Chapter VII
I will not enumerate the various inquiries and conjectures which theseincidents occasioned. After all our efforts, we came no nearer todispelling the mist in which they were involved; and time, instead offacilitating a solution, only accumulated our doubts. In the midst ofthoughts excited by these events, I was not unmindful of my interviewwith the stranger. I related the particulars, and shewed the portrait tomy friends. Pleyel recollected to have met with a figure resemblingmy description in the city; but neither his face or garb made the sameimpression upon him that it made upon me. It was a hint to rally me uponmy prepossessions, and to amuse us with a thousand ludicrous anecdoteswhich he had collected in his travels. He made no scruple to charge mewith being in love; and threatened to inform the swain, when he met him,of his good fortune.
Pleyel's temper made him susceptible of no durable impressions. Hisconversation was occasionally visited by gleams of his ancient vivacity;but, though his impetuosity was sometimes inconvenient, there wasnothing to dread from his malice. I had no fear that my character ordignity would suffer in his hands, and was not heartily displeased whenhe declared his intention of profiting by his first meeting with thestranger to introduce him to our acquaintance.
Some weeks after this I had spent a toilsome day, and, as the sundeclined, found myself disposed to seek relief in a walk. The riverbank is, at this part of it, and for some considerable space upward,so rugged and steep as not to be easily descended. In a recess of thisdeclivity, near the southern verge of my little demesne, was placed aslight building, with seats and lattices. From a crevice of the rock,to which this edifice was attached, there burst forth a stream of thepurest water, which, leaping from ledge to ledge, for the space of sixtyfeet, produced a freshness in the air, and a murmur, the most deliciousand soothing imaginable. These, added to the odours of the cedarswhich embowered it, and of the honey-suckle which clustered among thelattices, rendered this my favorite retreat in summer.
On this occasion I repaired hither. My spirits drooped through thefatigue of long attention, and I threw myself upon a bench, in a state,both mentally and personally, of the utmost supineness. The lullingsounds of the waterfall, the fragrance and the dusk combined to becalmmy spirits, and, in a short time, to sink me into sleep. Either theuneasiness of my posture, or some slight indisposition molested myrepose with dreams of no cheerful hue. After various incoherenceshad taken their turn to occupy my fancy, I at length imagined myselfwalking, in the evening twilight, to my brother's habitation. A pit,methought, had been dug in the path I had taken, of which I was notaware. As I carelessly pursued my walk, I thought I saw my brother,standing at some distance before me, beckoning and calling me to makehaste. He stood on the opposite edge of the gulph. I mended my pace, andone step more would have plunged me into this abyss, had not someone from behind caught suddenly my arm, and exclaimed, in a voice ofeagerness and terror, "Hold! hold!"
The sound broke my sleep, and I found myself, at the next moment,standing on my feet, and surrounded by the deepest darkness. Imagesso terrific and forcible disabled me, for a time, from distinguishingbetween sleep and wakefulness, and withheld from me the knowledge of myactual condition. My first panics were succeeded by the perturbations ofsurprize, to find myself alone in the open air, and immersed in so deepa gloom. I slowly recollected the incidents of the afternoon, and howI came hither. I could not estimate the time, but saw the propriety ofreturning with speed to the house. My faculties were still too confused,and the darkness too intense, to allow me immediately to find my way upthe steep. I sat down, therefore, to recover myself, and to reflect uponmy situation.
This was no sooner done, than a low voice was heard from behind thelattice, on the side where I sat. Between the rock and the lattice was achasm not wide enough to admit a human body; yet, in this chasm he thatspoke appeared to be stationed. "Attend! attend! but be not terrified."
I started and exclaimed, "Good heavens! what is that? Who are you?"
"A friend; one come, not to injure, but to save you; fear nothing."
This voice was immediately recognized to be the same with one ofthose which I had heard in the closet; it was the voice of him who hadproposed to shoot, rather than to strangle, his victim. My terror mademe, at once, mute and motionless. He continued, "I leagued to murderyou. I repent. Mark my bidding, and be safe. Avoid this spot. The snaresof death encompass it. Elsewhere danger will be distant; but this spot,shun it as you value your life. Mark me further; profit by this warning,but divulge it not. If a syllable of what has passed escape you, yourdoom is sealed. Remember your father, and be faithful."
Here the accents ceased, and left me overwhelmed with dismay. I wasfraught with the persuasion, that during every moment I remained here,my life was endangered; but I could not take a step without hazard offalling to the bottom of the precipice. The path, leading to the summit,was short, but rugged and intricate. Even star-light was excluded by theumbrage, and not the faintest gleam was afforded to guide my steps. Whatshould I do? To depart or remain was equally and eminently perilous.
In this state of uncertainty, I perceived a ray flit across the gloomand disappear. Another succeeded, which was stronger, and remained fora passing moment. It glittered on the shrubs that were scattered at theentrance, and gleam continued to succeed gleam for a few seconds, tillthey, finally, gave place to unintermitted darkness.
The first visitings of this light called up a train of horrors in mymind; destruction impended over this spot; the voice which I had latelyheard had warned me to retire, and had menaced me with the fate of myfather if I refused. I was desirous, but unable, to obey; these gleamswere such as preluded the stroke by which he fell; the hour, perhaps,was the same--I shuddered as if I had beheld, suspended over me, theexterminating sword.
Presently a new and stronger illumination burst through the latticeon the right hand, and a voice, from the edge of the precipice above,called out my name. It was Pleyel. Joyfully did I recognize his accents;but such was the tumult of my thoughts that I had not power to answerhim till he had frequently repeated his summons. I hurried, at length,from the fatal spot, and, directed by the lanthorn which he bore,ascended the hill.
Pale and breathless, it was with difficulty I could support myself. Heanxiously inquired into the cause of my affright, and the motive of myunusual absence. He had returned from my brother's at a late hour, andwas informed by Judith, that I had walked out before sun-set, and hadnot yet returned. This intelligence was somewhat alarming. He waitedsome time; but, my absence continuing, he had set out in search of me.He had explored the neighbourhood with the utmost care, but, receivingno tidings of me, he was preparing to acquaint my brother with thiscircumstance, when he recollected the summer-house on the bank, andconceived it possible that some accident had detained me there. He againinquired into the cause of this detention, and of that confusion anddismay which my looks testified.
I told him that I had strolled hither in the afternoon, that sleep hadovertaken me as I sat, and that I had awakened a few minutes beforehis arrival. I could tell him no more. In the present impetuosity of mythoughts, I was almost dubious, whether the pit, into which my brotherhad endeavoured to entice me, and the voice that talked through thelattice, were not parts of the same dream. I remembered, likewise, thecharge of secrecy, and the penalty denounced, if I should rashly divulgewhat I had heard. For these reasons, I was silent on that subject, andshutting myself in my chamber, delivered myself up to contemplation.
What I have related will, no doubt, appear to you a fable. You willbelieve that calamity has subverted my reason, and that I am amusingyou with the chimeras of my brain, instead of facts that have reallyhappened. I shall not be surprized or offended, if these be yoursuspicions. I know not, indeed, how you can deny them admission. For, ifto me, the immediate witness, they were fertile of perplexity and doubt,how must they affect another to whom they are recommended only bymy testimony? It was only by subsequent events, that I was fully andincontestibly assured
of the veracity of my senses.
Meanwhile what was I to think? I had been assured that a design had beenformed against my life. The ruffians had leagued to murder me. Whom hadI offended? Who was there with whom I had ever maintained intercourse,who was capable of harbouring such atrocious purposes?
My temper was the reverse of cruel and imperious. My heart was touchedwith sympathy for the children of misfortune. But this sympathy was nota barren sentiment. My purse, scanty as it was, was ever open, and myhands ever active, to relieve distress. Many were the wretches whommy personal exertions had extricated from want and disease, and whorewarded me with their gratitude. There was no face which lowered at myapproach, and no lips which uttered imprecations in my hearing. On thecontrary, there was none, over whose fate I had exerted any influence,or to whom I was known by reputation, who did not greet me with smiles,and dismiss me with proofs of veneration; yet did not my senses assureme that a plot was laid against my life?
I am not destitute of courage. I have shewn myself deliberative and calmin the midst of peril. I have hazarded my own life, for the preservationof another, but now was I confused and panic struck. I have not livedso as to fear death, yet to perish by an unseen and secret stroke, to bemangled by the knife of an assassin was a thought at which I shuddered;what had I done to deserve to be made the victim of malignant passions?
But soft! was I not assured, that my life was safe in all places butone? And why was the treason limited to take effect in this spot? Iwas every where equally defenceless. My house and chamber were, at alltimes, accessible. Danger still impended over me; the bloody purpose wasstill entertained, but the hand that was to execute it, was powerless inall places but one!
Here I had remained for the last four or five hours, without the meansof resistance or defence, yet I had not been attacked. A human being wasat hand, who was conscious of my presence, and warned me hereafter toavoid this retreat. His voice was not absolutely new, but had I neverheard it but once before? But why did he prohibit me from relatingthis incident to others, and what species of death will be awarded if Idisobey?
He talked of my father. He intimated, that disclosure would pull upon myhead, the same destruction. Was then the death of my father, portentousand inexplicable as it was, the consequence of human machinations? Itshould seem, that this being is apprised of the true nature of thisevent, and is conscious of the means that led to it. Whether it shalllikewise fall upon me, depends upon the observance of silence. Was itthe infraction of a similar command, that brought so horrible a penaltyupon my father?
Such were the reflections that haunted me during the night, and whicheffectually deprived me of sleep. Next morning, at breakfast, Pleyelrelated an event which my disappearance had hindered him from mentioningthe night before. Early the preceding morning, his occasions called himto the city; he had stepped into a coffee-house to while away an hour;here he had met a person whose appearance instantly bespoke him to bethe same whose hasty visit I have mentioned, and whose extraordinaryvisage and tones had so powerfully affected me. On an attentive survey,however, he proved, likewise, to be one with whom my friend had had someintercourse in Europe. This authorised the liberty of accosting him, andafter some conversation, mindful, as Pleyel said, of the footing whichthis stranger had gained in my heart, he had ventured to invite himto Mettingen. The invitation had been cheerfully accepted, and a visitpromised on the afternoon of the next day.
This information excited no sober emotions in my breast. I was, ofcourse, eager to be informed as to the circumstances of their ancientintercourse. When, and where had they met? What knew he of the life andcharacter of this man?
In answer to my inquiries, he informed me that, three years before,he was a traveller in Spain. He had made an excursion from Valencia toMurviedro, with a view to inspect the remains of Roman magnificence,scattered in the environs of that town. While traversing the sciteof the theatre of old Saguntum, he lighted upon this man, seated on astone, and deeply engaged in perusing the work of the deacon Marti. Ashort conversation ensued, which proved the stranger to be English. Theyreturned to Valencia together.
His garb, aspect, and deportment, were wholly Spanish. A residence ofthree years in the country, indefatigable attention to the language,and a studious conformity with the customs of the people, had made himindistinguishable from a native, when he chose to assume that character.Pleyel found him to be connected, on the footing of friendship andrespect, with many eminent merchants in that city. He had embraced thecatholic religion, and adopted a Spanish name instead of his own, whichwas CARWIN, and devoted himself to the literature and religion of hisnew country. He pursued no profession, but subsisted on remittances fromEngland.
While Pleyel remained in Valencia, Carwin betrayed no aversion tointercourse, and the former found no small attractions in the society ofthis new acquaintance. On general topics he was highly intelligent andcommunicative. He had visited every corner of Spain, and could furnishthe most accurate details respecting its ancient and present state.On topics of religion and of his own history, previous to hisTRANSFORMATION into a Spaniard, he was invariably silent. You couldmerely gather from his discourse that he was English, and that he waswell acquainted with the neighbouring countries.
His character excited considerable curiosity in this observer. It wasnot easy to reconcile his conversion to the Romish faith, with thoseproofs of knowledge and capacity that were exhibited by him on differentoccasions. A suspicion was, sometimes, admitted, that his belief wascounterfeited for some political purpose. The most careful observation,however, produced no discovery. His manners were, at all times, harmlessand inartificial, and his habits those of a lover of contemplation andseclusion. He appeared to have contracted an affection for Pleyel, whowas not slow to return it.
My friend, after a month's residence in this city, returned into France,and, since that period, had heard nothing concerning Carwin till hisappearance at Mettingen.
On this occasion Carwin had received Pleyel's greeting with a certaindistance and solemnity to which the latter had not been accustomed. Hehad waved noticing the inquiries of Pleyel respecting his desertionof Spain, in which he had formerly declared that it was his purpose tospend his life. He had assiduously diverted the attention of the latterto indifferent topics, but was still, on every theme, as eloquent andjudicious as formerly. Why he had assumed the garb of a rustic, Pleyelwas unable to conjecture. Perhaps it might be poverty, perhaps he wasswayed by motives which it was his interest to conceal, but which wereconnected with consequences of the utmost moment.
Such was the sum of my friend's information. I was not sorry to be leftalone during the greater part of this day. Every employment was irksomewhich did not leave me at liberty to meditate. I had now a new subjecton which to exercise my thoughts. Before evening I should be usheredinto his presence, and listen to those tones whose magical and thrillingpower I had already experienced. But with what new images would he thenbe accompanied?
Carwin was an adherent to the Romish faith, yet was an Englishman bybirth, and, perhaps, a protestant by education. He had adopted Spain forhis country, and had intimated a design to spend his days there, yet nowwas an inhabitant of this district, and disguised by the habiliments ofa clown! What could have obliterated the impressions of his youth, andmade him abjure his religion and his country? What subsequent events hadintroduced so total a change in his plans? In withdrawing from Spain,had he reverted to the religion of his ancestors; or was it true, thathis former conversion was deceitful, and that his conduct had beenswayed by motives which it was prudent to conceal?
Hours were consumed in revolving these ideas. My meditations wereintense; and, when the series was broken, I began to reflect withastonishment on my situation. From the death of my parents, till thecommencement of this year, my life had been serene and blissful, beyondthe ordinary portion of humanity; but, now, my bosom was corroded byanxiety. I was visited by dread of unknown dangers, and the future wasa scene over which clouds rolled, and thu
nders muttered. I compared thecause with the effect, and they seemed disproportioned to each other.All unaware, and in a manner which I had no power to explain, I waspushed from my immoveable and lofty station, and cast upon a sea oftroubles.
I determined to be my brother's visitant on this evening, yet myresolves were not unattended with wavering and reluctance. Pleyel'sinsinuations that I was in love, affected, in no degree, my belief, yetthe consciousness that this was the opinion of one who would, probably,be present at our introduction to each other, would excite all thatconfusion which the passion itself is apt to produce. This would confirmhim in his error, and call forth new railleries. His mirth, when exertedupon this topic, was the source of the bitterest vexation. Had he beenaware of its influence upon my happiness, his temper would not haveallowed him to persist; but this influence, it was my chief endeavourto conceal. That the belief of my having bestowed my heart upon another,produced in my friend none but ludicrous sensations, was the true causeof my distress; but if this had been discovered by him, my distresswould have been unspeakably aggravated.