The Wanderings of Persiles and Sigismunda: A Northern Story

by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

By slow degrees, little by little, Antonio discovered himself to his parents, and presented to them their two grand-children and daughter-in-law, whom they received with many tears. The beauty of Auristella, and the grace of Periander, gained admiration from all eyes and hearts. This pleasure, as unexpected as it was great,—this unlooked-for arrival of his son and his family, interrupted, and for a time almost did away with the sad misfortune of the count, who grew worse and worse every hour; however, he presented his children to him, and anew offered him the services of the whole family, and everything that could be required for his comfort and convenience; for although he had wished to remove to his own house, it would not have been possible, so slight were the hopes of his recovery.

Auristella and Constance never left his bedside, but, moved by Christian compassion and kindness, made themselves his nurses, against the desire of the surgeons, who ordered him to be left alone, or at least not attended by the women. But Heaven, that directs and disposes all things in a manner which we cannot fathom, so ordered it in this case, that the count's last hour drawing nigh, he one day, before he took a final leave of them all, sent for Diego de Villaseñor, and when they were alone together, spoke to him thus:—"I left home intending to go to Rome this year, in which the supreme Pontiff has opened the ark of the Church's treasure, and made known to us as in a holy year, the infinite graces that are to be obtained thereby. I meant to travel expeditiously, but as a poor pilgrim, rather than as a rich gentleman. I entered this town, found an affray going on, as you have heard, between the soldiers who were lodging in it, and the inhabitants: I mingled with them, and in trying to save the lives of others, have lost my own, for this wound so treacherously dealt, as I may say, will in a short time end my existence. I do not know by whose hand it was given, for in these popular tumults all is confusion. My death will not grieve me, unless it should be the cause of that of others, either for justice, or to avenge mine. Nevertheless, to do all that is in my power, I here say that I forgive my murderer, and all who may have been guilty with him; and I also desire to show my gratitude for all the kindness I have received in your house, and the mark I wish to give will be the very greatest you can possibly imagine. In the two chests, which you see here, which contain my wardrobe, I believe I have as much as twenty thousand ducats in gold and in jewels, which do not take up much room; and if this sum, instead of being so small, was as great as the mines of Potosí contain, I would do the same with it as I am now doing. Take it then, or rather make the lady Constance your grand-daughter, take it, for I give it to her in earnest as a marriage portion; and further, I desire to espouse her myself; so that although she will be speedily a widow, she will be at the same time honoured as a wife and a maid. Send for her hither, and fetch a priest to perform the ceremony. Her merit, her beauty, and her Christian virtues, make her worthy to be queen of the whole world. Do not be surprised, sir, at what you hear, and believe all I say, for it will be no such monstrous novelty for a nobleman to marry a poor gentleman's daughter, in whom unites every quality that can make a woman desirable. Heaven wills it—my own wishes lead me to it. Go then, be discreet, and without answering a word, fetch some one who can perform the marriage ceremony between me and your grand-daughter, and also some one who can draw up the writings about the money and jewels, so that no slander can ever undo that which I bestow on her."

Villaseñor was greatly astonished at this discourse, and believed that without a doubt the count's senses were bewildered, and that his death was near at hand, since at that moment, for the most part, men either say very fine things or very great follies; and so he answered thus:—"My lord, I trust in God that you will recover your health, and then you will more clearly see; and when no pain disturbs you, more plainly feel what you are about as to the way you wish to bestow your wealth; and the wife you will choose, my grand-child, is not your equal. She is very far from deserving the honour of being your wife; and I am not so greedy as to wish to buy the honour you would do me, with what vulgar tongues would surely say (always ready to believe evil). It seems to me that it would be said that I had you in my house, that I worked upon your mind, and did all this from avarice."

"Let the world say what it likes," said the count; "if the vulgar portion of it will deceive itself, then let it be deceived in what it thinks of you."

"Well then," said Villaseñor, "I will not be so foolish as to set myself against the good fortune that offers itself to me;" and so saying, he left the room, and related what the count had said, to his wife and grand-children, and to Periander and Auristella, who were of opinion that without delay the offer should be accepted, and a person sent for to bring the affair to a conclusion.

He did so, and in less than two hours Constance was married to the count, and the gold and jewels in her possession, with all the securities and confirmations that could possibly be made. There was no music at this wedding, only sighs and tears, for the life of the count was ebbing fast away. On the day that followed the marriage ceremony, they all received the Sacrament, and the count expired in the arms of his wife, the countess Constance, who, covering her head with a black veil, fell on her knees, and raising her eyes to Heaven, she began to say, "I vow;" but hardly had she begun to speak, when she was stopped by Auristella. "What are you going to vow?" said she. "To become a nun," replied the countess. "Stay and consider this," answered Auristella; "those things we would do to serve God ought not to be done in haste; nor as if they were impelled by some sudden accident; and as it is owing to your husband's death that you are about to make this vow, which afterwards, perhaps, you may not wish to fulfil, leave your will in the hands of God; and your own discretion, and that of your parents and relations, will be able to advise and direct you in the path it will be best to take, and give orders for the interment of your husband; and trust in God, that since you have been so unexpectedly made a countess, it may please him to bestow some other title and honour that will be more lasting than this is."

The countess yielded to this reasoning, and gave directions concerning the funeral of the count. A younger brother arrived, to whom the news had been sent at Salamanca, where he was studying. He wept for his brother's death, but the expectation of his inheritance helped to dry the tears. When he heard what had been done, he embraced his sister-in-law, and did not contest the gift. He buried his brother so as to remove him afterwards to his own place, and set out for the king's court, to demand justice against his murderers. He gained his suit,—the captains were beheaded, and many of the townspeople received punishment. Constance remained with the rank and title of countess.

Periander began to think of continuing their journey, in which the elder Antonio no longer wished to bear him company; neither did his wife Ricla, weary of such long pilgrimages and wanderings, which had not, however, tired their son Antonio, nor the young countess, who could not exist separate from Auristella and Periander.

All this time Antonio had never shown his grandfather the canvass on which their history was painted. One day he was displaying it, and telling the story, he observed that one part was still wanting—that of how Auristella got to the barbarous isle, when she and Periander had met in changed attire; she, in that of a man, and he, dressed in female garments—a strange metamorphosis—to which Auristella answered, "That it would be told in a few words, that when the pirates stole her and Clelia, with the two young wives of the fishermen, from the shores of Denmark, they came to an uninhabited island, in order to divide their spoil, and not being able to do this equally, one of the chief among them said, 'He should be satisfied with herself as his share,' and even added gifts to those of the others to make them more equal. Thus," said she, "was I thrown into his power alone, and deprived of a companion to alleviate my misfortunes. He made me put on the dress of a man, and thus I accompanied him to many different places, serving and obeying him in all that was consistent with honour. At length we arrived at the barbarous isle, there we were surprised and made prisoners by the barbarians. He died in the affray, and I was thrown into the prison cave, where I found my beloved Clelia, who by other not less unfortunate adventures had been brought hither. From her I learned the history of these barbarians, the vain superstition that they held, and the ridiculous and false prophecy. She also told me that she had great reason to believe that my brother Periander had been in the same dungeon, but she had not been able to speak to him, from the haste the barbarians were in to drag him out to be sacrificed. I wished to accompany Clelia to ascertain the truth, as I was in the dress of a man, and in spite of her entreaties, who would fain have prevented my doing so, I willingly delivered myself to be sacrificed by the barbarians, persuaded that it would be infinitely better to end my life at once, than to be perpetually in danger of losing it day after day. And now I have nothing more to say, since you all know well what followed after this."