PART I - CHAPTER XXXIV.

by Miguel de Cervantes

　　IN WHICH IS CONTINUED THE NOVEL OF "THE ILL-ADVISED CURIOSITY""It is commonly said that an army looks ill without its general and acastle without its castellan, and I say that a young married woman looksstill worse without her husband unless there are very good reasons forit. I find myself so ill at ease without you, and so incapable ofenduring this separation, that unless you return quickly I shall have togo for relief to my parents' house, even if I leave yours without aprotector; for the one you left me, if indeed he deserved that title,has, I think, more regard to his own pleasure than to what concerns you:as you are possessed of discernment I need say no more to you, nor indeedis it fitting I should say more."Anselmo received this letter, and from it he gathered that Lothario hadalready begun his task and that Camilla must have replied to him as hewould have wished; and delighted beyond measure at such intelligence hesent word to her not to leave his house on any account, as he would veryshortly return. Camilla was astonished at Anselmo's reply, which placedher in greater perplexity than before, for she neither dared to remain inher own house, nor yet to go to her parents'; for in remaining her virtuewas imperilled, and in going she was opposing her husband's commands.Finally she decided upon what was the worse course for her, to remain,resolving not to fly from the presence of Lothario, that she might notgive food for gossip to her servants; and she now began to regret havingwritten as she had to her husband, fearing he might imagine that Lothariohad perceived in her some lightness which had impelled him to lay asidethe respect he owed her; but confident of her rectitude she put her trustin God and in her own virtuous intentions, with which she hoped to resistin silence all the solicitations of Lothario, without saying anything toher husband so as not to involve him in any quarrel or trouble; and sheeven began to consider how to excuse Lothario to Anselmo when he shouldask her what it was that induced her to write that letter. With theseresolutions, more honourable than judicious or effectual, she remainedthe next day listening to Lothario, who pressed his suit so strenuouslythat Camilla's firmness began to waver, and her virtue had enough to doto come to the rescue of her eyes and keep them from showing signs of acertain tender compassion which the tears and appeals of Lothario hadawakened in her bosom. Lothario observed all this, and it inflamed himall the more. In short he felt that while Anselmo's absence afforded timeand opportunity he must press the siege of the fortress, and so heassailed her self-esteem with praises of her beauty, for there is nothingthat more quickly reduces and levels the castle towers of fair women'svanity than vanity itself upon the tongue of flattery. In fact with theutmost assiduity he undermined the rock of her purity with such enginesthat had Camilla been of brass she must have fallen. He wept, heentreated, he promised, he flattered, he importuned, he pretended with somuch feeling and apparent sincerity, that he overthrew the virtuousresolves of Camilla and won the triumph he least expected and most longedfor. Camilla yielded, Camilla fell; but what wonder if the friendship ofLothario could not stand firm? A clear proof to us that the passion oflove is to be conquered only by flying from it, and that no one shouldengage in a struggle with an enemy so mighty; for divine strength isneeded to overcome his human power. Leonela alone knew of her mistress'sweakness, for the two false friends and new lovers were unable to concealit. Lothario did not care to tell Camilla the object Anselmo had in view,nor that he had afforded him the opportunity of attaining such a result,lest she should undervalue his love and think that it was by chance andwithout intending it and not of his own accord that he had made love toher.A few days later Anselmo returned to his house and did not perceive whatit had lost, that which he so lightly treated and so highly prized. Hewent at once to see Lothario, and found him at home; they embraced eachother, and Anselmo asked for the tidings of his life or his death."The tidings I have to give thee, Anselmo my friend," said Lothario, "arethat thou dost possess a wife that is worthy to be the pattern and crownof all good wives. The words that I have addressed to her were borne awayon the wind, my promises have been despised, my presents have beenrefused, such feigned tears as I shed have been turned into openridicule. In short, as Camilla is the essence of all beauty, so is shethe treasure-house where purity dwells, and gentleness and modesty abidewith all the virtues that can confer praise, honour, and happiness upon awoman. Take back thy money, my friend; here it is, and I have had no needto touch it, for the chastity of Camilla yields not to things so base asgifts or promises. Be content, Anselmo, and refrain from making furtherproof; and as thou hast passed dryshod through the sea of those doubtsand suspicions that are and may be entertained of women, seek not toplunge again into the deep ocean of new embarrassments, or with anotherpilot make trial of the goodness and strength of the bark that Heaven hasgranted thee for thy passage across the sea of this world; but reckonthyself now safe in port, moor thyself with the anchor of soundreflection, and rest in peace until thou art called upon to pay that debtwhich no nobility on earth can escape paying."Anselmo was completely satisfied by the words of Lothario, and believedthem as fully as if they had been spoken by an oracle; nevertheless hebegged of him not to relinquish the undertaking, were it but for the sakeof curiosity and amusement; though thenceforward he need not make use ofthe same earnest endeavours as before; all he wished him to do was towrite some verses to her, praising her under the name of Chloris, for hehimself would give her to understand that he was in love with a lady towhom he had given that name to enable him to sing her praises with thedecorum due to her modesty; and if Lothario were unwilling to take thetrouble of writing the verses he would compose them himself."That will not be necessary," said Lothario, "for the muses are not suchenemies of mine but that they visit me now and then in the course of theyear. Do thou tell Camilla what thou hast proposed about a pretendedamour of mine; as for the verses will make them, and if not as good asthe subject deserves, they shall be at least the best I can produce." Anagreement to this effect was made between the friends, the ill-advisedone and the treacherous, and Anselmo returning to his house asked Camillathe question she already wondered he had not asked before--what it wasthat had caused her to write the letter she had sent him. Camilla repliedthat it had seemed to her that Lothario looked at her somewhat morefreely than when he had been at home; but that now she was undeceived andbelieved it to have been only her own imagination, for Lothario nowavoided seeing her, or being alone with her. Anselmo told her she mightbe quite easy on the score of that suspicion, for he knew that Lothariowas in love with a damsel of rank in the city whom he celebrated underthe name of Chloris, and that even if he were not, his fidelity and theirgreat friendship left no room for fear. Had not Camilla, however, beeninformed beforehand by Lothario that this love for Chloris was apretence, and that he himself had told Anselmo of it in order to be ablesometimes to give utterance to the praises of Camilla herself, no doubtshe would have fallen into the despairing toils of jealousy; but beingforewarned she received the startling news without uneasiness.The next day as the three were at table Anselmo asked Lothario to recitesomething of what he had composed for his mistress Chloris; for asCamilla did not know her, he might safely say what he liked."Even did she know her," returned Lothario, "I would hide nothing, forwhen a lover praises his lady's beauty, and charges her with cruelty, hecasts no imputation upon her fair name; at any rate, all I can say isthat yesterday I made a sonnet on the ingratitude of this Chloris, whichgoes thus:SONNET At midnight, in the silence, when the eyes Of happier mortals balmy slumbers close, The weary tale of my unnumbered woes To Chloris and to Heaven is wont to rise. And when the light of day returning dyes The portals of the east with tints of rose, With undiminished force my sorrow flows In broken accents and in burning sighs. And when the sun ascends his star-girt throne, And on the earth pours down his midday beams, Noon but renews my wailing and my tears; And with the night again goes up my moan. Yet ever in my agony it seems To me that neither Heaven nor Chloris hears." The sonnet pleased Camilla, and still more Anselmo, for he praised it andsaid the lady was excessively cruel who made no return for sincerity somanifest. On which Camilla said, "Then all that love-smitten poets say istrue?""As poets they do not tell the truth," replied Lothario; "but as loversthey are not more defective in expression than they are truthful.""There is no doubt of that," observed Anselmo, anxious to support anduphold Lothario's ideas with Camilla, who was as regardless of his designas she was deep in love with Lothario; and so taking delight in anythingthat was his, and knowing that his thoughts and writings had her fortheir object, and that she herself was the real Chloris, she asked him torepeat some other sonnet or verses if he recollected any."I do," replied Lothario, "but I do not think it as good as the firstone, or, more correctly speaking, less bad; but you can easily judge, forit is this.SONNET I know that I am doomed; death is to me As certain as that thou, ungrateful fair, Dead at thy feet shouldst see me lying, ere My heart repented of its love for thee. If buried in oblivion I should be, Bereft of life, fame, favour, even there It would be found that I thy image bear Deep graven in my breast for all to see. This like some holy relic do I prize To save me from the fate my truth entails, Truth that to thy hard heart its vigour owes. Alas for him that under lowering skies, In peril o'er a trackless ocean sails, Where neither friendly port nor pole-star shows." Anselmo praised this second sonnet too, as he had praised the first; andso he went on adding link after link to the chain with which he wasbinding himself and making his dishonour secure; for when Lothario wasdoing most to dishonour him he told him he was most honoured; and thuseach step that Camilla descended towards the depths of her abasement, shemounted, in his opinion, towards the summit of virtue and fair fame.It so happened that finding herself on one occasion alone with her maid,Camilla said to her, "I am ashamed to think, my dear Leonela, how lightlyI have valued myself that I did not compel Lothario to purchase by atleast some expenditure of time that full possession of me that I soquickly yielded him of my own free will. I fear that he will think ill ofmy pliancy or lightness, not considering the irresistible influence hebrought to bear upon me.""Let not that trouble you, my lady," said Leonela, "for it does not takeaway the value of the thing given or make it the less precious to give itquickly if it be really valuable and worthy of being prized; nay, theyare wont to say that he who gives quickly gives twice.""They say also," said Camilla, "that what costs little is valued less.""That saying does not hold good in your case," replied Leonela, "forlove, as I have heard say, sometimes flies and sometimes walks; with thisone it runs, with that it moves slowly; some it cools, others it burns;some it wounds, others it slays; it begins the course of its desires, andat the same moment completes and ends it; in the morning it will laysiege to a fortress and by night will have taken it, for there is nopower that can resist it; so what are you in dread of, what do you fear,when the same must have befallen Lothario, love having chosen the absenceof my lord as the instrument for subduing you? and it was absolutelynecessary to complete then what love had resolved upon, without affordingthe time to let Anselmo return and by his presence compel the work to beleft unfinished; for love has no better agent for carrying out hisdesigns than opportunity; and of opportunity he avails himself in all hisfeats, especially at the outset. All this I know well myself, more byexperience than by hearsay, and some day, senora, I will enlighten you onthe subject, for I am of your flesh and blood too. Moreover, ladyCamilla, you did not surrender yourself or yield so quickly but thatfirst you saw Lothario's whole soul in his eyes, in his sighs, in hiswords, his promises and his gifts, and by it and his good qualitiesperceived how worthy he was of your love. This, then, being the case, letnot these scrupulous and prudish ideas trouble your imagination, but beassured that Lothario prizes you as you do him, and rest content andsatisfied that as you are caught in the noose of love it is one of worthand merit that has taken you, and one that has not only the four S's thatthey say true lovers ought to have, but a complete alphabet; only listento me and you will see how I can repeat it by rote. He is to my eyes andthinking, Amiable, Brave, Courteous, Distinguished, Elegant, Fond, Gay,Honourable, Illustrious, Loyal, Manly, Noble, Open, Polite, Quickwitted,Rich, and the S's according to the saying, and then Tender, Veracious: Xdoes not suit him, for it is a rough letter; Y has been given already;and Z Zealous for your honour."Camilla laughed at her maid's alphabet, and perceived her to be moreexperienced in love affairs than she said, which she admitted, confessingto Camilla that she had love passages with a young man of good birth ofthe same city. Camilla was uneasy at this, dreading lest it might provethe means of endangering her honour, and asked whether her intrigue hadgone beyond words, and she with little shame and much effrontery said ithad; for certain it is that ladies' imprudences make servants shameless,who, when they see their mistresses make a false step, think nothing ofgoing astray themselves, or of its being known. All that Camilla could dowas to entreat Leonela to say nothing about her doings to him whom shecalled her lover, and to conduct her own affairs secretly lest theyshould come to the knowledge of Anselmo or of Lothario. Leonela said shewould, but kept her word in such a way that she confirmed Camilla'sapprehension of losing her reputation through her means; for thisabandoned and bold Leonela, as soon as she perceived that her mistress'sdemeanour was not what it was wont to be, had the audacity to introduceher lover into the house, confident that even if her mistress saw him shewould not dare to expose him; for the sins of mistresses entail thismischief among others; they make themselves the slaves of their ownservants, and are obliged to hide their laxities and depravities; as wasthe case with Camilla, who though she perceived, not once but many times,that Leonela was with her lover in some room of the house, not only didnot dare to chide her, but afforded her opportunities for concealing himand removed all difficulties, lest he should be seen by her husband. Shewas unable, however, to prevent him from being seen on one occasion, ashe sallied forth at daybreak, by Lothario, who, not knowing who he was,at first took him for a spectre; but, as soon as he saw him hasten away,muffling his face with his cloak and concealing himself carefully andcautiously, he rejected this foolish idea, and adopted another, whichwould have been the ruin of all had not Camilla found a remedy. It didnot occur to Lothario that this man he had seen issuing at such anuntimely hour from Anselmo's house could have entered it on Leonela'saccount, nor did he even remember there was such a person as Leonela; allhe thought was that as Camilla had been light and yielding with him, soshe had been with another; for this further penalty the erring woman'ssin brings with it, that her honour is distrusted even by him to whoseovertures and persuasions she has yielded; and he believes her to havesurrendered more easily to others, and gives implicit credence to everysuspicion that comes into his mind. All Lothario's good sense seems tohave failed him at this juncture; all his prudent maxims escaped hismemory; for without once reflecting rationally, and without more ado, inhis impatience and in the blindness of the jealous rage that gnawed hisheart, and dying to revenge himself upon Camilla, who had done him nowrong, before Anselmo had risen he hastened to him and said to him,"Know, Anselmo, that for several days past I have been struggling withmyself, striving to withhold from thee what it is no longer possible orright that I should conceal from thee. Know that Camilla's fortress hassurrendered and is ready to submit to my will; and if I have been slow toreveal this fact to thee, it was in order to see if it were some lightcaprice of hers, or if she sought to try me and ascertain if the love Ibegan to make to her with thy permission was made with a seriousintention. I thought, too, that she, if she were what she ought to be,and what we both believed her, would have ere this given thee informationof my addresses; but seeing that she delays, I believe the truth of thepromise she has given me that the next time thou art absent from thehouse she will grant me an interview in the closet where thy jewels arekept (and it was true that Camilla used to meet him there); but I do notwish thee to rush precipitately to take vengeance, for the sin is as yetonly committed in intention, and Camilla's may change perhaps betweenthis and the appointed time, and repentance spring up in its place. Ashitherto thou hast always followed my advice wholly or in part, followand observe this that I will give thee now, so that, without mistake, andwith mature deliberation, thou mayest satisfy thyself as to what may seemthe best course; pretend to absent thyself for two or three days as thouhast been wont to do on other occasions, and contrive to hide thyself inthe closet; for the tapestries and other things there afford greatfacilities for thy concealment, and then thou wilt see with thine owneyes and I with mine what Camilla's purpose may be. And if it be a guiltyone, which may be feared rather than expected, with silence, prudence,and discretion thou canst thyself become the instrument of punishment forthe wrong done thee."Anselmo was amazed, overwhelmed, and astounded at the words of Lothario,which came upon him at a time when he least expected to hear them, for henow looked upon Camilla as having triumphed over the pretended attacks ofLothario, and was beginning to enjoy the glory of her victory. Heremained silent for a considerable time, looking on the ground with fixedgaze, and at length said, "Thou hast behaved, Lothario, as I expected ofthy friendship: I will follow thy advice in everything; do as thou wilt,and keep this secret as thou seest it should be kept in circumstances sounlooked for."Lothario gave him his word, but after leaving him he repented altogetherof what he had said to him, perceiving how foolishly he had acted, as hemight have revenged himself upon Camilla in some less cruel and degradingway. He cursed his want of sense, condemned his hasty resolution, andknew not what course to take to undo the mischief or find some readyescape from it. At last he decided upon revealing all to Camilla, and, asthere was no want of opportunity for doing so, he found her alone thesame day; but she, as soon as she had the chance of speaking to him,said, "Lothario my friend, I must tell thee I have a sorrow in my heartwhich fills it so that it seems ready to burst; and it will be a wonderif it does not; for the audacity of Leonela has now reached such a pitchthat every night she conceals a gallant of hers in this house and remainswith him till morning, at the expense of my reputation; inasmuch as it isopen to anyone to question it who may see him quitting my house at suchunseasonable hours; but what distresses me is that I cannot punish orchide her, for her privity to our intrigue bridles my mouth and keeps mesilent about hers, while I am dreading that some catastrophe will come ofit."As Camilla said this Lothario at first imagined it was some device todelude him into the idea that the man he had seen going out was Leonela'slover and not hers; but when he saw how she wept and suffered, and beggedhim to help her, he became convinced of the truth, and the convictioncompleted his confusion and remorse; however, he told Camilla not todistress herself, as he would take measures to put a stop to theinsolence of Leonela. At the same time he told her what, driven by thefierce rage of jealousy, he had said to Anselmo, and how he had arrangedto hide himself in the closet that he might there see plainly how littleshe preserved her fidelity to him; and he entreated her pardon for thismadness, and her advice as to how to repair it, and escape safely fromthe intricate labyrinth in which his imprudence had involved him. Camillawas struck with alarm at hearing what Lothario said, and with much anger,and great good sense, she reproved him and rebuked his base design andthe foolish and mischievous resolution he had made; but as woman has bynature a nimbler wit than man for good and for evil, though it is apt tofail when she sets herself deliberately to reason, Camilla on the spur ofthe moment thought of a way to remedy what was to all appearanceirremediable, and told Lothario to contrive that the next day Anselmoshould conceal himself in the place he mentioned, for she hoped from hisconcealment to obtain the means of their enjoying themselves for thefuture without any apprehension; and without revealing her purpose to himentirely she charged him to be careful, as soon as Anselmo was concealed,to come to her when Leonela should call him, and to all she said to himto answer as he would have answered had he not known that Anselmo waslistening. Lothario pressed her to explain her intention fully, so thathe might with more certainty and precaution take care to do what he sawto be needful."I tell you," said Camilla, "there is nothing to take care of except toanswer me what I shall ask you;" for she did not wish to explain to himbeforehand what she meant to do, fearing lest he should be unwilling tofollow out an idea which seemed to her such a good one, and should try ordevise some other less practicable plan.Lothario then retired, and the next day Anselmo, under pretence of goingto his friend's country house, took his departure, and then returned toconceal himself, which he was able to do easily, as Camilla and Leonelatook care to give him the opportunity; and so he placed himself in hidingin the state of agitation that it may be imagined he would feel whoexpected to see the vitals of his honour laid bare before his eyes, andfound himself on the point of losing the supreme blessing he thought hepossessed in his beloved Camilla. Having made sure of Anselmo's being inhis hiding-place, Camilla and Leonela entered the closet, and the instantshe set foot within it Camilla said, with a deep sigh, "Ah! dear Leonela,would it not be better, before I do what I am unwilling you should knowlest you should seek to prevent it, that you should take Anselmo's daggerthat I have asked of you and with it pierce this vile heart of mine? Butno; there is no reason why I should suffer the punishment of another'sfault. I will first know what it is that the bold licentious eyes ofLothario have seen in me that could have encouraged him to reveal to me adesign so base as that which he has disclosed regardless of his friendand of my honour. Go to the window, Leonela, and call him, for no doubthe is in the street waiting to carry out his vile project; but mine,cruel it may be, but honourable, shall be carried out first.""Ah, senora," said the crafty Leonela, who knew her part, "what is it youwant to do with this dagger? Can it be that you mean to take your ownlife, or Lothario's? for whichever you mean to do, it will lead to theloss of your reputation and good name. It is better to dissemble yourwrong and not give this wicked man the chance of entering the house nowand finding us alone; consider, senora, we are weak women and he is aman, and determined, and as he comes with such a base purpose, blind andurged by passion, perhaps before you can put yours into execution he maydo what will be worse for you than taking your life. Ill betide mymaster, Anselmo, for giving such authority in his house to this shamelessfellow! And supposing you kill him, senora, as I suspect you mean to do,what shall we do with him when he is dead?""What, my friend?" replied Camilla, "we shall leave him for Anselmo tobury him; for in reason it will be to him a light labour to hide his owninfamy under ground. Summon him, make haste, for all the time I delay intaking vengeance for my wrong seems to me an offence against the loyaltyI owe my husband."Anselmo was listening to all this, and every word that Camilla utteredmade him change his mind; but when he heard that it was resolved to killLothario his first impulse was to come out and show himself to avert sucha disaster; but in his anxiety to see the issue of a resolution so boldand virtuous he restrained himself, intending to come forth in time toprevent the deed. At this moment Camilla, throwing herself upon a bedthat was close by, swooned away, and Leonela began to weep bitterly,exclaiming, "Woe is me! that I should be fated to have dying here in myarms the flower of virtue upon earth, the crown of true wives, thepattern of chastity!" with more to the same effect, so that anyone whoheard her would have taken her for the most tender-hearted and faithfulhandmaid in the world, and her mistress for another persecuted Penelope.Camilla was not long in recovering from her fainting fit and on coming toherself she said, "Why do you not go, Leonela, to call hither thatfriend, the falsest to his friend the sun ever shone upon or nightconcealed? Away, run, haste, speed! lest the fire of my wrath burn itselfout with delay, and the righteous vengeance that I hope for melt away inmenaces and maledictions.""I am just going to call him, senora," said Leonela; "but you must firstgive me that dagger, lest while I am gone you should by means of it givecause to all who love you to weep all their lives.""Go in peace, dear Leonela, I will not do so," said Camilla, "for rashand foolish as I may be, to your mind, in defending my honour, I am notgoing to be so much so as that Lucretia who they say killed herselfwithout having done anything wrong, and without having first killed himon whom the guilt of her misfortune lay. I shall die, if I am to die; butit must be after full vengeance upon him who has brought me here to weepover audacity that no fault of mine gave birth to."Leonela required much pressing before she would go to summon Lothario,but at last she went, and while awaiting her return Camilla continued, asif speaking to herself, "Good God! would it not have been more prudent tohave repulsed Lothario, as I have done many a time before, than to allowhim, as I am now doing, to think me unchaste and vile, even for the shorttime I must wait until I undeceive him? No doubt it would have beenbetter; but I should not be avenged, nor the honour of my husbandvindicated, should he find so clear and easy an escape from the straitinto which his depravity has led him. Let the traitor pay with his lifefor the temerity of his wanton wishes, and let the world know (if haplyit shall ever come to know) that Camilla not only preserved herallegiance to her husband, but avenged him of the man who dared to wronghim. Still, I think it might be better to disclose this to Anselmo. Butthen I have called his attention to it in the letter I wrote to him inthe country, and, if he did nothing to prevent the mischief I therepointed out to him, I suppose it was that from pure goodness of heart andtrustfulness he would not and could not believe that any thought againsthis honour could harbour in the breast of so stanch a friend; nor indeeddid I myself believe it for many days, nor should I have ever believed itif his insolence had not gone so far as to make it manifest by openpresents, lavish promises, and ceaseless tears. But why do I argue thus?Does a bold determination stand in need of arguments? Surely not. Thentraitors avaunt! Vengeance to my aid! Let the false one come, approach,advance, die, yield up his life, and then befall what may. Pure I came tohim whom Heaven bestowed upon me, pure I shall leave him; and at theworst bathed in my own chaste blood and in the foul blood of the falsestfriend that friendship ever saw in the world;" and as she uttered thesewords she paced the room holding the unsheathed dagger, with suchirregular and disordered steps, and such gestures that one would havesupposed her to have lost her senses, and taken her for some violentdesperado instead of a delicate woman.Anselmo, hidden behind some tapestries where he had concealed himself,beheld and was amazed at all, and already felt that what he had seen andheard was a sufficient answer to even greater suspicions; and he wouldhave been now well pleased if the proof afforded by Lothario's comingwere dispensed with, as he feared some sudden mishap; but as he was onthe point of showing himself and coming forth to embrace and undeceivehis wife he paused as he saw Leonela returning, leading Lothario. Camillawhen she saw him, drawing a long line in front of her on the floor withthe dagger, said to him, "Lothario, pay attention to what I say to thee:if by any chance thou darest to cross this line thou seest, or evenapproach it, the instant I see thee attempt it that same instant will Ipierce my bosom with this dagger that I hold in my hand; and before thouanswerest me a word desire thee to listen to a few from me, andafterwards thou shalt reply as may please thee. First, I desire thee totell me, Lothario, if thou knowest my husband Anselmo, and in what lightthou regardest him; and secondly I desire to know if thou knowest me too.Answer me this, without embarrassment or reflecting deeply what thou wiltanswer, for they are no riddles I put to thee."Lothario was not so dull but that from the first moment when Camilladirected him to make Anselmo hide himself he understood what she intendedto do, and therefore he fell in with her idea so readily and promptlythat between them they made the imposture look more true than truth; sohe answered her thus: "I did not think, fair Camilla, that thou wertcalling me to ask questions so remote from the object with which I come;but if it is to defer the promised reward thou art doing so, thou mightsthave put it off still longer, for the longing for happiness gives themore distress the nearer comes the hope of gaining it; but lest thoushouldst say that I do not answer thy questions, I say that I know thyhusband Anselmo, and that we have known each other from our earliestyears; I will not speak of what thou too knowest, of our friendship, thatI may not compel myself to testify against the wrong that love, themighty excuse for greater errors, makes me inflict upon him. Thee I knowand hold in the same estimation as he does, for were it not so I had notfor a lesser prize acted in opposition to what I owe to my station andthe holy laws of true friendship, now broken and violated by me throughthat powerful enemy, love.""If thou dost confess that," returned Camilla, "mortal enemy of all thatrightly deserves to be loved, with what face dost thou dare to comebefore one whom thou knowest to be the mirror wherein he is reflected onwhom thou shouldst look to see how unworthily thou him? But, woe is me, Inow comprehend what has made thee give so little heed to what thou owestto thyself; it must have been some freedom of mine, for I will not callit immodesty, as it did not proceed from any deliberate intention, butfrom some heedlessness such as women are guilty of through inadvertencewhen they think they have no occasion for reserve. But tell me, traitor,when did I by word or sign give a reply to thy prayers that could awakenin thee a shadow of hope of attaining thy base wishes? When were not thyprofessions of love sternly and scornfully rejected and rebuked? Whenwere thy frequent pledges and still more frequent gifts believed oraccepted? But as I am persuaded that no one can long persevere in theattempt to win love unsustained by some hope, I am willing to attributeto myself the blame of thy assurance, for no doubt some thoughtlessnessof mine has all this time fostered thy hopes; and therefore will I punishmyself and inflict upon myself the penalty thy guilt deserves. And thatthou mayest see that being so relentless to myself I cannot possibly beotherwise to thee, I have summoned thee to be a witness of the sacrificeI mean to offer to the injured honour of my honoured husband, wronged bythee with all the assiduity thou wert capable of, and by me too throughwant of caution in avoiding every occasion, if I have given any, ofencouraging and sanctioning thy base designs. Once more I say thesuspicion in my mind that some imprudence of mine has engendered theselawless thoughts in thee, is what causes me most distress and what Idesire most to punish with my own hands, for were any other instrument ofpunishment employed my error might become perhaps more widely known; butbefore I do so, in my death I mean to inflict death, and take with me onethat will fully satisfy my longing for the revenge I hope for and have;for I shall see, wheresoever it may be that I go, the penalty awarded byinflexible, unswerving justice on him who has placed me in a position sodesperate."As she uttered these words, with incredible energy and swiftness she flewupon Lothario with the naked dagger, so manifestly bent on burying it inhis breast that he was almost uncertain whether these demonstrations werereal or feigned, for he was obliged to have recourse to all his skill andstrength to prevent her from striking him; and with such reality did sheact this strange farce and mystification that, to give it a colour oftruth, she determined to stain it with her own blood; for perceiving, orpretending, that she could not wound Lothario, she said, "Fate, it seems,will not grant my just desire complete satisfaction, but it will not beable to keep me from satisfying it partially at least;" and making aneffort to free the hand with the dagger which Lothario held in his grasp,she released it, and directing the point to a place where it could notinflict a deep wound, she plunged it into her left side high up close tothe shoulder, and then allowed herself to fall to the ground as if in afaint.Leonela and Lothario stood amazed and astounded at the catastrophe, andseeing Camilla stretched on the ground and bathed in her blood they werestill uncertain as to the true nature of the act. Lothario, terrified andbreathless, ran in haste to pluck out the dagger; but when he saw howslight the wound was he was relieved of his fears and once more admiredthe subtlety, coolness, and ready wit of the fair Camilla; and the betterto support the part he had to play he began to utter profuse and dolefullamentations over her body as if she were dead, invoking maledictions notonly on himself but also on him who had been the means of placing him insuch a position: and knowing that his friend Anselmo heard him he spokein such a way as to make a listener feel much more pity for him than forCamilla, even though he supposed her dead. Leonela took her up in herarms and laid her on the bed, entreating Lothario to go in quest of someone to attend to her wound in secret, and at the same time asking hisadvice and opinion as to what they should say to Anselmo about his lady'swound if he should chance to return before it was healed. He replied theymight say what they liked, for he was not in a state to give advice thatwould be of any use; all he could tell her was to try and stanch theblood, as he was going where he should never more be seen; and with everyappearance of deep grief and sorrow he left the house; but when he foundhimself alone, and where there was nobody to see him, he crossed himselfunceasingly, lost in wonder at the adroitness of Camilla and theconsistent acting of Leonela. He reflected how convinced Anselmo would bethat he had a second Portia for a wife, and he looked forward anxiouslyto meeting him in order to rejoice together over falsehood and truth themost craftily veiled that could be imagined.Leonela, as he told her, stanched her lady's blood, which was no morethan sufficed to support her deception; and washing the wound with alittle wine she bound it up to the best of her skill, talking all thetime she was tending her in a strain that, even if nothing else had beensaid before, would have been enough to assure Anselmo that he had inCamilla a model of purity. To Leonela's words Camilla added her own,calling herself cowardly and wanting in spirit, since she had not enoughat the time she had most need of it to rid herself of the life she somuch loathed. She asked her attendant's advice as to whether or not sheought to inform her beloved husband of all that had happened, but theother bade her say nothing about it, as she would lay upon him theobligation of taking vengeance on Lothario, which he could not do but atgreat risk to himself; and it was the duty of a true wife not to give herhusband provocation to quarrel, but, on the contrary, to remove it as faras possible from him.Camilla replied that she believed she was right and that she would followher advice, but at any rate it would be well to consider how she was toexplain the wound to Anselmo, for he could not help seeing it; to whichLeonela answered that she did not know how to tell a lie even in jest."How then can I know, my dear?" said Camilla, "for I should not dare toforge or keep up a falsehood if my life depended on it. If we can thinkof no escape from this difficulty, it will be better to tell him theplain truth than that he should find us out in an untrue story.""Be not uneasy, senora," said Leonela; "between this and to-morrow I willthink of what we must say to him, and perhaps the wound being where it isit can be hidden from his sight, and Heaven will be pleased to aid us ina purpose so good and honourable. Compose yourself, senora, and endeavourto calm your excitement lest my lord find you agitated; and leave therest to my care and God's, who always supports good intentions."Anselmo had with the deepest attention listened to and seen played outthe tragedy of the death of his honour, which the performers acted withsuch wonderfully effective truth that it seemed as if they had become therealities of the parts they played. He longed for night and anopportunity of escaping from the house to go and see his good friendLothario, and with him give vent to his joy over the precious pearl hehad gained in having established his wife's purity. Both mistress andmaid took care to give him time and opportunity to get away, and takingadvantage of it he made his escape, and at once went in quest ofLothario, and it would be impossible to describe how he embraced him whenhe found him, and the things he said to him in the joy of his heart, andthe praises he bestowed upon Camilla; all which Lothario listened towithout being able to show any pleasure, for he could not forget howdeceived his friend was, and how dishonourably he had wronged him; andthough Anselmo could see that Lothario was not glad, still he imagined itwas only because he had left Camilla wounded and had been himself thecause of it; and so among other things he told him not to be distressedabout Camilla's accident, for, as they had agreed to hide it from him,the wound was evidently trifling; and that being so, he had no cause forfear, but should henceforward be of good cheer and rejoice with him,seeing that by his means and adroitness he found himself raised to thegreatest height of happiness that he could have ventured to hope for, anddesired no better pastime than making verses in praise of Camilla thatwould preserve her name for all time to come. Lothario commended hispurpose, and promised on his own part to aid him in raising a monument soglorious.And so Anselmo was left the most charmingly hoodwinked man there could bein the world. He himself, persuaded he was conducting the instrument ofhis glory, led home by the hand him who had been the utter destruction ofhis good name; whom Camilla received with averted countenance, thoughwith smiles in her heart. The deception was carried on for some time,until at the end of a few months Fortune turned her wheel and the guiltwhich had been until then so skilfully concealed was published abroad,and Anselmo paid with his life the penalty of his ill-advised curiosity.