will release him."
"That is utterly impossible, senhor," said the chief of the party. "Ihave no doubt but that you are a gentleman; but I know that this is avagabond and a rogue. He is a friar, he says; and see, he is dressed inthe gay suit of a dandy; besides, he can give no account of himself."
"Few innocent people can answer, when first accused of some dreadfulcrime at which their soul revolts," interrupted the Friar; "and then, asin my case, their hesitation is taken as a sign of their guilt. I canclearly account for wearing these clothes; for I had arrived in Lisbonlate on the night preceding the earthquake, to be present at thefestival of All the Saints; when, weary from my long journey on foot, Ioverslept myself; so that, when the dreadful event took place, I wasfast asleep; and, hastily rising, I rushed out into the street, in astate more easily imagined than described. Now, being a modest man, Iwas anxious to take the earliest opportunity of supplying myself withgarments, and, finding an unfortunate youth, who had been killed by thefalling of a beam, with a decent suit on, uninjured, and seeing it couldbe of no further use to him, I took the liberty of appropriating it."
"That is very likely," said the officer. "But how came you to wear awig, being a friar, senhor?"
"You would not wish me to wear such clothes as these without a wig,surely?" exclaimed the Friar. "That would have made me look ridiculous,indeed. No, senhores, I knew what was due to my character, and actedaccordingly. However, I will not keep you waiting here, away from yourduty, and would make you a present for the trouble you have been at todrag me along so far, had you not already eased me of all my spare cash;but I feel confident my friend, Don Luis d'Almeida, who has a sincereregard for me, will be happy, on my account, to make you a present, whenyou release me; and I shall certainly express to the proper authoritiesmy high opinion of the way you perform your duty, on the very firstoccasion; whereas, if you blindly persist in your mistake, the Churchwill pronounce her anathemas on your heads, for having sacrilegiouslydestroyed one of her servants."
It is difficult to say whether these arguments, which he poured out witha voluble tongue, would have had any effect, had not Luis, anxious tosave the man, who, though a most impudent rogue, had preserved his life,pulled out a purse, distributing its contents among the guards. Atsight of the money, they immediately began to consider that the Friarhad been ill-used and unjustly suspected, though the circumstances underwhich he was taken warranted what they had done, which, perhaps,accounted for his not threatening them with punishment; and no soonerdid they feel the crowns in their hands, than they set him forthwith atliberty. When he found himself free, he rushed up to Don Luis,embracing him cordially, and then made his captors a profound bow, asthey moved away.
"Pardon me, senhor, for the liberty I have taken," he said, "inpretending to be your friend; but I had no other chance. You have savedmy life, and I shall ever be grateful. Perhaps some day I may have themeans of proving it."
"You may, perhaps, at once," said Luis, eagerly. "You aided Antonio,the other day, in discovering where Donna Clara was concealed, and now,perhaps, you may be able to trace where her brother is to be found."And Luis gave him an account of the case.
"I will do my best, senhor," answered the Friar; "but at present I knownothing about the circumstance, though I have no doubt that villainRodrigo, who was hung the other day, had a hand in it. I wish that Ihad never known that man: `evil communication corrupts good manners;'and I confess that I have done some things I had better have leftundone; but I made a vow just now, when I was in the power of thosemyrmidons of the law, that, if I escaped hanging, I would reform; and Iintend to keep to my resolution. I will first endeavour to perform theservice you require; and, to my shame I confess it, I know most of therogues and vagabonds yet unhung in and about Lisbon, who are likely togive me information on the subject; and I then purpose to quit this cityof sin and temptation, and return to my convent, and lead a pious life."
"I applaud your resolution, my friend," answered Luis; "and I shall,indeed, be grateful if you can afford the assistance I ask; thoughbeware that you are not again captured by the officers of justice: youmay not escape so easily."
"Trust to my caution," said the Friar. "A rat once escaped from a trapdoes not put its head in a second time. Now, adeos, senhor!--By theway, if you could lend me a few crowns, I should find them useful, andshall then be able to purchase another friar's gown, under which I shallbe safer than in these gay habiliments. There is nothing like theoutward garment of sanctity, when a man's character has been slightlyblown upon."
Luis gave him a few crowns, which he could, however, but ill spare, forwhich the _ci-devant_ Friar expressed himself very grateful, and thenhurried away as fast as he could.
In the course of his walk, Luis reached a hill, on which had stood thechurch of Santa Catarina, now a heap of ruins. A crowd of persons, ofall ranks and ages, and of each sex, were assembled there, collectedround a tall figure, who had mounted to the summit of a heap of stones,and was haranguing them in a stentorian voice, throwing his arms aloftwith the wildest gestures, and rolling his eyes around in a delirium ofenthusiasm.
Luis inquired of one of the bystanders who the preacher was who wasaddressing them.
"Know you not," exclaimed the man, with a look of disdain at hisculpable ignorance, "that he is one of the greatest prophets that hasever lived,--one to whom the gift of tongues has been vouchsafed, as tothe apostles of old,--one in whose presence the kingdom of Portugal hasbeen peculiarly blessed, and who, in these times of horror, pours balminto our hearts from his copious fountain of eloquence?--he is the greatand pious Father Malagrida."
When Luis had asked the question, the preacher had just ceased speakingfor a moment, coughing, and blowing his nose, in which the greater partof his congregation imitated him.
"Hark!" said the person to whom Luis had spoken; "he again commences."
The congregation now fixed their eyes with an intent gaze on thepreacher as he began; and we are fortunate in being able to give anexact translation of his discourse, it having been printed in January,1756; and a copy having, by a fortunate chance, fallen into ourpossession; and it serves to prove that some congregations, a hundredyears ago, were not much wiser than they are at the present day, andthat some preachers were able to convert the Scriptures to their ownpurposes with equal facility and talent.
See Note.
"Few are there among those who hear me, who do not wish to know theorigin of these terrific convulsions of the earth; but this is not thefirst time that God has confided to the ignorant, and hidden from thewise, a knowledge of his profound secrets. `Abscondisti haec asapientibus et prudentibus, et revelati ea parvulis.' (Matt. xi. 25).
"Now, perhaps, some who deem themselves very clever, will endeavour toexplain that they arise from natural causes; but yet a man may be veryignorant, and yet be able to convince them that such is not the case.God says it, (and it is enough that He should say it, to be infallible,)that there shall be a great change in our generation. `Generatiopraeterit, et generatio advenit.' (Eccles. i. 4.)
"Moreover, that the machine of the earth will always preserve aperpetual firmness. `Terra autem in aeternum stat.' (_Ibid_.)
"Hence, it is not necessary to be a sage; it is sufficient to beCatholic, and to believe what God says, to know that the earth isimmovable. Thus a believer will declare, although he be an ignorantman, notwithstanding that the Copernicanians say the contrary, whoconfide more on mathematics than on Christianity: it matters little thatthey affirm, with sacrilegious zeal against the sacred writings, thatthe earth moves, and that the sun is fixed; and it is in this way thatwise men are deceived, and that the ignorant discover the truth. Theearth, then, being immovable, for thus He says, who formed the centre ofthe world: `Firmavit orbem terrae, qui non commovebitur,' (Psalm xciii.2;) and its immovability being sustained by that omnipotent Idea withwhich the immense spaces of all infinity were built, what madness it isfor those who call themselves sages to consider that the convulsions of
the earth arise from natural causes. He only knows who made it with anod, and can move it with a word. To such a height had this delirium,this _inflation of science_, as the Apostle calls it, arrived, thatthere was a sophist in the days of antiquity, who declared that, had hewhereon to place his feet beyond the circumference of the globe, hecould lift it with his shoulders; but this science is that folly ofwhich Solomon speaks: `Stultitia hominis supplantat gressus ejus; etcontra Deum servet animo suo.' (Prov. xix. 3.)
"I know not whether this pride, this scientific impertinence to whichphilosophy always has recourse to banish the fear of strange events, ismore presumption than as a punishment for our sins; and it appears fatedthat this should happen more in earthquakes than in other impulses ofthe Omnipotent
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