The Visions of Quevedo Part 2

"Yes," answered the necromancer.

"Close the vessel again," said Death.

When all the by-standers had been heard, they were required to put their names upon a great book; and while they were writing, I saw the bottle move towards me. The necromancer within immediately commenced a conversation with me; inquiring, "who reigns in Spain? Does Venice yet exist? What is the news in France? Are the Calvinists constantly triumphant?"

I answered him, "Philip IV. reigns in Spain; Venice is still beautiful, rich, and powerful: the Calvinists and their king are always invincible."

He then besought me to break the bottle. As I hesitated, not being without certain qualms of fear, it swelled, and burst of itself. I then saw what it had contained expand into a human form, and rising up, resumed the discourse in this manner:-

"As it is impossible for me to return again into the world, place us henceforth among the dead magicians."

In the place of the bottle, there appeared an old man with a great head and a long beard: he was of a grave mein, and held a globe in his hand.

"I am," said he, "Nestradamus, that great French astrologer, who predicted, during my life, every thing that has since happened."

"How," said I, "are you he that composed those famous centuries, which, after death, were found in your tomb? Resolve me, I pray you, one of your prophecies now in my mind:-

"'The sign of Aries shall the world command; Taurus shall rule the waves and solid land; Mother and sire the virgin shall deceive, The mother's b.r.e.a.s.t.s the tender twins shall leave.'"

"That," said the astrologer, "is as clear as the light of day; and signifies, that married men shall frequently resemble rams: the love of woman, represented by the bull, shall mingle itself with affairs of every kind; the daughter divert herself spite of the advice of her father, and the sons laugh at maternal expostulation."

"And this, what is its signification?" demanded I:-

"'Mothers soon shall children bear, Who to name no sire shall dare; None of all the babes they bear, E'er shall lack a father's care.'"

"That is equally easy of explanation. I wish to convey the idea, that many children shall call those fathers, who are not so; and shall have fathers whom they will never discover."

He would have departed, after explaining these two prophecies; but I stopped him, entreating him only to tell me the meaning of this last:-

"'Before another year is born, Many a goose quill shall be worn; Many a quill the ether bear, Many a man shall dance in air; Men shall sorely rue the attack, Of grey goose quill and Doctor Quack; Merchants be in bankrupt plight, n.o.bles turn to blackguards quite; Province, city, town, and village, Soon shall soldiers sack and pillage; Lads and la.s.ses soon shall try, What darkness hides from every eye; No more shall widows' weeds endure; The cloister virgins shall immure.'"

"That signifies," said Nostradamus, who was in haste to depart, "that one half of the world shall pillage the other; the people of justice shall rob by their pen; false witnesses will support themselves by hanging upon their skirts; the physicians will kill with physic, and be well paid for it; the merchants thrive by bankruptcy; n.o.bles shall be ruined by their stewards; the soldiers will lay all under contribution; children shall rob one another; widows contract new nuptials, and to enjoy the portions of their daughters, make nuns of them. Let go!"-and he hastily left me.

I then perceived before me a good old man, of a very sad aspect, who demanded if I was dead?

"No," answered I; "living, and at your service."

"Good!" said he; "I expect a favour of you. You must know, I am called _They_. I also bear the appellation of _Somebody_, of _Another_, of a _certain Personage_, of _Author_, and of _I know who_. While I lived in the world, I was accused of having said and done every thing which could not be traced: if a false report was circulated, it was _they_ who had broached it: if any one was found a.s.sa.s.sinated in the high way, it was _they_ who had killed him: if there was a man with a bad face, this was _somebody_: if it was imprudent to name a person in an affair, they called him _a certain person_: if a writer advanced bold things, this was an _author_, who had spoken on the first impression: and, finally, when the author was entirely concealed, it was _I know who_, that had said or acted thus and so. All this time I neither said nor did any thing; I appeared no where; I knew not what pa.s.sed, and kept house both day and night; the chagrin of seeing myself in so bad repute, fairly put an end to my existence. I demand, therefore, of you, to vindicate me to your friends, and those persons over whom you have any influence, that they may not in future charge me with any thing; for, since I am dead, I can of course have nothing more to do with the world."

I promised the old gentleman I would remember what he desired, and he retired contented. At this moment a young woman coming up to me, fell upon my neck, exclaiming,

"My dear aeneas, have you at length arrived! I have for a long time wished to see you. Virgil hath spoken very illy of you: he has published a history of our loves, which we knew nothing of: I have sought you among all the dead, without being able to find you; but I know, from your air, that you are aeneas; for, as you have been the greatest and most ill.u.s.trious of heroes, so here you surpa.s.s all the dead in demeanour and beauty."

As the surprise I felt at this unmerited compliment prevented answer, she continued to speak, and embraced me so vehemently, that I was compelled to cry out.

"Peace, there!" commanded the officer of the chamber, who was called _Silence_.

I still continued to bawl out; and said to Madame Dido, "O Queen of Carthage! will you not be undeceived? I am Don Francisco de Quevedo de Villegas, Chevalier of the order of Saint James!"

"Behold!" replied the queen, "behold this drunkard, who, being a Trojan, would fain pa.s.s himself off for a Spaniard! Go, pious aeneas; Virgil hath done thee no great wrong in describing thee as thou art. Where is thy Palladium? thy nurse? thy son Ascanias? where are thy companions? why are you here without attendants?"

"Be not disquieted," said I: "address yourself to Charon; he would know you as well as aeneas, who abandoned you in Africa; that was a meet punishment for your prudery: but you have not yet been able to forget a man, who surrendered his native city to the Greeks, and fled from his ruined country. You are a victim of love!"

"And you," said she, retiring, "are very credulous!"

The officer again commanded silence, and before I had time to add any thing more, I saw approaching a dead person of great size, with horns upon his head, and who ran towards me as though he was going to strike with them. I stretched out my arms to defend myself, and perceiving near me a large fork, that supported the tapestry, I took it in my hand, and firmly awaited his onset.

"Do you recognize," said he, "Don Diego Moreno, whom you have called in your poems Signor Cornuto?"

"Yes," replied I; "and to convince you, that I neither fear you, living nor dead, take in advance a blow with this fork;" and at that endeavoured to run him through, but his bones were too hard. Moreno then gave me a blow with his head, and casting himself upon me, threw me down: I stuck to his sides, inserting my fingers into the openings beneath the sternum, and as he arose, came up with him. This noise causing considerable confusion in the a.s.sembly, I saw coming upon me, a great number of the dead, armed in the same manner with Moreno; and as they pressed upon one another, each anxious to pa.s.s his neighbour, their bones made a very curious clicking. In the mean time, others marshalled themselves in front, to protect me from their a.s.sault.

During these transactions, Death sat upon her throne in silence, attentive only to the inscription of her subjects names; and as the secretaries happened to finish at a moment when there was a slight cessation in our tumult, the officer cried-

"Peace-listen!"

I seized this occasion to demand justice of the queen.

"I supplicate your sovereign majesty," said I, "to do me justice on Diego Moreno, who has insulted me in this palace; striking me with his horns, knocking me down, and exciting against me the whole host of cuckolds."

"What defence do you make to this accusation, Moreno?" asked the queen.

"Mighty and wan princess," replied he, "behold the man who caused me to pa.s.s in the world as a Vulcan, or a faun: I have always lived pleasantly with my wife, never objecting to the French method, of receiving at her house priests, soldiers, lawyers, politicians, merchants, and strangers of every country. As the house had a great deal of good company, where nothing was wanting, although my wife was no expense to me, I found it very convenient; and because I profited by the follies of others, because I made that a part of my revenue, because I took advantage of my wife's friends, to ama.s.s an estate for my children, the chevalier Quevedo derided me, rendering me ridiculous by his poems, and representing me as the prince of accommodating husbands; he called me a ram, and made me one of the signs of the zodiac: not content with that, he even comes. .h.i.ther, and strikes me with a fork. I demand that he should be retained here, and that he be put in a situation during his slumbers, that will effectually prevent his waking."

"Which of the two began the affray?" said Death.

"It was I," answered Moreno.

"_We ordain_ then, that the name and memory of Moreno shall never be forgotten in Spain; that his grave shall be opened, and his compatriots, if any yet exist, shall make a pilgrimage, to render homage to his ashes."

After that, they called over the names of the dead; and as they were called, they answered _adsum_, "I am here." Hearing my own name p.r.o.nounced, which was also that of my uncle and G.o.d-father, I answered, as the others, _adsum_; at which mistake Moreno taking advantage to laugh at me, I hit him a heavy blow with my fist upon his head; but I hurt myself more than him, for I almost broke my fingers. Moreno cast himself upon me; I stood firm, and thus we were again engaged in a new combat.

They endeavoured to separate us, but I had entangled my hands in such a manner, in the bones of his arms, that I could not withdraw them; and as they pulled me on one side, and him on the other, it gave me such exquisite pain, that I awoke, happy and thankful to find myself in my bed. I reviewed in my mind all I had seen and heard, and which is here reported.

This vision made such a forcible impression upon my imagination, that I yet seem to behold the palace of death, the audience of the dead, and Moreno pouncing upon me: finally, I made many reflections upon what I had seen. It is but too true, that all mankind must die; that we are surrounded with constant peril; that there is but one thing that can insure a tranquil death, and that is, a blameless life. But to live well, one must often think of death. I believe the dream I have just rehea.r.s.ed, was inspired by heaven; for otherwise I should hardly have thought upon my latter end, not even when my life was peculiarly exposed amidst wars and battle. At present, I reflect without ceasing; I have totally abandoned trifling and poetry, which are synonymous; and, thanks to G.o.d, have more satisfaction in reading books of devotion, than romances and histories.

THIRD NIGHT.

THE LAST JUDGMENT.

I have read in Homer, that dreams come from Jupiter; and that this cannot be doubted, especially when they regard things of importance. I verily believe those of kings and princes proceed from on high: but I will subst.i.tute the true G.o.d in place of Jupiter, who is but a fabulous divinity. The vision I had last year, could not have been derived from any other than a heavenly source. Behold the events that pa.s.sed: I was reading the book of the blessed Hypolitus, which treats of the end of the world, and of the coming of G.o.d, to judge the quick and the dead, the just and the unjust. I fell asleep over this book, sitting in a large easy chair. All at once, I thought I saw a n.o.ble young man, of extraordinary beauty, flying through the air, having at his mouth a trumpet, that sounded far and wide. When he had made five or six great circuits, I perceived soldiers starting from their graves, full of courageous animation, thinking they heard the signal of battle. Upon the other hand, the misers started up, in terror, lest thieves had come to rob. The courtiers imagined that they enjoyed the agitations of the ring, or of a carousal. No one had the least idea that it announced the last judgment. I was strongly tempted to laugh at seeing the maimed, the one-eyed, the blind, seeking the one their arms or legs, and the other their eyes. I was equally amused, to perceive the clerks unwilling to resume their heads, the slanderers their tongues, and the old women their throats.

After all these had come forth, and arrived in an immense and smooth valley, very proper for so grand a spectacle, I saw appear people of every art and trade; likewise the men of letters, among whose ranks there appeared a very considerable embarra.s.sment. Each community placed itself separately; each religion had also its sectaries apart: such as Christians, Jews, Mahometans, Pagans, Heretics, and Schismatics. All the people being cla.s.sed and placed, a judge presented himself, accompanied by twelve counsellors, who seated themselves near his throne; beneath them were the prophets, in the capacity of advocates. Immediately a loud flourish of trumpets was heard, as if an army of cavalry approached, and legions of s.h.i.+ning angels appeared, who poised themselves with their wings, above those men to whom they had been guardians. That done, the archangel Michael, came and placed himself at the foot of the throne, upon which the judge was seated, having in his hand a naked sword, and beneath his feet a prostrate devil, as he is represented in churches, and called the auditors each by his name.

Adam answered first; he was accused by his demon, with having eaten an apple, contrary to the commands of his G.o.d; with having neglected the gifts he had received at his creation; with having cast the blame upon his wife; with having had a bad son, and of other faults which I do not distinctly remember. But I very well recollect, that these reproaches produced such confusion in him, that he could answer nothing: his good angel answered for him; he confessed the matters of which his party was accused; he set forth the excess and duration of his penitence; the agonies he had suffered from the decree that involved his posterity, the goods which G.o.d had seen born of his sin; in fine, he pleaded with such ability, that his client was acquitted.

When they called Judas, Herod, and Pilate, their crimes were so glaring, that they could neither defend themselves, nor would any angel speak in their favour; and they were accordingly condemned. After them, were examined the most noted heretics, and neither could they obtain pardon.