Jorge

“ If Jorge were not there she would enter, with a sense of contentment, into long chats with Marianna while she ate her jelly. At other times she would silently form plans, her eyes fixed on the ceiling; she would go for a few weeks to the country to re-establish her health and on her return she would set to work to embroider strips of cashmere to cover anew the parlor furniture; for she wanted to occupy herself with household matters, and to live quietly. Jorge would not go back to Alemtejo, he would not leave Lisbon again. Thus life would for the future be easy and sweet. ”

“ Jorge’s frank and good-humored countenance was as attractive to her now as that of the other was repellent; she hated him now.
When Jorge left the house she was trembling with nervousness. She went out into the balcony. The sun shone brightly; the street looked inviting. Why should she not go out? The harsh voice of Juliana resounded on the stairs leading to the kitchen, and that hated sound decided her. She dressed herself with care; she was a woman, and she desired to look her best. She reached Leopoldina’s house out of breath just as it was striking twelve in S. Roque. ”

“ Keeping his hat in his hand, and refraining, through modesty, from entering the alcove, he would utter some profound observation, such as: “Health is a blessing which we fully appreciate only when we have lost it;” or, “Sickness is the test of friendship.” And he would end thus: “Soon, dear Jorge, the carmine of health will again color the cheeks of your virtuous spouse.” ”

“ They say I have grown thin; you yourself have noticed it. My life is a hell. If Jorge were to know! That vile wretch threatened to tell him everything to-day. I work like a slave. In the morning I sweep and put things in order; often I wash the breakfast things. Have pity on me, Sebastião, if it were only for his sake! Unhappy creature that I am, I have no one in the world to turn to.” And burying her face in her hands, she burst into a fresh fit of weeping. ”

“ Suddenly she flew into a violent passion, demanded her letters, heaped maledictions on Juliana, and in the same breath, in the midst of endearing epithets spoke of sums of money. Jorge feared that in her delirium she would reveal everything to Julião and to the servants, and a cold perspiration covered his brow. At times he would fly like a madman from the room, and throw himself on the sofa in the parlor, sobbing and writhing in anguish. ”

“ I leave such conduct to Moors, Christinos, and Negroes. I will further you on your journey, Don Jorge: I have a plan in my head, which I had resolved to propose to you before you questioned me. There is my wife’s brother, who has two horses which he occasionally lets out for hire; you shall hire them, Don Jorge, and he himself shall attend you to take care of you, and to comfort you, and to talk to you, and you shall pay him forty dollars for the journey. ”

“ This is my plan, Don Jorge, which no doubt will meet with your worship’s approbation, as it is devised solely for your benefit, and not with any view of lucre or interest either to me or mine. You will find my wife’s brother pleasant company on the route: he is a very respectable man, and one of the right opinion, and has likewise travelled much; for between ourselves, Don Jorge, he is something of a Contrabandista and frequently smuggles diamonds and precious stones from Portugal, which he disposes of sometimes in Cordova and sometimes at Madrid. ”

“ French officer, coward, liar, poltroon, steeped in every crime known to man, anxious to wed lovely heiress for her money alone; Jorge, young, beautiful, brave, conscientious, an expert in the art of war, in love with heiress for her own sweet sake, but kept from her side by the wicked uncle and his own desire to drive the last cursed despot from the fair land of his fathers. ”

“ When Jorge’s mother died, they thought for a time of living together in the house of Sebastião, which was larger than Jorge’s, and which had a garden. Jorge had some intention of buying a horse; but solitude inspired him with sentimental ideas of marriage. He saw Luiza in the Passeio, and for two months passed entire days in the street of the Magdalena. ”

“ Sebastião ventured to remark.
“It makes me tremble to think of it; but what is to be done?” said Jorge. “I am accustomed to the house, and it is my own; I have arranged it according to my taste; it is an economy to live here. If it were not for all this, I should not remain here a day longer.”
“The neighborhood is in truth a detestable one,” repeated Sebastião.
“Luiza, poor girl,” continued Jorge, “is an angel; but she is like a child, she knows nothing of the world, and owing to her amiable disposition she allows herself to be imposed upon. This is what happens in Leopoldina’s case. ”

“ Jorge laughed. In his opinion she was an inoffensive woman, a good creature, an admirable laundress; and in the Department her shirt-fronts awakened universal enthusiasm. His friend Julião said of them that they were not ironed, but enamelled. She was not an agreeable woman, it was true, but she was neat, silent, discreet. And rising, with his hands in the pockets of his loose flannel trousers,—
“And in any case, child,” he added, “we must not forget the way she behaved during Aunt Virginia’s sickness, never taking a moment’s rest. ”

“ Vaya! the longer one lives the more one learns.”
“How old may your reverence be?” I inquired.
“I am eighty years, Don Jorge; eighty years, and somewhat more.”
Such was the first conversation which passed between his reverence and myself. He soon conceived no inconsiderable liking for me, and favoured me with no little of his company. Unlike our friend the landlord, I found him by no means inclined to talk politics, which the more surprised me, knowing, as I did, the decided and hazardous part which he had taken on the late Carlist irruption into the neighbourhood. ”

“ Luiza proceeded to dress her. She gave her a gown of garnet silk, and a jacket of black cashmere embroidered with soutache braid. Fearful lest Jorge should recognize them, she effected a transformation in their appearance; she had the gown dyed a chestnut brown, and with her own hands she trimmed the jacket with black velvet. She now worked for that woman! Good Heavens! how was all this to end? she thought.
One day Jorge said with a laugh at the dinner-table, “Juliana looks as fine as a peacock now. Any one can see that things are prospering with her.” ”

“ But she concealed her antipathy, and always treated him with amiability because Jorge admired him, and thought him, as he said, a man of genius, a great man.
As Julião arrived early, he went to the dining-room to take his [Pg 43] after-dinner cup of coffee with Jorge and Luiza. He glanced askance and with bitterness at the silver on the table and at the fresh toilet of Luiza. All these evidences of prosperity irritated him. Jorge was, in his opinion, a man of mediocre abilities, who did not deserve his good fortune ”

“ It is natural that servants less favored by fortune should aspire to so agreeable a position.”
“That is my opinion also,” said Jorge, patting Luiza gayly on the shoulder.
The house, in effect, began to assume a more cheerful aspect. Juliana exacted a more abundant table, so that she might have her portion without scrimping; and, as she was a good cook, she watched the fire, tasting the various dishes, and teaching Joanna how to make new and choice ones.
“This Joanna is a prodigy,” said Jorge; “she improves every day.” ”

“ When Sebastião was gone, she began to walk up and down the room, preoccupied by this idea. To allow himself to be made love to by the shopkeeper’s wife, the wife of the delegate, and who could tell how many others! She had confidence in him, of course, but after all, he was a man. And suddenly she pictured him to herself in the embrace of the shopkeeper’s wife, or imprinting a kiss on the neck of the wife of the delegate; and imaginary instances of Jorge’s faithlessness thronged tumultuously to her mind. ”

“ Don Jorge whistled softly. “Who would have thought it! But, was Feliz Gomez sick before he went to Bodega Central?”
“I do not know,” replied Josè.
“Yes, señor,” interposed Rosendo. “He and Amado Sanchez both had bowel trouble. Their women told my wife so, after you and I, Padre, had come up here to the hill. But it was nothing. We have it here often, as you know.”
“True,” assented Josè, “but we have never given it any serious thought.”
Don Jorge leaned back and broke into a roar of laughter. “Por el amor del cielo! You are all crazy, amigo––you die like rats of fear! ”

“ No sooner had Jorge gone away than Juliana swept into Luiza’s room like a whirlwind, closed the door behind her, and began to cry out that the mistress soiled a heap of clothes, the master a heap of shirts, and that without assistance she could not do so much work. “Whoever wants slaves must go to Brazil for them,” she ended. “And I am in no humor to put up with the ill-temper of your husband, do you understand, Senhora? If there is so much put upon me to do I must have help.” ”

“ Myself.—Are there many in Madrid of the Carlist opinion?
Baltasar.—Not among the young people; the greater part of the Madrilenian Carlists capable of bearing arms departed long ago to join the ranks of the factious in the Basque provinces. Those who remain are for the most part grey-beards and priests, good for nothing but to assemble in private coffee-houses, and to prate treason together. Let them prate, Don Jorge; let them prate; the destinies of Spain do not depend on the wishes of ojalateros and pasteleros, but on the hands of stout gallant nationals like myself and friends, Don Jorge. ”

“ Jorge surrounded her with all the delicate attentions of a lover; but in all that related to his honor or to his profession he was exacting to a degree that bordered on excess. At times he would make use of expressions that caused her to turn pale; he was jealous in the extreme, and one of her friends once observed to her, “That man is capable of striking you.” She had but little doubt of it, and this increased her love for him. He was her all,—her strength, her fortune, her religion; her maw, in a word. She thought of what she would have [Pg 28] been, married to her Cousin Bazilio. ”

“ How many souvenirs of her would be there to torture him,—her gowns, her slippers, the articles on her dressing-table, everything in the house! What a sorrowful existence he would lead! He would sleep alone; there would be no one there to awaken him with a kiss, and say to him, laying a hand on his shoulder, “It is late, Jorge.” Everything would be at an end forever [Pg 281] between them—forever.
She threw herself on the bed, and broke into bitter weeping. She heard Juliana speaking loudly in the hall to Joanna, and she rose to her feet in terror. ”

“ Juez.—Come, come, Don Jorge, I see what you are aiming at; but listen to reason: I will not now speak to you as a juez but as a friend who wishes you well, and who entertains a profound reverence for the British nation. This is a foolish affair altogether; I will not deny that the political chief acted somewhat hastily on the information of a person not perhaps altogether worthy of credit. No great damage, however, has been done to you, and to a man of the world like yourself, a little adventure of this kind is rather calculated to afford amusement than anything else. ”

“ At this, Ernesto, his hair carefully curled, and with a placid expression on his countenance, made his appearance. He bowed to the audience with a sigh of pleasure, and each time he made his bow he jumped to one side and another, that he might not stain his patent-leather slippers with Cousin Luiza’s blood. She felt herself expiring, when suddenly she heard confusedly a voice saying,—
“Hello! How is every one here?”
It sounded like Jorge’s voice. Whence did it come? From the sky? From the pit? From the hall? She heard a noise as of luggage being thrown on the floor, and she sat up in bed. ”

“ After an exchange of news Tio Jorge, who had scanned his face anxiously, said bluntly:
"I am a plain man, Señor. You will answer me a plain question."
"Certainly, anything in reason," said Jack in surprise.
"They're saying—I could not believe it—but they are all saying that you wish to surrender; at least, that you do not think we can hold out. Now, whatever we may think, we do not talk of these things; it is not good for the people to hear such things. If any man says them, he does not live to say them twice. Tell me plainly, Señor, have you spoken of surrender?" ”

“ Jorge went at once for Julião; he found him greatly excited, for the examinations were to take place on the following day, and he began to feel nervous. On the way he spoke, without pausing, of his thesis, of the shamelessness of giving appointments through favor, of the scandal he would make if they treated him unjustly, and of his regret at not having inserted more wedges.
He examined Luiza, and said to Jorge in a vexed tone,—
“There is nothing the matter with her; and you call me for this? She has anæmia; we all have it. Let her go out; let her amuse [Pg 396] herself,—amusement and iron ”

“ Many times she had awakened during the night and surprised him wiping away his tears,—tears of joy because she was spared to him. When the physician, the good Dr. Caminha, had said to him, “She is out of danger; now we must set about reconstructing this organism,” Jorge, poor fellow, had caught the old man’s hands in his and covered them with kisses.
And now when he should come home and learn all! She would be far away in a foreign land hearing a strange tongue; and he there alone in the house, weeping in the embrace of Sebastião. ”