, for,
with a wild, demonaical laugh, she screamed out "_Adelante, Adelante,
embustero desalmado!_[147]--You will yet be in time to dig the grave for
your child, though too late to snatch your _wife_ from the arms of her
paramour. Forward, forward; recollect the old saying, '_no hay boda, sin
tornabóda_;'[148] you may have forgotten Paca of _Benaocaz_, but I shall
never forget Blas Maldonado. The creditor has ever a better memory than
the debtor. I have paid myself now, however--ride on, and see the
receipt I have left for you at Cañete--ha, ha, ha!"
There was something perfectly fiendish in her laughter. A horrible
presentiment possessed me.--With a hand tremulous with passion, I drew
forth a pistol and fired. Paca staggered, and fell backwards; but, not
waiting to see if she were killed, I put spurs to my horse, and hurried
forward to Cañete.
I rode straight to the house where I had left my wife, but it was
uninhabited. I turned from it with a shudder, and proceeded to the
abode of my faithful friend Clavijo, who was confined to his bed with
ague. He received me with a face foreboding evil.
"Where is my wife?" I hastily demanded--"my child, where is he?"
"Alas!" he replied, "why came you not earlier?"
"Earlier! how could that be? It is but twelve hours since your summons
was penned! Tell me, I implore you--what horrible misfortune has
befallen?"
"But twelve hours, say you?" exclaimed Clavijo; "It is now _three days_
since I intrusted my letter to Paca to convey to you! she it was who
informed me of the plot to carry off your wife, (which has been but too
truly effected,) and offered to be herself the bearer of my letter to
you at Montejaque, where she assured me you were. I have not seen her
since, and fancied she had not succeeded in finding you."
I stood stupified whilst listening to this explanation--for such it was
to me; the truth, the horrible truth, at once flashing upon me--and
then, without waiting to obtain further information from the bed-ridden
Miguel, hastened to the late residence of my wife, which one of his
domestics pointed out to me. In few words, I explained to its owner the
object of my visit, begging for information concerning my child. "This
will explain all, Señor Blas," she replied, taking a letter from a
cupboard, and placing it in my hands; "would to God it had been in my
power to prevent what has happened."
The letter was in my wife's hand-writing, I tore it open, and to my
astonishment read as follows.
"Monster of iniquity! The veil that has but too long concealed thy
unequalled crimes from the eyes of a confiding woman, has been rudely
torn aside. Murderer of my brother! Apostate! Traitor! Adulterer!
receive at my hands the first stroke of the Almighty's anger. The
illegitimate offspring of our intercourse lies a mangled corpse upon our
adulterous bed! Yes, unparalleled villain; my hand, like thine own, is
stained with the blood of my child--_our_ child. But on thy head rests
the sin. In a moment of delirium, produced by the sight of my husband,
and the knowledge of thy atrocious crimes, the horrid deed was
committed. I leave thee to the pangs of remorse. I cannot curse thee.
Even with the bleached corpse of my poor boy before me, I cannot bring
myself to call down a heavy punishment upon thee. We shall never meet
again; but fly instantly and save thyself if possible; and may the
Almighty Being, whose every command thou hast violated, extend the term
of thy life for repentance; and may a blessed Saviour and the holy
saints, whose mediation thou hast ever derided, intercede for the
salvation of thy sinful soul."
My first feeling on reading this epistle was incredulity! _I_, who had
stopped at no crime to gratify any evil passion; even I could not
persuade myself that it was not a forgery, nor believe that one so
gentle, so affectionate, as Engracia, could be guilty of so diabolical
an act. I took up a lamp and walked composedly to the adjoining chamber,
to satisfy my doubts. With a steady hand I drew aside the curtain of the
bed--nothing was visible. A thrill of delight ran through my veins. I
tore off the counterpane, and--horrible revulsion of
feeling!--discovered my boy, my darling boy, with anguish depicted in
every feature, and every muscle contracted with excessive suffering; a
cold--black--fetid--putrid corpse!
Until that moment I had not known the full extent to which the chords of
the human heart are capable of being stretched. All my love of life had
centred in that child. Each of his infantile endearments came fresh upon
my memory. The pangs of jealousy and hate, too, had never before been so
acutely felt; and, lastly, I thought of my Fernando's dying malediction!
It seemed as if a poisoned dart had pierced to the very innermost recess
of the heart, and that my envenomed blood waited but its extraction, to
gush forth in one irrepressible flood.
I stood speechless--awe-struck--motionless; but not yet humbled. I
thought of Paca, and a curse rose to my throat; but ere I had time to
give it utterance, a noise, as of many persons assembled at the door of
the house, attracted my attention, and I heard an unknown voice say,
"This, _Tio_, you are sure is the house? Then in with you, comrades,
without ceremony, and bring out every soul you may find there, dead or
alive."
In another moment the door was broken open and a party of armed men
rushed in. My precaution of extinguishing the lamp was vain, as several
of them bore blazing torches. I rushed to a back window of the inner
apartment, and drew forth a pistol to keep them at bay whilst I effected
my escape by it. It had the desired effect. Not one of the dastard crew
would approach to lay his hand upon me. The shutter was already thrown
open; the strength of desperation had enabled me to tear down one of the
iron bars of the _reja_; and one foot rested on the window-sill; when,
rushing past the soldiers, a ghost-like female figure, whose face was
bound up in a cloth clotted with gore, seized me in her convulsive
grasp, and in a half-articulate scream cried, "Wretch! you shall not so
escape me!"--It was Paca! I tried in vain to shake her off; she clung to
me with the pertinacity of a vampire, I placed the muzzle of my pistol
to her temple, and pulled the trigger; but, in my hurry, I had drawn
that which I had already fired at her. I attempted to snatch another
from my belt, but the soldiers taking courage rushed forward and
overpowered me, just as Paca, from whose mouth I now perceived blood was
rapidly issuing, fell exhausted upon the floor.
The commander of the party was now called in, who gave directions for a
priest and a surgeon to be instantly sent for, and that I should be
bound hand and foot with cords. They took the bedding from under the
corpse of my son to form a rest for Paca, whose life seemed ebbing
rapidly.
In a few minutes the surgeon arrived, and shortly after a tinkling bell
announced the approach of the Host. The doctor having examined Paca's
wounds, pronounced them to have been inflicted by the discharge of some
weapon loaded with slugs, one of which had fractured her jaw-bone,
whilst another had inflicted a wound that occasioned an inward flow of
blood which threatened immediate dissolution, and consequently the
services of the church were more likely to be beneficial than his own.
The priest then approached, and offered the last and cheering
consolation that our holy religion offers to a dying penitent.
Paca opened her now lustreless eyes, and with a motion of impatience,
putting aside the proffered cup, pointed to me. "There is my murderer,"
she muttered in broken accents; "Villain! monster! my vengeance is at
length complete. I leave you in the hands of justice, and die ...
happy." An agonized writhe belied her assertion. She never spoke after,
but continued groaning whilst the worthy priest attempted to call her
attention to her approaching end.
I have not much more to add to my history. It appeared, by what I learnt
afterwards, that Beltran had most miraculously escaped death, when
thrown from the rock of Montejaque, and having been discovered by some
French soldiers who made an attack upon the place a few days afterwards,
was conveyed to Ronda, when the loss of his ears led to his being
recognised by the French governor, who had, in the meanwhile, received
my _present_, and discovered the trick I had played him.
Beltran's tale thus proved to have been the true one, he was
well-treated, and sent with a party of prisoners to France, where he
remained until the conclusion of the war. He was then on his way back to
his native country, in company with several other Spaniards, when he was
arrested as being an accomplice, "_sans préméditation_," in a robbery,
attended with loss of life, and was sentenced to ten years'
imprisonment; but, before this term was fully completed, he obtained
his release, returned to Spain, and proceeding immediately to his native
province, there first learnt that Engracia had become my wife.
I think, by the way, that in the former part of my narrative I omitted
to mention--for fully persuaded as I _then_ was of Beltran's death, it
was a matter of no moment--that previous to Engracia's becoming my wife,
she informed me of her having, at the urgent instances of her brother
Melchor, consented to a private marriage with my rival; and from this
circumstance she had expressed the greatest anxiety to ascertain his
fate with certainty, and had delayed for so long a period bestowing her
hand upon me.
This marriage with Beltran had taken place at Gaucin within an hour of
my departure from that town, after making the arrangements for our
combined attack on Ronda; and had been strongly advocated by Melchor,
from an apprehension that, should any thing happen to him in the
approaching conflict, his elder brother, Alonzo, who was kept in perfect
ignorance of this proceeding, would abandon his friend Beltran, and
insist on their sister's marrying me, whom he (Melchor) detested.
I, however, as you are aware, had every reason to believe that Beltran
had been killed by his fall from the rock of Montejaque; and therefore,
on eventually eliciting from Engracia the reason of her reluctance to
marry me, I had no scruple in declaring that Beltran's dead body had
been seen rolling down the shallow pebbly bed of the Guadiaro, after our
action with the French. The crime I had led her to commit was
consequently unintentional. Would I could as easily acquit myself of
another her letter accused me of, namely, that of being the murderer of
her brother: for, through my machinations was his death brought about.
Whilst the crop-eared traitor, Beltran, (the _Tio's_ revengeful feelings
were not so entirely allayed as to prevent his bestowing an occasional
term of reproach on those who had thwarted his prosperous career of
iniquity) was skulking about the mountains, endeavouring to obtain
tidings of his re-married wife, chance threw him in the way of Paca,
engaged in a similar pursuit, but with a very different purpose.
This wretched woman had, for many years after our separation, been the
inmate of a mad-house; but, at length, her keepers finding that,
excepting on the subject of her supposed wrongs, she was perfectly
tractable, became careless of watching her, and she effected her escape.
The sole object of this vindictive creature's life appears now to have
been to wreak vengeance upon me. But not satisfied with the mere death
of her victim, she sought first to torture him with worldly pangs; and
informed that Engracia lived, and had given birth to a son, whom I loved
with a more fervent affection than even the mother, she determined
_they_ should first be sacrificed to her revenge.
On discovering Beltran alive, however, a scheme yet more hellishly
devised entered her imagination; in the execution of which he became a
willing agent, though in some degree her dupe.
Well acquainted with all my haunts, she soon got upon my track; and that
discovered, had little difficulty in finding out the hiding-place of
Engracia. Making a shrewd guess at the person under whose protection I
had placed my wife and child, she forthwith presented herself to Don
Miguel, and informed him that a plot was laid, and on the eve of
execution, to carry them both off; adding, that it might yet be
frustrated if I could but arrive at Cañete within twenty-four
hours--that she knew where I then was, and would undertake to have any
warning conveyed to me which his prudence might suggest--that her
messenger was sure, but still the utmost caution, as well as despatch,
was necessary.
Miguel, quite taken by surprise, and unable from illness to leave his
bed, wrote the short note which has already been given; and this point
gained, Paca proceeded to the nearest town to give information to the
authorities that the bandit Blas, whom they were seeking in every
direction, was to be at Cañete la Real on a certain night; and proposed,
if a detachment of troops was sent quietly to the neighbouring village
of El Becerro, that she would repair thither at the proper time, and
conduct the soldiers to the traitor's very lair.
This proposal was readily acceded to, and Paca then repaired to Cañete,
to tell Miguel not to be uneasy as to the result of his message to me,
as, since sending it, she had ascertained on good authority that
something had occurred to postpone the elopement of Engracia for a day
or two.
Bending her steps thence to where Beltran was anxiously awaiting her
return, she told him that after much difficulty she had discovered
Engracia was at Cañete; he had therefore but to proceed there after
dark, provided with the means of carrying her off. But this, she
informed him, must be done with the utmost celerity and circumspection,
as the inhabitants of the place were so desperate a set, and so attached
to me, that, if they got the slightest inkling of what was going
forward, they certainly would handle him very roughly; and the
authorities, unless backed by a body of troops, would be afraid to
interfere in his behalf.
If, however, she pursued, he preferred waiting until an escort could be
procured, that he might avoid all personal risk--but delays were
dangerous, for frequently
_"De la mano a la boca_
_se cae la sopa._"[149]
The law, too, was uncertain.--He thought so also, and they proceeded
together to Cañete.
Beltran, imagining that Paca had informed Engracia of his being alive,
conceived that no intimation of his coming was requisite; but such was
not the case, and the shock given by his unexpected visit caused the
aberration of mind which led the hapless Engracia to commit the horrid
crime of infanticide; and, in the state of inanition that followed, she
was carried out of the town.
The letter to me was written afterwards, and delivered to the old woman
of the house by Paca, the last act of whose fiendish plot now commenced.
Altering the date of Miguel's letter, so as to make it correspond with
the time arranged for the arrival of the troops at _La Cueva del
Becerro_, she forwarded it to me at Montejaque--what followed has
already been stated.
These details became known on my trial, which took place shortly
afterwards. I was condemned to suffer death by the _garrote_. The day
was fixed; I sent for a priest, and entrusting to him the ring given me
by the ----, begged he would forward it without delay to Madrid.
This was done, but day after day passed without bringing any answer to
my appeal. At first I had been so sanguine as to the result, that I was
affected but little at my position, for I knew how easily a pardon is
obtained in Spain, when application is made in the proper quarter; but,
as the fatal time approached, the darkest despair took possession of my
soul.
I cannot indeed convey to you, Don Carlos, an adequate idea of the
horrible torments I endured during the last few days preceding that
fixed for my execution. The pious father Ignacio--he has since (sainted
soul!) been taken from this earth, and is now, I trust, my intercessor
in heaven--was unremitting in his endeavours to bring me to repentance;
but Satan was yet strong within me, and my heart remained hardened. The
pardon came not, and I exclaimed against the justness of the Most High:
I, whom no considerations of justice had influenced in any one action of
my life--who had recklessly transgressed each of His commandments!
"We must not ask for _justice_ at the hands of the Almighty," urged
Ignacio; "We are all born in sin, in sin we all live; _mercy_ is what we
must pray for."
"Mercy!" I exclaimed; "_Why_ was I born in sin? Why led to commit crime?
Why...."
"Your unbridled passions led you to transgress the laws of your
Creator," replied Ignacio; "be thankful that you were not cut short in
your mad career, and that time has been allowed you for repentance."
"Repent!--I cannot--I have ever denied, I cannot now believe in the
existence of a Maker."
"Unhappy man!" ejaculated the worthy priest; "unhappy, impious,
inconsistent man! You deny the existence of the Being against whose
justice your voice was raised e'en now in reproaches! Do you not look
forward to behold again to-morrow the bright luminary round which this
atom of a world revolves? Look on that pale moon, which perhaps you now
see rising for the last time--Observe that fiery meteor which has this
moment dashed through the wondrous, boundless firmament; and ask
yourself if this admirable system can be the effect of accident? Do the
trees yearly yield us their fruits by chance? Is the punctual return of
the seasons a mere casualty? If so, how is it that this accidental
atom--this globe we inhabit, has so long held together _without_
accident? Has any work of man, however cunningly devised, in like manner
withstood the effects of time? Is not the protecting hand of the Deity
clearly perceptible in the unvarying continuance of these phenomena?
"My son, had you studied the Holy Scriptures more, and the philosophy of
Voltaire and other infidels less, you would not have been brought to
this strait; neither would you have shocked my ears with a confession,
which, a few years since, would have consigned you to the dungeons of
the Inquisition. Repent! unhappy man, repent! and save your soul--there
is still time. Nay, an omnipotent Maker may even yet think fit to
prolong your life here below, for the perfection of this good work, if
you will but pray to him in all sincerity."
The pious father saw that I was touched, and, pouring in promises of
future happiness, brought me to reflect. I begged him to be with me
early on the following morning. He came; I had passed the night in
prayer; and now unburdened my mind, by making to him a full confession
of my sins.
Ignacio remained comforting me, until the hour of the arrival of the
post, when he repaired, as usual, to the _Corregidor_, to ascertain
whether any pardon had reached him. He returned not, however. Eleven
o'clock was the hour fixed for my execution; it came, but still Ignacio
did not appear. Hours passed away, and not a soul visited me; the sun
again sank below the horizon, and I yet lived.
It was evident--so, at least, I thought--that a pardon had arrived, and
my spirits rose accordingly. At length, towards nightfall, Ignacio
entered my cell. "Blas," he said, "though it would appear there is no
longer a chance of your receiving a pardon, yet your life has been
miraculously spared this day, to give you time for repentance. I trust
you have turned it to good account."
"How!" I exclaimed, "have I not been pardoned? What, then, has
occasioned this delay?"
"You owe your life," he replied, "to a rumour, that a band of robbers
had appeared in the vicinity--some of your old friends, it was
thought--which caused all the troops to be sent out in pursuit. They
have but now returned, and to-morrow you will be executed."
A pang of withering disappointment ran through me, for I had confidently
imagined that the delay had been the consequence of the arrival of a
pardon, and Satan once more obtained dominion over me.
Ignacio read in my overcast countenance the change his information had
wrought in my feelings. "Your repentance is not sincere, my son," he
observed. "Alas! when death is in sight, how fondly do we cling to this
earth. And yet you have braved death in the field a thousand times!"
"Father," I replied, "it is not death I fear--it is the disgrace of a
public execution."
"What absurd sophistry is this?" said he. "Can one, who but yesterday
denied the existence of a future state, care for one moment _how_ he
quits this world, or regard the opinion of those he leaves behind in
it?--as well might he be fearful of losing the good opinion of a herd of
swine. Away with such fine-spun subtilties--it is the prospect of
meeting your Maker face to face that makes you quail. You are yet but
ill prepared, I see. Oh! may He yet mercifully extend your life, if but
a short span."
The morrow came, but the pious Ignacio's prayer remained apparently
unheard. He repaired to my call soon after the arrival of the post, to
exhort and prepare me. Alas! I was as much in want of his assistance as
ever, for I had all along clung to the hope of obtaining a pardon
through the influence of the ----, and was more inclined to rail than to
pray.
A party of soldiers at length arrived, and I was led off in chains to
the place of execution. A vast crowd was assembled from all the
neighbouring towns to witness my punishment. Ignacio addressed the
multitude on our way, saying, I was a repentant sinner, and implored the
prayers of all good Christians. For myself I said not a word, and the
crowd gave no signs of either gratification or commiseration. I mounted
the scaffold, the fatal instrument was placed round my throat, a curse
was yet on my lips, when a distant shout attracted the Father's
attention. Laying a hand upon the arm of the executioner to stay his
proceedings, he watched with eager eyes the signs of some one who was
approaching at a rapid pace, holding a paper high in the air. The paper
was handed to Ignacio by the breathless messenger. "It is a pardon," he
exclaimed; "your life is miraculously spared--it has been sent express
from the Escurial! Return your thanks, to Him, who has been pleased thus
to extend his mercy towards you."
I had already sunk on my knees--I prayed earnestly for the first time in
my life.
Marvellously, indeed, had my life been preserved. But for the rumoured
appearance of the band of robbers, I should have suffered death the day
before; again, this day, but for Ignacio's presence, the pardon would
have arrived too late.
I was immediately released, but a fever, caused, probably, by my
previously excited feelings, confined me to my bed for many weeks. I
became delirious, and my life was despaired of. Ignacio tended me like a
brother. A second time he saved my life; but, alas! he himself
contracted the contagious disorder, and fell a victim to his warm and
disinterested friendship.
I expended all I was worth in masses for his soul, and was once more
thrown upon the world to seek a livelihood.
I thought of applying to the ---- to procure me some employment, but
learnt that he too had closed his mortal career. The fever had given
such a shock to my constitution, that old age, I may say, came suddenly
upon me, and to gain a livelihood by hard labour was out of the
question. I had no relations; my friends were all new; so that I had no
claims on any one: my present occupation presented itself, as the only
one I was fit for; and, thank God, it enables me to earn my bread
without begging, and even to lay by a little store for pious
purposes:--for much of my time is devoted to the performance of penances
and austerities, to expiate the sins of my past life. Thrice, on my
knees, have I ascended to the _Ermita_ you see there peeping through the
clouds gathered round the peaks of the Sierra Morena. Once, too, have I
walked barefoot to prostrate myself before the _Santa faz_[150] of Jaen;
and this winter (God willing!) I purpose visiting the most holy shrine
of _Sant' Iago de Compostela_.
It is a long journey, and will, probably, be my last pilgrimage, for I
feel myself sinking fast.
You have now had the history of my whole life, Don Carlos--I wish it
could be published. It might, probably, warn my fellow-creatures to rest
contented with the lot to which it has pleased God to call them; and, if
so, I may have lived to some purpose.