They were introduced one at a time in the great hall of state. The captain, who acted as prosecutor,[67] took their depositions, having before him documents in proof of the crime. The members of the Carlist committee of Nieva gave their testimony as best suited their ideas of propriety, denying the majority of the counts, astutely pleading guilty to others, and, in fine, doing all in their power to be let off easily. The fat-cheeked brigadier lost his temper not a few times during the course of the hearing, interrupting the prosecutor to launch harsh apostrophes at the prisoners, and threatening to have them shot in the interim, if they did not reveal all the minutiæ and ramifications of the conspiracy; but he accomplished little by his intimidations. When Maria's turn came, he smiled sarcastically, and said with rough irony,—
"Have the goodness to draw near, señorita, and to reply to the questions which this caballero capitán will put to you."
"What is your name?" asked the prosecutor.
"Maria de Elorza y Valcárcel."
"De, dee, dee," snorted the brigadier, "always the same aristocratic pretensions!"
"You are accused of serving as intermediary in the correspondence between the Marqués de Revollar, Don Carlos's minister and counsellor, and the ringleader, Don César Pardo, lately exiled by virtue of sentence of the counsel of war, which met on the 14th of March. Moreover, you are accused of having been present as an active participant at various meetings held by the conspirators of Nieva, with the assistance of the same ringleaders who escaped, and various other political criminals. In these meetings you have indulged in speech fomenting rebellion, and making suggestions to help its success. It is said that you embroidered the banner for the rebels, and have hidden hats and spatterdashes in your house, and likewise have procured money for the conspirators...."
The prosecutor stopped speaking. There were a few instants of silence. The brigadier impatiently said,—"Come.... Reply! Are the deeds of which you stand accused true?"
Maria, with her clear gaze fastened on the president's supercilious face, replied in firm, calm accents:—
"All that the Señor Fiscal has just set forth is pure truth, and I take the warmest pride in it. It is true that I have served as intermediary in the correspondence between my noble uncle, the Marqués de Revollar, and the brave Don César Pardo (whom may God take to glory!). It is certain that I have been present at the meetings, where a conspiracy was planned against the impious government now existing, and that I have endeavored, with my feeble speech, to stir the conspirators to the combat, and it is equally certain that I embroidered the banner and other articles for the defenders of the faith. It is likewise true that I have furnished all the money that I could, but it is not enough to say that I hid in my father's house hats and spatterdashes: I have also hidden arms, muskets, and their bayonets and ammunition."
The officers of the council were stupefied. The brigadier himself, in spite of his choleric temper, remained for some instants dumb before the girl's audacity. But if they had known her as we know her, it is certain that they would not have had reason to be surprised. The eldest daughter of the Elorzas had entered into the Carlist conspiracy, completely persuaded that she was accomplishing a work very grateful in the eyes of God, and she had firmly determined not to turn back before any danger. Her ardent, all-powerful faith was eager to find means to serve Him, and moreover the longing for imitation, for which we have already given her credit, impelled her to imitate the conduct of those sainted virgins who fought against the power of the cruellest tyrants, and gave a glorious example of constancy in times of persecution. She knew by heart the lives of Saint Leocadia, Saint Barbara, Saint Julia, Saint Eulalia, and other illustrious martyrs of the Christian faith, and their steadfastness was for her an example and further incentive in the road to sanctity upon which she had entered. Countless times she had imagined scenes of martyrdom in which she was the principal personage, and in which she had always come forth conqueror; just as many men fond of battles, dream that they are fighting with a dozen champions and making them run ignominiously, and others enamored of oratory represent themselves as speaking before multitudes, moving them and carrying them away by their eloquence. With what admiration had she read about the flight of the sainted maiden of Merida, from the battlefield of her fathers to the city where she presented herself voluntarily before the governor Calfurniano to confess her faith, and ask a martyr's death! In the march which she had just made from Nieva, she had many times recalled the details of that memorable flight, gladly seeing in it a certain analogy with that of the saint. Now that she saw herself in the presence of stern, angry judges, she found the resemblance still more striking, and this encouraged her, in no small degree, in her determination to stand firm in spite of danger.