The Prime Minister
Page 77
thanthey always were since the city was built; but it was because he lookeddown on the city and beheld his true and faithful servants, whose wholelives have been spent in forwarding his works, thrust out from theiroffices, and treated by the rulers of the land with scorn and neglect.Could he longer endure such impiety? No! Now mark where the whole furyof his anger fell. See, the once proud palace of the King a heap ofstones and ashes! Why was this? Who is the culprit? Who but the King?And why? because he retains in his councils that impious despiser ofthe commands of the Lord,--that hater of our holy religion,--thatpersecutor and vile calumniator of the ministers of the faith,--that manin whom none ought to place trust,--whom all must hate,--that manaccursed by Heaven, Sebastiao Joze de Carvalho! Do any here think Ifear him? No, I scorn his hatred--I laugh at his fury. Why should Ifear him? I who have stood boldly before the kings of the earth, andhave rebuked them for their transgressions; and again do I rebuke theKing who now reigns over this unhappy country. Let him beware; for evenas the kingdom departed from Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, sowill his kingdom pass away from his hands, and whoso slayeth him shallbe accounted blessed in the sight of Heaven."
Malagrida still continued speaking, when Father Jacinto, taking the armof his young cousin, led him on one side. "I had heard that the horrorsof the earthquake had somewhat injured my holy brother's brain, and Icame here to endeavour to stop his preaching, fearing that he mightcommit himself, which he had indeed done; for one might as well expectto stop a winter torrent in its impetuous course as that man, when hehas persuaded himself that the Spirit prompts him to speak. My onlyhope is, that his mad words may not be reported to that enemy of ourorder, the Minister, or Malagrida will be made to suffer severely forwhat he has said, and, at all events, banished from hence. I have heardenough to convince me that he is no longer to be trusted, so I shall notremain here. Come with me to my convent; for I can there speak to youon a subject which I have to communicate, but little calculated to raiseyour spirits; here I will say nothing."
Luis, wondering, yet dreading what the Jesuit had to relate, acceptedhis invitation; and, as they were passing the crowd, he observed Antonioamong them. He longed to speak to him, to ask him if he had gained anyinformation regarding the young Goncalo; but the crowd was so dense thathe could not approach him, nor could he catch his eye, for there was noone more intently listening to every word the preacher uttered than he,nor would any of the bystanders have been supposed more devoutlybelieving.
"By the God of my fathers, that man strives hard to gain the gloriouscrown of martyrdom; and, if I mistake not, he will deservedly win itbefore long," thought Antonio to himself. "He must be got rid of, or,mad as he is, he will find fools enough to follow his counsels, andamong them they will commit some mischief before many days are over."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note. The whole of this Sermon is a literal translation.
Volume 2, Chapter XIX.
"Farewell, my kind friend," exclaimed Don Luis, pressing the hand ofCaptain Pinto, as they stood together in front of their humble lodgingson the outskirts of the ruined city, while Pedro held his master's horseand his own, prepared for a journey.
"Farewell, Luis; we may meet again under happier auspices, when I returnfrom the cruise on which I am now despatched, and you recover from theeffects of your disappointment and reverse of fortune."
"The mere loss of fortune I could, as far as I am individuallyconcerned, have borne with fortitude, but that it casts a cloud over thelast days of my father's life, and that it deprives me of the lastchance of gaining Donna Clara."
"But is your father's property so irretrievably involved, that you maynot hope to recover it?" asked the Captain.
"So Father Jacinto, my cousin, informs me, the mercantile house in whichthe whole of my father's monied property was placed having completelyfailed, and the estates being mortgaged to their full value.--No, alas!I see no chance of ever being able to recover what we have lost; andwith me, I fear, our once high name must end."
"Don't think of such a thing. When you least expect it, Fortune's wheelwill turn up a prize, and you will find yourself prosperous and happy.You do not mean to become a friar, I hope? You were fitted for nobleraims than such a life can offer."
"I must visit my father,--I fear it will be but to close his eyes,--before I fix on my future course in life, though surely anything ispreferable to hanging about the Court, a poverty-stricken noble, ingreedy expectation of some paltry office, cringing meanly to those onedespises, to obtain it, as is the fate of many, and would be mine alsoif I could submit to it; but that I never can. No, I would far rathersink my rank and name, and be forgotten by the world, than lead such alife."
"You are right, Luis, anything is better than that contemptible huntingafter place, in which so many men waste their energies; but you need notbe reduced to that necessity,--the Minister will gladly give youemployment whenever you ask for it, as he has already promised you, andhe is not a man to forget his word."
"That was when fortune appeared to smile on me, and I was not asuppliant for charity. You yourself have often told me that people arefar more ready to bestow gifts on those who do not ask for them, than onthose who are petitioners."
"With people in general, such is the case," replied the Captain; "butthe Minister is not to be judged by the same rules as other men:besides, you have other powerful friends, whom you are not aware of, butwho would be the last people to wish you to enter the profession of theChurch--with due reverence be it spoken. Should you be deprived of yournatural counsellor,--your father, do not take any step withoutconsulting one in whose judgment you may place the fullest confidence,--I mean, Senhor Mendez. You will always hear of him at the house wherehe is now residing, and he will ever be ready to advise you. Do not actlike some foolish people, who fancy that it betrays a weakness ofjudgment to ask advice, whereas another person, of even inferiorcapacity, may often, from viewing a case calmly and dispassionately, beable to form a better opinion than he who, having to act, is naturallybiassed according to his feelings at the time. You will think me an oldproser if I continue talking much longer; and, at all events, yourservant and horses are impatient to be off, so once again, Luis,farewell."
The friends embracing affectionately, Luis mounted his horse with a sadheart, and turned his back once more on all the horrors and miserieswith which for the last few weeks he had been surrounded. He had, indespair, been obliged to give up his search for the younger GoncaloChristovao, not being able to discover the slightest trace of him, sothat at last he felt convinced that he must have been one of thesufferers in the earthquake.
The fidalgo had recovered his strength, and a few days before had setoff on his return to Oporto, accompanied by his daughter, and hisconfessor, who did not cease to insist on his fulfilling his vow ofplacing the fair girl in a convent; and it was at last agreed that sheshould enter the principal one in that city. Clara, broken-hearted anddespairing, offered no opposition to the proposed plan, so that it wasarranged she should commence her noviciate soon after her return home,--her younger brother, who had been before destined for the Church, beingtaken from Coimbra, where he was pursuing his studies, little thought ofor cared about, to be treated henceforth as the heir of the house.
Luis heard of these arrangements through a message sent him by SenhoraGertrudes, who promised him that, happen what might, her young mistressshould never forget his love and devotion; and that to his courage sheowed her life and honour. This was the only particle of consolation hereceived; and, as it was the only food offered to his hopes, it was notsurprising that they were left to starve.
He had just passed the last point from which the ruined capital could beseen,--Pedro, observing his master's mood, not attempting to interrupthis meditations,--when a horseman from a cross-road suddenly joinedthem, and riding up to the side of Luis, accosted him.
"Good morrow, Senhor Fidalgo, you are early on the road,
" said thestranger, in a clear jovial voice. "By your leave, I will ride on someway with you."
"Many thanks, senhor, for your polite offer," returned Luis, scarcelynoticing the speaker; "but I should prefer travelling alone."
"What! Don Luis d'Almeida, the brave, the gallant, and the gay, turnedmisanthropical?" exclaimed the stranger, laughing. "However, greatchanges are taking place every day,--honest men turning rogues, androgues turning honest; one can never tell what will happen next."
As the stranger was speaking, Luis regarded him attentively, nor was helong in discovering, beneath the military curled wig and queue, thefierce moustaches, and heavy travelling dress, the features of the_ci-devant_ Fre Lopez.
"I trust that you are one of those making a change for the better,Senhor Padre," said