The Prime Minister
Page 59
during the time,till they were nearly out of sight.
Luis was in doubts whether he ought not to follow, to see that moreattention was paid to the wounded man, than his friends were likely tobe able, in their present state, to afford; but the captain recommendedhim not to interfere, observing, that as they had sense enough left tocarry him out of the road, they would send for the nearest barber tobind up his side, which was all that a clean sword wound required.
"Oh, but he is the brother of my Clara, and may die from the wound hehas received," exclaimed Luis.
"That alters the case," said the Captain, and they set forward toovertake the bearers of the wounded man; but though they walked quicklyalong, by the time they came up with the party whom they fancied werecarrying him, he was not to be seen among them. To their inquiries, thepeople assured them that they must be mistaken, as they had themselvesbut just turned down from another street, and had heard no sounds of thefray. They then followed another group, whose voices they heard alittle in advance; but with like want of success, the people holdingsilence directly they approached.
"He has, perhaps, been conveyed to the palace of the Conde SanVincente," exclaimed Luis; so they hurried down the street towards it;for it was, as we have said, close at hand; but no one appeared in theneighbourhood, and when, at length, they knocked at the door, after along time it was opened, and a surly porter declared that no one hadbeen there all that evening, nor had his master left his home since themorning, and had now been in bed for some hours. This might, or mightnot, have been true; but Luis had no other resource than to return withhis friend homeward, dispirited, and full of regret at the accident,wishing that he rather had been the victim; for, should Goncalo die, hewould be looked upon as his murderer, and another barrier, far moreinsuperable than the former, would be placed against any prospect of hisunion with Clara. The best consolation the kind-hearted sailor couldoffer, was, in endeavouring to persuade him, that the wound the youngfidalgo had received was probably slight, and that he would recover in afew days; that Luis was in no way to blame, the encounter on his sidebeing perfectly unsought, and that the sufferer and his friends mustview it in the same light; indeed, he used every argument that mostpeople would have done in a like case, to soothe the mind of his youngfriend, though they were of little avail; and it was almost daylightwhen Luis fell asleep, with his hopes at a lower ebb than he had everbefore found them.
With increased anxiety, he repaired, on the following morning, to thechurch where he was to meet Senhora Gertrudes; and, true to herappointment, he found her kneeling at the same spot, where he hadencountered her on the previous day. Notwithstanding the recentunfortunate occurrence, he had resolved to send the letter he hadwritten to Clara; for when his hand had penned it, that was yetunstained with her brother's blood, as his heart was still guiltless ofany intention of shedding it.
The old nurse, however, was unconscious of anything that had occurred."Oh, senhor," she said, "I am so glad that you have not been preventedfrom coming; for I have got leave to visit my young mistress this verymorning, and though she loves me dearly, I am sure that I shall be amore welcome visitor if I carry your little note. Where is it, senhor?Stay,--that nobody may see you deliver it, have the kindness to returnme my pocket-handkerchief, which I will drop." Upon which, she adroitlydrew the article she mentioned from her pocket, and let it fall by theside of Don Luis, who, stooping down, restored it to her with theletter, which he had conveyed under it.
As she felt the size of the packet, she whispered, "I am afraid, senhor,this is much larger than the little note I promised to carry; but, nevermind, I dare say that you have a great deal to say to my young lady,which she will like to hear; and I don't think a long note can do moreharm than a short one, so be assured she shall have it. Poor dear, Iwould do anything to please her."
Luis was longing, all the time the old lady was speaking, to put in aword to inquire for the young Goncalo. To his question, she answered,that the young master's habits were so very irregular, that no oneremarked upon his remaining away for a night; that she had not seen himthat morning, nor did she think that he had returned home on theprevious evening; but that, just as she was leaving the palace, she wassurprised to meet, at that unusually early hour, his friend the CondeSan Vincente, (whom she took the opportunity to abuse,) just enteringthe hall; that she thought he might have come to speak to the youngerGoncalo, or, perhaps, to his father.
Luis then told her, under the promise of the strictest secrecy, that hehad unintentionally, and, indeed, against his utmost endeavours, woundedthe young fidalgo on the previous evening; that he had been carried offby his party, and he knew not where he had been conveyed. Luis thenassured her that his heart was wrung with anguish at what he had done,and besought her, if her mistress heard of the accident, to place hisconduct in its proper light, as he had no doubt that occasion would betaken to vilify him, if possible, in her opinion; particularly if, as hesuspected, the Conde San Vincente was engaged in the affair.
"Ah, senhor, I am sure it was entirely Goncalo's fault, who is led intoall sorts of mischief by that horrid count," said Gertrudes. "I knew hewould some day or other suffer for his folly; and I will take care myyoung lady does not believe anything to your disparagement."
"In mercy do, my good senhora, or she will be taught to look upon mewith horror instead of love," said Luis. "You know not the pangs, thewretchedness, I have suffered, at the thoughts of this freshmisfortune."
"Oh yes, senhor, I can feel for you, I assure you," whispered the oldNurse. "You forget I too was once young and pretty, and had my admirersalso, particularly one who was handsome, and constant, and loving; so Imarried him at last, and some happy years I spent, till he went to sea,and I never heard of him more; but I have ever since felt a kindredfeeling for young lovers, and doubly so when my sweet mistress is one ofthe parties."
Luis felt his heart much relieved by her promises, and just thenbethought him of a present he had prepared for her, so requesting heragain to drop her handkerchief, he begged her to accept what he offeredher, which, considering it was a pair of handsome filigree goldearrings, he had not much hesitation in doing, and seemed mightilypleased at the attention.
While the greater part of the above conversation was going forward, theyhad risen from their knees, and were standing hid from general viewbehind one of the pillars of the church, the loud chanting of theservice preventing the tones of their voices being heard by any butthemselves. The same scene we have described is constantly practisedfor far more doubtful purposes.
Senhora Gertrudes promising to bring Luis either a verbal or writtenanswer to his letter within a few days, they separated, little dreamingof the accumulated horrors those days were to bring forth. Though hisconversation with the old nurse had somewhat restored peace to his mind,by affording him yet a gleam of hope, Luis felt his spirits, like theair, heavy and gloomy. As he walked slowly homeward, the unaccountableand unusual gloom, which, like a funereal pall, had for many precedingdays hung over the city, seemed increased in density.
Volume 2, Chapter IX.
On the morning of the 1st of November, 1755, the murky gloom, which hadfor so long hung over the city, appeared to have settled down in a densefog, a phenomenon so unusual, that many turned to their neighbours, andasked if something dreadful was not about to occur, until the sun brokeforth, bright and beautiful, dispelling the darkness, and banishingtheir fears: not a breath of wind disturbed the soft atmosphere, whichhad more the genial warmth of summer than that late period of the yearusually afforded; not a cloud dimmed the pure serenity of the sky; andeverybody rejoiced that, at length, the ill-omened clouds had vanished.It was the day of a festival, dedicated in the Romish Calendar to allthe Saints; and numerous parties of citizens and mechanics, releasedfrom their usual occupations, might be seen hastening through all partsof the city, dressed in their holiday suits, twanging their lightguitars, to enjoy themselves in the free air of the country. Happy werethey who thus early quitted that doomed
city.
It was the day Donna Theresa d'Alorna had fixed on for her marriage,why, none could tell; but so she willed it; and the ceremony was to takeplace at an unusually early hour, in the chapel belonging to herfather's palace, the high dignitary of the Church who officiated on theimportant occasion being required to perform some other indispensableduty at a later hour. Captain Pinto had been spending some days withLuis, and, early in the morning, parted from him to visit Senhor Mendez,whom, on the previous evening, he had left with an increase in hisindisposition. Soon afterwards, Luis, ordering Pedro to attend him,rode forward to the palace of the Count d'Alorna, to be in readiness toattend the ceremony about to be performed. It was one he wouldwillingly have avoided; for, though he retained no love for hisbeautiful cousin, he could not help feeling many regrets that one onwhom he had once set his affections, should