The Prime Minister Part 9

"Do not fear, my friend," answered the Friar coolly; "'Tis but a slight lesson I gave to Senhor Joze here, to speak more respectfully to one of my cloth in future. Come, man, I can cure as well as kill;" saying which, he bound up the arm of the wounded man, who, like a cowed hound, submitted without another word.

"Bravo, Frade, bravo! you are a fine fellow, and shall have all you wish," cried the rest of the respectable a.s.semblage.

"Well then, my friends," said the Friar, "to convince you that if I am a jackal, I am a lion also, I will lead you in person to this adventure; but then remember I must have the lion's share also."

"Agreed! agreed!" exclaimed the party. "With so holy a guide we must be successful."

"The plan is then arranged, senh.o.r.es," said the Landlord; "and now to bed. Remember you must rise betimes to be in readiness for the work, as it will not do to be observed quitting my respectable house on such an errand after the sun is up."

The party now broke up, some stealing off to make their couches in the stable, others in different corners of the room; while the landlord, dismissing his daughter and the rest of his household to their places of repose, drew a seat near the fire, where he and the friar remained for some time in earnest conversation. The latter then rolling himself up in his gown, and pulling his cowl over his head, fell fast asleep on the bench, the host retiring to an upper room which he inhabited.

We have, as yet, described only the lower part of the house; but it possessed also an upper story intended for the accommodation of any guests of higher rank who might honour it with their presence. The greater part was occupied by one large chamber, surrounded by small recesses, in which were placed beds of most execrable hardness, invented, one might suppose, to counteract any tendency to effeminacy which the climate might have caused. As if in mockery, over the beds were thrown gaily worked cover lids, beneath which, alas! by the uninitiated traveller, neither peace nor quiet was to be found, as swarms of fierce inhabitants of two rival races were ever ready, like the Lilliputians on that renowned voyager Captain Lemuel Gulliver, to avenge on the body of the intruder any inroad made on their territory.

Curtains were hung across some of the recesses intended for the guests of most consideration, and a rough table and benches were placed down the room, the windows, as we have before said, being dest.i.tute of gla.s.s, and the walls of aught but the rough mortar. Such were the only accommodations afforded even to the highest ranks; but the inns received little patronage from any, for, in the first place, no one moved about more than was absolutely necessary, and, when they were obliged to make a journey, the house of any gentleman on the road was always hospitably open to them, as is the case at the present day.

The cold grey light of the early morn had just broken upon the world, when a party of hors.e.m.e.n sallied out of the inn, mounted on most sorry-looking animals, the small horses, or rather ponies of the country, but whose nimble and surefooted paces belied the estimation one formed of their qualities at the first glance. The men wore their large broad cloaks, one side of which being thrown over the shoulder, and almost over the head, completely concealed their features, while the rest hung down, covering their own bodies, and a great part of those of their horses.

The robes of the friar were not perceived among them; but there was a most suspicious-looking figure who took the lead, with a broad slouched hat on his head, fastened tightly down with a handkerchief under his chin, and from beneath it appeared a rim of closely-cut red hair, and a ruddy face with a pair of twinkling eyes, the rest of the form, which was evidently of no slender mould, being enveloped, like the others, in a broad cloak. Their ponies carried them at a pace between a canter and a quick shamble over the heath we have described, in the direction of Lisbon, towards the long line of dark forest which was seen in the far distance from the higher ground on which the inn stood.

The master of the inn remained at the door, watching them till they could be no longer distinguished from the shrubs and clumps of heath which sprinkled the ground. "May the devil prosper them!" he exclaimed, "for were it not for such gentry, my very good friends, I might e'en shut up my house and go begging or robbing like them." Having thus given vent to his thoughts, he retired within to say his prayers, and to calculate the probable amount of his share in the profits of the expedition.

Volume 1, Chapter VIII.

The glowing sun of that lovely clime was already high in the heavens, in which not a cloud or vapour was to be seen; the air came soft and pure over the heath, laden with balsamic odours; and a blue, sparkling, transparent haze played over the ground, giving the promise of a scorching day. The notable daughter of the landlord stood at the door of the inn, her fingers busily employed in spinning from the distaff stuck in her waist, while she sang, at the top of her voice, an air, which, at the end of each verse, fell into a low cadence, and amused herself, by looking along the road in each direction, for the approach of travellers. At length, a cloud of dust rising in the north, greeted her eyes; and as it gradually drew nearer, she heard the jingling of bells sound faintly through the air, the most pleasing music to the ears of a Portuguese innkeeper, when she perceived that it was caused by several litters, sumpter mules, and a party of hors.e.m.e.n. She hastened in to give the joyful intelligence to the rest of the family, who, with her father, quickly a.s.sembled at the door to welcome the travellers, whoever they might be; for, as there was no other inn for several leagues on either side of them, there could be no doubt that they would there stop to bait their animals, and refresh themselves.

The Landlord muttered to himself, with an oath--"They are very numerous, and, if they choose to fight, my friends will have the worst of it.-- Patience! I shall make my profits, at all events. Ah, honesty and a regular business is the best policy;" with this consoling reflection, he waited the arrival of the party.

An arriero, or muleteer, came running on in front, to announce that the ill.u.s.trious fidalgo, Goncalo Christovao, was approaching; and soon afterwards, a dignified and venerable gentleman, on a stout horse, rode up, accompanied by a grave-looking personage, in the dress of a Benedictine monk, and followed by two servants, who, throwing themselves from their mules, respectfully a.s.sisted him and his companion to dismount, when they stood ready to receive the first litter which arrived.

We have often, on entering a church or palace in Italy, been directed to some picture, kept closely veiled from the vulgar eye; and, as the curtain was drawn aside, have been delighted, by viewing the lovely portrait of a Madonna or Venus from the pencil of Rafaelle or t.i.tian; and far more, as the dignified cavalier drew aside the curtains of the litter, would the eyes of our readers have been enraptured, by the vision of bright and rare beauty which was disclosed; for surely, not even those great masters of the sublime art could, in their most blissful moments, have conceived or executed aught more perfect.

"Oh, Jesus Maria, how lovely!" exclaimed the laughing Rosa, paying an unaffected tribute of admiration to nature's choicest work; and clapping her hands with delight, as the Portuguese peasantry invariably do, when they behold anything that causes admiration or surprise, she ran forward to offer her services.

The lovely vision we have mentioned was, as the acute reader may have supposed, a young lady; and, as she descended from the litter, leaning on the gentleman's arm, her figure was perceived to be rather above the ordinary height of her countrywomen, but slender, and most gracefully formed; her face, as we have said, was beautiful, and very fair, with light brown ringlets escaping from under the blue hood of her travelling dress. In those days, the fas.h.i.+on of wearing bonnets had not been introduced even among the highest ranks; the hood or veil, thrown over the head, being considered sufficient protection; and certainly, a more elegant covering than the head-dresses worn in France or England at the same period. Indeed, an out-of-doors dress was scarcely required, as ladies seldom appeared abroad, except in their carriages or chairs: even in the present day, were they to take more exercise than they are in the habit of doing, their youthful promise of beauty would not be so sadly unrealised, as it too frequently is. As soon as the young lady had alighted, and had been ushered into the inn, the other litters drew up, from the first of which descended a respectable-looking old dame, with spectacles on nose, a parrot on a stand, two bird-cages, and a sleek, long-haired Angola cat. From the appearance of the old lady, she was the _Ama_, the nurse, or governess to the fair girl. A damsel followed her out of the litter, with sundry packages and baskets of eatables.

Two other waiting women got out of the third litter, short, dark, and black-eyed girls; while the fourth was empty, probably, for the accommodation of the master. Five or six baggage-mules, and two mounted men-servants, brought up the rear, besides a number of drivers belonging to the litters and mules, who kept up with the cavalcade on foot.

As his distinguished guests retired into the house, the landlord, bowing most obsequiously, ushered them (alas! through the stable and kitchen), up a sadly narrow and dirty flight of steps, to the room we have described before, where the servants spread a repast they had brought with them, the landlord being perfectly content with supplying the muleteers and their animals with food.

Rosa could scarcely keep her eyes from the young lady, as she bustled round her, offering to perform any service in her power; and when, at length, she had contrived to separate her from the rest of her party, looking down on the ground as she spoke, she whispered "Do not be afraid, senhora, whatever sort of people you may meet on the road, for I am sure they would not harm any one so lovely."

"What do you mean, my good girl?" asked the lady, in a sweet tone. "We are not likely to meet any one to harm us, for they say the roads are perfectly free from robbers."

"Oh no, senhora, Heaven deliver us from robbers; I do not speak of them," answered Rosa, in a hesitating manner, "but there are all sorts of odd people about, and I thought I would put you on your guard, that is all. I am sure they will not harm her," she uttered, as she turned away with a tear in her eye.

The young lady was not at all alarmed by the hints the good-natured girl threw out; indeed, she so little attended to them, that she forgot all about them a minute afterwards.

The travellers, after remaining nearly two hours at the inn, their horses and mules being refreshed, again proceeded on their way, the host redoubling the obsequiousness of his bows as they departed, and wis.h.i.+ng them, with much apparent earnestness, a successful journey. The track, for it did not deserve the name of a road, lay over the uncultivated moor we have before spoken of; the hollows and hillocks they were obliged to cross or to circ.u.mvent, much prolonging the distance, the utmost pace the litters could advance being scarce a league an hour; a great contrast to the present railroad speed of other countries. This slow progress was very fatiguing, increased by the fine dust, dried by the summer heats, which rose in thick clouds at every step the animals took; there was also scarce a breath of air, the fervent rays of the sun s.h.i.+ning with uninterrupted force on their heads.

Senhor Christovao and the grave friar rode on in front, out of hearing of the rest of the party; the latter evidently endeavouring to press some matter of importance on the consideration of the gentleman.

"Depend on it, senhor, the peaceful serenity of a monastic life is the most happy lot a female can enjoy in this vale of tears; there, free from the cares and disappointments which her sisters in adversity are doomed to suffer, she spends her days in prayers and thanksgivings, in anxious expectation of the arrival of her heavenly Bridegroom."

"Your arguments are very powerful, Senhor Padre," returned his companion; "but yet I feel some compunction in depriving my daughter, against her will, of the innocent pleasures which accord with her age and s.e.x."

"Such ideas are but the instigations of the evil one, jealous that an immortal soul should be lost to him for ever," answered the Priest.

"Trust not to any feelings which war against the spirit on the side of the flesh. No human mind can conceive the dark machinations which the father of sin employs to drag forth a chosen child from the bosom of our holy Church, except we, who in our avocations study his works, and are prepared to repel him with the arms of our faith."

"You doubtless speak words of truth and wisdom," said the gentleman; "nor would I hesitate to allow my daughter to follow the bent of her inclinations, did she feel any calling for the life of the cloister; but she knows not what is to be her fate, or the reason of our going to Lisbon, for I have never yet ventured to inform her of my intentions."

"Let that be my care," returned the Priest, frowning darkly. "I will prepare her gentle soul for the happy change. But have you never, then, informed her of her mother's dying wish, delivered to me after she had received extreme unction at my hands, that her daughter should be dedicated to the service of the Church?"

"I confess, Father, that I have hesitated to speak to her on the subject, fearful of throwing a gloom over the bright and elastic spirits of her youth," returned Senhor Christovao.

"Know you not, that the sooner the wings of a young bird are clipped, the less will it wish to fly; and therein have you done wrong; but clearly do I perceive the work of Satan again, in this seeking to ruin your soul, and that of your daughter. Ah! he is even now riding near you, plotting deeds of darkness. Get thee gone, thou spirit of evil!"

he exclaimed with vehemence, making the sign of the cross. "Avaunt thee, Sathanas! Fear him no longer, my son; he has flown off to the regions of iniquity, from whence he came."

"With you by my side, I fear not the evil spirit," answered the Fidalgo, though the expression of his countenance belied his words; "and I will take the earliest opportunity of putting your directions into execution, though I knew not that my wife had expressed a wish that her daughter should enter a convent. During her last illness, you informed me she often prayed that I would permit her child to a.s.sume the veil, rather than I should compel her to wed against her inclination. This I consented to do, trusting she would nor wish to rebel against my will in the choice of a husband: as yet, her heart is free, and I have arranged that she shall marry, though yet she knows not of it, the young Conde de San Vincente, one of the oldest Puritano families, and one of the most wealthy; so that he is in every way unexceptionable. He is also a great friend of my son, who is very anxious for the match; and he tells me that the count is longing to see his intended bride. I therefore trust I shall have no difficulty on the subject, and that Clara, who has always been a dutiful child, will make no objections."

"With all these arrangements I was perfectly acquainted," said the Priest, in a calm tone; "but suppose she objects to marry the young count, will you not then follow her mother's wishes? or, I may say more--for, know that your wife devoted her daughter to the Church, and the quiet of her soul depends on the fulfilment of her vows."

"Father, you press me hard," exclaimed the Fidalgo, in a tone of voice which showed that his feelings were galled; and his ghostly confessor saw that he might be going too far. "I seek to do what is best for the honour of my family, for my daughter's happiness, and for the repose of the soul of my departed wife; what more would you have me do?"

"It is enough," returned the Priest; "you promise, then, that if your daughter, Donna Clara, refuses to obey your wish that she should marry the Conde de San Vincente, she shall a.s.sume the veil, with the portion that you would bestow on her if she wedded; for, remember, if you do not, it is at the peril of your own soul, of her's, and of that of your departed wife."

"I promise so to do, holy Father, if thus her sainted mother vowed her to the Church," exclaimed the Fidalgo; "but I know that my sweet child will not for a moment dream of disobeying my wishes."

"I seek alone the good of her precious soul," returned the Priest; and for some time they rode on in silence.

During this discussion, the fair subject of it, little suspecting that her fate was being thus summarily settled, was thinking alone of the amus.e.m.e.nts she was to meet with in the capital, to which this was her first visit, her life having been spent in the quiet seclusion of her father's quinta, at a short distance from the city of Oporto, whose pointed walls could be seen from the windows of the mansion. All before her was unknown, and she had painted it bright and beautiful; for her soul was pure, and her mind contented and happy; nor had all the specious reasonings of the intriguing monk, who acted as her father confessor, been able to sully the one, or cast a gloom over the other; for G.o.d has benignantly afforded a sacred s.h.i.+eld to some of the fair beings of his creation, whose own weakness and loveliness would expose them to the attacks of the darkly designing and wicked, who, though they see not, yet feel its power, and wonder at their own defeat.

Senhor Goncalo Christovao was the head of one of the oldest and purest n.o.ble families of Portugal, their motto being, "Kings descend from us;"

not one of his ancestors having intermarried with any other family, unless they could show an equally pure escutcheon. Though of the highest cla.s.s of fidalgos, he disdained to accept any t.i.tle, which he saw often bestowed on men whom he looked down upon on account of their birth, priding himself far more on the antiquity of his own descent.

This system was, at that time, strictly adhered to by a certain number of families, claiming the high distinction of being called Puritanos, or those of pure race, they being the highest cla.s.s of fidalgos. The Fidalguia rank above the n.o.bres, and are entirely independent of all t.i.tles: they are divided into a great number of cla.s.ses, according to the quarterings on their s.h.i.+elds, each considering it a disgrace to marry out of their own pale.

The n.o.bres rank with the English esquire, being simply gentlemen who carry arms, though they often rise to rank and influence, from which, indeed, no cla.s.s of the present day are debarred; but, until the time of Pombal, the Fidalguia had exclusively retained among themselves every post of power and authority, wreaking their vengeance on any who ventured to interfere with what they considered their privileges.

This short digression is necessary to explain the position in society held by Goncalo Christovao, for so he delighted to be spoken of. After riding for some time in silence by the side of the priest, he guided his horse close to his daughter's litter, remorse and sorrow combating in his heart with the superst.i.tion and bigotry the friar had endeavoured to instil into it; but when he was about to speak on the subject he intended, his courage again failed him, and he smiled as he gazed on his lovely child, and inquired how she bore the fatigues of the journey.

Two weary hours pa.s.sed away in crossing the moor, before the party reached the borders of one of those large pine-forests, with which the face of Portugal is so thickly sprinkled. The trees grew so closely together that it was impossible to see far amongst them; and a high bank rose on one side of the pathway, which led through a deep dell, with a sparkling rivulet running at the bottom of it. It was a shady and cool spot; but after having just quitted the bright suns.h.i.+ne, a certain gloomy air appeared to hang over it, and for the first time the warning of the maid at the inn occurred to the mind of the fair Clara. "Oh! my father, what a dark forest this seems!" she exclaimed; "are not robbers sometimes met with in these places? I know not why, but I do not feel so happy as I did before, and cannot help wis.h.i.+ng you had more people to guard you."

"Fear not, my sweet child," answered the Fidalgo; "we muster too strong to dread an attack from any band of robbers we are likely to encounter; and if any should dare to molest us, they shall pay dearly for it."

The words were scarcely uttered, when several musket-shots were heard, as if discharged from among the trees; and one of the servants fell from his mule,--the blood streaming from a wound in his side; and the animal of one of the other men reared, and rolled over, with his rider, to the ground. Donna Clara trembling with agitation, gazed anxiously at her father, who, drawing his sword, looked around, fearful lest any other shots from the unseen a.s.sa.s.sins might injure his child.

Confusion and dismay took possession of all the individuals of the cavalcade; the women in the litters screamed loudly and long, and the men stood aghast, not knowing which way to turn to meet their treacherous foe.

"Lift your fellow from the ground, and push on in close order," cried Goncalo Christovao; "we must not remain here to be murdered. Look well to your arms, and miss not your aim, if any of the villains show themselves."

But, alas! the order was useless; for, before the party could advance many paces, another volley was discharged among them, bringing down one of the hindmost litters, containing the maid-servants, whose shrieks and cries of terror utterly confounded the men, who stood paralysed, without attempting to offer a.s.sistance; and, at the same instant, eight hors.e.m.e.n, with pistols in their hands, dashed from among the trees towards the fidalgo and the litter of Donna Clara.

"Do not attempt to fire!" exclaimed one who appeared to be the leader of the band, "or you will repent it. You are in our power, and we might, if we had chosen, have killed every one of you; but, provided you make no resistance, we do not wish to shed blood, and are sorry for having hurt the servant. Deliver your money and jewels quietly, and you shall pa.s.s on: if you refuse, we shall possess ourselves of them without ceremony."