"it seems to me, my brother," said auristella to periander, "that troubles and perils are to be met with not only on the sea, but all over the earth; and that misfortunes and distresses are to be found among those who are set up high on the mountains, as well as amongst people who are hiding in corners. that which is called fortune, of which i have frequently heard, and of which it is said that it gives and takes away good things, when and how it pleases, ought indeed to be represented as blind and capricious, since it raises those who have grovelled upon the earth, and puts down others who have aspired to high places. this lady, who says she is called feliciana of the voice, and now she has hardly voice enough left to relate the story of her own misfortunes;—think of her but a few hours ago, in her own home with her father, brothers, and servants, hoping to find some help or remedy for her imprudent conduct; and now, behold her, hiding in the hollow of a tree, fearing the insects of the air, and the crawling worm of the earth. it is true she has not sprung from a princely race, but yet hers is an example for all young maidens who live secluded from the world, and wish to live a virtuous life: all this moves me to entreat that you, o my brother, will watch severely over my conduct, for ever since the hour in which i left your mother and home, i have placed my honour in your hands, and although experience has proved well your virtue, alike in the solitude of deserts, or the company of cities; yet still i fear that as days move on, so also may change come across your thoughts. my honour is yours, one sole wish rules us both, and the same hope supports us: our path is a long and weary one, but there is an end to everything, unless idleness and laziness intrude; heaven has already brought us into spain, and (for which we should be grateful) released us from the dangerous company of arnoldo."
"o my sister," answered periander, "how dost thou prove every moment the greatness of thy wisdom and prudence! i plainly see thou fearest as a woman, and feelest as a discreet and prudent one; gladly would i do anything to calm thy new-born suspicions. we have no occasion to stay longer in this shepherd's fold, and as to feliciana, we can do no more than bestow upon her our pity; but we should carry the child to truxillo, as we were charged to do by him who gave us the chain, as it seemed, for payment."
they were still talking together when the old shepherd came up to them, with his sister and the infant which had been sent for, to see whether feliciana would recognize it, as she had requested.
she took it in her arms, and looked at it again and again, removed its swaddling clothes, but there was nothing by which she could be certain it was the child she had brought into the world; nor yet, which was remarkable, did she experience the yearnings of a mother towards the child, which was a boy. "no," said she, "these are not the cloaks that my maid wrapt it in, nor did i ever see this chain in rosanio's hands. this precious creature must belong to some one else. too fortunate should i be, if i could think it mine. although i have heard rosanio speak of having friends in truxillo, yet i cannot remember their names."
"after all," said the shepherd, "since the person who gave the child to the pilgrims, desired that it might be taken to truxillo, i suspect that it was rosanio; and it is my opinion that it will be best for my sister and some of our shepherds to carry the child thither, and see whether either of the gentlemen, whose names were mentioned, will receive it."
feliciana only answered by her sobs, and throwing herself at the feet of the old man she embraced him warmly,—signs that she much approved of the proceeding he had advised; and the pilgrims also approved of it, and made all easy by giving the chain of gold to them. the shepherd's sister was provided with one of the mules belonging to the fold, (she having only recently recovered from a lying-in,) and she had directions given her, to pass through her own village and leave her own baby in concealment, whilst she went with the other to truxillo.
it was all to be done directly, because the urgency of the case admitted of no delay. in silent gratitude, feliciana showed how much she felt the kindness of those who were thus active in her service; and having heard how these pilgrims were bound for rome, charmed by the beauty and prudence of auristella, the courteous manners of periander, the loving and affectionate ways of constance and her mother, and the agreeable behaviour of the two antonios, after weighing it in her mind, and pondering thereon in the short space of time that they were together, she felt that it would be desirable to quit a place where her disgrace must be public, and entreated that they would allow her to go with them as a pilgrim to rome—that, as she had wandered from the ways of virtue, she would gladly now be a wanderer in search of grace, if she might be allowed to join their company.
scarcely had she uttered her desire, than auristella hastened to grant it, being full of pity and anxiety to relieve her from the terror and alarm she was enduring. the only difficulty that remained was—how could she, who had so lately been delivered of a child, undertake a journey? but the old shepherd said, that there was no real difference between the bringing forth of a woman and that of a cow,—that the cow immediately after her delivery is exposed to the inclemency of the weather; and thus the woman might perfectly well return to her usual habits of exercise, if custom had not taught them to use the luxurious precautions and repose that are common with lying-in women. "i am sure," said he, "that when eve brought forth her first-born son, she neither kept her bed, nor secluded herself from the air, nor took any of the precautions that women adopt in these days. take courage, lady feliciana, and follow up your intentions, which are both holy and christian-like;" to which auristella added, "you shall not want a pilgrim's dress, for i had two made, upon setting out on this pilgrimage, and one of them shall be given to the lady feliciana of the voice, on condition that she tells me the reason why she is so called, unless it is really her true name."
"it was not mine by lineage, but simply because every one who knew me and heard me sing, declared that i had the finest voice that ever was heard, so i was generally called feliciana of the voice; and i would readily give you proof of this if i was not more in a mood for crying than singing: however, if better times come, and my tears cease to flow, i will sing, if not merry songs, at least dirges and doleful ditties."
now after feliciana had spoken thus, they were all seized with a strong desire to hear her sing immediately, but no one ventured to ask it of her, because, as she had said, it was not the proper time. the next day feliciana took off all her attire, except what was absolutely necessary, and put on the pilgrim's dress, which was given her by auristella. she took off a pearl necklace and two rings, which, if ornaments betokened a person's quality, would at once have proclaimed her rich and high-born. they were taken into the care of ricla, as treasurer of the property of everybody; and feliciana took her place as second among the pilgrims, auristella being first, and constance third; although upon this point, opinions were divided, and there were some who gave the second place to constance, auristella alone stood unrivalled.
as soon as feliciana was dressed in her new garb, she felt eager and anxious to be off: auristella knew this, and by general consent, they took leave of the hospitable old shepherd, and the rest of the herdsmen, and departed, taking the road to cáceres. when at any time any one of the women became weary, the baggage mule afforded her a means of rest, or they sat down by the side of some murmuring stream, or sparkling fountain, or the verdure of some pleasant meadow invited them to repose.
and so they journeyed on, being weary and resting alternately; but as it rarely happens that good intentions are carried into effect without any hindrances, it pleased heaven that this charming party (one in intention, although many in number) should meet with the obstacle of which you shall now hear.
the green herbage of a delightful meadow had offered a pleasant retreat to the travellers: the clear and sweet waters of a little rivulet that trickled through the grass, had refreshed their faces; a number of thorns and brambles formed a wall, and shelter all round them. it was an agreeable spot to rest in, when all of a sudden, breaking through the thick and tangled branches, a youth, in the dress of a traveller, rushed in among them; his back was pierced through with a sword, and the point came out at his breast. he fell down before them, and as he fell, exclaimed, "god be with me;" and so saying, he expired. it happened all in one moment; and although at so strange a sight, every one had risen in confusion, periander was the first to fly to his assistance, and seeing that he was quite dead, he tried to draw out the sword. the two antonios leaped over the bushes to look if any one was to be seen who could have committed this treacherous and cruel murder, for it was clearly a traitor's deed, seeing that the blow had been dealt from behind, but they saw nobody. they returned to the rest, and the great youth and noble appearance of the murdered stranger increased the pity they felt for his death. they examined the body minutely, and found, under a loose jacket of grey velvet, over the doublet, a chain of four links of gold, from which was suspended a crucifix, also of gold; and between the doublet and the shirt, they found, in an ebony case richly worked, the portrait of a very beautiful woman, round which were these lines:—
she freezes, she burns,
she looks and speaks,
o miracle of beauty!
such power your face possesses
even in a picture.
periander, who first read these lines, judged thereby that some love affair had caused his death: they carefully investigated his dress, hoping to find some indication by which to discover who he was, but could find none; and whilst they were making this scrutiny, four men appeared suddenly, armed with cross bows, who were instantly recognised by antonio the elder, as members of the holy brotherhood; one of whom cried out, "stop, thieves! murderers! highwaymen! your work of spoliation, which we are just come in time to punish as it deserves."
"rogues, there are none here," said the younger antonio, "nor are we robbers, but enemies of all such persons."
"truly, so it appears," replied the archer, "with a dead corpse before you; his property in your hands, and his blood upon your clothes; witnesses of your crime, robbers ye are, and murderers, and as such shall be punished; nor shall that pilgrim garb which you have put on to conceal your misdeeds, avail you anything."
to this, the young antonio replied by fitting an arrow to his bow, and aiming at the arm of the archer; the others seeing this, either alarmed or in order to make the capture more secure, turned round hastily, and called lustily for help. "help for the holy brotherhood!" in an instant, as if by miracle, they were joined by more than twenty archers, who, aiming their arrows at the party, took them all prisoners, without respect even for the beauty of auristella; and carrying the dead body along with them, brought the party to cáceres, the corregidor of which was a knight of the order of st. jago, who, on seeing the dead body, and the wounded archer, and hearing the account given by the others with the additional proof of periander's bloody appearance, was immediately disposed to put them all to the torture; but periander declared the true state of the case, showing, in proof of his assertions, the papers and passports that he had brought from lisbon, by way of security on his journey. he also showed the picture of his adventures, which were well described by the younger antonio; and all these proofs were sufficient to have shown clearly the innocence of the pilgrims.
ricla, the treasurer of the party, who knew little or nothing of what lawyers and notaries are, offered one of them a quantity of money secretly, to take their case up for them; but she was in danger of losing all she had, for the gentlemen of the law smelling out that the pilgrims had money, would gladly have shorn them close, according to their usual fashion, even to the very bones; and without a doubt, would have done so, if it had not pleased heaven to let the might of innocence overthrow the attempts of malice. it happened that a certain innkeeper of the place, having seen the dead corpse that had been brought with the pilgrims, recognized it, and went to the corregidor, and said to him, "my lord, this man who has been brought in dead by the holy brotherhood, left my house yesterday morning, in company with another person, who seemed to be a gentleman. a little before he went away, he shut himself up in a room with me, and with great caution he said, 'mine host, i pray you as a good christian, if i do not return hither within six days, to open this paper which i give you, before the court of justice:' so saying, he gave me this paper, which i now deliver to your worship, conceiving that it may probably explain something that will touch upon this strange affair." the corregidor took the paper, and opening it, he found the following words written therein:—
"i, don diego de parraces, left the palace of his majesty on such a day, (and here the date was given,) in company with my relation, don sebastián de soranzo, who asked me to go a certain journey along with him, which concerned both his honour and his life. i, not wishing to confirm some false suspicions which he harboured respecting me, and trusting in my innocence, consented to accompany him: it is my belief that he means to kill me; if this should happen, and my body is found, let it be known that i am slain by perfidious hands, and that i die guiltless.
(signed) don diego de parraces."
the corregidor sent off this letter with all speed to madrid, where the greatest diligence was exerted to trace out the murderer; but he arrived at home the very day when the search was made, and, discovering how matters were, instead of alighting, he gave his horse the rein, and disappeared altogether. thus the crime remained unpunished: the dead man was not to be restored to life; the prisoners were set free, and some of the links of the chain that ricla kept, were employed to pay the expenses of justice. the corregidor kept the portrait to please himself. the archer of the holy brotherhood received ample satisfaction for his wound.
the younger antonio began anew to describe the story of their picture, and left the people all wondering greatly thereat.
the whole time the investigation had been going on, feliciana kept her bed under pretence of illness, that she might not be seen. they took the road to guadaloupe, talking, as they travelled, over their strange adventure, and hoping that some chance might occur to allow them to hear feliciana sing. she willingly consented to give them this pleasure, since there is no sorrow that does not soften with time, only that she might keep up the proper decorum due to her misfortune and sad condition: her songs were dirges, and her voice, mournful; but this diminished a good deal after meeting the shepherd's sister on the road, returning from truxillo, where she told them she had left the infant in the care of don francisco pizarro, and don juan de orellana, who felt convinced that the child must belong to their friend don rosanio, judging by the place where he was met, for they knew of no one else in all the neighbourhood who would have so confided in them; "and," said the good woman, "they told me that he should not be deceived in his expectations by trusting them thus. so you perceive, sirs, that the child is placed according to your desires at truxillo: if there is anything else you wish me to do to serve you here, i am ready to do it, and here is the chain, for i have not parted with it yet, since what i have done was from christian kindness, and that weighs more heavily with me than gold." to which feliciana answered, that she wished it might remain many years in her possession before she found herself under the necessity of parting with it, for rich trinkets do not stay long with the poor. the shepherd's sister then took leave of them, and they sent a thousand kind messages to her brother and the other shepherds. in process of time, little by little our pilgrims reached the saintly walls of guadaloupe.
