what passed between auristella and sinforosa. all the strangers resolve to quit the island.
king polycarp greatly enlivened by his amorous intentions, and quite confident and secure as to what auristella's decision would be, set himself already to plan the festivals and rejoicings, which should celebrate the approaching wedding; in all which he never paused to consider the great disparity between his age and the intended bride's—the enormous distance of seventeen years and seventy; and even had he been sixty, the difference would still have been too great. thus are even the wisest of men led away by the follies that love leads them into. thus, are they who have not power to resist their amorous inclinations, subdued and carried away by the soft influence of the tender passion. quite different was the case of sinforosa, who felt no ways certain of what her fate would be; for, as is most natural, they who hope much, fear much; and those things which might have given weight to her hopes, such as her beauty, rank and station, and great merits, she considered as nothing, for it is a peculiar property of true love to make its votaries fearful that they are not worthy of the beloved object. love and fear are so coupled together, that one is always to be found with the other; and true love is not arrogant, as some say, but humble, timid and retiring; and the more precious and inestimable is the thing beloved, the more does the lover tremble, lest by some fault of his own he should lose it. the fair sinforosa considered all this quite differently from her father, and agitated between hope and fear, she went to seek auristella, and learn from her what she had to expect. when she found herself with auristella, and alone, as she desired to be, so anxious was she to know whether the tidings she had to impart were good or bad, that without uttering a single word, she fixed her eyes earnestly on her face, in order to discover there, the verdict of life or death. auristella understood her meaning, and half-smiling, as if in token of encouragement, she said, "although, lady, it does not seem that fear need put an axe to the root of your tree of hope, to cut it down; yet true it is that both your happiness and mine will have to be delayed some time, though it may at last come to pass; for there are certain impediments in the way of your desires, but not enough to make you despair of ever attaining them. my brother says, that such is your merit and beauty, they must perforce win the love of any man, and he is very sensible and grateful for the preference you honour him with, and for your wish to become his wife; but before this desirable event can be realized, it will be necessary to deprive the prince arnoldo of his hopes of obtaining me as his wife, and without doubt, this must be done if you should marry my brother; for you must know, my sister, that i can no more exist apart from periander than can a body exist without a soul. where he dwells, there must i too dwell; he is the spirit that animates me—and this being so, if he marries in this country, how could i live in arnoldo's land, and my brother absent?
"now, to escape this misfortune that threatens me, it is settled that we are to go with him to his kingdom, and from thence we shall ask leave to go to rome, for the performance of a vow, to fulfil which, brought us from our own country, and i well know by experience that he will refuse me nothing i desire. once at liberty, it will be easy to return to this island, and, by cheating his hopes, accomplish our own; i, marrying your father, and you, my brother."
to which sinforosa answered, "how shall i thank you sufficiently, sweet sister, for all you have said; and so i will leave it as it stands, for i know not how to express myself. but what i would now wish to say, you must take more as a warning than a counsel; you are at present in this country, where my father rules, and he both can and will defend you from the whole world; and i do not think it would be well to place your safety in doubt. would it not be very possible for arnoldo to carry both you and your brother off by force; and is it not indispensable, if you agree to my father's wishes, that he should retain you in his own kingdom and house? only give me the assurance that you willingly become my father's wife, and that your brother disdains not to be my lord and husband; and i will speedily smooth away all the difficulties that can possibly arise on arnoldo's part."
to which auristella answered, "prudent men look to the future as well as to the present and the past. to inculpate your father in any forcible act of detention, would awaken the wrath of prince arnoldo, and he is a powerful prince, at least as great as your father; and a deceived and disappointed monarch soon thinks of vengeance, and thus instead of your gaining comfort by allying yourselves with us, we should only bring you evil, involving your country in war: and if you tell me that this will happen the same afterwards, whether we remain now or return later, reflect that heaven never sends misfortunes without in time also offering a remedy. therefore i am of opinion that we go with arnoldo, and that you discreetly and prudently solicit our departure, and in so doing you will shorten our absence, and hasten our return; and here, if it be not so large a country as arnoldo's, we may at least hope to enjoy peace and quiet more securely—i, with your venerable and wise father, and you with my good and handsome brother, without dividing us."
sinforosa, on hearing her speak thus, quite beside herself with joy, flung her arms round auristella's neck, kissing her on the lips and eyes. at this instant, the two seeming barbarians, antonio and his son, with ricla and constance, entered the room; and immediately after, maurice, ladislaus and transila followed, all wishing to see and speak to auristella, and learn what had caused her illness. sinforosa took leave, more joyful and even more deceived than when she came. they who love, readily believe and catch at even the shadow of a promise of what they wish.
after exchanging with auristella the usual questions and answers that pass between invalids and their visitors, maurice said, "if even the very beggar, when banished from his native land, where he leaves nothing but the soil whereon he trod, feels regret, what must they suffer who have left behind all that fortune could promise? i say this, lady, because i am old and rapidly approaching my latter end, which makes me wish earnestly to return home to my own country, where i have friends and kindred who will close my eyes, and pay the last honours to my remains. to attain this desirable end concerns us all equally, for we are all foreigners and exiles, and all of us, i imagine, find a charm in our own country we do not meet with in any other. if you, lady, will solicit the king to assist our departure, or at least agree that we shall try to effect it, it will be well; we cannot bear to think of leaving you, for such is the power of your rare beauty and great prudence that we consider you as the loadstone attracting us all."
"at least," said the elder antonio, "i can answer for myself, for my wife and children, that we would rather lose our lives than the company of the lady, if she does not disdain ours."
"i thank you, gentlemen," replied auristella, "for the obliging things you are pleased to say; and although i can not respond to them as i ought, yet i will try all that i can to carry your wishes into effect, both with the prince arnoldo and my brother, if my health, which is already improving, does not prevent me. till then the happy day of our departure arrives, cheer up your hearts, do not give way to melancholy, nor trouble yourself with the thought of sorrow to come, for since heaven has carried us through such great dangers, let us trust it will restore us to our beloved homes without encountering more, for those evils that are not sufficient to destroy life, ought not to destroy our patience." they all admired auristella's answer, which showed her admirable wisdom and the piety of her soul, but at this moment, entered king polycarp in high good humour, having learnt from his daughter the flattering result of her communications; with him came arnoldo and periander. the king felicitated auristella on her amended health, and informed her that in token of the joy all felt at this happy news, there were to be illuminations in the city, and festivities and rejoicings for a week together.
periander acknowledged the compliment as a brother should, and arnoldo as a lover and intended husband. polycarp laughed in his sleeve as he thought how finely he had deceived prince arnoldo, who, charmed with auristella's amendment, and little dreaming of the designs of the king, only sought how he could effect soonest a means of departure from the city, since the longer this departure was delayed the longer was delayed the accomplishment of his hopes. maurice, hoping to return to his native country, had recourse to his science, and there learnt that great difficulties would impede the departure. he consulted with periander and arnoldo, who were both made acquainted with the wishes and intentions of the king and princess, which gave them much anxiety, knowing how many difficulties must arise from this mighty passion having got hold of such great personages, since they well knew that in these cases all sense of justice and generosity yields to the one overpowering feeling, and that neither promises nor words are to be trusted. the three then agreed that maurice should hire a vessel from among the number now in the harbour, to convey them secretly to england, and that they should not appear to suspect the intentions of polycarp. all this was communicated to auristella, who approved of it, and was anxious to regain her health for her own and all their sakes.
