periander relates the events of his voyage.
"if you desire, sirs, to know the preamble and beginning of my story, i would tell it thus: imagine me and my sister, with an old nurse of her's, on board a ship, the master of which, instead of being, as he seemed, a merchant, was a notorious pirate. we coasted the shores of an island, that is, we were so near it that we could clearly distinguish, not only the trees that grew on it, but the various kinds. my sister, who was tired of having been at sea many days, wished to land by way of refreshing herself. she asked the captain's permission, and as her requests are always held to be commands, he agreed that she should be allowed to do so; and they landed us in the ship's smallest boat—my sister, myself, and clelia, which was her nurse's name, with only a single sailor. when we approached the shore, we saw that a little river fell into the sea, paying its humble tribute thereto. on either bank grew a quantity of verdant and leafy trees, affording shade, to which the crystal waters served as a mirror. we desired the sailor to steer for this place, as the spot looked inviting. he did so, and we began to work up the river; having lost sight of the ship, throwing down his oars, he stopped short, and said, 'look you, sir, and consider this small boat, which we have taken away to-day, as your vessel; for you will not return to that which is awaiting you in the sea, unless you wish to endanger the safety of this lady and your own life.' he then told me how the captain had intended to kill me, and carry off my sister; that till we could remedy our situation, he would follow and accompany us wherever we might go, happen what might. let him who meets with evil where he expects kindness, judge whether or no we were disturbed at hearing this. his counsel pleased us, and we promised to reward him when we should be once more in safety. 'it will be in our power,' said clelia, 'for i have my lady's jewels with me.' then all four of us took counsel together as to what was to be done. the sailor recommended that we should go further up the little river, and we might perhaps discover some place in which we could be protected, if perchance any of those who belonged to the ship should come in search of us. 'but they will not come,' said he, 'for the inhabitants of these isles think every ship that comes near their coasts is a corsair; and if they see a ship or ships, immediately fly to arms to defend themselves. therefore, unless it be a secret attempt by night, we need not fear any attack from the ship yonder.' what he said seemed good to me. i took an oar and helped him in his work; we had gone about a couple of miles up the stream when our ears were saluted by the sound of many and divers instruments, and our eyes beheld a forest of moving trees, which seemed to cross from one bank to the other. when we came nearer we found that these were boats covered with branches of trees which had deceived us, and that the music proceeded from the persons who were in the boats. the moment they perceived us, they came up and surrounded our boat; my sister rose up, with her beautiful hair falling down her shoulders, confined only on the forehead by a sort of lion-coloured ribbon or band. this sudden apparition was so divinely beautiful, that, as we afterwards learnt, the people in the boats took her for a divinity, for the sailor heard them saying to one another, 'who can this be? what goddess can it be who deigns to visit us, and bring a blessing upon the nuptials of the fisherman carino and the peerless silviana?' they then entreated that we would leave our boat and come ashore, not far from the place where we at first met them.
"hardly had we set foot on dry land, when a troop of fishermen, as their dress showed them to be, crowded around us, and one by one full of respect and admiration, came to kiss the hem of auristella's garment; who, in spite of her terror, looked so divinely lovely, that i could scarcely wonder at the mistake of those who took her for a goddess. not far from the river's bank there was a bower formed of thick juniper boughs; and sweet smelling flowers served as a carpet. at the same instant, two men and two women rose up from their seats in the bower—the latter were young girls, the former youths; one of the girls extremely beautiful, and the other extremely ugly. one of the young men, handsome and gay, the other of plain appearance. all four came and knelt down before auristella; and the handsome youth said, 'o thou, whoever thou art, that canst only be of heavenly birth, my brother and i, with all our hearts, thank thee for the favour thou hast shown to us, in honouring our poor (but henceforth rich) marriages. come, lady, and if, instead of the crystal palaces which thou hast left in the depths of the sea, thou findest only roofs of shells, and walls of osiers, or rather, i should say, walls of shells and roofs of osiers, in our huts; yet wilt thou meet with golden wishes and pearl-like dispositions to serve thee; and i make this comparison, which perhaps sounds strange, because, what is there richer and better than gold—what more beautiful than pearls?' auristella bent down graciously to salute him; and by her gravity, courtesy, and beauty, she confirmed his notion of her being a deity.
"the other fisherman, and the least good-looking of the two, then left them to give directions that all the instruments of music should sound, and all voices be raised in praise of the newly-arrived stranger. the two damsels came and humbly kissed auristella's hand, and she embraced them with great kindness.
"the sailor who had come with us, well pleased with this event, told the fishermen, about the ship which lay out in the offing, saying that the crew were corsairs; and that we feared lest they should gain possession of the lady who they saw there, and who was the daughter of a king. this story he judged it best to tell, in order to incline their hearts to defend her. they no sooner heard this than the sounds of rejoicing music ceased, and the warlike instruments which succeeded, seemed like a cry 'to arms, to arms,' on either shore.
"night now came on; we took refuge in the cabin of the newly-betrothed lovers. sentinels were posted along the banks of the river, even as far as its mouth. the nets were cast in, the baskets baited, all with a view of regaling us, their new guests; and the more to show us honour and respect, the betrothed couples put off the solemnization of their marriage, leaving their cabins to auristella and clelia, and to the two brides; whilst they and their friends, with the sailor and myself, kept watch and guard over them. there was more than sufficient light in the sky, and also that afforded by the rising moon; and all around, the bonfires were still blazing, that had been lighted for the rejoicings over the wedding festival. it was resolved that the men should sup in the open air, the women in the cabins; so abundant was the food, that it seemed as if earth desired to surpass ocean, and ocean, earth—the one offering its flesh, the other its fish.
"supper ended, carino took me by the hand, and walking with me along the river side, after manifesting various signs of an impassioned heart, with convulsive sighs he thus spoke: 'it surely must be by some miracle that thou hast been brought hither at this time and conjuncture, so as to delay my nuptials, and i feel as a certainty that my woes may find a cure through thy counsels. therefore, although, doubtless, thou wilt deem me mad, or at least a person of singularly bad taste; yet, i wish thee to know that of the two fisher maidens whom thou sawest, the one ugly, the other beautiful, it has fallen to my lot to have the beautiful one for my wife, whose name is silviana. i know not what thou wilt say, nor do i know how to account for my choice, but i adore leoncia, the ugly maiden, beyond the power of doing otherwise; and i would have thee know that in my eyes, leoncia from her many virtues is the loveliest of women. moreover solercio, the other bridegroom, is, i more than suspect, dying for silviana. thus are the inclinations of all four crossed, and this because we all desired to obey our parents and friends, who arranged the marriages for us; but i cannot think it reasonable for a man to consent that a burthen, which must endure for life, should be fixed upon his shoulders not by his own choice but for the pleasure of others. and although this very day we were to have given our consent and pronounced the 'yes!' which was to enslave us for ever, it has been prevented, not designedly, but by the interposition of providence, for such i believe thy coming has been, so that there is still time left for our fortunes to amend, and for this i ask thy advice. being an impartial stranger, thou mayst best counsel me; for i have resolved, if i can discover no means of escape or remedy for my ills, to quit this place and never return to it, whilst life lasts, or parents vex, relations annoy, and friends fatigue me.
"i listened to him with attention, and instantly a remedy came into my head, and these words to my tongue, 'no, my friend, do not go away, at least till i have spoken to my sister, auristella, the beautiful lady whom you have seen; her wisdom is such that you would almost deem her superhuman in mind as well as person.'
"we then returned to the huts, and told my sister all that the fisherman had said. she readily devised a means of making my words true, and of satisfying every one. she took silviana and leoncia aside, and said to them, 'know, my friends, that to-day you will become more truly such than ever, for heaven has endowed me with a clear and sharp penetration, so that by only looking into the countenance of a person, i read their inmost soul, and guess their thoughts. as a proof of this, i here call you both to witness—you, leoncia, love carino, and you silviana, sigh for solercio; maiden bashfulness keeps you dumb, but my tongue shall break your silence. say nothing, but leave all to me; either i know nothing, or i promise you a happy end to your secret wishes.'
"they answered not a single word, but covered her hands with kisses innumerable, and closely embracing her, proved how truly she had divined the real state of their affections.
"night passed away, and day dawned rejoicingly. all the fishing boats appeared decked with fresh green boughs, music again filled the air with merry sounds, and there arose from many voices gay and lively songs, in honour of the day. the bridegrooms went forth to place themselves in the bridal bower, where we had found them on the preceding day. silviana and leoncia, were again arrayed in their bridal attire; my sister adorned herself in the best manner she was able with the garments she had, and she placed a diamond cross upon her lovely breast, and pearls in her ears, jewels of inestimable value. then taking the two brides by the hand, and placing them in the centre of the bower, she called carino and solercio to draw near. carino approached, confused and trembling, not knowing what i had arranged about his wishes, and the priest being ready to join their hands, according to the catholic ritual, my sister made a sign that she wished to be heard; and instantly there was a silence so profound that not a breath stirred. seeing, then, that every one lent a willing ear, she said, in a loud and sonorous voice, 'this is the will of heaven'—and taking silviana by the hand, she gave her to solercio; then she took the hand of leoncia, and gave her to carino. 'this, my friends,' she continued, 'is what heaven has ordained, as i said before, and is not mere accidental caprice, but suits well the happy betrothed ones, as you may plainly see by their joyful countenances, and the willing 'yes!' that their tongues pronounce.' the lovers embraced each other; seeing which, the spectators approved the exchange, and were more than ever confirmed in the idea of my sister's supernatural qualities, now that by her command alone, the nearly completed marriages had been thus altered.
"the festival and entertainments now began."[f]
periander was thus speaking, when suddenly antonio, the sick youth, fell into a deep swoon. at this sight his father, as if he had divined the cause, left the room, and went, as will be afterwards seen, to seek zenotia: what followed will be told in the next chapter.
