Hernando

“ Clara is true?’—‘For answer, look on these three rings of gold.’
One instant, and his vizor’s clos’d, his lance is in the rest—
‘Defend thee now, thou felon knight! Foul shame be on thy crest!’
One charge—one shock. The traitor’s corse is from the saddle cast,
Through plate, and chain, and gambeson, Hernando’s spear hath pass’d.
He buries in his courser’s flank his bloody spears again;
Away! away! he scales the hill—he thunders o’er the plain!
‘Up, Clara, up!’ her mother cries; ‘Hernando comes! I see
The well-known blazon on his shield. ’Tis he, my child, ’tis he!’
‘Oh, mother! ”

“ Thou hast amazed us, lady, by thy charge; the proofs, that could have urged on thee conviction, cannot be such as will admit our doubt. Hernando
My liege, he deigns not to dispute the charge. Ferdinand
What madness drove him to the ruthless deed? Hernando
My liege, we must conjecture that he hoped, by virtue of his marriage with this lady, to gain possession of the seignories Gonzalez held. Izidora
Never! thou dost malign him! Never could such a motive sway his heart! Oh! judge not thou of motives, if none better thou canst attribute, sir, to such as he---a knight, a man of honour, a Velasco! ”

“ Doña Teresa, his wife, had never ceased every day to look out for her Hernando’s return. And when she saw his black charger, bearing his empty armour, she knew at once all that had come to pass; and like a noble Christian spouse, she had the strength to thank God that her Hernando had spent his life in the service of his religion and his country. Then she took his precious armour and laid it safely by, and she caressed the gallant [293] black charger, and led him away to his fresh-littered stall. ”

“ But Hernando said, “Good king! pray leave me my father’s armour and my father’s charger bold, for I am but a stripling, and my hand and my arm are weak, but my father’s arms and my father’s steed alone put the foe to flight.”
So the king let him have his will; and as he [297] found him so brave and successful against the Moors, he sent him to carry a message of encouragement to Don Diaz, to whom the Moors had laid siege. Now, as he came back from the errand, he was crossing the lonely plain, when anon it was covered with horsemen—Moorish horsemen, arrayed in their might. ”

“ We have ever regarded Hernando Cortéz as the great controling spirit and embodiment of the conquest, regardless of the brilliant and able men who were grouped around him, all of whom, tempered and regulated by his genius, moved the military machine, step by step, and act by act, until the capital fell before the united armies of discontented Indians and invading Spaniards. ”

“ Of all the band of adventurous cavaliers whom Spain, in the sixteenth century, sent forth on the career of discovery and conquest, there was none more deeply filled with the spirit of romantic enterprise than Hernando Cortés. Dangers and difficulties, instead of deterring, seemed to have a charm in his eyes. They were necessary to rouse him to a full consciousness of his powers. He grappled with them at the outset, and, if I may so express myself, seemed to prefer to take his enterprises by the most difficult side. ”

“ Hence Don Hernando resided alone, with his son, at the Hacienda del Toro; for he had lost his wife several years before, and his daughter was being educated in a convent at the town of Rosario; with that noble pride which so admirably becomes men of well-tempered minds, the Marquis had accepted without a murmur the ostracism passed upon him. Far from indulging in useless recriminations with men, the majority of whom had, in other days, received obligations from him, he had made his son a partner in his labours, and, aided by him, redoubled his efforts and his courage. ”

“ Izidora
Stand back! sir knight! thy arm no more shall clasp me. Think of my oath! it yet must be fulfill'd. Before the king himself I will arraign thee, to answer for this deed.---I am devoted to the fulfilment of a sacred duty; but did not think to find in thee the man--- Velasco
Oh! may I not support thee to thy home? Thou'rt weak, distracted mourner! Izidora
No. Away! A power---not mine---sustains my weary---limbs. ( Enter Hernando, who receives her insensible in his arms. )
Hernando
Here, in her kinsman's arms, is her protection. ”

“ Don Hernando remarked with an air of constraint, "What makes you suppose that?"
"I beg your pardon, my dear sir, I suppose nothing: you told me just now that you were hardly pressed."
"Well, and what conclusion do you derive from that?" the hacendero asked impatiently.
"A very simple thing—that seventy thousand piastres form a rather round sum, and that however rich a man may be, he does not always have it in his hands, especially when he is pressed." ”

“ Nothing could equal the indignation of the Christian warriors at the insolence of the bravado and the discourteous insult offered to the Queen. Hernando Perez del Pulgar, surnamed "he of the exploits," was present, and resolved not to be outbraved by this daring infidel. "Who will stand by me," said he, "in an enterprise of desperate peril?" The Christian cavaliers well knew the harebrained valor of Hernando del Pulgar, yet not one hesitated to step forward. He chose fifteen companions, all men of powerful arm and dauntless heart. ”

“ Could I exist, my liege, while lived the man who had disgraced me? No! I had a son---he has but done his duty. Ferdinand
And no more! Hence be it said, Velasco yielded up love, life, ay, more than life, rather than honour. For thee, unhappy lady, who hast been deprived at once of bridegroom and of father, we cannot punish where we find no guilt---no treacherous action nor intent is proved. We can but say: bring forth thy champion; Velasco promptly will obey his summons. The feud admits not of our interference. We have decided. Follow me, Hernando. ”

“ Your Lover's little better than a Pagan: on the heart's shrine he rears a human idol; imagination heightens every charm, brings down celestial attributes to clothe it, and dupes the willing soul, until, at length, he kneels unto a creature of the brain---a bright abstraction! But the cynic, Time, who holds the touchstone to immortal Truth, soon laughs him out of the prodigious folly! Say; art thou one of these idolaters? Izidora
'Tis very plain to me, I never loved; and least of all, Hernando. Trust me, Julio, I ne'er shall be the Pagan you describe if I depend on him for my conversion. ”

“ But the king, who had seen him come in bearing along such goodly spoils, took him for a practised warrior, and gave him a work to do which needed a valiant heart. “Now keep this pass,” he said, “for the rocks are narrow and high, and one at a time, as the enemy comes, with your sword you will strike them down.” [296]
Young Hernando durst not say ‘Nay;’ for his spirit within him was bold, though his young tender flesh was weak. And as he watched there alone, with only the moon for guide, “Oh, had I my old black charger, and my father’s armour!” he cried. ”

“ But one moment, stay, my liege: There was another charge, young Carlos brought. Tell us, Hernando, if in any way, thou wert accessary to Julio's death? Hernando
I take the dead to witness--- ( Enter Julio, who starts at seeing Hernando in fetters. )
Ah! he comes here to confound me with a miracle! I do confess. Away! ”

“ Don Hernando remarked, with a smile, for his majordomo's reasoning amused him.
"On the contrary, the bandits to whom I am referring, Excellency, are clever, too clever, and it is that which ruins them; they will never imagine that a poor devil of a half-breed, leading a sorry mule, can be carrying fifty thousand piastres. Deceived by my appearance, they will let me pass, without even pretending to see; while if I take persons with me, it will arouse their suspicions, they will want to know why I am guarded, and I shall be plundered." ”

“ Thither, with similar speed, rushed the Moorish champions; and the fight became close and deadly round the body of the still unconscious Christian. Not an instant of leisure to unlace the helmet of Hernando, by removing which, alone, the Moorish blade could find a mortal place, was permitted to Muza; and, what with the spears and trampling hoofs around him, the situation of the Paynim was more dangerous than that of the Christian. ”

“ Heroes themselves, they could see and respect heroism even in an enemy. Hernando gave strict orders that this brave Indian should not be hurt. He must be overpowered, but not struck down. Several ladders were planted on different sides of the tower, and the Spaniards made a simultaneous rush, Hernando shouting to the Indian that he should be preserved if he would yield. ”

“ Hernando turned absently toward his questioner and did not notice that Eletheer’s chair was empty.
267 Reuben waited a few seconds and then said softly,—“Massa, we can’t take de Kingdom of Hebben by sto’m.”
“You’re right, of course, Reuben,” Hernando answered, giving himself a mental shake. “I’m afraid I’m a poor soldier anyway.”
“’Scuse me, Massa, mebbe yo’se done been fightin’ undah de wrong Cap’n; an’ mebbe agin taint no use fightin’ nohow; jes’ let de Kingdom ob Hebben take yo’.” ”

“ If he subdue for us our enemies,
Shall we raise others, or, for want of them,
Convert him into one against his will?
FIFTH ACT: SECOND SCENE. Hernando enters. Tarik continues.
Here comes Hernando from that prince himself—
Muza. Who scorns himself to come.
Her. The queen detains him.
Abd. How? Egilona?
Muza. ’Twas my will.
Tar. At last
He must be happy; for delicious calm
Follows the fierce enjoyment of revenge.
Her. That calm was never his, no other will be!
Thou knowest not, and mayst thou never know,
How bitter is the tear that fiery shame
Scourges and tortures from the soldier’s eye. ”

“ Carlos seats himself unperceived upon the chair of state.
Hernando
Art well assured of the fidelity of him thou hast employ'd in this affair? Mendoza
Don Julio stands no longer in thy way. Our agents bring such proofs as will convince thee. How wilt thou mould the sister to thy purpose? Hernando
She will be mine, Mendoza; and at once---if not by fair compliance, by compulsion! I have possess'd the castle with my creatures---ridding its precincts of the old adherents. She returns home---to my home---dost thou hear? She's in my power---is't not a masterpiece? ”

“ That should be a profession with preliminary examinations as to fitness.”
Hernando’s face became a trifle paler as he replied, “They say at birth nine-tenths of35 man’s evolution is completed. Your sister has encountered a weighty problem, and a melancholy one.”
“Weighty problems require too much effort,” laughed Celeste, “and my contribution to society must be on purely feminine lines.”
In the evening, the younger members of the family gathered in the dining-room. Jack and Hernando cracked walnuts and Celeste read aloud from a newspaper which had just arrived by stage on the Berm. ”

“ And with a gay laugh he sprang into his carriage and was off for Kingston.
Hernando and Elisha were mutually attracted toward each other from the first. One true nature instinctively understands103 another, and the two young men were naturally thrown together a great deal.
At Mrs. De Vere’s earnest solicitation, Hernando shared Elisha’s room—the one which had been Granny’s. One year of unparalleled prosperity in this locality had rolled by. ”

“ Hernando with his companions took a house in Leon, and thence messengers were despatched to invite those who were thought most likely to join them to a pretended merry-making. When all were assembled the youthful rebel pointed out how hard was their present condition in life, and how hopeless their chance of bettering it. He denounced the conduct of the audiencia, by whose ordinances those who had conquered and peopled the province were now well nigh reduced to beggary. ”

“ Yet the execution of Almagro was a most impolitic act; for an evil passion can rarely be gratified with impunity. Hernando thought to buy off justice with the gold of Peru. He had studied human nature on its weak and wicked side, and he expected to profit by it. ”

“ But Hernando looked confidently to his gold to dispel the accusations against him.
Before his departure, he counselled his brother to beware of the "men of Chili," as Almagro's followers were called; desperate men, who would stick at nothing, he said, for revenge. He besought the governor not to allow them to consort together in any number within fifty miles of his person; if he did, it would be fatal to him. And he concluded by recommending a strong body-guard ”

“ In the event of success Hernando was to be proclaimed monarch of the latter province, which was believed to contain more wealth than all the world besides. Preparations were made at Granada; men were secretly enlisted; arms and ammunition were procured; and when the news arrived that the sentence of the deposed governor was confirmed by the council of the Indies the conspirators removed to Leon, the younger brother remaining at his mother's residence in Granada to convey the impression that they had departed on some peaceful errand. ”

“ At first the Spaniard was moody and inclined to be spiteful: he could not forget that his neighbours were English; but Johnnie's repeated acts of courtesy and kindness, and his cheeriness at times when the three sailors from the Golden Boar got dangerously despondent, broke down the barrier of race and creed and speech. Hernando began to talk of himself. He had been a gentleman adventurer aboard a Spanish ship; was hot-tempered and impatient of official control. On several occasions whilst in harbour at Panama he had come into wordy conflict with the authorities. ”