repent ofever having given cause of suspicion to so good and kind a master. Thisact of mercy alone would put down sedition, and bind more firmly all thenobles of the land to your service, and, revered while you live, yourname would descend to posterity as a magnanimous and generous prince,who feared not to pardon those who had offended him. But, if your cruelMinister requires some one on whom to vent his hatred, of thearistocracy of the land, the legitimate and noble guardians of yourperson, whose jealousy he well knows has been aroused at his perseveringinterference, let me be delivered up as the victim of his vengeance. Myfatal love for my sovereign first kindled the spark which has never yetburnt into a flame, and I alone ought to be sacrificed for my crime, ifso your Majesty deems it."
The King was deeply moved at the energy of her passion, her tears, andprayers. He led her gently to a chair, and insisted on her beingseated, while he stood before her with his arms folded on his bosom;but, as soon as she perceived it, she rose, and threw herself kneelingon the ground.
"This must not be, Donna Theresa," said the agitated Monarch, againattempting to raise her, but she would not quit her suppliant posture.
"Rise, madam, rise. I have no enmity against your relations. It is notI who accuse them. They have been tried by the laws of the country,and, if guilty, I have resigned all power over them. My crown, my life,the happiness of my people, and the tranquillity of the land, requiretheir punishment. It is by my Minister's advice I act thus, and to himyou must plead their cause."
"Oh, say not so, your Majesty. Do not thus yield to the graspingambition of that enemy of our race, who seeks to rise by theirdestruction," exclaimed Donna Theresa. "Exert your own royal authority,and act according to the generous dictates of your heart. You have thepower--exert it, and be merciful; if not, before two suns have set, suchdeeds of cruelty will have been perpetrated as will cause the nations ofEurope to execrate the very name of a Portuguese."
The King's firmness was fast yielding to the entreaties of his lovelypetitioner. "I will endeavour to mitigate the rigour of their sentencefor your sake, fair lady," he answered. "If clearly proved, for thesake of my successors, I have no right to overlook their crime."
"Rather let it be supposed by posterity that such a crime was impossiblein Portugal," interrupted Donna Theresa; "or teach your successors thevirtue of clemency."
"You plead most powerfully to my heart, Donna Theresa, nor can I longerwithstand the energy of your prayers," said the King. "Rise, then, andlet me rather ask pardon for the anguish I have caused you. I it waswho ought to have knelt to you."
"I cannot rise till I hear their pardon pronounced by your graciouslips," returned Donna Theresa. "Let me, to prove my innocence ofbetraying them, be the bearer of your forgiveness."
"I do forgive them," answered the King; "yet, in so important a matter,I may not act further without consulting my Minister."
"Then their doom is sealed!" cried the unhappy lady. "Sebastiao Jozehas moved heaven and earth to destroy them; and unless your Majestyrescues them by a determined act, they can in no way escape death."
The King still looked as if he was about to deny her.
"Oh! hear me, your Majesty,--by the devoted love you so lately professedto bear me, by all your tender endearments, by your vows of constancy,by the sacrifice of my name and reputation to your passion, pardon thoseinnocent ones--at all events, comparatively innocent--and let thepunishment fall upon my guilty head!"
Where is the man who can withstand a lovely woman's prayers, when,weeping, she pleads, and pleads for justice? The King could no longerresist her entreaties; he gently raised her, and, pressing his lips toher hands, he was about to pledge his kingly promise that none shouldsuffer--the words faltered on his tongue--the door opened, he looked up,and beheld the commanding figure of the Prime Minister! The latterstopped, gazing with amazement. Donna Theresa saw not, heard not aughtbut her sovereign, as she waited eagerly for the words he was about topronounce.
"You promise, then--you promise they shall be pardoned?" she ejaculated.
The King's eye sank before the searching glance of his potent Minister.
"Pardon me, your Majesty, for my intrusion, and will you graciouslydeign to explain the meaning of this lady's presence?" exclaimed thelatter, advancing rapidly, for he had heard Donna Theresa's last words,and in a moment clearly comprehended the cause of her visit. He feltthat his own power hung upon a thread, and he foresaw that, if shegained her cause, he must inevitably be the sacrifice.
In an instant he had arranged his plan. "I need no explanation,--DonnaTheresa de Tavora has ventured hither against your Majesty's commands,to impose, with a false tale of her relatives' innocence, on yourgracious clemency, and, for the sake of saving the guilty, wouldsacrifice your life and crown to their implacable hatred. Be notdeceived, Sire, by the treacherous tongue of an artful woman. I comenow from the trial of the once so-called Duke of Aveiro, the Marquis ofTavora, and their associates: the judges have found them guilty of themost atrocious of conspiracies, and have condemned them accordingly.Your Majesty's sacred life had nearly fallen a sacrifice to some unknowntraitors. For months have I incessantly toiled, day and night, todiscover the miscreants, and at length I have been successful, and theyare about to receive the punishment of their deeds. Let not, then, allmy exertions prove vain; and, above all, Sire, do not jeopard your ownprecious life by mistaken leniency."
The Minister watched the King's countenance, and saw that he had won hiscause. He advanced to Donna Theresa, and grasped her arm: "Come, madam,you must no longer intrude upon his Majesty!" he exclaimed.
She started at his touch, and turned an entreating look towards theKing. The Monarch's eye was averted. "All, all is lost!" she cried,and, uttering a piercing shriek, sank senseless upon the ground.
"Pardon this seeming harshness, Sire," said Carvalho, deprecatingly, ashe raised Donna Theresa in his arms. "It is necessary for your safety."
"You are always right, my friend," said the King. "Let every care andattention be paid her; and let some one be with her to console her forher disappointment;" and he turned away to hide his own emotion: helonged to hide his feelings from himself.
"'Tis another step gained towards supreme power," thought the Minister,as he bore his unconscious burden from the apartment, and committed herto the charge of his guards, with strict orders not to allow her todepart. He then returned to the King, with the fatal document in hishand,--the condemnation of the noble prisoners. His Majesty's signaturewas required; nor had he now much difficulty in obtaining it.
When nearly all of the most influential in the country were interestedin the preservation of the accused, and all feeling that Donna Theresawas the most calculated to persuade the Monarch to pardon them, she hadexperienced but little difficulty, aided by high bribes, in penetratingto the apartments of the King; though, on Carvalho's endeavouring todiscover the delinquents, every one solemnly averred that they had neverseen her enter,--though, in her page's suit, she might have passed themunobserved.
Let her fate be a warning to others. Let those consider, whom passionwould lead from the strict path of duty, that not themselves alone, butmany others also, whom they once loved, and by whom they were beloved,they may drag down to perdition.
When Donna Theresa returned to consciousness, she found herselfsurrounded by her own attendants, and when she was pronounced in a fitstate to be removed, she was conveyed to the Convent of Santos, where alarge income was settled on her, and a retinue appointed to attend her.Though nominally a prisoner, she had perfect liberty. She did notdie:--such was too happy a lot for her. For many, many years she livedon, a prey to remorse, hated and scorned by her few surviving relatives,till age had wrinkled her brow, and no trace of her former enchantingloveliness remained. Guilty of one crime she was, but not that of whichshe was accused; yet none would believe her assertions, when she hadfailed to procure the pardon of her husband. Such was her punishment!
For eighteen years did her father,
the Marquis d'Alorna, his wife, andchildren, languish in separate dungeons, and scarcely one of his kindredescaped the like fate.
She became deaf and blind, and at length she died. On her tomb wasfound inscribed, "The Murderess of her Family."
Volume 3, Chapter XVIII.
We would gladly avoid detailing the following narrative, but no one whois writing the life of the great Prime Minister of Portugal can pass itover in silence; and while his name is mentioned in history, so will bethe dreadful tragedy in which he was the principal actor, with theexecrations of all who have a sentiment of pity for human suffering intheir bosoms; even had the sufferers been proved guilty, which we, asBritons, and lovers of our own just laws affirm they were not.