The Manuscript Found in Saragossa (35 page)

‘Capital,' said the cabbalist. ‘We'll meet up with the Wandering Jew all the sooner and, as he is not allowed to rest, he will come along with us on our journey and we will have all the more pleasure from conversing with him. He has witnessed much. No one can have experienced more than he.'

Then the gypsy chief turned to Velásquez and said, ‘And you, Señor caballero, do you want to stay with us or would you prefer to be escorted to a nearby town?'

Velásquez thought for a moment and then said, ‘I left some papers next to the mean bed where I slept the day before yesterday, before waking up under the gallows where this gentleman who is a captain in the Walloon Guards found me. Please send to the Venta Quemada. If I have not got my papers there is no point in my continuing on my journey. I shall have to go back to Ceuta. But while you are sending someone back to the
venta
I can still travel along with you.'

‘All my people are at your service,' said the gypsy. ‘I'll send some of them to the
venta
and they will catch us up when we next pitch camp.'

Everyone packed up. We covered six leagues and passed the night on a remote mountain top.

‘Good Lord,' said the cabbalist to Señor Don de Velásquez the geometer, ‘if you don't yourself know the feeling of impatience you must have observed it occasionally in those with whom you have had dealings.'

‘That is so,' replied Velásquez. ‘I have often observed impatience in others, and it seems to me to be a feeling of unease which never ceases growing, without there appearing to be any law that governs its growth. One may say, however, that in general terms it is in inverse ratio to the square of the force of inertia. So that if I am twice as difficult to move to impatience as you are, I will only suffer one degree of it at the end of the first hour while you will suffer four. The same applies to all the emotions which can be looked on as motive forces.'

‘It seems,' said Rebecca, ‘that you perfectly understand the springs of the human heart and that geometry is the surest way to achieve happiness.'

‘Señora,' said Velásquez, ‘the pursuit of happiness can, it seems to me, be compared to the solution of a quadratic or cubic equation.
You know the last term and you know that it is the product of all the roots, but before having exhausted all the divisors you reach a certain number of imaginary roots. Meanwhile the day goes by and you have had the pleasure of engaging in calculation. The same is true of human life. You also reach imaginary quantities which you have taken for real values. But in the meantime you have lived and moreover acted. Now activity is a universal law of nature. Nothing is at rest. This rock seems to be at rest because the ground on which it rests opposes a force to it greater than the pressure it exerts. But if you put your foot on this rock you will soon see how it acts.'

‘But,' said Rebecca, ‘can you submit the movement which we call love to calculation? It is claimed, for example, that with familiarity love grows smaller in men and it grows greater in women. Can you tell me why?'

‘The problem that you have set me, Señora,' said Velásquez, ‘presupposes that one of the two loves grows and the other diminishes. So that there will necessarily be a moment when the two lovers love each other equally, one in exactly the same degree as the other. In this way the problem can be brought under the rule of maxima and minima and can be represented by a curve. I have thought up a very elegant proof for problems of this kind. Let
x
…'

As Velásquez reached this point in his analysis, the men sent to the
venta
came into sight. They brought with them papers which Velásquez examined carefully, after which he said, ‘All my papers are here with the exception of one, which in fact is not very important but with which I was busy the night I was taken to lie under the gallows. It doesn't matter, let me not hold you up.'

So we did in fact go on. We travelled for part of the day, then stopped and assembled in the gypsy chief's tent. After eating supper, we asked him to continue the story of his life, which he did as follows:

‘Splendid!' said the gypsy, and carried on with his story.

‘Señora,' replied the viceroy. ‘The Conde de Rovellas's prodigality had eaten a long way into his fortune. And although I took upon myself all the costs of the action, I was only able to retrieve the following from what he left: sixteen plantations on San Domingo, twenty-two shares in the San Lugar silver-mine, twelve in the Philippines Company, fifty-six in the Asiento Bank and some minor effects, the total sum amounting to twenty-seven million piastres fortes more or less.'

Then the viceroy summoned his secretary and had brought to him a casket made of precious wood from the Indies. Then he knelt and said to me, ‘Charming daughter of a mother whom my heart still adores, be so gracious as to receive the fruit of thirteen years' effort. For it has taken me all that time to extract this wealth from the hands of your greedy collateral relatives.'

At first I wanted to take the casket with a gracious and tender air, but the idea of having at my feet a man who had smashed the heads of so many Indians, or perhaps the shame of having to play a part which was alien to my sex, or some other emotion, made me nearly faint. But Aunt Torres, whose courage had been considerably bolstered by the twenty-seven million piastres, supported me in her arms, seized the casket with a gesture which betrayed a certain greed and said to the viceroy, ‘Señor, this young girl has never seen a man kneeling before her. I beg you to allow her to withdraw to her apartment.'

Once there, we double-locked the door and Aunt Torres gave herself over to raptures of joy, kissing the casket again and again and thanking heaven that Elvira would have not only a safe but also a brilliant future.

A moment later, there was a knock at the door. We saw the count's secretary enter with a notary, who made an inventory of the papers contained in the casket and required Maria de Torres to give a receipt for them. He added that as I was a minor my signature was not necessary.

Then my aunts and I once again shut ourselves in. ‘Señoras,' I said. ‘Elvira's future is secure but how are we going to get the bogus Elvira de Rovellas admitted to the Theatine College? And where are we going to find the real one?'

No sooner had I uttered these words than the two ladies heaved many a sigh of woe, with Señora Dalanosa picturing me already suffering the whip and Maria de Torres fearing for her niece and her son, hapless children who were exposed to so many dangers of different kinds, wandering in the world without guidance or support. Each went sorrowfully to bed. I thought for a long time about how to extract myself from my predicament. I could have fled but the viceroy would have sent people after me in all directions. I fell asleep without having thought of anything. We were then only a day away from Burgos. The part I was to play there caused me great anxiety; however, I had to step once more into my litter and the viceroy took again to parading alongside it, softening from time to time the habitual severity of his features with tender expressions which made me feel very uneasy.

In this manner we reached the deep shade of a watering-place, where we found that refreshments had been laid out for us by the citizens of Burgos.

The viceroy handed me down from my litter. But rather than lead me to the meal he took me aside, sat me down in the shade, seated himself next to me and said, ‘Charming Elvira, the more that I have the good fortune to be near you, the more I am convinced that heaven has intended you to gild the evening of a stormy life dedicated to the good of my country and the glory of my king. I have secured the possession of the archipelago of the Philippines for Spain. I have
discovered half of New Mexico. I have brought the turbulent Inca people back to the path of duty. I have had ceaselessly to fight for my life against stormy seas, the inclement weather of the equator and the deadly fumes from the mines I have had opened up. Who will compensate me for this number of years, the best years of my life? I could devote them to retirement, to agreeable pleasures, to friendship and to other sweet feelings. But perhaps the King of Spain and the Indies, powerful though he is, is not powerful enough to give me this reward. But you, adorable Elvira, this reward is in your power. With your fate united to mine, I could wish for nothing else, passing my days with no other occupation than to be attentive to your dear heart's desires. I should be made happy by a single smile and transported with ecstasy at the tiniest sign of affection it may please you to grant me.

‘The idea of this peaceful future coming after the turmoil of my past life has so captivated me that this very night I took the decision to bring forward the moment when you will be mine. So I shall leave you now, fair Elvira. But only to go on to Burgos, where you will witness the effects of my impatience.'

After these words the viceroy knelt before me, kissed my hands, remounted and galloped off.

I do not need to tell you what sort of anguish I felt. I anticipated the most unpleasant scenes, and this desperate prospect would always end in the whipping which I would not fail to undergo in the Theatines' courtyard. I rejoined my aunts, who were eating their meal. I wanted to tell them of the viceroy's latest declaration but there was no way of doing so. The inexorable major-domo urged me to step back into the litter and I had to obey.

At the gates of Burgos we were met by one of my future husband's pages, who told us that we were expected at the bishop's palace. Icy beads of sweat which I felt running down my forehead told me that I was still alive, for in all other respects fear had plunged me into a state of prostration from which I did not emerge until I found myself in front of the archbishop. The prelate was sitting in an armchair opposite the viceroy. His clergy were placed below him. The leading citizens of Burgos were sitting next to the viceroy. At the other end of the room there stood an altar dressed for the ceremony. The archbishop rose, blessed me and kissed me on the forehead.

Overcome by all the emotions that welled up in my heart, I fell at the archbishop's feet, and at that moment I don't know what presence of mind inspired me to say to him, ‘Your Grace, have pity on me! I want to become a nun! I want to become a nun!'

After making this declaration, which rang throughout the room, I thought it proper to faint. I only recovered to fall into the arms of my aunts, who were finding it difficult not to collapse themselves, such was their distress. Through half-closed eyes I could see the archbishop standing respectfully in front of the viceroy, waiting for him to make his mind up what to do.

The viceroy asked the archbishop to sit down again and to give him time to reflect. As the archbishop therefore sat down, I could again see the face of my august lover, whose expression was even more severe than usual. It would have caused the boldest to quake. For some time he seemed absorbed in his thoughts, then he proudly got to his feet, put on his hat and said, ‘I shall no longer remain incognito, I am the Viceroy of Mexico. The archbishop may remain seated.' All the other persons present rose to their feet respectfully.

‘Señores,' said the viceroy, ‘fourteen years ago vile slanderers accused me of being the father of this young person. I could think of no other way of silencing them than to engage myself to marry her once she should have reached the requisite age. While she grew in grace and virtue the king, acknowledging my services, caused me to rise in rank and eventually clothed me in the high dignity which has brought me close to the throne. Meanwhile the time to fulfil my promise had come. I asked the king for permission to return to Spain and to marry. The reply of the council of Madrid was that I could come but that I would not be given the honour due to a viceroy unless I gave up the idea of marriage. At the same time I was forbidden to come within fifty leagues of Madrid. I understood clearly that I had to give up the idea of marriage or renounce my master's favour. But I had promised and I did not even hesitate.

‘When I saw charming Elvira I thought that heaven had taken me away from the paths of honour to enjoy a new felicity in the peaceful enjoyment of my retirement. But since heaven jealously calls to itself a soul of which the earth was not worthy, I place this soul back in your charge. Have her taken to the convent of the Annunciads, let
her begin her noviciate. I shall write to the king and ask his permission to come to Madrid.'

With these words the terrible viceroy greeted those present, replaced his hat, pulled it down over his eyes with an expression of the greatest severity and returned to his coach. He was accompanied by the archbishop, magistrates, clergy and all their retinue. We were left alone in the room with a few sacristans, who undressed the altar. Then, with my two aunts, I fled into a neighbouring room and ran to the window to see whether there was no way for me to escape and avoid the convent.

The window looked out on to an interior courtyard where there was a fountain. I saw two small exhausted boys in rags, who seemed eager to slake their thirst. On one of them I recognized the clothes I had exchanged with Elvira. Then I recognized her. The other ragged child was Lonzeto. I shouted for joy. There were four doors in the chamber in which we found ourselves. The first one I opened gave on to a staircase which led down into the interior courtyard where those ragamuffins were. I ran and brought them back. Good Maria de Torres thought she would die with joy as she hugged them in her arms.

At that moment we heard the archbishop coming back, after having seen the viceroy off, to fetch me and take me to the convent of the Annunciads. I only just had time to throw myself at the door and close it. My aunt cried out that the young girl had fainted again and was not in a state to receive anyone. We once more hurriedly exchanged our clothes. Elvira's head was bandaged as though she had hurt herself falling over, and part of her face was carefully hidden so that it would be more difficult to detect the substitution.

When all was ready, I fled with Lonzeto and the door was opened. The archbishop was no longer there but he had left his vicar-general behind, who escorted Elvira and Maria de Torres to the convent. Aunt Dalanosa went to the Venta de las Rosas, having told me to meet her there. We took an apartment, and for eight days thought of nothing but rejoicing in the happy outcome of this adventure and the anguish it had caused us. Lonzeto, no longer a muleteer, shared our lodgings. He was known as Maria de Torres's son.

My aunt made several visits to the convent of the Annunciads. It
was agreed that Elvira would at first evince a great desire for the religious life, but that the fervour of her vocation would decline to the point where she would be removed from the convent and Rome would be asked for the necessary dispensation to allow her to marry her cousin german. Soon after, we learned that the viceroy had been to Madrid and that he had been received with great honour. He even obtained the approval of the king to transfer his fortune and title to his nephew, the son of the sister whom he had taken with him to Villaca. A little later he set sail for America.

As for me, the excitement of so unusual a journey had done much to develop the frivolous and vagabond side of my nature, and I dreaded the moment that I would have to be cloistered with the Theatines. But that was what my great-uncle had decided, and after employing all the delaying tactics I could think of, I had to accept the idea too.