RAMON THE DISCONTENTED.
Ramon was a discontented man. Instead of thanking Providence forall the good gifts of earth, and the promise of the joys of heaven,he was always repining at the hardships of his life, and finding outone thing after another to grumble at. Work he specially objectedto. He wanted a cottage, and a pig, and a stock of poultry, and avine, and a wife, a smoking cazuela [32], and plenty of tobacco; butwhen it came to working to pay for them, then it was quite anotherstory. He was an only son; his hard-working parents had spoilt himby letting him have his own way, supplying him with all he wanted outof their own earnings; and so he grew up idle and apathetic, findingfault with fate, instead of putting his shoulder to the wheel: "Estanlas cosas en este mundo como cuernos en un costal--todas de punta"was a favourite proverb of his, meaning that the events of this lifeare like packing horns into a bag, the points of those first put inare always making their way through and obstructing the others. Andindeed, if people indulge a discontented disposition, every thingmust go wrong with them.
Strange, that any one can find pleasure in such an ugly habit asgrumbling. Ramon had been made by nature a good-looking boy; but asour, gloomy expression soon superseded the engaging smile of youth;and as he had never a pleasant word, his society was gradually shunnedby all the village. The last to give him up was Carmen, the brightlittle playmate of his childhood, but he wore out even her patience,and then, when he was left to himself, he grew more and more sourand morose.
In the meantime, his good old father and mother had died, and for atime he had been living on the savings they had left him; but thiswas soon at an end, and hunger forced home the reflection, "What wasto become of him?" Then every thing seemed gloomier than ever beforeeven--he sat down to think under the old patriarchal vine, which hadshaded his father, and his grandfather, and his great-grandfatherbefore him; but the fierce sun came through the withered branches andmaddened him. He had neglected to tend it, and it had no shelter forhim. Instead of blaming his own neglect, he turned with an imprecationupon the vine, and his ill-humour overflowed on to the old house,against the wall of which he leant and which was also crumbling todecay because he had left it without repair; and upon Carmen, whosepatience he had wearied, and upon fortune, whose gifts he had leftwaste. And in his fury he said that he would die. "Die!" echoed alittle leaf of the withered vine, as it fell rustling past him, "Youcan't die when you will, you must fulfil the work God has set you,whatever it be."
"Work! I will do no work. I will die!" he answered fiercely.
"You cannot die when you will!" whispered another rustling leaf.
"We shall see!" said Ramon; and with that he took up the rope of thewell, and, stalking wildly upstairs, he deliberately made a noose,into which he inserted his throat, tied one end over a beam in theloft, and placed himself on an old chest, ready to jump off and soswing tight the fatal knot which was to end his days.
He shut his eyes, and took a desperate leap ... but ... instead ofdrawing the noose tight, the beam above broke in twain, and the twoends came with him to the ground. He had scarcely recovered from onesurprise, when he had to encounter another. On each side of him astream of golden coins came running through the broken ends of thehollowed beam. What a sight for a lazy, self-indulgent man! Ramonthought no more of hanging now. He untied the knot, gathered up thegold, and secured it in chests and hiding-places, and came down toenjoy himself once more in his old idle way.
He trod on a dry leaf of the old vine, as he passed through the garden,and it whispered,--
"What a chance for you, Ramon! Buy yourself a patch of land, and setto work like a man, and show Carmen you are worthy of her."
"Work! while I have gold enough to last for ever? Not I, indeed!"
"It won't last for ever, Ramon," rustled out another falling leaf.
But Ramon heeded not. Some of his treasure he spent rationally enough,I must say, in having the old cottage repaired, and the old vinetended; but the bulk he squandered in excesses, and in a few yearswas as badly off as ever.
Want once more stared him in the face, and once more he resolved toput an end to his existence.
"You are not fit to die!" said the patriarchal vine; but Ramon hastenedaway, he had not the courage to encounter the dreadful thought.
He snatched up a rusty, disused spade--he was out of conceit withhanging. This time he would dig a deep hole in the ground, and thrusthimself in head foremost, and stifle himself that way.
Digging was hard work for arms so unused to labour, but he had neverthought to find it so hard as it proved. He had not taken out a dozenspadefuls when the spade seemed to refuse to enter the ground anymore. Had his arms grown so stiff they could not move? Or was theearth so hard he could not break it?
The evening breeze rustled by, bearing with it some leaves of theold vine; and as they passed they whispered,--
"You can't die when you will, Ramon! Only be content to work as hard asnow in a good cause, and you won't want to die till your time comes."
Provoked into energy by what he considered a taunt, instead of beingsoftened by the fatherly counsel, he made one more desperate thrustof the spade into the hole. Instead of entering deeper, its rustypan broke short off, but with a sound which showed him it had struckagainst something made of metal; and putting his hand down to theplace whence the sound came, he distinctly made out the shape of acopper vessel.
Here was a discovery which gave him a presentiment of another chanceof good fortune. Partly with the broken spade and partly with hisown hands, he succeeded in tearing up the soil around, and bringingto light a large jar heavy enough to be full of gold; and so it proved.
Thus provided with means, Ramon once more commenced a new lease ofhis dissipated life.
"Take my advice," said the old vine, "and put your treasure insomething that will last, this time."
This was too much trouble for Ramon. He went on in his old recklessway, spending and taking no heed.
But during all the years of neglect, the brambles had overgrown hisground; and his uncultivated place afforded a cover for idlers andvagabonds. So it happened that when he was making one of his nightlyvisits to his treasure he was overlooked, and, as you may readilyimagine, by the next occasion the treasure was gone.
His rage at this discovery was unbounded: he resolved now once forall to have done with life, and let nothing interfere to prevent him.
As he lay in bed that night, he contrived a plan to prevent allpossibility of escape, and with the first rays of the morning sun hesallied out fully equipped.
He bore a rope and a blunderbuss, and he bent his steps to a crag whichoverhung the sea, where he had marked a tree whose branches spread overthe briny waves. Tying his cord to a branch, he held his blunderbussready to blow out his brains if the noose was too slack, while, if therope should break, he would at least have a good chance of drowning.
Off he leapt with the rope round his neck; but the noose did not drawitself tight. Faithful to his plan, he pulled the rusty trigger, but,like every thing else belonging to Ramon, the gun was out of order,and didn't go off; but as he hung struggling in the air the oldwell-rope broke, and down he fell splashing into the sea. There wasno easy drowning for him, however; the water was not so deep as hehad imagined, and he was left floundering in the waves, and bruisedabout among the sunken rocks.
Ramon had no fortitude; at each bump he could not restrain anexclamation of pain, and the distressful cries attracted the attentionof no less a person than Carmen, who was gathering esparto grass [33]on the wild coast at no great distance.
All her former womanly compassion returned when she saw her poorRamon in suffering and distress. Without an instant's hesitation,she caught up a hank of strong esparto rope, which she used to tieup her bundles, and hurried to the water's edge. Making one end ofit fast to a rock, with the vigorous exertion of an arm strengthenedby labour and directed by intelligence and affection, she contrivedto throw the other end within reach of his grasp.
Ramon, wh
o by this time had been long enough within sight of theterrors of death to feel his wish to encounter it considerablycooled, no sooner saw who was steadying the line, than he felt allthe love of life which is implanted in the heart of man revive withits full vigour.
He caught the rope and twisted it round his arm, and with its aidbreasted the breakers. By the time he reached the shore, however,the exhaustion consequent on so much excitement and exertion overcamehim so completely, that every remaining spark of ill-will in Carmen'sbosom was extinguished, and her only thought was how to restore himto strength.
Her exertions were blessed with success, and his weakness found scopefor all her womanly sympathies, while her tender care roused allthe better qualities of his nature into action. Her smile mingledwith the visions of his feeble state, and warmed all his prospectsof the future.
When he dreamt of the dreary old house and its haunting associationswith the guilty past, he fancied he saw the sunny halo of her presencedispelling all its gloomy phantasms, and her playful innocencesilencing even the convicting warnings of the stern old vine. Sharedwith her, even labour seemed to lose its repugnance.
As soon as he was well enough, he opened to her his resolutions full ofrepentance, which, with a woman's instinct, she was forward to foster.
You will be pleased to hear that after all these lessons, crownedby Carmen's winning confidence in his promised amendment, Ramon sethimself seriously to follow a new line of conduct. Carmen showed herfaith in his penitence by marrying him, and he took honest care thatshe should never repent her generosity.
The old cottage once more looked homely and inviting; and in thesummer evening, when Ramon and Carmen sat resting beneath the shadow ofthe old vine, now sturdy and fruitful under the culture it received,and watching the gambols of a troop of chiquillos [34] whom God hadgiven them, the leaves, as they fell rustling about them, whisperedplayfully in Ramon's ear, "You don't want to die now?" And Ramon inrevenge plucked a bunch of ruddy grapes, and distributed it amongthe happy party.