The boy was left by the seamen to repose, as their commander had desired; but as thoughts, sad and various, crossed his mind, sleep refused to come near him. Another cause, however, helped to banish it. This was, certain grievous sighs and bitter lamentations, that proceeded, as it appeared to him, from an apartment near that where he was, and applying himself to listen, he heard that some one said, "Sad and luckless was the hour in which I was begotten, and under an evil star did my mother cast me forth into the world, and well may I say cast me forth, for a birth like mine may be more fitly termed to be cast out than born; at least I thought myself free to enjoy the light of heaven in this life, but thought deceived me, since I am about to be sold as a slave, and what misfortune can compare to this."
"O thou, whoever thou art," said the boy, "if it is true, as people say, that sorrows and troubles when communicated to others are alleviated, come hither, and through the open chinks of these boards relate thine to me; and if thou dost not find relief, thou shalt at least meet with sympathy."
"Listen then," was the reply, "and in a few words I will relate the injustice that fortune has done to me, but first I would fain know to whom I am speaking. Tell me if thou art by chance a boy who has a short time since been found, tied upon some planks, which they say served for boats to the savages that dwell in the island near which we have anchored, sheltering from the storm that has arisen?"
"That same am I," answered the boy.
"Then who art thou?" again asked the invisible speaker.
"I would tell thee," he replied, "if it were not that I first wish thee to oblige me by relating thy history, which, from the words thou hast uttered, I imagine is not as happy as thou could'st desire it to be."
"Then listen," was the reply, "and I will briefly relate the history of my misfortunes. The commander of this ship is called Arnoldo, and he is the son and heir of the King of Denmark, into whose power there fell (owing to many extraordinary accidents) an illustrious lady, who was my mistress, and according to my idea, she is of such exceeding beauty that, from all who now live upon the earth, and all which the most lively imagination or the sharpest wits can conceive, she would bear away the prize. Her prudence equals her beauty, and her misfortunes surpass both. Her name is Auristella; she is of kingly race, and is born of rich parents. She then, whom to describe all praise must fall short, was sold as a slave, and bought by Arnoldo; and with so much earnestness and devotion he did, and does still, love her, that a thousand times he wished, instead of making her a slave, to be himself her's, and to acknowledge her as his lawful wife, and this too with the full consent of the King, his father, who thought the rare beauty and merits of Auristella deserved even more than to become a queen; but she refused, saying, 'I cannot possibly break a vow that I have made to continue a virgin all my life, nor can I be made to violate this vow either by entreaties or by threats.'
"But nevertheless Arnoldo did not cease to hope, trusting much to the effect of time, and the variable nature of woman; until it happened that my mistress, the Lady Auristella, going to the sea-shore as she was accustomed for her amusement, (she being treated more as a queen than a slave,) some corsairs came in a vessel, and seized and carried her off, we know not where. The Prince Arnoldo imagines that these corsairs are the same who sold her the first time, which same corsairs infest all these seas, islands, and shores, stealing or buying the most beautiful maidens that they can find in order to make a profit by selling them to this Island where it is said we now are, and which is inhabited by some barbarians, a savage and cruel race, who hold among themselves as a thing certain and inviolable (persuaded it may be by a demon, or as some say by an ancient sorcerer whom they consider the wisest of men), that there shall spring from among them a King, who will conquer and gain a great part of the world. They know not who this hoped-for king will be, and in order to know it, the sorcerer commands them to sacrifice all the men who come to the Island, and to make their hearts into powder, which is then given in some drink to all the principal savages in the island, with an express order, that he who should take it without a wry face or appearing to dislike it, should be elected King, but it is not he who is to conquer the world, but his son. Also, he commands them to bring into the island all the maidens they can procure, either by theft or purchase, and that the most beautiful shall be delivered immediately to the barbarian, whose succession has been determined by the drinking of the powder. These maidens purchased, or stolen, are well treated by them; in this alone they are not barbarous; and they buy them at the highest prices, which they pay in pieces of uncoined gold and in precious pearls, with which the sea around these islands, abounds. For this cause, and impelled by this interest and desire of gain, many have become pirates and merchants. Arnoldo then, as I have before said, fancies that Auristella may be in this island;—she, who is the other half of his soul, and without whom he cannot live: and in order to ascertain this fact, he has determined to sell me to the barbarians, so that I, remaining among them, may serve as a spy to discover what he wishes to know, and he is now hoping for nothing more than that the sea should be calm enough for him to land and conclude the sale. See then whether I have not reason to complain, since the lot that remains for me is to go and live among savages, where I shall not be beautiful enough to hope to become their Queen, especially if her cruel fate should have brought to this land the peerless Auristella. This, then, is the cause of the sighs thou hast heard, and from this fear arise the lamentations I have uttered."
She ceased speaking, and the boy felt a something rise in his throat, and pressed his mouth to the boards, which he watered with copious tears; and after a short space, he asked if by chance she had any conjecture whether Arnoldo had obtained the love of Auristella, or whether it was possible that she, having elsewhere pledged her faith, had disdained his offers, and refused the splendid gift of a Throne; for it seemed to him, he said, that sometimes the laws of human affection were even stronger than those of religion. She answered, that though she had fancied there was a time, when Auristella seemed to like one Periander, who had taken her from her own country, a noble gentleman endowed with all the qualities that could make him beloved, yet she never heard her mention his name in the continual complaints that she made to Heaven of her misfortunes, nor in any other way whatsoever.
He asked if she knew this Periander, of whom she spoke. She said she did not, but that by what she had heard, she knew it was he who had carried off her lady, into whose service she had entered after Periander left her, owing to a very extraordinary incident.