CHAPTER X.
--"Song is on thy hills: Oh, sweet and mournful melodies of Spain, That lull'd my boyhood, how your memory thrills The exile's heart with sudden-wakening pain."
The Forest Sanctuary.
From the moment that Isabella pledged her royal word to support Columbusin his great design, all reasonable doubts of the sailing of theexpedition ceased, though few anticipated any results of importance. Ofso much greater magnitude, indeed, did the conquest of the kingdom ofGranada appear, at that instant, than any probable consequences whichcould follow from this novel enterprise, that the latter was almostoverlooked in the all-absorbing interest that was connected with theformer.
There was one youthful and generous heart, however, all of whose hopeswere concentrated in the success of the great voyage. It is scarcelynecessary to add, we mean that of Mercedes de Valverde. She had watchedthe recent events as they occurred, with an intensity of expectationthat perhaps none but the youthful, fervent, inexperienced, anduncorrupted, can feel: and now that all her hopes were about to berealized, a tender and generous joy diffused itself over her whole moralsystem, in a way to render her happiness, for the time, even blissful.Although she loved so truly and with so much feminine devotedness,nature had endowed this warm-hearted young creature with a sagacity andreadiness of apprehension, which, when quickened by the sentiments thatare so apt to concentrate all the energies of her sex, showed her thepropriety of the distrust of the queen and her guardian, and fullyjustified their hesitation in her eyes, which were rather charmed thanblinded by the ascendency of her passion. She knew too well what was dueto her virgin fame, her high expectations, her great name, and herelevated position near the person, and in the immediate confidence ofIsabella, even to wish her hand unworthily bestowed; and while shedeferred, with the dignity and discretion of birth and female decorum,to all that opinion and prudence could have a right to ask of a noblemaiden, she confided in her lover's power to justify her choice, withthe boundless confidence of a woman. Her aunt had taught her to believethat this voyage of the Genoese was likely to lead to great events, andher religious enthusiasm, like that of the queen's, led her to expectmost of that which she so fervently wished.
During the time it was known to those near the person of Isabella, thatthe conditions between the sovereigns and the navigators were beingreduced to writing and were receiving the necessary forms, Luis neithersought an interview with his mistress, nor was accidentally favored inthat way; but, no sooner was it understood Columbus had effected allthat he deemed necessary in this particular, and had quitted the courtfor the coast, than the young man threw himself, at once, on thegenerosity of his aunt, beseeching her to favor his views now that hewas about to leave Spain on an adventure that most regarded asdesperate. All he asked was a pledge of being well received by hismistress and her friends, on his return successful.
"I see that thou hast taken a lesson from this new master of thine,"answered the high-souled but kind-hearted Beatriz, smiling--"and wouldfain have thy terms also. But thou knowest, Luis, that Mercedes deValverde is no peasant's child to be lightly cared for, but that shecometh of the noblest blood of Spain, having had a Guzman for a mother,and Mendozas out of number among her kinsmen. She is, moreover, one ofthe richest heiresses of Castile; and it would ill become her guardianto forget her watchfulness, under such circumstances, in behalf of oneof the idle wanderers of Christendom, simply because he happeneth to beher own beloved brother's son."
"And if the Dona Mercedes be all thou sayest, Senora--and thou hast noteven touched upon her highest claims to merit, her heart, her beauty,her truth, and her thousand virtues--but if she be all that thou sayest,Dona Beatriz, is a Bobadilla unworthy of her?"
"How! if she be, moreover, all _thou_ sayest too, Don Luis! The heart,the truth, and the thousand virtues! Methinks a shorter catalogue mightcontent one who is himself so great a rover, lest some of thesequalities be lost in his many journeys!"
Luis laughed, in spite of himself, at the affected seriousness of hisaunt; and then successfully endeavoring to repress a little resentmentthat her language awakened, he answered in a way to do no discredit to awell-established reputation for good-nature.
"I cannot call thee 'Daughter-Marchioness,' in imitation of HerHighness," he answered, with a coaxing smile, so like that her deceasedbrother was wont to use when disposed to wheedle her out of someconcession, that it fairly caused Dona Beatriz to start--"but I can saywith more truth, 'Aunt-Marchioness,'--and a very dear aunt, too--wiltthou visit a little youthful indiscretion so severely? I had hoped, nowColon was about to set forth, that all was forgotten in the noble andcommon end we have in view."
"Luis," returned the aunt, regarding her nephew with the severeresolution that was so often exhibited in her acts as well as in herwords, "dost think that a mere display of courage will prove sufficientto win Mercedes from me? to put to sleep the vigilance of her friends?to gain the approbation of her guardian? Learn, too confident boy, thatMercedes de Guzman was the companion of my childhood; my warmest,dearest friend, next to Her Highness; and that she put all faith in mydisposition to do full justice by her child. She died by slow degrees,and the fate of the orphan was often discussed between us. That shecould ever become the wife of any but a Christian noble, neither of usimagined possible; but there are so many different characters under thesame outward professions, that names deceived us not. I do believe thatpoor woman bethought her more of her child's future worldly fortunesthan of her own sins, and that she prayed oftener for the happyconclusion of the first than for the pardon of the last! Thou knowestlittle of the strength of a mother's love, Luis, and canst notunderstand all the doubts that beset the heart, when the parent iscompelled to leave a tender plant, like Mercedes, to the cold nursing ofa selfish and unfeeling world."
"I can readily fancy the mother of my love fitted for heaven without theusual interpositions of masses and paters, Dona Beatriz; but have auntsno consideration for nephews, as well as mothers for children?"
"The tie is close and strong, my child, and yet is it not parental; norart thou a sensitive, true-hearted, enthusiastic girl, filled with theconfidence of thy purity, and overflowing with the affections that, inthe end, make mothers what they are."
"By San Iago! and am I not the very youth to render such a creaturehappy? I, too, am sensitive--too much so, in sooth, for my own peace; I,too, am true-hearted, as is seen by my having had but this one love,when I might have had fifty; and if I am not exactly overflowing withthe confidence of purity, I have the confidence of youth, health,strength, and courage, which is quite as useful for a cavalier; and Ihave abundance of the affection that makes good fathers, which is allthat can reasonably be asked of a man."
"Thou, then, thinkest thyself, truant, every way worthy to be thehusband of Mercedes de Valverde?"
"Nay, aunt of mine, thou hast a searching way with thy questions! Whois, or can be, exactly worthy of so much excellence? I may not bealtogether _deserving_ of her, but then again, I am not altogether_undeserving_ of her. I am quite as noble, nearly as well endowed withestates, of suitable years, of fitting address as a knight, and love herbetter than I love my own soul. Methinks the last should count forsomething, since he that loveth devotedly, will surely strive to renderits object happy."
"Thou art a silly, inexperienced boy, with a most excellent heart, ahappy, careless disposition, and a head that was made to hold betterthoughts than commonly reside there!" exclaimed the aunt, giving way toan impulse of natural feeling, even while she frowned on her nephew'sfolly. "But, hear me, and for once think gravely, and reflect on what Isay. I have told thee of the mother of Mercedes, of her dying doubts,her anxiety, and of her confidence in me. Her Highness and I were alonewith her, the morning of the day that her spirit took its flight toheaven; and then she poured out all her feelings, in a way that has lefton us both an impression that can never cease, while aught can be doneby either for the security of the daughter's happiness. Thou hastth
ought the queen unkind. I know not but, in thy intemperate speech,thou hast dared to charge Her Highness with carrying her care for hersubjects' well-being beyond a sovereign's rights"--
"Nay, Dona Beatriz," hastily interrupted Luis, "herein thou dost megreat injustice. I may have felt--no doubt I have keenly, bitterly, feltthe consequences of Dona Isabella's distrust of my constancy; but neverhas rebel thought of mine even presumed to doubt her right to commandall our services, as well as all our lives. This is due to her sacredauthority from all; but we, who so well know the heart and motives ofthe queen, also know that she doth naught from caprice or a desire torule; while she doth so much from affection to her people."
As Don Luis uttered this with an earnest look, and features flushed withsincerity, it was impossible not to see that he meant as much as hesaid. If men considered the consequences that often attend theirlightest words, less levity of speech would be used, and the office oftale-bearer, the meanest station in the whole catalogue of social rank,would become extinct for want of occupation. Few cared less, or thoughtless, about the consequences of what they uttered, than Luis deBobadilla; and yet this hasty but sincere reply did him good servicewith more than one of those who exercised a material influence over hisfortunes. The honest praise of the queen went directly to the heart ofthe Marchioness, who rather idolized than loved her royal mistress, thelong and close intimacy that had existed between them having made herthoroughly acquainted with the pure and almost holy character ofIsabella; and when she repeated the words of her nephew to the latter,her own well-established reputation for truth caused them to beimplicitly believed. Whatever may be the correctness of our views ingeneral, one of the most certain ways to the feelings is the assuranceof being respected and esteemed; while, of all the divine mandates, themost difficult to find obedience is that which tells us to "love thosewho hate" us. Isabella, notwithstanding her high destiny and loftyqualities, was thoroughly a woman; and when she discovered that, inspite of her own coldness to the youth, he really entertained so muchprofound deference for her character, and appreciated her feelings andmotives in a way that conscience told her she merited, she was muchbetter disposed to look at his peculiar faults with indulgence, and toascribe that to mere animal spirits, which, under less favorableauspices, might possibly have been mistaken for ignoble propensities.
But this is a little anticipating events. The first consequence of Luis'speech was a milder expression in the countenance of his aunt, and adisposition to consider his entreaties to be admitted to a privateinterview with Mercedes, with more indulgence.
"I may have done thee injustice in this, Luis," resumed Dona Beatriz,betraying in her manner the sudden change of feeling mentioned; "for Ido think thee conscious of thy duty to Her Highness, and of the almostheavenly sense of justice that reigneth in her heart, and through thatheart, in Castile. Thou hast not lost in my esteem by thus exhibitingthy respect and love for the queen, for it is impossible to have anyregard for female virtue, and not to manifest it to its bestrepresentative."
"Do I not, also, dear aunt, in my attachment to thy ward? Is not my verychoice, in some sort, a pledge of the truth and justice of my feelingsin these particulars?"
"Ah! Luis de Bobadilla, it is not difficult to teach the heart to leantoward the richest and the noblest, when she happeneth also to be thefairest, maiden of Spain!"
"And am I a hypocrite, Marchioness? Dost thou accuse the son of thybrother of being a feigner of that which he doth not feel?--oneinfluenced by so mean a passion as the love of gold and of lands?"
"Foreign lands, heedless boy," returned the aunt, smiling, "but not ofothers' lands. No, Luis, none that know thee will accuse thee ofhypocrisy. We believe in the truth and ardor of thy attachment, and itis for that very cause that we most distrust thy passion."
"How! Are feigned feelings of more repute with the queen and thyself,than real feelings? A spurious and fancied love, than the honest,downright, manly passion."
"It is this genuine feeling, this honest, downright, manly passion, asthou termest it, which is most apt to awaken sympathy in the tenderbosom of a young girl. There is no truer touch-stone, by which to trythe faithfulness of feelings, than the heart, when the head is notturned by vanity; and the more unquestionable the passion, the easier isit for its subject to make the discovery. Two drops of water do notglide together more naturally than two hearts, nephew, when there is astrong affinity between them. Didst thou not really love Mercedes, as mynear and dear relative, thou mightst laugh and sing in her company atall times that should be suitable for the dignity of a maiden, and itwould not cause me an uneasy moment."
"I am thy near and dear relative, aunt of mine, with a miracle! and yetit is more difficult for me to get a sight of thy ward"--
"Who is the especial care of the Queen of Castile."
"Well, be it so; and why should a Bobadilla be proscribed by even aQueen of Castile?"
Luis then had recourse to his most persuasive powers, and, improving thelittle advantage he had gained, by dint of coaxing and teasing he so farprevailed on Dona Beatriz as to obtain a promise that she would apply tothe queen for permission to grant him one private interview withMercedes. We say the queen, since Isabella, distrusting the influence ofblood, had cautioned the Marchioness on this subject; and the prudenceof letting the young people see each other as little as possible, hadbeen fully settled between them. It was in redeeming this promise, thatthe aunt related the substance of the conversation that has just beengiven, and mentioned to her royal mistress the state of her nephew'sfeelings as respected herself. The effect of such information wasnecessarily favorable to the young man's views, and one of its firstfruits was the desired permission to have the interview he sought.
"They are not sovereigns," remarked the queen, with a smile that thefavorite could see was melancholy, though it surpassed her means ofpenetration to say whether it proceeded from a really saddened feeling,or whether it were merely the manner in which the mind is apt to glancebackward at emotions that it is known can never be again awakened in ourbosoms;--"they are not sovereigns, Daughter-Marchioness, to woo byproxy, and wed as strangers. It may not be wise to suffer theintercourse to become too common, but it were cruel to deny the youth,as he is about to depart on an enterprise of so doubtful issue, oneopportunity to declare his passion and to make his protestations ofconstancy. If thy ward hath, in truth, any tenderness for him, therecollection of this interview will soothe many a weary hour while DonLuis is away."
"And add fuel to the flame," returned Dona Beatriz, pointedly.
"We know not that, my good Beatriz, since, the heart being softened bythe power of God to a sense of its religious duties, may not the samekind hand direct it and shield it in the indulgence of its more worldlyfeelings? Mercedes will never forget her duty, and, the imaginationfeeding itself, it may not be the wisest course to leave that of anenthusiast like our young charge, so entirely to its own pictures.Realities are often less hazardous than the creatures of the fancy.Then, thy nephew will not be a loser by the occasion, for, by keepingconstantly in view the object he now seemeth to pursue so earnestly, hewill the more endeavor to deserve success."
"I much fear, Senora, that the best conclusions are not to be dependedon in an affair that touches the waywardness of the feelings."
"Perhaps not, Beatriz; and yet I do not see that we can well deny thisinterview, now that Don Luis is so near departure. Tell him I accord himthat which he so desireth, and let him bear in mind that a grandeeshould never quit Castile without presenting himself before hissovereign."
"I fear, Your Highness," returned the Marchioness, laughing, "that DonLuis will feel this last command, however gracious and kind in fact, asa strong rebuke, since he hath more than once done this already, withouteven presenting himself before his own aunt!"
"On those occasions he went idly, and without consideration; but he isnow engaged in an honorable and noble enterprise, and we will make itapparent to him that all feel the difference."
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nbsp; The conversation now changed, it being understood that the request ofthe young man was to be granted. Isabella had, in this instance,departed from a law she had laid down for her own government, under theinfluence of her womanly feelings, which often caused her to forget thatshe was a queen, when no very grave duties existed to keep alive therecollection; for it would have been difficult to decide in which lightthis pure-minded and excellent female most merited the esteem ofmankind--in her high character as a just and conscientious sovereign, orwhen she acted more directly under the gentler impulses of her sex. Asfor her friend, she was perhaps more tenacious of doing what sheconceived to be her duty, by her ward, than the queen herself; since,with a greater responsibility, she was exposed to the suspicion ofacting with a design to increase the wealth and to strengthen theconnections of her own family. Still, the wishes of Isabella were lawsto the Marchioness of Moya, and she sought an early opportunity toacquaint her ward with her intention to allow Don Luis, for once, toplead his own cause with his mistress, before he departed on hisperilous and mysterious enterprise.
Our heroine received this intelligence with the mingled sensations ofapprehension, delight, misgivings, and joy, that are so apt to beset thefemale heart, in the freshness of its affections, when once brought insubjection to the master-passion. She had never thought it possible Luiswould sail on an expedition like that in which he was engaged, withoutendeavoring to see her alone; but, now she was assured that both thequeen and her guardian acquiesced in his being admitted, she almostregretted their compliance. These contradictory emotions, however, soonsubsided in the tender melancholy that gradually drew around her manner,as the hour for the departure approached. Nor were her feelings on thesubject of Luis' ready enlistment in the expedition, more consistent. Attimes she exulted in her lover's resolution, and in his manly devotionto glory and the good of the church; remembering with pride that, of allthe high nobility of Castile, he alone ventured life and credit with theGenoese; and then, again, tormenting doubts came over her, as she fearedthat the love of roving, and of adventure, was quite as active in hisheart, as love of herself. But in all this there was nothing new. Themore pure and ingenuous the feelings of those who truly submit to theinfluence of this passion, the more keenly alive are their distrusts aptto be, and the more tormenting their misgivings of themselves.
Her mind made up, Dona Beatriz acted fairly by the young people. As soonas Luis was admitted to her own presence, on the appointed morning, shetold him that he was expected by Mercedes, who was waiting hisappearance in the usual reception-room. Scarce giving himself time tokiss the hand of his aunt, and to make those other demonstrations ofrespect that the customs of the age required from the young to theirseniors--more especially when there existed between them a tie of bloodas close as that which united the Marchioness of Moya with the Conde deLlera--the young man bounded away, and was soon in the presence of hismistress. As Mercedes was prepared for the interview, she betrayed thefeeling of the moment merely by a heightened color, and the greaterlustre of eyes that were always bright, though often so soft andmelancholy.
"Luis!" escaped from her, and then, as if ashamed of the emotionbetrayed in the very tones of her voice, she withdrew the foot that hadinvoluntarily advanced to meet him, even while she kept a hand extendedin friendly confidence.
"Mercedes!" and the hand was withdrawn to put a stop to the kisses withwhich it was covered. "Thou art harder to be seen, of late, than it willbe to discover this Cathay of the Genoese; for, between the DonaIsabella and Dona Beatriz, never was paradise watched more closely byguardian angels, than thy person is watched by thy protectors."
"And can it be necessary, Luis, when thou art the danger apprehended?"
"Do they think I shall carry thee off, like some Moorish girl borne awayon the crupper of a Christian knight's saddle, and place thee in thecaravel of Colon, that we may go in search of Prestor John and the GreatKhan, in company?"
"They may think _thee_ capable of this act of madness, dear Luis, butthey will hardly suspect _me_."
"No, thou art truly a model of prudence in all matters that requirefeeling for thy lover."
"Luis!" exclaimed the girl, again; and this time unbidden tears startedto her eyes.
"Forgive me, Mercedes--dearest, dearest Mercedes; but this delay and allthese coldly cruel precautions make me forget myself. Am I a needy andunknown adventurer, that they treat me thus, instead of being a nobleCastilian knight!"
"Thou forgettest, Luis, that noble Castilian maidens are not wont to seeeven noble Castilian cavaliers alone, and, but for the graciouscondescension of Her Highness, and the indulgence of my guardian, whohappeneth to be thy aunt, this interview could not take place."
"Alone! And dost thou call this being alone, or any excessive favor, onthe part of Her Highness, when thou seest that we are watched by theeye, if not by the ear! I fear to speak above my breath, lest the soundsshould disturb that venerable lady's meditations!"
As Luis de Bobadilla uttered this, he glanced his eye at the figure ofthe duena of his mistress, whose person was visible through an opendoor, in an adjoining room, where the good woman sat, intently occupiedin reading certain homilies.
"Dost mean my poor Pepita," answered Mercedes, laughing; for thepresence of her attendant, to whom she had been accustomed from infancy,was no more restraint on her own innocent thoughts and words, than wouldhave proved a reduplication of herself, had such a thing been possible."Many have been her protestations against this meeting, which sheinsists is contrary to all rule among noble ladies, and which, she says,would never have been accorded by my poor, sainted mother, were shestill living."
"Ay, she hath a look that is sufficient of itself to set every generousmind a-tilting with her. One can see envy of thy beauty and youth, inevery wrinkle of her unamiable face."
"Then little dost thou know my excellent Pepita, who envieth nothing,and who hath but one marked weakness, and that is, too much affection,and too much indulgence, for myself."
"I detest a duena; ay, as I detest an Infidel!"
"Senor," said Pepita, whose vigilant ears, notwithstanding her book andthe homilies, heard all that passed, "this is a common feeling amongyouthful cavaliers, I fear; but they tell me that the very duena who isso displeasing to the lover, getteth to be a grateful object, in time,with the husband. As my features and wrinkles, however, are sodisagreeable to you, and no doubt cause you pain, by closing this doorthe sight will be shut out, as, indeed, will be the sound of myunpleasant cough, and of your own protestations of love, Senor Knight."
This was said in much better language than was commonly used by women ofthe duena's class, and with a good-nature that seemed indomitable, itbeing completely undisturbed by Luis' petulant remarks.
"Thou shalt not close the door, Pepita," cried Mercedes, blushing rosyred, and springing forward to interpose her own hand against the act."What is there that the Conde de Llera can have to say to one like me,that _thou_ mayest not hear?"
"Nay, dear child, the noble cavalier is about to talk of love!"
"And is it thou, with whom the language of affection is so uncommon,that it frighteneth thee! Hath thy discourse been of aught but love,since thou hast known and cared for me?"
"It augureth badly for thy suit, Senor," said Pepita, smiling, while shesuspended the movement of the hand that was about to close the door, "ifDona Mercedes thinketh of your love as she thinketh of mine. Surely,child, thou dost not fancy me a gay, gallant young noble, come to pourout his soul at thy feet, and mistakest my simple words of affection forsuch as will be likely to flow from the honeyed tongue of a Bobadilla,bent on gaining his suit with the fairest maiden of Castile?"
Mercedes shrunk back, for, though innocent as purity itself, her hearttaught her the difference between the language of her lover and thelanguage of her nurse, even when each most expressed affection. Her handreleased its hold of the wood, and unconsciously was laid, with itspretty fellow, on her crimsoned face. Pepita profited by her advantage,and closed
the door. A smile of triumph gleamed on the handsome featuresof Luis, and, after he had forced his mistress, by a gentle compulsion,to resume the seat from which she had risen to meet him, he threwhimself on a stool at her feet, and stretching out his well-turned limbsin an easy attitude, so as to allow himself to gaze into the beautifulface that he had set up, like an idol, before him, he renewed thediscourse.
"This is a paragon of duenas," he cried, "and I might have known thatnone of the ill-tempered, unreasonable school of such beings, would betolerated near thy person. This Pepita is a jewel, and she may considerherself established in her office for life, if, by the cunning of thisGenoese, mine own resolution, the queen's repentance, and thy gentlefavor, I ever prove so lucky as to become thy husband."
"Thou forgettest, Luis," answered Mercedes, trembling even while shelaughed at her own conceit, "that if the husband esteemeth the duena thelover could not endure, that the lover may esteem the duena that thehusband may be unwilling to abide."
"_Peste!_ these are crooked matters, and ill-suited to thestraight-forward philosophy of Luis de Bobadilla. There is one thingonly, which I can, or do, pretend to know, out of any controversy, andthat I am ready to maintain in the face of all the doctors of Salamanca,or all the chivalry of Christendom, that of the Infidel included; whichis, that thou art the fairest, sweetest, best, most virtuous, and in allthings the most winning maiden of Spain, and that no other living knightso loveth and honoreth his mistress as I love and honor thee!"
The language of admiration is ever soothing to female ears, andMercedes, giving to the words of the youth an impression of sinceritythat his manner fully warranted, forgot the duena and her littleinterruption, in the delight of listening to declarations that were sograteful to her affections. Still, the coyness of her sex, and therecent date of their mutual confidence, rendered her answer less openthan it might otherwise have been.
"I am told,", she said, "that you young cavaliers, who pant foroccasions to show your skill and courage with the lance and in thetourney, are ever making some such protestations in favor of this orthat noble maiden, in order to provoke others like themselves to makecounter assertions, that they may show their prowess as knights, andgain high names for gallantry."
"This cometh of being so much shut up in Dona Beatriz's private rooms,lest some bold Spanish eyes should look profanely on thy beauty,Mercedes. We are not in the age of the errants and the troubadours, whenmen committed a thousand follies that they might be thought weaker eventhan nature had made them. In that age, your knights _discoursed_largely of love, but in our own they _feel_ it. In sooth, I think thissavoreth of some of the profound morality of Pepita!"
"Say naught against Pepita, Luis, who hath much befriended thee to-day,else would thy tongue, and thine eyes too, be under the restraint of herpresence. But that which thou termest the morality of the good duena,is, in truth, the morality of the excellent and most noble Dona Beatrizde Cabrera, Marchioness of Moya, who was born a lady of the House ofBobadilla, I believe."
"Well, well, I dare to say there is no great difference between thelessons of a duchess and the lessons of a duena in the privacy of thecloset, when there is one like thee, beautiful, and rich, and virtuous,to guard. They say you young maidens are told that we cavaliers are somany ogres, and that the only way to reach paradise is to think naughtof us but evil, and then, when some suitable marriage hath been decidedon, the poor young creature is suddenly alarmed by an order to comeforth and be wedded to one of these very monsters."
"And, in this mode, hast thou been treated! It would seem that muchpains are taken to make the young of the two sexes think ill of eachother. But, Luis, this is pure idleness, and we waste in it mostprecious moments; moments that may never return. How go matters withColon--and when is he like to quit the court?"
"He hath already departed; for, having obtained all he hath sought ofthe queen, he quitted Santa Fe, with the royal authority to sustain himin the fullest manner. If thou hearest aught of one Pedro de Munos, orPero Gutierrez, at the court of Cathay, thou wilt know on whoseshoulders to lay his follies."
"I would rather that thou shouldst undertake this voyage in thine ownname, Luis, than under a feigned appellation. Concealments of thisnature are seldom wise, and surely thou dost not undertake theenterprise"--the tell-tale blood stole to the cheeks of Mercedes as sheproceeded--"with a motive that need bring shame."
"'Tis the wish of my aunt; as for myself, I would put thy favor in mycasque, thy emblem on my shield, and let it be known, far and near, thatLuis of Llera sought the court of Cathay, with the intent to defy itschivalry to produce as fair or as virtuous a maiden as thyself."
"We are not in the age of errants, sir knight, but in one of reason andtruth," returned Mercedes, laughing, though every syllable that provedthe earnest and entire devotion of the young man went directly to herheart, strengthening his hold on it, and increasing the flame that burntwithin, by adding the fuel that was most adapted to that purpose--"weare not in the age of knights-errant, Don Luis de Bobadilla, as thouthyself hast just affirmed; but one in which even the lover isreflecting, and as apt to discover the faults of his lady-love as todwell upon her perfections. I look for better things from thee, than tohear that thou hast ridden through the highways of Cathay, defying tocombat and seeking giants, in order to exalt my beauty, and temptingothers to decry it, if it were only out of pure opposition to thy idleboastings. Ah! Luis, thou art now engaged in a most truly nobleenterprise, one that will join thy name to those of the applauded ofmen, and which will form thy pride and exultation in after-life, whenthe eyes of us both shall be dimmed by age, and we shall look back withlongings to discover aught of which to be proud."
It was thrice, pleasant to the youth to hear his mistress, in theinnocence of her heart, and in the fulness of her feelings, thus unitinghis fate with her own; and when she ceased speaking, all unconscious howmuch might be indirectly implied from her words, he still listenedintently, as if he would fain hear the sounds after they had died on hisear.
"What enterprise can be nobler, more worthy to awaken all my resolution,than to win thy hand!" he exclaimed, after a short pause. "I followColon with no other object; share his chances, to remove the objectionsof Dona Isabella; and will accompany him to the earth's end, rather thanthat thy choice should be dishonored. _Thou_ art _my_ Great Khan,beloved Mercedes, and thy smiles and affection are the only Cathay Iseek."
"Say not so, dear Luis, for thou knowest not the nobility of thine ownsoul, nor the generosity of thine own intentions. This is a stupendousproject of Colon's, and much as I rejoice that he hath had theimagination to conceive it, and the heart to undertake it in his ownperson, on account of the good it must produce to the heathen, and themanner in which it will necessarily redound to the glory of God, still Ifear that I am equally gladdened with the recollection that thy namewill be forever associated with the great achievement, and thydetractors put to shame with the resolution and spirit with which sonoble an end will have been attained."
"This is nothing but truth, Mercedes, should we reach the Indies; but,should the saints desert us, and our project fail, I fear that even thouwouldst be ashamed to confess an interest in an unfortunate adventurerwho hath returned without success, and thereby made himself the subjectof sneers and derision, instead of wearing the honorable distinctionthat thou seemest so confidently to expect."
"Then, Luis de Bobadilla, thou knowest me not," answered Mercedes,hastily, and speaking with a tender earnestness that brought the bloodinto her cheeks, gradually brightening the brilliancy of her eyes, untilthey shone with a lustre that seemed almost supernatural--"then, Luis deBobadilla, thou knowest me not. I wish thee to share in the glory ofthis enterprise, because calumny and censure have not been altogetheridle with thy youth, and because I feel that Her Highness' favor is mosteasily obtained by it; but, if thou believest that the spirit to engagewith Colon was necessary to incline me to think kindly of my guardian'snephew, thou neither understandest the sentiments that draw
me towardthee, nor hast a just appreciation of the hours of sorrow I havesuffered on thy account."
"Dearest, most generous, noble-hearted girl, I am unworthy of thy truth,of thy pure sincerity, and of all thy devoted feelings! Drive me fromthee at once, that I may ne'er again cause thee a moment's grief."
"Nay, Luis, thy remedy, I fear me, would prove worse than the diseasethat thou wouldst cure," returned the beautiful girl, smiling andblushing as she spoke, and turning her eloquent eyes on the youth in away to avow volumes of tenderness. "With thee must I be happy, orunhappy, as Providence may will it; or miserable without thee."
The conversation now took that unconnected, and yet comprehensive cast,which is apt to characterize the discourse of those who feel as much asthey reason, and it covered more interests, sentiments, and events, thanour limits will allow us to record. As usual, Luis was inconsistent,jealous, repentant, full of passion and protestations, fancying athousand evils at one instant, and figuring in his imagination aterrestrial paradise at the next; while Mercedes was enthusiastic,generous, devoted, and yet high-principled, self-denying, and womanly;meeting her ardent suitor's vows with a tenderness that seemed to loseall other considerations in her love, and repelling with maiden coyness,and with the dignity of her sex, his rhapsodies, whenever they touchedupon the exaggerated and indiscreet.
The interview lasted an hour, and it is scarce necessary to say thatvows of constancy, and pledges never to marry another, were given, againand again. As the time for separating approached, Mercedes opened asmall casket that contained her jewels, and drew forth one which sheoffered to her lover as a gage of her truth.
"I will not give thee a glove to wear in thy casque at tourneys, Luis,"she said, "but I offer this holy symbol, which may remind thee, at thesame moment, of the great pursuit thou hast before thee, and of her whowill wait its issue with doubts and fears little less active than thoseof Colon himself. Thou needst no other crucifix to say thy patersbefore, and these stones are sapphires, which thou knowest are thetokens of fidelity--a feeling that thou mayst encourage as respects thylasting welfare, and which it would not grieve me to know thou kept'stever active in thy bosom when thinking of the unworthy giver of thetrifle."
This was said half in melancholy, and half in lightness of heart, forMercedes felt, at parting, both a weight of sorrow that was hard to beborne, and a buoyancy of the very feeling to which she had just alluded,that much disposed her to smile; and it was said with those winningaccents with which the youthful and tender avow their emotions, when theheart is subdued by the thoughts of absence and dangers. The gift was asmall cross, formed of the stones she had named, and of great intrinsicvalue, as well as precious from the motives and character of her whooffered it.
"Thou hast had a care of my soul, in this, Mercedes," said Luis,smiling, when he had kissed the jewelled cross again and again--"and artresolved if the sovereign of Cathay should refuse to be converted to ourfaith, that we shall not be converted to his. I fear that my offeringwill appear tame and valueless in thine eyes, after so precious a boon."
"One lock of thy hair, Luis, is all I desire. Thou knowest that I haveno need of jewels."
"If I thought the sight of my bushy head would give thee pleasure, everyhair should quit it, and I would sail from Spain with a poll as naked asa priest's, or even an Infidel's; but the Bobadillas have their jewels,and a Bobadilla's bride shall wear them: this necklace was my mother's,Mercedes; it is said to have once been the property of a queen, thoughnone have ever worn it who will so honor it as thou."
"I take it, Luis, for it is thy offering and may not be refused; and yetI take it tremblingly, for I see signs of our different natures in thesegifts. Thou hast chosen the gorgeous and the brilliant, which pall intime, and seldom lead to contentment; while my woman's heart hath led meto constancy. I fear some brilliant beauty of the East would better gainthy lasting admiration than a poor Castilian maid who hath little buther faith and love to recommend her!"
Protestations on the part of the young man followed, and Mercedespermitted one fond and long embrace ere they separated. She wept on thebosom of Don Luis, and at the final moment of parting, as ever happenswith woman, feeling got the better of form, and her whole soul confessedits weakness. At length Luis tore himself away from her presence, andthat night he was on his way to the coast, under an assumed name, and insimple guise; whither Columbus had already preceded.