Chương Chương 9 · THE FORCE OF BLOOD

One night, after a sultry summer's day, an old hidalgo of Toledo walked

out to take the air by the river's side, along with his wife, his little

boy, his daughter aged sixteen, and a female servant. Eleven o'clock had

struck: it was a fine clear night: they were the only persons on the

road; and they sauntered leisurely along, to avoid paying the price of

fatigue for the recreation provided for the Toledans in their valley or

on the banks of their river. Secure as he thought in the careful

administration of justice in that city, and the character of its

well-disposed inhabitants, the good hidalgo was far from thinking that

any disaster could befal his family. But as misfortunes commonly happen

when they are least looked for, so it chanced with this family, who were

that night visited, in the midst of their innocent enjoyment, by a

calamity which gave them cause to weep for many a year.

There was in that city a young cavalier, about two-and-twenty years of

age, whom wealth, high birth, a wayward disposition, inordinate

indulgence, and profligate companions impelled to do things which

disgraced his rank. This young cavalier--whose real name we shall, for

good reasons, conceal under that of Rodolfo--was abroad that night with

four of his companions, insolent young roisterers like himself, and

happened to be coming down a hill as the old hidalgo and his family were

ascending it. The two parties, the sheep and the wolves, met each other.

Rodolfo and his companions, with their faces muffled in their cloaks,

stared rudely and insolently at the mother, the daughter, and the

servant-maid. The old hidalgo indignantly remonstrated; they answered

him with mocks and jeers, and passed on. But Rodolfo had been struck by

the great beauty of Leocadia, the hidalgo's daughter, and presently he

began to entertain the idea of enjoying it at all hazards. In a moment

he communicated his thoughts to his companions, and in the next moment

they resolved to turn back and carry her off to please Rodolfo; for the

rich who are open-handed always find parasites ready to encourage their

bad propensities; and thus to conceive this wicked design, to

communicate it, approve it, resolve on ravishing Leocadia, and to carry

that design into effect was the work of a moment.

They drew their swords, hid their faces in the flaps of their cloaks,

turned back, and soon came in front of the little party, who had not yet

done giving thanks to God for their escape from those audacious men.

Rodolfo laid hold on Leocadia, caught her up in his arms, and ran off

with her, whilst she was so overcome with surprise and terror, that far

from being able to defend herself or cry out, she had not even sense or

sight left to see her ravisher, or know whither he was carrying her. Her

father shouted, her mother shrieked, her little brother cried, the

servant-maid tore her own face and hair; but the shouts and shrieks were

disregarded, the wailings moved no pity, the clawing and scratching was

of no avail; for all was lost upon the loneliness of the spot, the

silence of the night, and the cruel hearts of the ravishers. Finally,

the one party went off exulting, and the other was left in desolation

and woe.

Rodolfo arrived at his own house without any impediment, and Leocadia's

parents reached theirs heart-broken and despairing. They were afraid to

appeal for justice to the laws, lest thereby they should only publish

their daughter's disgrace; besides, though well born they were poor, and

had not the means of commanding influence and favour; and above all,

they knew not the name of their injurer, or of whom or what to complain

but their luckless stars. Meanwhile Rodolfo had Leocadia safe in his

custody, and in his own apartment. It was in a wing of his father's

house, of which he had the keys, a great imprudence on the part of any

parent. When Leocadia fainted in his arms, he had bandaged her eyes, in

order that she might not notice the streets through which she passed, or

the house into which he took her; and before she recovered her senses,

he effected his guilty purpose.

Apathy and disgust commonly follow satiated lust. Rodolfo was now

impatient to get rid of Leocadia, and made up his mind to lay her in

the street, insensible as she was. He had set to work with that

intention, when she came to herself, saying, "Where am I? Woe is me!

What darkness is this? Am I in the limbo of my innocence, or the hell of

my sins? Who touches me? Am I in bed? Mother! dear father! do you hear

me? Alas, too well I perceive that you cannot hear me, and that I am in

the hands of enemies. Well would it be for me if this darkness were to

last for ever, and my eyes were never more to see the light! Whoever

thou art," She exclaimed, suddenly seizing Rodolfo's hand, "if thy soul

is capable of pity, grant me one prayer: having deprived me of honour,

now deprive me of life. Let me not survive my disgrace! In mercy kill me

this moment! It is the only amends I ask of you for the wrong you have

done me."

Confused by the vehemence of her reproaches, Rodolfo knew not what to

say or do, and answered not a word. This silence so astonished Leocadia,

that she began to fancy she was dreaming, or haunted by a phantom; but

the hands she grasped were of flesh and blood. She remembered the

violence with which she had been torn from her parents, and she became

but too well aware of the real nature of her calamity. After a

passionate burst of tears and groans, "Inhuman youth!" she continued,

"for your deeds assure me that your years are few, I will forgive the

outrage you have done me, on the sole condition that you promise and vow

to conceal your crime in perpetual silence, as profound as this darkness

in which you have perpetrated it. This is but a small recompense for so

grievous a wrong; but it is the greatest which I can ask, or you can

grant me. I have never seen your face, nor ever desire to see it. It is

enough for me to remember the injury I have sustained, without having

before my mind's eye the image of my ravisher. My complaints shall be

addressed only to Heaven: I would not have them heard by the world,

which judges not according to the circumstances of each case, but

according to its own preconceived notions. You may wonder to hear me

speak thus, being so young. I am surprised at it myself; and I perceive

that if great sorrows are sometimes dumb, they are sometimes eloquent.

Be this as it may, grant me the favour I implore: it will cost you

little. Put me at once into the street, or at least near the great

church; for I shall know my way thence to the house of my parents. But

you must also swear not to follow me, or make any attempts to ascertain

my name or that of my family, who if they were as wealthy as they are

noble, would not have to bear patiently such insult in my person. Answer

me, and if you are afraid of being known by your voice, know, that

except my father and my confessor, I have never spoken with any man in

my life, and that I should never be able to tell who you were, though

you were to speak ever so long."

The only reply Rodolfo made to the unhappy Leocadia was to embrace her,

and attempt a repetition of his offence; but she defended herself with

hands, feet, and teeth, and with a strength he could not have supposed

her capable of exerting. "Base villain," she cried, "you took an

infamous advantage of me when I had no more power to resist than a stock

or a stone; but now that I have recovered my senses, you shall kill me

before you shall succeed. You shall not have reason to imagine, from my

weak resistance, that I pretended only to faint when you effected my

ruin." In fine, she defended herself with such spirit and vigour as

completely damped Rodolfo's ardour. Without saying a word he left the

room, locked the door behind him, and went in quest of his companions,

to consult them as to what he should do.

Finding herself left alone, Leocadia got out of bed, and groped about

the room, and along the walls, feeling for a door or window through

which she might make her escape. She found the door, but it was locked

outside. She succeeded in opening the window; and the moonlight shone in

so brightly, that she could distinguish the colour of some damask

hangings in the room. She saw that the bed was gilded, and so rich, that

it seemed that of a prince rather than of a private gentleman. She

counted the chairs and the cabinets, observed the position of the door,

and also perceived some pictures hanging on the walls, but was not able

to distinguish the subjects. The window was large, and protected by a

stout iron grating: it looked out on a garden, surrounded by high walls,

so that escape in that direction was as impossible as by the door.

Everything she observed in this sumptuous apartment showed her that its

master was a person of quality, and of extraordinary wealth. Among other

things on which she cast her eyes was a small crucifix of solid silver,

standing on a cabinet near the window. She took it, and hid it in the

sleeve of her gown, not out of devotion, nor yet with a felonious

intention, but with a very proper and judicious design. Having done

this, she shut the window as before, and returned to the bed, to see

what would be the end of an affair which had begun so badly. In about

half an hour, as it seemed to her, the door was opened; some one came

in, blindfolded her, and taking her by the arm, without a word spoken,

led her out of the room, which she heard him lock behind him.

This person was Rodolfo, who though he had gone to look for his friends,

had changed his mind in that respect, not thinking it advisable to

acquaint them with what had passed between him and the girl. On the

contrary, he resolved to tell them, that repenting of his violence, and

moved by her tears, he had only carried her half-way towards his house,

and then let her go. Having come to this resolution, he hastened back to

remove Leocadia before daylight appeared, which would compel him to keep

her in his room all the following day. He led her then to the Plaza del

Ayuntamiento, and there, in a feigned voice, speaking half Portuguese

and half Spanish, he told her she might go home without fear, for she

should not be followed; and he was already out of sight before she had

taken the bandage from her eyes.

Leocadia looked all round her: she was quite alone: no one was in sight;

but suspecting that she might be followed at a distance, she stopped

every now and then on her way home, which was not far, and looked behind

her. To baffle any spies that might perchance be watching her, she

entered a house which she found open; and by and by she went from it to

her own, where she found her parents stupefied with grief. They had not

undressed, or thought of taking any rest. When they saw her, they ran to

her with open arms, and welcomed her with tears. Choking with emotion,

Leocadi made a sign to her parents that she wished to be alone with

them. They retired with her, and she gave them a succinct account of all

that had befallen her. She described the room in which she had been

robbed of her honour, the window, the grating, the garden, the cabinets,

the bed, the damask hangings, and, last of all, she showed them the

crucifix which she had carried off, and before which the three innocent

victims renewed their tears, imprecated Heaven's vengeance on the

insolent ravisher, and prayed that he might be miraculously punished.

She told her parents, that although she had no wish to know the name of

him at whose hands she had received such cruel wrong, yet if they

thought fit to make such a discovery, they might do so by means of the

crucifix, by directing the sacristans of the several parishes in the

city to announce from the pulpits that whoever had lost such an image

would find it in the hands of a certain monk whom he should name. By

this means, they would discover their enemy in the person of the owner

of the crucifix.

"That would be very well, my child," replied her father, "if your plan

were not liable to be frustrated by ordinary cunning; but no doubt this

image has been already missed by its owner, and he will have set it down

for certain that it was taken out of the room by the person he locked up

there. To give him notice that the crucifix was in the hands of a

certain monk would only serve to make known the person who deposited it

in such keeping, but not to make the owner declare himself; for the

latter might send another person for it, and furnish him with all the

particulars by which he should identify it. Thus you see we should only

damage ourselves without obtaining the information we sought; though to

be sure we might employ the same artifice on our side, and deposit the

image with the monk through a third hand. What you had best do, my

child, is to keep it, and pray to it, that since it was a witness to

your undoing, it will deign to vindicate your cause by its righteous

judgment. Bear in mind, my child, that an ounce of public dishonour

outweighs a quintal of secret infamy; and since, by the blessing of God,

you can live in honour before the public eye, let it not distress you so

much to be dishonoured in your ownself in secret. Real dishonour

consists in sin, and real honour in virtue. There are three ways of

offending God; by thought, word, and deed; but since neither in thought,

nor in word, nor in deed have you offended, look upon yourself as a

person of unsullied honour, as I shall always do, who will never cease

to regard you with the affection of a father."

Thus did this humane and right-minded father comfort his unhappy

daughter; and her mother embracing her again did all she could to soothe

her feelings. In spite of all their tenderness her anguish was too

poignant to be soon allayed; and from that fatal night, she continued to

live the life of a recluse under the protection of her parents.

Rodolfo meanwhile having returned home, and having missed the crucifix,

guessed who had taken it, but gave himself no concern about it. To a

person of his wealth such a loss was of no importance; nor did his

parents make any inquiry about it, when three days afterwards, on his

departure for Italy, one of his mother's women took an inventory of all

the effects he left in his apartment. Rodolfo had long contemplated a

visit to Italy; and his father, who himself had been there, encouraged

him in that design, telling him that no one could be a finished

gentleman without seeing foreign countries. For this and other reasons,

Rodolfo readily complied with the wishes of his father, who gave him

ample letters of credit on Barcelona, Genoa, Rome, and Naples. Taking

with him two of his companions, he set out on his travels, with

expectations raised to a high pitch, by what he had been told by some

soldiers of his acquaintance, concerning the good cheer in the

hostelries of Italy and France, and the free and easy life enjoyed by

the Spaniards in their quarters. His ears were tickled with the sound of

such phrases as these: _ecco li buoni polastri_, _picioni_, _presuto_,

_salcicie_, and all the other fine things of the sort, which soldiers

are fond of calling to mind when they return from those parts to Spain.

In fine, he went away with as little thought or concern about what had

passed between him and the beautiful Leocadia as though it had never

happened. She meanwhile passed her life with her parents in the

strictest retirement, never letting herself be seen, but shunning every

eye lest it should read her misfortune in her face. What she had thus

done voluntarily at first, she found herself, in a few months,

constrained to do by necessity; for she discovered that she was

pregnant, to the grievous renewal of her affliction.

Time rolled on: the hour of her delivery arrived: it took place in the

utmost secrecy, her mother taking upon her the office of midwife: and

she gave birth to a son, one of the most beautiful ever seen. The babe

was conveyed, with the same secrecy, to a village, where he remained

till he was four years old, when his grandfather brought him, under the

name of nephew, to his own house, where he was reared, if not in

affluence, at least most virtuously. The boy, who was named Luis after

his grandfather, was remarkably handsome, of a sweet docile disposition;

and his manners and deportment, even at that tender age, were such as

showed him to be the son of some noble father. His grandfather and

grandmother were so delighted with his grace, beauty, and good

behaviour, that they came at last to regard their daughter's mischance

as a happy event, since it had given them such a grandson. When the boy

walked through the streets, blessings were showered upon him by all who

saw him--blessings upon his beauty, upon the mother that bore him, upon

the father that begot him, upon those who brought him up so well. Thus

admired by strangers, as well as by all who knew him, he grew up to the

age of seven, by which time he could already read Latin and his mother

tongue, and write a good round hand; for it was the intention of his

grandparents to make him learned and virtuous, since they could not make

him rich, learning and virtue being such wealth as thieves cannot steal,

or fortune destroy.

One day, when the boy was sent by his grandfather with a message to a

relation, he passed along a street in which there was a great concourse

of horsemen. He stopped to look at them; and to see them the better, he

moved from his position, and crossed the street. In doing so, he was not

rapid enough to avoid a fiery horse, which its rider could not pull up

in time, and which knocked Luis down, and trampled upon him. The poor

child lay senseless on the ground, bleeding profusely from his head. A

moment after the accident had happened, an elderly gentleman threw

himself from his horse with surprising agility, took the boy out of the

arms of a person who had raised him from the ground, and carried him to

his own house, bidding his servants go fetch a surgeon.

Many gentlemen followed him, greatly distressed at the sad accident

which had befallen the general favourite; for it was soon on everybody's

lips that the sufferer was little Luis. The news speedily reached the

ears of his grandparents and his supposed cousin, who all hurried in

wild dismay to look for their darling. The gentleman who had humanely

taken charge of him being of eminent rank, and well known, they easily

found their way to his house, and arrived there just as Luis was under

the surgeon's hands. The master and mistress begged them not to cry, or

raise their voices in lamentation; for it would do the little patient no

good. The surgeon, who was an able man, having dressed the wound with

great care and skill, saw that it was not so deadly as he had at first

supposed. In the midst of the dressing, Luis came to his senses, and was

glad to see his relations, who asked him how he felt. "Pretty well," he

said, only his head and his body pained him a good deal. The surgeon

desired them not to talk to him, but leave him to repose. They did so,

and the grandfather then addressed himself to the master of the house,

thanking him for the kindness he had shown to his nephew. The gentleman

replied that there was nothing to thank him for; the fact being, that

when he saw the boy knocked down, his first thought was that he saw

under the horses' heels the face of a son of his own, whom he tenderly

loved. It was this that impelled him to take the boy up, and carry him

to his own house, where he should remain all the time he was in the

surgeon's hands, and be treated with all possible care. The lady of the

house spoke to the same effect, and with no less kindness and

cordiality.

The grandfather and grandmother were surprised at meeting with so much

sympathy on the part of strangers; but far greater was the surprise of

their daughter, who, on looking round her, after the surgeon's report

had somewhat allayed her agitation, plainly perceived that she was in

the very room to which she had been carried by her ravisher. The damask

hangings were no longer there; but she recognised it by other tokens.

She saw the grated window that opened on the garden: it was then closed

on account of the little patient; but she asked if there was a garden on

the outside, and was answered in the affirmative. The bed she too well

remembered was there; and, above all, the cabinet, on which had stood

the image she had taken away, was still on the same spot. Finally, to

corroborate all the other indications, and confirm the truth of her

discovery beyond all question, she counted the steps of the staircase

leading from the room to the street, and found the number exactly what

she had expected; for she had had the presence of mind to count them on

the former occasion, when she descended them blindfold. On her return

home, she imparted her discovery to her mother, who immediately made

inquiries as to whether the gentleman in whose house her grandson lay

ever had a son. She found he had one son, Rodolfo--as we call him--who

was then in Italy; and on comparing the time he was said to have been

abroad with that which had elapsed since her daughter's ravishment, she

found them to agree very closely. She made all this known to her

husband; and it was finally settled between the three that they should

not move in the matter for the present, but wait till the will of Heaven

had declared itself respecting the little patient.

Luis was out of danger in a fortnight; in a month he rose from his bed;

and during all that time he was visited daily by his mother and

grandmother, and treated by the master and mistress of the house as if

he was their own child. Doña Estafania, the kind gentleman's wife, often

observed, in conversation with Leocadia, that the boy so strongly

resembled a son of hers who was in Italy, she never could look at him

without thinking her son was actually before her. One day, when Doña

Estafania repeated this remark, no one being present but herself and

Leocadia, the latter thought it a good opportunity to open her mind to

the lady, in the manner previously concerted between herself and her

parents.

"Señora," she said, "when my parents heard of the terrible accident that

had befallen their nephew, they felt as if the sky had fallen upon their

heads. For them it was losing the light of their eyes, and the staff of

their age, to lose their nephew, their love for whom far surpasses that

which parents commonly bear towards their sons. But, as the proverb

says, with the disease God sends the remedy. The boy found his recovery

in this house; and I found in it reminiscences of events I shall never

forget as long as I live. I, señora, am noble, for so are my parents,

and so were all my ancestors, who, though but moderately endowed with

the gifts of fortune, always happily maintained their honour where-ever

they lived."

Doña Estafania listened attentively to Leocadia, and was astonished to

hear her speak with an intelligence beyond her years, for she did not

think her more than twenty; and without interrupting her by a single

word, she heard her relate her whole story, how she had been forcibly

carried into that chamber, what had been done to her there, and by what

tokens she had been able to recognise it again. In confirmation of all

this, she drew forth from her bosom the crucifix she had taken away with

her, and thus addressed it: "Lord, who wast witness of the violence done

to me, be thou the judge of the amends which are my due. I took thee

from off this cabinet, that I might continually remind thee of my wrong,

not in order to pray to thee for vengeance, which I do not invoke, but

to beseech thee to inspire me with some counsel which may enable me to

bear it with patience." Then turning to Doña Estafania, "This boy,

señora," she said, "towards whom you have manifested the extreme of your

great kindness and compassion, is your own grandson. It was by the

merciful providence of Heaven that he was run over, in order that being

taken to your house, I should find him in it, as I hope to find there,

if not the remedy most appropriate to my misfortune, at least the means

of alleviating it." Thus saying, and pressing the crucifix to her

breast, she fell fainting into the arms of Doña Estafania, who as a

gentlewoman, to whose sex pity is as natural as cruelty is to man,

instantly pressed her lips to those of the fainting girl, shedding over

her so many tears that there needed no other sprinkling of water to

recover Leocadia from her swoon.

Whilst the two were in this situation, Doña Estafania's husband entered

the room, leading little Luis by the hand. On seeing his wife all in

tears, and Leocadia fainting, he eagerly inquired the cause of so

startling a spectacle. The boy having embraced his mother, calling her

his cousin, and his grandmother, calling her his benefactress, repeated

his grandfather's question. "I have great things to tell you, señor,"

said Doña Estafania to her husband, "the cream and substance of which is

this: the fainting girl before you is your daughter, and that boy is

your grandson. This truth which I have learned from her lips is

confirmed by his face, in which we have both beheld that of our son."

"Unless you speak more fully, señora, I cannot understand you," replied

her husband.

Just then Leocadia came to herself, and embracing the cross seemed

changed into a sea of tears, and the gentleman remained in utter

bewilderment, until his wife had repeated to him, from beginning to end,

Leocadia's whole story; and he believed it, through the blessed

dispensation of Heaven, which had confirmed it by so many convincing

testimonies. He embraced and comforted Leocadia, kissed his grandson,

and that same day he despatched a courier to Naples, with a letter to

his son, requiring him to come home instantly, for his mother and he had

concluded a suitable match for him with a very beautiful lady. They

would not allow Leocadia and her son to return any more to the house of

her parents, who, overjoyed at her good fortune, gave thanks for it to

Heaven with all their hearts.

The courier arrived at Naples; and Rodolfo, eager to become possessed of

so beautiful a wife as his father had described, took advantage of the

opportunity offered by four galleys which were ready to sail for Spain;

and two days after the receipt of the letter he embarked with his two

comrades, who were still with him. After a prosperous run of twelve

days, he reached Barcelona, whence he posted in seven to Toledo, and

entered his father's house, dressed in the very extreme of fashionable

bravery. His parents were beyond measure rejoiced at his safe arrival,

after so long an absence; and Leocadia was filled with indescribable

emotions, as she beheld him, herself unseen, from a secret place in

which she had been stationed by Doña Estafania's contrivance. Rodolfo's

two comrades proposed to take leave of him at once, and retire to their

own homes; but Estafania would not suffer them to depart, for their

presence was needful for the execution of a scheme she had in her head.

It was nearly night when Rodolfo arrived; and whilst preparations were

making for supper, Estafania took her son's companions aside, believing

that they were two of the three whom Leocadia mentioned as having been

with Rodolfo on the night of her abduction. She earnestly entreated them

to tell her, if they remembered that her son had carried off a young

woman, on such a night, so many years ago; for the honour and the peace

of mind of all his relations depended on their knowing the truth of that

matter. So persuasive were her entreaties, and so strong her assurances

that no harm whatever could result to them from the information she

sought, they were induced to confess that one summer's night, the same

she had mentioned, themselves and another friend being out on a stroll

with Rodolfo, they had been concerned in the abduction of a girl whom

Rodolfo carried off, whilst the rest of them detained her family, who

made a great outcry, and would have defended her if they could. They

added that Rodolfo told them, on the following day, that he had carried

the girl to his own apartment; and this was all they knew of the matter.

All doubts which could possibly have remained on the case having been

removed by this confession, Estafania determined to pursue her scheme.

Shortly before supper she took her son in private into a room, where she

put the portrait of a lady into his hands, saying, "Here is something to

give you an appetite for your supper, Rodolfo; this is the portrait of

your bride; but I must tell you that what she wants in beauty is more

than made up for in virtue. She is of good family, and tolerably

wealthy; and since your father and I have made choice of her, you may be

assured she will suit you very well."

"Well," said Rodolfo, staring at the portrait, "if the painter of this

portrait has flattered the original as much as painters usually do, then

beyond all doubt the lady must be the very incarnation of ugliness.

Truly, my lady mother, if it is just and right that sons should obey

their parents in all things, it is no less proper that parents should

have regard to the inclinations of their sons; and since matrimony is a

bond not to be loosed till death, they ought to take care that it shall

press as smoothly and equably as possible. Virtue, good birth, prudence,

and the gifts of fortune, are all very good things, and may well gladden

the heart of whoever may have the lot to obtain this lady for a wife;

but that her ugliness can ever gladden the eyes of her spouse, appears

to me an impossibility. I am a bachelor to be sure, but I perfectly

comprehend the coincidence there should be between the sacrament of

marriage and the just and due delight mutually enjoyed by the married

pair, and that if that be wanting, the object of marriage is frustrated;

for to imagine that an ugly face which one must have before his eyes at

all hours, in the hall, at table, and in bed, I say once more that is

impossible. For God's sake, my lady mother, give me a wife who would be

an agreeable companion, not one who will disgust me, so that we may both

bear evenly, and with mutual good-will, the yoke imposed on us by

Heaven, instead of pulling this way and that way, and fretting each

other to death. If this lady is well-born, discreet, and rich as you

say, she will easily find a husband of a different humour from mine.

Some look for noble blood in a wife, some for understanding, others for

money, and others again for beauty, and of the latter class I am one. As

for high birth, thank Heaven and my ancestors I am well enough off in

that respect; as for understanding, provided a woman is neither a dolt

nor a simpleton, there is no need of her having a very subtle wit; in

point of wealth, I am amply provided by my parents; but beauty is what I

covet, with no other addition than virtue and good breeding. If my wife

brings me this, I will thank Heaven for the gift, and make my parents

happy in their old age."

Estafania was delighted to hear Rodolfo speak thus, for the sentiments

he expressed were just such as best accorded with the success of the

scheme she had in hand. She told him that she would endeavour to marry

him in conformity with his inclination, and that he need not make

himself uneasy, for there would be no difficulty in breaking off the

match which seemed so distasteful to him. Rodolfo thanked her, and

supper being ready they went to join the rest of the party at table. The

father and mother, Rodolfo and his two companions had already seated

themselves, when Doña Estafania said, in an off-hand way, "Sinner that I

am, how well I behave to my guest! Go," she said to a servant, "and ask

the señora. Doña Leocadia to honour our table with her presence, and

tell her she need not stand on any punctilio, for all here are my sons

and her servants." All this was part of her scheme, with the whole of

which Leocadia had been previously made acquainted.

The lady soon appeared, presenting a most charming spectacle of perfect

beauty, set off by the most appropriate adornments. The season being

winter, she was dressed in a robe and train of black velvet, with gold

and pearl buttons; her girdle and necklace were of diamonds; her head

was uncovered, and the shining braids and ringlets of her thick chestnut

hair, spangled with diamonds, dazzled the eyes of the beholders. Her

bearing was graceful and animated; she led her son by the hand, and

before her walked two maids with wax-lights and silver candlesticks. All

rose to do her reverence, as if something from heaven had miraculously

appeared before them; but gazing on her, entranced with admiration, not

one of them was able to address a single word to her. Leocadia bowed to

them all with courteous dignity, and Estafania taking her by the hand

led her to a seat next herself and opposite to Rodolfo, whilst the boy

was seated beside his grandfather. "Ah," said Rodolfo to himself, as he

gazed on the lovely being before him, "could I find but half that beauty

in the wife my mother has chosen for me, I should think myself the

happiest man in the world. Good God! what is it I behold? Is it some

angel in human shape that sits before me?" Whilst his eyes were thus

making his soul captive to the lovely image of Leocadia, she, on the

other hand, finding herself so near to him who was dearer to her than

the light of those eyes with which she furtively glanced at him from

time to time, began to revolve in her mind what had passed between her

and Rodolfo. The hopes her mother had given her of being his wife began

to droop, and the fear came strong upon her that such bliss was not for

one so luckless as herself. She reflected how near she stood to the

crisis which was to determine whether she was to be blessed or unhappy

for ever, and racked by the intensity of her emotions, she suddenly

changed colour, her head dropped, and she fell forward in a swoon into

the arms of the dismayed Estafania.

The whole party sprang up in alarm and hastened to her assistance, but

no one showed more earnest sympathy than Rodolfo, who fell twice in his

haste to reach her. They unlaced her, and sprinkled her face with cold

water; but far from coming to her senses, the fulness of her congested

bosom, her total insensibility, and the absence of all pulse gave such

mortal indications, that the servants began imprudently to cry out that

she was dead. This shocking news reached the ears of her parents, whom

Doña Estafania had concealed in another room that they might make their

appearance at the right moment. They now rushed into the supper room,

and the parish priest, who was also with them, went up to the prostrate

lady to see if she could by any signs make known that she repented of

her sins in order that he might give her absolution; but instead of one

fainting person he found two, for Rodolfo lay with his face on

Leocadia's bosom. His mother had left her to him as being her destined

protector; but when she saw that he too was insensible, she was near

making a third, and would have done so had he not come to himself. He

was greatly confused at finding that he had betrayed such emotion; but

his mother, who guessed his thoughts, said to him, "Do not be ashamed,

my son, at having been so overcome by your feelings; you would have been

so still more had you known what I will no longer conceal from you,

though I had intended to reserve it for a more joyful occasion. Know

then, son of my heart, that this fainting lady is your real bride: I say

real, because she is the one whom your father and I have chosen for you,

and the portrait was a pretence."

When Rodolfo heard this, carried away by the vehemence of his passion,

and on the strength of his title as a bridegroom disdaining all

conventional proprieties, he clasped Leocadia in his arms, and with his

lips pressed to hers, seemed as if he was waiting for her soul to issue

forth that he might absorb and mingle it with his own. Just at the

moment when the tears of the pitying beholders flowed fastest, and their

ejaculations were most expressive of despair, Leocadia gave signs of

recovery, and brought back gladness to the hearts of all. When she came

to her senses, and, blushing to find herself in Rodolfo's arms, would

have disengaged herself, "No, señora," he said, "that must not be;

strive not to withdraw from the arms of him who holds you in his soul."

There needed no more than these words to complete her revival; and Doña

Estafania having no further need of stratagem, requested the priest to

marry her son to Leocadia on the spot. This was done; for the event took

place at a time when the consent of the parties was sufficient for the

celebration of a marriage, without any of the preliminary formalities

which are now so properly required. I leave it to a more ingenious pen

than mine to describe the gladness of all present; the embraces bestowed

on Rodolfo by Leocadia's parents; the thanks they offered to Heaven, and

to his father and mother; the congratulations on both sides; the

astonishment of Rodolfo's companions who saw him so unexpectedly married

to so charming a bride on the very night of his arrival; and above all,

when they learned from the statement openly made by Doña Estafania,

that Leocadia was the very person whose abduction her son had effected

with their aid. Nor was Rodolfo less surprised than they; and the better

to assure himself of so wonderful a fact, he begged Leocadia to give him

some token which should make perfectly clear to him that which indeed he

did not doubt, since it was authenticated by his parents.

"Once when I recovered from a swoon," replied Leocadia, "I found myself,

señor, in your arms without honour; but for that I have had full

compensation, since on my recovery from my this day's swoon I found

myself in the same arms, but honoured. If this is not enough for you,

let it suffice to mention a crucifix which no one could have purloined

from you but myself, if it be true that you missed it in the morning,

and that it is the same that is now in the hands of your mother, my

lady."

"You are mine, the lady of my soul, and shall be so as long as God

grants me life," cried Rodolfo; embracing her again, amidst a fresh

shower of benedictions and congratulations from the rest of the party.

At last they sat down to a merry supper to the sound of music, for the

performers, who had been previously engaged, were now arrived. Rodolfo

saw his own likeness in his son's face as in a mirror. The four

grandparents wept for joy: there was not a corner of the house but was

full of gladness; and though night was hurrying on with her swift black

wings, it seemed to Rodolfo that she did not fly, but hobble on

crutches, so great was his impatience to be alone with his beloved

bride. The longed-for hour came at last: every one retired to rest: the

whole house was buried in silence; but not so shall be the truth of this

story, which will be kept alive in the memory of men by the many

children and descendants of that illustrious house in Toledo, where that

happy pair still live, and have, for many prosperous years, enjoyed the

society of each other, their children, and their grandchildren, by the

blessing of Heaven, and through the force of that blood which was seen

shed on the ground by the valorous, illustrious, and Christian

grandfather of the little Luis.

Story 10.