Dona Perfecta

by Benito Pérez Galdós

  CHAPTER X

  THE EVIDENCE OF DISCORD IS EVIDENT

  Pepe Rey was disturbed and perplexed, enraged with himself and every oneelse; he tried in vain to imagine what could be the conflict that hadarisen, in spite of himself, between his ideas and the ideas of hisaunt's friends. Thoughtful and sad, foreseeing future discord, heremained for a short time sitting on the bench in the summer-house, hischin resting on his breast, his forehead gathered in a frown, his handsclasped. He thought himself alone.

  Suddenly he heard a gay voice humming the refrain of a song from azarzuela. He looked up and saw Don Jacinto sitting in the oppositecorner of the summer-house.

  "Ah, Senor de Rey!" said the youth abruptly, "one does not offend withimpunity the religious sentiments of the great majority of a nation. Ifyou doubt it, consider what happened in the first French revolution."

  When Pepe heard the buzzing of this insect his irritation increased.Nevertheless there was no anger in his soul toward the youthful doctorof laws. The latter annoyed him, as a fly might annoy him, but nothingmore. Rey felt the irritation which every importunate being inspires,and with the air of one who brushes away a buzzing drone, he answered:

  "What has the French revolution to do with the robe of the Virgin?"

  He got up and walked toward the house, but he had not taken half a dozensteps before he heard again beside him the buzzing of the mosquito,saying:

  "Senor Don Jose, I wish to speak to you about an affair in which you aregreatly interested and which may cause you some trouble."

  "An affair?" said the young man, drawing back. "Let us hear what affairis that."

  "You suspect what it is, perhaps," said Jacinto, approaching Pepe,and smiling with the air of a man of business who has some unusuallyimportant matter on hand; "I want to speak to you about the lawsuit."

  "The lawsuit! My friend, I have no lawsuits. You, as a good lawyer,dream of lawsuits and see stamped paper everywhere."

  "What! You have not heard of your lawsuit?" exclaimed the youth, withamazement.

  "Of my lawsuit! But I have no lawsuits, nor have I ever had any."

  "Well, if you have not heard of it, I am all the better pleased to havespoken to you about it, so that you may be on your guard. Yes, senor,you are going to have a suit at law."

  "And with whom?"

  "With Uncle Licurgo and other land-owners whose property borders on theestate called The Poplars."

  Pepe Rey was astounded.

  "Yes, senor," continued the little lawyer. "To-day Uncle Licurgo and Ihad a long conference. As I am such a friend of the family, I wanted tolet you know about it, so that, if you think well of it, you may hastento arrange the matter."

  "But what have I to arrange? What do those rascals claim from me?"

  "It seems that a stream of water which rises in your property haschanged its course and flows over some tile-works of the aforesaid UncleLicurgo and the mill of another person, occasioning considerabledamage. My client--for he is determined that I shall get him out of thisdifficulty--my client, as I said, demands that you shall restore thewater to its former channel, so as to avoid fresh injuries, and thatyou shall indemnify him for the damage which his works have alreadysustained through the neglect of the superior proprietor."

  "And I am the superior proprietor! If I engage in a lawsuit, that willbe the first fruit that those famous Poplars, which were mine and whichnow, as I understand, belong to everybody, will have ever produced me,for Licurgo, as well as some of the other farmers of the district, havebeen filching from me, little by little, year after year, pieces ofland, and it will be very difficult to re-establish the boundaries of myproperty."

  "That is a different question."

  "That is not a different question. The real suit," exclaimed theengineer, unable to control his anger, "will be the one that I willbring against that rabble who no doubt propose to themselves to tire meout and drive me to desperation--so that I may abandon every thing andlet them continue in possession of what they have stolen. We shall seeif there are lawyers and judges who will uphold the infamous conduct ofthose village legists, who are forever at law, and who waste and consumethe property of others. I am obliged to you, young gentleman, for havinginformed me of the villanous intentions of those boors, who are moreperverse than Satan himself. When I tell you that that very tile-yardand that very mill on which Licurgo bases his claim are mine--"

  "The title-deeds of the property ought to be examined, to see ifpossession may not constitute a title in this case."

  "Possession! Those scoundrels are not going to have the pleasure oflaughing at me in that way. I suppose that justice is honestly andfaithfully administered in the city of Orbajosa."

  "Oh, as to that!" exclaimed the little lawyer, with an approving look,"the judge is an excellent person! He comes here every evening. But itis strange that you should have received no notice of Senor Licurgo'sclaims. Have you not yet been summoned to appear before the tribunal ofarbitration?"

  "No."

  "It will be to-morrow, then. Well, I am very sorry that Senor Licurgo'sprecipitation has deprived me of the pleasure and honor of defendingyou, but what is to be done? Licurgo was determined that I should takehim out of his troubles. I will study the matter with the greatest care.This vile slavery is the great drawback of jurisprudence."

  Pepe entered the dining-room in a deplorable state of mind. DonaPerfecta was talking with the Penitentiary, as he entered, and Rosaritowas sitting alone, with her eyes fixed on the door. She was no doubtwaiting for her cousin.

  "Come here, you rascal," said his aunt, smiling with very littlespontaneity. "You have insulted us, you great atheist! but we forgiveyou. I am well aware that my daughter and myself are two rustics who areincapable of soaring to the regions of mathematics where you dwell, butfor all that it is possible that you may one day get down on your kneesto us and beg us to teach you the Christian doctrine."

  Pepe answered with vague phrases and formulas of politeness andrepentance.

  "For my part," said Don Inocencio, with an affected air of meekness andamiability, "if in the course of these idle disputes I have said anything that could offend Senor Don Jose, I beg his pardon for it. We areall friends here."

  "Thanks. It is of no consequence."

  "In spite of every thing," said Dona Perfecta, smiling with morenaturalness than before, "I shall always be the same for my dear nephew;in spite of his extravagant and anti-religious ideas. In what way do yousuppose I am going to spend this evening? Well, in trying to make UncleLicurgo give up those obstinate notions which would otherwise cause youannoyance. I sent for him, and he is waiting for me now in the hall.Make yourself easy, I will arrange the matter; for although I know thathe is not altogether without right on his side--"

  "Thanks, dear aunt," responded the young man, his whole being invaded bya wave of the generous emotion which was so easily aroused in his soul.

  Pepe Rey looked in the direction of his cousin, intending to join her,but some wily questions of the canon retained him at Dona Perfecta'sside. Rosario looked dejected, and was listening with an air ofmelancholy indifference to the words of the little lawyer, who, havinginstalled himself at her side, kept up a continuous stream of fulsomeflatteries, seasoned with ill-timed jests and fatuous remarks in theworst possible taste.

  "The worst of it is," said Dona Perfecta to her nephew--surprising theglance which he cast in the direction of the ill-assorted pair--"theworst of it is, that you have offended poor Rosario. You must do all inyour power to make your peace with her. The poor child is so good!"

  "Oh, yes! so good," added the canon, "that I have no doubt that she willforgive her cousin."

  "I think that Rosario has already forgiven me," affirmed Rey.

  "And if not, angelic breasts do not harbor resentment long," said DonInocencio mellifluously. "I have a great deal of influence with thechild, and I will endeavor to dissipate in her generous soul whateverprejudice may exist there against you. As soon as I say a word or two tohe
r----"

  Pepe Rey felt a cloud darken his soul and he said with meaning:

  "Perhaps it may not be necessary."

  "I will not speak to her now," added the capitular, "because she islistening entranced to Jacinto's nonsense. Ah, those children! When theyonce begin there is no stopping them."

  The judge of the lower court, the alcalde's lady, and the dean of thecathedral now made their appearance. They all saluted the engineer,manifesting in their words and manner, on seeing him, the satisfactionof gratified curiosity. The judge was one of those clever andintelligent young men who every day spring into notice in officialcircles; aspiring, almost before they are out of the shell, to thehighest political and administrative positions. He gave himself airs ofgreat importance, and in speaking of himself and of his juvenile toga,he seemed indirectly to manifest great offence because he had not beenall at once made president of the supreme court. In such inexpert hands,in a brain thus swollen with vanity, in this incarnation of conceit, hadthe state placed the most delicate and the most difficult functionsof human justice. His manners were those of a perfect courtier, andrevealed a scrupulous and minute attention to all that concerned his ownperson. He had the insufferable habit of taking off and putting on everymoment his gold eye-glasses, and in his conversation he manifested withfrequency the strong desire which he had to be transferred to Madrid,in order that he might give his invaluable services to the Department ofGrace and Justice.

  The alcalde's lady was a good-natured woman, whose only weakness was tofancy that she had a great many acquaintances at the court. She askedPepe Rey various questions about the fashions, mentioning establishmentsin which she had had a mantle or a skirt made on her last journey tothe capital, contemporaneous with the visit of Muley-Abbas, and she alsomentioned the names of a dozen duchesses and marchionesses; speakingof them with as much familiarity as if they had been friends of herschool-days. She said also that the Countess of M. (famous for herparties) was a friend of hers and that in '60 she had paid her a visit,when the countess had invited her to her box at the Teatro Real, whereshe saw Muley-Abbas in Moorish dress and accompanied by his retinueof Moors. The alcalde's wife talked incessantly and was not wanting inhumor.

  The dean was a very old man, corpulent and red-faced, plethoric andapoplectic looking, a man so obese that he seemed bursting out of hisskin. He had belonged to one of the suppressed religious orders; hetalked only of religious matters; and from the very first manifested themost profound contempt for Pepe Rey. The latter appeared every momentmore unable to accommodate himself to a society so little to histaste. His disposition--not at all malleable, hard, and very littleflexible--rejected the duplicities and the compromises of language tosimulate concord when it did not exist. He remained, then, very graveduring the whole of the tiresome evening, obliged as he was to endurethe oratorical vehemence of the alcalde's wife, who, without being Fame,had the privilege of fatiguing with a hundred tongues the ears of men.If, in some brief respite which this lady gave her hearers, Pepe Reymade an attempt to approach his cousin, the Penitentiary attachedhimself to him instantly, like the mollusk to the rock; taking him apartwith a mysterious air to propose to him an excursion with Senor DonCayetano to Mundogrande, or a fishing party on the clear waters of theNahara.

  At last the evening came to an end, as every thing does in this world.The dean retired, leaving the house, as it seemed, empty, and very soonthere remained of the alcalde's wife only an echo, like the buzzwhich remains in the air after a storm has passed away. The judge alsodeprived the company of his presence, and at last Don Inocencio gave hisnephew the signal for departure.

  "Come, boy, come; for it is late," he said, smiling. "How you havetormented poor Rosarito, has he not, child? Home, you rogue, home,without delay."

  "It is time to go to bed," said Dona Perfecta.

  "Time to go to work," responded the little lawyer.

  "I am always telling him that he ought to get through with his businessin the day-time, but he will not mind me."

  "There is so much, so very much business to be got through."

  "No, say rather, that confounded work which you have undertaken. He doesnot wish to say it, Senor Don Jose, but the truth is that he is writinga book on 'The Influence of Woman in Christian Society,' and, inaddition to that, 'A Glance at the Catholic Movement in'--somewhere orother. What do you know about glances or influences? But these youths ofthe present day have audacity enough for any thing. Oh, what boys! Well,let us go home. Good-night, Senora Dona Perfecta--good-night, Senor DonJose--Rosarito."

  "I will wait for Senor Don Cayetano," said Jacinto, "to ask him to giveme the Augusto Nicolas."

  "Always carrying books. Why, sometimes you come into the house ladenlike a donkey. Very well, then, let us wait."

  "Senor Don Jacinto does not write hastily," said Pepe Rey; "he prepareshimself well for his work, so that his books may be treasures oflearning."

  "But that boy will injure his brain," objected Dona Perfecta. "ForHeaven's sake be careful! I would set a limit to his reading."

  "Since we are going to wait," said the little doctor, in a tone ofinsufferable conceit, "I will take with me also the third volume ofConcilios. What do you think, uncle?"

  "Take that, of course. It would never do to leave that behind you."

  Fortunately Senor Don Cayetano (who generally spent his evenings at thehouse of Don Lorenzo Ruiz) soon arrived, and the books being received,uncle and nephew left the house.

  Rey read in his cousin's sad countenance a keen desire to speak to him.He approached her while Dona Perfecta and Don Cayetano were discussingsome domestic matter apart.

  "You have offended mamma," said Rosarito.

  Her features expressed something like terror.

  "It is true," responded the young man; "I have offended your mamma--Ihave offended you."

  "No, not me. I already imagined that the Infant Jesus ought not to weartrousers."

  "But I hope that you will both forgive me. Your mamma was so kind to mea little while ago."

  Dona Perfecta's voice suddenly vibrated through the dining-room, withso discordant a tone that her nephew started as if he had heard a cry ofalarm. The voice said imperiously:

  "Rosario, go to bed!"

  Startled, her mind filled with anxious fears, the girl lingered in theroom, going here and there as if she was looking for something. As shepassed her cousin she whispered softly and cautiously these words:

  "Mamma is angry."

  "But--"

  "She is angry--be on your guard, be on your guard."

  Then she left the room. Her mother, for whom Uncle Licurgo was waiting,followed her, and for some time the voices of Dona Perfecta and thecountryman were heard mingled together in familiar conference. Pepe wasleft with Don Cayetano, who, taking a light, said;

  "Good-night, Pepe. But don't suppose that I am going to sleep, I amgoing to work. But why are you so thoughtful? What is the matterwith you?--Just as I say, to work. I am making notes for a 'MemorialDiscourse on the Genealogies of Orbajosa.' I have already found data andinformation of the utmost value. There can be no dispute about it. Inevery period of our history the Orbajosans have been distinguishedfor their delicate sense of honor, their chivalry, their valor, theirintellectuality. The conquest of Mexico, the wars of the Emperor, thewars of Philip against the heretics, testify to this. But are you ill?What is the matter with you? As I say, eminent theologians, valiantwarriors, conquerors, saints, bishops, statesmen--all sorts ofillustrious men--have flourished in this humble land of the garlic.No, there is not in Christendom a more illustrious city than ours. Itsvirtues and its glories are in themselves enough and more than enoughto fill all the pages of our country's history. Well, I see that it issleepy you are--good-night. As I say, I would not exchange the glory ofbeing a son of this noble city for all the gold in the world. Augusta,the ancients called it; Augustissima, I call it now; for now, as then,high-mindedness, generosity, valor, magnanimity, are the patrimony ofall. Well, good-night, de
ar Pepe. But I fancy you are not well. Has thesupper disagreed with you?--Alonzo Gonzalez de Bustamante was right whenhe said in his 'Floresta Amena' that the people of Orbajosa suffice inthemselves to confer greatness and honor on a kingdom. Don't you thinkso?"

  "Oh, yes, senor; undoubtedly," responded Pepe Rey, going abruptly towardhis room.