Tancred
B >>
Benjamin Disraeli >> Tancred
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
30 |
31 |
32 |
33 |
34 | 35 |
36 |
37
'Fakredeen,' she said, starting from her couch, 'what is all this?'
The countenance of Fakredeen was distressed and agitated; there was an
expression of alarm, almost of terror, stamped upon his features.
'You must follow me,' he said; 'there is not a moment to lose; you must
fly!'
'Why and whither?' said Eva. 'This capture is one of plunder not of
malice, or was so a few hours back. It is not sorrow for myself that
overwhelmed me. But yesterday, the sovereign of these mountains treated
me with a generous sympathy, and, if it brought me no solace, it was
only because events have borne, I fear, irremediable woe. And now I
suddenly find myself among my friends; friends, who, of all others, I
should most have wished to encounter at this moment, and all is changed.
I am a prisoner, under every circumstance of harshness, even of cruelty,
and you speak to me as if my life, my immediate existence, was in
peril.'
'It is.'
'But why?'
Fakredeen wrung his hands, and murmured, 'Let us go.'
'I scarcely care to live,' said Eva; 'and I will not move until you give
me some clue to all this mystery.'
'Well, then, she is jealous of you; the Queen, Astarte; she is jealous
of you with the English prince, that man who has brought us all so many
vexations.' 'Is it he that has brought us so many vexations?' replied
Eva. 'The Queen jealous of me, and with the English prince! 'Tis very
strange. We scarcely exchanged a dozen sentences together, when all was
disturbed and broken up. Jealous of me! Why, then, was she anxious that
I should descend to her divan? This is not the truth, Fakredeen.'
'Not all; but it is the truth; it is, indeed. The Queen is jealous of
you: she is in love with Tancred; a curse be on him and her both! and
somebody has told her that Tancred is in love with you.' 'Somebody! When
did they tell her?' 'Long ago; long ago. She knew, that is, she had been
told, that Tancred was affianced to the daughter of Besso of Damascus;
and so this sudden meeting brought about a crisis. I did what I could
to prevent it; vowed that you were only the cousin of the Besso that she
meant; did everything, in short, I could to serve and save you; but it
was of no use. She was wild, is wild, and your life is in peril.'
Eva mused a moment. Then, looking up, she said, 'Fakredeen, it is you
who told the Queen this story. You are the somebody who has invented
this fatal falsehood. What was your object I care not to inquire,
knowing full well, that, if you had an object, you never would spare
friend or foe. Leave me. I have little wish to live; but I believe in
the power of truth. I will confront the Queen and tell her all. She will
credit what I say; if she do not, I can meet my fate; but I will not,
now or ever, entrust it to you.'
Thereupon Fakredeen burst into a flood of passionate tears, and,
throwing himself on the ground, kissed Eva's feet, and clung to her
garments which he embraced, sobbing, and moaning, and bestowing on her
endless phrases of affection, mixed with imprecations on his own head
and conduct.
'O Eva! my beloved Eva, sister of my soul, it is of no use telling you
any lies! Yes, I am that villain and that idiot who has brought about
all this misery, misery enough to turn me mad, and which, by a just
retribution, has destroyed all the brilliant fortunes which were at last
opening on me. This Frank stranger was the only bar to my union with
the sovereign of these mountains, whose beauty you have witnessed, whose
power, combined with my own, would found a kingdom. I wished to marry
her. You cannot be angry with me, Eva, for that. You know very well
that, if you had married me yourself, we should neither of us have been
in the horrible situation in which we now find ourselves. Ah! that would
have been a happy union! But let that pass. I have always been the most
unfortunate of men; I have never had justice done me. Well, she loved
this prince of Franguestan. I saw it; nothing escapes me. I let her know
that he was devoted to another. Why I mentioned your name I cannot
well say; perhaps because it was the first that occurred to me; perhaps
because I have a lurking suspicion that he really does love you. The
information worked.
My own suit prospered. I bribed her minister. He is devoted to me. All
was smiling. How could I possibly have anticipated that you would ever
arrive here! When I saw you, I felt that all was lost. I endeavoured to
rally affairs, but it was useless. Tan-cred has no finesse; his replies
neutralised, nay, destroyed, all my counter representations. The Queen
is a whirlwind. She is young; she has never been crossed in her life.
You cannot argue with her when her heart is touched. In short, all is
ruined;' and Fakredeen hid his weeping face in the robes of Eva. 'What
misery you prepare for yourself, and for all who know you!' exclaimed
Eva. 'But that has happened which makes me insensible to further grief.'
'Yes; but listen to what I say, and all will go right. I do not care in
the least for my own disappointment. That now is nothing. It is you,
it is of you only that I think, whom I wish to save. Do not chide me:
pardon me, pardon me, as you have done a thousand times; pardon and pity
me. I am so young and really so inexperienced; after all, I am only
a child; besides, I have not a friend in the world except you. I am a
villain, a fool; all villains are. I know it. But I cannot help it. I
did not make myself. The question now is, How are we to get out of this
scrape? How are we to save your life?'
'Do you really mean, Fakredeen, that my life is in peril?'
'Yes, I do,' said the Emir, crying like a child.
'You do not know the power of truth, Fakredeen. You have no confidence
in it. Let me see the Queen.'
'Impossible!' he said, starting up, and looking very much alarmed.
'Why?'
'Because, in the first place, she is mad. Keferinis, that is, her
minister, one of my creatures, and the only person who can manage
her, told me this moment that it was a perfect Kamsin, and that, if he
approached her again, it would be at his own risk; and, in the second
place, bad as things are, they would necessarily be much worse if she
saw you, because (and it is of no use concealing it any longer) she
thinks you already dead.'
'Dead! Already dead!'
'Yes.'
'And where is your friend and companion?' said Eva. 'Does he know of
these horrors?'
'No one knows of them except myself. The Queen sent for me last night to
speak to me of the subject generally. It was utterly vain to attempt to
disabuse her; it would only have compromised all of us. She would only
have supposed the truth to be an invention for the moment. I found your
fate sealed. In my desperation, the only thing that occurred to me was
to sympathise with her indignation and approve of all her projects. She
apprised me that you should not live four-and-twenty hours. I rather
stimulated her vengeance, told her in secresy that your house had nearly
effected my ruin, and that there was no sacrifice I would not make,
and no danger that I would not encounter, to wreak on your race my
long-cherished revenge. I assured her that I had been watching my
opportunity for years. Well, you see how it is, Eva; she consigned to me
the commission which she would have whispered to one of her slaves. I am
here with her cognisance; indeed, by this time she thinks 'tis all over.
You comprehend?'
'You are to be my executioner?'
'Yes; I have undertaken that office in order to save your life.'
'I care not to save my life. What is life to me, since he perhaps is
gone who gave me that life, and for whom alone I lived!'
'O Eva! Eva! don't distract me; don't drive me absolutely mad! When a
man is doing what I am for your sake, giving up a kingdom, and more
than a kingdom, to treat him thus! But you never did me justice.' And
Fakredeen poured forth renewed tears. 'Keferinis is in my pay; I have
got the signet of the covered way. Here are two Mamlouk dresses; one
you must put on. 'Without the gates are two good steeds, and in
eight-and-forty hours we shall be safe, and smiling again.'
'I shall never smile again,' said Eva. 'No, Fakredeen,' she added, after
a moment's pause, 'I will not fly, and you cannot fly. Can you leave
alone in this wild place that friend, too faithful, I believe, whom you
have been the means of leading hither?'
'Never mind him,' said the Emir. 'I wish we had never seen him. He is
quite safe. She may keep him a prisoner perhaps. What then? He makes
so discreet a use of his liberty that a little durance will not be very
injurious. His life will be safe enough. Cutting off his head is not
the way to gain his heart. But time presses. Come, my sister, my beloved
Eva! In a few hours it may not be in my power to effect all this. Come,
think of your father, of his anxiety, his grief. One glimpse of you will
do him more service than the most cunning leech.'
Eva burst into passionate tears. 'He will never see us again. I saw him
fall; never shall I forget that moment!' and she hid her face in her
hands.
'But he lives,' said Fakredeen. 'I have been speaking to some of the
Turkish prisoners. They also saw him fall; but he was borne off the
field, and, though insensible, it was believed that the wound was not
fatal. Trust me, he is at Aleppo.' 'They saw him borne off the field?'
'Safe, and, if not well, far from desperate.' 'O God of my fathers!'
said Eva, falling on her knees; 'thine is indeed a mercy-seat!'
'Yes, yes; there is nothing like the God of your fathers, Eva. If you
knew the things that are going on in this place, even in these vaults
and caverns, you would not tarry here an instant. They worship nothing
but graven images, and the Queen has fallen in love with Tancred,
because he resembles a marble statue older than the times of the
pre-Adamite Sultans. Come, come!'
'But how could they know that he was far from desperate?'
'I will show you the man who spoke to him,' said Fakredeen; 'he is only
with our horses. You can ask him any questions you like. Come, put on
your Mamlouk dress, every minute is golden.'
'There seems to me something base in leaving him here alone,' said Eva.
'He has eaten our salt, he is the child of our tents, his blood will be
upon our heads.'
'Well, then, fly for his sake,' said Fakredeen; 'here you cannot aid
him; but when you are once in safety, a thousand things may be done for
his assistance. I could return, for example.'
'Now, Fakredeen,' said Eva, stopping him, and speaking in a solemn tone,
'if I accompany you, as you now require, will you pledge me your word,
that the moment we pass the frontier you will return to him.'
'I swear it, by our true religion, and by my hopes of an earthly crown.'
CHAPTER LVII.
_Message of the Pasha_
THE sudden apparition of Eva at Gindarics, and the scene of painful
mystery by which it was followed, had plunged Tancred into the greatest
anxiety and affliction. It was in vain that, the moment they had quitted
the presence of Astarte, he appealed to Fakredeen for some explanation
of what had occurred, and for some counsel as to the course they should
immediately pursue to assist one in whose fate they were both so deeply
interested. The Emir, for the first time since their acquaintance,
seemed entirely to have lost himself. He looked perplexed, almost
stunned; his language was incoherent, his gestures those of despair.
Tancred, while he at once ascribed all this confused demeanour to the
shock which he had himself shared at finding the daughter of Besso a
captive, and a captive under circumstances of doubt and difficulty,
could not reconcile such distraction, such an absence of all resources
and presence of mind, with the exuberant means and the prompt expedients
which in general were the characteristics of his companion, under
circumstances the most difficult and unforeseen.
When they had reached their apartments, Fakredeen threw himself upon
the divan and moaned, and, suddenly starting from the couch, paced the
chamber with agitated step, wringing his hands. All that Tan-cred could
extract from him was an exclamation of despair, an imprecation on his
own head, and an expression of fear and horror at Eva having fallen into
the hands of pagans and idolaters.
It was in vain also that Tancred endeavoured to communicate with
Keferinis. The minister was invisible, not to be found, and the night
closed in, when Tancred, after fruitless counsels with Baroni, and many
united but vain efforts to open some communication with Eva, delivered
himself not to repose, but to a distracted reverie over the present
harassing and critical affairs.
When the dawn broke, he rose and sought Fakredeen, but, to his surprise,
he found that his companion had already quitted his apartment. An
unusual stillness seemed to pervade Gindarics this day; not a person
was visible. Usually at sunrise all were astir, and shortly afterwards
Keferinis generally paid a visit to the guests of his sovereign; but
this day Keferinis omitted the ceremony, and Tancred, never more anxious
for companions and counsellors, found himself entirely alone; for Baroni
was about making observations, and endeavouring to find some clue to the
position of Eva.
Tancred had resolved, the moment that it was practicable, to solicit
an audience of Astarte on the subject of Eva, and to enter into all
the representations respecting her which, in his opinion, were alone
necessary to secure for her immediately the most considerate treatment,
and ultimately a courteous release.
The very circumstance that she was united to the Emir of Canobia by ties
so dear and intimate, and was also an individual to whom he himself was
indebted for such generous aid and such invaluable services, would,
he of course assumed, independently of her own interesting personal
qualities, enlist the kind feelings of Astarte in her favour. The
difficulty was to obtain this audience of Astarte, for neither Fakredeen
nor Keferinis was to be found, and no other means of achieving the
result were obvious.
About two hours before noon, Baroni brought word that he had contrived
to see Cypros, from whom he gathered that Astarte had repaired to the
great temple of the gods. Instantly, Tancred resolved to enter the
palace, and if possible to find his way to the mysterious sanctuary.
That was a course by no means easy; but the enterprising are often
fortunate, and his project proved not to be impossible. He passed
through the chambers of the palace, which were entirely deserted, and
with which he was familiar, and he reached without difficulty the portal
of bronze, which led to the covered way that conducted to the temple,
but it was closed. Baffled and almost in despair, a distant chorus
reached his ear, then the tramp of feet, and then slowly the portal
opened. He imagined that the Queen was returning; but, on the contrary,
pages and women and priests swept by without observing him, for he was
hidden by one of the opened valves, but Astarte was not there; and,
though the venture was rash, Tancred did not hesitate, as the last
individual in the procession moved on, to pass the gate. The portal
shut instantly with a clang, and Tancred found himself alone and in
comparative darkness. His previous experience, however, sustained him.
His eye, fresh from the sunlight, at first wandered in obscurity, but
by degrees, habituated to the atmosphere, though dim, the way was
sufficiently indicated, and he advanced, till the light became each step
more powerful, and soon he emerged upon the platform, which faced the
mountain temple at the end of the ravine: a still and wondrous scene,
more striking now, if possible, when viewed alone, with his heart the
prey of many emotions. How full of adventure is life! It is monotonous
only to the monotonous. There may be no longer fiery dragons, magic
rings, or fairy wands, to interfere in its course and to influence our
career; but the relations of men are far more complicated and numerous
than of yore; and in the play of the passions, and in the devices of
creative spirits, that have thus a proportionately greater sphere for
their action, there are spells of social sorcery more potent than all
the necromancy of Merlin or Friar Bacon.
Tancred entered the temple, the last refuge of the Olympian mind. It was
race that produced these inimitable forms, the idealised reflex of
their own peculiar organisation. Their principles of art, practised by a
different race, do not produce the same results. Yet we shut our eyes to
the great truth into which all truths merge, and we call upon the Pict,
or the Sarmatian, to produce the forms of Phidias and Praxiteles.
Not devoid of that awe which is caused by the presence of the solemn
and the beautiful, Tancred slowly traced his steps through the cavern
sanctuary. No human being was visible. Upon his right was the fane to
which Astarte led him on his visit of initiation. He was about to enter
it, when, kneeling before the form of the Apollo of Antioch, he beheld
the fair Queen of the Ansarey, motionless and speechless, her arms
crossed upon her breast, and her eyes fixed upon her divinity, in a
dream of ecstatic devotion.
The splendour of the ascending sun fell full upon the statue, suffusing
the ethereal form with radiancy, and spreading around it for some space
a broad and golden halo. As Tancred, recognising the Queen, withdrew a
few paces, his shadow, clearly defined, rested on the glowing wall of
the rock temple. Astarte uttered an exclamation, rose quickly from
her kneeling position, and, looking round, her eyes met those of Lord
Montacute. Instantly she withdrew her gaze, blushing deeply.
'I was about to retire,' murmured Tancred.
'And why should you retire?' said Astarte, in a soft voice, looking up.
'There are moments when solitude is sacred.'
'I am too much alone: often, and of late especially, I feel a painful
isolation.'
She moved forward, and they re-entered together the chief temple, and
then emerged into the sunlight. They stood beneath the broad Ionic
portico, beholding the strange scene around. Then it was that Tancred,
observing that Astarte cared not to advance, and deeming the occasion
very favourable to his wishes, proceeded to explain to her the cause
of his venturing to intrude on her this morning. He spoke with that
earnestness, and, if the phrase may be used, that passionate repose,
which distinguished him. He enlarged on the character of Besso, his
great virtues, his amiable qualities, his benevolence and unbounded
generosity; he sought in every way to engage the kind feelings of
Astarte in favour of his family, and to interest her in the character of
Eva, on which he dilated with all the eloquence of his heart. Truly, he
almost did justice to her admirable qualities, her vivid mind, and lofty
spirit, and heroic courage; the occasion was too delicate to treat of
the personal charms of another woman, but he did not conceal his own
deep sense of obligation to Eva for her romantic expedition to the
desert in his behalf.
'You can understand then,' concluded Tancred, 'what must have been my
astonishment and grief when I found her yesterday a captive. It was
some consolation to me to remember in whose power she had fallen, and I
hasten to throw myself at your feet to supplicate for her safety and her
freedom.'
'Yes, I can understand all this,' said Astarte, in a low tone.
Tancred looked at her. Her voice had struck him with pain; her
countenance still more distressed him. Nothing could afford a more
complete contrast to the soft and glowing visage that a few moments
before he had beheld in the fane of Apollo. She was quite pale, almost
livid; her features, of exquisite shape, had become hard and even
distorted; all the bad passions of our nature seemed suddenly to have
concentred in that face which usually combined perfect beauty of form
with an expression the most gentle, and in truth most lovely.
'Yes, I can understand all this,' said Astarte, 'but I shall not
exercise any power which I may possess to assist you in violating the
laws of your country, and outraging the wishes of your sovereign.'
'Violating the laws of my country!' exclaimed Tancred, with a perplexed
look.
'Yes, I know all. Your schemes truly are very heroic and very flattering
to our self-love. We are to lend our lances to place on the throne of
Syria one who would not be permitted to reside in your own country, much
less to rule in it?'
'Of whom, of what, do you speak?'
'I speak of the Jewess whom you would marry,' said Astarte, in a hushed
yet distinct voice, and with a fell glance, 'against all laws, divine
and human.'
'Of your prisoner?'
'Well you may call her my prisoner; she is secure.'
'Is it possible you can believe that I even am a suitor of the daughter
of Besso?' said Tancred, earnestly. 'I wear the Cross, which is graven
on my heart, and have a heavenly mission to fulfil, from which no
earthly thought shall ever distract me. But even were I more than
sensible to her charms and virtues, she is affianced, or the same as
affianced; nor have I the least reason to suppose that he who will
possess her hand does not command her heart.'
'Affianced?'
'Not only affianced, but, until this sad adventure, on the very point of
being wedded. She was on her way from Damascus to Aleppo, to be united
to her cousin, when she was brought hither, where she will, I trust, not
long remain your prisoner.'
The countenance of Astarte changed; but, though it lost its painful and
vindictive expression, it did not assume one of less distress. After a
moment's pause, she murmured, 'Can this be true?'
'Who could have told you otherwise?'
'An enemy of hers, of her family,' continued Astarte, in a low voice,
and speaking as if absorbed in thought; 'one who admitted to me his
long-hoarded vengeance against her house.'
Then turning abruptly, she looked Tancred full in the face, with a
glance of almost fierce scrutiny. His clear brow and unfaltering eye,
with an expression of sympathy and even kindness on his countenance, met
her searching look.
'No,' she said; 'it is impossible that you can be false.'
'Why should I be false? or what is it that mixes up my name and life
with these thoughts and circumstances?'
'Why should you be false? Ah! there it is,' said Astarte, in a sweet and
mournful voice. 'What are any of us to you!' And she wept.
'It grieves me to see you in sorrow,' said Tancred, approaching her, and
speaking in a tone of kindness.
'I am more than sorrowful: this unhappy lady----' and the voice of
Astarte was overpowered by her emotion.
'You will send her back in safety and with honour to her family,' said
Tancred, soothingly. 'I would fain believe her father has not fallen.
My intendant assures me that there are Turkish soldiers here who saw him
borne from the field. A little time, and their griefs will vanish. You
will have the satisfaction of having acted with generosity, with that
good heart which characterises you; and as for the daughter of Besso,
all will be forgotten as she gives one hand to her father and the other
to her husband.'
'It is too late,' said Astarte in an almost sepulchral voice.
'What is that?'
'It is too late! The daughter of Besso is no more.'
'Jesu preserve us!' exclaimed Tancred, starting. 'Speak it again: what
is it that you say?'
Astarte shook her head.
'Woman!' said Tancred, and he seized her hand, but his thoughts were too
wild for utterance, and he remained pallid and panting.
'The daughter of Besso is no more; and I do not lament it, for you loved
her.'
'Oh, grief ineffable!' said Tancred, with a groan, looking up to heaven,
and covering his face with his hands: 'I loved her, as I loved the stars
and sunshine.' Then, after a pause, he turned to Astarte, and said, in a
rapid voice, 'This dreadful deed; when, how, did it happen?'
'Is it so dreadful?'
'Almost as dreadful as such words from woman's lips. A curse be on the
hour that I entered these walls!'
'No, no, no!' said Astarte, and she seized his arm distractedly. 'No,
no! No curse!'
'It is not true!' said Tancred. 'It cannot be true! She is not dead.'
'Would she were not, if her death is to bring me curses.'
'Tell me when was this?'
'An hour ago, at least.'
'I do not believe it. There is not an arm that would have dared to touch
her. Let us hasten to her. It is not too late.'
'Alas! it is too late,' said Astarte. 'It was an enemy's arm that
undertook the deed.'
'An enemy! What enemy among your people could the daughter of Besso have
found?'
'A deadly one, who seized the occasion offered to a long cherished
vengeance; one who for years has been alike the foe and the victim of
her race and house. There is no hope!'
'I am indeed amazed. Who could this be?'
'Your friend; at least, your supposed friend, the Emir of the Lebanon.'
'Fakredeen?'
'You have said it.'
'The assassin and the foe of Eva!' exclaimed Tancred, with a
countenance relieved yet infinitely perplexed. 'There must be some great
misconception in all this. Let us hasten to the castle.'
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
30 |
31 |
32 |
33 |
34 | 35 |
36 |
37