Calavar; or, The Knight of The Conquest, A Romance of Mexico

by Robert Montgomery Bird

  CHAPTER XLVIII.

  The cavalier pondered, in perplexity, over the words of Abdalla; and,the longer he reflected, the more he began to lament his captivity, anddoubt the wisdom of his gage.

  "It is apparent to me," he soliloquized, "that my countrymen are ingreater jeopardy than I before apprehended, and that it has been theplot of this subtle Moor, (whom I confess, however, to have somethingelevated and noble in his way of thinking, and much gratitude of heart,though of a mistaken character,) to keep me out of harm's way, while theMexicans are murdering my companions. Heaven forgive me my rash parole,if this be true; for such safety becomes dishonour and ignominy. I willtalk with him further on the subject; and if I find he hath thus schemedto preserve me, at such a price of degradation, I will straightwayrevoke my engagement, as being wrung from me by deceit, and quiteimpossible to be fulfilled.--I marvel where loiters the boy, Jacinto?Methinks I could eat something now, for I know not how long it is sinceI have tasted food:--an orange, or a bunch of grapes, were notamiss.--But, heaven save me! I have heard oranges do not grow in thisland; and, perhaps these poor Moriscos are no better off than my friendsat the palace. God help them! for the Mexicans fight like Turks; and,once or twice, that evening of the conflagration, I thought I had got meagain into the trenches of Rhodes; and as for those knaves that woundedme, never did I see more valiant devils. I am glad I left my knight sopossessed of his wits.--That Botello doth seem very clearly to haveapprehended my fate, though the mishap be not so miserable as death.Truly, there did, a third time, war come out of peace; and yet, I assuremyself, that, this time, it was brought about by Don Hernan rushingagainst that supernatural creature, that looks on me in the street, andeyes me even by my bed-side."

  The cavalier was startled from his revery by a light step, and as thecurtain was drawn aside from the door, he almost thought, for aninstant, that he beheld the visage of the priestess, peering through itsfolds. A second glance, however, showed him the features of the Moorishpage, who came in, bearing a little basket of fruits and Indianconfections, as if anticipating his wants. These Jacinto placed beforehim, and then sat down at his feet.

  For a few moments, Don Amador, in the satisfaction of the boy's presenceforgot many of his perplexities; but observing, at last, that Jacinto'ssmiles were ever alternating with looks of distress and alarm, and that,sometimes, he surveyed his imprisoned master with eyes of greatwildness, the cavalier began again to recur to his condition, to themysteries which surrounded him, and especially to the suspicions, whichso often attributed to the page the possession of magical arts.

  "Thou saidst, Jacinto," he abruptly exclaimed, after thrusting aside thealmost untasted food, and regarding the boy with a penetrating look,"that thou wert for the two last nights at my bed-side?--God be good tome! for 'tis an evil thing to be benighted so long!"

  "Senor, I was."

  "And, during all that time, I was entirely dispossessed of my wits?"

  "Senor mio, yes. But, now, heaven be thanked your honour will recover!"

  "And, thou art sure, I did not labour more under enchantment thanfever?"

  The page smiled, but very faintly, and without replying.

  "To me, it seems no longer possible to doubt," said the cavalier, "thatI have been, divers times, of late, entirely bewitched; and that thouhast had some agency in my delusions."

  Jacinto smiled more pleasantly, and seemed to forget the secret thoughtswhich had agitated him.

  "Dost thou," demanded the cavalier, "know aught of a certainsupernatural priestess, that goes about the streets of this town, inpagan processions, followed by countless herds of nobles and warriors?"

  The page hesitated, while replying--

  "I have indeed heard of such a creature, and--I may say,--I have seenher."

  "Thou hast seen her!--Is she mortal?"

  "Surely, I think so, noble senor," replied Jacinto, with increasingembarrassment.

  "For my part," said the novice, with a deep sigh and a troubled aspect,"I am almost quite convinced, that she is a spectre, and an inhabitantof hell, sent forth upon the earth to punish me with much affliction,and, perhaps, with madness. For I think she is the spirit of Leila; andher appearance in the guise of a pagan goddess, or pagan priestess,--theone or the other,--shows me, that she whom I loved, dwells not withangels, but with devils. This is a thought," continued the cavalier,mournfully, "that burns my heart as with a coal; and if God spare mylife, and return me to mine own land, I will devote my estates to buymasses for her soul; for surely she cannot have fallen from sin intoirreparable wo, but only into a punishment for some heresy, the fault ofbad instruction, which may be expiated."

  Jacinto regarded the distressed visage of his patron with concern, andwith indecision, as if impelled, and yet afraid, to speak what mightremove his anguish. Then, at last, moved by affection, and looking upwith arch confidence to Don Amador, he said,--

  "Senor, I can relieve you of this unhappiness. This is no spirit, but awoman, as I know full well, for I am in the secret.--I am not sure thatit will not offend my father, to divulge such a secret to any Spaniard:yet can its revealment prejudice none. Know, senor, and use not thisconfession to my father's injury, that all this interlude of theprophetess, devised by the Mexican nobles and priests, with my father'scounsel and aid, is a scheme to inflame the people with fresh devotionand fury against the Spaniards, your countrymen. For, being verysuperstitious and credulous, the common people are easily persuaded thattheir gods have sent them a messenger, to encourage and observe theirvalour; as, it is fabled, they have done in former days. The prophetessis but a puppet in their hands."

  The cavalier eyed the young speaker steadfastly, until Jacinto cast hislooks to the earth.

  "Set this woman before me; let me look upon her," he said, gravely, andyet with earnestness.

  The page returned his gaze with one of confusion, and even affright.

  "Thou wilt not think to deceive me," continued his patron, "afterconfiding to me so much? Know thou, that it will rejoice me, relievingmy mind of many pangs, to find that thy words are true, and to look uponthis most beauteous, and, to my eyes, this most supernatural, barbarian.If she be a living creature, thou hast it in thy power to produce her,for she dwells in this house. I say this, Jacinto, on strong persuasionof the fact, for last night I beheld her, and did almost touch her!"

  "Senor," said the boy, briskly, "that was one of the fancies of thydelirium. It was my poor self thou wert looking on. Twenty times, ormore, didst thou call to me, as being the prophetess; and as oftendidst thou see in me some other strange creature. Now, I was my lord DonGabriel, your worship's kinsman; now, some lady that your honour loved;now, an angel, bringing you succour in battle; now, my lord's littlebrother; now, his enemy;--and, twice or thrice, I was my own poor self,only that I was killing my lord with a dagger,--as if I could do anywrong to my master!"

  "Is this the truth, indeed?" said the cavalier, dolorously. "I couldhave sworn, that I saw that woman, and that I was very sane, when I sawher. As for the after-visions, I can well believe, that they were thephantasms of fever, being very extravagant, and but vaguelyremembered.--Thou deniest, then, that thou hast the power of castingspells?"

  The page smiled merrily, for he perceived his patron was relieved of oneirrational distress, and, banteringly, replied,--

  "I will not say _that_;--I can do many things my lord would not think,and I know many he would not dream."

  The cavalier was too sad and too simple-minded to jest.

  "I believe thee," he said, seriously; "for, in every thing, thou art amiracle and mystery. Why is it, that thou hast obtained such a commandover my affections? Why is it, that I have come to regard thee, not as aboy, young and foolish, but as one ripe in years and wisdom? It mustneeds be, because thou derivest thy power and thy knowledge from thoseastral and magical arts, which I once esteemed so vain; for I rememberme, that, at thy years, I was, myself, not half so much advanced inintelligence and art, but was, on the contrary, quite a dull an
d foolishboy."

  "It all comes of my music," said the page: "for that is a talent whichmatures faster than any other, and drags others along with it; besidesgiving one great skill in touching hearts. Your worship remembers howsoon young David gained the love of the Jewish king, and how he wouldhave cured him of his melancholy, but that Saul had a bad heart. Now, mylord seems, to me, to have, like this king, an evil spirit troublinghim; and perhaps, if he will let me, I can sing it away, with the balladof the Knight and the Page; for my lord's heart is good."

  "The Knight and the Page? I have never heard thee sing that," said DonAmador, somewhat indifferently. "What is it about?"

  "It is about a brave cavalier, that loved a noble lady, who loved him;but being made to believe her false to her vows, he went to the wars todie, followed by a little page, whom he thought the only true friend hehad left in the world."

  "By my faith," said Don Amador, regarding the boy kindly, "in thisrespect, methinks, I am, at present, somewhat like that knight; forthou, that art, likewise, a little page, seemest to be the only friend Ihave left in the world--that is, in this city,--that is to say, in thispart of it; for I have much confidence in the love of several at thepalace, notwithstanding that I think some others were a little backwardin supporting me, when beset, that evil day, by the barbarians.--Was hea Spanish knight? and of what parts?"

  "Of the Sierra Morena, at some place where the Jucar washes its foot."

  "In good truth!" cried the cavalier, "that is the very river that rollsby Cuenza; and herein, again, is there another parallel.--But I shouldinform thee, that, when the mountain reaches so far as the Jucar, andruns up along its course, it is then called the Sierra of Cuenza, andnot Morena. But this is a small matter. I shall be as glad to hear ofthe knight of Jucar, as of one of my ancestors."

  "He resembled my lord still more," said the page, "for he had fallen,fighting the infidel, very grievously wounded; and his little pageremained at his side, to share his fate."

  "That _I_ have, in a manner, fallen, and, as I may say, fighting theinfidel, is true; but by no means can it be said, that I am grievouslywounded. These cuts, that I have on my body, are but such scratches asone might make with a thorn; and, were it not for my head, which dothever and anon ring much like to a bell, and ache somewhat immoderately,I should think myself well able to go out fighting again; not at allregarding my feebleness, which is not much, and my stiff joints, which alittle exercise would greatly reduce into suppleness."

  "It was the resemblance of my lord's situation to the knight of Jucar's,that reminded me of the roundelay," said Jacinto, taking up his lute,and stringing it into accord; "and now your worship shall represent thewounded knight, and I the young page that followed him.--But yourworship should suppose me, instead of being a boy, to be a woman indisguise."

  "A woman in disguise!" said the cavalier: "Is the page, then, the falsemistress? There should be very good cause to put a woman in disguise;for, besides that it robs her, to appearance, if not absolutely, of thenatural delicacy of her sex, it forces her to be a hypocrite. Adeceitful woman is still more odious than a double-faced man."

  "But this lady had great cause," said Jacinto, "seeing that love andsorrow, together, forced her into the henchman's habit, as my lord willpresently see."

  So saying, with a pleasant smile, the minstrel struck the lute, and sangthe following little

  ROMANCE OF THE KNIGHT AND THE PAGE.

  1.

  A Christian knight, in the Paynim land, Lay bleeding on the plain; The fight was done, and the field was won, But not by the Christian train: The cross had vail'd to the crescent, The Moorish shouts rose high,-- '_Lelilee! Lelilee!_'--but the Christian knight Sent up a sadder cry. "My castle lies on Morena's top, Jucar is far away:---- My lady will rue for her vows untrue But God be good for aye!---- Young page! thou followest well; These dog-howls heed not thou."-- '_Lelilee! Lelilee!_'---- "Get thee hence to my lady now. Tell her this blood, that pours a flood, My heart's true faith doth prove-- My corse to earth, my sighs to thee,-- My heart to my lady love!"

  2.

  The page, he knelt at the Christian's side, And sorely sobb'd he then: "The faithless love can truer prove Than hosts of faithful men. The cross has vail'd to the crescent, The Moorish shouts are high,"---- '_Lelilee! Lelilee!_'--"but the love untrue Hath yet another cry. Thy castle lies on Morena's top, Jucar is far away; But dies the bride at her true lord's side,-- Now God be good for aye! The page that followeth well, Repeats the unbroken vow"-- '_Lelilee! Lelilee!_'-- "Oh, look on thy lady now! For now this blood, that pours a flood, Doth show her true love's plight.---- My soul to God, my blood to thine---- My life for my dying knight."

  "Is that _all_?" said the cavalier, when Jacinto had warbled out thelast line. "There should have been another stanza, to explain what wasthe cause of separation, as well as how it happened that the lady cameto follow the knight, as a servant; neither of which circumstances isvery manifest."

  "Senor," said Jacinto, "if all the story had been told, it would havemade a book. It is clear, that an evil destiny separated the pair, andthat love sent the lady after her lord."

  "Be thou a conjuror or not," said Don Amador, musingly, "thou hast theknack ever to hit upon subjects, as well in thy songs as in thy stories,which both provoke my curiosity, and revive my melancholy. _My_ castle,as I may say, doth 'lie on Morena's top,'--that is to say, on the ridgeof Cuenza;--and Jucar is, indeed, 'far away;' but heaven hath left me nolady-love, either to die with me among the infidels, by whom I am madeto bleed, or to lament me at home. An evil destiny (_how_ evil I knownot, and yet do I dread, more dark than that which prevails with ajealous heart,) hath separated me from one whom I loved,--and,doubtless, hath separated me for ever." The cavalier sighed deeply, benthis eyes for a moment on the ground, and then raising them, with asolemn look, to the page, said abruptly, "I have come to be persuaded,altogether beyond the contradiction of my reason, that thou hast,somehow, and, perhaps, by magical arts, obtained a knowledge of thehistory of my past life. If thou knowest aught of the fate of Leila, thelamented maid of Almeria, I adjure thee to reveal thy knowledge, andwithout delay! Thou shakest thy head.--Wherefore didst thou refuse tofinish the story of her who bore her name, and who dwelt in the samecity?"

  "My lord will be angry with me," said the page, rising in someperturbation,--"I have deceived him!"

  "I am sorry to know thou couldst be, in any way, guilty of deceit,though I do readily forgive thee; charging thee, however, at all times,to remember, that any deceitfulness is but a form of mendacity, andtherefore as mean and degrading as it is sinful.--In what hast thoudeceived me?"

  "When I told my lord the story of Leila, and perceived how it disturbedhim," said Jacinto, with a faltering voice, "I repented me, and told hima thing that was not true, to appease him. The Leila of whom I spoke,had dwelt in Almeria within a year past; and, perhaps, she was the maidthat my lord remembered."

  As the page made this confession, Don Amador sprang eagerly to his feet,and, as he seized the speaker's arm, cried, with much agitation,--

  "Dost thou tell me the truth? and does she live? God be praised forever! doth the maiden live?"

  "She lived, when my father brought me from Barbary--"

  "Heaven be thanked! I will ransom her from the infidels, though I givemyself up to captivity as the price!"

  "Senor," said the page, sorrowfully, "you forget that you are now aprisoner in another world."

  The cavalier smote his breast, crying, "It is true! and the revealmentcomes too late!--Silly boy!" he continued, reproachfully, "why didstthou delay telling me this, until this time, when it can only add to mygriefs? Why didst thou not speak it, at Tlascala, that I might havedeparted forthwith from the land, to her rescue?"

  "My lord would not have deserted hi
s kinsman, Don Gabriel?"

  "True again!" exclaimed Don Amador, with a pang. "I could not have leftmy knight, even at the call of Leila. But now will I go to Don Gabriel,and confessing to him my sorrow, will prevail upon him straightway todepart with me; for here, it must be plain to him, as it is to me, thatGod is not with us.

  "Alas! senor," said the page, "it is not possible that you should go toDon Gabriel, nor that you should ever more leave this heathen land."

  "Dost thou confess, then," demanded the novice, "that Abdalla hasdeceived me, and that I am held to perpetual captivity?"

  "Senor," said the boy, clasping his hands, and weeping bitterly, "weshall never more see Spain, nor any land but this. The fate of DonHernan, and of all his men, is written; they are in a net from whichthey cannot escape; and we, who are spared, obtain our lives only at theprice of expatriation. My father remembered his protector,--my lord issaved; but he shares our exile!"

  At this confirmation of his worst suspicions, the countenance of DonAmador darkened with despair and horror.

  "And Abdalla, thy father, has plotted this foul, traitorous, and mostbloody catastrophe? And he thinks, that, for my life's sake, I willdivide with him the dishonour and guilt of my preservation?"

  "My lord knows not the wrongs of my father," said Jacinto, mournfully,"or he would not speak of him so harshly."

  "Thy father is a most traitor-like and backsliding villain," said DonAmador, "and this baseness in him should entirely cancel in thee thebonds of affection and duty; for thou art not of his nature. Hark thee,then, boy: it is my purpose straightway to depart from this house, andthis durance. I desire to save thee from the fate of a pagan's slave.Better will it be for thee, if thou shouldst die with me, in the attemptto reach the palace, (and I swear to thee, I will protect thee to thelast moment of my life,) than remain in Tenochtitlan, after thyChristian friends have left it, or after they are slain. It is my hope,and, indeed, my belief, that, when the valiant general, Don Hernan,comes to be persuaded of his true condition, he will, immediately, andat any cost, cut his way out of this most accursed city. In this mannerwill we escape, and thou shall find, in me, a father who will love theenot less truly, and more in fashion of a Christian, than the apostateZegri."

  "If my lord could but protect my father from the anger of Don Hernan,and prevail upon him to return with my lord!" said Jacinto, eagerly.

  "I have already proposed this to him, and, in his fury, he denies me."

  "Heaven help us then!" cried Jacinto, "for there is no other hope; andwe must dwell with the barbarians!"

  "Dost thou think, that I will rest here, when they are murdering DonGabriel?--Hark thee! what knave has stolen away my sword?--Know, that Iwill straightway make my escape, and carry thee along with me; for Godwould not forgive me, did I leave thee abandoned to barbarians, to theeternal loss and perdition of thy soul. I say to thee again, thou shaltaccompany me."

  "I will remain with my father!" said the boy, stepping back, andassuming some of that dignity and decision, which the neophyte had solately witnessed in Abdalla; "and so will my lord, likewise; for my lordhas given him a pledge, which he cannot forfeit."

  "Miserable wretch that I am!" said the cavalier;--"in either case, I amoverwhelmed with dishonour. My gage was sinful, and the infraction of itwill be shame. Bring me hither Abdalla; I will revoke my promise to himin person; and, after that, I can depart, without disgrace."

  "Thou canst not escape, without shedding blood, at least," said the boy,with a pale and yet determined countenance, "for, first, thou must slaymy father, who saved thee from the death of sacrifice. If thou goest, inhis absence, then must my lord strike down the son;--for with whatstrength I have, I will prevent him!"

  The amazement with which the warlike cavalier heard these words, andbeheld the stripling throw himself manfully before the door of theapartment, entirely disconcerted him for a moment. Before he could findwords to express his anger, or perhaps derision, the page, with a suddenrevulsion of feeling, ran from the door, and flinging himself at hispatron's feet, embraced his knees, weeping and exclaiming, with muchpassion,

  "O my dear master! be not incensed with me: for I am but weak and silly,and I have no friends but my father and thee! If thou takest me from myfather, then shall he be left childless, to live and to die alone; ifthou goest without us, we shall be deserted to perish without a friend;for no one has smiled on us but my lord; and if thou goest while myfather is absent, he will curse me, and I will curse myself,--for thoumust needs die in the streets!"

  The novice was touched, not so much by the last and undeniableassurance, as by the pathetic appeal of the Morisco.

  "Be comforted, Jacinto," he cried; "for now, indeed, it appears to me,that, whether I had passed my gage or not, I could not take advantage ofthe weakness of such a jailor, and fly, without the greatest shame. And,in addition, it seems to me inhuman and unjust, that I should think ofescaping, without doing my best to snatch thee and thy father also,(whose sinfulness does, in this case, at least, spring from affection,)out of thraldom. Be thou therefore content: I will remain thy patientprisoner, until such time as Abdalla returns; hoping that I can, then,advance such remonstrance and argument, as shall convert him from hispurpose, and cause him to repent what wrongs he has already done DonHernan, and to accept his mercy, which I do again avow myself ready tosecure with my life, and even with my honour. But I warn thee, that Ican by no means remain a captive, while my friends are given up todestruction."

  "Senor," said Jacinto, rising, "there is a hope they will be spared, ifthe king should recover; for greatly have the Mexicans mourned the ragewhich wounded their monarch. If he live, and again command peace, therewill be peace; and all of us may yet be happy."

  "God grant that this may be so!" said the cavalier, catching at thehope. "I will therefore remain with thee a little; for if my friends benot starved outright, I have no fear but that they can easily maintainthemselves a week in the palace."

  "And besides, senor," said the page, returning to his playful manner,"if you were to leave me, how should you hear more of the maid ofAlmeria?"

  "Of Leila?" cried the cavalier, forgetting at once his honour and hisfriends; "now do I remember me, that you have not yet told me how youacquired your most blessed and blissful knowledge. Heaven forgive me! Idid not think it possible,--but, I believe, I had entirely forgottenher! How comest thou to know aught of her? Answer me quickly, and bestill more quick to tell me all you know."

  "Will not my lord be satisfied with my knowledge, without seeking afterthe means of acquiring it?" demanded the page, hesitatingly.

  "If, indeed," said Don Amador, solemnly, "thou hast obtained it by thepractice of that land of magic which is forbidden, though my curiositywill not permit me to eschew its revelations, yet must I caution thee,from this time henceforth, to employ it no more; for, herein, dost thouperil thy soul. But, if it be by those arts, which are not in themselvessinful, thou shouldst not be ashamed to confess them; for the habit ofconcealment is the first step in the path of deception; and I havealready assured thee, that a deceiver is, as one may say, a lie in theface of his Maker. But of this I will instruct thee more fullyhereafter: at present, I burn with an unconquerable desire to hear theespeak of Leila."

  "But how know I," said the page, again hesitating, "that she of whom Ispeak, is the Leila after whom it pleases my lord to inquire?--And whyindeed, now that I think of it, should my lord inquire at all after oneof a persecuted and despised race?"

  "Wilt thou still torment me? Have I not told thee that I forgot herorigin, and loved her?"

  "And did she love my lord back again?"

  "Thou askest me what I cannot with certainty answer," replied thecavalier, "for she was snatched away from me, before I had yet overcomethe natural scruples of my pride to discourse of love to one who seemedso much beneath the dignity of my birth and fortunes."

  "And my lord gave her no cause to think she had obtained favour in hiseyes?"

  "In this thou dost no
t err; for, saving some gifts, which were, indeed,more the boons of a patron than the tribute of a lover, I did nothing toaddress me to her affections. In all things, as I may say, I did ratherassume the character of one who would befriend and protect her fromwrong, than of a man seeking after her love."

  "But, if she accepted my lord's gifts, she must have loved him," saidJacinto.

  "They were very trifles," rejoined the cavalier, "saving only one,indeed, which, as she must have perceived, could not have been moreproperly bestowed than upon one so innocent and friendless as herself.This was a very antique and blessed jewel,--a cross of rubies,--fetchedby mine ancestor, Don Rodrigo of Arragon, more than three hundred yearsago, from the Holy Land, after having been consecrated upon theSepulchre itself. It was thought to be a talisman of such heavenlyefficacy, in the hands of an unspotted virgin, that no harm could evercome to her, who wore it upon her neck. For mine own part, though Icould tell thee divers stories of its virtue, recorded in our house, yetwas I ever inclined to think, that a natural purity of heart was, in allcases, a much better protection of innocence than even a holy talisman.Nevertheless, when I beheld this orphan Moor, I bethought me of theimputed virtues of those rubies; and I put them upon her neck, asthinking her friendless condition gave her the strongest claim to allsuch blessed protection."

  "A cross of rubies!" cried the page; "it is she!"

  "And thou canst tell me of her resting-place? and of her presentcondition?" cried the overjoyed cavalier. "I remember, that, at thetemple of Tlascala, thou didst aver, that, notwithstanding the apparentbaseness of her origin, it had been discovered that she was descended ofvery noble parentage!"

  "What I _can_ tell thee, and what I _will_," said Jacinto, gravely,"will depend upon thine own actions. If thou leavest this place, withoutmy father's consent, hope not that thou shalt know any thing more thanhas been spoken. If thou art content to remain a little time incaptivity, and to yield me the obedience which I demand, thou shaltfind, that a child of a contemned race may possess wisdom unknown to menof happier degrees. Thou hast acknowledged thyself the captive of myfather; wilt thou promise obedience to me?"

  Don Amador surveyed the boy with a bewildered stare:

  "It is possible," said he, "that I am yet dreaming, for it seemeth to mevery absurd, that thou, who art a boy, and wert but yesterday a servant,shouldst make such a demand of subjection to a man and a cavalier, and,as I may say, also, thy master."

  "My lord will not think I would have him become a servant," saidJacinto. "The subjection I require, is for the purpose of securing himthat gratification of his curiosity, which he has sought,--and thus onlycan he obtain it. In all other respects, I remain myself the slave of mylord."

  "Provided thou wilt demand me nothing dishonourable nor irreligious,(and now, that I know, from thy father's confession, that thou art ofnoble descent, I can scarcely apprehend in thee any meanness,) I willmake thee such a promise," said Don Amador. "But I must beseech thee,not to torment me with delay."

  "My lord shall not repent his goodness," said the page, with a happycountenance; "for when he thinks not of it, his wishes shall begratified. But, at present, let him be at peace, and sleep; for thetime has not yet come. I claim, now, the first proof of my lord'sobedience. Let him eat of this medicinal confection, and, by a littlerest, dispel the heats of fever, which are again returning to him."

  "I declare to thee," said Don Amador, "I am very well; and this fever iscaused by suspense, and not disease."

  "Thou must obey," said the page. "While thou art sleeping, I willinquire for thee the fate of Leila; for it is yet wrapped in darkness,and it cannot be discovered but by great efforts."

  The cavalier obeyed the injunctions of his young jailer, ate of theconfection, and, Jacinto leaving the apartment, he yielded to exhaustionand drowsiness, and notwithstanding his eager and tormenting curiosity,soon fell fast asleep.