an extraordinary event.
the ship was, as i have said, buried in the waters, and within her were the dead bodies sepulchred, as it seemed without a hope, and destitute of aid. but pitying heaven, which sometimes helps the unfortunate, when at the last extremity, so ordered it, that the vessel was cast ashore by the waves in an open bay, which seemed as if it served as a safe harbour, from its tranquillity. not far off was a port capable of containing many vessels, and in these waters, as in a clear mirror, might be seen reflected the buildings of a large and populous city, which reared its head on the summit of a lofty hill.
the people in the city saw the wreck, and thought that it was a whale or some other large fish that had been encountered by the tempest. a good number sallied forth to see, and ascertaining it to be a ship, the news reached the ears of the king polycarp, for he was the lord of this city; and accompanied by many persons, amongst whom were his two beautiful daughters, polycarpa and sinforosa, he went out to give orders that with capstanes, windlass, and with boats to row round the ship, she should be brought into port. several men jumped upon the wreck, and told the king that they could plainly hear a sound of knocking within, and they almost fancied of human voices. an old knight, who was standing near the king, said, "i remember, sire, having once seen in the mediterranean sea, in the gulf of genoa, a spanish galley, that in shortening sail had upset like this vessel before us, and remained bottom upwards. before they turned her over, having first heard a noise, as they say they hear in this, they sawed an opening in the hull, so that they might look into the inside; and upon the light being admitted, they discovered the captain of the vessel and four of his crew all alive therein. i saw this, myself, and the details of the story are given in many spanish histories. the persons who were thus brought into the world a second time, from the womb of the vessel, are yet living, and if here the same thing should happen, it need not be esteemed a miracle, but a mystery, for miracles are events that occur out of the order of nature, and mysteries are things that seem to be miracles, but yet are not so, only of very rare occurrence."
"what then do we wait for?" said the king. "let us open this vessel instantly, and see the mystery, but if this should disgorge anything living, a miracle i shall consider it to be." great was the haste they made to open the hull, and great the anxiety of all present to see the bringing forth. at last a pretty wide opening was made,—many bodies, seemingly dead, lay within; but one man laid his hands on the body of a woman whose heart still beat, and showed symptoms of life; others did the same, and each man brought out a body, some dead, some living. all the fishermen were not equally lucky. those who yet breathed when brought into the air and light, and their faces washed and restoratives given, began to move their limbs and gaze around them, as if awakened from a deep sleep. auristella found herself in the arms of arnoldo, transila in those of clodio; ricla and constance were carried out by rutilio and the elder antonio. as for antonio, the son, nobody carried him, for he walked out by himself, and maurice did the like. arnoldo was more full of surprise and wonder than even the newly-restored ones, and almost as senseless as the dead corpses. auristella looked at him, but without recognition. the first words she uttered were, (and she it was who first broke the universal silence,) "is the beautiful sinforosa here by chance among these persons, o my brother?"
"great heavens! what is this i hear?" said arnoldo to himself; "what means this strange inquiry after sinforosa, at a moment when she ought only to be thinking of returning thanks to heaven for her wonderful preservation?" nevertheless he answered that she was there present, and asked how she knew anything about her, for of course he was ignorant of all that auristella had learned from the captain of the vessel touching periander and his success at the games; and he could not divine the reason of auristella inquiring for sinforosa. had he divined it, such is the force of jealousy, that it would have pierced into the inmost recesses of his enamoured heart like a knife, and would almost have separated soul and body.
as soon as the resuscitated ones had a little recovered from their terror, and those around from their astonishment, they began confusedly asking questions one of another; how those they found on land had come there; and they in their turn, how these had been in the wrecked vessel. polycarp, seeing that she had filled with water through the aperture which had been made, now commanded that she should be towed into the harbour, and drawn ashore by means of machinery, which was speedily done. all the people who had been in the hull now came ashore, and were received by the king and his daughters, and all the principal citizens, with as much joy as admiration; but what chiefly excited this, especially in sinforosa, was the incomparable loveliness of auristella. transila, too, was very much admired; and the odd, but becoming dress, the youth and grace of the fair barbarian, constance, (not to mention the comeliness of her mother, ricla,) did not pass unnoticed.
the city being near, without more ado they all went thither on foot.
periander had, during this time, found an opportunity of speaking to auristella, ladislaus to transila, and antonio to his wife and children; all were relating their adventures to one another; only auristella was silent, occupied entirely in looking at sinforosa. but at length she said to periander, "is that very beautiful lady, who is walking yonder, by chance the king's daughter; and is her name sinforosa?"
"she is," answered periander, "one in whom beauty and courtesy unite."
"very courteous she ought to be," replied auristella, "for she is very beautiful."
"even if she were not so much so," he rejoined, "the obligations i owe to her, my sweet sister, would make her seem fair in my eyes."
"if you go by obligations, and if they help to enhance beauty, mine must then seem the greatest on earth to you, according to those you owe me."
"we cannot," said periander, "compare things divine with things human. praise and hyperbole, however excessive, has each its limit. when one says a woman is more beautiful than an angel, it is a kind of exaggeration by courtesy; in thy case alone, o sweetest sister mine, rules fail, and truth only gathers strength from speaking of thy beauty."
"if my sufferings and my miseries have not injured mine, o my brother, i might perhaps believe that the praises you bestow upon it are true; but i put my hope in a compassionate heaven, that my sorrows may at last be one day turned into joy, and my troubles into prosperity. meanwhile, i implore you, never to let what you owe to me be erased from your memory by any other charms or obligations whatsoever; but that mine may satisfy your heart, and fill the vacuum there, if you find that the beauty of my mind and person, such as it is, offers a compound of charms that can satisfy your wishes."
periander was confounded to hear auristella speak thus. he saw that she was jealous, a new thing in her; since in all his experience of her character, he had never known her before to depart from the bounds of politeness: never before had her lips opened to express any but the purest and most modest thoughts. never had she uttered a word, that might not have been spoken to a brother, in public as well as in private.
arnoldo, on his side, was discontented and jealous of periander. ladislaus was rejoiced to have again his betrothed transila; maurice was satisfied with his daughter and son-in-law; antonio happy to be restored to his wife and children; rutilio, with the reunion of the whole party; and the gossip-loving clodio with the fair opportunity that offered itself of having a fine and marvellous story to tell, wherever he went, of such remarkable events as these.
they reached the city, and the generous polycarp treated his new guests royally, and lodged them all in his palace; honouring most arnoldo, whom he now knew to be the heir of denmark, who had left his country for love of auristella; and as soon as he had looked upon her lovely face, he confessed that he found there full and sufficient excuse for him.
polycarpa and sinforosa assigned to auristella a lodging in their own apartments; sinforosa could never take her eyes off from looking at her, thanking heaven that she was the sister, and not the beloved, of periander; and adoring her, both on account of her excessive beauty and of her relationship to him. she could not bear her to be out of her sight a single instant; she watched closely her every action, attended to every word she spoke, admired her graceful motions, and took delight even in the very tones of her voice.
in the same manner, and as closely did auristella watch and observe sinforosa, but with very different feelings. auristella's observations were excited by her jealousy, sinforosa's by simple benevolence and love.
they remained in the city many days, reposing after all their sufferings; and arnoldo was now beginning to plan a return to denmark, or wherever auristella and periander might approve, showing as he had always done, that he had no will but theirs.
clodio, always idle and inquisitive, had watched arnoldo closely, and saw how much he had at heart the love of auristella. one day, being alone with him, he said, "i, who have always been accustomed to find fault with princes publicly, without preserving the respect due to their high rank, would now fain, in private, speak my mind freely to you. what i ask of you is, that you will hear patiently the advice i am about to give, and let my motive plead my excuse, if it is unpleasing to you." arnoldo was puzzled, not knowing what clodio was going to say; however, he determined to hear him, and so told him he might say freely what he pleased; and clodio, satisfied with this safe conduct, proceeded thus:—"my lord, you love auristella. i may say more, you adore her; and, as i understand, you know no more of her history, nor who she is, than what she has been pleased to tell you; and that is—nothing! you have kept her in your power more than two years, during which, i have heard, you took all the pains possible to conquer her severity, and gain her heart, wishing to make her yours by lawful marriage, and yet that she is as cold and immoveable now, as she was the first day you spoke to her; whence i argue, that she is as deficient in understanding, as you are superabundant in patience; and it is worthy of consideration, whether there may not exist some great mystery, causing a woman thus to refuse a kingdom, and reject a prince so worthy of being loved. likewise, it is mysterious to see a wandering damsel, her rank unknown, accompanied only by a youth, who though he calls himself her brother, may yet not be so, going about from one country to another, from island to island, exposed to the inclemency of the weather, and to the rude treatment and dangers of the land, as well as of the ocean. honour is dearer than life itself. a wise man should permit reason to moderate his pleasures, and ought not to give way to his own desires." clodio was here about to enter upon a philosophical and serious tirade, when periander came in, and interrupted his oration, greatly to his annoyance, and also to that of arnoldo, who wished to hear him out. maurice, ladislaus, and transila also came in, and with them auristella, supported by sinforosa, so ill, that it was necessary to convey her to her bed; her illness causing such agonies of alarm in the bosoms of periander and arnoldo, that they stood nearly as much in need of a physician as auristella.
