laughing party of the young and happy. Theanterooms were already crowded with company, and in one of them aservant pointed out the marchioness standing ready to receive herguests. As he advanced towards her, people stared at him as one whomtheir eyes were not accustomed to meet; but none of the fair or youngfrowned, or seemed displeased at his appearance. Bowing gracefully, hementioned his name, and expressed his anxiety to pay his respects toGoncalo Christovao and his daughter.
"Oh, I have heard of your exploit and gallantry, Senhor Don Luis,--and Iknow that Goncalo Christovao will be equally anxious again to thank youfor the service you rendered his daughter. You will find him on the wayto the ball-room," said the old Marchioness, coldly.
"And Donna Clara?" said Luis, hesitating.
"Her father will inform you," answered the Marchioness, in the same toneas before.
What these words could mean Luis could not tell, though they seemed toforebode that he would not be as welcome as he hoped; but he could notinquire further, as he had received a strong hint to proceed; bowing,therefore, to the old lady, he looked eagerly among the crowd forGoncalo Christovao, to have his doubts removed, but he could nowhereperceive him.
While stopped in his progress by the crowd, a voice, which had oncesounded like the sweetest melody to his ear, arrested his attention, andsent a strange thrill, more of pain than pleasure, through his frame;when he beheld before him his cousin Theresa, leaning on the arm of ayouth, whose eyes were bent on her as if enchanted with her beauty. Heat once recognised the young Marquis of Tavora, whom he recollected inhis boyhood; and though, at first, a pang of angry jealousy shot acrosshis bosom, he at once banished the feeling as unworthy of himself,knowing that though, during his absence, the marquis had proved hissuccessful rival, it was owing more to Donna Theresa's ambition andvanity than to any unfair advantage he had taken. Notwithstanding allthe affectionate attentions of her betrothed husband, Donna Theresa'smanner seemed cold and indifferent, and she returned but short repliesto his observations; and when she smiled, to Don Luis her smile appearedforced and unnatural. He gazed at the young pair with grief at hisheart.
"Alas!" he thought, "that I should have wasted my best feelings on oneso incapable of those tender affections which form the chief jewels ofthe sex. Oh! woman, woman! lovely and angelic as thou appearest, if thyheart has become cold and callous by contact with the world, howvalueless, how empty thou art! Unhappy youth!--she loves him not;--Isee it in that forced smile, that cold eye,--and yet he seems not tohave discovered it--I pity him!"
Such thoughts, very natural to a rejected lover, and very soothing tohis vanity, passing through his mind, he was unwilling to address her,and would have passed unnoticed, when her eye caught his regarding her.For a single moment a blush passed across her features, but the next,holding out her hand, with a smile, she led the young marquis towardshim; and, to avoid being guilty of marked rudeness, he was obliged tokiss the fair hand she offered.
"What! you seemed to have forgotten me, my good cousin," she said, in agay tone, "though I hear you intend honouring me by your presence at mymarriage. Ah, you do not remember Don Luis of Tavora. Permit me tointroduce my most loving cousin, who has travelled all over the world, Ibelieve; or, at least, to England, and other barbarous countries, wherethe sun shines only once in the year, and then half the day is obscuredby a thick fog, while for six months the ground is covered with snow.Oh, dreadful! I would get rid of such a country altogether: it makes meshiver to think of it, even in this warm room. You have no idea, senhormarquis, how my cousin blinked his eyes when he first came back to clearskies and sunshine, so accustomed had he been to live in the dark."
While Donna Theresa was thus speaking, the gentlemen exchanged the usualcompliments.
"Ah, I am glad to see he has not forgotten how to bow properly, or, Irather suspect, he has picked up the art since his return. I protestthat, the first day he came back, he had no notion of bending his body,like the English, who, I hear, are either born with one joint only, andthat is in their necks, or else they become stiffened from theirforgetting to use them. Now, you are going to defend your friends, butdon't attempt it; I hate them, with their stiff pride and superciliousairs, thinking every people their inferiors who do not possess such goodroads and fine horses as themselves. There was one man who came here,an English lord, I forget his dreadful name, but it pained my mouth toattempt to pronounce it, who compared everything he saw with his owncountry; and, because our habits and manners differed from those towhich he was accustomed, he must needs consider ours far less civilised,and took no trouble to conceal his opinion."
"Though at first rather distant in manner, I was received by many withgreat cordiality and kindness, and saw much to admire in their mannersand institutions," answered Luis, wishing to protect the character ofhis friends.
"I know nothing about their institutions," exclaimed Donna Theresa, in apettish tone, "but I know their impertinent superciliousness will makethem enemies wherever they go--so talk no more about them. By-the-bye,I hear you have been vying in your exploits with that renowned hero DonQuixote, and rescuing distressed damsels from the power of brigands bythe strength of your single arm, and with the aid of your faithfulsquire Pedro. Everybody in Lisbon is prepared to look upon you as acomplete Knight Errant. I heard all about it from Donna Clara herself,who speaks warmly in praise of your gallantry, I assure you; and if shedoes not think you are perfection itself, she thinks you very near it.I believe if anything could make her angry, it would have been myabusing you to her, but, instead of that, it almost made her cry."
"Where is Donna Clara?" exclaimed Luis, interrupting her eagerly: "Ihave a packet to deliver to her."
"You will find her in the ball-room, the admired of all beholders, andof none more so than of the Conde San Vincente, of whose lynx-eyedjealousy beware; and now, as I see that you are anxious to deliver yourmessage, I will not detain you. Farewell, Luis!" she spoke in a softertone.
"I wronged her," muttered Luis, as he hastened to the ball-room. "Herheart is not turned to stone. Such dwells not in the female breast."
As his eye distinguished Donna Clara at the further end of the room, heendeavoured to regulate his pace as etiquette required; but hiseagerness impelled him on till he had arrived close to her, when itoccurred to him that in his hurry he had not considered how he shouldaddress her. She had, however, perceived him, when a richer hue mountedto her cheeks, and her eyes beamed with a brighter light, as she timidlyheld out her hand. Their eyes met, it was but for a moment; but theythere read more than Plato, Aristotle, or all the ancient philosophersever wrote--at all events what they prized far more. He took thatdelicate hand, and pressed it with ardour to his lips, and it seemed toinspire him with abundance to say, but yet she was the first to speak.
"Oh! Don Luis, I have been wishing to meet you, to thank you again foryour bravery and goodness in rescuing my father and me from the robbers,and for protecting us on our way back. I have often thought of itsince--" When Clara had got thus far, she stopped, and wished she hadexpressed herself differently; besides, she did not know to what itmight lead.
Don Luis then thought it high time to speak, to relieve herembarrassment, expressing his happiness at again meeting her, with manyinquiries respecting her health, to which she made suitable answers,when he continued--"I have been fortunate in recovering the casket ofjewels, the loss of which so much concerned you, and I came hither thisevening on purpose to deliver it, not expecting to find a ball goingforward."
"How kind, how thoughtful of you!" she exclaimed, repaying him with asweet smile. "Do not deliver them now, but come to-morrow morningearly, when I am sure my father will join with me in thanking you forall your attention to us, if you will take care of them a littlelonger."
"I would not willingly part with aught belonging to Donna Clara;" andLuis bowed, as many other gentlemen were bowing to ladies near him. Butthere was a look which accompanied that bow, unseen by any but the ladyto whom it was made, which caus
ed her heart to beat quicker than usual.Now Luis, when he entered the room, had most certainly not intended totell Clara that he loved her, nor had he yet done so, because he was notaware of it himself, but he quickly found it out in the course of theirconversation, besides discovering that he was not indifferent to her; acircumstance adding considerably to his boldness in speaking.
It may seem extraordinary to some of our readers that Don Luis shouldhave carried on so interesting a conversation with Clara, unheard by anypersons who surrounded them; but such was the fact, for lovers quicklylearn to lower their voices and restrain their actions, as we havealways heard: indeed, a friend of ours, a miserable younger son, oncemade an arrangement with a young lady of fortune sufficient for themboth, to elope with him, while her unconscious mamma was sitting on theother side