The Infidel; or, the Fall of Mexico. Vol. I.

by Robert Montgomery Bird

  CHAPTER XIX.

  Juan stood, for a moment, confounded in the presence of his preserver;and Magdalena, gradually exchanging her fierce expression for one morebecoming her sex, appeared at last, as he had seen her before, pale,saddened, and subdued. As she sank into this softened temper, her eyefell upon the crimsoned blade; and it was curious to see with whatfeminine horror, disgust, and shame, she cast it from her, and tocontrast this display of undissembled feelings with her late Amazonianbearing and act.

  "Magdalena," said Juan, a thousand emotions at once contending in hisbosom, "you have saved my life. Haste now and protect that of Cortes:for, be it dear to thee or not, yet it is not fitting he should be leftto the knife of an assassin. Acquaint him from me--Nay, bear it not from_me_; for I will not seem as if I sought to purchase my life with theconfession--Acquaint him that a dreadful conspiracy, headed by the knaveVillafana, is about to burst upon his head. If he seizes not the traitorto-night, let him beware who approaches the banquet to-morrow. Aboveall, let him be on his guard against any one who affects to bringletters from his father. Haste, maiden, haste! for perhaps Villafana,wrought upon by his fears, may discharge his train of horrors this verynight."

  "Dost thou thus seek to preserve him who has so basely compassed thineown life?" said Magdalena, less with surprise than sorrowing admiration."Think not of Cortes, but of thyself: thou hast not many hours forthought."

  "Alas, Magdalena," said Juan, impatiently, "you do not believe me. Iswear to you, that what I say is true: Villafana is a traitor, and isnow on the point of assassinating the Captain-General."

  "If he were about assassinating thee, and the Captain-General knew it,what aid wouldst thou expect from the Captain-General?" rejoined LaMonjonaza.

  "Maiden!" said Juan, frowning severely, "in this coldness of purpose,now that thou art acquainted with the act, thou art conniving atmurder!"

  Apparently this reproof touched Magdalena to the quick. She started,shuddered, and turned as if to leave the prison; but changing herpurpose, stepping up to the light, and assuming a boldness which she didnot feel, she falteringly asked,

  "Is there no case, in which such connivance might be excusable? But amoment since," (and here she bent her head upon her bosom,) "I was aboutto _commit_ murder--Had I slain Villafana, wouldst thou then havethought the act criminal?"

  "Surely not, surely not," said Juan; "for, in this case, thou wertarresting the blow of a cut-throat, to kill whom in the act, were butsheer justice, and according to law. And yet I would that the blow hadbeen struck by another. It is not seemly for a woman to carry a dagger,and still more improper that she should use it."

  "What if she be attacked by a villain, and no helper nigh?" demanded theforlorn girl. "Heaven has given me no protector--My father, my brother,and my friend--they all lie in this little steel;" and as she picked upthe weapon from the floor, as if no longer ashamed to bear it, a ghastlysmile beamed from her visage, like the flash of a Medusa amid the foamof a midnight billow.

  "Speak no more of Cortes," she continued, observing that Juan was aboutto resume the subject of the conspiracy; "he is far better able toprotect himself than thou. Were there twenty poniards in Villafana'shand, and were his arm as extended as his malice, yet could he not reacheven to the heel of Don Hernan. His fate is written,--yes, moreinevitably than thine; for thou hast yet one hope of deliverance, andVillafana has none.--Listen to me, Juan Lerma; it is perhaps the lasttime on earth that I shall speak to thee. If thou reject mine offer thisnight, I call heaven to witness that I will leave thee to thy fate."

  "Magdalena," said Juan, firmly, "we have spoken of this before. Godprotect thee, for there is a wall of adamant between us."

  "Be it so," said the lady; "and let it be higher than thy wishes, deeperthan thy scorn, so thou wilt leave this land, and return to it no more."

  "On the morrow, Magdalena, I die," said Lerma, with unabated resolution."Hear then the counsel of a dying man, who can yet call himself yourfriend. Do what you have recommended to me: leave this land, and, in thegloom of a cloister, expiate--"

  "Yet again?" exclaimed the maiden, with an eye of fire. "This is todistract me! Oh, if thou knew how unjustly thou hast planted daggers inmy bosom--daggers to which this thing of steel is but as the thorn of arosebud--thou wouldst kill thyself, rather than speak them again! But itmatters not: whether thou livest or diest, still must thou know that Iam wronged.--Listen to me--I will speak of Hilario.--"

  "Let it not be so," said Juan; and then solemnly added, "Learn that,yesternight, the wretched Villafana, who, by some magical science, seemsacquainted with the secrets of all in this camp, gave me to know what Idid not before dream. Magdalena, when I plucked thee from the wreck, Idreamed, for a moment, that I loved thee--" The maiden trembled fromhead to foot, and Juan was himself greatly agitated; "I beheld one, inwhom, from the act of giving her a life, I might fancy a tie, such asdid not exist between me and any other human being, from the time of thedeath of my poor father up to that happy hour. But had that affectionripened even into such as Hilario avowed,"--(Here Magdalena waved herhand impatiently;) "nay, had I plighted with thee faith and troth, anddid we stand this moment before the altar, my passion would be at oncechanged to awe and horror, to know that I was wedding the spouse ofHeaven. Magdalena, a life of penitence can scarcely remove the sin ofbroken vows!"'

  "Say not this," exclaimed the unhappy Magdalena, vehemently: "What knewI of earth or heaven, when, imprisoned in a cell from childhood upwards,I gave up the one for the other? Heaven broke the oath which oppressorsexacted; else, wherefore was I saved of all the sisters, and thrown upona land where cloisters were unknown? For these vows could I haveprocured a dispensation. Hast thou never heard of such being dissolved?"

  "Surely I have," said Juan, mildly, desiring to allay the agitation ofhis visitor: "It was told to me, by Villafana, that the senor Camarga(an insane man, who made an attempt on my life,) was once a monk of St.Dominic and an Inquisitor, and permitted to revoke his vows for someworldly purpose, I know not what; and I have heard it also said, thatthe sister of Don Hernan was allowed to leave a nunnery, to wed somegreat nobleman of Andalusia."

  "It is enough," said Magdalena, calmly, "the vow was suspended, notbroken; it will be resumed, when the purpose for which I now live, isaccomplished, and would have been before, but for the accident whichbrought me to this land.--Juan Lerma, I will not ask thee why thourefusest life at my hands: but it is offered thee by one wronged anddefamed, not degraded. If thou live, it is well thou shouldst know thetruth, and remember me without contempt; if thou die, the grave shallnot cover thee in ignorance. Hilario--Start not, frown not, tremble not,for the truth must be spoken--Hilario abused thy belief, that he mightbreak my heart, and perhaps, also, thine; for he hated me, because Irepelled his love with contempt, and thee, because he knew--because hesuspected,--that thou wert the cause. You fought; he fell,--and, withwhat seemed his dying lips, (for, even in death, his spite was notdiminished,) repeated the demoniacal falsehood; boasting of thedegradation of one whose only shame was that she did not requite hispresumption with a dagger!"

  Again the figure of the unhappy girl was elevated by passion into theport of a destroying deity. But she perceived that Juan was shocked by adisplay of fire so unwomanly and, indeed, so fearful; and this instantlytransformed her into another being:

  "This too, _this_ too," she cried, shedding tears of humiliation, "this,too, is a consequence of his malice, for it has converted me into thething I am not,--into what seems a fury or a demon. Dost thou believe Iam--dost thou believe I _was_ a creature formed of passions, that shouldbelong only to men? No! oh heaven, oh no! it is the madness that comesfrom the viper's tooth. Stung, vilified, robbed of respect andhappiness, how even can a woman sit down in peace, unless she can die?unless she can die? She will have her vengeance, believe it; and well isit for her, when it is won by the hands of a brother or sire.--Yet,believe this, if thou wilt, for I am not what I was; believeaught,--anything, save the lies of Hilario
. With his dying lips hedefamed me--with his dying hand he revoked the slander, and avowedhimself a villain. Behold the refutation of calumny."

  As she spoke, she drew from her bosom, with a trembling grasp, and putinto Juan's, a scrap of paper, on which he read, with extreme surprise,the following words, traced with a hand feeble and agitated, yet wellknown to him,--

  "What I have said of Magdalena del Naufragio," (or Magdalena of the Wreck, for by this name she was known at Isabela,) "is false. In malice and folly I have laid perjury on my soul; and, as I now speak the truth, I pray heaven to forgive me.--Amen.

  "ANTONIO DEL MILAGRO."

  "Good heaven!" said Juan, "is it possible Antonio could commit thisdastardly crime? Alas, Magdalena, I _have_ done you a grievous wrong,and I beseech you, pardon me.--This thing was not only wicked, butmarvellous. The paper is stained with blood--The saints acquit me of hisdeath, for it was I who shed it! I am glad he died penitent--Whatbrought him to this justice? I held my dagger to his throat, yet hecried, with a devilish malice and courage, 'Strike, for--' But I willnot repeat his sinful and exulting falsehoods.--Alas, that his bloodshould be upon my soul! the blood of his father's son!"

  Magdalena surveyed the self-accusing looks of the prisoner, with muchemotion; and twice or thrice she opened her lips, to give him comfort,or to continue her dark and singular story, and yet failed, as manytimes, to speak. At last, she clasped her hands upon her bosom, as if,by an effort of physical strength, to give support and resolution to herheart, and said, with low and interrupted accents,

  "Lament no more for a sin thou hast not committed. Thou wertdeceived--Hilario died not by thy hands."

  "Hah!" exclaimed Juan, "dost thou tell me the truth? Is Hilario yetliving? God be thanked! God be thanked! for I am not a murderer!"

  He fell upon his knees, and looking up to heaven with joy, beheld notthe grief and trepidation with which his companion surveyed hisraptures.

  "I told thee, not that he lived, but that thou didst not slay him," saidthe nun, with an effort.--"Had my father come to my side, and lookedupon this paper, after hearing the story of Hilario's baseness, whatthink you he should have done?"

  "Killed him, I must allow," said Juan, rising to his feet; "for even hisdeep penitence could scarcely be permitted to stand as the sole penaltyof such an offence.--Alas, Magdalena, my mind is beset with soremisgivings. How was that paper obtained? How did Hilario die? Thougrowest pale! Heaven shield me! didst thou, didst _thou_--?"

  He paused with terror. The maiden replied instantly, and almost withfirmness:

  "Hear the truth, even to the last syllable; for even _thy_ good opinionI will not purchase by subterfuge. To Villafana,--a wretch, whosemanifold villanies thou couldst not dream, (for know, that, being asailor in the ship that bore the unlucky sisters, he devised andaccomplished its destruction, that he might impiously obtain the holyvessels of silver and gold--Ay, it was Villafana, and not the tempest,that drove us upon the rocks of Alonso--) to Villafana, from whom Ilearned the cause of the duel and of thy flight, I committed the chargeof obtaining this recantation.--Was this wrong?" she exclaimed, givingway to affright, for Juan's looks of horror could not be mistaken: "theywere two fiends together,--the villain struck the villain,--the--"

  "Murderess! murderess!" cried Juan aloud, recoiling from her.

  A ghastly smile passed over her countenance, and it grew into a faintlaugh, which, to Juan's mistaken eye, (for he thought it the merrimentof satisfaction or indifference,) seemed unnatural and dreadful, whileshe replied, her voice hysterically belying her feelings, as much as didher countenance,

  "Thou dost not think I employed him to do murder? I appeal to heaven, Idid not dream he would do aught but compel the recantation from thewounded man.--What! bid him kill one so defenceless! Had he been strongand well armed, then perhaps, indeed,--then perhaps, I might havethought it. I sought but for the paper; the rest was the deed ofVillafana."

  "Oh heaven! oh holy heaven!" cried Juan; "speak not another word: ratherlet me die than hear more. Away! avaunt! thou art not a woman, but afiend! and all is now as it was, and worse.--What, blood-stained!blood-stained!"--

  Magdalena strode towards him, striving to speak, but could only utterthe words, 'Injustice! injustice!' mingled with the charge, 'LeaveMexico,' that still made a part of her perturbed thoughts. Had not Juanbeen entirely overwhelmed by his horror, he must have observed, that hermind was, at this moment, convulsed beyond the degree of any formeragitation; that she was, in fact, in a condition both alarming andpitiable. Her countenance was most deathlike, her accents whollyunnatural, and there was something of delirium or idiotcy in the mannerwith which, while still muttering the broken reproof, 'Injustice,' andthe charge, 'Leave Mexico,' she, all the while, extended theblood-stained paper, as if entreating him again to receive and peruseit.

  As it was, he gave utterance to his horror in the words,--

  "Miserable woman! the denial forced from the lips of the murdered man,is of a piece with the spirit that compelled it--False, false, all!"

  At these words, the paper dropped from her hands, another vacant smiledistorted her visage, and she turned to depart; but before she had takentwo steps, she tottered, and fell to the floor, with a dreadful scream,that instantly brought the guards into the prison.

  The absorbing nature of their conversation had, for the last two orthree moments, rendered both incapable of observing that some scene ofaltercation had suddenly arisen at the dungeon door. High voices mightbe heard, as of one alternately entreating and demanding admittance,which was gruffly denied by others. The shriek of Magdalena, ringing intheir ears like a cry of death, brought the contention to an end; andall rushing in together, they beheld Juan endeavouring to raise thefigure of his unhappy and lifeless guest from the floor.

  "_Dios mio! y peccavi!_ I will kill him where he stands," exclaimed one,rushing forward.

  "Not so fast, senor Camarga," cried the hunchback, who was at the headof all, snatching the weapon from the hands of this individual, whoseemed peculiarly to thirst for the blood of the young islander. "Here'swork for the bastinado! Where's Villafana, ye treacherous dogs, that letwomen into the prison? He shall pay for it.--Harkee, senor Camarga; ifyou have any interest in this fair lady, you may help bear her to thepalace. Poor fool! these women love as arquebuses shoot: if you makethem any obstruction, they burst in your hands--and this is truer stillof a musket, if you thrust it into the earth. In mine own opinion, theyoung hound has scorned her."

  While Najara gave vent to these growling observations, Magdalena wascarried out of the prison. The hunchback had reached the door, beforeJuan, in the confusion of the moment, thought of calling him back, toimpart to him the secret of the treachery. But Najara replied only witha malediction, and departed with the lantern; so that Juan was againleft to night and solitude.