CHAPTER IV.
COUNT ANTONIO AND THE WIZARD'S DRUG.
The opinion of man is ever in flux save where it is founded on the rockof true religion. What our fathers believed, we disbelieve; but oftenour sons shall again receive it. In olden time men held much by magicand black arts; now such are less esteemed; yet hereafter it may well bethat the world will find new incantations and fresh spells, the sameimpulse flowing in a different channel and never utterly to be checkedor stemmed by the censures of the Church or the mocking of unbelievers.As for truth--in truth who knows truth? For the light of Revelationshines but in few places, and for the rest we are in natural darkness,groping along unseen paths towards unknown ends. May God keep ourfootsteps!
Now towards the close of the third year of his outlawry the heart ofCount Antonio of Monte Velluto had grown very sad. For it was above thespace of a year since he had heard news of the Lady Lucia, and hard upontwo since he had seen her face; so closely did Duke Valentine hold herprisoner in Firmola. And as he walked to and fro among his men in theirhiding place in the hills, his face was sorrowful. Yet, coming whereTommasino and Bena sat together, he stopped and listened to their talkwith a smile. For Bena cried to Tommasino, "By the saints, my lord, itis even so! My father himself had a philtre from him thirty years ago;and though, before, my mother had loathed to look on my father, yet nowhere am I, nine-and-twenty years of age and a child born in holywedlock. Never tell me that it is foolishness, my lord!"
"Of whom do you speak, Bena?" asked Antonio.
"Of the Wizard of Baratesta, my lord. Aye, and he can do more than makea love-potion. He can show you all that shall come to you in a mirror,and make the girl you love rise before your eyes as though the shapewere good flesh and blood."
"All this is foolishness, Bena," said Count Antonio.
"Well, God knows that," said Bena. "But he did it for my father; and ashe is thirty years older, he will be wiser still by now;" and Benastrode off to tend his horse, somewhat angry that Antonio paid so littleheed to his words.
"It is all foolishness, Tommasino," said Antonio.
"They say that of many a thing which gives a man pleasure," saidTommasino.
"I have heard of this man before," continued the Count, "and marvellousstories are told of him. Now I leave what shall come to me in the handsof Heaven; for to know is not to alter, and knowledge without power isbut fretting of the heart; but----" And Antonio broke off.
"Ride then, if you can safely, and beg him to show you Lucia's face,"said Tommasino. "For to that I think you are making."
"In truth I was, fool that I am," said Antonio.
"But be wary; for Baratesta is but ten miles from the city, and HisHighness sleeps with an open eye."
So Antonio, albeit that he was in part ashamed, learnt from Bena wherethe wizard dwelt on the bridge that is outside the gate ofBaratesta--for the Syndic would not suffer such folk to live inside thewall--and one evening he saddled his horse and rode alone to seek thewizard, leaving Tommasino in charge of the band. And as he went, hepondered, saying, "I am a fool, yet I would see her face;" and thus,still dubbing himself fool, yet still persisting, he came to the bridgeof Baratesta; and the wizard, who was a very old man and tall andmarvellously lean, met him at the door of the house, crying, "I lookedfor your coming, my lord." And he took Antonio's horse from him andstood it in a stable beside the house, and led Antonio in, saying again,"Your coming was known to me, my lord;" and he brought Antonio to achamber at the back of the house, having one window, past which theriver, being then in flood, rushed with noise and fury. There were manystrange things in the chamber, skulls and the forms of animals fromfar-off countries, great jars, basins, and retorts, and in one corner amirror half-draped in a black cloth.
"You know who I am?" asked Antonio.
"That needs no art," answered the wizard, "and I pretend to none in it.Your face, my lord, was known to me as to any other man, from seeing youride with the Duke before your banishment."
"And you knew that I rode hither to-night?"
"Aye," said the wizard. "For the stars told of the coming of some greatman; and I turned from my toil and watched for you."
"What toil?" asked Antonio. "See, here is money, and I have a quiettongue. What toil?"
The wizard pointed to a heap of broken and bent pieces of base metal. "Iwas turning dross to gold," said he, in a fearful whisper.
"Can you do that?" asked Antonio, smiling.
"I can, my lord, though but slowly."
"And hate to love?" asked Count Antonio.
The wizard laughed harshly. "Let them that prize love, seek that," saidhe. "It is not for me."
"I would it had been; then had my errand here been a better one. For Iam come to see the semblance of a maiden's face."
The wizard frowned as he said, "I had looked for a greater matter. Foryou have a mighty enemy, my lord, and I have means of power for freeingmen of their enemies."
But Count Antonio, knowing that he spoke of some dark device of spell orpoison, answered, "Enough! enough! For I am a man of quick temper, andit is not well to tell me of wicked things, lest I be tempted toanticipate Heaven's punishment."
"I shall not die at your hands, my lord," said the wizard. "Come, willyou see what shall befall you?"
"Nay, I would but see my lady's face; a great yearning for that has comeover me, and, although I take shame in it, yet it has brought me here."
"You shall see it then; and if you see more, it is not by my will,"said the wizard; and he quenched the lamp that burned on the table, andflung a handful of some powder on the charcoal in the stove; and theroom was filled with a thick sweet-smelling vapour. And the wizard torethe black cloth off the face of the mirror and bade Antonio looksteadily in the mirror. Antonio looked till the vapour that envelopedall the room cleared off from the face of the mirror, and the wizard,laying his hand on Antonio's shoulder, said, "Cry her name thrice." AndAntonio thrice cried "Lucia!" and again waited. Then something came onthe polished surface of the mirror; but the wizard muttered low andangrily, for it was not the form of Lucia nor of any maiden; yetpresently he cried low, "Look, my lord, look!" and Antonio, looking, sawa dim, and shadowy face in the mirror; and the wizard began to fling hisbody to and fro, uttering strange whispered words; and the sweat stoodin beads on his forehead. "Now, now!" he cried; and Antonio, withbeating heart, fastened his gaze on the mirror. And as the story goes (Ivouch not for it) he saw, though very dimly, the face of Lucia; butmore he saw also; for beside the face was his own face, and there was arope about his neck, and the half-shaped arm of a gibbet seemed to hoverabove him. And he shrank back for an instant.
"What more you see is not by my will," said the wizard.
"What shall come is only by God's will," said Antonio. "I have seen herface. It is enough."
But the wizard clutched him by the arm, whispering in terror, "It is agibbet; and the rope is about your neck."
"Indeed, I seem to have worn it there these three years, and it is notdrawn tight yet; nor is it drawn in the mirror."
"You have a good courage," said the wizard with a grim smile. "I willshow you more;" and he flung another powder on the charcoal; and theshapes passed from the mirror. But another came; and the wizard, with agreat cry, fell suddenly on his knees, exclaiming, "They mock me, theymock me! They show what they will, not what I will. Ah, my lord, whoseis the face in the mirror?" And he seized Antonio again by the arm.
"It is your face," said Antonio; "and it is the face of a dead man, forhis jaw has dropped, and his features are drawn and wrung."
The wizard buried his face in his hands; and so they rested awhile tillthe glass of the mirror cleared; and Antonio felt the body of the wizardshaking against his knee.
"You are old," said Antonio, "and death must come to all. Maybe it is alie of the devil; but if not, face it as a man should."
But the wizard trembled still; and Antonio, casting a pitiful glance onhim, rose to depart. But on the instant as he moved, there c
ame a suddenloud knocking at the door of the house, and he stood still. The wizardlifted his head to listen.
"Have you had warning of more visitors to-night?" asked Antonio.
"I know not what happens to-night," muttered the wizard. "My power isgone to-night."
The knocking at the door came again, loud and impatient.
"They will beat the door down if you do not open," said Antonio. "I willhide myself here behind the mirror; for I cannot pass them without beingseen; and if I am seen here, it is like enough that the mirror will beproved right both for you and me."
So Antonio hid himself, crouching down behind the mirror; and thewizard, having lit a small dim lamp, went on trembling feet to the door.And presently he came back, followed by two men whose faces were hid intheir cloaks. One of them sat down, but the other stood and flung hiscloak back over his shoulders; and Antonio, observing him from behindthe mirror, saw that he was Lorenzo, the Duke's favourite.
Then Lorenzo spoke to the wizard saying, "Why did you not come sooner toopen the door?"
"There was one here with me," said the wizard, whose air had becomeagain composed.
"And is he gone? For we would be alone."
"He is not to be seen," answered the wizard. "Utterly alone here youcannot be."
When he heard this, Lorenzo turned pale, for he did not love thismidnight errand to the wizard's chamber.
"But no man is here," said the wizard.
A low hoarse laugh came from the man who sat. "Tricks of the trade,tricks of the trade!" said he; and Antonio started to hear his voice."Be sure that where a prince, a courtier, and a cheat are together, thedevil makes a fourth. But there is no need to turn pale over it,Lorenzo."
When the wizard heard, he fell on his knees; for he knew that it wasDuke Valentine who spoke.
"Look you, fellow," pursued His Highness, "you owe me much thanks thatyou are not hanged already; for by putting an end to you I should pleasemy clergy much and the Syndic of Baratesta not a little. But if you donot obey me to-night, you shall be dead before morning."
"I shall not die unless it be written in the stars," said the wizard,but his voice trembled.
"I know nothing of the stars," said the Duke, "but I know the mind ofthe Duke of Firmola, and that is enough for my purpose." And he roseand began to walk about the chamber, examining the strange objects thatwere there; and thus he came in front of the mirror, and stood withinhalf a yard of Antonio. But Lorenzo stood where he was, and once hecrossed himself secretly and unobserved.
"What would my lord the Duke?" asked the wizard.
"There is a certain drug," said the Duke, turning round towards thewizard, "which if a man drink--or a woman, Lorenzo--he can walk on hislegs and use his arms, and seem to be waking and in his right mind; yetis his mind a nothing, for he knows not what he does, but doeseverything that one, being with him, may command, and without seemingreluctance; and again, when bidden, he will seem to lose all power ofmovement, and to lack his senses. I saw the thing once when I sojournedwith the Lord of Florence; for a wizard there, having given the drug toa certain man, put him through strange antics, and he performed them allwillingly."
"Aye, there is such a drug," said the wizard.
"Then give it me," said the Duke; "and I give you your life and fiftypieces of gold. For I have great need of it."
Now when Antonio heard the Duke's words, he was seized with great fear;for he surmised that it was against Lucia that the Duke meant to usethis drug; and noiselessly he loosened his sword in its sheath and bentforward again to listen.
"And though my purpose is nothing to you, yet it is a benevolentpurpose. Is it not, Lorenzo?"
"It is your will, not mine, my lord," said Lorenzo in a troubled voice.
"Mine shall be the crime, then, and yours the reward," laughed the Duke."For I will give her the drug, and she shall wed you."
Then Antonio doubted no longer of what was afoot, nor that a plot waslaid whereby Lucia should be entrapped into marriage with Lorenzo, sinceshe could not be openly forced. And anger burned hotly in him. And heswore that, sooner than suffer the thing to be done, he would kill theDuke there with his own hand or himself be slain.
"And you alone know of this drug now, they say," the Duke went on. "Forthe wizard of Florence is dead. Therefore give it me quickly."
But the wizard answered, "It will not serve, my lord, that I give youthe drug. With my own hand I must give it to the persons whom you wouldthus affect, and I must tell them what they should do."
"More tricks!" said the Duke scornfully. "I know your ways. Give me thedrug." And he would not believe what the wizard said.
"It is even as I say," said the wizard. "And if Your Highness will carrythe drug yourself, I will not vouch its operation."
"Give it me; for I know the appearance of it," said the Duke.
Then the wizard, having again protested, went to a certain shelf andfrom some hidden recess took a small phial, and came with it to theDuke, saying, "Blame me not, if its operation fail."
The Duke examined the phial closely, and also smelt its smell. "It isthe same," said he. "It will do its work."
Then Count Antonio, who believed no more than the Duke what the wizardhad said concerning the need of his own presence for the working of thedrug, was very sorely put to it to stay quietly where he was; for if theDuke rode away now with the phial, he might well find means to give itto the Lady Lucia before any warning could be conveyed to her. And,although the danger was great, yet his love for Lucia and his fear forher overcame his prudence, and suddenly he sprang from behind themirror, drawing his sword and crying, "Give me that drug, my lord, oryour life must answer for it."
But fortune served him ill; for as the Duke and Lorenzo shrank back athis sudden appearance, and he was about to spring on them, behold, hisfoot caught in the folds of the black cloth that had been over themirror and now lay on the ground, and, falling forward, he struck hishead on the marble rim that ran round the charcoal stove, and, havingfallen with great force, lay there like a man dead. With loud cries oftriumph, the Duke and Lorenzo, having drawn their swords, ran upon him;and the Duke planted his foot upon his neck, crying, "Heaven sends agreater prize! At last, at last I have him! Bind his hands, Lorenzo."
Lorenzo bound Antonio's hands as he lay there, a log for stillness. TheDuke turned to the wizard and a smile bent his lips. "O faithful subjectand servant!" said he. "Well do you requite my mercy and forbearance, byharbouring my bitterest enemies and suffering them to hear my secretcounsels. Had not Antonio chanced to trip, it is like enough he wouldhave slain Lorenzo and me also. What shall be your reward, O faithfulservant?"
When the Wizard of Baratesta beheld the look that was on DukeValentine's face, he suddenly cried aloud, "The mirror, the mirror!" andsank in a heap on the floor, trembling in every limb; for he rememberedthe aspect of his own face in the mirror and knew that the hour of hisdeath had come. And he feared mightily to die; therefore he besought theDuke very piteously, and told him again that from his hand alone couldthe drug receive its potency. And so earnest was he in this, that atlast he half-won upon the Duke, so that the Duke wavered. And as hedoubted, his eye fell on Antonio; and he perceived that Antonio wasrecovering from his swoon.
"There is enough for two," said he, "in the phial; and we will put thisthing to the test. But if you speak or move or make any sign, forthwithin that moment you shall die." Then the Duke poured half the contents ofthe phial into a glass and came to Lorenzo and whispered to him, "If thedrug works on him, and the wizard is proved to lie, the wizard shalldie; but we will carry Antonio with us; and when I have mustered myGuard, I will hang him in the square as I have sworn. But if the drugdoes not work, then we must kill him here; for I fear to carry himagainst his will; for he is a wonderful man, full of resource, and thepeople also love him. Therefore, if the operation of the drug fail, runhim through with your sword when I give the signal."
Now Antonio was recovering from his swoon, and he overheard part ofwhat
the Duke said, but not all. As to the death of the wizard he didnot hear, but he understood that the Duke was about to test the effectof the drug on him, and that if it had no effect, he was to die;whereas, if its operation proved sufficient, he should go alive; and hesaw here a chance for his life in case what the wizard had said shouldprove true.
"Drink, Antonio," said the Duke softly. "No harm comes to you. Drink: itis a refreshing draught."
And Antonio drank the draught, the wizard looking on with parted lipsand with great drops of sweat running from his forehead and thence downhis cheeks to his mouth, so that his lips were salt when he licked them.And the Duke, having seen that Lorenzo had his sword ready for Antonio,took his stand by the wizard with the dagger from his belt in his hand.And he cried to Antonio, "Rise." And Antonio rose up. The wizard starteda step towards him; but the Duke showed his dagger, and said to Antonio,"Will you go with me to Firmola, Antonio?"
And Antonio answered, "I will go."
"Do you love me, Antonio?" asked the Duke.
"Aye, my lord," answered Antonio.
"Yet you have done many wicked things against me."
"True, my lord," said Antonio.
"Is your mind then changed?"
"It is, my lord," said Antonio.
"Then leap two paces into the air," said the Duke; and Antoniostraightway obeyed.
"Go down on your knees and crawl;" and Antonio crawled, smiling secretlyto himself.
Then the Duke bade Lorenzo mount Antonio on his horse; and he commandedthe wizard to follow him; and they all went out where the horses were;and the three mounted, and the wizard followed; and they came to the endof the bridge. There the Duke turned sharp round and rode by the side ofthe rushing river. And, suddenly pausing, he said to Antonio, "Commendthy soul to God and leap in."
And Antonio commended his soul to God, and would have leapt in; but theDuke caught him by the arm even as he set spurs to his horse, saying,"Do not leap." And Antonio stayed his leap. Then the Duke turned hisface on the wizard, saying, "The potion works, wizard. Why did you lie?"
Then the wizard fell on his knees, cursing hell and heaven; for he couldnot see how he should escape. For the potion worked. And Antoniowondered what should fall out next. But Duke Valentine leapt down fromhis horse and approached the wizard, while Lorenzo set his sword againstAntonio's breast. And the Duke, desirous to make a final trial, criedagain to Antonio, "Fling yourself from your horse." And Antonio, havinghis arms bound, yet flung himself from his horse, and fell prone on theground, and lay there sorely bruised.
"It is enough," said the Duke. "You lied, wizard."
But the wizard cried, "I lied not, I lied not, my lord. Slay me not, mylord! For I dare not die."
But the Duke caught him by the throat and drove his dagger into hisbreast till the fingers that held the dagger were buried in the foldsof the wizard's doublet; and the Duke pulled out the dagger, and, whenthe wizard fell, he pushed him with his foot over the brink, and thebody fell with a loud splash into the river below.
Thus died the Wizard of Baratesta, who was famed above all of his dayfor the hidden knowledge that he had; yet he served not God, but Satan,and his end was the end of a sinner. And, many days after, his body wasfound a hundred miles from that place; and certain charitable men,brethren of my own order, gave it burial. So that he died that samenight in which the mirror had shown him his face as the face of a deadman; but whence came the vision I know not.
Then the Duke set Antonio again on his horse, and the three rodetogether towards Firmola, and as they went, again and again the Duketested the operation of the drug, setting Antonio many strange,ludicrous, and unseemly things to do and to say; and Antonio did andsaid them all. But he wondered greatly that the drug had no power overhim, and that his brain was clear and his senses all his own; nor didhe then believe that the Duke had, in truth, slain the wizard for anyreason save that the wizard had harboured him, an outlaw, and sufferedhim to hear the Duke's counsels: and he was grieved at the wizard'sdeath.
Thus they rode through the night; and it was the hour of dawn when theycame to the gates of Firmola. Now Antonio was puzzled what he should do;for having been in a swoon, he knew not whether the Duke had more of thepotion; nor could he tell with certainty whether the potion would bepowerless against the senses of a weak girl as it had proved against hisown. Therefore he said to the Duke, "I pray you, my lord, give me moreof that sweet drink. For it has refreshed me and set my mind at restfrom all trouble."
"Nay, Antonio, you have had enough," said the Duke, bantering him. "Ihave another use for the rest." And they were now nearing the gates ofFirmola. Then Antonio began to moan pitifully, saying, "These bonds hurtmy hands;" and he whined and did as a child would do, feigning to cry.The Duke laughed in bitter triumph, saying to Lorenzo, "Indeed it is aprincely drug that makes Antonio of Monte Velluto like a peevish child!"And being now very secure of the power of the drug, he bade Lorenzoloosen the bonds, saying to Antonio, "Take the reins, Antonio, and ridewith us into the city."
And Antonio answered, "I will, my good lord."
"It is even as I saw when I was with the Lord of Florence," whisperedthe Duke in exultation.
"Yet I will still have my sword ready," said Lorenzo.
"There is no need; he is like a tame dog," said the Duke carelessly.
But the Duke was not minded to produce Antonio to the people till allhis Guards were collected and under arms, and the people thus restrainedby a great show of force. Therefore he bade Antonio cover his face withhis cloak; and Antonio, Lorenzo's sword being still at his breast,obeyed; and thus they three rode through the gates of Firmola and cameto the Duke's palace; and Antonio did all that the Duke ordered, andbabbled foolishly like a bewildered child when the Duke asked himquestions, so that His Highness laughed mightily, and, coming into thegarden, sat down in his favourite place by the fish-pond, causingAntonio to stand over against him.
"Indeed, Antonio," said he, "I can do no other than hang you."
"If it be your pleasure, my lord."
"And then Lucia shall drink of this wonderful drug also, and she will becontent and obedient, and will gladly wed Lorenzo. Let us have her herenow, and give it to her without delay. You do not fret at that, Antonio?You love not the obstinate girl?"
"In truth, no," laughed Antonio. "She is naught to me!" And he put hishand to his head, saying perplexedly, "Lucia? Yes, I remember that name.Who was she? Was she aught to me, my lord?"
Then Lorenzo wondered greatly, and the doubts that he had heldconcerning the power of the wizard's drug melted away; yet he did notlaugh like the Duke, but looked on Antonio and said sadly to the Duke,sinking his voice, "Not thus should Antonio of Monte Velluto have died."
"So he dies, I care not how," answered the Duke. "Indeed, I love to seehim a witless fool even while his body is yet alive. O rare wizard, I gonear to repenting having done justice on you! Go, Lorenzo, to theofficer of the Guard and bid him fetch hither the Lady Lucia, and wewill play the pretty comedy to the end."
"Will you be alone with him?" asked Lorenzo.
"Aye; why not? See! he is tame enough," and he buffeted Antonio in theface with his riding-glove. And Antonio whimpered and whined.
Now the officer of the Guard was in his lodge at the entrance of thepalace, on the other side of the great hall; and Lorenzo turned andwent, and presently the sound of his feet on the marble floor of thehall grew faint and distant. The Duke sat with the phial in his hand,smiling at Antonio who crouched at his feet. And Antonio drew himself onhis knees quite close to the Duke, and looked up in his face with afoolish empty smile. And the Duke, laughing, buffeted him again. Then,with a sudden spring, like the spring of that Indian tiger which theMogul of Delhi sent lately as a gift to the Most Christian King, and theking, for his diversion, made to slay deer before him at the _chateau_of Blois (which I myself saw, being there on a certain mission, andwonderful was the sight), Count Antonio, leaping, was upon the Duke; andhe snatched the philtre from the Duke's han
d and seized the Duke's headin his hands and wrenched his jaw open, and he poured the contents ofthe phial down the Duke's throat, and the Duke swallowed the potion.Then Antonio fixed a stern and imperious glance on the Duke, nailing hiseyes to the Duke's and the Duke's to his, and he said in a voice ofcommand, "Obey! You have drunk the potion!" And still he kept his eyeson the Duke's. And the Duke, amazed, suddenly began to tremble, andsought to rise; and Antonio took his hands off him, but said, "Sitthere, and move not." Then, although Antonio's hands were no longer uponhim, yet His Highness did not rise, but after a short struggle withhimself sank back in his seat, and stared at Antonio like a birdfascinated by a snake. And he moaned, "Take away your eyes; they burn mybrain. Take them away." But Antonio gazed all the more intently at him,saying, "Be still, be still!" and holding up his arm in enforcement ofhis command. And Antonio took from the Duke the sword that he wore andthe dagger wherewith the Duke had killed the Wizard of Baratesta, hemaking no resistance, but sitting motionless with bewildered stare. ThenAntonio looked round, for he knew that Lorenzo would soon come. And forthe last time he bent his eyes again on the Duke's eyes in a very longgaze and the Duke cowered and shivered, moaning, "You hurt me, you hurtme."
Then Antonio said, "Be still and speak not till I return and bid you;"and he suddenly left the Duke and ran at the top of his speed alongunder the wall of the garden, and came where the wall ended; and therewas a flight of steps leading up on to the top of the wall. Running upit, Antonio stood for a moment on the wall; and the river ran fiftyfeet below. But he heard a cry from the garden, and beheld Lorenzorushing up to the Duke, and behind Lorenzo, the Captain of the Guardand, two men who led a maiden in white. Then Count Antonio, havingcommended himself to the keeping of God, leapt head foremost from thetop of the wall into the river, and his body clove the water as an arrowcleaves the wand.
Now Lorenzo marvelled greatly at what he saw, and came to the Dukecrying, "My lord, what does this mean? Antonio flies!" But the Dukeanswered nothing, sitting with empty eyes and lips set in a rigid smile;nor did he move. "My lord, what ails you?" cried Lorenzo. Yet the Dukedid not answer. Then Lorenzo's eye fell on the fragments of the phialwhich lay broken on the rim of the fish-pond where Antonio had flung it;and he cried out in great alarm, "The potion! Where is the potion?" Butthe Duke did not answer. And Lorenzo was much bewildered and in sorefear; for it seemed as though His Highness's senses were gone; andLorenzo said, "By some means he has drunk the potion!" And he ran up tothe Duke, and caught him by the arm and shook him violently, seeking torouse him from his stupor, and calling his name with entreaties, andcrying, "He escapes, my lord; Antonio escapes! Rouse yourself, mylord--he escapes!" But the Duke did no more than lift heavy dull eyes toLorenzo's face in puzzled inquiry.
And, seeing the strange thing, the Captain of the Guard hurried up, andwith him the Lady Lucia, and she said, "Alas, my lord is ill!" andcoming to His Highness she set her cool soft hand on his hot throbbingbrow, and took perfume from a silver flask that hung at her girdle, andwetted her handkerchief with it and bathed his brow, whispering softsoothing words to him, as though he had been a sick woman. For let awoman have what grudge she may against a man, yet he gains pardon forall so soon as he becomes sick enough to let her nurse and comfort him;and Lucia was as tender to the Duke as to the Count Antonio himself,and forgot all save the need of giving him ease and rousing him fromhis stupor.
But Lorenzo cried angrily, "I at least have my senses!" And he said tothe Captain of the Guard, "I must needs stay with His Highness; butAntonio of Monte Velluto has leapt from the wall into the river. Go andbring him here, dead or alive, and I will be your warrant to the Duke.But if he be as when I saw him last, he will give you small trouble. Forhe was like a child for weakness and folly." And having said this, heturned to the Duke again, and gave his aid to Lucia's ministrations.
Now the gentleman who commanded the Duke's Guard at this time was aSpaniard, by name Corogna, and he was young, of high courage, andburning to do some great deed. Therefore he said, "I pray he be as he iswont to be: yet I will bring him to the feet of my lord the Duke." Andhe ran swiftly through the hall and called for his horse, and drawinghis sword, rode alone out of the city and across the bridge, seekingAntonio, and saying to himself, "What a thing if I take him! And if heslay me, why, I will show that a gentleman of Andalusia can die;" yethe thought for an instant of the house where his mother lived. Then hescanned the plain, and he beheld a man running some half-mile away; andthe man seemed to be making for the hill on which stood the ruins ofAntonio's house that the Duke had burnt. Then Corogna set spurs to hishorse; but the man, whom by his stature and gait Corogna knew to beAntonio, ran very swiftly, and was not overtaken before he came to thehill; and he began to mount by a very steep rugged path, and he was outof sight in the trees when Corogna came to the foot. And Corogna's horsestumbled among the stones, and could not mount the path; so Corognasprang off his back and ran on foot up the path, sword in hand. And hecame in sight of Antonio round a curve of the path three parts of theway up the hill. Antonio was leaning against the trunk of a tree andwringing the water out of his cloak. Corogna drew near, sword in hand,and with a prayer to the Holy Virgin on his lips. And he trembled, notwith fear, but because fate offered a great prize, and his name wouldbe famed throughout Italy if he slew or took Antonio of Monte Velluto;and for fame, even as for a woman's smile, a young man will tremble as acoward quakes with fear.
The Count Antonio stood as though sunk in a reverie; yet, presently,hearing Corogna's tread, he raised his eyes, and smiling kindly on theyoung man, he said, "Very strange are the ways of Heaven, sir. I thinkthat the Wizard of Baratesta spoke truth, and did not lie to the Duke.Yet I had that same power which the wizard claimed, although the Dukehad none over me. We are children, sir, and our game is blind-man'sbuff; but all are blinded, and it is but the narrowest glimpse that weobtain now and again by some clever shifting of the handkerchief. Yetthere are some things clear enough; as that a man should do his work,and be clean and true. What would you with me, sir? For I do not think Iknow you."
"I am of Andalusia, and my name is Corogna. I am Captain of HisHighness's Guard, and I come to bring you, alive or dead, to hispresence."
"And are you come alone on that errand, sir?" asked Antonio with a smilethat he strove to smother, lest it should wound the young man's honour.
"David slew Goliath, my lord," said the Spaniard with a bow.
Then Count Antonio held out his hand to the young man and saidcourteously, "Sir, your valour needs no proof and fears no reproach. Ipray you suffer me to go in peace. I would not fight with you, if I mayavoid it honourably. For what has happened has left me more in the moodfor thinking than for fighting. Besides, sir, you are young, and, faroff in Andalusia, loving eyes, and maybe sparkling eyes, are strained tothe horizon, seeking your face as you return."
"What is all that, my lord?" asked Corogna. "I am a man, though a youngone; and I am here to carry you to the Duke." And he touched Antonio'ssword with his, saying, "Guard yourself."
"It is with great pain and reluctance that I take my sword, and I callyou to witness of it; but if I must, I must;" and the Count took up hisposition and they crossed swords.
Now Corogna was well-taught and skilful, but he did not know the cunningwhich Antonio had learned in the school of Giacomo in Padua, nor had hethe strength and endurance of the Count. Antonio would fain have weariedhim out, and then, giving him some slight wound to cover his honour,have left him and escaped; but the young man came at him impetuously,and neglected to guard himself while he thrust at his enemy: once andagain the Count spared him; but he did not know that he had received thecourtesy, and taking heart from his immunity came at Antonio morefiercely again; until at last Antonio, breathing a sigh, stiffened hisarm, and, waiting warily for the young man again to uncover himself,thrust at his breast, and the sword's point entered hard by the youngman's heart; and the young man staggered, and would have fallen,dropping his sword; but Antonio cast away his own s
word and supportedhim, stanching the blood from the wound and crying, "God send I have notkilled him!"
And on his speech came the voice of Tommasino, saying carelessly, "Here,in truth, cousin, is a good prayer wasted on a Spaniard!"
Antonio, looking up, saw Tommasino and Bena. And Tommasino said, "Whenyou did not come back, we set out to seek you, fearing that you werefallen into some snare and danger. And behold, we find you nursing thisyoung spark; and how you missed his heart, Antonio, I know not, nor whatGiacomo of Padua would say to such bungling."
But Antonio cared not for his cousin's words, which were spoken in abanter that a man uses to hide his true feelings; and they three setthemselves to save the young man's life; for Tommasino and Bena had seenthe better part of the fight and perceived that he was a gallant youth.But as they tended him, there came shouts and the sound of horses' hoofsmounting the hill by the winding road that led past Antonio's house. AndTommasino touched Antonio on the shoulder, saying, "We can do no morefor him; and if we linger, we must fight again."
Then they laid the young man down, Antonio stripping off his cloak andmaking a pillow of it; and Bena brought the horses, for they had led onewith them for Antonio, in case there should be need of it; and they werebut just mounted when twenty of the Duke's Guard appeared three hundredyards away, ascending the crest of the hill.
"Thank Heaven there are so many," said Antonio, "for now we can fleewithout shame;" and they set spurs to their horses and fled. And certainof the Duke's Guard pursued, but only two or three were so well mountedas to be able to come near them; and these two or three, finding thatthey would be man to man, had no liking for the business, and eachcalled out that his horse was foundered; and thus it was that none ofthem came up with Count Antonio, but all, after a while, returnedtogether to the city, carrying the young Spaniard Corogna, theircaptain. But as they drew near to the gates, Corogna opened his eyes andmurmured some soft-syllabled name that they could not hear, and, havingwith failing fingers signed the cross, turned on his side and died. Andthey brought his body to the great hall of the Duke's palace.
There in the great hall sat Duke Valentine: his face was pale and hisfrown heavy, and he gazed on the dead body of the young man and spoke noword. Yet he had loved Corogna, and out of love for him had made himCaptain of his Guard. And he passed his hand wearily across his brow,murmuring, "I cannot think, I cannot think." And the Lady Lucia stood byhim, her hand resting on his shoulder and her eyes full of tears. But atlast the strange spell which lay on the senses of the Duke passed away:his eyes again had the light of reason in them, and he listened whilethey told him how Antonio had himself escaped, and had afterwards slainCorogna on the top of the hill where Antonio's house had stood. And theDuke was very sorry for Corogna's death: and he looked round on themall, saying, "He made of me a log of wood, and not a man. For when I haddrunk and looked in his eyes, it seemed to me that my eyes were bound tohis, and that I looked to him for command, and to know what I shoulddo, and that he was my God, and without his will I could not move. Yes,I was then to him even as he had seemed to be to me as we rode fromBaratesta. And even now I am not free from this strange affection; forhe seems still to be by me, and if his voice came now bidding me to doanything, by St. Prisian, I should arise and do it! Send my physician tome. And let this young man lie in the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin inthe Cathedral, and to-morrow he shall be buried. But when I am well, andthis strange affection is passed from me, and hangs no more like a fogover my brain, then I will exact the price of his death from Antonio,together with the reckoning of all else in respect of which he stands inmy debt."
But the Lady Lucia, hearing this, said boldly, "My lord, it is by yourdeed and through your devices that this gentleman has met his death, andthe blame of it is yours, and not my lord Antonio's."
At her bold and angry words Duke Valentine was roused, and the last ofhis languor left him; and he glared at her in wrath, crying "Go to yourhouse;" and he rose up suddenly from where he sat and went into hiscabinet, Lorenzo attending him. And on the day after he walked firstbehind the bier of Corogna, and his face was very pale, but his aircomposed and his manner as it was wont to be. For the spell had passedand he was his own man again.
But Count Antonio heard with great grief of the death of the young man,and was very sorry that he had been constrained to kill him, and tookgreat blame to himself for seeking counsel of the Wizard of Baratesta,whence had come death to the young man no less than to the wizardhimself.
Such is the story of the drug which the Wizard of Baratesta gave to DukeValentine of Firmola. To me it seems a strange tale, but yet it is wellattested and stands on as strong a rock of testimony as anything whichis told concerning the Count. The truth of it I do not understand, andoften I ponder of it, wondering whether the Wizard of Baratesta spoketruth, and why the drug which had no power over Count Antonio bound thesenses and limbs of the Duke in utter torpor and helplessness. And once,when I was thus musing over the story, there came to my cell a monk ofthe Abbey of St. Prisian, who was an old man and very learned; and Iwent to walk with him in the garden, and coming to the fountain we satdown by the basin; and knowing that his lore was wide and deep, I setbefore him all the story, asking him if he knew of this strange drug;but he smiled at me, and taking the cup that lay by the basin of thefountain, he filled it with the clear sparkling water and drank alittle, and held the cup to me, saying, "I think the Wizard of Baratestawould have wrought the spell as well with no other drug than this."
"You say a strange thing," said I.
"And I do not marvel," said he, "that the Duke had no power over CountAntonio, for he knew not how to wield such power. But neither do Iwonder that power lay in Count Antonio to bend the mind of the Duke tohis will. I warrant you, Ambrose, that the wonderful drug was notdifficult to compound."
Then I understood what he meant; for he would have it that the drug wasbut a screen and a pretence, and that the power lay not in it, but inthe man that gave it. Yet surely this is to explain what is obscure by athing more obscure, and falls thus into a fault hated of the logicians.For Heaven may well have made a drug that binds the senses and limbs ofmen. Has not the poppy some such effect? And the ancients fabled thelike of the lotus plant. But can we conceive that one man should by themere glance of his eye have such power over another as to become to him,by these means and no other, a lord and master? In truth I find thathard to believe, and I doubt whether a man may lawfully believe it. YetI know not. Knowledge spreads, and men grow wiser in hidden things; andalthough I who write may not live till the time when the thing shall bemade clear, yet it may be God's will to send such light to the men oflater days that, reading this story, they may find in it nothing that isstrange or unknown to their science and skill. I pray that they may usethe knowledge God sends in His holy service, and not in the work of thedevil, as did the Wizard of Baratesta.
But Count Antonio being, by his guile and adroitness, and by thatstrange power which he had from the drug or whence I know not, deliveredout of the hands of Duke Valentine, abode with his company on the hillsthroughout the cold of winter, expecting the day when he might win thehand of the Lady Lucia; and she returned to her house, and said nothingof what had befallen the Duke. Yet the Duke showed her no tenderness,but rather used more severity with her. It is an evil service to a proudman to aid him in his day of humiliation.