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 TALES 
 
 CAMP AND CABINET, 
 
 COLONEL JOHN MONTMORENCY TUCKER 
 
 " The story of my life— 
 
 The battles, sieges, fortunes, I had pass'd ; 
 I ran it o'er e'en from my boyish days." 
 
 . Shakspeare. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 LONDON; 
 
 T. C. NEWBY, 72, MORTIMER St., CAVENDISH Sq. 
 1844.
 
 
 INTRODUCTION, 
 
 
 o 
 
 fO 
 
 In the winter of 1842, there was assembled 
 
 at the cheerful little city of Nice, a greater 
 concourse of foreigners than had been con- 
 gregated together for many preceding seasons. 
 fK Among them, were several military officers, 
 of different nations, most of them veterans, 
 ^ who, from daily meeting each other in the 
 ^ established reading room and during their 
 ^- perambulations, as well as from that habit 
 ? of sociability inherited by their profession, 
 and in which all mawkish reserve is banished, 
 5 were not long in forming companionship. 
 
 VOL. I. B
 
 2 I^'TROD^CTION. 
 
 This led to a proposition of establishing a 
 Club among themselves, for the sole purpose 
 of intercourse and amusement, and beguiling 
 away the time in anecdotes of their lives, 
 military adventures, and tales, either of the 
 Camp or the Cabinet. 
 
 The proposition being most willingly sub- 
 scribed to by all, a general meeting was soon 
 assembled, and the rules of the society were 
 formed, the most prominent of which were, 
 " That the members should assemble twice 
 a week, at seven o'clock in the evening — 
 That no discussion on politics or religion 
 was to be allowed — Play of every description 
 to be prohibited. To preserve the regularity 
 of narrations, independent of intervening 
 conversation, lots were to be drawn for the 
 numerical order in which each member would 
 be called upon by the President of the night 
 to deliver his relation. Although occasional 
 deviation was to be allowed from this rule, 
 in case any particular subject should accidently 
 arise in conversation, the communication of 
 which might be requested as a matter of
 
 i}n:RODucTiox. 3 
 
 interest by any of the members — That a light 
 repast was to be served before separating for 
 the night, whkh was to be partaken of at 
 eleven o'clock. 
 
 Having thus given the principal rules of 
 
 the Club, we will figure to ourselves its being 
 established, the members assembled, and 
 comfortably seated in a fine saloon of the 
 Hotel des Etrangers, round a large and glow- 
 ing fire ; for Xice, notwithstanding its 
 Southern aspect, is subject, in winter, to a 
 searching wind, the " Vento de bice'' — north- 
 east wind — which renders the air at the 
 period it blows, very cold, and even frosty ; 
 and thus are consumptive patients, who are 
 mistakingly sent to Nice for recovery by the 
 physician, afterwards sent, by this rude and 
 searching blast of old Boreas, to the tomb. 
 But, to return to our club. 
 
 Number One having fallen to the lot of 
 Don Diego Lopez, a noble Spaniard, of the 
 rank of Colonel, and one who had seen much 
 service, he was called upon, in due course of 
 the evening, for his contribution. 
 B 3
 
 4 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Having delivered a short preliminary ad- 
 dress, wherein he stated that he would at- 
 tempt giving a history of a CDuntryman of 
 his own, who had, as was well known, made 
 no little noise in the world, but whose life, 
 in several of its dfetails, had been misrepre- 
 sented, or buried in obscurity. 
 
 " In my relation of this extraordinary 
 man,' added Don Lopez, " I shall observe the 
 utmost impartiality, neither leaning to one 
 party nor the other. So without further 
 preface,.! shall at once give you 
 
 THE LIFE OF CABRERA, 
 
 THE CELEBRATED CARLIST CHIEF.
 
 CABRERA, 
 THE CELEBRATED CARLIST CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Of all the celebrated men which the civil 
 wars of Spain brought to lights there is not 
 one who has given place to so many contra- 
 dictory opinions as Cabrera. In the sight of 
 some, he is a hero, in that of others a male- 
 factor ; but on both sides there has been 
 much exaggeration, as well as party spirit. 
 Cabrera is neither a Napoleon nor a Turpin. 
 He commenced his career, it is true, as a 
 freebooter ; but had the cause of Don Carlos
 
 6 TALES OF THE 
 
 triumphed, lie would have been extolled as 
 a great man. His name has shone forth 
 with much eclat, but his real history is but 
 little known : — the positive details of actions 
 that caused his greatest celebrity, have 
 hitherto remained buried. From want of 
 precise information, events which so often 
 present themselves in Spain, come under 
 only a confused and mysterious form, and 
 are like enigmas, that time alone can solve. 
 The character of Cabrera has remained 
 hitherto one of those mysteries : and what 
 passes for truth on the subject, is fiction, or 
 at least reality exaggerated. Now that his career 
 is seemingly terminated, and the day of truth 
 at length arrived, it will not be without in- 
 terest to trace from authentic documents and 
 information, a faithful sketch of his life. 
 
 Don Ramon Cabrera was born at Tortosa in 
 1809, and is now consequently in his 35th year. 
 His father was a mariner, and his education 
 in adolescence was similar to that of all chil- 
 dren in Spain. His first years were passed in 
 playing on the borders of the Ebro and in the
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. ' 7 
 
 streets of Tortosa, with the unlimited liberty 
 of a young savage. When of a proper age, he 
 became clerk or famulo, to a Canon of the Ca- 
 thedral named, Don Yincente Presivia. There 
 being no university at Tortosa, those who 
 wish to enter into holy orders, are placed with 
 priests, serving them almost as servants, who 
 in return, teach them Latin, Theology, and 
 the philosophy of Aristotle. 
 
 The independent and dissipated character 
 of the young Cabrera, could not possibly 
 accommodate itself to this studious and quiet 
 life. In vain did the good Canon, by his 
 sermons, endeavour to restrain his passions : 
 for of all the scholars at Tortosa, he was one 
 of the most licentious. His strong predilec- 
 tion for women, threw him constantly into 
 the most unpleasant adventures. It any one 
 spoke of a house being escaladed, of an Al- 
 guazil knocked down, it was always certain 
 that suspicion would fall upon liim. De- 
 bauched, quarrelsome, and so well known as 
 a. Tronero, that when he ventured to solicit 
 the Bishop, Don Victor iSaez, for a sub-deacon-
 
 TALES OF THE 
 
 ship, then vacant, it was at once refused 
 him. 
 
 Behold him now at the age of twenty- 
 four on the pave, without any employment 
 or means : with a detestable reputation, and 
 not knowing what would become of him. 
 
 It was at this juncture, that there arrived 
 at Tortosa, the news of the decease of 
 Ferdinand the seventh. This was an event 
 most opportune for the disappointed scholar 
 to seize upon, as a means of profiting thereby ; 
 nor was he long in availing himself of it : for 
 scarcely seven or eight days had elapsed, 
 when he became engaged in a conspiracy 
 against the authority of Queen Isabella the 
 second : which being discovered, the Vicar 
 General, Don ]\lateo Sampons, informed 
 against him, and the Governor of the town, 
 General Berton ordered his arrest. Cabrera 
 however escaped, and fled to the mountains, 
 which form the general refuge of those who 
 elude the hands of justice. Learning there 
 that the fortress of Morella had fallen into 
 the power of a Carlist insurrection, he imme-
 
 CAMP AND CABINET, 9 
 
 diatelj departed to enrol himself under the 
 banners of its Chief. 
 
 The town of ^lorella plays a great part in 
 the life of Cabrera. It was successively the 
 cradle, the rise, and the tomb of his fortune. 
 
 Morella is the capital of a small tenitory 
 called Alaestrazzo : the latter having formed, 
 in olden times, the establishment of the grand 
 chapter of an order of chivalry. Maestrazzo 
 is admirably fortified by nature, and all 
 seems to denote it as the feudal establish- 
 ment of some seignory, or an independent 
 republic. It forms part of the high Sierra 
 that separates the kingdom of AiTagon from 
 Valencia. Steep mountains almost always 
 covered with snow, enclose long defiles and 
 straight valleys, and it is in one of the latter, 
 and on a rock detached from the Sierra, 
 that ]\Iorella is built. The fortress occupies 
 the point of the rock at an elevation of more 
 than four hundred feet. The valley is en- 
 tered by two avenues, one by Monrogo 
 toward Arragon : the other, by Villabona 
 towards the kingdom of Valencia. Five 
 B 5
 
 10 TALES OF THE 
 
 provinces are combined in i\Iaestrazzo, Arra- 
 gon, Catalonia, the kingdom of Valencia, the 
 new Castile, and La Mancha. 
 
 The importance of this point is well knoAvn 
 in the country : and it was on this that the 
 first efforts of the revolt would naturally be 
 directed. The Baron de Herbes, an ancient 
 Corregidor of Valencia, and the Alcade of 
 Villareal, Don Joaquin Lloreus, had no sooner 
 received the information of the death of Fer- 
 dinand the seventh, than, placing themselves 
 at the head of some royalist volunteers, 
 they set up the standard of Charles the Fifth, 
 and directed their march on Maestrazzo. 
 These two Chiefs, renowned for their noble 
 birth and social position, exercised a great 
 influence over these countries, and their pres- 
 tige brought numbers to their ranks. The 
 Colonel, Don Victoria Lea, governor of Morella, 
 either sympathising in their opinions, or not 
 believing Morella in a sufficient state of de- 
 fence, opened the gates to them, when they 
 established the head- quarters of the insurrec- 
 tion in favour of Don Carlos.
 
 CAMP A^*D CABLXET. 11 
 
 It was in September 1833, that Cabrera 
 presented himself at ^lorella, where he was 
 afterwards destined to command, in a worn- 
 out scholastic dress, with a stick in his hand. 
 As it soon became known that he could rate 
 a good hand, he was made a corporal, and 
 from want of a musket, he was given a fowl- 
 ing piece. The Carlists were soon attacked 
 by General Breton at Predrera, in front of 
 Morella. The young recruit distinguished 
 himself even in this first affair : and by his 
 bravery, was raised to the rank of a Sergeant. 
 Thus it is generally the case, that those who 
 are the first to join in and encounter the 
 dangers of an insurrection, are naturally the 
 first to be promoted. 
 
 Although defeated. General Breton still 
 continued at the head of a small force to 
 menace Morella. Engagements followed each 
 other daily. In a sally from the besieged, 
 General Breton for the first time, defeated 
 the Carlists. This disaster of the latter, was 
 followed by another some days after at
 
 12 TALES OF THE 
 
 Calanda, wherein they were completely de- 
 feated by a Brigade under General Linares, 
 and ^lorella retaken. The Baron de Herbes 
 was shot, and the ancient Governor of the 
 place, Don Victoria Lea, shared the same fate. 
 The remaining chiefs and soldiers dispersed 
 themselves in different bands, Cabrera, who 
 had now been promoted to a first Lieutenancy, 
 placed himself at the head of about twenty 
 men of Tortosa, his native place, — threw 
 himself into the mountains of Lower Arragon, 
 there to become a leader himself. 
 
 The Spanish taste for Guerilla warfare is 
 well known, and Cabrera possessed all the 
 qualities necessary for such — young, robust, 
 enterprising, poor, and proscribed, he had 
 nothing to lose — in him was constituted a 
 perfect guerillero. 
 
 Among the provinces of Spain, Lower Ar- 
 ragon is the one where the wandering bands 
 recruited themselves with tlie greatest faci- 
 lity, for the inhabitants of those mountains 
 are almost all smugglers. ^lalefactors of
 
 CAMP A^D CABINET. 43 
 
 every description seek a refuge there, and 
 the inhabitants are, therefore, naturally de- 
 voted to brigandage. When they meet a 
 chief ihat pleases them, they press around 
 him with joy, eager to be enrolled under his 
 banner. 
 
 For the sake of perspicuity, it is necessary 
 to describe thegi'eat factions of the Carlist 
 insurrection that, at this period, distended 
 themselves over the entire face of Spain. 
 
 In Navarre and the Basque provinces, the 
 case of Don Carlos was identified with the 
 local liberties. In Catalonia, his cause was 
 that ol religious fanaticism, or of ^lonkish 
 spirit ; and in Arragon, the name of Don 
 Carlos served as a rallying point to all those 
 who seized it as a pretext to lead the hazard- 
 ous life of a bandit. These three tendencies 
 were manifested by those who had the com- 
 mand of the several armies. In Xavarre, 
 by the Chief men of the country ; in Cata- 
 lonia by the priests ; in Arragon, by an ad- 
 venturer. These distinctions explain much,
 
 14 TALES OF THE 
 
 and ought not to be lost sight of by any 
 one would wish to form a just opinion of the 
 civil wars in Spain. 
 
 That which at all times characterised 
 Cabrera, was his repugnance to obedience, 
 and an ambition that would lord over all. 
 Some days after his arrival at Morella, he 
 attempted to obtain the command, by excit- 
 ing a military revolt. The firmness of the 
 Baron de Herbes prevented the insurrection ; 
 and it was owing solely to the indulgence of 
 this chief, that the life of Cabrera was spared. 
 After the dispersion of the first Carlist army, 
 he gave himself, on his own authority, the 
 title of Colonel ; and then, at the head of 
 his guerillas, he over-ran the country, sack- 
 ing, pillaging, and congregating around him 
 all who were willing to follow his standard. 
 He at length succeeded in forming a band, 
 but it was not sufficiently strong, for his 
 dreams were of a higher destiny. 
 
 There was at this time in the mountains 
 of AiTagon one who exercised a still greater
 
 CAMP Xyj) CABD'ET. 15 
 
 • 
 
 sway than himself : this was the famous 
 Carnicer. Cabrera, jealous of the reputa- 
 tion and authority of this cahecilla, suffered 
 with impatience his dominion. One day, 
 Carnicer received an order from Don Carlos, 
 to march for the Basque provinces, and he 
 accordingly departed to execute the com- 
 mand. When on his passage over the bridge 
 of Arand, he was surprised and made pri- 
 soner by a detachment of the Queen's troops, 
 and immediately shot. Reports of the 
 gravest nature were spread on this subject 
 against Cabrera : some asserting that a 
 counter-order for Carnicer's march was held 
 back by him, in order to get rid of a Chief 
 that stood in the way of his ambition. 
 Others affirmed that the order was forged, 
 and that Cabrera, after having thus drawn 
 Carnicer to the bridge of Aranda, had before 
 given information to the Christinos of his 
 intended rout. It is difficult to pronounce 
 an opinion on these accusations : all that we 
 can say with certainty is, that these reports
 
 16 TALES OF THE 
 
 • 
 
 were circulated, not only in Arragon, but 
 even in Cabrera's army. Whatever the truth 
 might have been, the death of Carnicer gave 
 Don Ramon the first rank among the Carlist 
 Chiefs that were combating in that part of 
 Spain. 
 
 At the end of the year 1835, Cabrera 
 departed for Navarre, to seek an audience of 
 Don Carlos, and returned with a regular 
 Brevet of Colonel. It was at this time that 
 his fame began to spread ; for in several 
 engagements that he fought in the kingdom 
 of Valencia against the Queen's generals, he 
 met with great success, and became distin- 
 guished as the most daring and enterprising 
 guerillero. As his power increased, he was 
 the better enabled to satisfy his former scho- 
 lastic sensualities, to which he fully delivered 
 himself up, even in the midst of the greatest 
 dangers, for wherever he went, he still re- 
 tained his old propensities to the last moment. 
 To his officers he gaily set them the example 
 of drinking and dancing, and what is related
 
 CAilP AXD CABINET. 17 
 
 to US of his debaucheries, is truly incredible. 
 
 The most necessary quality of a cahecilla 
 is the contempt of human blood. Cabrera's 
 life was mingled with frightful episodes, and 
 his sang froid amidst the greatest perils, 
 placed him on the highest pinnacle of esteem 
 and confidence with his soldiers. No one 
 smoked his cigarito more coolly when giving 
 the order for his prisoners to be shot — no 
 one saw them pass on their way to be 
 butchered with more indifierence. This 
 cruelty of Cabrera became proverbial, and at 
 the time of which we speak, (the end of 
 February, 1836) a tragic event occurred, by 
 which he justified and excused his after 
 deeds of horror. 
 
 Cabrera's mother was residing at her 
 native town, Tortosa, when the Brigadier- 
 General Xogueras, Commander-in-Chief of 
 Lower Arragon, had her arrested, and de- 
 manded of General ^lina, who was then 
 Captain General of Catalonia, his authori- 
 zation for her exeecution, on the pretext 
 of her holding correspondence ^vith the
 
 18 TALES OF THE 
 
 enemy. Alina having sent the authorization, 
 the poor woman, without any form of process, 
 was immediately shot.'" This, however, was 
 not the real cause or motive of this barbarous 
 
 « 
 
 * This nefarious transaction was taken up most energeti- 
 cally by.'the British Government. Lord Clarendon, the British 
 Ambassador, at IMadrid, at that time, in- a despatch to Lord 
 Palmerston, dated the 7th March, 1836, writes — " Imme- 
 diately npon these facts coming to my knowledge, I waited 
 upon Don Mendizabel, with whom I fbimd the Minister at 
 War, and I told their Excellencies that I was come in the 
 performance of a painful duty to announce to them what 
 would be the feelings of his Majesty's government and the 
 whole people of England, upon hearing these unparallelled 
 acts of barbarity. M. Mendizabel and Count Almodovar with 
 expressions of horror, admitted the facts, and seemed to be 
 aware of the impression they would make in England. 
 
 " T have several times since spoken to INI. INIendizabel upon 
 the subject, and his Excellency yesterday informed me that 
 General Nogueras had been deprived of his command in 
 Arragon, and that a Court of Enquiry had been ordered into 
 all the circumstances of the case wtth a view to ulterior 
 measures." 
 
 Lord Clarendon, in another despatch, dated April 23, 1836, 
 writes, " that General Nogueras had been deprived of his 
 command, and ordered to repair to Valencia, where proceed- 
 ings were to be instituted against him." 
 
 The recent correspondence in the London papers, between 
 Lord Ranelagh and Nogueras, is fresh in the memory of the 
 public. The last accounts received of Nogueras were of his 
 arrival at Gibraltar, from England.
 
 CAMP AXD CABINET. 19 
 
 transaction. The fact is, that in an engage- 
 ment between the forces of Cabrera and 
 Nogueras a short time before, the former, in 
 a gallant charge at the head of his cavalry, 
 completely overthrew the forces of the latter, 
 and totally dispersed them. Nogueras him- 
 self was only saved by some peasants, who 
 conducted him to Saragossa, and he never 
 mustered more than half of his men after- 
 wards. Overwhelmed with shame, and in- 
 stigated by revenge at this signal defeat, it 
 was then that he arrested Cabrera's mother. 
 Having no jurisdiction himself at Tortosa, 
 he was obliged to apply to Mina, the Captain- 
 General of the province, for .his authorisation 
 to have her shot, the governor of the place 
 having refused to order the commitment of 
 the barbarous deed."'' 
 
 Interrogated afterwards in the Assembly 
 
 * The Diario of Saragossa, dated February 22, 1836, an- 
 nounced with the greatest sati>faction, the momentous news 
 that " the fearless Nogueras had shot Cabrera's mother ;'' and 
 a few days after this announcement, a petition was most nu- 
 merously signed by the National Guards of Saragossa, praying 
 the Government to reinstate Nogueras to his command ! ! !
 
 20 TALES OP THil 
 
 of the Cortes upon this act of savage barba- 
 rity, Mina endeavoured in vain to sustain that 
 there had been a council of war, a regular 
 process, and that a corespondence with the 
 enemy had been proved against her. Al- 
 though Cabrera had quarrelled with his 
 mother some time before this catastrophe, 
 he yet retained that affection for her, which 
 the vicious always bear towards the only 
 person who has shewn them indulgence in 
 their irregularities. Transported with fury 
 at the news of her murder, he, in retaliation, 
 ordered the wife of Colonel Fentivo; a com- 
 panion and brother officer of ^ogueras, to be 
 instantly shot. After which, twenty-four 
 females, wives of Christines officers, who were 
 in his power shared the same fate.*" At the 
 same time he publicly announced, that in 
 future, all Christinos whom he should take 
 with arms in their hands, should be shot : 
 
 * After this horrid event, Colonel Fentivo presented an 
 energetic and well drawn up petition to the Queen, calling 
 for the trial of Nogueras, and denouncing him as the mur- 
 derer of his wife. This petition appeared in all the Madrid 
 Papers of the 24th and 25th of March, 1836.
 
 CAMP AXD CABINET. 21 
 
 and that he would avenge without intermis- 
 sion, the murder of his mother, on the families 
 of the> Christino chiefs, This terrible an- 
 nouncement was fulfilled to the letter, 
 particularly during the first days after the 
 outrage committed by Xogueras. 
 
 From Spanish superstition, which in Spain 
 gives a mission of vengeance to whatever Ls 
 religiously executed, Cabrera's ascendancy 
 greatly augmented. 
 
 At an after period, when a treaty for the 
 exchange of prisoners was agreed upon, 
 Cabrera with his own pen exempted Nogue- 
 ras from such benefit, should the latter ever 
 come within the reach of his sword. 
 
 During the first six months of the year 
 1836, the active and enterprising Cabrera 
 over-ran the kingdom of Valencia, where he 
 repeatedly encountered and defeated General 
 Palarea. In the month of July of the same 
 year, he was raised, by Don Carlos, to the 
 rank of Major General. His enemies pre- 
 tend to assert, that to insure his advance- 
 ment, he placed a mistress of his own in the
 
 22 TALES OF THE 
 
 quality of domestic in the family of Count 
 Villemar, then the minister of Avar to Don 
 Carlos : and that he, Cabrera, from time to 
 time, by a muleteer, forwarded money to her, 
 by which means she was enabled to corrupt 
 the counsellors of Don Carlos. This story, 
 however, must be regarded as one among 
 many of a similar character, invented by 
 party spirit to conceal true causes. 
 
 The year 1836, ended, as it is w^ell known, 
 by the famous expedition of Gomez across 
 the Kingdom of Spain. He was joined by 
 Cabrera and another guerillo chief, Serrador, 
 when he passed near the mountains. It 
 is not yet known what occurred between them : 
 we are only certain that at his passage at 
 Carceres, Gomez ordered both Cabrera and 
 Serrador to quit his army in twenty four 
 hours, which they did. The depredation 
 committed by the undisciplined hordes under 
 their command, was most likely the real 
 motive of this sudden rupture ; although it 
 might have been caused from jealousy of 
 command, which always manifested itself
 
 CAMP A5D CABINET. 23 
 
 among the Carlist Chiefs. On his return to 
 the mountains, Cabrera had Serrador im- 
 prisoned, and definitively became the only 
 co})eciUa of A^alencia and ]\lurcia. He did 
 not not wait long to be elected chief of these 
 two provinces. 
 
 In ^lay 1837, the grand movement and 
 attempt of Don Carlos on ^ladrid was made. 
 The expeditionary army, ha^dng at its head 
 Don Carlos himself, left Xavan'e, and 
 traversed Arragon and Catalonia in a par- 
 rallel direction with the Pjrrennees, to effect 
 a junction with Cabrera. The young 
 general, who appreciated the importance of 
 this march, waited for Don Cados with his 
 troops at Flix, on the right side of the Ebro. 
 Here, all the Carlist forces in Spain becoming 
 united, they passed tlie river. The habitual 
 good fortune of Cabrera willed, that the 
 only rival who could oppose him in the East 
 of Spain, the brave Quilez, and Carlist Con- 
 mander in Chief in Arragon, should foil in 
 the action which took place on the 24th of 
 September at llerrara. between Genera
 
 24 TALES OF THE 
 
 Buerens and the expeditionary army. A 
 few days after this brilliant affair, Don 
 Carlos was before Madrid. 
 
 Cabrera, who had marched with the ad- 
 vanced guard, showed great intrepidity ; he 
 even approached near to the gate of Alocha, 
 and crowned the heights that commanded it 
 with his light corps. From his head-quarters, 
 one was enabled with a telescope to perceive 
 the infant Luisa Carlotta regarding the Car- 
 list army from the balcony of the palace. 
 Every one well knows what happened at this 
 decisive moment. That at the instant when 
 the army was expecting to receive the order 
 to enter ^lad/^id on the 15th of August, to 
 their astonishment, Don Carlos suddenly 
 issued a contrary one, — to retreat ! 
 
 It is not my province here to examine 
 what led to this singular and most unexpected 
 resolution : it is sufficient to say, that it ex- 
 cited in the greatest degxee, the dissatisfaction 
 of almost the whole army, and in particular 
 the force under the immediate command of 
 Cabrera.
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 25 
 
 *' In future," he exclaimed before all his 
 officers, " I shall act from my own head, 
 " Yo hare a mi cabeza" And he kept his 
 word. 
 
 When the army commenced its retreat, he 
 separated himself from it, and marched his 
 divisions towards the Kingdom of Valencia, 
 leaving Don Carlos to return to the pro\dnces 
 in the best manner he could. 
 
 Cabrera's military reputation greatly in- 
 creased during the campaign, arising in no 
 small degi'ee to the incapacity of Don Carlos. 
 All agreed, that if Cabrera had commanded 
 the army, it would have entered ^ladrid. 
 All sung the the praises of the young hero : 
 and from that day, he ever occupied the 
 attention of the public. 
 
 Every success of Espartero against Don 
 Carlos in Navarre, was followed by one on 
 the part of Cabrera at other points : so that 
 the hopes of the Carlists rested solely on 
 him. 
 
 For some time he had coveted the re- 
 possession of Morella, as the most eligible 
 
 VOL. I. c
 
 26 TALES OF THE 
 
 and convenient place for his head quarters. 
 In the month of February 1838, he obtained 
 his desire, in gaining it by a coup de main : 
 the authentic details of which, having never 
 been generally known, were as follows : 
 
 An artilleryman, Pedro, by name, having 
 deserted the troops of the Queen Christina, 
 had taken service under Cabrera. One day, 
 this man, who at one time had formed part 
 of the garrison of ]\Iorella, placed himself 
 in the path of Don Ramon, and raising his 
 hand to his cap, thus addressed his com- 
 mander : 
 
 " General, I will engage to undertake the 
 capture of Morella with half a company, 
 if your Excellency will place them under 
 my direction." 
 
 " You shall have them," replied the Gene- 
 ral, astonished at his resolute air and pro- 
 position, " if it was only to recompense you 
 for your good will." 
 
 Shortly afterwards, Pedro departed for 
 Morella with his small troop, composed of 
 forty infantry, commanded by a Lieutenant,
 
 CAMP A^D CABINET. 27 
 
 all under his direction. It was about seven 
 o'clock in the evening, and the night par- 
 ticularly dark, when they arrived on the 
 rock that surmounted the citadel. Pedro 
 immediately occupied himself in seeking, 
 amid the obscurity, the point where he had so 
 often escaladed and descended the rock while 
 he had at a former period been in garrison 
 at Morella. The night being cold, and pro- 
 visions not to be procured, the Lieutenant 
 and his men began to murmur, when, on a 
 sudden, they beheld Pedro suspended several 
 feet above their heads, and climbing like a 
 monkey along the peak of the rock. In 
 less then three quarters of an hour, he 
 reached the foot of the rampart, which he 
 escaladed, as he had often done before. The 
 sentinels, owing to the rigor of the season, 
 were squatted in their sentry-boxes. Creep- 
 ing to the first one, Pedro discharged his 
 musket in the breast of the soldier, and took 
 possession of his arms. At the noise of the 
 report, the other sentries approached the 
 spot, but the undaunted Pedro not in the 
 c 3
 
 28 TALES OF THE 
 
 least alarmed at this, presented his musket, 
 and killed, on nearly the same spot, the 
 first who approached it, shouting with 
 all the power of his lungs, " Viva Carlos 
 Quinto !" The remaining sentries, believing 
 the Castle in the possession of the Carlists, 
 took to flight, and throwing away their arms, 
 spread the alarm from place to place, so that 
 on every side was heard the cry of " the 
 Carlists ! the Carlists !'^ 
 
 Pedro, failing not to take advantage of his 
 good fortune, lost no time in carefully closing 
 up all the entrances to the ten^ace of which 
 he had possessed himself. Having thus bar- 
 ricaded himself as well as circumstances 
 permitted, he then aided the Lieutenant to 
 raise himself on the rampart by the help of 
 a cord, and afterwards the Serjeant and most 
 of the men, while the remaining few were 
 dispatched in haste to inform Cabrera of the 
 miraculous ascension of their Chief. The 
 Governor of the place, carried away by the 
 panic which seized the garrison, ordered the 
 gates of the town to be opened, and im-
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 29 
 
 mediately evacuated Morella with all His 
 troops, leaving it totally deserted. 
 
 The small band on the terrace, not know- 
 ing to what extent the victory had been 
 achieved, waited with anxiety the appearance 
 of their friends, being in the meantime 
 astonished that they were not attacked. 
 
 At the break of day, the inhabitants of 
 Morella, who were almost all Carlists, and 
 who were aware of the departure of the 
 garrison, spread themselves throughout the 
 streets, shouting, " Viva Carlos Quinto ! 
 viva la religion ! Viva la Virgin ! Viva 
 Cabrera !" But the prudent Pedro took care 
 not to descend from his fortress, and the 
 inhabitants knew not what to attribute the 
 extraordinary silence of the possessors of the 
 Castle, when, suddenly there appeared 
 approaching the gates of the town, a group 
 of cavaliers in full gallop. It was Cabrera 
 and his staff, who had Hown thither on the 
 receival of the news of the miraculous 
 ascent. Everything was soon explained. 
 The gallant assailants were borne out in
 
 30 TALES OF THE 
 
 triumph from the citadel in to the town, 
 while the standard of Charles the fifth was 
 hoisted victoriously over the ramparts. Pedro 
 was instantly created a Captain, and a 
 Knight of St. Ferdinand. 
 
 Although Cabrera had taken but a small 
 share in this enterprize, he had the merit of 
 the organization which followed it. For, 
 from the moment that he re-possessed him- 
 self of the long coveted Morella, he there 
 attempted to establish a general seat of 
 government and a standing army. From all 
 parts there crowded around him, Spaniards 
 and foreigners. Little instructed in military 
 and administrative affairs himself, he had 
 the good sense to follow the counsels of those 
 who were experienced in these .matters. 
 Instructive officers, French for the most part, 
 were appointed by him to organize his troops. 
 At Cantavieja, he established a foundry for 
 cannon, under the direction of a person 
 named Elchevaster, who was sent to him by 
 Don Carlos. • 
 
 The cannons were all cast from church
 
 CAilP AND CABINET 31 
 
 bells : so that by this means he obtained a 
 numerous artillery. Manufactories for 
 powder and muskets were formed at ^li- 
 rambel, at ^lorella, and even in many of the 
 villages around Maestrazgo. Fortifications 
 were also repaired and added to those which 
 already existed in the country. 
 
 The Christinos viewed with impatience 
 these works of organization : and their 
 thoughts were constantly bent upon repossess- 
 ing themselves of a position, which they had 
 lost by so extraordinary a surprise. Their 
 attempts to gain this object, as will be shown, 
 but the more served to increase the triumphs 
 of Cabrera. 
 
 At the end of the month of July 1838, 
 General Oraa, at tlie head of the Constitu- 
 tional army of the centre, put liimself in 
 march on Morella. His force amounted to 
 Twenty thousand men, divided into three 
 corps. The first, commanded by Aspiroz 
 approached by the mountains of Maestrazgo 
 to the north of Alcaniz : the second, under 
 the orders of Van Ilalen, re-united at Terural
 
 32 TALES OF THE 
 
 towards the west : the third, conducted by 
 the brave General Pardinas, took up a position 
 on the south-east of, and about, Castellon de 
 la Plana, 
 
 These three columns, occupying three 
 points of a triangle, of which Morella was the 
 centre, received orders to advance simulta- 
 neously on that place and its neighbouring 
 fortresses. These continued movements were 
 executed with precision, but with extreme 
 slowness : for one of the columns, having 
 been impeded in its march by encountering 
 works that Cabrera had constructed in front 
 of some villages, the two others were imme- 
 diately directed to slacken their movements ; 
 so that after much delay, accompanied with 
 as much caution, the Christinos at length 
 surrounded the strong hold of their redoubt- 
 able enemy. 
 
 When the approach of Oraa was announced 
 to Cabrera, he marched forth with three 
 thousand men to occupy the neighbouring 
 heights, leaving in the citadel his best sol- 
 diers to defend it. When the Christinos wei'e
 
 CUIP AXD CABLXET. 33 
 
 penetrating the defiles of the mountains, they 
 were constantly harassed on all sides by their 
 enterprising enemy, who appearing unex- 
 pectedly, sometimes in their rear, and at 
 others on their flanks, thus unremittingly 
 kept teasing them along the whole line of 
 march. Xo rule of tactics was presers'ed in 
 this warfare of surprises ; signals, agreed 
 upon between the beseiged and their de- 
 fenders without, by means of fuses of different 
 colours, alone served to give some combined 
 appearance to their operations. 
 
 Cabrera had however reserved a method 
 still more simple and one most extraordinary, 
 to communicate with the interior of Morella. 
 Almost every evening during the siege, a 
 young man detached himself from the ad- 
 vanced post of the Carlist, who were bi- 
 vouaqued on the heights, and stole unper- 
 ceived in the darkness of the night under the 
 very wall of the town. Throwing to the 
 top of it a rope ladder, he would climb up 
 and enter the place. This young man, was 
 Cabrera himself. After seeing into the state 
 c 5
 
 34 TALES OF THE 
 
 of the garrison, and giving them news of 
 without, he would return by the same mode, 
 in the midst of the darkness ; and the next 
 morning, ere break of day, he was to be seen 
 also in the midst of his little army, beating 
 up the quarters of his enemies. Need we 
 wonder at the enthusiasm of the Carlists at 
 this audacity of their Chief. 
 
 Arrived before the place, Oraa had to wait 
 eight days for his heavy artillery, which he 
 had left at Alcaniz. These days were passed 
 in throwing out reconnoitering parties in all 
 directions, and intrenching himself in his 
 positions. At length, the artillery having 
 arrived, on the ninth day he opened his fire, 
 and three days after, the breach was practi- 
 cable ; but in place of giving an immediate 
 assault, the Christinos delayed it. During 
 the interval of this inexcusable procrastina- 
 tion, the besieged betook themselves to a 
 singular means of defence, which well shows 
 the nature of this warfare. 
 
 The square of Morella was full of an im- 
 mense quantity of wood, chiefly beams, which
 
 aUlP AND CABINET. 35 
 
 had been gathered together there from more 
 than a hundred houses belonging to the con- 
 stitutionalists, and which had been destroyed 
 bj the Carlists. Piles of this wood were 
 placed in the breach, and set on fire. The 
 prodigious light proceeding from the flames, 
 illuminated most brilliantly the town and 
 the citadel. In a few hours the breach be- 
 came a vast brasier, that threw around a 
 powerful heat, such as would have devoured 
 any one who might have had the hardihood 
 to approach it. 
 
 In the mean time, the soldiers of Cabrera, 
 who roamed without cessation about the 
 advanced posts, cried ironically to the be- 
 seigers : " If you don't mount to the assault 
 this night, we will not take the trouble to 
 light you to it again !" — The assault did take 
 place that night, but with an unfortunate 
 issue to the assailants. More than two hun- 
 dred of them were put hors de combat, as 
 much by the fire of the Carlists as by the 
 fire in the breach ; and when the scorched 
 soldiers fled from the horrible brasier, they
 
 36 TALES OF THE 
 
 were heard uttering cries of " Cabrera es un 
 demonio y Morella infierno !" — " Cabrera is 
 a demon, and Morella a hell !" 
 
 The Carlists had taken care to keep up 
 the fire of the terrible brazier, night and day. 
 A second assault was soon made, which ter- 
 minated in the same fatal manner to the 
 assailants, as the former one. And what 
 added to the bad fortune of the Christinos, 
 provisions failed them, so much so, that they 
 became reduced to the necessity of eating 
 their horses. Demoralisation soon appeared, 
 and destroyed discipline. Oraa, as a last 
 resort, ordered a third and general assault ; 
 but, desperate as it was, it met again with 
 the same unhappy result as the others. At 
 length, the Christinos, after leaving a number 
 of dead under the walls of Morella, — among 
 whom, was its ancient governor, who had so 
 stupidly fled from it at the miraculous ascent 
 of Pedro, raised the siege the 1 8th of August, 
 the horrid brasier still burning as vividly and 
 devouring as ever. To give greater eclat to 
 the entrance of the Chief, the fire was ex-
 
 CmV AND CABINET. 37 
 
 tinguished, to permit the triumpliant General 
 making his entrance by the very breach, 
 which the enemy had, as it were, made for 
 his glory. 
 
 Never was there a king of Spain received 
 with such transport of enthusiasm. Bells 
 rang their joyful peals, and people threw 
 themselves on their kness before him. 
 
 A journal, printed at ^lorella, at the time, 
 under the title of " Periodico de Arragon, 
 Valencia y Murcia,'' the editor of which was 
 an old priest, and wdio every evening re- 
 ceived the orders of Cabrera, gave a pompous 
 relation of the siege, and terminated the 
 article with the following sentence : — 
 
 " We all, valiant soldiers of the army, 
 and inhabitants of this heroic and faithful 
 city, cannot but think that the King, after 
 such grand triumphs, could not better distin- 
 guish the immortal Cabrera, than by giving 
 him the title of Count of Morella." 
 
 The title, thus as it w^ere, demanded, was 
 accorded, together with the rank of Lieute- 
 nant General, by a decree dated from Onate,
 
 38 TALES OF THE 
 
 2nd, of September, 1838. Don Carlos could 
 refuse nothing to the vanquisher of the 
 Army of the Centre. Ramon, the scholar 
 Ramon, now signed his name, " El Conde de 
 Morella !" 
 
 To distinguish Cabrera the more, Don 
 Carlos addressed a letter to him to felicitate 
 him on his triumphs, of which autograph 
 letter the following is a translation : — 
 
 " My dear Cabrera, 
 
 " Great is the satisfaction 
 that I received at the intelligence of the 
 most glorious victories that you achieved 
 over the enemies of the true happiness of 
 our dear Spain and my legitimate rights, 
 and of God the same. Great, also, is my 
 joy to have this new incentive to recom- 
 pense this thy uninterrupted good services, 
 thy love, thy zeal, and thy disinterestedness. 
 I give thanks to God, for having bestowed on 
 me a brave servant such as thou art, invested 
 with valour, a constancy, and a fidelity so 
 great. Sustain, then, for ever, such conduct,
 
 CAMP AXD CABIXET. 39 
 
 and each time more firm, our solid prin- 
 ciples ; be thou the knife to the impious, 
 and the destroyer of kingdoms and thrones, 
 and thou wilt give me the satisfaction to 
 recompense thee as I wish. I have learnt 
 that you were on the point of causing me 
 great pain by losing you ; It is therefore, my 
 order that you do not expose yourself temera- 
 riously, for if any misfortune should arrive, 
 independent of the gi'ief I should suffer, it 
 would be a greatloss to me, and a cause, which 
 is nothing less than that of religion. May God 
 continue to accord you victories like those 
 that have passed, and may the most holy 
 Virgin, our Generalissimo, cover you with her 
 mantle, protect, direct, and defend you, 
 and grant us to see you quickly at ^ladrid in 
 tranquillity, after having vanquished all our 
 enemies. Adieu ; I esteem and love you. 
 
 " CARLOS." 
 
 The news of the raising the siege of j\Io- 
 rella, spread rapidly throughout Spain. It 
 was the greatest and the most unexpected
 
 40 TALES OF THE 
 
 success that the Carlists had ol^tained for a 
 long time. Cabrera became more than ever 
 the hero of his party. We have seen how 
 his great renown arose, and what he did to 
 gain it. The tardiness of Oraa, contributed 
 not a little towards it. As to Cabrera, 
 himself, he saw no other merit than at- 
 tacking the enemy at random, without plan 
 and without order, like a brave Guerillero, 
 as he was. 
 
 He never dreamt, after his success, to 
 pursue the army of Oraa, which retreated in 
 the greatest disorder, and did not rally until 
 it reached Alcaniz. If the Carlists, profit- 
 ing by their advantages, had pursued the 
 Christinos, sword in hand, few of the latter 
 would have escaped from the defiles they 
 had to retreat through ; but it was not thus 
 that the war was carried on in Spain, and 
 Cabrera had other aflairs in hand. 
 
 The morning after he re-entered Alorella, 
 he assembled the whole of his forces, leaving 
 the place without defence, and marched in a 
 contrary direction to that which Oraa had
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 41 
 
 fled to. One sole battalion was sent in pur- 
 suit of the late besiegers. If the consti- 
 tutional army, had been apprised of hi^ 
 departure in this manner, it would have 
 returned, and would have most infallibly 
 entered Morella without firing a shot, and 
 more particularly as the breach was left 
 open ; but Oraa was not aware of such a 
 movement, nor could he possibly have con- 
 ceived one so extraordinary taking place. 
 His dispersed soldiers, thought of nothing 
 but devastating the country they traversed 
 through, which, for a long time after their 
 passage, bore the aspect of a desolate soli- 
 tude. The battalion that followed them 
 killed great numbers, and took above two 
 hundred prisoners, which were shot, " for 
 having dared to march against Morella !'*' 
 
 As to Cabrera, where did he go ^i We 
 shall see. 
 
 Some days after the raising of the siege, 
 the ladies of Valencia were one morning 
 bathing in the sea, along the fine beach, at 
 some distance from the city. As nothing is
 
 42 EALES OF THE 
 
 known in time in Spain, the most perfect 
 security reigned in the city and its environs. 
 Jhe Constitutional Journal of Valencia con- 
 tinued the most flattering accounts of the 
 valour which the Christinos exhibited in the 
 siege of Morella, and fireworks were pre- 
 pared by the inhabitants, to celebrate the 
 taking of that redoubtable place. It had 
 even been already asserted that Cabrera had 
 been killed, which caused great rejoicing. 
 The gates of the city were opened ; everything 
 breathed of joy and peace under that sky so 
 soft and so pure, that it was sufficient to see 
 its light, and breathe the air, to render every 
 one happy. 
 
 All of a sudden, loud cries broke upon 
 the ear, and the affrighted bathers, beheld 
 with panic, approaching cavalry in full 
 gallop, lifting up to the air at the end 
 of their lances, the mantles which the 
 fair maids had left on the beach. " Los 
 facGiosos ! los facciosos !" At this terrible 
 cry, all fled ; the gates of the city were 
 hastily closed. These horsemen, appearing
 
 CAMP A^'D CABLXET. 43 
 
 SO unexpectedly, composed a squadron form- 
 ing the advanced guard of Cabrera's army, 
 which was following it. Don Ramon ^lorales, 
 formerly belonging to the body guard, who 
 commanded this squadron, taking pity on 
 the fair maids, who hid themselves, as well 
 as they could, behind some rocks, ordered 
 his soldiers to retire, and gallantly assured 
 the ladies they had nothing to fear. 
 
 " Ah ! what a pity,"' they exclaimed, in 
 leaving their hiding places, and hastily dress- 
 ing themselves to regain the city as quick as 
 possible, " that such a cavalier should be one 
 of the factious !" " Que lastima que tal 
 cahallero sea uii faccioso /'' 
 
 Upon the arrival of Cabrera, the environs, 
 so celebrated for their magnificence and 
 riches, were set on fire. From all points of 
 the horizon flames arose from the burning 
 villages. The ringing of the bells and the 
 sound of drums, loudly called on the inha- 
 bitants to defend themselves ; but nothing 
 was hazarded against the enemy. During 
 two entire days, the Carlists pillaged at their
 
 44 TALES OF THE 
 
 ease, after which, they marched back to Mo- 
 rella, as quickly as they had advanced, driv- 
 ing before them long files of horses and 
 mules which bore their booty. An immense 
 quantity of corn was deposited in the citadel, 
 and flocks of oxen and sheep were parked 
 among the neighbouring mountains. As to 
 the money taken, it was divided betwen the 
 soldiers and their chiefs. It is easy to con- 
 ceive that such an expedition was more 
 relished by the bandits which composed the 
 greater part of Cabrera's army, than even the 
 pursuit and destination of an entire corps of 
 their enemy. 
 
 The terror which this cruel apparition left 
 behind it, is not effaced even to this day at 
 Valencia. An adventure that took place 
 there a long time after the afiair of Cabrera, 
 and wdiich every one spoke of in Spain, will 
 give an idea of the truth of the assertion. 
 
 A merchant of Valencia was waiting the 
 appearance of a vessel laden with contraband 
 goods. Having at length espied the desired 
 ship in the offing, he much wished to board
 
 CAMP AXD CABINET. 45 
 
 her, but dared not, in consequence of the 
 shore being covered with custom-house 
 officers. A sudden thought struck him. 
 Running along the sliore with seeming tre- 
 pidation and panic towards the city, lie 
 vociferously cried out, Cabrera ! Cabrera !" 
 At this name, quickly caught up, and re- 
 peated on all sides by the terrified popula- 
 tion, the custom-house officers, not the less 
 so, fled in their turn, to take refuge in the 
 city ; a general panic ensued, and from every 
 point in the country, every one fled with such 
 articles the most precious, as could possibly 
 be conveyed away at the moment. The gates 
 of Valencia remained shut for three days fol- 
 lowing after this alarm. An enormous crowd 
 of men, women, and mules, from the country, 
 were assembled under the walls, and crying 
 in accents of despair to be let into the city ; 
 Ijut the inhabitants refused to open the 
 gates, fearing to introduce, with the fugitives, 
 the terrible devastator. By favour of this 
 panic and disorder, the smuggler landed his 
 contraband goods unperceived by the flying
 
 46 . TALES OF THE 
 
 and terrified Valencians, and the merchant 
 " laughed in his sleeve." 
 
 We left Cabrera at Morella. We find 
 him some days after near Falset. Falset is 
 a little fortified citj near, and on the other 
 side of the Ebro, twenty miles to the North 
 of j\Iorella, as Valencia is thirty miles towards 
 the South. Promptitude in liis movements 
 is the first quality of a guerillero, and which 
 empowers him to appear unexpectedly on 
 points where he is the least expected. Ca- 
 brera had for a long period possessed this 
 quality to a high degree, and this was sufti- 
 cient to explain the reputation he bore 
 among the Spaniards. 
 
 He marched, therefore, on Falset, in the 
 hope of sacking that place and gaining more 
 booty ; when chance gave him a new victory, 
 which he most certainly never sought for. 
 General Pardinas, who commanded the third 
 division of the army of the centre, and who 
 had felt, and beheld with indignation the 
 retreat of the army, before a paltry town de- 
 fended by a few thousand bandits, nourished
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 47 
 
 a violent desire to take bis revenge ; and 
 when he became apprised, that the new-made 
 Count of Morella was near at hand, he de- 
 termied to march against him. Cabrera had 
 three thousand men ; Pardinas, six thousand ; 
 the latter not doubting, with such a superi- 
 ority of force, to be able to cut his enemy in 
 pieces. 
 
 Cabrera had never fought a battle on a 
 plain, but he rarely refused it. When he 
 was apprised of the approach of Pardinas, 
 he went to meet him. The two armies en- 
 countered each other on the 1st of October 
 1838, between Flix and Maella. Pardinas 
 deployed his division into one single line. 
 Cabrera did the same. On one part and the 
 other, this disposition was a fault ; but 
 much greater on the part of Cabrera, who 
 having such an inferiority of force to his 
 adversary, by this means exposed himself to 
 be turned on each flank, and at the same 
 time to be attacked in front. According, 
 therefore, to all appearances, his division 
 would be destroyed.
 
 48 TALES OF THE 
 
 The action commenced with great fury. 
 The Christinos fought with the energy that 
 gave them a desire of vengeance, the Carlists 
 with that confidence that is inspired by the 
 habitude of victory. After two hours of 
 heavy fire, the troops of Cabrera began to 
 give way before the superior force of their 
 enemy. The left wing first commenced to 
 recede, and the movement of a retreat was 
 not long spreading throughout the whole 
 line. Cabrera, furious, threw himself in 
 front. " Cowards !" he cried, " do you 
 abandon me '? — Ah well ! I will die in the 
 midst of the enemy." 
 
 " Not alone, my general," exclaimed a 
 Colonel of an Arragonese squadron of 
 cavalry which covered the retreat, " but 
 with your Arragonese !" At those words, 
 and after changing the front of his squadron, 
 he, at the head of it, precipitated himself 
 with such fury on the left wing of the 
 enemy, that he dispersed them in the twink- 
 ling of an eye. 
 
 The brave Pardinas, seeing the rout of
 
 CAifP AND CABINET. 49 
 
 this wing, rode rapidly to the seat of danger 
 at the head of his staff in order to rally it. 
 The Arragonese Colonel, on beholding his 
 approach, gallopped to meet him, and with 
 the thrust of a lance, ran him through the 
 throat, overthrowing him from his horse 
 lifeless to the gi'ound, At the same time, 
 the staff, assailed by the Carlist cavalry, 
 turned their bridles and fled. Cabrera, who 
 had been occupied in rallying his men, ar- 
 rived at this moment with the whole of his 
 force, but his presence was now no longer 
 necessary : for, seeing the death of their un- 
 fortunate general, the Christinos threw 
 themselves on their knees, lifting the but 
 ends of their muskets in the air, amid crie? 
 of surrender. Five thousand were made 
 prisoners, the rest having been killed. Of 
 this fine divison, only forty men of the 
 cavalry saved themselves by flight. 
 
 So ended this famous affair of Morella, 
 the most disastrous, for the Christinos, of 
 all those which had taken place during the 
 war. The unfortunate Pardinas, who thus 
 
 VOL. I. D
 
 50 TALES OF THE 
 
 perished, was one of the best officers of the 
 constitutional armj. Sprung from one of the 
 noblest families of Galicia, he had, from 
 choice, embraced the military profession, 
 ^^ned a deputy of the Cortes in 1837, he 
 had voluntarily quitted the benches of the 
 chamber, for the rough hardships of the 
 field. He was only thirty five when he was 
 killed. 
 
 This action was difi'erently related in the 
 Spanish journals at the time ; but that 
 which I have recounted, is the truth, such 
 having been attested by occular witnesses. 
 It was not by numbers, as it was said, that 
 Pardinas had been overthrown, for he had, 
 as I have shown, double the force of his 
 enemy ; it was by one of those unfortunate 
 chances of war that sometimes turns against 
 the most brave. 
 
 This battle, gained almost without his 
 knowing it, placed Cabrera at the highest 
 pinnacle of renown. The terror of his name 
 spread itself to Saragossa. Every moment 
 his dreaded appearance was expected before
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 51 
 
 the walls of that city, the population of 
 which, had all taken up arms. But he ap- 
 peared not. 
 
 After some isolated attempts on Caspe, 
 and other small towns of little importance, 
 he quietly retraced his road to the moun- 
 tains, without disturbing himself about the 
 consequences which his victory would pro- 
 duce. There is not the smallest doubt, that 
 if he had presented himself, after such suc- 
 cess, on the rear of the army of Espartero, 
 he would have caused a most powerful 
 diversion : but this was not his system. His 
 only care was to get rid of, in detail, the 
 prisoners he took. The inhabitants of 
 Saragossa having manifested their crueltyand 
 rage, according to their custom, by the ex- 
 ecution of some Carlists who were shut up 
 in the Castle, Cabrera immediately ordered 
 reprisals, " that for every Carlist there should 
 be ten Christines shot ;" and the two })arties 
 thus so arranged the matter, that by reprisal 
 on reprisal, the five thousand men taken at 
 Morella, soon disappeared. 
 D 3 
 
 0. 0? ^^ ^^^-
 
 O'J TALES OF THE 
 
 This period was the most brilliant epoch 
 in the life of Cabrera. From his realm of 
 Morella, to more than the third part of 
 Spain, he possessed the entire confidence and 
 respect of the Carlists, and the terror of the 
 Christinos in all. His army had now be- 
 come increased to fifteen thousand men, the 
 most part of which, were well disciplined ; 
 besides these, he bad eight hundred cavalry 
 in excellent condition : and forty pieces of 
 artillery, a number of fortresses, and three 
 ])rave Lieutenants, Forchadell, Llangosteio, 
 and Polo. All obeyed and trembled before 
 liim. He recognised no authority, not even 
 that of Don Carlos. His name was invoked 
 with respect from one end of Spain to the 
 other, by all the Carlist population : in 
 short, he was a Count, which must have, 
 occasionally, not a little astonished even him- 
 self. Five years had suflficed to raise the 
 poor scholar of Tortosa to this height of 
 grandeur. 
 
 Hitherto, fortune seemed to have con- 
 ducted the young adventurer by her hand.
 
 CAMP AND CABLVET. 53 
 
 but the moment was arrived, in which the 
 fickle goddess deserted him, reversed the 
 power and renown he had obtained, more 
 rapidly than he had been elevated to them. 
 
 When we behold the two greatest champi- 
 ons of the two causes which divided Spain, 
 in presence of each other, a grand shock 
 must be expected. The Duke of Victoria 
 was the General in Chief of the troops of the 
 Queen. Don Carlos, by a decree dated from 
 Burgos, the 9th of January 1840, invested 
 the command of the army of Catalonia, with 
 those of Arragon, Valencia, and Murcia, to 
 the Court of Morella. The effective force of 
 these united corps, amounted to about thirty 
 thousand men. A serious resistance was 
 counted upon on the part of Cabrera, and the 
 Carlists founded the greatest hopes on their 
 favourite chief. Suddenly, however, news 
 the most fatal was received, which struck 
 them like a thunder-bolt : — Cabrera was ill, 
 he was nothing more than the shade of him- 
 self, he was dying. 
 
 We cannot state precisely, at wliat epoch
 
 54 TALES OF THE 
 
 this malady of Cabrera began. We believe, 
 however, that it was about the first week of 
 November 1 83.9 when he felt the first attack. 
 The report spread, that he had been poisoned, 
 another, that he had a typhus fever. He 
 was attended by no less than fourteen Spanish 
 physicians at a time, the most renowned of 
 whom, was a Canon of Yalencia,named Se- 
 villa, — without any of them being able to 
 assign the true character of the malady. 
 This malady was exhaustion. We have be- 
 fore said, that he had accustomed himself to 
 the dissipated habits of his early days ; the 
 excess of which he had constantly given way 
 to ; there united to the fatigues of war, and 
 the numerous wounds he had received 
 throughout all his body, had ruined his con- 
 stitution. He got over the first crisis ; but 
 the greatest danger attended his convales- 
 cence. Habituated to satisfy all his caprices, 
 he returned too quickly to his old habits ; 
 wine, women, and the ardent dances of 
 Spain, — which he passionately loved, — re-
 
 CAMP AND CABIXET. 55 
 
 duced his strength, and caused numerous 
 relapses. 
 
 In this state, he still commanded. Those 
 that surrounded him, endeavoured to conceal 
 his physical weakness from the population 
 and the army : and the better to effect it, 
 one of his Lieutenants would mount his horse 
 in the General's dress, and pass in full gallop 
 throudi the villasfes which had submitted to 
 him. When this ruse was no longer feasible, 
 Cabrera himself shewed his person from time 
 to time, in a litter : and such was the worship 
 that followed him, that his appearance raised 
 the courage of all. Oftentimes the bell of 
 of the churches, throughout the Maestrazgo, 
 sounded for the celebration of his imaginary 
 recovery : while he generally lived as retired 
 and invisible, as an Oriental despot. Demo- 
 ralization however began to gain ground in 
 his absence, among those, who had been 
 habituated to count on him as a god. 
 
 The following is a transcript of a procla- 
 mation issued at tliis period l)y the royal 
 junta, addressed to the inhabitants of places
 
 56 TALES OF THE 
 
 occupied by the Carlists, upon the occasion 
 of what was called, the re-establishment of 
 the health of Cabrera : — 
 
 " The God of armies, whose powerful arm 
 extends itself with an especial predilection 
 over this faithful army and these provinces, 
 has restored the health of the Count of Mo- 
 rella, who by a serious malady had for a long 
 time been the exclusive object of your 
 thoughts and inquietudes. Yes, the hero of 
 the nineteenth century, the immortal Cabrera, 
 is now entirely re-established. Consolatory 
 words ! ^those echo enters so sweetly into 
 the hearts of all those, who had the glory of 
 serving under his orders ; from the chiefs 
 who serve under him, to the last soldier of 
 the army. All have felt the same affection 
 in these days of sadness and mourning, in 
 which we trembled for the life of the first 
 Captain of the royalist camp. Priests, sol- 
 diers, citizens, rich and poor, nobles and 
 plebeians, all of you expressed the grief of a 
 .son, who fears to lose a cherished father." 
 
 " Your tears have ceased : all motives of
 
 CAilP AND CABLVET 57 
 
 fear have disappeared. Joy has succeeded 
 sadness ; and after having returned thanks 
 to the ^lost High, for having restored our 
 cherished General, who had one foot akeady 
 in the tomb, let us deliver ourselves up to 
 the transports of just rejoicing, to replace 
 our tears. Your junta, who cedes to none 
 for friendship to their worthy president. His 
 Excellency the Court of Morella, invite you, 
 to accord with the ecclesiastical authority, and 
 join on the 3rd day of February next in 
 chanting throughout all the places submitting 
 to the paternal government of King Charles 
 the Fifth, a Te Deum, in token of thanks. 
 The Te Deum will be followed by a fete and 
 a general illumination for two days. Sons 
 of revolution ! monsters vomiited by hell for 
 the opprobium of the Spanish name ! who 
 full of darkness divide your infamous 
 party ; vile assassins, and favourers of 
 commotions, and of plots, make a comparison 
 between you and us. The defenders of the 
 holy cause of God and of the King, con- 
 tinually address their prayers to heaven for 
 D 5
 
 58 TALES OF THE 
 
 the preservation of the precious life of their 
 General-in-Chief. Behold the honour and 
 justice of ours ! Long live religion ! Long 
 live the absolute King ! Long live the 
 Count of Morella ! 
 
 " Yallibona, 21, January 1840. 
 
 " Here follow the signatures." 
 
 The most formidable preparations were in 
 forwardness, under Espartero, to attack Ca- 
 brera, and it was evident to all, that it 
 would be very difficult for the latter, even 
 supposing he possessed his pristine energy, 
 to resist the formidable force that would be 
 brought against him. Cabrera saw it as 
 well as any other, in spite of his sickly 
 state, and he turned his attention towards 
 Don Carlos. In tlie months of January and 
 February, he sent courier after courier, 
 with messages to Borgos, to make known his 
 position, and to demand reinforcements, or 
 succour. Don Carlos addressed several let- 
 ters to him, calling him his dear Ramonet, — 
 a diminutive name of friendship, which he had
 
 CAMP AXD CABIXET. 59 
 
 given him in happier days, and inviting 
 him to guard himself against any Marotacle, 
 alluding to ^larota s defection. At the same 
 time Don Carlos created a particular decora- 
 tion for the troops of Catalonia, Arragon, 
 Valencia, and ]\Iurcia. Thi^was the sole 
 thing he could give to his army. The 
 Northern powers had definitively abandoned 
 him, so that it became impossible for him to 
 obtain any further aid from them, despite all 
 his efi"orts. 
 
 At the latter end of March, a grand diver- 
 sion in the Northern provinces was resolved 
 upon, to disengage Cabrera : but it was too 
 late. Peace had taken too deep a root in these 
 provinces to be again so soon disturbed. The 
 Spanish Carlist OflScers, who were refugees 
 in France, and who had followed Don Carlos, 
 escaped in crowds from the despot which had 
 been assigned them : l)ut Avhen they arrived 
 within the frontiers, they found no sympa- 
 thy in tlie population, wliicli were before so 
 ardent for war. The French Government 
 aiTested the Chiefs ; among others, General
 
 60 TALES OF THE 
 
 Elio, who was confined in the citadel of Lisle. 
 A new emissary of Cabrera, Colonel Gaeta, 
 was likewise arrested, and confined in the 
 citadel of Brest. An attempt at insurrection 
 took place in the provinces, but chiefs, arms 
 and money being wanting, it miserably mis- 
 carried. 
 
 In the meanwhile, time crept on, and the 
 fine season arrived. In the month of April, 
 Espartero put himself in motion ; and in 
 no part along his line of march did he en- 
 counter the enemy he sought. He besieged 
 and carried, successively, Castellot, Segura, 
 and Cantavieja ; Cabrera was not to be seen. 
 At length, ^lorella itself, that cherished 
 place of the guerillero — that capital of his 
 feudal country — that fortress which he had 
 so long loved, and believed to be impreg- 
 nable, was besieged. Cabrera was still not 
 to be seen. Morella, the cherished Morella, 
 dismantled by the terrible artillery of the 
 besiegers, was at length obliged to surrender 
 at discretion, on the 31st of May. All the 
 territory of Maestrazgo was occupied, almost
 
 CAMP AND CABLXET. 61 
 
 without firing a shot, by the troops of the 
 Queen. Cabrera was still not to be seen. 
 Never was there a fall more rapid and com- 
 plete, that followed a more ostentatious ante- 
 cedent, we may say, an illusion, which effaced 
 itself at the first shock of the reality. 
 
 The army of Cabrera passed the Ebro at 
 the beginning of June, and fell back on Ca- 
 talonia. When General O'Donnell attacked 
 it at Cenia, Cabrera, left his bed of sickness 
 to appear once more in the field of battle, 
 where he conducted himself most gallantly, 
 and had his horse killed under him. It 
 was an adieu to the field ; for this action, in 
 which the brother of O'Donnell was kiUed, 
 was the last one. Cabrera, seeing that he 
 could no longer maintain himself, had no 
 other resource left than to seek refuge in 
 France. He first passed three weeks at 
 Berga, where he commenced, without being 
 able to finish it, a process against the as- 
 sassins of the Count d'Espagne, when the 
 approach of Espartero, before this rampart
 
 62 TALES OF THE 
 
 of the Carlists, obliged him to put himself 
 in march for the frontier. 
 
 He sent before him his two sisters, for 
 whom he had a great affection. These 
 young women, of whom one was seventeen 
 years old, and the other fifteen, entered 
 France at the end of June, accompanied by 
 the wife of the Carlist military intendant, 
 Labandero. They were possessed of fifty 
 thousand francs in gold. The elder sister 
 was the wife of Polo, one of Cabrera's Lieute- 
 nants ; the other was to espouse an Aid-de- 
 Camp of the latter, named Arnau. The 
 French government assigned them the city of 
 Bourg, in the department of the Ain, for their 
 residence, where they lived, as we are told, 
 cultivating flowers. 
 
 A new adversary arose to consummate the 
 disasters of Cabrera. This last vanquisher 
 was no less than the young Queen Isabella 
 herself. Leaving the capital to take the 
 waters of Barcelona, she boldly traversed 
 tlie countries which so latelv trembled before
 
 CAMP AXD CABIXET. 63 
 
 the Count of :Morella. The influence of 
 Royalty Avas so great in Spain, that the 
 presence of this young girl, feeble and sickly 
 as she was, operated more than an army in 
 pacifying the country. The Carlist troops 
 which would have opposed her passage, had 
 been crushed ; cries of enthusiasm and of 
 love, were heard in all the towns she passed 
 througli, and were re-echoed by the countries 
 in arms ; so that her most terrible enemies 
 would have disappeared before even the dust 
 that rose from the rapid wheels of her carnage. 
 Oo the 30th of June, she entered Barcelona 
 in the midst oi fries. Four days afterwards, 
 the 4th of July, Berga was taken by Espar- 
 tero, and on the 6th, at five o'clock in tlie 
 morning, Cabrera fled into France with ten 
 tliousand men. 
 
 There Avere not more than two hundred 
 French soldiers on the frontier, Avhen this 
 army presented itself The Christinos did 
 not attempt tu follow it, nor fire a single 
 shot. A last discussion was entered into, on 
 the French territory, among those who would
 
 64 TALES OF THE 
 
 enter it, and those who would not. The 
 gens d'armes having seized Cabrera in the 
 midst of his troops, his brother-in-law. Polo, 
 offered to deliver him, and to re-enter Spain ; 
 but he positively refused the offer. He said 
 himself, that if he had chosen it, he could 
 have held out six or seven years in the 
 mountains, but he recoiled at the idea of 
 uselessly sacrificing his soldiers. Besides, 
 after having formed an army, it was repug- 
 nant to him to make war en partisan. His 
 army entered France by columns, and in the 
 greatest order. These ten thousand Arra- 
 gonese, of which the most part shuddered 
 at the idea of surrendering themselves in 
 this manner without fighting, but full of 
 respect, for the last orders of their chief, per- 
 mitted themselves to be disarmed without 
 resistance, by a handful of men. 
 
 The moment that Cabrera was on the 
 eve of being taken into the interior, a 
 voluntary prisoner of the French government, 
 a most touching scene presented itself. His 
 soldiers, running in crowds, and assembling
 
 CAMP AXD CABINET. 65 
 
 around him, to see him for the last time, 
 threw their caps in the air with loud cries of 
 " long live Cabrera !" while their rude 
 visages, which had never paled during the 
 most horrible episodes of the war, were 
 bedewed with tears. He himself wept, in 
 separating for ever from the companions of 
 his power. Thus ended this civil war of 
 Spain. Alas ! little did they think, that 
 others would follow in their unhappy country, 
 and of which no human foresight can divine 
 their termination. With Cabrera, entered 
 into France, Forcadell, Llangostera, Polo, 
 Palillos, Burjo, all Arragonese Chiefs. The 
 Catalonians essayed to hold out some time 
 longer, and would not abandon their party 
 without some days of struggling ; but they 
 were, in their turn, forced to pass the frontier. 
 Some bands, however, dispersed themselves 
 throughout the country. 
 
 The astonishment in France was gi'eat, 
 when they saw Cabrera. Short and thin 
 and almost beardless, he had the air of a 
 young man mild, and feeble. His hair was
 
 66 TALES OF THE 
 
 of tlie blackest hue, and his complexion 
 very dark. Before he was seized with ill- 
 ness, his look had a singular brightness : 
 which this illness rendered to lessen. He 
 rarely regarded his interlocuter in the face, 
 throwing his glances about liim with an air 
 of inquietude. His physiognomy though in- 
 telligent, had nothing particularly remarkable 
 about it. "When he smiled, his visage took an 
 expression of simple ingenuousness, which 
 was not without grace. Ilis manners, ex- 
 tremely simple, amounted almost to em- 
 barrassment. He appeared to be suffering, and 
 had no longer that desire of excessive mobility, 
 which he before possessed, of constantly 
 changing his place of rest. His attitude, a 
 little bent, gave indication that his chest 
 was affected. 
 
 Such was the man, whom the chance of 
 events has raised to so great a place in the 
 history of these last years. I shall now 
 complete his portrait, by giving some details 
 of his character. 
 
 Cabrera had never a political opinion. He
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 67 
 
 embraced the cause of Don Carlos, because 
 it was that which might raise him to fortune ; 
 he would have followed the other party, if 
 bj so doing, he had the prospect of the 
 greater chance of success. It has been suf- 
 ficiently proved, that he held no account of 
 the orders he received from Don Carlos. 
 Sometimes, he would write below any order 
 he received from him, these words — " Reci- 
 bido pero non efecutado todo par el servivir 
 de vuestra rnxijestad. Received, but not 
 executed, all for your ^lajesty's service," and 
 thus he would send it to Don Carlos. 
 
 He always detested priests and monks, 
 which seems rather strange for a pretended de- 
 fender of religion. All ignorant as lie was, 
 he knew sufiiciently of liistory to be ac- 
 quainted that the priests had ever grasped at 
 dominion in Spain ; and he was too jealous 
 of his authority, to conform himself to their 
 pretensions. Perhaps, also, he remembered 
 the time when one refused ordaining him, 
 and thus presei-ved a rancour against all 
 those who bore the ecclesiastical habit. Some
 
 68 TALES OF THE 
 
 anecdotes will shew his mode of conducting 
 himself towards them. 
 
 One day, having discovered that a priest, 
 who was employed in the receipt of imposts, 
 had made a peasant pay twice over the same 
 sum, Cabrera ordered him to be shot. The 
 Bishop of Mondenedo, president of the Car- 
 list junta of Arragon, addressed a complaint 
 to Don Carlos of this unheard of violation 
 of the privileges of the clergy. " Priests," 
 he said, " could not be executed without an 
 express order from the King, and after having 
 been condemned by ecclesiastical judges." 
 Don Carlos wrote himself to Cabrera on the 
 subject, recommending him to have some re- 
 gard towards the ministers of the church in 
 future. 
 
 " The Bishop of Mondonedo," replied Ca- 
 brera, " has imposed upon your Majesty ; I 
 have not had a priest shot, but a wicked 
 thief. In times past, thieves used to be cru- 
 cified ; at present I shoot them : los tiempos 
 cam'ihian los costumhres — time changes cus- 
 toms."
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 69 
 
 During the tiilie the army of the Christinos 
 was marching on Morella, he ordered all the 
 inhabitants, whom he deemed useless, to 
 evacuate the place. " I will give arms to all 
 those who remain," he exclaimed. All the 
 inhabitants did remain, excepting the women, 
 their children, and about fifty Franciscan 
 monks. Some days after the siege was raised, 
 the monks returned, and re-occupied their 
 convent. Cabrera issued out an order for 
 them to assemble in the square. He went 
 there himself, and thusbluntly addressed them. 
 
 " You must go back again, for you are all 
 useless drones, therefore depart : none re- 
 main here l3ut the brave !" 
 
 The monks, finding that he had nothing 
 more to say, filed off without uttering a word. 
 Cabrera followed them to the gate of the 
 town, and cried to them when they were 
 passing through it : " Take care no-t to re- 
 turn again, for you will not go out so 
 easily." 
 
 The Bishop of Mondonedo a second time 
 preferred a complaint against him to Don
 
 70 TALES OF THE 
 
 Carlos, and the latter again -uTote to Cabrera, 
 Cabrera again answered. 
 
 " Is it possible that I do not well under- 
 stand, that monks might be useful to 
 the service of jour Majesty when jou 
 shall be at Madrid ; but I can assure you 
 that here they are of no use ; they do 
 nothing but consume the rations, which I 
 love to take care of for those who fight for 
 the good cause/' 
 
 Some days after, Cabrera deprived the 
 Bishop of his functions, as president of the 
 junta, and nominated another. 
 
 We have already spoken of the cruelty of 
 Cabrera. His enemies would make him out 
 to be most ferocious, and always thirsting for 
 human blood ; this was going too far. Those 
 who knew him well, say, that he never shed 
 blood without a motive. He was insensible, 
 but he was not cruel for the pleasure of being 
 so. He had one word that did much ill in 
 Spain : and that terrible word was — reprisal. 
 This explains all the murders of Cabrera. 
 
 The Constitutionalists treated the Carlists
 
 CAMP AND CABIXET. . 71 
 
 like brigands, and strangled them without 
 pit J ; in their turn, the Carlists retaliated. 
 Heads are soon heated in Spain ; each party 
 believed and recounted liorrors of their ene- 
 mies, and excited by these recitals, often 
 imaginary, became determined to commit as 
 many more. It is true however, to say,, that 
 Cabrera, above all, when he was irritated, 
 might be counted among the most sanguinary 
 of the Chiefs. 
 
 Naturally gay, his choler was easily raised, 
 and when under its dominion, he was furious. 
 His officers, instead of endeavouring to re- 
 strain his passion, incited him. It is 
 recounted, that some days prior to the 
 arrival of Oraa before ^lorella, he had as- 
 sembled, at dinner, the whole of his staff. 
 After the commencement of the repast, the 
 conversation fell on what should be done to 
 the prisoners that might be taken. It 
 was agreed upon ; that chiefs should 
 be shot without pity. During the even- 
 ing wdien the wine, which circulated 
 briskly, had heat(^l their imaginations, from
 
 72 TALES OF THE 
 
 chiefs they came to officers, and afterwards 
 to under officers. At the end of the orgie, it 
 was decided, that no quarter should be 
 given even to the soldiers. Cabrera took 
 part in these orgies, and got intoxicated 
 as well as the others. He afterwads be- 
 lieved, that he was bound by his word, and 
 he executed, by boasting, that which he 
 swore to in a moment of great excitement. 
 
 We will now speak of his military 
 talents. In Spain, where guerilla warfare be- 
 ing national, he passed for a skilful General ; 
 by other people he was considered as having 
 no knowledge of war. He had good fortune, 
 without doubt, and a considerable share of 
 it ; but chance alone is not sufficient to ex- 
 plain a success sucli as his. He therefore 
 must have possessed qualities that best suc- 
 ceed in his own country. From the moment 
 of his elevation, he was indued with an ac- 
 ti^wity almost fabulous ; above all, he excelled 
 in the art most precious for a partisan, of 
 rapidly taking, and executing resolutions the 
 most unforeseen iMistak^, surprises, panic,
 
 CAilP AND CABINET. 73 
 
 terrors, played a grand part in the erection 
 of his fortune ; he was a complete guerillero ; 
 and the most celebrated feats of arms of 
 Mina, had no other character. 
 
 That which was really remarkable in him? 
 was his instinct of organization. The estab- 
 lishment that he created at ]\laestrazgo, 
 fully attest rare faculties in a scholar that 
 so rapidly became a General. He bears in 
 this respect, some resemblance to Abd-el- 
 Kader. The obstinate predilection he latterly 
 discovered in a prolonged sojournment at 
 Morella, when he had before expressed his 
 repugnance to sleep two nights following in 
 the same place, shews that he had conceived 
 a strong desire of forming a durable estab- 
 lishment there. It might be permitted to 
 believe, that he would have succeeded, if he 
 had had more time, if he had not been 
 seized with illness, and if there had not 
 been sent against him the whole and 
 overwhelming force of an organized na- 
 tion. ]\lany of the principalities founded 
 VOL. I. E
 
 74 TALES OF THE 
 
 in the middle ages, did not exhibit such 
 organization in so short a space of time. 
 
 The mode pursued by Cabrera in recruit- 
 ing, was most simple. When the voluntary 
 enrolments were not sufficient, he would send 
 out a strong detachment to any village sub- 
 mitting itself to the government of the 
 Queen, and cause a bando, or a notice, to be 
 posted up, in the following words. 
 
 " Los mozos de este puehlo que no se 
 presenten en et termino de las 24 lioras, 
 serrni arcuhuseadon por detras como trai- 
 doresr " The young men of this village, 
 who do not present themselves in twenty 
 four hours, shall be shot in the back, as 
 traitors/' 
 
 Soldiers obtained in this manner, were 
 ludicrously called " kittens." 
 
 With not more ceremony he acted, when 
 he was in want of money : for he would fall 
 unexpectedly on some town of the enemy, 
 and impartially levy an equal contribution 
 from both Carlists and Christinos. One day, 
 at Caspe, some of the chief men of the-
 
 CAMP AKD CABINET, 75 
 
 place, well known for their adhesion to Don 
 Carlos, waited upon him, and complained 
 against equality. " I know none as friends," 
 he replied, " but those who follow me with 
 a musket on their shoulder ; and I make no 
 difference between those who do not follow 
 me, and those who think it a favour to 
 call themselves my partizans, and who 
 will not make sacrifices for me." 
 
 He was generally much beloved by the 
 population of his dominions, and much as 
 he was cruel and exacting in every place 
 that did not acknowledge his authority, so 
 much, was he the protector, and benefactor 
 to those who submitted to him. Often blunt 
 and haughty to his officers, he always shewed 
 an affability, even a forwardness to oblige 
 the peasantry. Beyond his frontiers, he 
 gave his troops a carte blanche to pillage 
 at their pleasure ; but within the limits of 
 his little kingdom, no one was permitted to 
 levy the smallest contribution without his 
 order. 
 
 Completely a stranger to every regular 
 D 3
 
 76 TALES OF THE 
 
 system of police and administration, he at- 
 tained, by terror, the establishment around 
 him of a most honest administration, and a 
 most severe police. He confided the different 
 directions and management of the public 
 affairs, to the most skilful and able men he 
 could find, whom, however, he had vigilantly 
 watched, and at the first prevarication, he 
 would have the delinquent shot without 
 pity. 
 
 There never had been so much money in 
 Maestrazgo, as while during his domination. 
 All that he or his Lieutenants received in 
 their excursions into the provinces in the 
 environs, was expended in the place. It 
 was said, that he amassed enormous sums on 
 his own account. If he really did, it must 
 have been done in a very little time, for he 
 was naturally prodigal, and thought little of 
 the future. 
 
 When the first fright that followed the 
 disaster of Pardinas had passed away, the 
 Carlist cause recommenced to decrease in 
 Navarre. The Christinos encircled more
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 77 
 
 and more the Rojal quarters, and the army 
 that encompassed Don Carlos only counted 
 the days by defeats. Besides, fatal divi- 
 sions declared themselves in his camp : 
 and a strong party was secretly formed 
 for peace. The General-in-Chief, Maroto, 
 placed himself at the head of this party. 
 Cabrera, who held a secret correspondence 
 with Arias Tejeiro, minister of Don Carlos, 
 was often apprised by his correspondent of 
 what was passing in the provinces ; not- 
 withstanding, Cabrera persisted in not making 
 any effort to free Don Carlos, and passed 
 away the entire year of 1839 in complete 
 inaction. It was evident, that, henceforth 
 he thought of nothing but to fortify himself 
 apart, in order to enjoy in peace his won- 
 derful fortune, and to maintain himself inde- 
 pendent. 
 
 But his interests were far from being so 
 distinct from those of Don Carlos, as he 
 would believe. And he discovered this when 
 there arrived at Morella, at the end of Sep- 
 tember 1839, the news of the convention of
 
 78 TALES OF THE 
 
 Bergara, and the entry of Don Carlos into 
 France. Many chiefs of his army who had 
 received letters from others from Navarre, 
 inducing them to follow the example given 
 by the provinces, appeared to hesitate, and 
 incline to hold ideas of accommodation. 
 Cabrera was promptly informed of this, for 
 he had organized in his camp a vast system 
 of espionage, and he believed that he saw 
 his power, which reposed securely only in 
 war crumbling away. 
 
 Behold the mode he employed to cut short 
 all attempts of this nature. 
 
 He one day invited the whole of his 
 officers to assemble at his house. When 
 they were all collected, he addressed them 
 in a tone of confidence, relative to propo- 
 sitions which had been received for an ac- 
 commodation with the Christines, and de- 
 manded their opinion on the subject. 
 Forcadell, the most impetuous of the Chiefs, 
 exclaimed that he much better loved to go 
 out on the field, than to hear any one speak 
 of treating. " Very well ! go out, then/'
 
 CAMP AXD CAB1^'ET. / \) 
 
 replied Cabrera, with seeming rage, pointing 
 to the door. Forcadell, upon this, rose and 
 left the room. He was followed by Llangos- 
 tera. Cabrera closed the door on them, and 
 returned to his seat, saying, " We do not 
 want fools here." After again commencing 
 to consult the assembled officers, each one 
 believed himself authorised to give his ad- 
 vice ; and some of them expressed their 
 desire of conciliation. 
 
 After the council had broken up, Cabrera 
 caused all those who advised an accommoda- 
 tion, to be arrested and shot, among whom 
 was the Governor of Cantavieja. Imme- 
 diately after, he issued an order of the day, 
 that whoever pronounced a single word of 
 treating, should instantly be put to death. 
 
 He did not limit himself to these precau- 
 tions. He gave orders, that beyond a line 
 traced around his positions, should be a 
 league of absolute solitude. All the inhabi- 
 tants who occupied that space, were obliged 
 to abandon it, and were interdicted, whoever 
 they were, from j)utting their feet again
 
 80 TALES OF THE 
 
 within it, under penalty of death. Strong 
 patroles, without cessation, were afterwards 
 to be seen traversing the condemned in- 
 terval, and all those who were found passing 
 within it from without, whether Carlists or 
 Christinos, were shot without remission. 
 
 By these energetic measures, all commu- 
 nication between Cabrera and the rest of 
 Spain, was completely cut off, and it was 
 a length of time before it was known without 
 what was become of him. Some said he 
 was dead, others that he had fled ; so much 
 was he inclosed under the protection of this 
 formidable cordon, as if it had been a 
 sanitary one, and all the country without 
 had been infected with the plague. 
 
 Whoever departed for Morella, returned no 
 more, not a singleman, not the slightest news 
 was known. Thus passed the month of Oc- 
 tober 1839, and a part of the month of 
 November. 
 
 When Cabrera broke this frightful silence, 
 it was at the head of his armj. Terror had 
 strengthened wavering resolutions. Assisted
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 81 
 
 bj the counsels of Baron de Raden, a Lieuten- 
 ant Colonel of Artillery in the service of 
 Holland, and who had defended Antwerp 
 against the French, he greatly added to the 
 former fortifications, which seemed to render 
 his position impregnable. Each defile, every 
 point of a rock, was covered with intrench- 
 ments. A demi-circle of forts, of which the 
 most redoubtable were ^lorella and Cantevieja, 
 crowned the mountains. The last remains 
 of the army of Xavarre, under General Bal- 
 maseda, had just joined Cabrera with five 
 hundred horse, The tragic death of the 
 Count d'Espagne, immolated on the first sus- 
 picion of treating, had given him confidence 
 and security, and assured him the support 
 of the Carlist army of Catalonia. 
 
 On his side, Espartero, vanquisher of Don 
 Carlos, and pacificator of the Northern pro- 
 vinces, was advancing at the head of seventy 
 thousand men. and sixty pieces of cannon. 
 He had brought with him the late Arragonese 
 Chief Cabanero, who had embraced the cause 
 of the Queen, and who addressed a procla- 
 E 5
 
 82 TALES OF THE 
 
 mation to his countrymen to induce them to 
 imitate him. But this proclamation found 
 no echo ; for the dispositions of Cabrera 
 rendered it null and void. The winter now 
 arrived ; the ^Mountains of ^laestrazgo were 
 abeady covered with snow, and the defiles be- 
 come impracticable. As a last homage to the 
 military reputation of Cabrera, Espartero 
 halted, and took up his head quarters at 
 Las-j\Iatas, in the centre of the demi-circle 
 that formed the fortified position of his enemy, 
 and at a distance only of a league from the 
 nearest, Castellote. Before this place, Espar- 
 partero, in his turn fortified himself, and 
 opened roads for his convoys, established 
 hospitals for his sick, magazines for his 
 ammunition and stores, and waited patiently 
 for the return of spring. 
 
 The conduct of Cabrera during these last 
 moments which preceded his fall, will be 
 very difi*erently judged. He himself, attri- 
 buted his prompt defeat to his illness : others 
 said, that effeminated by two years of power, 
 his energy had left him : others again, that
 
 CAMP A>'D CABINET. 83 
 
 he was always below his fortune, and that 
 his feebleness appeared from the time that 
 he was no longer protected by chance. These 
 explanations are without doubt, all equally 
 true. His malady was but a sign of his 
 declination, under the excess of his pros- 
 perity ; and he had in that malady, some- 
 thing of that of the famed ^lazaniello. It is 
 difficult to understand, in beholding it, how 
 that he, so young and low in birth, should 
 have been chosen by destiny to be placed at 
 the head of one of the most terrible insurrec- 
 tions of Lazzaroni which history has ever 
 recorded ; and at length, to abandon these 
 Arragonese forts, which nothing had hitherto 
 subjugated, and which had been deemed as 
 impregnable. 
 
 Some days before the entrance of Cabrera 
 into France, the 25th of June, another force 
 and another General, also passed the frontier 
 on the side of Bayonne. This time, it was 
 not a Chief that led his soldiers into a 
 foreign territory ; but soldiers who forced 
 their Chief to seek an asylum. Followed
 
 84 TALES OF THE 
 
 with sword in hand by the Queen's Generals, 
 received by the inhabitants of the country as 
 enemies; they had marched a hundred leagues 
 in three days, without bread, without clothes, 
 without shoes, and almost without ammunition, 
 but not without often facing their enemy, 
 although they reckoned altogether but 
 fifteen hundred men. These men of iron, 
 ^vhich frightened the city of Bayonne by 
 their savage and ferocious aspect, burnt their 
 arms at the frontier, rather than deliver 
 them up to foreigners. They had for their 
 General, the indomitable Balmaseda. 
 
 Balmaseda was a man who had been truly 
 formidable in this war. It was he that first 
 foretold the defection of ^laroto, and it was 
 he alone that stood true to the cause on the 
 breaking up of the army of ^^avarre. Born 
 in Castile, of a distinguished family, he was 
 a Lieutenant Colonel at the death of Ferdi- 
 nand the Seventh, when he immediately 
 took up arms for Don Carlos, and never 
 quitted him until the last moment. En- 
 dowed With a high stature, and Herculean
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 85 
 
 strength, he always conducted a partisan 
 warfare at the head of a corps of cavalry, 
 which spread terror around them. We have 
 already seen, that he had joined Cabrera 
 after the convention of Bergara ; but not 
 understanding each other, he soon quitted 
 the latter. He returned, however, about 
 the middle of winter, to invite Cabrera to 
 aid him in taking Segarra, and hanging him. 
 This person commanded the army in Cata- 
 lonia, and was more than suspected of the 
 defection which he afterwards openly mani- 
 fested. Cabrera, however, would not accept 
 the invitation. Wearied at not finding 
 •among the Carlist Generals any but traitors 
 or dancers — so he called them — he endea- 
 voured to establish himself apart at Beteta ; 
 but he could not succeed in the attempt, 
 and it was from hence that he was con- 
 strained to throw himself into France, by the 
 forced marches already related. 
 
 Cabrera had, over Balmaseda, the a<]van- 
 tage of giving that good fortune to the centre 
 of operations, which liitlicrto had always
 
 86 TALES OF THE 
 
 continued ; but if Balmaseda had been less 
 restless — less given to wandering, and that 
 fate had called him, in place of the scholar 
 of Don Vincent, to be the chief of thirty 
 thousand men, it is probable that he would 
 have had a different fate He spoke with 
 disdain of the Count de ^lorella. 
 
 " He will do very well in France," he ex- 
 claimed ;" he can there play music at his 
 ease ; and if he is given a guitar, he will 
 go singing along the streets." 
 
 Cabrera, after his entrance into France, 
 was sent into the interior, where he ha^ re- 
 mained ever since, under the strict sur- 
 veillance of the police. Who knows, but 
 one day or other, we may see him taking 
 a part again in the sanguinary divisions 
 which still continue to desolate his unhappy 
 country.
 
 CA^IP AND CABINET. 87 
 
 CHAPTER IL 
 
 "I hear there are races about being es- 
 tablished at Monaco/' observed Major Dalbiac 
 to some of the members who had already 
 assembled, on the second evening of the 
 meeting. 
 
 " So I have heard," said Colonel Bailey. 
 
 " The establishment of which, will I opine, 
 be as short lived as was their fraternity 
 with the French Republic," exclaimed the 
 veteran Major Horton.
 
 88 TALES OF THE 
 
 " How came that about, Horton V de- 
 manded the first speaker. 
 
 " In this manner — A short time after the 
 French Republic had declared themselves 
 " One and indivisible," the Monacites took it 
 into their heads to do the same, and there- 
 fore proclaimed themselves under the title of 
 the Republic of i\lonaco, one and indivisible. 
 Three deputies were then dispatched to the 
 National Convention of France, to proffer 
 and demand alliance with the latter. The 
 deputies, after having been fraternilj received, 
 were invited to call the next day for the 
 treaty they desired. The treaty was ac- 
 cordingly prepared, which consisted of only 
 two articles, and was as follows. 
 
 " Art. 1 . There shall be peace and alliance 
 between the French Republic and the Re- 
 public of Monaco." 
 
 " Art. 2. The French Republic is delighted 
 with having made the acquaintance of the 
 Republic of ^lonaco." 
 
 This treaty being delivered to the depu- 
 ties, they departed highly satisfied with their
 
 CAMr A^'D CABI^'ET. 89 
 
 mission. Xot so, however, three months 
 afterwards ; for the " One and indivisible 
 Republic of France," conceiving that the 
 *' One and indivisible Republic of ^lonaco," 
 might be made divisible, took it under their 
 especial fraternal care, by engulphing their 
 dear acquaintance into the indivisible one 
 of their own. And as if fortune was deter- 
 mined to persecute and punish them for their 
 new fangled doctrine of indivisibility, the 
 poor Monacites were, in after years, further 
 mortified, by the grand carvers of the Con- 
 gress of Vienna, slicing them off as a honne 
 houche to the government of Sardinia.''"* 
 
 "As were the Genoese by the same process,'' 
 said Colonel Bailey. "That was a sorry 
 affair. I was in the expedition under Lord 
 W. Bentick, when he took Genoa from the 
 French. In his proclamation to the Genoese, 
 at the time, he told them, that it was the 
 intention of restoring them to their former 
 independence and Republic, " and it seems 
 to me," added his Lordship " an event certain 
 and determined upon." How this " certain
 
 90 TALES OF THE 
 
 and determined event " ended, we all know. 
 Poor Lord W. Bentick to this day is called 
 by the Genoese, " 3Ii Lord me semhra " — 
 " ^ly Lord it seems." — It is a positive fact, 
 and one but little known, that when at the 
 Congress of Vienna, it was proposed to 
 Lord Castlereagh to restore the ancient 
 Republic of Genoa, his Lordship's answer 
 sealed its doom, which was, — " As for Genoa, 
 all I say is, that the trumpets of i\Iontenotte 
 still resound in my ears." — Alluding to the 
 aid which the French army received from 
 some Genoese Merchants, of provisions and 
 munitions ot war, which the former was in 
 great need of, when in face of the Austrian 
 forces, then strongly posted on the i\Iaritime 
 Alp of Montenotte. This aid. Lord Castel- 
 reagh contended, led to the defeat of the 
 latter in the celebrated battle of that name, 
 and the French afterwards taking possession 
 of Genoa. Thus was the whole nation made 
 to suffer for the avarice of a few speculators." 
 " I well remember a strong debate on the 
 subject, in one of our houses of parliament,
 
 CAMP AXD CABI^fET. 91 
 
 between Lord Castlereagh and Lord W. Ben- 
 tick/' exclaimed ]\Iajor Dalbiac, "wherein 
 the former, insisted that the latter had ex- 
 ceeded his instructions, while the latter, as 
 strenuously insisted he had not ; alleging, 
 that the instructions gave every possible in- 
 ducement to conclude, that the restoration 
 of the Republic of Genoa was a matter de- 
 cided upon. Thus the affair ended ; and 
 the Genoese became incorporated with the 
 Piedmontese — two people that mutually de- 
 tested each other. " I am fearful," added 
 the ]\Iajor, " that in continuing this subject, 
 the rule against politics is encroached upon. 
 We will therefore take leave of it, and not 
 venture to incur a call to order from our 
 President/' 
 
 At this moment the signal of the tinkling 
 of the little l)ell of the latter, announced 
 the order for silence, preparatory to a rela- 
 tion from Major Colbourne, who, being next 
 in succession, was now called upon by the 
 President for its delivery. The Major, ac- 
 cordingly, commenced —
 
 92 TALES OF THE 
 
 " Happening to be at Milan, on my way 
 to Naples, a few years back, I went to the 
 theatre of the Scala. The time was propi- 
 tious, for a celebrated singer was to appear. 
 The episode I am about giving you, relates 
 solely to that night, and which I shall desig- 
 nate under the title of — 
 
 A REMINISCENCE OF A NIGHT AT LA 
 SCALA. 
 
 I was present on the night of a celebrated 
 vocalist's first appearance to a Milanese 
 public in the theatre of La Scala Malibran ! 
 
 What musical heart thrills not at that 
 name, and mourns not the evanescent reign 
 of the impassioned minstrel of the drama ? 
 Methinks I behold her now ; her form of 
 fairy lightness, moving in attitudes varied 
 and graceful as her song. 
 
 Were I at her tomb, I would plant a 
 cypress there, together with a rose, emblems 
 of a life of love, flourishing in grief ; nor 
 should the amaranth be forgotten, for she 
 has left a memory behind her that' even time 
 can never obliterate. And in recalling her
 
 CAJir AND CABINET. 93 
 
 image, years long past, bring to" my mind the 
 recollection of the time when one beautiful 
 evening, in Italy, I was seated on the steps 
 of a porticoed dwelling, silvered by the 
 moon — the hour being past midnight. All 
 around slumbered, save a nightingale. Near 
 me rose a wide-spreading beech, on which 
 it sang, while echo like an enamoured spirit, 
 responded to its sweet lays. On each wild 
 thrill I hung — with each low, stilly note, I 
 became wrapt in delight. Suddenly, the lay 
 ceased. Gazing upwards on the tremulous 
 stars, I perceived a large bird, which sha- 
 dowed in its flight the bosom of the moon. 
 I then divined the truth, and the cruel fate 
 of the night minstrel — it had become the prey 
 of that demon bird. How did it not resemble 
 
 the fate of Maria Malibran ! for sudden as 
 that bird of rapine rushed on the nightingale, 
 so death descended on her, and beauty and 
 genius and melody were strangled in their 
 bloom, with a pall, dark and impenetrable, 
 thrown over them, never more to be uplifted. 
 You must, my friends, pardon this rhap-
 
 94 TALES OF THE 
 
 sody and digression from the thread of my 
 narrative. 
 
 The drop-scene had not yet risen, but by 
 the power of novelty and stinging curiosity, 
 the boxes were already full, and in that on 
 the right of the stage, appeared the lions of 
 the fashionable seraglio — a magnificent race, 
 whose peculiar distinction lay in a studied 
 curl, an enormous moustache, a close-buttoned 
 coat, and a stick of iron-wood. When I at 
 first saw them, I took them for Hungarian 
 Hussars, for many of them were adorned 
 with spurs, whose clank could be heard as 
 they moved even in the crowded pit, where, 
 like quadrupeds pent up in a cage, they 
 seemed to feel the want of locomotion, 
 shaking their chains, and chattering like 
 
 jays, on the probable success of the gi^eat 
 vocalist, while many began to hum some 
 notes of the opera — the Norma. 
 
 " Sangue de Bacco !" exclaimed the Count 
 Attelme, " I ween this new songstress will 
 tear the laurels from Pasta's brow. Corpo 
 delict luna ! when will the curtain rise V
 
 CAMP A^D CABINET. 95 
 
 " Thou art like a cock croT^ing ere roost- 
 ing time !" exclaimed a sallow-faced lion 
 whose languid gaze and voice, bespoke a con- 
 stitution less qualified to bear the fatigue of 
 dissipation than his companions. 
 
 " By the Virgin ! Yiscontino, I'll crow 
 enough for the ^lalibran to-night, so tliat not 
 a single Pasta hen shall nod for a month. 
 Thou knowest what I did for Lalande. Well ! 
 I have done so now.'' 
 
 " And what was that V demanded half 
 a dozen newly moustachiod lions, with a 
 clamour which resounded through the 
 house. 
 
 " Why, I procured ten sturdy borsaijoli 
 from Porto Ticinese, and furnishing them 
 with as many iron-wood sticks, gave them 
 tickets for the pit, ^vith directions to watch 
 the motions of my lorgnon, and applaud 
 whenever they saw it turned towards the 
 stage." 
 
 A laugh followed this confession, wliich 
 which was soon drowned by the orchestra, 
 and the risinfr of the curtain. The chorus
 
 96 TALES OF THE 
 
 of druids re-echoed ; — many in the pit join- 
 ing therein, to the surprise of the fair 
 genius, who trembled with diffidence, for 
 the probable success of her reception. When 
 the chorus of druids had ended, a breath- 
 less silence ensued, as the long expected 
 songstress now appeared at the bottom of 
 the stage. A moment, and a succession 
 of low-measured cadences, soft as a key- 
 bugle, and anon, silvery and clear as a 
 violin, announced the recitative of the 
 o^raceful cavatina, — " Casta Diva." and the 
 first notes of Maria Malibran. 
 
 As though oppressed with diffidence, her 
 tones at first were rather tremulous, but 
 when a few bravos broke forth from the 
 balcony of the Lions, she began the adagio 
 in a style of surpassing brilliancy. 
 
 Towards the termination, the lorgnon 
 of Attelmi was in play ; when the iron 
 sticks of the Ticinese band commenced 
 their thunder in the pit. This was the 
 prelude to an applause, which burst from 
 every corner of the house, drowning the
 
 CAMP AXD CABINET. 97 
 
 hisses of the Pasta party, and of three stupid 
 journalists. After the cheering approbation 
 had ceased, the allegro poured forth its soar- 
 ing cadences. The hisses recommenced : but 
 the applaudits augmented, which were en- 
 couraged and prolonged by frequent move- 
 ments of Attelmi's lorgnon. A light of 
 jealousy might have been visible, to a keen 
 observer, in the eye of Pasta, who was seated 
 in the first tier of boxes. As this Opera was 
 considered her exclusive " Cavallo di Bat- 
 taglia" it may be forgiven her. To descend 
 from the pedestal where she once stood, — the 
 idol of her countrymen, — was an humiliation 
 as stinging to her, as confinement in St 
 Helena was to Napoleon. 
 
 Immediately after the fall of the drop scene 
 on the conclusion of the first act, Malibran 
 was called for in vociferous cries. The mo- 
 ment she answered to the call, it is impossi- 
 ble, adequately, to express, with what deafening 
 applause and cheers she was greeted. The 
 prgnon of Attelmi waved on high, and the 
 
 VOL. I. F
 
 98 TALES OF THE 
 
 iron sticks thundered more than ever. The 
 hisses of the Pasta party were completely 
 drowned and overpowered. 
 
 After ^lalibran had retired, and the fancied 
 clamour had ceased, a circumstance occurred, 
 which greatly awakened the surprise and 
 curiosity of the audience. 
 
 A man of a swarthy figure, was suddenly 
 seen to rise from his seat, and gaze with a 
 savage grin on a lady seated in the lower tier 
 of boxes immediately above him. She was 
 so adorned with diamonds, that they dazzled 
 the eye to look on her. 
 
 " You would do well to hide those dia- 
 monds, for they are covered with blood — I 
 see it dripping as you sit." exclaimed the 
 man in a loud voice to her. 
 
 In a moment the eyes of the audience were 
 anxiously directed, alternately, on the speaker, 
 and the addressed. The latter, however, with 
 much adroitness, preserved her presence of 
 mind, feigning not to have noticed the ex- 
 clamation.
 
 CAMP AXD CABINET. 99 
 
 "You are determined to make the old 
 saying good then — " Xone are so deaf as 
 those that wont hear/' — again vociferated the 
 man : "I am, however, more determined than 
 you : therefore I call jou by name, Amalia 
 Garu, and say again, hide those diamonds, 
 for they are covered with blood ! — the blood 
 of a brother !" 
 
 ^""0 longer able to stand this second at- 
 tack, the Signora Amalia Garii, suddenly and 
 hastily rose, and quitted the box, amid the 
 leers of part of the audience, and the aston- 
 ishment of the other ; while her tormentor 
 resumed his seat with an air of triumph: and 
 the excitement which this scene called forth 
 was only quelled by the rising of the curtain, 
 and the re-appearance of i\Ialibran. 
 
 I shall now relate to you the cause that 
 gave rise to this extraordinary scene. 
 
 During the reign of Napoleon, General 
 
 Lecchi, an Italian, and in the service of the 
 
 former, commanded a Division of the Army 
 
 in Lombardy. The Signora Amalia Garii, 
 
 F 3
 
 100 TALES OF THE 
 
 also an Italian, and at that time a remark- 
 ably handsome woman, was the lady-love of 
 the fascinated General. Passing by a jeweller's 
 shop one day, in company with him, she cast 
 her eyes on some magnificent diamonds, and 
 remarked, with a sigh, how she wished they 
 were hers. The movement even of her little 
 finger was a command to the gallant General : 
 but how mnch more so, when her wish was 
 breathed with a gentle sigh. 
 
 " The diamonds shall be yours, dearest," 
 exclaimed the impassioned lover. 
 
 Extering the shop, the General directed 
 the proprietor, who was an Israelite, to bring 
 the diamonds to his house at a certain hour 
 that night. Accordingly, they were brought 
 by the jeweller at the indicated time. The 
 sum demanded for them was so great that 
 Ihe general was unable to pay the amount at 
 the moment. However, it was agreed, that 
 they should be paid for by instalments. 
 The diamonds were, therefore, left, and the 
 jeweller left the house ; but never more to
 
 C.UIP AND CABLXET. 101 
 
 return alive to his own, for, the next morning, 
 his corpse was found near the Canal of the 
 City, pierced with several bayonet wounds. 
 
 The news of the assassination caused some 
 sensation, but it soon ceased to be spoken of, 
 and the Signora Amalia Garu sported her 
 diamonds. 
 
 The unfortunate jeweller had a brother, 
 who strained every nerve to bring the as- 
 sassin to light. Setting off for Paris, he 
 threw himself at the feet of Xapoleon, and 
 prayed for justice. A summons was, there- 
 fore, immediately sent by the Emperor's com- 
 mand, to General Lecchi, ordering him to 
 appear forthwith at that capital, to take his 
 trial. Cursing his evil stars, the gallant was 
 obliged to obey, and leave his lady-love be- 
 hind. Upon his arrival in Paris, he was in- 
 stantly imprisoned, and in a short time a 
 process was instituted against him for the 
 murder. A corporal on guard, on the night 
 of the jeweller's assassination, confessed that 
 he had stabbed him by the General's order.
 
 102 TALES OF THE 
 
 Napoleon's hasty departure, at this moment 
 to join the grand army for Russia, delayed 
 the execution of the sentence. 
 
 During the disastrous campaign in that 
 country, a brilliant charge, headed by the 
 chivalric ^lurat, having decided an important 
 battle, when on the point of being lost to 
 the French, caused so much joy to Napoleon, 
 and admiration of Murat's valour, that upon 
 its termination, he exclaimed to the " brave 
 sahreu7%" — 
 
 •' Through you, ^lurat, I have won the 
 victory. Ask for whatever you like, and it 
 shall be granted." 
 
 " The release of Lecchi," replied the Mar- 
 shal-king, who was a great friend of the 
 former. 
 
 The imperial promise was kept. The gal- 
 lant returned to his lady-love, and with her 
 established himself in a villa on the banks 
 of the lake of Garda, where a few years back 
 he died. 
 
 The lady-love, as I have l)efore shown, was
 
 CAlklP AND CABINET. 103 
 
 the Signora Araalia Garii, who, although she 
 had lost her lover, still preserved and sported 
 the diamonds, and the swarthy-looking being 
 who so determinedly addressed her in the 
 opera box, was the brother of the unfortu- 
 nate jeweller, and the same who had thrown 
 himself at the feet of Xapoleon.
 
 104 TALES OF THE 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 " This vento de bice, blows great guns to 
 night," exclaimed the veteran Colonel Oliver 
 to an old comrade standing near him. as the 
 former was stirring the fire at the club-room 
 at the hour of assembly. " It puts me in 
 mind of that devil of a one, wliich you must 
 remember we encountered off Cape Ilatteras, 
 when sailing from Halifax to Bermuda." 
 " Remember it ! why who could ever
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. lU5 
 
 forget it V answered ]\Iajor O'Dogherty- 
 " By the powers ! old Eolus never ceased 
 blowing his bellows, with his most deter- 
 mined malice, for three snccessive weeks, 
 without a day's cessation : and I k now not 
 how much longer we should have expe- 
 rienced the pleasure of making the floor 
 our dinner table, had we not at length gained 
 Bermuda." 
 
 " By first being driven on a rock by a 
 rascally black pilot, at the entrance of 
 George's harbour, you should have added 
 O'Dogherty, which you must remember also, 
 knocked a hole in the ship's bottom, large 
 enough to admit a whale in." 
 
 " All this was for the good of the service," 
 cried O'Dogherty, ironically, with a smile. 
 
 " Pray in what month of the year did this 
 
 take place. Colonel V demanded Captain 
 
 Wescott, who formed part of the group 
 
 standing near the fire, and who bore a 
 
 wooden leg he had gained in the service. 
 
 " In the month of December." 
 F 5
 
 106 TALES OF THE 
 
 " In the month of December !" echoed the 
 Captain in surprise. " Why who ever before 
 heard of troops being sent in that season of 
 the year to encounter the infernal gales of 
 Cape Hatteras l" 
 
 " It was for the good of the service," again 
 repeated O'Dogherty with the same smile of 
 irony. 
 
 " Yes," added the Colonel, " and then 
 stopping six weeks at Bermuda, to vegetate 
 on salt beef and pork, and to be at length 
 sent to join the expedition at New Orleans, 
 which we found assembled at ]\Iobil, after 
 the expedition had terminated !" 
 
 " All this turned out for the good of the 
 service, at all events," observed O'Dogherty, 
 " for if we had arrived in time for that 
 blessed affair, we should have received, to 
 make use of a vulgar saying, " more kicks 
 than half-pence." 
 
 " That ' blessed affair,' as you term it, 
 O'Dogherty, puts me in mind of some lines 
 that were written with much truth on our
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 107 
 
 ministers of the day, in forming their mili- 
 tary expeditions. Who wrote them I forget, 
 but they ran as follows — 
 
 •' In planning expeditions 'gainst the foe, 
 Our IVIinisters are ever svire, though slow 
 Each expedition meets a common fate, 
 Slow to depart, and scre to be too late." 
 
 The colloquy was interrupted by the sound 
 of the little bell of the President, as a signal 
 for the members to be seated. In a few 
 minutes all was in order and silence, when 
 the President called upon ]\Iajor Balfour, 
 who was next on the list, for his relation. 
 
 " In presenting to you a narrative of my 
 life," said the Major, " I shall abstain for 
 the present from giving you any mili- 
 tary anecdotes, and confine myself to a 
 simple narration of events, not perhaps of 
 much interest, but wliich may still be con- 
 sidered of such a nature, as not to be met 
 with in the common run of life :'' —
 
 108 TALES OF THE 
 
 LIFE OF MAJOR BALFOUR. 
 At the distance of about six miles from 
 a well known and populous town in the 
 West of England, stood, and still stands, a 
 country villa that had been erected with 
 much care, and ornamented with equal tasta 
 The stranger, on passing it, could not but 
 arrest his steps to view it and its beautiful 
 precincts with feelings of admiration ; neither 
 could fail being prepossessed with the 
 idea, but that the proprietor, who dis- 
 covered so much taste in its adornment, 
 could be other tlian a retired artist : for 
 those who cultivate the arts have a secret 
 peculiar to themselves, in giving a charm to 
 objects the most simple. The house of a 
 painter, the garden of a poet, the pavilion of 
 a musician, all modest in their appearance, 
 have, invariably, an aspect that the rich 
 capitalist can never assume, or give to his 
 domain, however sumptuous it might be, 
 without the direction of the enchanter. 
 This retreat combined all the qualities
 
 CAMP AND CABIXET. 109 
 
 mentioned, for its master possessed them 
 all. 
 
 It was to this lovelj spot, erected and 
 reared under his sole direction, that my 
 father had retired, and where I was born. 
 He had bid an adieu to the city, and the 
 bustle of public life, and his chief pleasure 
 was centered in mj mother and in me, his 
 only child. 
 
 How often does the grim tyrant, death, 
 derange all our projects, and with the body, 
 destroy the accomplishment of the wisest 
 plans ! so it was with my father, for I Avas 
 only three years old, when he had the mis- 
 fortune to lose my mother, to whom lie 
 was passionately attached. 
 
 Although still young, he remained incun- 
 solable at her loss, for he had hoped to liave 
 had her for a companion to the end uf life. 
 This proves that there are yet husbands who 
 regret the bereavement of their Avives. So 
 intense Avas his affliction, that lier image 
 was ever before him : and he became, at
 
 110 TALES OF THE 
 
 length, so overpowered with profound melan- 
 choly, that his health became affected by it. 
 He never recovered, and in two years he 
 followed my mother to the tomb, leaving me 
 to the care of two maiden aunts, who left 
 their home for their brother's when they re- 
 ceived intelligence of his illness. 
 
 Behold me therefore, a boy of five years 
 old, left to the guardianship of two old maids, 
 of whom one had never, it is thought, 
 possessed any other passion than the love of 
 sweetmeats : nor the other, than the enjoy- 
 ment of playing the old and exploded game 
 of goose. 
 
 ]\Iy father had left to me, with his ^illa 
 and grounds, a clear income of eight hundred 
 a year. ^Ij aunts possessed of their own, 
 four hundred each : so that I was in reality, 
 and in anticipation, well provided for. 
 
 ^ly two good aunts brought me up like a 
 girl : they would not permit me to read 
 Grecian history, for fear I should be imbibed 
 with belligerent qualities ; the Roman was
 
 CA^IP AST) CABLXET. HI 
 
 hid from my sight, lest I might inhale fero- 
 cious and barbarous thoughts : the book of 
 mythology was most carefully put aside, 
 because they considered the history of gods 
 and goddesses too scandalous and indecent ; 
 and they would not permit my taking lessons 
 in learning to draw figures, lest I should 
 have to copy hereafter, naked ones. In short, 
 the two spinsters suppressed the knowledge 
 of a number ot things which they judged 
 either useless or dangerous to me. To make 
 amends for these deprivations, I was allowed 
 to be taught the piano-forte, and singing ; 
 for I discovered a great predilection for 
 music. 
 
 It must not however be supposed that I 
 was unhappy all this time, — quite the con- 
 trary. For me. Aunt Dorothy would some- 
 times forget to eat her sweetmeats, and Aunt 
 ^hirtha, to play her game of goose : and more 
 particularly, when they would be busily em- 
 ployed in initiating me in the art of embroi- 
 dery, dividing and winding up silk, and
 
 112 TALES OF THE 
 
 spinning. So that I became as well versed 
 in these accomplishments, as I was in eating 
 sweetmeats and the game of goose, which 
 two latter, I loved as much as Aunts Dorothy 
 and ]\lartha. 
 
 The old ladies were enchanted with their 
 pupil — I could often hear them exclaim, — 
 " How handsome he is : he is as mild as a 
 girl, or rather, as a lamb, — for all girls, are 
 not mild. How lieartilv he laughs, when in 
 playing goose, one of us are put into prison, 
 or tumble into the well. Oh ! he is a jewel! 
 a real cherub ! Yes, yes, he knows enough to 
 be happy ; for true happiness consists more 
 in ignorance than learning." 
 
 Thus did time roll on, until I had attained 
 my eighteenth year. I had hitherto never 
 gone beyond the grounds of the villa, without 
 being accompanied by one or both of my 
 aunts : the good creatures believing, that 
 their nephew would thus pass his life without 
 having any other ideas, other thoughts, other 
 desires, thaa what they had inculcated in
 
 CAJIP A^'D CABINET 113 
 
 him. Xever having loved themselves, any 
 thing than sweatmeats, and the game of 
 goose, they considered that those, joined to 
 other acquirements, were fullv adequate for 
 all worldly happiness. It vdW be seen how 
 much my crood aunts were mistaken. 
 
 Having been one day engaged in a rum- 
 maging expedition, wherein the contents of 
 an antiquated looking bureau attracted my 
 attention, I happened to find an old l)ook of 
 songs, chiefly amatory ; perusing a few 
 at the moment. I became enchanted 
 vdih them. Retiring to my room with the 
 book, I anxiously ran over the remainder, 
 which were replete with the loves' of Daphnis 
 and Chloe, Silvia and Delia, Phaon and Sap- 
 pho, and many other loves. In short, so 
 delighted was I with my new found treasure, 
 that it became my study — my passion : and 
 day after day, was I wont to chaunt some of 
 these amatory songs to myself in a subdued 
 tone, to any tune that might suit their metre, 
 My good aunts, not having participated with
 
 114 TALES OF THE 
 
 me in 1113^ rummaging expedition, were kept in 
 total ignorance of my treasure, or my study 
 of its contents. 
 
 Little did they imagine that this secret 
 acquisition had endued me with a romantic 
 cast of mind, and that all my thoughts were 
 centered in one object, which haunted 
 my imagination eternally ; yes, I sighed to 
 find some Chloe, Daliah, or a Sappho — one 
 that / could also love, and be to her a 
 Daphnis, a Silvio, or a Phaon. But where 
 was she to be found '? In the house the de- 
 sired object was impossible to be attained, 
 for no females inhabited it but my aunts, 
 an old cook, and nearly as old a chamber- 
 maid. I became plunged in despair. Chance, 
 however, released me from my dilemma, and 
 I at length found that for which I so ar- 
 dently panted, and which cost me so many 
 days of restless inquietude. 
 
 The old ladies having one day been in- 
 ^dted to a fete, given annually by a gentle- 
 man in the neighbourhood to his tenantry.
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 115 
 
 on the anniversary of his marriage day, as 
 well as to the gentry around, the invitation 
 was accepted. It was, however, a long time 
 debated between them, whether it was proper 
 or not for me to go to such an assembly of 
 people. The affirmative carried the day, so 
 away we went at the appointed time. 
 
 I shall never forget the astonislnnent and 
 delight I felt at the novelty and brilliancy 
 of a scene so totally new to me. The number 
 of people assembled, the hilarity that reigned 
 around, and then the dances ! But I opened 
 my eyes still more, when I beheld the young 
 village girls, so fresh, so beautiful ! Sud- 
 denly, however, these eyes were cast down, 
 while I felt myself seized with a trembling, 
 yet pleasing emotion, for at my side, stood 
 a maiden, so beautiful, so gentle, that her 
 visage appeared to me rather an ideal crea- 
 tion than a work of nature. 
 
 This charming girl, so much the object 
 of my attention, was the young Catherine 
 Maitland, the daughter of a neighbouring
 
 116 TALES OF THE 
 
 fanner, an humble, but honest man. This 
 daughter was his only hope, his only solace, 
 his only child, for he had lost her mother. 
 Day and night she assisted her father 
 most assiduously in the management of the 
 farm. 
 
 After having lowered my eyes from a 
 glance from those of the lovely Catherine, 
 I again ventured another look at a face so 
 beautiful, so pure, and so enchanting, of 
 which the one sole look had raised such 
 strong emotions within me. On exchanging 
 this second glance, something told me that 
 Catherine felt as happy as a queen : and 
 probably more so than I did. She blushed and 
 sighed, perhaps, without knowing why ; for 
 the most innocent sigh, the cause of which 
 might never be sought. I could not stir 
 from the side of Catherine ; I seemed en- 
 chained to the spot. The music struck up 
 at this moment for the dance : I ventured 
 to ask her to dance with me, she accepted 
 my hand tremblingly and silently : and
 
 CAMP AXD CABIXET. 117 
 
 during the dance, we exchanged but few 
 words together. I discovered that her father 
 was poor ; she, that her partner was rich. 
 The joung Catherine sighed again more pro- 
 foundly, perhaps this time she knew why. 
 
 The dance continued for a long time, that 
 is to say, I made it so, by recommencing new 
 dances with my beautiful partner, whom I 
 had the persuasion to retain to myself. In 
 the mean time, the fete was drawing near its 
 close, long before I contemplated, so quickly 
 to me did the hours seem to pass away. 
 Catherine's father at length came to seek 
 her. Bidding me in sweetest tones a " good 
 night," she departed with him. How did 
 my anxious eyes follow her, until she had 
 disappeared amongst the foliage of the trees ! 
 I felt as if I had been bereaved of all earthly 
 happiness ; and I returned to rejoin my 
 aunts wrapt in melancholy thought. 
 
 The whole night I could not rest. Ca- 
 therine was ever before my eyes, and when 
 I met mv aunts at the breakfast table, I
 
 118 TALES OF THE 
 
 could partake of scarcely anything. At 
 dinner, it was the same. My aunts, who 
 failed not to notice my loss of appetite and 
 abstracted manner, overwhelmed me with 
 questions. 
 
 " What is the matter, my dear V de- 
 manded Aunt Dorothy. 
 
 " Yes, what is the matter, Edwin V re- 
 peated Aunt j\Iartha, more emphatically. 
 
 " What is your illness V^ again demanded 
 Aunt Dorothy. 
 
 " How did it seize you ? Where do you 
 feel it V rejoined Aunt Martha. 
 
 To all these questions, I could only answer 
 that I was not in pain — that I was not ill. 
 
 " Why then are you so sad V' enquired Aunt 
 Dorothy. 
 
 "Idon'tknow/^ 
 
 " How is it that you will eat no sweet- 
 meats?' indefatigably pursued aunt Dorothy. 
 
 " I have no appetite." 
 
 " And why will you not play at goose, or 
 on the piano-forte, or sing V pursued also 
 the no less indefatigable Aunt Martha.
 
 CAMP AND CABIXET. 119 
 
 To get rid of any further questions, or 
 importunities, as well as it being in unison 
 with my feelings, I assented to the last 
 proposition of aunt Martha, by rising from 
 the sofa, where I had been reclining, and at 
 once seating myself at the piano, with the 
 lovely image of Catherine before my eyes, I 
 I sang the following verses from my amatory 
 treasure, adapting them to a tune I had learnt, 
 and accompanying myself on the instrument. 
 
 SONG. 
 
 " Oh ! now will I with sorrow cope, 
 
 And chase the briny tear ; 
 And drink to pleasure, love, and hope. 
 
 To her I hold most dear. 
 Then let all sages scoff and prate 
 
 Of woman's guiles beware. 
 I'll drink to thee my charming Kate, 
 
 And banish every care." 
 
 While I was singing this verse, which I did 
 with fervency, the old maids were fidgetting 
 on their seats, and exchanging with each 
 other looks of the utmost surprise, and the 
 moment the verse was concluded, aunt
 
 120 TALES OF THE 
 
 Dorothy, not being able any longer to contain 
 herself, burst out into an exclamation. 
 
 " ^\e\\, if ever !" 
 
 " Good gracious !" followed aunt Martha. 
 
 " What's the matter Aunts V I demanded. 
 
 " Where did jou get these lines, Edwin ?" 
 interrogated the astonished aunt Dorothy. 
 
 " Aye, where could you possibly have got 
 them V repeated the no less astonished aunt 
 ]\Iartha. 
 
 " From an old song book," I replied, " but 
 don't interrupt me, aunts, for I have two 
 more verses to sing." 
 
 " Two more verses ! cried the old ladies 
 simultaneously, with looks of the utmost 
 alarm. Fearing I should meet with further 
 interruption, I immediately proceeded. 
 
 '• Oh ! now's the liour of sweetest joj, 
 
 While borne on zephyr's wings ; 
 Oil, lovely hour, thou ne'er can'st cloy, 
 
 The charms to me it brings. 
 Then let all sages scoff and prate, 
 
 Of woman's guiles beware ; 
 I'll drink to thee ray charming Kate, 
 
 And banish every care.
 
 CAMP AND CABLET. 121 
 
 Seize, then, oh ! seize this lovely hour. 
 
 To pass in joy and bliss. 
 Oh ! now bestow the brightest dower. 
 
 Thy soft and balmy kiss ! 
 Then let all sages scoff and prate, 
 
 Of woman's guiles beware ; 
 I'll drink to thee, my charming Kate, 
 
 And banish every care." 
 
 After concluding the song, I rose from the 
 piano, and threw myself on the sofa, and felt 
 completely exhausted with excitement, while 
 the old ladies, in perfect astonishment, and 
 casting up their eyes with corresponding 
 gestures of their arms, seemed to be denied 
 the power of articulation. I could, however, 
 divine their thoughts, which were, as much 
 as to say, '" AYhat ! the simple, unsophisti- 
 cated Edwin sing such lines of anacreontic 
 voluptuousness ! and then, the impassioned 
 manner in which they were sung ! won- 
 derful ! inexplicable !" 
 
 At length, hoAvever, they joined each 
 other in giving utterance to their thoughts 
 in whispers, and I distinctly heard the words, 
 " the book must be burnt." 
 
 VOL. I. G
 
 122 TALES OF THE 
 
 Seeming not to have overheard these 
 ominous words, and wishing to escape from 
 any further questions, I again rose from the 
 sofa, retired to my room, secured my treasure 
 from its intended fate, and went to bed to 
 dream of Catherine. 
 
 I afterwards discovered that the moment 
 I had left the room, my good aunts gave 
 full vent to their expressions of astonish- 
 ment at the words of my song ; and filled 
 with conjectures as to where I could have 
 procured such a book, and how I could have 
 so studied it without their knowledge. The 
 servant man, the house-maid, the cook, and 
 even the stable boy, were immediately ques- 
 tioned ; but no one could throw any light 
 on the subject. The old ladies did not part 
 for the night without again condemning my 
 treasure to the flames — it was a doomed 
 book. 
 
 The next morning, my aunts, considering, 
 I suppose, silence to be the best discretion, 
 said no more to me of the book, which I
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 123 
 
 guarded with the care that a miser does his 
 gold. The continued thoughts of Catherine 
 had absolutely driven away all appetite from 
 me, and each day I felt my strength declin- 
 ing ; I beheld my cheeks losing their ruddy 
 hue, my eyes their brilliancy, and a langour 
 mixed with sadness, overspread throughout 
 my frame, and replace my wonted gaiety. 
 The good aunts were in despair, and at 
 length sent for a physician, who was an old 
 friend of theirs. 
 
 The doctor, on his arrival, immediately 
 examined his patient, felt my pulse, looked 
 at my tongue, and asked me various ques- 
 tions. 
 
 " It is very extraordinary," murmured the 
 doctor, " this young gentleman has no illness 
 that I can perceive.'^ 
 
 " Notwithstanding, doctor, he is consum- 
 ing away," said aunt Dorothy, tremulously. 
 
 " He eats nothing — he amuses himself 
 with nothing," added aunt Martha, raising a 
 kerchief to her eyes. 
 G 3
 
 124 TALES OF THE 
 
 " There must be some hidden cause then," 
 observed the doctor. 
 
 " We know not of any. If he has one, 
 why does lie not tell us of it ; we, his aunts, 
 who love him so dearly, and who refuse him 
 nothing V rejoined aunt Dorothy weeping. 
 
 About a week after this consultation, I 
 became so feeble, that I was absolutely 
 obliged to take to my bed. My aunts' fears 
 became proportionably increased, and they 
 unceasingly demanded if I wished for any- 
 thing ; but my replies were always the same, 
 that I wished for nothing. It was after the 
 termination of one of these usual questions 
 that I one day asked aunt Dorothy when the 
 fete, which we had recently attended, would 
 be renewed. 
 
 " Xext year," was the reply. 
 
 " Another year !" I exclaimed with a heavy 
 sigh, it is a long time to wait !" 
 
 At the moment the question was about 
 being asked, the doctor, it seems, had en- 
 tered the room, unperceived, and waited at
 
 CAMP AND CABIXET. 125 
 
 the door to hear it, as well as the reply, and 
 my observation thereon. Then, advanc- 
 ing to my bed-side, and paying his devoirs 
 to the ladies, he whispered to them to 
 withdraw. 
 
 Being left alone with his patient, and, 
 after a preliminary question, as to how I 
 felt myself, the doctor, with seeming careless- 
 ness, demanded how I had liked the fete I 
 had attended. 
 
 " Oh ! it was beautiful !"' I exclaimed ; my 
 visage, as the doctor afterwards told me, 
 becoming suddenly animated. 
 
 " An how did you amuse yourself V 
 
 " By dancing with Catherine Maitland !" 
 I replied in a voice of tremour. 
 
 " And wlio is Catherine ^laitland V 
 
 " iVn angel !" was my enthusiastic re- 
 sponse. 
 
 The doctor, after these replies, questioned 
 me no further, but quitted the room with a 
 smile on his countenance, and sought, as I 
 afterwards found, the old ladies. When the 
 following colloquy took place.
 
 126 TALES OF TUE 
 
 " At length, I have discovered the secret 
 that undermines the health of your nephew," 
 observed the doctor, rubbing his hands to- 
 gether, and smiling with marked satisfaction. 
 
 " Oh, my good friend, you will save him 
 then," exclaimed Aunt Dorothy with de- 
 light. 
 
 " No," replied the doctor, still smiling. 
 
 " No !" repeated simultaneously my aunts 
 with looks of alarm and surprise. 
 
 " That is to say, it is not / who shall save 
 him ; it is a young maiden, who was at the 
 recent fete, of the name of Catherine 
 Maitland." 
 
 " What do you mean, doctor T demanded 
 Aunt Dorothy, completely mystified. 
 
 " Yes, what do you mean, doctor T re- 
 peated Aunt Martha, not the less mystified. 
 
 " That your nephew is in love, and that 
 this is the cause of his illness — the passion 
 that is undermining him, and which will bring' 
 him most infallibly to the grave, if he is 
 not united to the object of his love."
 
 CA3IP AXD CABINET. 127 
 
 " Love ! — Edwin in love ! impossible, 
 doctor — it is impossible !" said Aunt 
 Dorothy with an air of incredulity. 
 
 " Our nephew in love ! no, no, it is, 
 indeed, as my sister says, impossible, — 
 totally impossible." echoed Aunt ]\lartha. 
 " for he sees no one but us." 
 
 " I know well enough, he is not in love 
 with either of you ; but if you wish to save 
 him, you will cause Catherine ^laitland to 
 come here ; and you will then both of you 
 be convinced, that she is the cure, and the 
 only cure, for your nephew." 
 
 " But he never sees this Catherine : how 
 then can it be possible, doctor 1" perti- 
 naciously demanded Aunt Dorothy. 
 
 " I never heard him even speak of 
 this Catherine," added Aunt Martha. 
 
 " Why, he danced the whole evening with 
 her at the fete" 
 
 " What of that ? he has never seen her 
 since," rejoined Aunt Dorothy. 
 
 ** x\ye, what of that V repeated Aunt 
 Martha.
 
 128 TALES OF THE 
 
 " Why, of that, and from that," replied 
 the doctor, chuckling, " came love at first 
 sight. Did you, ladies, never hear of such a 
 
 thing r 
 
 " We know nothing about it," answered 
 the two spinsters together. 
 
 " That may be ; but I know this, and I 
 again repeat it, send for Catherine ]\laitland, 
 or you'll be the cause of your nephew's 
 death." 
 
 The old ladies regarded the doctor for 
 some moments in silence. Misgivings 
 entered their minds ; Edwin had certainly 
 often questioned them about the renewal of 
 the fete ; but how could he fall in love, poor 
 boy ? Impossible ! yet the doctor must be 
 obeyed, that they might not be blamed here- 
 after, in case anything fatal should occur to 
 their darling. 
 
 " We will obey your injunction, doctor," 
 said Aunt Dorothy, after exchanging some 
 words with her sister in whispers. 
 
 " Yes," added Aunt ]\lartha, " we will do
 
 CAMP AND CABINET, 129 
 
 it, if it were only for the sake of satisfying 
 your wish. As to the possibility of its doing 
 any good, our minds are already made up on 
 the subject." 
 
 " You shall have occular demonstration 
 that I am right in my conclusion. When 
 will you send for Catherine Maitland V 
 
 " We will dispatch a messenger immedi- 
 ately with a letter to her father, and appoint 
 the hour of eleven in the morning for the 
 interview." 
 
 " Very good : I shall attend." 
 
 The following morning, found the two 
 sisters and the doctor assembled round my 
 bed ; when, shortly after the assemblage, 
 two visitors were announced. They were 
 the expected Catherine and her father, who 
 were as much surprised at receiving the 
 invitation, as they were puzzled to divine 
 the cause of it." 
 
 On entering the room, Catherine suddenly 
 halted, and stood trembling and abashed on 
 finding herself in my presence and bed- 
 G 5
 
 130 TALES OF THE 
 
 room, while I, astonished, and no less 
 delighted at her appearance, made a sudden 
 movement, and I would at the moment, have 
 rushed from the bed to her arms : but in- 
 capable, from weakness, of the effort, I fell 
 back on my pillow. My heart throbbed 
 violently, and my eyes, as the doctor after- 
 wards told me, resumed all their wonted 
 brilliancy. 
 
 He had been watching all my movements 
 with intense curiosity. 
 
 " What do you think now V he demanded 
 of my Aunts, with a triumphant air, who 
 appeared electrified. 
 
 " Wonderful !" ejaculated Aunt Dorothy. 
 
 " Astonishing !'' followed Aunt Martha. 
 
 " No, no, I have not been deceived," re- 
 joined the doctor ; '• your nephew, you must 
 now clearly perceive, is love-sick : and as 
 that passion is treated homeopathically, it 
 is with love alone he can be cured." 
 
 If the old ladies were astonished and 
 wonderstruck, the father of Catherine was
 
 CAMP AND CABLVET. 131 
 
 scarcely the less so at this scene : while she, 
 with her eyes cast on the ground, was covered 
 with blushes and confusion. 
 
 My aunts, at length, beckoned to the 
 father, whom they led into an adjoining anti- 
 chamber : where, after some preliminary 
 explanations, and willing to make any sacri- 
 fice for the happiness of their darling, they 
 demanded the hand of his daughter for their 
 nephew. The astonished father readily con- 
 sented to the demand, with the proviso, 
 " that it would be agreeable to Catherine." 
 
 On returning to my bed-room, the father 
 drawing her aside, soon discovered that the 
 proposal was very "agreeable,'' to her; which 
 upon being announced by him to the aunts, 
 they each took a hand of the still more blush- 
 ing Catherine, and led her to my side. 
 
 "Behold your wife, darling," exclaimed 
 Aunt Dorothy. 
 
 " The moment you are cured, dear boy," 
 added Aunt Martha. 
 
 Bewildered with joy and surprise, I clasped
 
 132 TALES OF THE 
 
 the lovely Catlierine in mj arms. I seemed 
 as if I had escaped from some dreadful 
 calamity, and that she was the guardian angel 
 that saved me from it. 
 
 " Wonderful !" again exclaimed Aunt 
 Dorothy. 
 
 " Astonishing \" again rejoined Aunt 
 Martha. 
 
 " The cure will now be very soon effected/' 
 followed the doctor, with a still more tri- 
 umphant air, "for the sickness of love, when 
 thus administered to, flies away more rapidly 
 than it comes." 
 
 And so it did, for in a week I had re- 
 covered my pristine health. Catherine was 
 detained by my good aunts in the house, 
 with the consent of the father, and by the 
 advice of the doctor : and in a week after 
 Catherine became my wife. i\ly hap- 
 piness was now complete. The good old 
 ladies divided their love between us : and 
 that for sweatmeats and the game of goose, 
 continued unabated, with tlie additional
 
 CAMr AND CABINET. 133 
 
 pleasure of gaining, in Catherine, another 
 proselyte to their cause. Even the worthy 
 doctor, who appeared to take much interest 
 in me, and who often paid us visits, was made 
 to join in the game, through deference to 
 the old ladies. During this time, my hoarded 
 treasure, the old book of songs had been 
 forgotten by me, for the object they taught 
 to sigh, and seek, was found, and it was no 
 longer prized. Xot so, howevei', my aunts, 
 who while I was confined to my bed, com- 
 menced with persevering assiduity in its 
 search, conceiving it to be the original cause 
 of my illness. They at length discovered it 
 lying in concealment under the cushion of 
 my bed room faiifeid I. A few days after my 
 marriage, while strolling along the little park 
 of my villa with Catherine, a gentle breeze 
 wafted close to me, and rustling along the 
 ground, a fragment of paper : lifting it up, I 
 beheld with surprise that it was part of a leaf 
 of my old treasure, wliich from its scorched 
 hue, told me plainly the fate of the whole,
 
 134 TALES OF THE 
 
 and that it was a doomed book. Showing 
 this remnant of my past enjoyment to 
 Catherine, and relating the story to her, it 
 caused not a little merriment between us, 
 which was encreased some minutes after- 
 wards, by my presenting it to my good aunts 
 at the dinner table ; who could not withold 
 joining in our laugh at this discovery of a 
 part of their enemy being still in existence. 
 
 The worthy doctor, who as I before ob- 
 served, became a frequent visitor at my 
 house, became also my mentor. He pointed 
 out what I now had discrimination to feel, 
 my want of a proper education ; and at 
 length induced my aunts to receive into the 
 house, a clergyman and his wife, who pos- 
 sessed all the requisites for supplying this 
 want, both to Catherine and myself. Under 
 their tuition, added to our earnest desire of 
 improvement, we made the most rapid im- 
 provement. Our reverend tutor's wife was 
 a most accomplished woman, and excelled 
 most particularly in music, both vocal and
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 135 
 
 instrumental. This was a great treat to me, 
 and Catherine, who possessed a natural taste 
 for it, after the most assiduous application, 
 soon became a proficient. We now formed 
 frequent concerts, being assisted by some of 
 the neighbouring gentry, who paid us much 
 attention. Thus did our lives pass on in 
 uninterrujjted happiness for a few years, my 
 Catherine during this time, giving birth to 
 two sons. This happiness, like all others, 
 was at length shaded by the death of my 
 youngest aunt, ]\Iartha, which was followed 
 in a few months after, by that of aunt Do- 
 rothy, both of whom left me heir to their 
 entire property ; and although their fondness 
 for me had in a great measure been mis- 
 placed, yet I did not, nevertheless, cease to 
 mourn their loss with the most sincere 
 sorrow. 
 
 In the neighbourhood of my villa, lived 
 an old General and two sons, the latter of 
 whom had purchased commissions in the 
 army. We became very intimate, and from
 
 136 TALES OP THE 
 
 their continual relations of military events, 
 joined to those of the father, I became so 
 excited, that deeds of glory were for ever 
 before my eyes. In short, I was seized with 
 a military mania ; and notwithstanding the 
 entreaties of my wife and my mentor, the 
 doctor, I was determined to enter the service. 
 So by the assistance of the General, I pur- 
 chased an Ensigncy, and almost immediately 
 afterwards, a Lieutenancy. The Eegiment 
 in which I purchased the latter step, being 
 under Wellington in the Peninsula, 1 was 
 ordered to join it immediately. Catherine 
 was in despair, and nothing could soothe 
 her, but the promise of my taking her with 
 me. It was, therefore, arranged that our 
 boys should be left under the care of my 
 tutor and his wife, who still remained, by 
 my request, at our house, and the attention 
 of the worthy doctor. After having made 
 the requisite purchases of equipments, wherein 
 was a travelling carriage and horses for Ca- 
 therine, we bid adieu to our peaceful home.
 
 CAMP AND CAB^'ET. 137 
 
 to enter into scenes of turbulence and death, 
 and joined the army at Torres Yedras. 
 
 I shall not enter into details of the dif- 
 ferent encounters in which I was engaged, 
 suffice to say, that in thehattle of Toulouse, 
 I received a severe wound, which rendered 
 me incapable of continuing mj military 
 duties for some time. Catherine was my 
 nurse, and I gradually recovered. Xot long 
 after the regiment's arrival in England, my 
 military mania had completely evaporated : 
 which was principally caused from having a 
 Commanding Officer, who was a most con- 
 summate tyrant. This man had risen from 
 the ranks, and at the period I am speaking 
 of, attained the rank of a Lieutenant 
 Colonel. Sprung from the lowest dregs of a 
 little country town in Ireland, time and ex- 
 ample had not been sufficient to endue him 
 either with the manners or the feelings of a 
 gentleman. His assumption of the latter 
 character, under the mask of gravity and 
 pomposity, was, however, not a little
 
 138 TALES OF THE 
 
 amusing ; and those qualities, I suppose, 
 added to a love for drilling, were the cause 
 of his rise ; for no other cause could ever 
 be discovered. In the field he never shewed 
 the least energy, and in a heavy gale of 
 \\and at sea, I have seen him timed as the 
 veriest old woman. In fact, he was, as a 
 brave officer of one of the most distinguished 
 corps in the service, truly named him to me, 
 ' a complete humbug." This " complete 
 humbug" is now a General Officer, and 
 might be seen in all the plentitude ot obesity, 
 walking about the streets of London, with, 
 sometimes, an old woman under his arm, but 
 he the greater old woman of the two. 
 
 In speaking of a man risen from the ranks, 
 I by no means wish to imply or to cast a 
 slur on all such : but I do insist, and I am 
 well persuaded that I shall be fully borne out 
 by the experience of all present, that in 
 ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, such 
 men do become what I have described, when 
 they attain a command.
 
 CAilP A^D CABINET. 139 
 
 To return to the thread of my nar- 
 rative. 
 
 My military mania having, as I before 
 observ^ed, completely evaporated, I exchanged 
 on half pay, having the rank of ^lajor, much 
 to the delight of Catherine, and my worthy 
 friend the doctor, as well as our revered 
 preceptor and preceptress. 
 
 "I divined as much, my dear friend." ex- 
 claimed the doctor to me, ^vith a hearty 
 shake of the hand, the moment I had alighted 
 from our carriage at the door of my villa. 
 while Catherine had our boys clasped in her 
 arms, •'! divined as much," he repeated, 
 '' that this mania would not last long ; and 
 that you would at length discover the differ- 
 ence between the tranquil pleasures of sweet 
 home, and the turbulence of strife, or, what 
 is called, glovy." 
 
 I shall now conclude mv narrative, bv 
 merely adding, that having long been desi- 
 rous of visiting the classic ground of Italy, 
 in company with my wife and sons, we once
 
 140 TALES OF THE 
 
 more left Old England, and have made this 
 place a stepping-stone for our future progress, 
 which when completed, we shall return to 
 " sweet home," and no more shall I become 
 a wanderer. 
 
 Upon the conclusion of ]\Iajor Balfour's 
 narration, he received the thanks of the 
 President, for the entertainment he af- 
 forded. 
 
 " In also thanking the Alajor for his en- 
 tertaining narrative, I take the opportunity 
 of expressing my agreement with him re- 
 specting his opinion of men risen from the 
 ranks," exclaimed the veteran Colonel Bris- 
 bane, " and I never knew but one instance 
 where such a man became serviceable. "When 
 Wellington took up his position at Torres 
 Vedras, a general depot was formed near 
 Lisbon, for the receival of detachments from 
 England, belonging to the various regiments 
 composing the army, and for the purpose of 
 forwarding them to their different corps. 
 In consequence of such a number of young
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 141 
 
 hands being constantly congregated together 
 there, rows of all descriptions used to take 
 place. Tired of the numerous complaints 
 against the depot, and determined to put an 
 end to the farther repetition of them, Wel- 
 lington sought for the greatest tartar that 
 could be found in his army, of the rank of 
 a Field Officer. Such a one was at length 
 pointed out to him. '• But he is a very 
 devil !" exclaimed the Staff officer who had 
 named him, " So much the better — he is 
 the very character I want," was the reply. 
 The " very devil" was accordingly appointed, 
 and a " very devil" did many afterwards find 
 him to 1)0. I remember this man welJ, 
 when he was an Adjutant. He was a shoe- 
 maker when he enlisted ! and he attained, 
 after many years' service, the command of 
 the regiment he had enlisted in. At the 
 time that he was appointed to this depot, he 
 had the rank of a Lieutenant-Colonel, and 
 Wellington received no more complaints 
 against it ; but not a few were re-
 
 142 TALES OF THE 
 
 ceived against the " very devil's" severity, 
 which, however, passed unnoticed, " for the 
 good of the service," as Major Dogherty says.
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 143 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Don Francisco Perez, a noble Spaniard, and 
 a Colonel in the army of Spain, and formerly 
 belonging to the body guards of Ferdinand 
 the Seventh, being next in rotation, received 
 the usual call of the president of the 
 evening, for his relation. 
 
 '' Being unfortunately possessed of a 
 memory the most treacherous," exclaimed
 
 144 TALES OF THE 
 
 Don Perez, " I must be under the necessity 
 of reading the little I have to deliver, in- 
 stead of giving it orally, as I would wish to 
 have done. The paper I hold in my hand, 
 came into my possession through the means 
 of my family confessor, who obtained it 
 from a monk of the order of Saint Jago, in 
 whose family it descended from generation 
 to generation. It bears evident marks of 
 antiquity ; and so is the relation of an 
 historical episode, which proved so fatal to 
 one of my ancestors. You must excuse any 
 mistakes I make in the translation, as I pro- 
 ceed in the narrative ; which I shall 
 designate under the ominous title of — 
 
 love, murder, hatred, and 
 a:\ibition. 
 
 " I Avrite of a man whose private life was 
 marked by bloody episodes, dark amours, and 
 revenges still more dark : a king, whose 
 political life was magnificently terrible : this 
 king, was he of the two Spains, of Portugal,
 
 CAMP AlfD CABINET. 145 
 
 of the Low Countries, of America, of India, 
 the spouse of Mary, sovereign of England ; 
 the secret agent of the League ; this man, 
 the assassin of Elizabeth of France, so beau- 
 tiful, so amiable 1 of her husband ; of Don 
 Carlos, so young, his son ; Don Juan, so 
 generous, so chivaleresque, his brother ! He 
 who paid Perry to assassinate the lover of 
 Leicester, the rival of Mary Stuart, the 
 right arm of reform Elizabeth ; who loaded 
 with gifts the murderer of the liberator of 
 the United Provinces, William the silent ; 
 who caused Te Deum to be chaunted in 
 honor of the massacre of Saint Bartholomy, 
 and set up altars for Jacques Clement ! 
 This king who had for wives Mary of 
 Portugal, Mary of England, Elizabeth of 
 France, Anne of Austria ; who had for 
 mistresses so many wives of powerful Hi- 
 dalgos, and at last, called to his bed. Donna 
 Mendoza, Princess of Eboli ! This man and 
 king bore the majestic and redoubtable 
 name of Philip the second of Spain. 
 
 Donna Mendoza had one of those beauti- 
 
 VOL. I. II
 
 146 TALES OF THE 
 
 ful Spanish heads, one of those visages on 
 which sparkles haughtiness and love. To 
 her, the passage from adolescence to puberty 
 was almost instantaneous. When Philip, 
 bearing his usual mysticism and licentious- 
 ness, was one day traversing amid his court 
 through the vast halls and the groves of 
 Buen Retiro, first perceived her, an unruly 
 desire, a violent passion, a strange wish of 
 possessing her entered his heart. 
 
 The court returned to the royal palace at 
 j\Iadrid. The severe master, who bore such 
 weight on the destinies of Europe, the son 
 of Charles the Fifth, the widower of some 
 months, had called around him that fine 
 and imposing nobility, the first in the 
 world ; the Medina Coeli, the Alva, the 
 Santa Cruz, the Eboli. The capital of 
 Castile illuminated its balconies — tuned the 
 guitar ; the sword started from its scabbard, 
 the stiletto from its sheath ; Spain returned 
 to herself ; she was restored to life, love, 
 and mysterious adventures. 
 
 On the evening of reception at Buen
 
 CAilP AlfD CABINET. 147 
 
 Eetiro, and when Philip had returned to 
 the Eojal Palace at Madrid, he whispered to 
 himself " ^lendoza must be mine." 
 
 He sent for Don Antonio Perez, his 
 Secretary, and, a little later, his Prime 
 Minister. Don Perez had in his look as 
 much warmth as his master. Like him, he 
 had an amourous temperament, which an 
 abode in the fierv climate of Venice, had 
 but tended to increase. But that which 
 Philip the Second demanded by menace, 
 Don Perez demanded, kneeling, as a 
 favor. 
 
 Nothing was known as to what passed 
 l^etween the King and the Secretary : save 
 that later, it was said in whispers, " the new 
 mistress, the new queen is named Donna 
 Mendoza." Xo one added, '' the Princess 
 d'Eboli loves but one man, sees but him 
 in her horizon, or at her altar, utters but 
 one name in her prayers" — the name, was 
 that of Don Antonio Perez. The confidant 
 had become the rival ! 
 n 3
 
 148 TALES OF THE 
 
 In the mean time, this secret was known 
 to a power dark and terrible, that never 
 struck, and never pronounced its decrees, 
 but as a figure covered with a veil, that had 
 made succumb under its mysterious power, 
 the conqueror of Francis the First, Pope 
 Sixtus the Fifth and Philip the Second him- 
 self. This power was the inquisition ! Don 
 Quiroga represented this bloody tribunal ; 
 he knew the cause of the elevation of Don 
 Perez, and was jealous of his glory, and per- 
 haps his love. He would hurl from his 
 pedestal, he who held the first rank at 
 the councils of his King. " The tomb," he 
 thought, " is mute and deep ; throw within 
 it the informer and the lover ; the informer, 
 to punish the exposition of your faults, the 
 offences of your life : the lover, to 
 avenge you." Quiroga considered all this : 
 he wished for honors, but he would gain 
 them without danger ; for the rest, Perez 
 might wrestle with boldness and address, 
 and he had a guardian angel that watched
 
 CAMP AXD (ABIXET. 149 
 
 over him ; this was his genius. It was 
 therefore necessary to draw his rival into an 
 obscure ambush — drive him into an in- 
 visible abyss. 
 
 Antonio, wounded at the battle of Le- 
 panto, where Don Juan of Austria had 
 saved Christianity ; was taken to Venice on 
 board a galLey of Andrea Doria. There, an 
 angel was seen to watch at his pillow, 
 whisper in his ears soft words — murmur the 
 most tender confessions. There, Lauretta 
 Moncenigo loved Antonio more than the 
 Madonna. It was with him that she passed 
 the night in the gondola on the waters of 
 the Brenta ; that she wandered on the shores 
 of the Lido, under the shady alleys of orange 
 trees, where love and perfume were together 
 inhaled. 
 
 One evening, with her head reposing on 
 the shoulder of her Spainard, she exclaimed to 
 him " My Antonio, thy sight is more sweet 
 than that of the beautiful sun from whose 
 rays we are now shadowed by the foliage ;
 
 150 TALES OF THE 
 
 thy voice more tender than the distant song 
 of the fisher. But there is an intruding 
 thought that makes me often shudder. I 
 say to myself, if you are called to Madrid, 
 will it be solely for your country ; is there 
 not some Andalusian brunette whose eyes 
 are anxiously cast at the road from Italy V 
 
 A hand pressed that of Lauretta, while 
 a voice responded, " For thee — for ever I am 
 thine !" 
 
 Then came tears mingled together, oaths 
 of constancy, promises of returning. 
 
 Don Perez quitted Venice for the war at 
 that time raging in the Alpuxarres. Lauretta, 
 the Venetian was the instrument which the 
 Grand Inquisitor Don Quiroga was deter- 
 mined to employ to further his purposes. 
 Never w^as a plot better concocted ; never 
 hatred more concentrated. To oppose the 
 Italian to the Spaniard, to throw between 
 these two females, between their loves so 
 impassioned, him whom he could crush, and 
 then after all this, to make Philip the second
 
 CAMP A>'D CABINET. 151 
 
 appear on the stage, — a king wlio never 
 drew back when he once stirred to seek vic- 
 tims in his own family, and whom he smote 
 without pity, and without remorse — as he 
 did when he became the executioner of his 
 own son. 
 
 The war against the floors having been 
 at length terminated, Don Perez became 
 Prime ^linister. Glory, that imperious mis- 
 tress, realised ambition ; and, above all love, 
 powerful love for Donna ]\Iendoza, had 
 chased from his mind the remembrance of 
 the young maiden of Venice. The Order of 
 the Golden Fleece hung from the neck of 
 Antonio, the hat of great Spain covered his 
 head : the king had placed his hand within 
 his o^vn, exclaiming, 
 
 " You are a great man." 
 
 And the great man with his eyes fixed, 
 was lulled to sleep on his star of fate. 
 
 Envy never sleeps. She laboured five 
 years at her work. The moment to strike 
 was arrived. She called to Madrid, Lauretta 
 Moncenigo.
 
 152 TALES OF THE 
 
 The Palace of Buen Retiro was adorned 
 for a royal fete. Gold and crystal lustres 
 suspended in the midst of the alleys of the 
 park reflected every where a thousand bril- 
 liant rays, which victoriously eclipsed the 
 night. The soft breezes of Andalusia, wafted 
 on their wings the perfume from the odorous 
 mountains and the forests of citrons. The 
 crowd of Spain's nobility and chivalry filled 
 the magnificent apartments, and only waited 
 the appearance of the master, to scatter 
 themselves in the gardens, and to give place 
 to long repressed joy. 
 
 " At this moment the masked figure of a 
 man was seen walking in the park. At his 
 side appeared a female also masked, who 
 seemed indifferent to the splendour around 
 her, and who was trembling with rage. 
 
 " So," she exclaimed to her companion, 
 " he deceives me T^ 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " Oh ! when shall I find myself face to face 
 with him V 
 
 " Later."
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 153 
 
 " I shall then see the Italian T 
 
 " No out-cry — it will be useless." 
 
 "I have my poniard of Venice, and my 
 
 poison of Ferrara." 
 
 "Also useless. Your vengeance must 
 
 reach two persons." 
 
 " The lover and the mistress !" 
 " You might do it by one stroke T 
 
 " How r 
 
 " Speak to the King." 
 
 " Why T 
 
 " His mistress is your enemy, and the mis- 
 tress of your lover." 
 
 " Heavens !" 
 
 " Do you draw back T 
 
 " You know me but little. When shall I 
 go to Philip ! — To-morrow T 
 
 " Yes : to the Royal Palace." 
 
 " Who are you then T 
 
 "Behold!" 
 
 The masked figure opening his mantle, 
 discovered the cross of the Grand Inquisition. 
 It was Don Quiroga. 
 
 H 5
 
 154 TALES OF THE 
 
 " The same as at Venice," murmured the 
 young female : " there the Council of Ten ; — 
 here the Council of the Supreme !" 
 
 At this moment the King of Spain de- 
 scended the steps which were illuminated by 
 candlebras. At his side was seen a female, 
 whose looks wandered as if in search of some 
 object amid the crowd. It was Donna Men- 
 doza seeking for Antonio. 
 
 " Behold !" exclaimed Don Quiroga halt- 
 ing, as he was on the point of giving egress 
 to the masked female by a private door, 
 "behold her!" 
 
 " My rival !" 
 
 And the finger of Lauretta pointed to 
 the Princess d'Eboli — she had divined her 
 enemy. 
 
 After placing Lauretta under the care of 
 a familiar of the Holy Office, the grand in- 
 quisitor re-entered the palace. The groves 
 were full of harmony : the dancers skipped 
 joyfully and voluptuously on the soft carpet 
 of the thickly flowered sword. Donna Men-
 
 CAMP AXD CABINET. 155 
 
 doza, in the midst of a circle of worship- 
 pers, had sent the same night a love-message 
 to Don Perez, who, full of hope, was to meet 
 Philip at an extraordinary council to be as- 
 sembled, in consequence of a despatch that 
 had just arrived, and which was to be deli- 
 vered into the hands of the King by the 
 bearer himself, who by virtue of his name 
 and the august personage he represented, 
 was permitted to have an immediate and 
 particular audience. This envoy was named 
 Don Escobedo, Lieutenant of Don Juan, who 
 commanded in the Low Countries. Don 
 Juan demanded money and troops ; his nu- 
 merous victories, above all, that of Gemblours, 
 having drained him of both. At these de- 
 mands, the visage of his master became 
 darkened. For a long period, Philip sus- 
 pected that his brother had an intention of 
 erecting an independent monarchy from the 
 provinces which he had conquered, and at- 
 tached to the throne. Don Perez, either 
 from an old hatred a.crainst Don Escobedo, or
 
 156 TALES OF THE 
 
 from conviction, resisted the demands. For 
 the rest, Philip had his answer ready — it 
 was a refusal. The envoy, in his reply, over- 
 whelmed Don Perez with abuse, who he l)e- 
 lieved to be the author of the ill-success of 
 his mission, he even went so far as to utter 
 some insulting words against his Catholic 
 Majesty. 
 
 " Not executioners we want, but soldiers," 
 he exclaimed. 
 
 Did he foresee his fate ? 
 
 An hour after this audience, the body of 
 Escobado fell pierced with wounds, not far 
 from the house where Lauretta had been 
 conducted. Rage, love, and jealousy, had 
 raised a conflicting tumult in her breast, and 
 sleep fled from her eye-lids. It was at this 
 moment that the clashing of swords burst 
 on her ears, followed by a dull sound, like 
 to that of a body falling to the ground, and 
 then precipitate footsteps, as if in flight. 
 Lauretta descended quickly into the street, 
 and found the body of the dying Escobedo,
 
 CA3IP A^D CABINET. 157 
 
 whom she raised in a sitting position, placing 
 his back against a wall. Dra\ving out a 
 pocket book with difficulty from his doublet, 
 he traced out some words on a leaf in it 
 with a trembling hand ; then, raising his 
 grateful eyes to Lauretta, he exclaimed in a 
 faint voice to her — 
 
 " Take these adieus to his Catholic Ma- 
 jesty ; it is the will of a dying man. What 
 I demand is a sacred duty ; fly to the 
 Palace." 
 
 The Buen Retirowas still in full brilliancy. 
 Its master appeared ^vith a smiling counte- 
 nance ; and it was an unexpected event, 
 when a smile would appear on his lip. A 
 .smile ! when he knew that at that very horn- 
 was acting a bloody drama, in which a man 
 was struggling under the poniard of an as- 
 sassin whom he had paid, and which man 
 was invested witli the sacred character of an 
 ambassador ! 
 
 Arrived at the Palace gates, Lauretta en- 
 deavoured to obtain an entrance, but was 
 repulsed by the guard.
 
 158 TALES OF THE 
 
 Did she not hope to see Antonio, and her 
 rival ? Did not the passions and duty speak 
 to her ear ? Her vehement demand for ad- 
 mission, her costume, and beauty, had at- 
 tracted a concourse of people, when she was 
 recognised by the grand inquisitor himself. 
 Taking from her hand the pocket-book of 
 Don Escobado, and opening it, he threw a 
 rapid glance on the inscription thereon. A 
 stifled cry escaped from his breast : in that 
 cry Avas mingled joy, hatred, and pride ; 
 Lauretta thought it was indignation, the un- 
 happy one never having read what she bore. 
 She followed Don Quiroga into the Royal 
 apartments. 
 
 This maiden of Venice, in her magnificent 
 costume, beheld the dances cease at her ap- 
 proach, a crowd followed her steps, exclaim- 
 ing, '' How beautiful she is T' 
 
 Slie was so — beautiful in her beauty — 
 beautiful in her love — beautiful in her 
 despair. 
 
 When she passed before Donna .Mendoza,
 
 CA.MP A^D CABINET. 159 
 
 she could not resist casting on her a look of 
 the deepest hatred and murmuring, one 
 word to her as an adieu, " To-morrow !" 
 
 Don Perez was sitting busily occupied in 
 the council chamber, at one end of it, while 
 the King was at the. other. He did not per- 
 ceive the countenance of her to whom he 
 had professed such love — on whom he had la- 
 vished a thousand oaths, and whom he had 
 so cruelly abandoned ; nor did he perceive 
 her present to Philip the Second, the pocket- 
 book of Don Escobedo. At length while the 
 King was perusing the inscription, Don Perez 
 beheld her whom he had so cruelly de- 
 serted. He turned deadly pale. 
 
 " ^ly vengeance shall be most brilliant I" 
 munnured Philip to himself with a teiTible 
 look, followed by one of triumph, when he 
 .saw Don Perez approaching on one side, and, 
 according to a signal, an officer on service 
 entered at the head of a company of Walloon 
 guards, which he ranp^ed on the other.
 
 160 TALES OF THE 
 
 The instruments were mute. Words were 
 spoken to the officer in whispers ; Lauretta 
 was hurried from the room, while Don Perez 
 stood astounded at these unknown prepara- 
 tions. Donna ^lendoza, who with others had 
 been sent for, trembled without being able 
 to divine the motive. 
 
 In the midst of this silence, Philip ad- 
 vanced a few paces, and with a loud voice 
 addressed the Captain of the guard, 
 
 " Captain, take the sword of Perez." 
 
 The Captain obeyed. 
 
 " Son of the Duke of Alva, take off the 
 hat of Spain from the head of Don 
 Perez," 
 
 The son of the Duke of Alva obeyed. 
 
 " Chief Alcaid, go and take the banner of 
 Don Perez, and see that it is burnt before 
 the eyes of our subjects." 
 
 The Chief Alcaid departed to obey. 
 
 " Grand Almoner, you will go to the dun- 
 geon of the Holy office, to meet Don Perez, 
 which is to be shut on him."
 
 CAMP AND CABLXET. 161 
 
 The Grand Almoner also departed to 
 obey. 
 
 Don Perez all this time never stirred. He 
 saw that he was lost. 
 
 " Don Escobedo has been assassinated," 
 exclaimed Philip. 
 
 A cry of horror burst from the auditors. 
 
 '•' Behold his assassin/' continued Philip 
 pointing at Don Perez. 
 
 " It is false ! it is false !" cried the 
 latter. 
 
 The Captain motioned to the condemned. 
 Don Perez, conducted by the guard, reso- 
 lutely left the room, casting a mingled look 
 of disdain and contempt at Philip, and 
 Spain soon counted one great man the 
 less. 
 
 Inscribed on a leaf of the pocket book, 
 were these words. 
 
 " Don Perez is the lover of Donna 
 Mendoza." 
 
 " Lauretta unaccountably disappeared af- 
 terwards. We have said that the tomb is
 
 162 TALES OF THE 
 
 mute. As to Donna Mendoza, slie was re- 
 ceived into the convent of Los Dolores, where 
 grief, or more probable, poison, soon termi- 
 nated her days. 
 
 The day following the preceding fatal 
 one, the Cathedral of Madrid was adorned 
 with rich hangings of golden tapestry for 
 the marriage of Philip the Second with Ann 
 of Austria !
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 163 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 The episode in the life of the extraordinary 
 personage I am about relating/' said ^lajor 
 Blambech, of the Prussian Death's head Hus- 
 sars ; upon being called for his contribution, 
 " was narrated to me by a friend of mine, — 
 an old Prussian General, — who assured me 
 of its truth : and I shall deliver it, as far 
 as I can recollect, in the very words it
 
 164 TALES OF THE 
 
 was given to me. Therefore, gentlemen, I shall 
 trespass on your attention by the narration 
 of— 
 
 TWELVE O'CLOCK AT NIGHT, ON 
 THE TWELFTH OF SEPTEMBER. 
 
 The flame of a fire proceeding from an im- 
 mense chimney, was the sole luminary that 
 threw its flickering and lurid light on unin- 
 terrupted lines of ancient armour and trophies 
 of the chase, which were ranged around 
 the walls of a vast and gloomy hall, whose 
 furniture, of the fifteenth century, added 
 most forcibly to increase its melancholy 
 aspect. 
 
 In this hall, and seated before the fire in 
 a large fauteuil of black oak, with his head 
 reclining on his hand, and his eyes fixed on 
 the fire, was seen the figure of an aged man 
 wrapt in deep meditation. 
 
 Honoured by his king and country, at the 
 age of seventy-four, he had retired to his 
 castle at Krieblowitz. He had not, however, 
 resided there long, before he fell into a pro-
 
 CAMP A^'D CABi:>'ET. 165 
 
 found melancholy, which was followed and 
 increased by his heing seized with a dropsy 
 in the chest. Xor were these the only 
 changes that oppressed him, for the hereto- 
 fore indomitable warrior was now become 
 timid and fearful as a child. Accustomed 
 all his life-time to activity and warfare, the 
 solitude and inertness of the present time 
 and place, threw him into agony : and such 
 was the inquietude inspired by his melan- 
 choly state, that his sovereign, the King of 
 Prussia, upon being apprised of it, as well as 
 the veteran's desire of seeing him, immediately 
 left an encampment he was then at for Krie- 
 blowitz. Xeed tlie reader be told that this 
 aged man, seated before the fire, and so much 
 the object of his sovereign's solicitude, was 
 the far-famed Field Marshal Gehrard Lebrecht 
 de Blucher. 
 
 It was late in the evening when the king 
 arrived at the veteran's castle. Upon the 
 entrance of the monarch into the gloomy 
 hall, Blucher made an effort to rise to receive
 
 166 TALES OF THE 
 
 him. which was prevented by the former 
 rapidly advancing and retaining him in the 
 fauteuil. After tenderly embracing him, the 
 king seated himself at the old warrior's side. ; 
 
 By a wave of his hand to the attend- 
 ants, they immediately withdrew. 
 
 After adjusting himself in his fauteuil, 
 and remaining some moments silent, as if 
 endeavouring to collect his thoughts, Blu- 
 cher at length addressed his sovereign. 
 
 " Sire,'' he exclaimed, " knowing that your 
 majesty was in the environs assisting at 
 the autumnal reviews, I prayed you to 
 undertake the present journey. Be assured, 
 however, that had you been at Berlin, or 
 even at the extremity of Europe, rather 
 than not see you, I should have departed 
 and found you, dying as I am : for I have 
 a terrible secret to reveal to you. 
 
 " As I proceed in its narration, sire, I en- 
 treat your majesty to regard me well. Ex- 
 amine the expression of my looks, the traits 
 of my countenance, the tone of my voice,
 
 CAJkIP AND CABINET. 167 
 
 the order of my ideas ; assure yourself that 
 I enjoy all my reason, that I am not become 
 a fool : for there are moments when I ask 
 myself if I am not mad, and take visions for 
 realities. But no !" added the veteran, 
 taking a bracelet of gold from his breast, 
 " no, all is true — all is real — and I cannot 
 doubt it. Hear me, therefore, sire. 
 
 It was in the year 1756, when the seven 
 years' war broke out, my father, who re- 
 sided in his domain of Gross Renzow, sent 
 me with my brother to one of our relations, 
 the Princess of Kraswick, who resided in the 
 Isle of Rugen. At that period I was four- 
 teen years of age. After having passed 
 some time in her old fortress, without re- 
 ceiving any intelligence of my family, in 
 consequence of Gross Renzow and the sur- 
 rounding country becoming the theatre of 
 war, I entered into the service of Sweden, 
 in a regiment of hussars. At the aifair of 
 Lucknow, I was made prisoner, and the 
 Prussian government pressed me to enter
 
 168 TALES OF THE 
 
 their seiTice. I resisted all their persuasions 
 for an entire year ; but as 1 could not ob- 
 tain my liberty under any other condition, I 
 at length subscribed to their wish, and ac- 
 cepted a cornetcy in the Black Hussars, with 
 a promise that I should immediately be 
 granted leave of absence for a few months 
 to see my famil}^, of whom I had received 
 no news for some years, and for whose fate 
 I was filled with inquietude. 
 
 The promised leave of absence having 
 been officially sent to me, I departed for 
 Gross Renzow : on my way to which, I found 
 all that part of Mecklenburg Schewrin had 
 been piteously ravaged by the enemy. 
 
 On arriving within a few leagues of the 
 domain of my ancestors, a lengthy and steep 
 road that led to it, caused the post-carriage 
 I was in, to proceed but slowly on. Im- 
 patient at this tardiness, I descended from 
 the vehicle, and, procuring two horses from 
 the post-house, I mounted one, and pursued 
 my way in full gallop, followed by my
 
 CA^I? AXD C•ABI^•ET. 169 
 
 domestic on the other. While traversing a 
 wood to make the journey shorter, I was 
 overtaken by a dreadful tempest ; the 
 thunder roared, the lightning flashed in con- 
 tinual and vivid flashes, and the rain fell in 
 torrents. After wandeiing for a long time 
 in the forest, for I had lost my way, I at 
 length struck into the right track, and soon 
 emerging from it, speedily arrived at my 
 ancestral domain, alone, for I had lost my 
 domestic in the forest. 
 
 Without dismounting, I at first knocked 
 with the handle of my whip against the 
 huge and iron-shod gates, all bristling with 
 spikes. Xo one answered. I again knocked 
 still louder, and did so repeatedly. Still, 
 no response. Losing all patience, I at 
 length dismounted, when the gate immedi- 
 ately flew open, but to my surprise, not a 
 human being was to be seen. Without 
 alarming myself at this most extraordinary 
 circumstance, I led my horse into the court, 
 and left it there. Traversing the avenue, I 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 170 TALES OF THE 
 
 mounted the steps of the castle, and penetra- 
 ted into the interior. Still, no one was to be 
 seen, nor the slighest noise heard, save the 
 echo of my own footsteps. I avow it, my 
 heart trembled, and a chill crept through- 
 out my frame. 
 
 "What folly !'^ I exclaimed to myself, 
 " the castle is no longer inhabited ; my 
 family, no doubt, have quitted it. Well, 
 since I am at this now, desolate place, I 
 must make arrangements to pass the night 
 as well as I can." 
 
 " Saying these words, I continued passing 
 into different rooms, for I well remembered 
 their several localities, and at length entered 
 the bed cliamber of my father. A half- 
 expiring fire was burning in the hearth. By 
 its uncertain and vacillating light, to my 
 surprise, I perceived my father, my mother, 
 and my four sisters, all sitting around it. 
 They immediately rose at my entrance. 
 Advancing, I was about throwing myself 
 into the arms of my father, when he drew
 
 CA3IP A^'L CABINET. I7l 
 
 back from me., with a solemn gesture ; I 
 then held out mv hand to my mother ; she 
 also drew back, vdih a melancholy aspect ; 
 calling each of my sisters by their names, 
 they thereupon seized each other's hands 
 without answering me. 
 
 " Do not you recognize me V I demanded, 
 addressing myself to the whole. " Is this 
 the manner that a family should receive a 
 son and brother after so many years of 
 separation. Have ye not been apprised of 
 my having entered the service of Prussia to 
 obtain my liberty, in order that I might 
 have the happiness of again beholding you i 
 Consider, that after sixteen years I never 
 received any news of you. Separated from 
 you by continual war in the service of 
 Sweden, then made prisoner, I could receive 
 no consolation to calm my inquietudes and 
 doubts respecting you. You therefore see 
 that the first use I make of my liberty is to 
 come and seek you here — here, where I little 
 expected to find you, but at least hoped to 
 I 3
 
 172 TALES OF THE 
 
 be enabled to discover some traces of your 
 residence. What ! my father, will you not 
 answer me "? Have you my sisters, forgot 
 the tenderness and sports of our infancy ; 
 those sports which these rooms have so often 
 witnessed ? 
 
 " At these last words my sisters appeared 
 moved ; they then seemed to hold converse 
 together in whispers ; after which, they 
 made signs for me to approach. One of 
 them, at this moment, moved from her place 
 and knelt before my mother, and, in a play- 
 ful manner, hid her head between the knees 
 of the latter. Surprised at this strange 
 fantasy, and at a moment of such solemnity, 
 a m3\sterious force seemed to impel me in 
 my turn, likewise, to kneel before my mother, 
 upon my sister rising, and incline my head 
 on her knees. The moment I had done so, 
 — oh, horror ! I felt through her silken vest- 
 ments, cold and angulous limbs, while a 
 noise like that of bones clashing together 
 sounded in my ears, and then she placed her
 
 CAMP AXD CABIXET. 173 
 
 haul Tvitliin mine, which last I instantly 
 withdrew, but that hand remained — it was 
 that of a skeleton ! Springing from the 
 ground with a cry of horror, all disappeared ; 
 and nothing remained of the dreadful vision, 
 but the human remains which I still bore in 
 ray hand, and which seemed to grasp mine 
 with convulsive intensity. With a violent 
 effort, I succeeded in casting it to the ground, 
 and rushed franticly from the scene of terror, 
 into the court below, where vaulting upon 
 my horse, I drove off furiously, and pursued 
 my way as chance directed. At break of 
 day the horse fell dead from exhaustion, and 
 I fell with it, deprived of recollection. 
 
 " ^ly domestic, who had been wandering 
 about in search of me, discovered me lying 
 near the horse, senseless, and with my head 
 severely bruised. Procuring the assistance 
 of some peasants, he had me conveyed to a 
 neighbouring cottage, where I lay in a danger- 
 ous fever and delirium for three weeks. 
 Wlien I became convalescent I was informed
 
 174 TALES OF THE 
 
 that the Castle of Gross-Renzow liad been 
 assaulted and pillaged by the enemy, and 
 that the whole of my family, with its garri- 
 son, had, in consequence of its resolute 
 resistance, been put to the sword without 
 mercy, 
 
 " Notwithstanding the horrors I had en- 
 countered in the castle, I determined to 
 revisit it the moment I was able, and t(j 
 render, if possible, the last duty to the re- 
 mains of my family. Accordingly, finding 
 myself sufficiently strong to undertake the 
 journey, I once more set off with my domestic, 
 accompanied by some peasants, whom I hired 
 for the purpose of assisting me in my pious 
 undertaking. Upon my arrival at the castle, 
 the most scrupulous search was made to 
 discover the remains of mortality, but not a 
 vestige was to be found, save one, the wrist 
 of which I then perceived was encircled 
 with a golden bracelet : and this is the 
 bracelet/' 
 
 Here the veteran paused in his narrative,
 
 CAMP A^'D CABINET. 175 
 
 Avhile he drew from his l)reast a golden 
 bracelet, which he presented to the king, 
 with a look of anguish mingled with 
 terror. 
 
 " How many years have passed since that 
 event !" 
 
 "It is about two montlis past that, as I 
 was one night sleeping in the same fauteuil 
 in which I am now sitting, I was awakened from 
 my slumber by some slight noise. To my horror, 
 the first objects that met my eye were the 
 forms of my father, my mother, and four 
 sisters, all standing before me, in the same 
 manner and guise as I had seen them at the 
 Castle of Gross-Renzow on the night I before 
 mentioned. My sisters, also, in the same 
 manner as then, seized each other by the 
 hand, and made the same signs for me to 
 approach them — 'No ! never !' I cried, fran- 
 ticly — 'never!' At this all the phantoms 
 joined hand in hand, and moved themselves 
 slowly around me.
 
 176 TALES OF THE 
 
 " 'Justice !' exclaimed my father, on pass- 
 ing before me. 
 
 " 'Penitence !' murmured my mother, with 
 an afflicted countenance. 
 
 " 'Prayer !' whispered the youngest of my 
 sisters. 
 
 "'A s^Yord !' breathed another. 
 
 '"The twelfth of September!' said the 
 third. 
 
 " ' The twelfth of September, and the 
 twelfth hour to the minute !' exclaimed the 
 eldest. 
 
 " On the conclusion of the last word, the 
 phantoms all again moved round me, in the 
 same order as before, and repeated the same 
 words. After which, uniting their funereal 
 voices together, they cried — " ' We meet 
 again ! we meet again !' and then van- 
 ished. 
 
 '* Thus have I ended the account of these 
 temble events to your majesty. This night 
 is the Twelfth of September, and completes
 
 CAAIP AXD CABLXET. 177 
 
 the anniversary of fifty -nine years of the 
 first vision, and it is by yon ancient clock 
 drawing near the midnight hour, the very 
 hour of the very same day which the second 
 vision announced, and what I feel to be the 
 accomplishment of my destiny. Nothing, 
 therefore, remains than to recommend my 
 soul to God, and my family to your ^la- 
 jesty/^ 
 
 '•My dear marshal," replied the king, 
 " what you have recounted to me is certainly 
 most strange. Yet, do you not believe 
 that these visions were the efiects of 
 delirium ? Come, resume your w^onted 
 courage, struggle manfully against these 
 hallucinations, and be of good cheer. Y(ju 
 will soon recover, and live a long time 
 yet. Cheer up, then, and give me your 
 hand." 
 
 The hand was not given, but the mon- 
 arch took it, and clasped it within his 
 own — it was of icy coldness. The ancient 
 I 5
 
 178 TALES OF THE 
 
 clock at that moment struck the midnight 
 hour. The king cast a look of anxiety at 
 the visage of the old warrior — he was 
 dead !
 
 CAMP A^D CABLXET 179 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 " It being but a few years since I entered 
 the service," observed Lieutenant Halburton, 
 after receiving the summons for his contri- 
 bution, " I am, consequently, from my 
 want of experience unable to produce any 
 matter of a military nature that would be 
 of any interest. I must, therefore, leave
 
 180 TALES OF THE 
 
 the Camp, and enter the Cabinet, by reading 
 a translation I made from a very old Italian 
 manuscript, of which I was favoured the 
 perusal, and the permission of that transla- 
 tion, by a nobleman of Bergamo, who in- 
 formed me that it had been in his family 
 for years, but how obtained, or who the 
 author was, he was totally unable to in- 
 form me. 
 
 Without further preface, then, I will at 
 once beg to read you — 
 
 A LEGEND OF LOMBARDY. 
 
 Wild, varied, as the nightingale's lay, are 
 the banks of Adda. Bright, sapphire, as 
 the face of the summer heaven, roll its 
 rushing waters ; and lovely as the thoughts 
 of youth is the sunbow, which spreads over 
 the cascade an arch of prismed glory, dying, 
 away like a child sinking into the sleep of 
 innocence.
 
 CAMP AXD CABINET. 181 
 
 It is eve, the last golden smile of eve ! 
 Clouds of mby and purple lay over the 
 western Alp, do^vll whose side the sunbeams 
 dart, seeming to have rent it in twain. Long, 
 sable, spread the shadows of the vale, and 
 trembling, like tears shed for the day de- 
 scending into its tomb of oblivion, are the 
 poplar leaflets. 
 
 Beneath a cypress, round which a rose-tree 
 grew, resembling love smiling in calamity, 
 reclined a slight, but warlike form. Graceful, 
 yet keenly chiselled were his features, be- 
 tokening the force of the passions. Ardent 
 in aifection — cold, serpent-like in hate. 
 Azure, as the river's wavelet is his eye — 
 darker than the tempest cloud his hair, 
 which flows in rich clusters over his shoul- 
 ders, from which a baldrick hung, holding a 
 crosletted sword. Young is the brow of this 
 being, yet a terrible sign appears wrought 
 thereon, and stern, inflexible, is the resolve 
 he hath meditated. Suddenly, and uver
 
 182 TALES OF THE 
 
 hiiu, is heard a voice of ineffable sweetness, 
 pouring forth the following lay — 
 
 " Beautiful star of the daylight dying, 
 
 No beam on this earth hath the charm of thine, 
 
 My soul unto thee on sweetness flying, 
 Wrapt ill thy brightness forgets to repine. 
 
 The fountain silvered by thee is dewing 
 With glittering ray the empurpled rose, 
 
 Whose perfumed leaves the soil are strewing, 
 Zephyr-kissed, though in death they repose. 
 
 A veil than daylight more sweetly smiling 
 Over earth and heaven is floating, that seem 
 
 Changed to a temple of love unbeguiling, 
 
 And thou'rt the lamp of the temple, sweet beam. 
 
 To his side, as the lay ceased, with a step, 
 gentle as the zephyr's sigh, came a form, 
 beautiful as a Saracen houri. Her tresses, 
 soft, silky, dark as the swallow's wing, clus- 
 tered over her ivory neck, and her eye shines 
 in its black radiance, like the summer 
 lightning. 
 
 " Thou art unwontedly pensive, brother
 
 CAMP AND CABD'ET. 1 83 
 
 mine," exclaimed the maiden of three lustres, 
 who held a lute iu her Phidiaii hand, and 
 whose voice was gentle as her step — har- 
 monious and beautiful as her form. 
 
 " Carmenegilda," responded the warrior, 
 " mj resolve is formed — the arrogant Alvinse 
 shall be for ever thwarted, for to-morrow 
 thou must either enter the convent of Saint 
 Agatha, and become the spouse of Christ, or 
 of the Lord of Como/' 
 
 The minstrel maiden shuddered, and a 
 pallor sudden and corselike, drove the rose 
 from her cheek. 
 
 " Yet thy promise, brother, rememberest 
 thou not V 
 
 " Carmenegilda," interrupted the warrior 
 with a frown, " well do I remember my pro- 
 mise, as well as thou must rememl.>er that it 
 was extorted from me in a time of calamity. 
 Canst tell what should ])ind an Adelmari to 
 an outlaw I" 
 
 " Benefits received, and a promise, not ex- 
 torted, but voluntarilv made — these are the
 
 184 TALES OF THE 
 
 links that should bind an Adelmari to Al- 
 vinse, whose heart is mild as the breeze of 
 summer to his friends : terrible as the blight- 
 ing Avinter to his enemies." 
 
 " Silence would best become thee," ex- 
 claimed Adelmari fiercely, " reprove not the 
 chief of thine house. Retire we now within 
 the castle, to prepare for the arrival of thy 
 destined spouse, and remember, my resolve is 
 fixed — immutable as yon stars of heaven." 
 
 ]\Iournful as a willow weeping over the 
 Adda, the maid of the Adelmari drooped 
 her head, while her brother led her back 
 into the Castle of her fathers. 
 
 At the same hour, into the city of Monza, 
 entered a warrior. Plumes of sable veil his 
 glittering and vizored morion, and a wide 
 mantle, his form. Unto the regal palace, 
 firmly and anxiously he took his way, guided 
 by the universal monarch, the source of 
 beauty, of good, and of evil — Love — before 
 whum the haughtiest must bow, and become 
 meek — obedient as a child.
 
 CAMP AXD CABLXET. 185 
 
 Within the grand reception hall of the 
 palace, on a throne of silver wrought with 
 gold and jewels, sate Luitprando, the youthful 
 King of the Lombards. Forked, as the Sa- 
 viour's of the world, is the silky down veil- 
 ing his chin, and soft, azure as the firma- 
 ment, his eye, on which the courtiers look 
 eagerly and fixedly, as though they would 
 divine his thoughts. 
 
 " Holy father, '^ exclaimed the monarch to 
 the prelate, sitting at his right hand, " me- 
 thinks it were a lovely thing, could our lives 
 resemble yon sun, which, after having in 
 fused beauty and fruitfulness unto earth, de- 
 parteth with a smile." 
 
 " A pious thought, my sovereign. But 
 the loveliest day may a tempest darken, and 
 the Creator himself hath wielded the sword 
 to chastise the sinful. 
 
 Luitprando, sighed, and leaning pensively 
 on his hand his diademed bru^^^, watched the 
 last tremulous ray of the eternal luminary, 
 until it disappeared behind the purpled 
 Alps.
 
 186 TALES OF THE 
 
 Suddenly, a scuffle was heard without the 
 hall ; and in another moment, l)ursting 
 through the guards, a warrior rushed before 
 the throne, kneeling and lifting his vizor. 
 A murmur of wonderment ran through the 
 court, for it was Alviuse del Tano ; and the 
 guards, advancing to remove the intruder, 
 started back with fear on discovering their 
 terrible enemy. ]\lajestically waved Luit- 
 prando his regal hand. All, as if touched 
 by the enchanter's wand, stood silent. 
 
 " Blessed be the angel who hath changed 
 thy sinful heart, Alvinse. Rise, and speak 
 freely as on thy native mountains." 
 
 " Yerily thou say est well, my King," 
 responded Alvinse rising, " it was an angel 
 in mortal shape, which wafted me thus 
 hither, to throw myself on thy royal mercy. 
 Forget, therefore, King, the past, and, for 
 the future, my arm is thine." 
 
 The flush of pride mantled the outlaw's 
 brow, as he observed the courtiers encircling 
 the throne, regarding him with looks of sur- 
 prise and triumph.
 
 CAMP AXL> CABINET. 187 
 
 "Alvinse, albeit many are my brave 
 warriors who have fallen by thee, yet never 
 shall Luitprando reject the heart which is 
 penitent. Confess therefore to our holy 
 father, and the past shall be forgotten." 
 
 Like the lake of Benacus, which mirrors the 
 beauty of its shores, beamed the lofty brow 
 of Alvinse. Approaching the holy pastor, 
 he humbly, contritely, kissed his aged hand. 
 The prelate rose, and filled with christian 
 benevolence, led Alvinse from the hall into 
 the palace oratory. With still greater won- 
 derment gazed the courtiers, but a look from 
 the King rebuked their thoughts ; and cun- 
 ningly they then flattered his generosity, 
 expressing what they themselves could never 
 feel. 
 
 Night's primal shadow mantles the shores 
 of the Adda. Xaught but the sound of its 
 rushing waters, and the plaintive thrill of 
 the nightingale, breaks upon the silence. 
 Another hour, and from the castle of the 
 Adelmari pealed the music of revelry, and a
 
 188 TALES OF THE 
 
 thousand lamps illuminated its ancient hall. 
 Within, at a banquet, sat the haughty Count, 
 and at his right the Lord of Como, who had 
 arrived to demand the hand of Carmenegilda. 
 Unhappy one ! — she appeared on the left of 
 her brother, beautiful as Saint JMagdelene in 
 sorrow, while round the board, were seated 
 many a belted knight and jewelled lady. 
 
 "Taste of this cup, Carmenegilda," said 
 Adelmari, " and accept the hrindisi of the 
 Lord of Como/' 
 
 ^Mournfully she took the cup, while the 
 noble visiter did homage to her beauty in 
 another, filled with the richest nectar of 
 Brianza. 
 
 " Thou wilt do wiser to smile on our 
 princely guest," whispered to her Adelmari, 
 "a goodly chance is thine to make our 
 house the first in Lombardy. Remember, 
 the choice is before thee, the hand of the 
 noble Lord of Como, or the sable veil of a 
 nun of Saint Agatha." 
 
 Carmenegilda responded not ; but even
 
 CA3IP AND CABIXET, 189 
 
 the last resort she considered as mercy, 
 compared to espousing the being she loved 
 not, and breaking the faith she had plighted 
 to Alnnse. 
 
 Adelmari rose from the banquet, while the 
 Lord of Como approached Carmenegilda to 
 lead her into the hall of the dance. The 
 guests were about to follow, when the sound 
 of a bugle echoed in the portal below, and 
 an instant after, Alvinse del Tano, accom- 
 panied by a stranger, entered. With hasty 
 step and radiant eye, the former, after salut- 
 ing and glancing passionately on the lovely 
 maiden, delivered a missal into the hand of 
 Adelmari. 
 
 " This bears the regal signet. It is thy 
 pardon," exclaimed the latter with feigned 
 delight, after he had perused it, " welcome 
 art thou to our halls, Alvinse. Sit thee at 
 the banquet, together with the stranger, 
 and accept our hospitality." 
 
 , '- Ere I do so, my homage of love must 
 be rendered to thy beautiful sister, — the 
 flower of thy noble house.''
 
 190 TALES OF THE 
 
 Adelmari turned his eye, perplexed, on 
 the Lord of Como. 
 
 " Doth a plebeian," exclaimed the latter 
 with a frown, "dare to speak of love to 
 a daughter of the Adelmari! — Who is this 
 insolent one V 
 
 *• Alvinse del Tano, the bandit chief, now 
 pardoned by the King," responded Adelmari, 
 and then added in a whisper : " Sit thee 
 down noble Signor ; use prudence, and the 
 fox shall entrap the lion/' 
 
 "Who dares call me insolent, to whom the 
 Count Adelmari hath promised the hand of 
 his lovely sister \" said Alvinse, his eye 
 flashing with indignation, as he rose, after 
 kneeling and kissing the snowy hand of the 
 enamoured maiden. 
 
 " Is yon plebeian mad V demanded the 
 Lord of Como with a sneer. " By the holy 
 Virgin ! Adelmari, thou hast a meek spirit. 
 Were I master hither, a dungeon should be 
 his abode." 
 
 " As the grave may be thine, when the
 
 CAMP A^'D CABI>TT. 191 
 
 plebeian again encounters thee," exclaimed 
 Alvinse, Lis eves flashing with indignation ; 
 " not in thy halls, Count Adelmari, can I 
 revenge the insult of yon savage mis- 
 creant. To-morrow's dawn shall prove, 
 whether he be not a knight, craven as he 
 is brutal." 
 
 The Lord of Como returned no answer, 
 but lauglied in bitter scorn ; and again, 
 still more bitterly, in which was mingled 
 jealousy, when he beheld Alvinse take his 
 seat at the side of Carmenegilda, and quaff 
 a cup of wine, poured forth by the hand of 
 the enraptured maid ; as did also the 
 stranger, partly raising his ^izor, so as not 
 to discover his features. 
 
 Adelmari himself, ere a few minutes had 
 passed, presented them each another cup. 
 The stranger, as he received it, hy chance 
 cast his eye on a holy ring of opal which 
 adorned his finger. Tlie gem suddenly 
 changed its color. 
 
 " Touch not that cup, Alvinse, I charge
 
 192 TALES OF THE 
 
 thee 1" he quickly exclaimed, and rising, 
 " thou art unworthy of thy name, Adelmari, 
 unless thou drinkest it thyself." 
 
 Pale as the white plume in his bonnet 
 waxed the cheek of the latter. 
 
 " Who art thou, stranger, that darest utter 
 this taunt in the hall of an Adelmari, and 
 even in the presence of us, sovereign of 
 Como !" cried the Lord grasping the hilt of 
 his dagger. 
 
 " See, and tremble !" exclaimed the stran- 
 ger as he threw up the vizor of his helmet, 
 discovering the fair features and amber tresses 
 of the Lombard King. 
 
 Adelmari stood transfixed with astonish- 
 ment and confusion, while the Lord of Como 
 sprang forward and directed his dagger at 
 the bare throat of the King, but the sword of 
 Alvinse struck it from his hand. At this 
 moment the vassals of Como rushed into the 
 hall, when Alvinse sounded a bugle which 
 was slung round his neck. The halls re- 
 echoed the spirit-stirring blast, and was
 
 CA3IP AXD CABINET. 193 
 
 instantaneously returned by loud responses 
 from without. A few moments, and the 
 reckless followers of the late bandit chief 
 poured in large numbers into the banquet 
 hall. 
 
 " Spare him — forgive my brother, King 
 of gentle soul !"' exclaimed the silvery voice 
 of Carmenegilda, kneeling with Adelmari at 
 the ^lonarch's feet. 
 
 " Yes, forgive him, my King, even as thou 
 forgavest me,'' implored Alvinse. 
 
 " For thy sake, lovely maiden,'' responded 
 Luitprando, raising her, " I forgive this un- 
 worthy attempt. Rise, Adelmari, and live 
 to redeem it." 
 
 Humbly the latter rose, and kissed the 
 hand of the King, who, turning his azure 
 eyes round the hall, continued : 
 
 " Lord of Como, step forth, and fear 
 not, to hear the conditions of our for- 
 giveness." 
 
 In vain did the monarch call — for the 
 Lord of Como had fled by a secret outlet, 
 and was hastening towards his domain. 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 IM TALES OF THE 
 
 " He has fled, sire," said Alvinse, " but 
 ere the night ends, I will bring him before 
 your royal presence." 
 
 " Nay, Alvinse, move not hence. Let not 
 human blood to-night distain the soil of my 
 kingdom." 
 
 Mercy, gentle as the nightly tears in 
 summer, and sweet as the odour of its flowers, 
 breathed in the words of the magnanimous 
 King. 
 
 Covered with bristling lance, and snorting 
 battle-steeds, are the banks of the Adda. 
 Hitherto, mounted on a sable Arabian in 
 golden armour, rode the Lord of Como in 
 front of the Barons of Helvetia, whom he 
 had called to aid him in overthrowing the 
 King of the Lombards. A mighty train 
 brought they, and their numbers far sur- 
 passed the army of the King, advancing to 
 give them battle. 
 
 On a majestic and snowy charger, rode
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 195 
 
 Luitprando. Refulgent in the sun is his 
 jewelled armour, and high around his azure 
 helm, rises the diadem of his fathers. 
 The bishop on his right, attended the 
 youthful lung, and on his left, Alvinse del 
 Tano. 
 
 Hark now that terrible din, dro^^^ling the 
 rush of the arrowy Adda. The hosts have 
 joined in mortal strife, and the volleys of 
 winged darts obscure the sunny heaven. 
 Over the clang of shields and helmets, the 
 twang of the arblast and the tramp of war- 
 steeds, float the shouts of the savage com- 
 batants, and the groans of the wounded. 
 Alboinus, a giant Helvetian, with a stroke 
 of his double-handed sword, cleft the crown 
 from the regal head of Luitprando ; but an 
 instant after, the mace of Alvinse struck the 
 assailant lifeless from his charger. This re- 
 stored the tide of battle, for the royal army 
 was beginning to give way, and their hearts 
 were now animated with fresh courage. A 
 charge, wherein Alvinse led his own follow- 
 K 3
 
 196 TALES OF THE 
 
 ers, forced a large body of the rebels to fly, 
 and many found their death in striving to 
 traverse the impetuous Adda. 
 
 J\Iade desperate by calamity, from wing 
 to wing flew the Lord of Como, slaying even 
 some of his fugitive soldiers, and calling 
 upon the Barons to rally their followers, and 
 join him in a renewed onset. His com- 
 mands were at length obeyed. Onward, like 
 a torrent, rush the rallied phalanxes. Like 
 stul^ble before a whirlwind, yield the royal 
 army, and soon with a shout of triumphant 
 joy, against the person of his King, spurred 
 Como his fiery charger. A well-timed move- 
 ment of Alvinse at this moment, in a des- 
 perate charge at the head of his followers, 
 arrested the proud path of short-lived vic- 
 tory. Drawn off from his attack on the 
 King, the Lord of Como was constrained to 
 defend himself from the fiercer one of Al- 
 vinse. After a short, but bloody conflict, 
 the lance of the latter entered the greaves 
 of the traitor's armour, and pierced him
 
 CAMP AXD CABINET. 197 
 
 tiirough the breast. With a jell of despair, 
 he dropped from his steed, and in another 
 moment, his lips were closed for ever. 
 
 When the fall of their chief became 
 known, all was panic and confusion in the 
 ranks of the rebels, and the Barons of 
 Helvetia in vain endeavoured to restrain 
 their flight. Amid them was seen one, 
 which chilled the enthusiasm of Alvinse, 
 and filled him with melancholy. — It was 
 the pale visage of Adelmari, bereft of his 
 helmet 
 
 Far and wide along the river's wooded 
 banks, the victorious army pursued the foe, 
 until the trumpet recalled them to their 
 standards, now gilded by the setting sun. 
 
 Around their king, were gathered Alvinse 
 and the conquering warriors, who had just 
 returned from the pursuit of their enemies, 
 and l)earing the captured banners. Beams 
 of gratitude shone in the azure eyes of the 
 monarch, while he addressed Alvinse. 
 
 *' Thy gallant bearing, and tlie liigh
 
 198 TALES OF THE 
 
 services thou hast rendered us this daj, 
 Alvinse, call for a just reward. Kneel 
 therefore." 
 
 The latter obeyed, and soon rose up a 
 knight. A joy ecstatic shone on the brow 
 of the warrior, while a shout of exultation 
 burst forth from his followers. 
 
 " Blessed be thou my son, and may thy 
 sword ever prove the scourge of the sinful/^ 
 exclaimed the holy prelate, stretching forth 
 his hands in a prayer of thanksgiving unto 
 the purpled heaven, whither the evening 
 star shone like an angel of peace. 
 
 " Bring hither the helmet of the slain 
 Lord of Como," said the King. 
 
 Alvinse himself unclasped the traitor's 
 helm, which was encircled by a signoral 
 crown, and bore it to Luitprando, who 
 placing it on the head of the knight, ex- 
 claimed : 
 
 " Long live Alvinse del Tano, Lord of 
 Como ! Thus, warriors, do we bestow a just 
 recompence on him, who thrice saved the
 
 CAMP A>'D CABIXET. 199 
 
 life of his King. — Prisoners of the lake, do 
 homage to vour liege Lord, and ye are 
 free." 
 
 The Comaschi captives, who were as- 
 sembled together to witness this ceremony, 
 and had long groaned beneath the iron rule 
 of their late Lord, fell on their knees, 
 uttering loud acclamations of " Long 
 live our generous sovereign Luitprando ! 
 Long live Alvinse, our liege Lord of 
 Como !" 
 
 The royal army now rested from the battle- 
 toil, and on the banks of the Adda pitched 
 their snowy tents for the night, to rise with 
 the dawn and enter in triumph the city of 
 Monza. But the Lord Alvinse could not 
 rest until he had beheld the angel form of 
 Carmenegilda. 
 
 The kind-hearted monarch divined his 
 thoughts. 
 
 " Go, Alvinse, seek the lady of thy heart ; 
 and express to Adelmari our surprise at his 
 absence from the fray."
 
 200 TALES OF THE 
 
 Silent, yet breathing a sigh, Alvinse kissed 
 the royal hand, but told not the king that 
 Adelmari had been present in the fray. 
 Leaving the tent, he sprang upon his charger, 
 and dashed along, as though wind-borne, for 
 the castle of Adelmari. 
 
 Bark as the cypress in its garden, stood 
 the ancient edifice against the stars of heaven, 
 and a chill came over the bosom of Alvinse 
 on contemplating the sign of utter loneli- 
 ness that reigned around. He sounded his 
 bugle, but naught responded, save the mock- 
 ing and empty echo. Crossing the draw- 
 bridge, the moon which shone on the tessa- 
 lated pavement, lighted his way through 
 the desolated hall. He sought his Carmene- 
 gilda, but in vain. No one was to be seen. 
 Perplexed, and filled with mournful thoughts, 
 Alvinse led his way slowly back to the camp, 
 demanding at every hamlet intelligence of 
 his love ; but none knew aught of her fate. 
 It was a mystery, inexplicable as the stars
 
 CAMP A^'D CABINET. 201 
 
 which write on the book of the firmament 
 the destinies of man. 
 
 Twelves months passed. Lonely, gi'ief- 
 worn, and reckless of the world's glory, in 
 his palace at the city of Como, sat one even- 
 ing Alvinse. Anon his gaze rove the lake, 
 lying placid beneath the purpled heaven. 
 A little bark seemed urging its way along the 
 liquid mirror ; and at length like a swallow 
 flying to its young, stopped before the 
 palace portico. A warlike form came forth, 
 and in another moment, the page ushered 
 Ulderico into the lordly presence. 
 
 " AYelcome, Ulderico, most welcome !" ex- 
 claimed Alvinse, embracing his expected 
 friend and follower. " What hours, — what 
 days of anxious expectation have I awaited 
 thy arrival. Carmenegilda." — 
 
 " Lives," interrupted Ulderico, " But not 
 
 for thee, I fear." 
 
 K 5
 
 202 TALES OF THE 
 
 " She cannot have espoused another l"' 
 
 " She is the spouse of Christ, in the con- 
 vent of Saint Agatha." 
 
 A sorrow, ineffable, veiled the features of 
 Alvinse, and darkly he turned his eye on the 
 waters which gurgled beneath the arched 
 window. 
 
 Ulderico well divined the feelings of his 
 friend and chief. 
 
 " After a laborious and ineffectual search 
 for the object of thy affections," exclaimed 
 Ulderico, " I at length obtained the intelli- 
 gence despaired of. Entering a hamlet at 
 the decline of a sultry day, I was conductied 
 to a hostelrie, wherein lay a man on his bed 
 of death, who discovered himself to have 
 been a vassal of Adelmari. Questioning him, 
 he confessed that upon Carmenegilda's refusal 
 to espouse the late Lord of Como, her brother 
 had conveyed her by stealth to the convent 
 of Saint Agatha, where believing a forged 
 tale of thy death, she has either taken the 
 veil, or is about to do so. Let us therefore
 
 CAMP AXD CABINET. 203 
 
 instantly depart for the convent ; — liaply it 
 may not yet be too late." 
 
 The brow of Alvinse grew more troubled. 
 His feelings vacillated between duty to the 
 church, and the power of love. The latter 
 however gained the ascendancy, and he de- 
 termined to behold Carmenegilda. 
 
 Another moment saw him with Ulderico, 
 mounted on the fleetest of his steeds, and 
 accompanied by that friend and a score of 
 followers, sped his way to the convent of 
 Saint Agatha. 
 
 Lone in a forest, and solemn as the aspect 
 of eternity, rose the ivied walls of the convent, 
 whither those dwell, for whom it is a crime 
 to gaze on the face man, and a crime still 
 terrible for him to enter into their presence. 
 Amid the silent trees is heard the tramp of 
 steeds ; and at intervals, mournfully, like 
 the voice of a tormented spirit, the owlet's 
 cry. It was near the midnight hour when 
 Alvinse and his train dismounted to approach 
 the holy walls.
 
 204 
 
 TALES OF THE 
 
 "Who at this unwonted hour breaketh 
 upon the rest of the holy sisters V exclaimed 
 a shrill voice, after Ulderico had knocked at 
 at the gate ; "we open to none after tho 
 evening vespers/' 
 
 " Affix the rope-ladders to the wall," said 
 Alvinse to his followers. 
 
 They immediately obeyed, and another 
 moment beheld him within the holy precincts, 
 while he told Ulderico to remain with his 
 followers without. 
 
 " Holy ]\Iaria protect us \" exclaimed the 
 affrighted old portress, clasping her rosary, 
 while the intruder strode towards the dimly 
 illumined cloisters. 
 
 " Be silent, woman ; no ill is intended." 
 
 Tremblingly she obeyed, and sinking on 
 her knees prayed fervently for the safety of 
 the sisterhood. 
 
 The abbess at this moment was proceeding 
 with her train of veiled virgins to the midnight 
 service, when suddenly in the midst of the 
 cloisters she encountered Alvinse. 
 
 " In the name of Saint Agatha !" she ex-
 
 CAMP AXD CABINET. 205 
 
 claimed in a voice iDreathing the fen^our of 
 christian purity, while a glow of holy indig- 
 nation mantled her brow, " I charge thee to 
 retire, bold man. Know you not that by 
 intruding hither, a sacrilege is committed/' 
 
 " Alas ! holy mother," responded Alvinse 
 dropping on one knee, " thou caast give me 
 life or death. Say, is Carmenegilda of the 
 Adelmari a spouse of Christ V 
 
 A shriek, which echoed to the very gate 
 of the convent, and struck terror into the 
 heart of the sisterhood, followed this de- 
 mand. Senseless, on the pavement, sunk one 
 of the nuns. In an instant, with a wild 
 and frantic bound, Alvinse rushed unto her, 
 and lifting the virgin, sustained her fair head 
 on his breast. Affrighted, mute as sculp- 
 tured forms, the sisters watched their com- 
 panion, while the abbess, filled with holy 
 grief, breathed a prayer for protection. 
 
 The warm beatings of Alvinse's bosom, 
 the zeph}T that blew aside her veil, seemed 
 to recover the virgin. Slowly, mournfully,
 
 206 TALES OF THE 
 
 she lifted her dark eye ; but, suddenly, with 
 a start, as though encountering a thing of 
 bane and horror, she tore herself away, and 
 flew, with a look of ineffable wretchedness, 
 to the side of the abbess, who entwining her 
 arms around her, exclaimed : 
 
 '■ Aye, daughter of heaven ! let not the 
 hand of man profane thee. Though he but 
 touch the border of thy garment, fly from 
 him, even as thou wouldst from the evil 
 one." 
 
 ^ " Carmenegilda !" said Alvinse, in a voice 
 that sounded like the lute in desert, touched 
 by the wearied pilgrim, recalling the 
 memory of blissful days. " Beautiful, yet 
 bitter star of my destiny ! how I loved thee, 
 my humbling myself before the King, most 
 fully proved. Since then, honors beyond 
 my poor deserts, the generous monarch hath 
 bestowed upon me. Joyous to display that 
 I was not unworthy of thy alliance, I sought 
 thee in the ancestral hall of thy brother, 
 whom I beheld in the rebel lines with him.
 
 CAMP a:^d cabinet. 207 
 
 who met his fiat by my hand. Of thee I 
 could find no trace. Alas! could I have 
 thrown my heart on the winds, doubtless 
 they would have borne it to thee, who fliest 
 me now. Yester-morn only, did I know 
 that thou wert hither, and I hoped to see 
 thee not thus reft from me for ever !" 
 
 Like a cypress which a rose entwineth, is 
 the heart of Carmenegilda. Bitterer than 
 the wintery blast were the words of Alvinse ; 
 yet sweet, passing sweet is his voice, and 
 though it had ceased, she listened still, and 
 looked enrapt in some lovely vision. 
 
 " Again I conjure thee, stranger, whom I 
 judge to be a magnate in the land, to re- 
 tire." 
 
 Thus spoke the abbess, but Alvinse heard 
 lier not. His every thought, like his gaze, 
 was fixed on Carmenegilda, on whose angel 
 visage the cloister lamps shed a fitful and 
 tremulous light. The eyes of the nun and 
 the Lord of Como met, and tears, like Orient 
 pearls, flowed on her marble cheek.
 
 208 TALES OF THE 
 
 " Thou weepest, Carmenegilda. Blessed 
 be those tears ! Surely, if there is aught of 
 pity in your hearts, holy sisters, ye would 
 not chide your sweet companion for her 
 sorrow. Know, that our vows were plighted 
 to each other, and the favor of the King 
 shone on them like the sun of spring on the 
 blossomed flowers. Alas ! Adelmari proved 
 a traitor to his sovereign, to his sister, and 
 to me !" 
 
 " Holy Mother of Christ !— Speak, 
 daughter mine, speak ! is that stranger the 
 one of whom thy noble brother spoke, say- 
 ing he was dead V 
 
 " Even so, reverent mother," responded 
 the silvery voice of Carmenegilda. 
 
 Filled with wonder, horror, and indig- 
 nation, the abbess remained silent ; while 
 the nuns, who had hitherto stood motion- 
 less, raised their hands to their brows, and 
 gathered near their sweet companion, bend- 
 ing over her, like the sisters of Phaston 
 mourning over their lifeless brother.
 
 CAMP A>'D CABINET. 209 
 
 " Alvinse del Tano," exclaimed the abbess 
 benignly, after deep meditation, " Carmene- 
 gilda of the Adelmari, belonging now to the 
 sisterhood, cannot break her vow without 
 condemning both thee and herself to per- 
 dition eternal. Yet there is one on earth, 
 and only one, who can absolve her from this 
 tie so binding in heaven, and w^hich maketh 
 us as dead to the vain world. ^ly poor 
 influence, joined with that of the bishop's, 
 shall be exerted for you, and haply the 
 father of the christian church will grant our 
 request, when he finds that deception has 
 been thus cruelly used." 
 
 A light, as of heaven, irradiated the 
 graceful features of Alvinse. Kneeling, he 
 kissed the rosary which hung from the neck 
 of the abbess, and waving his hand to Car- 
 menegilda, retired and rejoined his followers 
 outside the convent walls. To have poured 
 forth his heart at the feet of his love, would 
 have softened the bitterness of parting ; but 
 alas ! even this he must forego.
 
 210 TALES OF THE 
 
 Long, among the icy mountains of Hel- 
 vetia, wandered Adelmari. Remorse and 
 pride rended his breast, and the tidings 
 of Alvinse's high destiny augmented their 
 pangs. 
 
 Sighing again to behold the castle of his 
 ancestors, he arrayed himself in an humble 
 disguise, and descended once more to the 
 banks of his native Adda. 
 
 Lonely as he left them, he found his halls, 
 for not one would dwell therein. Fame 
 bruited that foul spirits had made them 
 their dwelling place, and the tenement was 
 called the " traitor's castle." 
 
 Conscious of the King's magnanimous soul, 
 Adelmari soon departed for the royal city, 
 bent on throwing himself on his mercy. 
 It was evening when he entered the streets, 
 which were thronged with a festive multi- 
 tude, while music and acclamations re- 
 echoed around. Suddenly, coming forth 
 from the Duomo, a sight of beauty struck 
 him, amid the gladsome beholders, with
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 211 
 
 wonder and rage. It was a marriage cortege, 
 and in the midst, like two stars surrounded 
 by their companions of inferior brightness, 
 appeared the bride and bridegroom. 
 
 " What meaneth this violation of the 
 convent V demanded Adelmari of a youthful 
 priest standing at his side, 
 
 " Call it not violation, but justice," res- 
 ponded the priest warmly. " Thou must 
 be a stranger, or else thou wouldst have 
 known that the savage Count Adelmari de- 
 ceived his sister, by telling her that Alvinse, 
 her betrothed, had died. By this false tale 
 she was induced to take the veil ; but upon 
 a discovery of the deception, the abbess of 
 Saint Agatha joined her supplications with 
 the bishop's and both having been power- 
 fully supported by the magnanimous Luit- 
 prando, obtained from the Holy Pontiff a 
 release from the sacred vow for the beau- 
 tiful Carmenegilda. The King then decreed 
 that the marriage day should be a jubilee, 
 and this is its joyous consummation."
 
 212 TALES OF THE 
 
 Adelmari drew his beaver lower over his 
 face, and turned away from the rejoicing 
 people. His lip was compressed, his head 
 bent on his, bosom, and his eye flashed an 
 expression betokening deep and terrible 
 thoughts, as slowly he retired to a remote 
 part of the city. 
 
 High on the evening breeze, like music of 
 starry spirits, floats from the palace of Luit- 
 prando the sound of the festival. Within, 
 borne by the proud joy of youth, the flower 
 of the nobles in the dance are gliding. Like 
 the broidery of the virgin, in the whirling 
 mazes, waveth the veil of the youthful beauty. 
 As an angel gliding through the blue ether, 
 calmly majestic, moves the adolescent form 
 of Carmenegilda. Her hand is within the 
 graceful Alvinse's, whose eye is beaming 
 with love, and on both gazes the mag-
 
 CAMr A^'D CABINET. 213 
 
 uanimous Luitprando, happy as the virtuous 
 feel, and conscious of shedding the benevo- 
 lent light of his heart on others. 
 
 It was after the dance, that tempted by 
 the fresh and gentle air, through the cresset- 
 hung alleys of the garden, Alvinse led his 
 bride. By a fountain's brink they sat, listen- 
 ing to the lay of a single nightingale, which 
 seemed to mourn his loneliness. The ripple 
 of the falling waters accompanied the lay, 
 and inspired with a thousand melodious 
 thoughts the lyre-strung hearts of the lovely 
 pair. 
 
 On the ivied seat lay a lute, left, perchance, 
 by some Troubadour, who was now leading 
 his lady in the dance. Alvinse mechanically 
 took it in his hand, when inspired by love, 
 and the beautiful evening Avhich had just 
 departed, he prayed his beloved Carmenegilda 
 to sing to its accompaniment. 
 
 Even ready to satisfy his utmost wish, the 
 graceful bride sang the following lay, on tlie 
 departure of the evening.
 
 214 TALES OF THE 
 
 " Sweet eve adieu ! sweet eve adieu ! 
 
 Thou wert too beautiful to die : 
 Thy mourner is the nightly dew, 
 
 Thy requiem is the zephyr's sigh ! 
 
 Sweet eve adieu ! so bright to die ! 
 
 For thee my soft and trem'lous lay 
 Now joins the zephyr's whisp'ring sigh, 
 
 In plaintive tones thy fleeting ray. 
 
 The wood-bird sings adieu to thee, 
 The lofty hills thy smiles return, 
 
 While o'er the vale and o'er the lea, 
 Is formed thy sad and feral urn. 
 
 Image of hope's eternal bourn, 
 
 Soother of pain — the pilgrim's dow'r. 
 The guileless heart for thee must mourn. 
 Thou best, thou gentliest, loveliest hour !" 
 
 Fly beautiful ones !— a ' ruthless Land is 
 near ; — a moment yet, and your happiness 
 is blighted for ever ! 
 
 Like a demon, through the shades, ad- 
 vances the form of Adelmari. With a joy, 
 deep, hellish as the tiger's, on beholding the 
 defenceless lamb, he springs towards the
 
 CAMP AND CABINET, 215 
 
 wedded pair. A dagger glitters in his hand, 
 and ere Alvinse could arrest its lightning 
 stroke, it was buried in the breast of Carme- 
 negilda, whose bridal vestments in an instant 
 became crimsoned with blood. Nor, at the 
 feral sight, was Adelmari's fury quelled ; for 
 dexterously eluding the grasp of Alvinse, he 
 drove into the centre of that rending heart, 
 the same gore-dripping steel. 
 
 As a young tree, round which a rose tree 
 grew enamoured, reft from its mother-earth 
 by the cruel axe, fell the bridegi'oom with 
 the bride. Their blood is mingling, and so 
 are their sable tresses, while on their pale 
 features, the fairy moonbeam plays, and their 
 souLs of love on angel wings, take flight from 
 the dark world together. 
 
 On his guileless victims, gazes the fratri- 
 cide. His locks coil like scorpions round 
 his brow, and all the furies of Hades gnaw, 
 like savage hounds, his heart. Life to him 
 is death, and death were as sweet as a cup
 
 216 TALES OF THE 
 
 of the fountain's source to the thirsted pil- 
 grim. From the festive hall, he sees Luit- 
 prando with a gladsome train advancing 
 to the spot of crime, and ere they drew 
 nigh, their joy, by the alchemy of an 
 eternal loss, is changed into sorrow ; on his 
 dagger's point, fled the accursed soul of 
 Adelmari. 
 
 Near the city of Pavia, is a valley, called 
 La Cava. Thither, until the fourteenth 
 century, existed a tomb, where Alvinse and 
 Carmenegilda reposed together, like the 
 Veronese lovers, who, in after ages, added 
 two other mart}TS at the altar of Eternal 
 Love. 
 
 The monument was destroyed by the 
 cannon of an immortal' battle, when the 
 lilies of France became the prey of the 
 black Eagle ; many an intrepid knight fell 
 round it, and on this very spot, Eoyal 
 Francis, severely wounded, seeing all was 
 lost, surrendered his sword to Diamanti,
 
 CAifP AXD CABINET. 217 
 
 who received it on bended knee, while 
 the Bourbon, to whom he proudly refused 
 it, stood by, and smiled with the triumph of 
 revenge. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 218 TALES OF THE 
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 
 " You are next on the list, Captain Haiiey, 
 for a relation," exclaimed the President, as 
 the last sounds of his little bell were dying 
 away. 
 
 " I am quite ready, Mr. President," re- 
 plied the Captain ; " and before I com- 
 mence, I beg to observe, that in the relation 
 I am about giving, I shall, for an obvious
 
 CAMP AXD CABINET. 219 
 
 reason, conceal the real surname of the hero 
 of mj tale, as he is still in the land of the 
 living, among whom, I trust, he may long 
 continue. There are some now present, 
 however, who will not fail to identify him, 
 before my narration will have terminated ; 
 and the more particularly when I proclaim 
 him under the nom de guerre of 
 
 HAXDSOME JACK. 
 
 My friend, John Montague, was born of a 
 most respectable family. His parents dying 
 when he was in his infancy, he was left 
 under the guardianship of an uncle, who 
 indulged him in all his oddities, which were 
 not a few. Nevertheless, he received an 
 excellent education, and like most eccentric 
 individuals, was possessed of considerable 
 talents. He was a general favorite amongst 
 all his acquaintances, and from his hand- 
 some face and figure, received the sobriquet 
 of " handsome Jack." Having at an early 
 
 L 3
 
 220 TALES OF THE 
 
 age evinced a desire to follow a military 
 life, his uncle, at a proper time, purchased 
 him an Ensigncj. The regiment he had 
 entered into, was at this period quartered in 
 Ireland, and he soon received an order to 
 join it. Jack's oddities were not long in 
 discovering themselves to his brother officers, 
 for they quickly found out his habit of say- 
 ing and doing the most extraordinary things. 
 Indeed before he had joined, two of these 
 officers had witnessed a specimen of both. 
 Happening to be in London shortly after his 
 appointment, these officers met my friend 
 Jack at their army agent's office, the head 
 clerk of which, introduced him to their 
 notice. Delighted to have so quickly en- 
 countered any of his regiment, he gave them 
 an invitation to dinner with him on the 
 following day at Long's Hotel. The best of 
 everything was ordered by Jack for the 
 occasion, and the three sat down to a 
 sumptuous repast'. Having remained until 
 rather a late hour, during which they had
 
 CAMP AXD CABLVET. 221 
 
 uot forgot to pay their devotion to the "jolly 
 god," they at length abandoned the table, 
 Jack insisting in seeing his new friends to 
 their lodging. Strolling along the streets, 
 they encountered a watchman ; Jack con- 
 ceiving that the man had shouldered him in 
 passing, addressed some harsh words to the 
 guardian of the night : the latter retorted 
 in still harsher ; our friend Jack, without 
 any more persiflage, unceremoniously floored 
 the Charley, by giving him a severe blow 
 over the eye. The watchman, however, was 
 not so stunned by it but what he was enabled 
 to make use of his rattle, which he exercised 
 in so vigorous a manner, that our friend 
 Jack, together with his associates, were 
 quickly suiTounded by a nest of Charlies, 
 seized, and taken to the watch-house, where 
 he was detained during the night, notwith- 
 standing the entreaties of his two friends, 
 who were liberated. On the following 
 morning, Jack was taken before Sir Richard 
 Birnie : his two friends attending with 
 him.
 
 222 TALES OF THE 
 
 AYlieu the case had been stated by the 
 floored Charley to that magistrate, and when 
 the latter was on the point of addressing 
 the accused, Jack abruptly prevented the 
 address, by asking Sir Richard if he had 
 ever heard of GodbalFs Vegetable Balsam, 
 or Dr. Solomon's Drops ; a question which 
 excited the astonishment of all in the 
 justice-room ; " but Sir Richard," continued 
 Jack without giving the magistrate time to 
 make any remark, " do you not thing that 
 I am a much better quack than either of 
 those gentlemen, for I have an infallible 
 remedy for curing sore eyes, the application 
 of which is most simple V Suiting the 
 action to the word, and placing a guinea 
 upon one of his eyes, and at the same time, 
 turning to the watchman with a significant 
 look which could not be misunderstood. 
 
 It is needless to add that the remedy was 
 as infallible as he described, or intended it to 
 be. The watchman took the guinea, with 
 the magistrate's permission, and left the 
 room quite satisfied with the result ; while
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 223 
 
 Jack's serious manner on the occasion, ex- 
 cited bursts of laughter from the bystanders, 
 in which Sir Richard, and the two officers, 
 could not restrain themselves from joining. 
 
 Shortly after this event, Jack took leave 
 of his uncle and proceeded to join his 
 regiment, which was quartered in Cork, in 
 company with his new found acquaintances, 
 the two officers, who by letters to their 
 friends in the corps, had already heralded 
 the praises of the recruit. In short. Jack 
 very soon became a universal favorite ^vith 
 them all, and whatever were his sayings or 
 doings, they afforded so much amusement, 
 that he became acknowledged as a privileged 
 man. "With all this, he lived in great style, 
 kept his curricle and blood horses, a brace 
 of hunters : in fine, a complete establish- 
 ment : and notwithstanding the occasional 
 remonstrating letters he used to receive 
 from his uncle as to his extravagant ex- 
 penditure. Jack only laughed at them, with- 
 out the smallest intention of diminishing
 
 224 TALES OF THE 
 
 them. A lieutenancy becoming vacant in 
 the regiment for purchase, soon after he 
 joined, he succeeded to it, and he looked 
 forward with some impatience for a company, 
 the money having been lodged, for the pur- 
 pose, in the hands of the agents. 
 
 One of the first practical jokes that my 
 friend Jack executed after joining his Regi- 
 ment, and which caused general attention, was 
 his procuring the uniform of a General Officer, 
 and equiping himself with it in an outskirt 
 of the city he was quartered in, and mounting 
 his horse, he set off at full gallop, into the 
 place, to the nearest guard house. As soon 
 as the sentinel perceived him, there was the 
 usual lusty call for the guard to turn out to 
 receive the General, who, after receiving the 
 the salute, and inspecting them, and asking 
 some ludicrous questions, galloped off for the 
 next guard. The astonishment of the Captain 
 and Subaltern of the main guard, may be 
 easily conceived when they perceived that 
 the General they had turned out the guard
 
 CAilP AND CABINET. 225 
 
 to, and were saluting was their own ' hand- 
 some Jack/ The General commanding the 
 district, when made acquainted with the cir- 
 cumstance, instead of being annoyed bj such 
 a breach of military discipline, laughed in 
 his sleeve at the prank, and, as it had not 
 been officially reported to him, he was the 
 more enabled to let it pass unnoticed. 
 
 A short time after this, a Captain of a 
 Light Dragoon Regiment c[uartered also in 
 Cork, received an order to march with his 
 troop to the Cun-agh, where was to he held 
 a grand review by the Lord Lieutenant in 
 person. The Captain, who was possessed uf 
 inhnite vanity, and not overburdened with 
 sense, communicated the order to Jack, in 
 presence of some of his brother officers. 
 Jack instantly laid a wager with the Captain, 
 of a supper and wine for twenty guests, that 
 the Lord Lieutenant would not review the 
 troops, The Captain accepted the wager 
 without hesitation, as the orders were so 
 distinct and peremptory, " besides," said he, 
 L 5
 
 226 TALES OF TIIE 
 
 " when I lately dined at the Castle, the Lord 
 Lieutenant gave me a hint of his soon having 
 the pleasure of inspecting my fine troop." — 
 
 " His Excellency will not have that 
 pleasure this time," replied Jack. 
 
 " Yes, he will, my dear fellow, and you 
 the pleasure of paying for the supper. — 
 Surely I must be the best judge of this affair, 
 when possessed, I may say, of his Excel- 
 lency's confidence." 
 
 Jack laughed ; and shook his head dissent- 
 ingly, when the Captain took his leave with 
 an air of confidence, and departed to prepare 
 for the march : while Jack repaired to his 
 lodgings to prepare the means of winning 
 the wager. He was not long in devising them. 
 In half an hour, an anon3niious letter was 
 written to the Lord Lieutenant, stating, that 
 if he came to the Curragh, he would most 
 certainly be fired at by some of the Irish 
 soldiers, who were determined to shoot him ; 
 that the writer, therefore, strongly advised 
 him not to venture his person there on that 
 day.
 
 CAMP AJN'D CABI^'ET. 227 
 
 On the receipt of this letter, a Privy 
 Council was immediately held, and it was 
 determined, after the members had in vain 
 endeavoured to sift the matter, that Lord 
 Cathert should review the troops, instead of 
 the Lord Lieutenant. Much was the aston- 
 ishment of the Light Dragoon Captain 
 therefore, when in place of the Lord Lieuten- 
 ant, he beheld the Commander of the Forces 
 reviewing the troops. Jack consequently 
 won the supper, which the Captain gave on 
 his return to Cork, much to the merriment 
 of the guests, to whom Jack communicated 
 the secret. 
 
 Upon the Regiment's being ordered to 
 England, and a short time after its arrival 
 there, Jack fell into a predicament which 
 his usual address was not able to extricate 
 him from without assistance. He became 
 so fond of the fair sex, that he never went 
 into a town in which he did not pick up 
 some female companion. At the time I am 
 speaking of, he was quartered at Chelms- 
 ford. Prior to this, he had one residing with
 
 228 TALES OF THE 
 
 him at Preston ; and when the Regiment 
 left that town, she remained behind, under 
 the assurance that she should be sent for as 
 soon as he was settled in his next quarters. 
 The regiment remained at Manchester 
 for three weeks, during which period he had 
 another lady residing with him ; and, on the 
 regiment leaving that town, she continued 
 in it under a similar assurance. In Derby, 
 he met another, and at Leicester a fourth, 
 to each of whom he told the same story. 
 And on the very evening the regiment 
 marched into Chelmsford, he formed an ac- 
 quaintance with a female of that town, whom 
 he took to reside with him. 
 
 After a few days had elapsed, he received 
 several letters from his quondam friends, 
 complaining of breach of promise, and saying 
 they would join him as soon as possible. 
 These letters not being answered, the con- 
 sequence might have been foreseen, for 
 scarcely had a fortnight elapsed, when the 
 lady from Preston arrived at Chelmsford with
 
 CAMP AXD CABINET. 229 
 
 all her luggage, and sent a message to him 
 from the inn, informing him of the circum- 
 stance. As he could not bring her to his 
 lodgings, which were already occupied, he 
 was obliged to procure a lodging for her in 
 the town, and advance her some cash. In 
 the course of another day or two, the ]^Ian- 
 chester dame arrived, for whom he had to 
 provide another lodging. Then came the 
 Derby one, followed immediately by the 
 Leicester lady, both of whom required the 
 same attention. Having then no less than 
 five on his hands. Jack was puzzled how to 
 act. Sending, however, for an officer of his 
 regiment, who was a confidential friend, and 
 relating the subject of his embarrassment, he 
 begged this friend to negotiate matters for 
 him with each of the newly armved ladies. 
 After much difficulty, his friend prevailed 
 on them to return to their respective homes, 
 but not until they liad been handsomely 
 remunerated for their time, trouble, and tra- 
 velling expenses.
 
 230 TALES OF THE 
 
 I had omitted mentioning, that prior to 
 leaving Ireland, Jack had obtained a com- 
 pany by raising a certain number of men, 
 which he procured by visiting the differ- 
 ent markets and fairs in the neigh- 
 bourhood, accompanied by a Serjeant, drum- 
 mer, and fifer, during which peregrinations, 
 he often returned home minus several pounds 
 in consequence of desertions. With the 
 greatest difficulty he made up his comple- 
 ment, with the exception of two. The day 
 of inspection was closely approaching, and 
 should the quota not be completed, he would 
 not obtain his company. What was to 
 be done ? 
 
 After hunting about in vain for the two 
 desired recruits, he was one day returning 
 to his lodgings through a village, when he 
 was accosted by a tall, thin, meagre-looking 
 man, an exact counterpart of Shakespeare's 
 ghost-like apothecary, who was a tailor, and 
 declared his intention to enlist. In despair,
 
 CA^IP A^'D CABINET. 231 
 
 Jack handed the knight of the thimble a 
 guinea in the King's name, and ordered his 
 Serjeant to try and blow him out with a 
 plentiful allowance of good meals and beer, 
 in the vain hope of improving his condition 
 against the day of inspection. There was 
 still one man wanting. In vain did the 
 Serjeant vaunt the praises of his Captain, 
 and the drummer and fifer exert their abi- 
 lities on their instruments — the man could 
 not be found. 
 
 The inspection was to take place on 
 the following day. Jack's despair in- 
 creased, and he thought the enterprise lost, 
 when behold his Serjeant came to him with 
 a stout, well-made little man, but who was 
 unfortunately two inches under size. 
 
 " He is too short," cried Jack, despair- 
 ingly. 
 
 " And sure we'll make liim taller," replied 
 his prime minister, the Irish serjeant, " as I 
 have made many a like man." 
 
 Without inquiring at the time how this
 
 232 TALES OF THE 
 
 was to be effected, Jack at once enlisted the 
 man, although with a conviction that both 
 he as well as the knight of the thimble 
 would be rejected by the inspecting General, 
 who was remarkable for strictness and se- 
 verity. 
 
 The important day at length arrived. 
 Upon the recruits being paraded by the 
 Serjeant before their Captain, what was 
 Jack's astonishment to see the little stout 
 one considerably increased in height, and 
 the knight of the thimble the very picture 
 of rude health. Seeing his Captain's asto- 
 nishment, who turned to him with an en- 
 quiring look, the Serjeant returned it with 
 a knowing wink of the eye. 
 
 I must here remark that the system of 
 recruiting then was very different from what 
 it is at present. In measuring recruits for- 
 merly, there was not that strictness that is 
 observed now, nor were the men ever re- 
 quired to strip. 
 
 The hour of inspection having arrived.
 
 CAMP AND CABI>'ET. 233 
 
 the General made his appearance with his 
 aid-de-camp. The party was drawn up to 
 the best advantage, the knight of the thimble 
 on the right, who looked as well in his slop 
 red coat as Jack could possibly wish. The 
 General, attracted by his appearance, re- 
 garded the tailor for a moment through his 
 glass, and remarked aloud, " What a fine 
 looking fellow !'' and then having viewed 
 the remainder of the party, pronounced 
 without hesitation the happy sentence — 
 
 " A fine set of recruits Lieutenant ^^lonta- 
 gue, or rather, I should now say. Captain 
 Montague : for I shall note you down for 
 your Company." 
 
 On returning to barracks with his recruits, 
 Jack demanded of his prime minister, how 
 he had so cleverly contrived to metamorphose 
 the tailor and the little stout man into such 
 wonderful changes. 
 
 " With regard to the tailor your honor," 
 replied the Sergeant, "sure I painted his face, 
 and had his slop coat and trousers all padded.
 
 234 TALES OF THE 
 
 And as to the little stout fellow, Paddy 
 O'Rilev, I got him a pair of brogues with a 
 false bottom that raised him two inches 
 higher." 
 
 It was impossible for Jack to contain his 
 laughter at this explanation : and so de- 
 lighted was he with the prime minister's 
 ingenuity, which confirmed him his company, 
 that he made a handsome present to the 
 metamorphoser. 
 
 Jack had not long been quartered in 
 Chelmsford, when the Regiment was ordered 
 to the Peninsula. I shall not enter into 
 details of his services, or the pranks he was 
 engaged in during the time the army re- 
 mained there, but shall bring hin back to 
 England on the restoration of the Bourbons, 
 which terminated the war with France at 
 the time. 
 
 Shortly after his return, and much to the 
 regret of his brother oificers, he took a dif- 
 ference, and retired on half-pay. Returning 
 to his native place, where he was also a great
 
 CAMP AXD CABINET. 235 
 
 favourite, he dashed away at a greater rate 
 than ever ; so that ere long, he had wasted 
 a considerable property, and became at 
 length reduced to his half-pay for subsistence. 
 His Uncle had been dead for some time ; he 
 therefore had no resources to draw from to 
 sustain any further extravagance. Notwith- 
 standing the change of circumstances, he was 
 caressed as much as ever. No party was 
 reckoned complete without handsome Jack, 
 and wherever he appeared, such was the 
 buoyancy of his spirits, that he diffused life 
 and hilarity to all around him. In the midst 
 of these flattering attentions, there were mo- 
 ments in which Jack often pondered in his 
 mind, the possibility, nay, the probability of 
 his being able to prevail upon some old maid 
 or widow, who had money enough, to marry 
 him ; and as he knew that he was a fine and 
 handsome fellow, he considered he had every 
 prospect of success. He had long determined 
 to put his project in execution, and make love 
 in earnest. Accordingly, he urged his suit
 
 236 TALES OF THE 
 
 to several ladies of the description he re- 
 quired, but was, unfortunately, unsuccessful 
 with them in turn : all of them bearing in 
 mind his extravagance. At length he fixed 
 his attentions on a young widow, who in 
 addition to a very handsome jointure, had 
 certain expectations from an elderly rela- 
 tion. After he had done everything in 
 his power to get into her good graces, he 
 made his proposal in due form : but, to 
 his utter dismay and confusion, was re- 
 jected, and forbidden to name it again. 
 
 Such a rejection would have driven any 
 man but Jack to despair, as this lady was 
 a ''dernier resort,'' and if he failed now 
 he had no further chance of succeeding ; 
 but he was too much accustomed to dis- 
 appointments to be affected by them ; so 
 he merely became determined to change 
 his mode of operation, and instead of 
 laying regular siege, as he had always done 
 before, to now gain his object by strata-
 
 CAMP AND CABINET 237 
 
 Having settled his plan of attack, he 
 prevailed upon the widow's servant-maid, 
 with whom he contrived to be on good 
 terms, to admit him into the house at 
 five o'clock on the following morning, with- 
 out letting her know what his intentions 
 were. At the appointed hour, he gained 
 admission, when he instantly stripped him- 
 self, before the astonished girl, of his coat, 
 waistcoat, and hat ; and dressing himself 
 in a morning gown and night cap, quietly 
 entered the widow's bedroom, which looked 
 into the street, and took his stand at the 
 window, which he opened gently, the widow 
 being at the time in a deep sleep, and 
 the bed-curtains drawn closely round. 
 
 He had not been long in this situation 
 when some of his acquaintances passed, 
 who, seeing him in such a place, naturally 
 thought that he had been married to the 
 widow, and congi\atulated him on his good 
 fortune, wishing him every joy and hap- 
 piness : to which he replied, " Thank you,
 
 238 TALES OF THE 
 
 my dear friends, I am much obliged to 
 you." — And if any person whom he knew, 
 happened to pass without noticing him, 
 he attracted their attention by a cough, 
 or by calling to them, and was congratu- 
 lated by them in like manner : so that they 
 spread the news instantly through the place 
 that handsome Jack had succeeded with the 
 rich widow, and was actually married to 
 her. 
 
 The lady about nine o'clock awoke ; and, 
 as she could not imagine what could make 
 the room so cold, she drew the curtains aside, 
 and to her astonishment beheld handsome 
 Jack at the window, just as if he had only 
 left his bed. Taking advantage of the sur- 
 prise into which his presence in such a place 
 threw her, and without giving her time to 
 collect herself sufficiently to make any re- 
 mark upon his strange conduct, he exclaimed, 
 " I entreat, my dear, that you will not be 
 alarmed. I have been above these three 
 hours, but not nearer your bed than this
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 239 
 
 window. All the town now believe that we 
 are married, and have been congratulating 
 me, and wishing me joy the whole morning. 
 You had better, then, take me in earnest, 
 and I will make a good and prudent hus- 
 band, you may depend upon it. K you do 
 not, my darling, your character and reputa- 
 tion, which I prize above everything in the 
 world, mil be lost for ever ; and what will 
 Miss Jackson say V alluding to a censorious 
 old maid, with whom the wijjjOw was not on 
 good terms, and who lived in the opposite 
 house. " She was peeping at me a few mi- 
 nutes ago from behind her window curtains, 
 and looked astonished and burning with 
 jealousy when she saw me here. If you 
 then deny me, she will think with the 
 rest of the world, that something improper 
 has occurred, and never cease proclaiming 
 you through the streets as the vilest of 
 women." 
 
 The widow being at a loss what to do or 
 say, had recourse at least to her sex's weak-
 
 240 TALES OP THE 
 
 ness by bursting into a flood of tears, at first 
 upbraiding him for his conduct, and afterwards 
 conjuring him, if he had any regard for her, 
 to leave her immediately. 
 
 Jack, however, being determined not to 
 lose his vantage ground, persisted in en- 
 deavouring to reconcile her to her fate ; and 
 at length succeeded in wringing from her 
 a promise of being his after the use of some 
 well-timed and well-applied flattery, swear- 
 ing that she was dearer to him than 
 any mortal "breathing. As soon as this 
 object was gained, he lost no time in sending 
 for a licence and a friend ; who after par- 
 taking of a comfortable breakfast with them, 
 accompanied them to church, where they 
 were duly joined as man and wife, to the 
 gratification of Jack's numerous acquaint- 
 ances and well-wishers. 
 
 I shall now close my narrative, by merely 
 stating that handsome Jack made, and con- 
 tinues to make, an excellent husband, and 
 that his wife never had cause to regret the
 
 COIP kyj) CABINET. 241 
 
 singular occurrence that induced her to 
 become united to him/* 
 
 " In returning mj best thanks for the 
 entertainment you have afforded us Harlej," 
 exclaimed the president, after the captain 
 had ended, '•' I shall observe, that I knew 
 handsome Jack well, and will add one 
 anecdote of him to your manv. You can- 
 not but remember a tyrannical colonel you 
 once had, whose propensity for flogging was 
 such, that it made him detested, not only 
 by the soldiers, but by the inhabitants of 
 every town in which he was quartered. 
 When the regiment was stationed at Preston, 
 in Lancasliire, he gave orders that one of 
 the recruits, a mere boy, was to be brought 
 out for some trifling offence, and flogged on 
 the race ground of Preston. The moment 
 handsome Jack heard of this, he was deter- 
 mined to prevent it by some means or other. 
 He hit upon a singular mode of effecting 
 his object. Disguising himself in the dress 
 of a manufacturing labourer, he mingled 
 
 VOL. I. M
 
 242 TALES OF THE 
 
 among the women belonging to the cotton 
 manufactories, and told them in pitiful tones, 
 that his poor brother, a young recruit, was 
 just being about to be flogged by the savage 
 colonel, that it would ruin the poor boy for 
 ever, who had absolutely committed no crime. 
 Two women coming up at the moment, and 
 who had been bribed by Jack for the purpose, 
 joined in the conversation, and so worked on 
 the feelings of their surrounding companions, 
 that the whole community swore they would 
 all join together and prevent the poor boy 
 from being flogged. And so it turned out, 
 for on the regiment's going out to escort the 
 prisoner and witness the ceremony, it was 
 first attacked by a large body of the women 
 belonging to a cotton manufactory, who 
 acted as an advanced g-uard, which being 
 quickly increased from hundreds to thou- 
 sands, they actually forced the Eegiment 
 back into the town. The magistrates were 
 obliged at length to interpose their authority, 
 and only succeeded, after much difliculty, in
 
 CAMP AND CABI>-ET. 243 
 
 dispersing the women, having been compelled 
 to read the riot act, and give an assurance 
 that the boy should not be flogged : but not 
 before the savage Colonel, who was riding 
 towards the place of punishment, was at- 
 tacked in his way there by volleys of stones, 
 and forced to make a precipitate retreat. 
 Thus the poor boy was saved from an ig- 
 nominious flogging, by the cotton manufac- 
 turing women, of Preston, through handsome 
 Jack^s ingenuity." 
 
 " Would that some ingenuity would for 
 ever prevent the abominable system," said 
 Major Armstrong, " for I fear reason will 
 never blot it out of the statute book. As 
 it is my turn to contribute something on our 
 next night's meeting, I think I cannot do 
 better than to read you a short essay on 
 the subject of military flogging, which was 
 addressed to me by an experienced, and very 
 old military friend of mine ; and one who 
 from the horror he bore to flogging, never 
 brought a man to a Court-Martial during the 
 whole period he was in the service," 
 M 3
 
 244 TALES OF THE ; 
 
 ''I feel persuaded, Major," observed the 
 President, " that we shall all wish to hear 
 anytliiiig that tends towards the abrogation 
 of such an abominable system, as you have 
 justly termed it/"'
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 245 
 
 CHAPTER VIIL 
 
 According to the announcement of Alajor 
 Armstrong, at the preceding meeting, he 
 read to the assembled members the fol- 
 lowing : — 
 
 ESSAY ON MILITARY FLOGGIXG. 
 
 " No man can be a warmer or a more 
 sincere advocate for the strictest discipline
 
 246 TALES OF THE 
 
 and subordination than I am, jet I would 
 wish to see the officers and soldiers on better 
 terms, or, if I may be permitted to use the 
 expression, more like brethren in arms ; for, 
 if the former were more bending and less 
 t}Tannical than I have known many of them, 
 the latter would be more attached to their 
 superiors, and more particular in attending 
 to their duties. 
 
 The practice of flogging, is one of the 
 greatest injuries to the British Army ; for, if 
 a soldier receive even but ten lashes, he 
 never can be a good soldier afterwards. His 
 pride is wounded, his spirit is humbled, his 
 his person is debased, — and he detests his 
 profession, neglects his person and equip- 
 ments, and becomes a useless member of the 
 regiment. 
 
 I sincerely hope, for the good of the 
 British Army, that an alteration in the Mutiny 
 Act, may do away with the practice of 
 flogging altogether, as there are many modes 
 of punishment less disgraceful, more effica-
 
 CAMP AXD CABINET, 247 
 
 cious, and more likely to bring the offender 
 to a just sense of his crime, and of that duty 
 he owes to his country ; and, although it 
 must be acknowledged that in the present 
 high state of discipline and good conduct of 
 the British Army, it is a punishment not 
 so often resorted to as it was, still it is a 
 slur on the heads of freeborn Britons ; and 
 its very continuance on the statute book, 
 occasions a painful feeling in the breasts of 
 soldiers, not easily described. 
 
 I cannot leave this subject, so interesting 
 to an old soldier, without stating, as proofs 
 of the justness of my remarks, one or two 
 instances of these scenes of horror, of which, 
 while in the army, I was myself an eye 
 witness. One of them, and there were 
 many such, as I never can forget, was that 
 of a soldier in Gibraltar, who, for a trifling 
 offence, was sentenced to receive a thousand 
 lashes. So strongly, indeed, is the circum- 
 stance imprinted upon my memory, that at 
 this distant period I almost imagine I behold
 
 248 TALES OF THE 
 
 the -wretched being writhing with agony on 
 the triangles, his back and shoulders stream- 
 ing with blood from every pore, and beaten 
 into a complete jelly, while the surgeon, 
 who was in attendance to dress his wounds, 
 every now and then felt his pulse, to ascer- 
 tain how far the degrading sentence and the 
 horrid punishment could be carried into ex- 
 ecution. It may appear incredible, but it 
 is an absolute fact, that the unfortunate 
 man in question, received every lash of a 
 thousand, and that, too, in the month of 
 July, in tlie hot climate of Gibraltar. 
 
 Is it not a cruel, a wanton thing, to 
 leave a discretionary power in the hands of 
 any commanding officer, thus to torture a 
 fellow creature for some trifling ofience, and 
 unfit him for serving his king or country, 
 and after having spent the best years of his 
 life in the service of both, as was the case 
 of this poor fellow, who deserved a better 
 fate, having fought bravely in the cam- 
 paign of Egypt, and conducted himself for
 
 CA3IP AXD CABI^'ET. 249 
 
 years without reproach, until he unfortu- 
 nately, at length, came under the lash of a 
 tyrant ? 
 
 Another instance occurred while I was a 
 subaltern, to which from a misunderstanding 
 that I shall explain, I unwillingly became 
 a party. We had a severe commanding 
 officer who punished every offence, however 
 trifling, by flogging. One of our blacks, a 
 poor, harmless fellow, who beat the big 
 drum, happened to be one day about three 
 minutes late at the evening parade ; for this 
 great crime he was instantly tried on the 
 parade groimd by a drum-head court martial, 
 and sentenced to be flogged. 
 
 I was the junior member of the court 
 martial, and it was my duty to pronounce 
 the sentence ; and having been told by the 
 other members, as I was then but a short 
 time in the army, that if I pronounced a 
 small number of lashes, he probably would 
 receive them, but if a larger number, two or 
 -three hundred, he would not be punislied at 
 M 5
 
 250 TALES OF THE 
 
 all — they, supposing that the whole pro- 
 ceeding was merely intended to frighten him 
 and make him more attentive to his duty, a 
 supposition, which I regret to say, the com- 
 manding officer himself led me to conclude 
 was correct — I pronounced the sentence to 
 be two hundred lashes ; and, to my horror 
 and dismay, saw the poor fellow immediately 
 stripped and subjected, by the orders of our 
 commanding officer, to the full number of 
 lashes ; the consequence of which, was, that 
 after his recovery, he deserted, and we lost 
 a most useful and well conducted man. 
 These, and many similar scenes, which I 
 have witnessed, disgusted me so much with 
 the disgraceful and diabolical custom of 
 flogging, that I often determined upon 
 making my sentiments public against such 
 an odious system ; and I have no doubt but 
 a large folio volume could be compiled of 
 facts illustrative of the cruelty of the 
 practice and its demoralizing effects — ex- 
 hibiting, too, the infamous practices con-
 
 CAMP AND CABIXET. 251 
 
 nected with it, and the injury the British 
 service has invariably sustained by it. 
 
 I am enabled, by long experience to de- 
 clare, with the strictest adherence to truth, 
 that our army is composed of as fine and as 
 orderly a body of men as any other in the 
 world, nor is that state of discipline owing, 
 in the least degree, to the inhuman practice 
 that prevailed to such an extent till within 
 the last few years. I would, therefore, abo- 
 lish flogging altogether — I would erase such 
 a code from our statutes, and no longer allow 
 it to disgrace the articles of war, or the 
 mutiny Act. When a soldier commits a 
 crime, let him suffer solitary confinement 
 proportionate to it, or let him be transferred 
 to foreign service for a limited number of 
 years, or even for life, if the magnitude of 
 his offence require a greater degree of punish- 
 ment, or even death itself would be pre- 
 ferable to the system of flogging. In case 
 such punishments failed in bringing the of- 
 fender to a proper sense of conduct becoming
 
 252 TALES OF THE 
 
 a British soldier, I would discharge him alto- 
 gether from the army ; for by this proceeding 
 the bad would have a feeling of respect for 
 his officer, and the latter would be more in- 
 clined to place confidence in the former as a 
 faithful adherent who looked up to him for 
 instruction and advice, and considered him 
 less as a military leader than as a father and 
 a friend." 
 
 " Thus ends the essay," said Major Arm- 
 strong, " and I feel persuaded, that there 
 will not be a dissenting voice among my 
 comrades in arms at this meeting against the 
 principle it holds forth." 
 
 " Not one, I am also as well persuaded," 
 added the President, " and I sincerely hope 
 that our government will at last see this dia- 
 bolical custom of flogging in its true light, 
 and the injury the British service most un- 
 doubtedly sustains by it, as most forcibly 
 represented in the excellent little essay you 
 have just read." 
 
 " Away with such brutality !" cried
 
 CAMP AND CABD^ET. 253 
 
 xMajor O'Dogherty. " Yes, away with it ! 
 away with it !'' was re-echoed throughout 
 the whole assembly, with the greatest en- 
 thusiasm.
 
 254 TALES OF THE 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The members of the Club were assembled in 
 groups in different parts of the saloon, at the 
 usual hour, and conversing on various sub- 
 jects, when the tinckling little bell of the 
 President of the evening, summoned them 
 to their seats to hear a story from Captain 
 Montgomery. 
 
 " I am under the necessity of making the
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 255 
 
 same apology as our friend Lieutenant Hal- 
 burton did the other day," prefaced the 
 Captain, '' namely, of not being able to 
 furnish any matter of a military nature 
 worth recording, and from the same cause, 
 want of experience, from the short time 
 I have been in the service. 
 
 In subscribing to the rule of our club, in 
 being obligated to give some relation or 
 other, I must e'en do the best I can, and 
 attempt to give a description of a scene 
 which I witnessed when travelling lately in 
 Spain, and which most forcibly struck me as 
 being one of the most picturesque I ever 
 beheld. I shall name my contribution a 
 description of — 
 
 THE SEGUIDILLA 
 
 Never shall I forget the beautiful and 
 voluptuous dances of Spain : and particularly 
 the one I am about attempting to describe. 
 
 I was once invited to a marriai]fe festival 
 in a villao^e of Castile : where I beheld the
 
 256 TALES OF THE 
 
 Seguidilla danced in all its exciting perfec- 
 tion. There happened to be a group of 
 Gipsies near the spot at the time ; and even 
 they were invited to partake of the hospitality 
 and the dance. The crisped hair, the dark 
 complexion, the fantastic and chequered 
 costumes of the children of the African 
 country of Zingitina, contributed to endue 
 the scene with an air of originality, which 
 captivated my attention. They were invited, 
 first, to commence, their own dance together : 
 and when in the midst of it, suddenly was 
 heard that sound so cherished by Castillian 
 ears, — the light and cadenced clatter of the 
 bewitching castanet. Vainly did the Gipsies 
 then strike their basque drum "with redoubled 
 violence, and bound still more furiously on 
 the velvet sward : — they were constrained 
 to cease, — for the measure of the Seguidilla 
 overcame the guests, and the national dance 
 carried off the laurel. All gave way to the 
 lovely bride, and no less lovely dancer, who 
 now appeared. How proudly she advanced
 
 CAilP A>'D CABI>'ET. 257 
 
 with her scarlet resilla, and her Ijasquina of 
 black velvet, all garnished with Cordova lace, 
 a present she received fron the hands of the 
 bridegroom. 
 
 " How beautiful is Margueritta," exclaimed 
 many voices. 
 
 •■ Happy Carlos !" muiTQured others. 
 
 The young bride, saluted the assembled 
 guests with a smile, that permitted her 
 to show the double row of pearls which 
 adorned her vermillion mouth : and she tra- 
 versed the circuit with a noble and agile step, 
 balancing herself with a species of pride and 
 pleasure on her beautiful hips. Coquette that 
 she was ! She well knew what she did. in 
 thus moving to the sound of the guitar and 
 the castanets, ere begnining the dance. She 
 first wished to gain every vote of the as- 
 sembly. 
 
 What a thrill was felt at her approach ! 
 What enthusiasm before the enchantress ! 
 One must have been of marble, like the 
 Saints in the village church, to contemplate
 
 258 TALES OF THE 
 
 without emotioii, that figure, supple as a 
 reed of the Douro, and that ankle so slight, 
 seen beneath the short scarlet dress, and the 
 little high-instepped foot, imprisoned in a 
 black slipper broidered with silver. 
 
 Happy Carlos ! but where was he 1 he 
 was in the house changing his cord-sandals 
 for the light shoes with scarlet rosettes ; but 
 soon he appeared. His little casaco and 
 dark-brown trows, displayed to full advan- 
 tage his elegant form. What power of 
 ankle ! Placing himself beside his lovely 
 Margueritta, he immediately struck the Cas- 
 tanet. At that seducing sound, the young 
 bride sprang like an Ibex of the Sierra 
 d'Oca, the guitar aud the hautboy, preluding 
 to the air of the fandango. The cherished 
 dance began. 
 
 What dignity in the commencement ! it 
 was the Spanish character beheld in faces 
 and measures. At first, noble and grave ; 
 then, by degrees, from the powerful seduc- 
 tion of the passion of the senses and har-
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 259 
 
 monious strains, borne to delirium. Carlos, 
 with a magnificent air, advanced gi^avely, 
 holding by the hand, his lovely bride, and 
 by a thousand varied steps, executed toge- 
 ther, excited admiration, by the suppleness 
 of their limbs, and the gracefulness of their 
 every movement. Soon the charm aug- 
 mented — the dancers drew closer to each 
 other, their steps growing animated, with the 
 music that increased in quickness. In a 
 gentle embrace, the bridegroom, lifted from 
 the ground the lovely bride, who, bending 
 gracefully, made her turn rapidly on his 
 nervous hand, while the spectators withheld 
 their breath from emotion. But the young 
 bride, by that feigned reserve, when coquetry 
 comes to the aid of yielding modesty, sud- 
 denly and rapidly escaped from the arms of 
 her lover, who as rapidly followed her. He 
 soon reached her, when the cunning bride, 
 bending one knee on the sward, seemed to 
 implore, or rather defy, the handsome Carlos, 
 who fluttered around her, striking his casta-
 
 260 TALES OF THE 
 
 nets. How she followed him with her eyes ! 
 yet, in her look, half fascinated, was read 
 her defeat. Happy Carlos ! IMargueritta 
 could no longer escape thee ! Heaven ! 
 what a universal thrill ! On my soul, ye 
 would have believed the assembly personified 
 in the figure of Carlos ! At the sight of 
 that group in such graceful action, to the 
 favourite sounds of the enchanting fandango, 
 every one felt agitated and seemed longing 
 to mingle in the voluptuous dance. At 
 length the enthusiasm was extreme, the se- 
 duction completed, when the indefatigable 
 Carlos, triumphing over his beautiful and 
 seemingly capricious partner, pressed her 
 languishing bosom, and gathered on her lips 
 the long desired kiss. 
 
 A thousand bravos, from the applauding 
 guests, and a clapping of hands, echoed afar, 
 in token of their unbounded satisfaction, 
 while bouquets of flowers were thrown 
 towards the happy Carlos and his bride. 
 
 So deep is the impression left of this pic-
 
 CAJIP AND CABINET. 261 
 
 turesque and beautiful scene in my mind, 
 that I never afterwards beheld a Spanish 
 dance, or even heard the music of one, but 
 I recalled to my recollection the beautiful 
 Margueritta, the handsome Carlos, and the 
 Seguidilla, in the village of Castile.
 
 262 TALES OF THE 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Captain PiICHard, an officer of cavalry in 
 the service of Belgium, being next in 
 rotation, addressed the assembled members. 
 " Shortly after the restoration of Louis 
 the Eighteenth to the throne of France, I 
 happened to be at Brussels when the cele- 
 brated French painter, David, arrived in 
 that capital, upon being banished for his
 
 CAMP A^D CABINET. 263 
 
 republican principles. It was not very long 
 after, that Talma, the no less celebrated 
 tragedian, also arrived, being engaged to 
 plav a certain number of nights at the great 
 theatre of that place. The anecdotes of 
 these illustrious men, of whom I am about 
 attempting to give a relation, refer to the 
 two last days of Talma's sojournment at the 
 Belgium capital. 
 
 DAVID AXD TALMA. 
 
 The whole of the population of the good 
 city of Brussels, was in commotion. Talma, 
 the great French tragedian, was to close his 
 dramatic career there, in the tragedy of 
 Leonidas. 
 
 The doors of the theatre were besieged 
 immediately after day-light ; the train of the 
 eager spectators prolonged itself to the ex- 
 tremity of the Place de la ^lonnaie ; it was 
 evident that the theatre could not contain 
 such a crowd, who came to it, like to 
 the gates of the mansion of the happy,
 
 264 TALES OF THE 
 
 where more demand entrance than can be 
 admitted. 
 
 The hero of this species of ovation, he 
 that thus agitated these good beer topers of 
 ancient Brabant, but little enthusiastic in 
 their nature, was standing at a window of 
 the Hotel of the Croix Blanche, prosaicly 
 occupied in shaving himself, regarding, with 
 indifference, the crowd, of which he himself 
 was the centre of attraction, as if he had 
 been habituated to these kinds of triumphs, 
 accepting them as a monarch does, who is 
 never intoxicated at popular demonstrations 
 of eagerness in his favor. 
 
 Talma was talking familiarly with an old 
 friend, an inhabitant of the city, a great 
 amateur of tragedy, who had himself trod 
 the boards in his time, but unsuccessfully ; 
 thanks however to Talma, he obtained 
 through the latter, who had been all power- 
 ful under the Empire, in exchange for the 
 buskin, which fitted so badly, for a moderate 
 employmemt in the direct taxes, which, al-
 
 CAMP AND CABIKET 265 
 
 though not a lucrative situation, he was, at 
 all events, sheltered from hisses. The fall 
 of the imperial Colossus, had not displeased 
 the protege of the great artist : governments 
 change, empires fall, but taxes, direct or not, 
 are immoveable. 
 
 '' Ah well ! he will not come," exclaimed 
 the tragedian, in a tone of humour, as if his 
 self love was affected. •' He has become an 
 old fool, a misanthope. I swear to you 
 notmthstanding, my dear Lesec, that I chose 
 Leonidas expressly for liim, wishing to do 
 him a pleasure, and tickle a little, his old 
 republican ideas. It is a tragedy the most 
 tiresome, and the most declamatory, that we 
 have given, after Germanicus : but I pro- 
 duced an effect, with some roaring and 
 patriotic verses ; above all, in the provinces ; 
 and this good David would believe, that he 
 saw his picture represented on the stage. But 
 he will not come ; he refused you, I am 
 sure. Age, exile, remembrances of the past, 
 all these horribly mutilate us : lie is no 
 longer our David of the consulate." 
 
 VOL I. 2sr
 
 266 TALES OF THE 
 
 •' I went to him/^ replied the receiver of 
 taxes ; " he received me as Hermione re- 
 ceived Orestes in the fourth act of Androma- 
 ciis. It was quaintly polite. " I never go 
 ta a Theatre," he sharply exclaimed ; " tell 
 my friend Talma that I thank him for his 
 kind intentions, but I go to bed always at nine 
 o'clock. He will do me a pleasure if he will 
 come to see me before he departs, to drink 
 some good faro and smoke a pipe with me." 
 
 " He is absolutely and totally become a 
 Fleming," said Talma, with an ironic smile. 
 " Poor genius ! behold how this comes of 
 smoking tobacco, and no more thinking of 
 the arts. Persecution does more ill than the 
 guillotine, my dear friend," added the trage- 
 dian in a bitter tone ; " it has made, and 
 will still continue to make living deaths, and 
 has deprived us, perhaps, of twenty chef 
 d'ceiivres. I might pardon to see the restora- 
 tion surround itself by nullities : but it 
 ought never to exile our talents." Talma 
 shaved himiielf like a simple individual : his
 
 CA.MP a:^d cabinet. 267 
 
 friend regarded him with silent admiration, 
 as if it appeared extraordinary, that the 
 representer of so many heroes and demi-gods 
 should deign to shave himself And then 
 the immense crowd at the Place de Monnaie 
 promised to Leonidas an ample harvest of 
 pistoles and crowns. 
 
 " Do you know, my dear Lesec,'' continued 
 the tragedian, sponging his chin with cold 
 water, and winking his eye, as if going to 
 utter something satirical ; " Do you know 
 that we ferocious republicans are sometimes 
 ^too severe with the aristocracy of these old 
 gentlemen. I mil bet you ten napoleons, 
 that David would have come to the theatre 
 if I had given him an invitation personally. 
 If I had but dreamt of it, — but time is want- 
 ing : I am doing here the part of a manager 
 and galley-slave. The rehearsals kill me : let 
 them then this once go over one without me. 
 I have about three quarters of an hour to 
 myself : I will go and attack this old Roman 
 in his fort. Will you accompany me V 
 x\ 3
 
 268 TALES OF THE 
 
 " Most willingly," replied Lesec, but 
 shaking his head like a man who makes a 
 concession, and who judges before hand, that 
 the enterj^rise proposed, would have no 
 success. 
 
 The tragedian hastily put on his riding 
 coat, issued forth from his dwelling, offering 
 his arm familiarly to his friend the receiver 
 of taxes, who, quite proud of such company, 
 liberally received his part of the regards of 
 curiosity and admiration that were thrown 
 on the two promenaders in their way. In 
 gaining the Rue Pierre Plat to reach that 
 of the Fourche, they at length got rid of the 
 crowd of gazers. 
 
 " We are going to be exposed to a storm, 
 my illustrious," observed Lesec, " prepare 
 yourself therefore ; as for myself, I will leave 
 you together, and will not mix in the 
 fray." 
 
 " He is then, altogether a wolf 1" replied 
 the actor doubling his pace. " Poor exile ! 
 poor genius ! I pity thee."
 
 CAMP,AXD CABIXET. 269 
 
 The new Louvre of the celebrated artist 
 was soon reached. A female servant, at 
 least sixty, opened, with an effort, the heavy 
 street door, not without first having exam- 
 ined through a small iron barred opening, if 
 she should receive the visiters. They were 
 then ushered into a badly lighted saloon, 
 wherein the furniture and the ornaments, by 
 a singular anomaly, were two centuries dis- 
 tant from each other. The master of the 
 French school, the illustrious exile, soon 
 entered into the hall in a robe de chambre, 
 from an adjoining room, and advanced to 
 meet his visiters with a rapid and almost 
 majestic step, although his body, somewhat 
 affected by age, was a little bent. 
 
 To the great surprise of Talma, who ex- 
 pected a cold reception, David smiled, and 
 threw on a fauteuil a large pipe which he 
 held, in order to press cordially both the 
 hands of his friend. 
 
 " Sacreblue ! you are most welcome, my 
 old comrade," he cried bluntly, " you could
 
 270 TALES OF THE 
 
 not have arrived in a time more a propos ; 
 I am in such a state of joy, that I have not 
 experienced for a long time past : and your 
 presence augments it still more." 
 
 The old painter rubbed his hands together, 
 which for him was always a sign of un- 
 bounded pleasure. 
 
 Talma regTirded Lesec, as if he would say, 
 "He is not however the devil that you 
 made so black." The honest tax receiver 
 replied in pantomime : his wandering arms 
 and his extended eyes, most significantly 
 meant, " I am lost in amazement ! I compre- 
 hend nothing : it appears the barometer has 
 changed ; that which however is positive, 
 is, that I was received, when I called alone, 
 like a dog in a game of nine-pins. You will 
 say, that between a modest accoutant of the 
 Belgic government and the French Roscius, 
 there is some difference." 
 
 " Sarpeblieu ! you must promise me to 
 come and dine with me to-morrow," con- 
 tinued the painter, accompanying his frank
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 271 
 
 invitation with a smile ; and a smile on the 
 austere and grave visage of David, resembled 
 a grimace, and so much the more, from his 
 having a wen in his mouth, which when 
 animated in his speech, embarrassed his 
 pronunciation. 
 
 " I canot accept it, my good comrade,'' 
 replied Talma in a tone of regret ; " I play 
 this evening for the last time, and I depart 
 to-morrow for Paris." 
 
 " You depart to-morrow !" 
 
 " I must. ^lichelet and Damas have all 
 the weight and responsibility on their 
 shoulders ; the committee press my return. 
 Lemercier waits for no one but me, for us to 
 read a new piece — a kind of Richard the 
 Third.'' 
 
 " Gorhleu ! SarpehUeu ! I laugh at the 
 Committee ; you positively shall not go until 
 after to-morrow : a day will not make the 
 Theatre Frangais die of hunger. I expect 
 the arrival of my friend Girodet, and you 
 must dine with us. That will make me
 
 272 TALES OF THE 
 
 younger by twenty years ; and it will make 
 me think of our reunions at Koliker's, at the 
 gate of the Louvre." 
 
 The illustrious exile accompanied this 
 phrase with a second smile, stronger than 
 the first. Talma's was a forced grin ; for 
 in the smile of the former, there was some- 
 thing painful ; it bespoke the remembrance 
 of his exile. 
 
 " I will remain then — I will remain for 
 thee, my good David," returned the tragedian 
 with earnestness, " I will, for thee, neglect my 
 duty ; I will steal a day of leave for the sake 
 of my dear friend. But it is on condition that 
 you also make a little sacrifice for me : 
 which is, that you come this evening to see 
 me play Leonidas," 
 
 " Ah well ! — I consent," replied the 
 painter, whom, the expected anival of his 
 friend Girodet rendered so joyous and 
 affable. " Yes, I will go for Leonidas ; but 
 it will be the worse for thee, my companion, 
 if I sleep a little ; for that takes place 
 every time I put my nose in a theatre "
 
 CAMr AND CABINET. 273 
 
 *'The thunder of applauses that Talma will 
 be received with, will awaken you, ^lonsieur 
 David," said the courteous Lesec ; and this 
 clever apropos was valued by a smile, and 
 the same invitation to dinner for the morrow, 
 which the receiver accepted with pride, at 
 the risk of compromising himself, David's 
 abode being nearly opposite the dwelling of 
 the Prince of Orange. 
 
 " Decidedly, these are happy moments," 
 exclaimed Talma to Lesec, when they had 
 left the painter's house, '' it is, however, 
 to Girodet that we owe them." 
 
 " This visit gave him great pleasure 
 though," observed the tax receiver ; " the 
 poor old man leaped with joy and almost 
 wept like an infant." 
 
 " And he has no influence to obtain per- 
 mission to return to France !" said Talma 
 with a tragic sigh. 
 
 The same evening, between six and seven 
 o'clock, the old painter, Baron of the Empire, 
 dressed in black and decorated with his red 
 N 5
 
 274 TALES OF THE 
 
 ribLand, and almost timid and confused, 
 made his entrance into the great theatre of 
 Brussels, and seated himself in a box which 
 his friend Talma had reserved for him, in 
 company with the inseparable ]\Ionsieur 
 Lesec, more proud, more radiant, more curled, 
 and more adorned, than if he had been 
 named first clerk of the finances. In spite 
 of the modest David's care to preserve him- 
 self incognito, the news of his appearance 
 was bruited tlu'oughout the house. He 
 was quickly recognised ; all arose from their 
 seats, and bravos resounded and multiplied 
 from all parts. And we are assured, that a 
 noble prince, a descendant of the house of 
 Nassau, accompanied by his young sons, 
 was not amongst the last to applaud the 
 illustrious exile, who, much afi"ected and agi- 
 tated, Avas unable to restrain his tears, as he 
 saluted the assembly. 
 
 " Ah, well ! my friend," he exclaimed to 
 ]\Ionsieur Lesec, " they think still of me ! 
 They know then that I exist pretty near 
 Brussels.''
 
 CA^ir AND CABLXET. '1 i D 
 
 " The country of so many celebrated 
 painters," replied the courteous tax receiver, 
 " ought to offer up an ovation to a great 
 man that demands from them an asylum/" 
 
 " It is well, it is well," said David, wishing 
 to retain his good humour, and to whom 
 this compliment acted as a painful remem- 
 brance, not forgetting that he came to the 
 house only for Talma. 
 
 Leonidas, very soon appeared, and in his 
 turn engaged the whole attention, all the 
 regards, even to the respiration of the 
 numerous audience ; each word of the 
 generous Spartan made the theatre tremble 
 under the triple salvos of bravos. The 
 author of the Sabines, of Brutus, of the 
 Serment du jue de Paume, of the Tableau 
 de Sacre, remained calm, immoveable and 
 mute in the midst of these scenes of tumult, 
 and profound silence which continually 
 succeeded each other ; he heard not the 
 public applauses ; the tlieatre was absent 
 from his thouprhts ; he forgot, likewise, that
 
 276 TALES OF THE 
 
 he saw and heard his friend Talma ; he was 
 at Thermopylae, at the side of Leonidas 
 himself, and was ready to die with him and 
 his three hundred brave warriors. Never 
 had he felt so sensibly impressed ; far from 
 giving himself up to sleep, as he thought he 
 should have done, he was constantly ani^ 
 mated, and covered with perspiration, as if 
 he had taken an active part in the heroic 
 devotedness, which made the subject of the 
 drama. The curtain at length dropped, 
 and it was some minutes before the old 
 painter recovered himself, and descended 
 again on the earth. 
 
 " ]\Iy God ! what a beautiful thing it is 
 to have such talent as that !"' he exclaimed. 
 
 In going out of the hall, the crowd so 
 pressed on the footsteps of the painter, that 
 he doubled his pace to escape this last 
 triumph ; feeling intoxicated with happiness, 
 joy and remembrances. It was the finest 
 day of his exile ; and he smiled at the 
 thought, that this day must have a happy
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 277 
 
 morrow. At this moment, a young lady of 
 fine figure and address, elegantly attired, 
 advanced to him and held out her hand, 
 exclaiming — 
 
 " Permit the little niece of Franklin, to 
 bow to your glory." 
 
 The old man bent himself towards her, 
 and kissed the ofiered hand of the handsome 
 American, but he could not find the least 
 madrigal to address her, A gentleman in 
 his turn presented himself with an air al- 
 most supplicating, holding in his hand an 
 open portfolio and a pencil. 
 
 " Monsieur David," cried the young 
 Englishman, with a guttural accent strongly 
 pronounced, " will you have the goodness to 
 make one single mark, — a line on this 
 paper V 
 
 " A line !" replied the painter smiling 
 and not at first understanding very clearly 
 the desire of the amateur islander of 
 autographs. Oh ! yes, I will make two." 
 
 Taking the pencil, he traced two lines 
 which had not altogether the geometric per-
 
 278 TALES OF THE 
 
 fection desirable. The Englishman con- 
 founded him with thanks, and was soon lost 
 in the crowd. 
 
 A serene night, rocked in golden dreams, 
 succeeded that happy evening, and so de- 
 lightfully, that the poor banished one, 
 always so sad, and ordinarily taciturn, rose 
 the next morning, for the first time, at day 
 light, cheerful and almost lively ; recom- 
 mending his old housekeeper, who was 
 surprised to see him standing before her, to 
 have the breakfast ready, and to take care 
 that the dinner should be such as might be 
 worthy of such illustrious guests as would 
 partake of it." 
 
 " What ! sir, are you going out so early V 
 cried the good woman, upon remarking that 
 her master had his hat on his head, and his 
 cane in his hand. 
 
 " Yes, mother Rebecca," replied David 
 smiling, and gaining the outer door, •' I 
 permit myself to go out and to walk alone, 
 like a great boy."
 
 CAMP AXD CABINET. 279 
 
 " But do it iu full day : all the shops are 
 as yet shut." 
 
 " I am not going to seek purchases," 
 
 " But, where can you be going to at this 
 hour, I ask V^ 
 
 " Sacrehlue /" replied the painter, im- 
 patient at such interrogations, " can't you 
 divine, old fool, that I am going to meet my 
 friend Girodet, as far as the Flander's 
 gate r 
 
 " Ah, that's different : but are you quite 
 sure tliat he will arrive by that gate, and 
 that you will mark the exact hour V 
 
 " What care I, mordleu ! I shall embrace 
 him some minutes sooner, and when I walk 
 an hour in advance on the road, it will 
 amuse me, it will give me exercise : which 
 you know Doctor Franchomme recommended 
 to me. Allans, go you and walk also, and 
 do not burn your roast." 
 
 Saying these words, the old conventional 
 bounded over the tlireshold, beating the 
 pavement with the iron of his long cane, as
 
 280 TALES OF THE 
 
 if he was going to exercise some stroke of 
 authority, and laughing at the figure of his 
 old housekeeper, who was regarding him 
 from the door with an air of wonder. 
 
 The old painter walked on in a bold pace, 
 respiring the fresh air of the morning. He 
 felt himself young, gay, happy ; he was going 
 to meet one of his most cherished friends. 
 But his eagerness had gone in advance of 
 the time, for it would be nearly two hours 
 before the ordinary arrival of the diligence 
 It was not until he had walked for some 
 time, that he discovered himself at fault in 
 his calculation. He had reached the suburbs 
 of the Flander's gate ; but the faithful com- 
 panion of his study and of his exile, his 
 pipe, he had forgotten in his haste. He con- 
 tinued, however, his solitary walk, wrapt up 
 in pleasing thoughts, having nothing to en- 
 gage his attention in his rout than the 
 passing of some labourer's going to their 
 work ; and gardeners of the environs mth 
 their loaded beasts of vegetables, hastening
 
 CAMP A^'D CABINET. 
 
 2-81 
 
 to the market in the city. When we are 
 alone, we attend to everything ; a vase of 
 flowers at a window, a magpie in a cage, a 
 fly even, occupy us lor an instant. Our pro- 
 menader had the chance to be attracted in 
 his walk, by a man mounted on a ladder, 
 who was dabbling his brush with all the en- 
 thusiasm of Gros, on terminating his admi- 
 rable capola of Saint Genevieve. 
 
 The painter of Napoleon passed twice 
 before the dauber, and casting a furtive 
 glance on his work, admiring with what in- 
 trepidity this brave man plastered on the 
 ultramarine to make the sky of his land- 
 scape. Underneath the sign, almost finished, 
 was written in large characters, '' The break 
 of day ;" a precaution more particularly in- 
 dispensable, to indicate the meaning of the 
 author, than the inscription, " Beer of Flan- 
 ders and Holland," added to make known 
 the commerce of the proprietor of this chef 
 dceuvre. 
 
 '' Behold," exclaimed the French artist,
 
 282 TALES OF THE 
 
 " an honest Vander croiite, who understands 
 perspective as much as a cart-horse, and who, 
 I'll wager, believes himself possessed of 
 as much talent as Rubens. He brushes his 
 board as if he was blacking a pair of boots, 
 and he is happy !" 
 
 The third time that the promenader 
 walked past before the ladder, the Flemish 
 artist was not painting ; he was forming 
 and mixing up a new coat of indigo that 
 was to cover the first one. This chafed the 
 French artist. 
 
 " It is too blue !" exclaimed the latter, 
 continuing his walk without looking at the 
 defaulter. 
 
 " Hein ! what do you say T said the sign 
 painter. 
 
 But the critic was too far off. 
 
 Twice again did David pass and repass 
 the " Break of Day," and twice did he repeat 
 the same exclamation, ''It is too blue, 
 corhleu !" 
 
 The mastic bruiser turned round, and
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 
 
 283 
 
 shrugged up his shoulders, askiug himself 
 without doubt, what made the gentleman so 
 engaged with him, for he did not seem to be 
 an amateur, nor a connoiseur the most ac- 
 complished. 
 
 At the fourth time of passing, David again 
 repeated the eternal refrain, " it is too 
 
 blue r' 
 
 The colour now mounted into the visage 
 of the Brussels' Wouverman. 
 
 " Do you not see that I am painting a 
 sky T exclaimed the latter, in a tone of that 
 apparent moderation, which a man who be- 
 gins to be angry takes, who would disguise 
 his choler. 
 
 This time he had descended from the 
 ladder, and had stepped to the opposite side 
 of the road winking his left eye, and shading 
 his face with the palette to assure himself 
 the loetter of the effect of his work. He 
 seemed quite pleased mth it ; he was happy : 
 ])ut another exclamation from the prome- 
 nader at this moment coming at a time
 
 284 TALES OF THE 
 
 more importune than ever, troubled his 
 self-love. 
 
 "Parbleu ! I much doubted that you in- 
 tended to make a sky," replied the pitiless 
 critic, " but I am bound to tell you again 
 and again, that is too blue." 
 
 " Is it that you have sometimes seen a 
 sky without blue, ^Ir. amateur V 
 
 " I am not the least of an amateur ; I 
 merely told you in j)assing, and for your 
 management, there is too much blue, that's 
 all. Make of this what you like, and if 
 you believe you have not put on enough, 
 why put on more." 
 
 " What a strange fellow you are ! it kills 
 me to tell you, that it is a sky, a pure sky, 
 without clouds, which represents the break 
 of day," 
 
 " The greater reason, ventrehleu ! a sky 
 of charcoal ! you are joking, my friend, to 
 put blue — you must have lost your senses." 
 
 " By Saint Gudule ! this is too much," 
 eried the exasperated sign painter. " You
 
 CAilP AXD CABL\ET. 285 
 
 are nothing more than an old obstinate mule, 
 and ignorant of painting. I should like to 
 see jou make a sky without blue." 
 
 " I do not say that I am very great in 
 skies, but if I were to try, I would not put 
 blue." 
 
 *• Indeed ! how beautiful that would be.'"' 
 '' It would at least have the air of some- 
 thing.'' 
 
 " That is to say my picture has the air 
 of nothing." 
 
 " By my faith it is like to a bad um- 
 brella of an alherge to a scrip of painted 
 paper, to a plate of spinage, to anything that 
 you will." 
 
 " A plate of spinage ! an umbrella !" 
 cried the Brabant artist, in a rage. '•' I, a 
 scholar of Ruisdael, I, the son of a cousin 
 of Gerard Dow ! Have you the pretension 
 to know more than I do in my art ? — an art 
 that I have honorably pursued at Antwerp, 
 at Louvain, and at Leige ! A plate of 
 spinage indeed !'"
 
 286 TALES OF THE 
 
 The rage of the sign-painter augmented 
 to such a point, that he seized David by 
 the arm, and shook him with violence, 
 adding, — 
 
 " You shall well know, old dotard, that my 
 reputation is confirmed a long time since 1 
 that I have a red horse at ^lalines, a great 
 stag at .Namur, and a Charlemagne at Aix 
 la Chapelle, before which, all the world stops 
 to look and views them with admira- 
 tion." 
 
 " Massacre! thoupaltry maker of muffins!'' 
 replied David, snatching the palette from the 
 hands of the egotist, " You merit that I 
 should place thee in the midst of thy scurf ; 
 thy head as a study of an imbecile, with the 
 ears of an ass." 
 
 Filled with indignation, David had already 
 mounted the ladder, when he effaced with 
 the palm of his hand the chef dceuvre of his 
 fellow-painter, who remained rooted in his 
 place, immoveable and astounded. 
 
 " Stop ! stop ! — old fool ! old miserable !"
 
 CMIP AJS^D CABINET 287 
 
 at length he bellowed out, pale with rage and 
 terror. " A superb sign ! a picture of 
 thirty six francs ! I am lost ! I am ruined !" 
 
 And he shook the foot of the ladder to 
 make the barbarous sacrificer descend. But 
 the latter, was not to be frightened, neither 
 by the cries of his victim, nor the presence 
 of about fifty neighbours running to the spot 
 attracted by the noise. On continued the 
 pitiless David to obliterate the " Break of 
 Day," mingling heaven and earth together, 
 sun and trees, horses and men, at least those 
 that were meant to represent such ; then, 
 not less prompt to reconstruct what he had 
 destroyed, and employing the end of his 
 finger, or his brush, the new artist, in all his 
 glory, sketched in a few minutes, a sky of 
 grey, and an exquisite group of three beer 
 topers, ushering in the " Break of Day," Avith 
 their glasses in hand, and among whom 
 figured a caricature of the sign painter him- 
 self, recognizable by his heavy eye brows, 
 and a trufile-formed nose. 
 
 The spectators, irritated and tumultuous,
 
 288 TALES OF THE 
 
 and disposed to take part with their country- 
 man, rather than with a stranger, sur- 
 rounded the foot of the ladder ; but they 
 could not restrain a murmur of approbation, 
 when the chaos of colours commenced to un- 
 ravel itself a little. The Landlord of the 
 alherge, hearing the noise without, issued 
 forth, and joined the group of the curious. 
 He was the first to cry bravo, and he sup- 
 posed that the new artist, in all his glory, 
 was at least as clever as the first one. The 
 son of the little cousin of Gerard Dow, now 
 changed his contempt and rage, into calm- 
 ness and admiration. 
 
 " Oh !" he exclaimed, " you are of the 
 profession ; and I avow it, my brave man, 
 that you belong to the profession. Yes, yes, 
 he is a brother artist that wishes for a joke," 
 continued the sign painter, laughing and, 
 addressing some neighbours standing near 
 him : " he is a French or Dutch sign painter. 
 But I am frank, and acknowledge, that I 
 bow to him as my master." 
 
 The author of the oath of the Horatii,
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 289 
 
 the moment his fever had passed away, 
 descended from the ladder, amid the ap- 
 plauses of the spectators, when there 
 appeared a new comer among them, mounted 
 on a fine English horse, who believing that 
 he recognised the great artist on the sin- 
 gular pedestal where he was perched, pressed 
 his horse into the crowd at the risk 
 of treading over some Flemings on his way. 
 
 " That painting is for me," he loudly and 
 eagerly exclaimed in a jargon that appeared 
 rather fantastical to the assembly : " Til 
 take it. 111 purchase it. Til cover it with 
 sovereigns, rather than not have it." 
 
 " What !" said the Brabant painter. 
 
 " What do you mean to say 1" demanded 
 the landlord. 
 
 " I say tliat I will give for that sign what- 
 ever price you like," replied the mounted 
 stranger, quickly dismounting from his 
 horse, and whom David recognised as the 
 young Englishman who had solicited a stroke 
 of his pencil in his portfolio upon leaving 
 the theatre the night preceding. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 290 TALES OF THE 
 
 " This picture is not for sale, joung man/^ 
 said the sign painter with haughtiness all 
 patronising, and as if he had executed the 
 work himself. 
 
 " Xo," exclaimed the seller of beer, " for 
 it is mine, and I have paid a part of the price 
 in advance; in the mean time, there are 
 means of arranging the affair, and it is with 
 me that ]\lonsieur will have to do it." 
 
 " Xot at all, not at all," said the dauber, 
 pushing himself forward among the crowd, 
 " to me it belongs ; my brother artist wished 
 to do me a friendship by a stroke of his 
 brush, but the sign is my legal property, and 
 I am free to sell it to whom I like." 
 
 " This is thievery, swindling !" cried the 
 landlord ; my 'Break of Day ^ is my property, 
 it was painted on my walls, and I have the 
 sole right to dispose of it at my covenience." 
 
 " I will make thee appear before the judge^ 
 old rogue," exclaimed the one who didn't 
 paint the picture. 
 
 " I will accuse you of breach of confidence," 
 returned he who had paid a part in advance.
 
 CAAIP AXD CABINET. 291 
 
 During the dispute the crowd had con- 
 siderably augmented round the scene ol 
 contention, and became at length so compact, 
 that the passage through the large faubourg 
 of Flanders was entirely obstructed. 
 
 " Ventrehleu ! sarpehleu !" cried out sud- 
 denly with a thundering voice, a third dialo- 
 gist, who had not as yet taken a part, or 
 spoken a word, so much was he surprised and 
 opposed to the turn the affair had taken, 
 " It appears to me, that I have something to 
 do in this affair, and that I should be con- 
 sulted a little on the subject." 
 
 " It is but just, brother artist," said the 
 sign painter ; " and I wish not to continue 
 the dispute in the open street : therefore, 
 Master Martzen, we will enter your house, 
 and in drinking a pot of beer, we will arrange 
 the matter amicably." 
 
 David was glad to enter the Alberrje to 
 escape the crowd and curiosity which had 
 considerably increased. The dispute, how- 
 ever, instead of diminishing inside, became 
 more violent than when it was outside, the 
 3
 
 292 TALES OF THE 
 
 landlord and the sign painter constantly 
 upliolding each other's pretensions for pro- 
 prietorship of the litigated sign, while the 
 Englishman continued his offers, with a pro- 
 fusion altogether Brittanic, — of paying a 
 weight of gold. 
 
 " Eh Mort de Dieu ! I do not see why it 
 should be sold,'' said the true author of the 
 painting with impatience, amounting almost 
 to anger. 
 
 " Oh ! my dear Sir," said the landlord, 
 " you would not deprive, on such an occasion, 
 a poor man who has much difficulty to get 
 on in the world, and to make two ends meet. 
 Some funds will come conveniently and 
 opportunely at this moment, in order to re- 
 new a provision of London beer.'' 
 
 " Don't believe it, brother artist," cried the 
 sign painter, " it is a pinch-penny that cries 
 misery, but who has more money than either 
 you or I : — I am a father of a family, and 
 you will give me the preference, being an 
 artist. At all events, let us divide to- 
 gether the price of the picture ; this 
 proposition is but too just."
 
 CAMP AXD CABINET. 293 
 
 "Nonsense," replied Master Martzen sharp ~ 
 Ij ; then addressing David, " he is an uld 
 freebooter, sir, an eat -all, who has no money 
 to marry his daughter, because he put her 
 marriage portion into his belly.'' 
 
 "He lies through his heretical throat,'" 
 cried the brother artist of David : " for 
 Lubette is affianced to a young French 
 ebonist, a good worker, and who is to marry 
 her, poor as he is." 
 
 " A daughter to be married to a guod 
 French workman," briskly exclaimed the 
 stranger artist." Ah ! this changes the face 
 of things, Sarphleu ! I consent to cede the 
 three exquisite good men, as a dowry for 
 the young liousekeeper, and I shall leave it 
 to the liberality of my lord to fix the price 
 lie will give for this ' Break of Day.' " 
 
 " Well said, illustrious master," replied 
 the young Englishman, " you have judged 
 with equity ; the sage Solomon could not 
 have decided better. As to myself, I con- 
 sent willingly to the bargain. I offered a 
 hundred guineas for the sketch such as it is
 
 294 • TALES OF THE 
 
 I will give two hundred if the author con- 
 sents to write and sign his name below it 
 with these sole words, ' Pierre David/ " 
 
 The imperial Baron smiled his consent ; 
 but when his name was pronounced, he was 
 instantly recognised. 
 
 A cry of surprise and of joy followed the 
 discovery ; his revered and glorious name 
 was repeated from mouth to mouth with en- 
 thusiasm. 
 
 " What !" cried the amazed sign painter, 
 David ! you David the celebrated French 
 painter ! Oh ! my master, my illustrious^ 
 pardon me for having spoken to you with 
 my hat on my head, and treated you as a 
 colleague. I am nothing but a beggar, a 
 wretch. Tell me that you pardon me !" 
 
 Tears started into the eyes of the poor 
 sign painter on ending these words, and he 
 was about throwing himself on his knees 
 before David, which the latter prevented, by 
 taking him by the hand and shaking it with 
 a fraternity all republican. The Alhercje 
 was at this moment full of the curious and
 
 CAMP AXD CABIXET. 295 
 
 beer topers ; the whole of them rose with 
 a unanimous transport, under the repeated 
 cries of " Long live David !" after which, 
 every one disputed the glory of touching his 
 glass with theirs, to drink with him. David, 
 affected at this new and popular triumph, 
 could not refuse to take his part, by giving 
 them an iambic verse, on which the vivas 
 and the cries of joy redoubled. 
 
 To complete this scene, altogether a la 
 Teniers, the pretty Lubette, the daughter of 
 the painter in all his glory, made her ap- 
 pearance, attracted by the news whicli had 
 already flown throughout all the quarter of 
 the gate of Flanders, of the wonderful story 
 of a sign that had hastened her marriage, and 
 which settled on her a dowry of two hundred 
 louis. Pier benefactor having been pointed 
 out to her, she threw herself at his feet, 
 who immediately lifted her up and embraced 
 her, making a remark, that, after all, nothing 
 was more natural than that he should em- 
 brace the bride. 
 
 kl this moment of the embrace, three
 
 296 TALES OF THE 
 
 strangers, who bore the appearance of 
 rich citizens, entered with precipitation into 
 the besmoked alherge of the 'Break of Day;' 
 it was the tax receiver. Monsieur Lesec, 
 conducting in Talma and Girodet. This last 
 had arrived at Brussels, an hour before, 
 without finding his friend David at home ; 
 the tragedian and his friend had likewise 
 gone to the Rue de la Fourche, where not 
 finding their host, and having heard of his 
 disappearance since early morn, became 
 alarmed, fearing that some accident had oc- 
 curred to him. Leaving the house, the whole 
 three proceeded in search of him, during 
 which, being guided by public rumour, they 
 at length penetrated into the bush of the 
 ' Break of Day/ 
 
 " Ah ! Apollo be praised !" cried Talma, 
 on perceiving the great painter in the midst 
 of a large group of topers with their glasses 
 in hand, " there has nothing grievous hap- 
 pened to him." 
 
 " God pardon me !" added the tax re- 
 ceiver, " behold how the dear Baron em-
 
 CAMP AXD CABINET. 297 
 
 braces pretty girls ; he was not badly inspired 
 when he rose so early." 
 
 " Bravo ! bravo ! my old comrade,"' ex- 
 claimed the author of Attala, running with 
 open arms and embracing David ; " you 
 are going to change the style and the school ? 
 Bravo ! master, it is not bad to finish where 
 Rembrandt began ; but by my faith ! I 
 doubted until now, that you, also, made 
 Flemish pictures \" 
 
 0- 5
 
 298 TALES OF THE 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Dox Alpiionso Guzman, a noble of on e of 
 the most illustrious families of Spain, and a 
 veteran general in its service, being next in 
 succession, was called upon for his re- 
 lation. 
 
 " What I am going to narrate, is, like the 
 relation of mj friend Don Diego Lopez, an 
 episode in the life of one of my ancestors,
 
 CA^IP AND CABINET. 299 
 
 as it was in his, of one of his own ; the 
 incidents of which, also, like that of Don 
 Diego's, having occurred in the reign of that 
 terrible monarch, Philip the Second — 
 
 DON GUZMAX, PPJXCE OF CALATRAYA. 
 
 AX EPISODE OF SPAIN IX THE 16th CEXTURV. 
 
 The King, Philip the Second, was one day 
 playing at chess in the palace of the Escurial. 
 Ruy Lopez, a priest, and little known, hut 
 a most expert player at that game, frequently 
 served to participate it Avith his majesty, 
 who was passionately fond of it. The ex- 
 pert player was at this moment so occupied, 
 and by a particular favor, was allowed to 
 kneel on a brocaded cushion, while around 
 the sovereign, the nobles were standing with 
 a serious and discontented air. The morning 
 was most brilliant, and the perfumes of the 
 flowers and orange groves, for which Grenada 
 is so celebrated, were wafted by the breeze, 
 through the open casements, into the royal 
 and splendid hall, the sun darting its
 
 300 TALES OF THE 
 
 rays of fire on the glass of the huge case- 
 ments, while curtains of violet colour, tended 
 to soften the powerful heat and glare. This 
 vivifying light, seemed not to harmonize 
 with the sombre pre-occupation of the King, 
 on whose clouded brow might be traced 
 some deep thought that appeared to weigh 
 heavily on his mind. It was a brow dark 
 as the tempest that bursts from the summit 
 of the Alpuxares. From the chess-board, he 
 would cast frequent glances towards the 
 door of entrance : while the nobles, in deep 
 silence, and with serious aspect, were ex- 
 changing with each other expressive looks 
 and signs of intelligence ; such as would 
 have told an observer, that some subject of 
 greater importance than ordinary, occupied 
 the minds of the assembly. The game it- 
 self, attracted the attention of none of the 
 bystanders. The manner of Ruy Lopez was 
 hesitating, and reflecting between check- 
 mate and the deference due to his Catholic 
 Majesty, Philip the Second, lord of the land 
 of Spain, and its dependencies.
 
 CAMP AXD CABINET. 3Ul 
 
 The silence that reigned was complete, 
 saving, at intervals the sound of pieces, 
 when taken from their squares, being placed 
 in new positions. This silence was at length 
 broken in upon, by the sudden opening of 
 the door of entrance. A man of a coarse 
 and sinister appearance, presented himself 
 before the King, and stood as if waiting his 
 Majesty's orders to speak. The whole ex- 
 terior of this man was most repulsive, and 
 caused, at his entrance, a sudden and 
 general movement among the nobles, who 
 drew back from him with disdain and dis- 
 gust, as if a dangerous and ferocious animal 
 had come among them. Of a ponderous 
 and herculean figure, he was habited in a 
 doublet of black leather. On his counte- 
 nance, common and vulgar, not a single good 
 trait could be discovered ; on the contrary, 
 the most degrading tastes and passions were 
 fully developed. A large and deep scar, 
 which spread from his forehead, and lost it- 
 self in a thick and bushy l)eard, added to the 
 natural brutality of his physiognomy.
 
 302 TALES OF THE 
 
 Philip at length addressed him in a 
 voice trembling with rage, which caused the 
 new comer a galvanic start. This repulsive 
 being, who possessed no force but physical, 
 but that he possessed in all its might, was 
 Fernando Calavar, executioner of the high 
 decrees of Spain. 
 
 " Is he dead V demanded Philip in an im- 
 perious voice, as if breaking the silence to 
 give place to a glacial terror. 
 
 " No, Sire," replied Fernando Calivar, 
 humbly bowing. 
 
 Philip cast a fearful frown on the 
 speaker. 
 
 " This condemned Grandee of Spain, 
 claims his privileges, and I therefore could 
 not proceed against a noble of the highest 
 blood among the hidalgos, without an order 
 more precise from your Majesty." 
 
 On concluding these words, Calavar bowed 
 still more humbly. 
 
 A murmur of approbation ran throughout 
 the assembled nobles ; who had been listen- 
 ing with attention. The blood of Castile
 
 CAMP AXD CABINET. 303 
 
 boiled in their veins, and flushed their 
 visages. The manifestation was general. 
 The joung Alonzo d'Ossuna discovered his 
 indignation openly, by covering his head 
 with his cap of ceremony. His hardy ex- 
 ample was followed by the majority of the 
 nobles. Soon did their high and white 
 plumes wave gracefully on their now covered 
 heads, attesting the boldness of their 
 masters, who were determined to assume the 
 privileges of Grandees of Spain, in covering 
 themselves in the presence of their 
 Sovereign. 
 
 With a movement of rage, Philip struck 
 his clenched fist violently on the table, over- 
 throwing most of the pieces on the chess- 
 board. 
 
 " He is sentenced by our royal council," 
 he exclaimed with a voice of thunder, " and 
 condemned to death ! What, therefore, does 
 this traitor demand ?" 
 
 " Sire," replied the executioner, " he de- 
 mands to die by axe and block, and furtlier,
 
 304 TALES OF THE 
 
 to pass the three last hours of his life with 
 a priest." 
 
 " Ah !- — it is accorded," returned Philip, 
 with seeming satisfaction. " But has not 
 our confessor been already with him, as we 
 ordered T 
 
 " Yes, Sire, the holy man did go to 
 him, but the Duke would not receive Diaz 
 de Silva. He would not receive absolution 
 from any under the rank of a Bishop ; 
 such being the privilege of nobles condemned 
 to death for the crime of high treason." 
 
 " It IS our privilege !" exclaimed d'Ossuna 
 impetuously, "and we claim of the king 
 this privilege for our cousin." 
 
 This demand acted as a signal for the 
 rest. 
 
 " Our rights and the justice of the king 
 are inseparable," said in his turn Don Diego 
 de Tarraxas, Count of Valencia, an old man 
 of gigantic stature, holding in his hand 
 the baton of grand Constable of Spain, and 
 resting himself on his long blade of Toledo.
 
 CAMP AXD GABIXET, 305 
 
 '•'Our rights and oiu' privileges!" cried 
 all the nobles. 
 
 These words reverberated as if in echo, 
 and this boldness made Philip start on his 
 feet. 
 
 '' By the bones of Campeador ! — by the 
 soul of Saint lago!" he vociferously exclaimed, 
 "I swear neither to eat nor drink, until 
 the head of the traitor, Don Guzman, is 
 brought to me, and that I see it : such 
 shall be done as we have sworn. Don 
 Tarraxas has well said, that the justice of 
 the king confirms the rights of his subjects ! 
 — ^ly Lord Constable, where dwells the 
 Bishop most contiguous to us V 
 
 " Sire, I have a great deal more to do with 
 the camp than with the church," responded 
 tlie Constable bluntly. ," Your ]ilajesty's 
 Almoner, Don Silvas, is here present : you 
 had better ask him than me." 
 
 Don Silvas y .Mendez was seized with a 
 tremor as he humbly addressed the king. 
 
 " Sire, the Bishop of Segovia, attached to 
 your Majesty's household; died last week,
 
 306 TALES OF THE 
 
 and his successor is not jet nominated by 
 the council, and when so, will have to be 
 submitted to the Pope for his confirmation. 
 There is a meeting now assembling at Val- 
 ladolid of the princes of the Church : all the 
 Bishops are on their way thither. The Bishop 
 of Madrid yesterday left his palace for that 
 place." 
 
 At these words a smile of joy glanced from 
 the lips of d'Ossuna. This joy was natural, 
 for the young man was of the blood of the 
 Guzmans, and the condemned, his cousin, 
 was the most beloved of his friends. 
 
 The King perceiving his smile ; the air of 
 of the former changed to a new expression, 
 bearing a mixture of impatience and unsatis- 
 fied authority. 
 
 " We are a King," he exclaimed gravely, 
 and with a calmness that concealed the 
 storm ^vithin him. " Our royal person must 
 not be a mark for raillery. This sceptre 
 appears light, gentlemen, but the imprudent 
 who rail at it, shall be crushed by its power, 
 as if by a block of iron ! For the rest, our
 
 CAMP A^'D CABINET. 307 
 
 holy father the Pope is a little indebted to 
 us, and we fear not his disapprobation in 
 the march that we are going to follow. See- 
 ing that the King of Spain can create a 
 prince, he can as easily create a Bishop. 
 Rise therefore, Don Ruy Lopez, I make you 
 Bishop of Segovia ! Rise thee priest, I or- 
 dain thee ; take thy rank in the church ! — 
 
 The astonishment was complete. 
 
 Don Ruy Lopez rose mechanically, hesi- 
 tating, and lost in confusion. 
 
 " What does it please your .Alajesty," he at 
 length humbly demanded. 
 
 " Silence, my Lord Bishop !'' replied the 
 King. Obey, at the word of thy Sovereign. 
 The formalities of your installation shall be 
 accomplished another day ; our subjects will 
 fail not to acknowledge our will in this affair. 
 Bishop of Segovia speed thee with Furnando 
 Calavar to the condemned cell. Deliver the 
 soul from sin, and in three hours, leave the 
 body to the axe of the executioner. And 
 then, Calavar, we shall await you in this liall ; 
 where thou wilt bring the head of the traitor ;
 
 308 TALES OF THE 
 
 for Don Guzman, Prince of Calatrava, Duke 
 of Medina Sidonia, dies to day. So shall 
 our justice be executed !" 
 
 Philip now approached the new elected 
 Bishop. 
 
 " I give you my signet," he ex- 
 claimed, "so that the Duke might give 
 credence to your word.'' 
 
 Then turning, he addressed the nobles. 
 
 " Well, my Lords, dare you still doubt the 
 justice of your King V' 
 
 No one responded. The executioner left the 
 presence, followed by Ruy Lopez, and the King, 
 having resumed his seat, made a sign to one of 
 his favorites to play at chess with him. Don 
 Ramirez, Count of Biscay, advanced and 
 kneeled on the velvet cushion. 
 
 " With chess, my Lords," said the King 
 smiling, "and your company, I shall wait 
 agreeably. None of you are to stir from hence 
 until the return of Calavar. We might feel 
 the time hang too heavy on our hands should 
 we lose one of you." 
 
 After these ironical words, Philip com-
 
 CAMP AXD CABI>'ET. 309 
 
 menced a game with Don Ramirez, while 
 the nobles, overwhelmed with fatigue, stood 
 in groups around him, as they did before 
 the entrance of the executioner. 
 
 All resumed its former order and silence. 
 During the time that Calavar was conduct- 
 ing the new bishop to the condemned 
 chamber, the latter seemed immersed in 
 deep and bitter thought : so that he him- 
 self midit have been taken for a condemned 
 culprit. The worthy man was like a 
 person under the influence of one of those 
 plays of the imagination which believe in 
 fairy tales. Was he in a dream ? was he 
 awake ? he doubted which. In his heart, he 
 cursed the court and the King. lie was 
 then bishop of Segovia ! but how cruel was 
 the price that gave him that dignity. What 
 had he done to Don Guzman that he should 
 thus immolate him ? Don Guzman, the 
 first chess player in Spain ! Such were the 
 thoughts of Don Lopez, in passing over the 
 marble pavement that led to the state 
 prisons, and then he prayed to God that the
 
 310 TALES OF THE 
 
 earth might open and engulph him. His 
 prayer was sincere ; but he prayed in 
 vain ! 
 
 The Prince of Calatrava, lodged as a 
 prisoner in a narrow chamber, panelled with 
 oak, was promenading it with hurried and 
 unequal steps, announcing a mind filled with 
 intense anxiety. The cell was furnished 
 with a massive table and two heavy stools : 
 the floor, covered with rude and thick mats ; 
 all noise came to die there, silence reigned 
 paramount master. Fixed to the wall of 
 an embrasure of the arched window that 
 lighted it, appeared an immense crucifix. >Save 
 this image of resignation and mercy, nothing 
 ornamented the walls of this cold and 
 melancholy cell : it might be said vdth 
 truth, that it served as the hall of expecta- 
 tion to death : it was the anti-chamber of 
 the tomb. The window, of great height, 
 was heavily grated with iron bars. All 
 Spanish foresight and caution was reproduced 
 here. 
 
 At the moment when Ruy Lopez pre-
 
 CAMP A.\D CABI^'ET. 311 
 
 sentecl himself before the noble prisoner, the 
 sun threw its rays into the chamber of the 
 condemned ; this sun had something of a 
 bitter irony for him, who was never more 
 to see it. 
 
 The Duke saluted the new father of the 
 church with remarkable courtesy ; for some 
 moments they anxiously regarded each other, 
 and in these looks, were exchanged a 
 thousand words, ^vhich they alone could 
 comprehend. Ruy Lopez felt with agony 
 the paiufulness of his mission, and the Duke 
 divined it : both saw they possessed the 
 same thought, that tlirough one of the King's 
 favorites, an innocent life was falsely con- 
 demned. However grave were the proofs of 
 the crimes imputed to the Duke, there was 
 one above all, which consisted in a dispatch 
 written by him to the court of France, and 
 in wliich he unveiled the project of having 
 Philip assassinated. This alone was suf- 
 ficient to condemn him. Don Guzman, 
 strong in his innocence, had, from stubborn 
 pride, maintained a rigorous silence before
 
 312 TALES OF THE 
 
 his judges, and from the accusation not 
 having been repelled, the pain of death, in- 
 flicted on traitors, was pronounced against 
 him. During the whole trial, Don Guzman 
 never changed his colour ; his figure endued 
 the same determined front ; he faced the 
 tempest, he braved death ! The last hour 
 had no terrors for him, and with the utmost 
 sang froid he heard a harsh and pitiless 
 voice deliver the sentence that gave him 
 death. If his front is clouded, his walk 
 precipitate, and his aspiration broken, it is 
 caused bv the thoughts of his bride, the 
 beautiful Donna Estella, who, ignorant of his 
 condemnation, is awaiting him in the 
 crenalated towers of her castle, on the banks 
 of the Guadalquiver ! If he gives waj to 
 weakness at this fatal moment, it is because 
 love appears in a dream, and that his heart, 
 beating with violence, makes him forget all, 
 to think of her whom he so dearly cherishes. 
 Don Piuy Lopez did not enter unaccom- 
 panied ; Calavar was at his side, and he 
 announced to the Duke the King's reply to
 
 CA3IP AND CABINET. 313 
 
 his demands, and the decision of the 
 monarch thereon. Ruj Lopez confirmed the 
 account of the executioner, and the Duke, 
 full of fervour and of deference, bent his 
 knee before the new bishop, and demanded 
 his benediction. After which, turning 
 towards Calavar, and calmly teUing him to 
 withdraw, he added, " in three hours I am 
 with jou." Calavar obeyed. 
 
 The Duke and Don Ruy Lopez stood face 
 to face. The Bishop trembled ; the figure 
 of Don Guzman was calm and serene. Taking 
 the hand of the bishop, he pressed it. A 
 pause ensued ; at length the Duke ad- 
 dressed him. 
 
 " "We have encountered each other in 
 happier times," he exclaimed smiling. 
 
 " It is true," stammered Ruy Lopez, who 
 pale and trembling, resembled more a peni- 
 tent than a confessor. 
 
 " Much more happy," repeated the Duke, 
 his thoughts wandering to past recollections. 
 " You remember, when in presence of Philip 
 
 VOL. I. P
 
 314 TALES OF THE 
 
 and the Court, jou played your gi^and match 
 with Paoli Boy, the Sicilian, and that it 
 was on my arm that the King reclined 
 himself r 
 
 Affected by these remembrances, and the 
 melancholy tone in which the Duke recalled 
 them, and making an effort above himself 
 Don Ruy replied, 
 
 " These, my son, are useless regrets. Lose 
 not your time in vain words ; employ it in 
 making your peace with Heaven, seeing that 
 you are worthy it should hear you. Let us, 
 together, read the holy offices, hoping that 
 your soul will be purilied of its stains, and 
 that you prepare yourself for the supreme 
 change !" 
 
 " A change, indeed !" cried the Duke, 
 smiling at the exhortation. " Again, some 
 years, and it will no more appear so. Let 
 the words of Miguel Cervantes rather serve 
 you, my good father, for they are apropos 
 for you too pronounce, and for me to listen
 
 CA^IP AND CABINET. 315 
 
 to : " Life is a game of chess." I forget 
 the precise place where the passage is to be 
 found, but the signification is applicable to 
 all on the earth. Men play difi'erent parts. 
 There are, like at chess, kings, knights, sol- 
 diers, and fools, according to destiny, fortune, 
 and birth ; and when the game is finished, 
 death enters the scene, and equalises us 
 all in the tomb, the same as we shut up 
 the chess pieces in the box." 
 
 " I remember these words of Don Quixote," 
 replied Don Ruy, astonished at this singular 
 conversation, " and I remember also the re- 
 ply of Sancho, ' That however good might be 
 the comparison, it was not so new, for he 
 had already heard it before.' But may God 
 pass by this levity, my son !" 
 
 " I was, however, your favorite scholar, 
 and your antagonist also," said the 
 Duke, seeming not to hear Don Paiy 
 Lopez's last words. 
 
 " It is true 1" cried tlie Bishop ; " you 
 are a great master, and I not often had the 
 
 r 3
 
 316 TALES OF THE 
 
 honor of having a similar scholar. But place 
 yourself again on your knees, mj son." 
 
 Thej both knelt clown ; and, before the 
 cross, at the feet of the image of the Saviour 
 of the world, Don Guzman made his con- 
 fession to Ruj Lopez, which he received 
 weeping. AVhen the Duke had finished, that 
 is to saj, about two hours after, for the con- 
 fession was long and affecting, the Bishop 
 blessed the prisoner, and gave him abso- 
 lution. 
 
 Don Guzman rose calm and resigned. 
 There remained still another hour to wait. 
 
 " This delay is frightful !'' cried the Duke, 
 seeing the w^orld and I are separated, whj 
 am I left thus ? An eternity of sufferings 
 is in one of these minutes of expectation. 
 And the executioner comes not \" 
 
 The condemned paced his cell ; turning 
 his eyes frequently towards the door, as if 
 he would call Calavar and his assistants ; 
 and his firmness w^as thus put to the proof 
 before the punishment.
 
 CAMP AXD CABI>'ET. 31 7 
 
 Riij Lopez had accomplished his mission. 
 He must, however, pass this hour with the 
 prisoner, although all exhortation was ended ; 
 the soul was purified — the priest was again 
 a man. At the exclamation of Don Guzman, 
 and seeing the palor of his visage, Ruj 
 Lopez comprehended the nature of the agony 
 that so forcibly ravaged the mind of the 
 Duke, and he thought it necessary that the 
 hour which yet remained, might be killed 
 before the man. He sought, therefore, for 
 the means of accomplishing this object. 
 What could he propose to a man who was 
 so soon to die ? For the condemned, a flower 
 has no more its perfume, a woman no more 
 a smile. The worthy Bishop vainly searched. 
 Suddenly, however, a thought struck him. 
 
 " If a game of chess was not too pro- 
 fane '?" he exclaimed timidly. 
 
 " The idea is excellent," replied Don 
 Guzman, recalled again to earth by the sin- 
 gularity of the proposition. " Wise Bishop, 
 the thought is most luminous. A game of 
 ehess then as an adieu."
 
 318 TALES OF THE 
 
 " You consent V 
 
 " But the chessmen, friend V 
 
 " Have I not always possession of the 
 instruments of war V said Ruy Lopez, 
 smiling. 
 
 Advancing the two stools near the table, 
 he drew forth from his doublet a diminutive 
 chess-board, and a proportionably diminutive 
 box with chess-men, which he placed on 
 the table. 
 
 '' Our Lady pardon me.'^ he continued, 
 " I amuse myself sometimes in examin- 
 ing a combination of checks in the confes- 
 sional." 
 
 " Many problems are there resolved, with- 
 out doubt," replied the Duke, laughing. 
 
 The pieces having been arranged, the 
 players commenced, and these two lords, 
 one temporal, the other spiritual, w^re 
 soon deeply engaged in interesting combi- 
 nations. 
 
 It was a curious scene to behold, and 
 one worthy of the masterly palette of a 
 Rembrandt, or a Salvator Rosa, this fantas-
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 319 
 
 tical game engaged in between the priest 
 and the condemned. The bright day shewed 
 forth the noble figure and pale visage of 
 Don Guzman, and the rays of the sun, which 
 entered the arched window, reflected them- 
 selves upon the benevolent countenance of 
 Ruy Lopez, who essayed to conceal the tears 
 that pity forced to fall down it. 
 
 The feelings of the two players were 
 widely different. Ruy Lopez played with 
 an absence of mind that was not habitual 
 to him, and which reduced him inferior to 
 his ordinary force in the game. Don Guz- 
 man, on the contrary, by one of those 
 fantasies of human nature, and stimulated 
 by the excitement, played with extraordi- 
 nary address. At this moment, the blood 
 of Castile committed not one fault, for never 
 had the Duke given a greater proof of his 
 knowledge of the game. The noble peer 
 appeared, in effect, detached from the earth, 
 and freed from all discouraging thoughts ; 
 he seemed to be already passed to that
 
 320 TALES OF THE 
 
 state of spiritual essence, which the execu- 
 tioner is so soon to reduce him to. 
 
 Don Guzman had attacked his adversary 
 with an impetuosity, which from the first 
 had assured him ahnost a certain victory. 
 Ruy Lopez, forgetting, in spite of himself, 
 his melancholy pre-occupations, defended 
 himself valiantly, but all knowledge was 
 useless. The game had become more and 
 more complex. The Bishop sought to elude 
 an inevitable check mate ; Don Guzman 
 struggled with that frenzy that gives the 
 assurance of approaching success. The world 
 was forgotten ; the universe was the chess- 
 board ; he had more than one life of anxiety 
 in each moment. Happy illusion ! if God 
 had permitted it to last. 
 
 But no, the minutes have overcome dis- 
 tances that separated quarters ; the quarters, 
 the half hours, and the fatal hour is ar- 
 rived ! 
 
 A distant noise is heard, it approaches, it 
 increases ; the door has turned on its triple
 
 CAMP AND CABINET. 321 
 
 iron hinges, and the Duke is wrested from 
 his game and his dream, by the cold and 
 terrible reality that presents itself to him, 
 beneath the features of the executioner. 
 
 The satellites of Calavar, bearing torches 
 and drawn swords, advanced with a block 
 covered with black cloth, the destination of 
 which was sufficiently announced by an axe 
 that was placed over it. Their torches were 
 fixed in the niches prepared for them, while 
 one of the satellites bespread the ground 
 with saw-dust of cedar. All was executed 
 in a moment ; and they waited for nothing 
 but the condemned. Ruy Lopez rose trem- 
 bling at the sight of Calavar ; but the Duke 
 stirred not, resting with his eyes fixed on 
 the chessboard, without paying any atten- 
 tion to the men or the block. 
 
 " It is your turn to play," he quietly ex- 
 claimed to the Bishop. 
 
 Calavar, seeing this immobility, placed his 
 hand on the shoulder of the Duke, then pro- 
 nounced but one word, one sole word : but
 
 322 TALES OF THE 
 
 in that word, was contained the loss of 
 youth, the obliteration of everything — of 
 life ! 
 
 " Come !" 
 
 The prisoner started up as if he had 
 placed his foot on a viper. 
 
 " Leave me until I have gained the game/' 
 he exclaimed imperiously. 
 
 " Impossible !" replied the executioner. 
 
 " The three hours are then run out." 
 
 " The last stroke has sounded. We must 
 obey the King." 
 
 The assistants, who were leaning on their 
 swords, advanced at these words. 
 
 The Duke had placed himself against the 
 wall, close to the window. The table was 
 therefore between him and Calavar. 
 
 " For me is now this game," he cried with 
 a still more imperious voice, " and for you 
 is my head afterwards ! Until I have 
 finished, I will not stir. It requires half 
 an hour ; wait therefore." 
 
 " Duke," replied Calavar, " I respect you ;
 
 CAilP AXD CABINET. 323 
 
 but I cannot accord you it. It would cost 
 me my life." 
 
 Don Guzman, taking off his fingers two 
 diamond rings, threw them coldly at the 
 feet of the executioner. 
 
 " I shall finish the game," he said care- 
 lessly. 
 
 The jewels rolled and remained intact 
 among the saw-dust. Calavar and his as- 
 sistants looked on with astonishment. 
 
 " My orders are precise," cried the former 
 with impetuosity. " You must pardon me, 
 noble Duke, if I employ force ; for the law 
 of the King and the law of Spain, must be 
 accomplished. Quit your place, then, and 
 do not lose your last moments in a useless 
 struggle. Speak to the Duke, my Lord 
 Bishop, and tell him to submit himself to 
 his destiny." 
 
 The response of Ruy Lopez was prompt 
 and decisive. 
 
 Seizing the axe that was lying on the 
 block, and whirling it above his head, he 
 exclaimed —
 
 324 TALES OF THE 
 
 " By hell ! the Duke shall finish the 
 game." 
 
 Frighteued by the gesture that accom- 
 panied these words, Calavar recoiled, and 
 almost tumbled over his assistants. Swords 
 were uplifted, and the sanguinary band pre- 
 pared for combat. But Ruy Lopez, who 
 appeared as if changed into a Hercules, 
 lifted his heavy, oaken stool from the ground, 
 and threw it some paces between him and 
 the men. 
 
 " The first of you who passes that limit, 
 fixed by the church, dies," he exclaimed in 
 a stentorian voice, pointing to the stool. 
 *' Courage, noble Duke ! to work ! There 
 are only four of these miscreants. The last 
 vow of your Grace shall be accomplished, if 
 I lose my life for it. And you, damned 
 ones ! evil be to him who dares place his 
 hand on a bishop of the church of Christ ! 
 Who would be cursed for ever, and cut off 
 from the flock of the faithful, in this world, 
 for to be a liowling demon in the other !
 
 CA^IP AXD CABINET. 325 
 
 Lower then your swords, aud respect the 
 anointed of the Lord !" 
 
 Ruj Lopez continued to launch forth, in 
 a mingled jargon of Spanish and Latin, one 
 of those formulas of excommunication, of 
 damnation and maledictions, which at that 
 epoch, created such terror in the minds of 
 the people. 
 
 The Bishop's address had its intended 
 effect. The assistants stood immoveable, 
 and Calavar considered, that to kill a Bishop 
 without an order from the Kinor, would be 
 to incur great misfortunes in this world, and 
 damnation in the other. 
 
 " I will go to the King," he said. 
 " Go to the devil !" replied the Bishop, 
 still standing in a posture of defence, with 
 the axe in his hand. 
 
 Calavar was puzzled what to do. To 
 announce this delay to Philip, wlio waited 
 for the head of the traitor, was to expose 
 himself to certain danger. To attack the 
 Bishop and the prLsouer, the combat would
 
 326 TALES OF THE 
 
 be hazardous ; for Ruy Lopez was vigorous, 
 and the Duke laughed at the idea : his 
 position was critical. At length he de- 
 termined to pursue the wisest course. 
 
 " Will you really promise, my Lord Duke, 
 to finish the game in half an hour V he 
 demanded. 
 
 " I promise you." 
 
 " Then continue the game," returned 
 Calavar, 
 
 The truce being thus concluded, the 
 players resumed their places at the chess- 
 board. 
 
 Calavar, who also played at chess, in- 
 voluntarily stood watching the proceedings 
 of the game : and his satellites formed a 
 barrier, which seemed to say to the Duke, 
 " with the game, you will also end." 
 
 Don Guzman looked around him for a 
 moment, and his sang froid never abandoned 
 him. 
 
 '• I never before played in such nobk 
 company," he exclaimed ; " be you witness,
 
 CAMP AXD CABINET. 327 
 
 villains, that once in my life, at least, I have 
 won a game from Don Lopez, to the end, 
 that jou might attest it after my death." 
 
 Saying these words he returned to the 
 game, giving vent to a laugh, cold as a ray 
 of the sun that, for a moment only, shines 
 on the summit of the iced covered Alps. 
 
 As for the Bishop, he continued holding 
 the axe hrmly clenched in his right hand, 
 accompanied with this reflection. 
 
 " If I was sure," he murmured, " that 
 the Duke and I could free ourselves from 
 this den of tigers, I would break their heads 
 in four quarters !" 
 
 If three hours had been lengthened in 
 the tower wliere the prisoner was confined, 
 they had not passed more rapidly at the 
 court of King Philip the Second. The 
 monarch had continued playing with Don 
 Ramirez de Biscaye, his favorite ; and the 
 nobles, forced by etiquette to remain near 
 the former, could not retire under any pre- 
 text, although, bending as tliey were, under
 
 328 TALES OF THE 
 
 the fatigue, augmented as it was bj the 
 weight of their armour. 
 
 Don Tarraxas, his eyes half shut, appeared 
 immoveable ; he might have been taken for 
 one of those statues covered with iron, that 
 ornament gothic halls. The young d'Ossuna, 
 sinking under lassitude and grief, stood 
 leaning against a marble column. The King, 
 with long strides, was pacing the hall, at- 
 tentively listening if he could hear any 
 approaching or distant footsteps. Accord- 
 ing to the superstitious custom of this epoch, 
 the King, from time to time, would kneel at 
 the foot of the Virgin, the figure of which, 
 was placed on a pedestal of porphyry, taken 
 from the ruins of the Alhambra, and pray 
 to the Madonna to pardon him for the work 
 of blood about to be accomplished : after 
 which, he would examine an hour glass. All 
 was silent, as the palace of Azrael, the 
 angel of death, for no one, whatever might 
 be his rank, dared to speak before the 
 sovereign, without his order. The last
 
 auir AJN'i) CABi>'ET. 329 
 
 moment the, last grain of sand which marked 
 the fatal hour, had passed, the King uttered 
 a crj of joj, exclaiming : 
 
 " The traitor is dead !" 
 
 A whispering murmur ran throughout the 
 assembly. 
 
 " The time is expired," cried Philip, " and 
 A\ith him, Count de Biscaje, your enemy is 
 fallen, like the leaves of the olive under the 
 force of the wind." 
 
 " My enemy, Sire !" exclaimed Ramirez 
 affecting surprise. 
 
 " Yes, Count," replied Philip, maliciously ; 
 " why do you repeat our words ? Are you 
 not the rival of Don Guzman, in the affections 
 of Donna Estella, and can two rivals be 
 friends ? In truth, we have not spoken of 
 it to the council, but our royal word is 
 given : Donna Estella shall be yours. You 
 will possess the beauty, and the riches of 
 this young girl. You see therefore. Count, 
 if they speak of the ingi^atitude of Sovereigns, 
 you could say, that we have not forgotten the
 
 330 TALES OF THE 
 
 true friend of a King, and of Spain, who 
 discovered the conspiracy and correspondence 
 of Don Guzman with France." 
 
 Don Ramirez de Biscaye listened to the 
 King with inquietude. He never lifted his 
 ejes ; he wished to appear as if these public 
 eulogiums gave him pain. 
 
 " Sire," he responded, " it was with pro- 
 found repugnance that I fulfilled a painful 
 duty.—" 
 
 He could say no more from agitation. 
 
 Don Tarraxas lightly coughed, and d'Ossu- 
 na struck his iron glove on the handle of his 
 sword, mutturing to himself, — 
 
 " Rather than Donna Estella marries that 
 man, I will sleep in the grave, where sleeps 
 at present, my noble cousin. To-morrow 
 shall be the hour of vengeance !" 
 
 " Your zeal" continued the King, " and 
 your devotedness, shall be recompensed. The 
 saviour of our throne, or rather of our dynasty, 
 merits an extraordinary recompense. This 
 morning, we ordained with our principal 
 chancellor, to register letters patent, which
 
 CA3IP AND CABINET. 331 
 
 gives you the rank of Duke, and Governor of 
 Valencia : these letters are ready for my 
 signature/' 
 
 Don Ramirez turned pale ; and trembled 
 with agitation. Precipitately drawing from 
 his breast a roll of parchment, and kneeling, 
 he presented it to the King, who on receiving 
 it exclaimed, — 
 
 " To sign these letters patent, shall be the 
 first act this day. The executioner has 
 already punished treason ; it is time, then, 
 that the King should reward fidelity."' 
 
 Philip unrolled the parchment. His visage 
 suddenly became over-spread with an emo- 
 tion of horror and indignation, while he cried 
 out with a convulsive voice : 
 
 " Mother of Jesus ! What do I see V 
 
 The game was finished : Don Guzman had 
 gained it ; his triumph was complete. 
 
 " I am always the devoted servant of my 
 King," he exclaimed to Calavar, rising from 
 his seat.
 
 332 TALES OF THE 
 
 The executioner understood him, and pre- 
 pared ; during which, Don Guzman advanced 
 towards the crucifix, exclaiming in a firm 
 voice, 
 
 " Mj God ! may this act of injustice and 
 temerity fall on him that caused it ; but 
 may my blood not fall again in showers of 
 fire on my King !" 
 
 Ruy Lopez prostrated himself in a corner, 
 and, concealing his figure under his mantle, he 
 began to recite the prayer of the last agony. 
 
 Calavar placed his hand on the shoulder of 
 the Duke to take away the collar from his 
 neck. Don Guzman drew back. 
 
 " There is nothing here that belongs to 
 you except this iron ; touch not Don Guz- 
 man,^^ cried the condemned, pulling ofi* his 
 collar himself, and then kneeling, he placed 
 his head upon the block. 
 
 " Strike !" he exclaimed, " I am waiting." 
 
 The executioner was about raising the axe, 
 when suddenly, loud and vociferous cries, 
 accompanied with sounds of approaching and
 
 CA^IP AND CABINET. 333 
 
 tumultuous footsteps, arrested his hand. lu 
 another moment the door was burst open, 
 when in rushed a crowd of armed men, at 
 the head of which, appeared d'Ossuna, who 
 precipitated himself between the victim and 
 his executioner, He was in time ! 
 " He lives ! he lives !" cried Tarraxas. 
 He is saved !" exclaimed d'Ossuna. " My 
 much beloved cousin, never did I expect to 
 see jou more. God would not that the in- 
 nocent should perish for the culpable, ^lay 
 God be praised ! 
 
 " ]\lay God be praised !" repeated the 
 assistants ; and among them but much louder 
 than all, was heard the voice of Don Lopez 
 in the same exclamation. 
 
 " Thou hast amved in time, my cousin," 
 said Don Guzman to d'Ossuna. " Now I 
 would not have the strength to die !" 
 
 Overpowered by his emotions, Don Guzman 
 fainted on the block. 
 
 Don Lopez immediately laid hold ui the 
 Duke, and lifting him in his arms, bore him
 
 334 TALES OP THE 
 
 to the royal hall, followed by all the nobles. 
 When Don Guzman returned to conscious- 
 ness, he found himself in the midst of all his 
 friends, who formed a circle around him, in 
 the centre of which, appeared Philip with the 
 strongest expression of joy and satisfaction 
 on his countenance. 
 
 Don Guzman believed he was in a dream. 
 From the block he had passed to the royal 
 hall. He could not comprehend what had 
 brought about the change ; he knew not 
 that Don Ramirez, in the excess of his 
 joy and inquietude, in giving the letters 
 patent to the King for his signature, had 
 committed a mistake, and that instead of 
 tliem, he had presented a paper containing 
 the exposure of a plot, in which was the de- 
 sign of entangling Don Guzman, and, by this 
 means, to cut off at once a detested rival, 
 and one of the firmest supporters of the 
 throne. Of all this, Don Guzman was ig- 
 norant, and he could not understand, how 
 he had been freed from the hands of the
 
 CAilP AlsD CABIiNET 335 
 
 executioner : he knew all later, for three 
 days afterwards, at the same hour, Calavar 
 struck off the head of Don Ramirez, Count 
 de Biscaye, as a traitor and defamer. 
 
 Every one overwhelmed Don Guzman with 
 caresses, and the King, tenderly pressing his 
 hand, exclaimed, 
 
 " Guzman, I have been most unjust — I 
 shall never pardon my folly." 
 
 " Sire," replied the Duke, " may no more 
 be said about it. Such words uttered by 
 my Sovereign, are worth a thousand lives." 
 
 But the King continued. 
 
 " Friend, our royal desire is, that from 
 the present moment, to eternalise the re- 
 membrance of your deliverance, you bear on 
 your escutcheon a silver axe on a chessboard 
 of azure. And that in the current montli, 
 you espouse Donna Estella ; your marriage to 
 take place in. our palace of the Escurial." 
 
 Turning towards Don Lopez, he added. 
 
 " Ruy Lopez, I believe that the Church 
 will have a good servant in its new bishop.
 
 336 TALES OF THE 
 
 You shall be consecrated Lord Prelate, with 
 a scarlet robe enriched with diamonds ! this 
 shall be the recompense for thy game of 
 chess with Don Guzman." 
 
 " Sire/' replied Ruj Lopez, " never until 
 this day^ have I been pleased in being check- 
 mated." 
 
 The King laughed, and the court followed 
 his example. 
 
 " And now, my lords," resumed Philip, 
 " we invite you to our royal banquet. The 
 cover of Don Guzman to be placed on our 
 right, and that of the Bishop of Segovia, on 
 our left. Your arm, Don Guzman." 
 
 END OF VOL I 
 
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