Roderick Dale Southey

“ And I said to him, Sir, how can this be which you tell me, seeing that King Don Rodrigo is dead; for his enemies slew him when they won the battle in which the great chivalry of Spain perished. And he said to me, Cava, think not he is dead, for he liveth, and passeth his life alone in a hermitage; of the which thy father Count Don Julian will certify thee, for he went to seek him there, and found him there when he overcame the Moors. He will tell thee that he is alive, and in what place is the hermitage wherein he abideth. ”

“ Pelayo’s hand, and on his finger placed
The mystic circlet.... With this ring, O Prince,
To our dear Spain, who like a widow now
Mourneth in desolation, I thee wed:
For weal or woe thou takest her, till death
Dispart the union: Be it blest to her,
To thee, and to thy seed!
Thus when he ceased,
He gave the awaited signal. Roderick brought
The buckler: Eight for strength and stature chosen
Came to their honour’d office: Round the shield
Standing, they lower it for the Chieftain’s feet,
Then, slowly raised upon their shoulders, lift
The steady weight. ”

“ And the sick man doth feel within himself
A second spring; so Roderick’s better mind
Arose to save him. Lo! the western sun
Flames o’er the broad Atlantic; on the verge
Of glowing ocean rests; retiring then
Draws with it all its rays, and sudden night
Fills the whole cope of heaven. The penitent
Knelt by Romano’s grave, and falling prone,
Claspt with extended arms the funeral mould.
Father! he cried; Companion! only friend,
When all beside was lost! thou too art gone,
And the poor sinner whom from utter death
Thy providential hand preserved, once more
Totters upon the gulph. ”

“ So that he did not feel how Roderick’s hand
Shook like a palsied limb; and none could see
How, at his well-known voice, the countenance
Of that poor traveller suddenly was changed,
And sunk with deadlier paleness; for the flame [48]
Was spent, and from behind him, on the wall
High hung, the lamp with feeble glimmering play’d.
Oh it is ever thus! the old man pursued,
The crimes and woes of universal Spain
Are charged on him; and curses which should aim
At living heads, pursue beyond the grave
His poor unhappy soul! ”

“ O Father, Christ requite thee! she exclaim’d;
Thou hast set free the springs which withering griefs
Have closed too long. Forgive me, for I thought
Thou wert a rigid and unpitying judge;
One whose stern virtue, feeling in itself
No flaw of frailty, heard impatiently
Of weakness and of guilt. I wrong’d thee Father!...
With that she took his hand, and kissing it,
Bathed it with tears. Then in a firmer speech,
For Roderick, for Count Julian and myself,
Three wretchedest of all the human race,
Who have destroyed each other and ourselves,
Mutually wrong’d and wronging, let us pray! ”

“ Odoar, the venerable Abbot, sate,
When ushering Roderick in, the Porter said,
A stranger came from Auria, and required
His private ear. From Auria? said the old man,
Comest thou from Auria, brother? I can spare
Thy painful errand then, ... we know the worst.
Nay, answer’d Roderick, but thou hast not heard
My tale. Where that devoted city lies
In ashes, mid the ruins and the dead
I found a woman, whom the Moors had borne
Captive away ”

“ And who art thou,
Said Urban, who hast taken on thyself
This rule of warlike faith? Thy countenance
And those poor weeds bespeak a life ere this
Devoted to austere observances.
Roderick replied, I am a sinful man,
One who in solitude hath long deplored
A life mis-spent; but never bound by vows,
Till Adosinda taught me where to find
Comfort, and how to work forgiveness out.
When that exalted woman took my vow,
She call’d me Maccabee; from this day forth [42]
Be that my earthly name. But tell me now,
Whom shall we rouse to take upon his head
The crown of Spain? Where are the Gothic Chiefs? ”

“ And when he had said mass, he went to the place where King Don Rodrigo lay, and asked him how he fared, and the King answered, Well, thanks to God, and better than he deserved, but that as yet he was just as when he went in. And the Elder strengthened him as much as he could, telling him that he should call to mind how he had been a sinner, and that he should give thanks to our Lord God, for that he had visited him in this world, and delivered him from many temptations, and had himself appointed for him this penance ”

“ To breathe into Pelayo’s ear a voice
Of spirit-stirring power, which like the trump
Of the Arch-angel, shall awake dead Spain.
The northern mountaineers are unsubdued;
They call upon Pelayo for their chief;
Odoar and Urban tell him that the hour
Is come. Thou too, I ween, old man, art charged
With no light errand, or thou wouldst not now
Have left the ruins of thy master’s house.
Who art thou? cried Siverian, as he search’d
The wan and wither’d features of the King.
The face is of a stranger, but thy voice
Disturbs me like a dream.
Roderick replied,
Thou seest me as I am, ... a stranger ”

“ Shrinking with inward shiverings at the thought,
The penitent exclaim’d. Oh, if thou lovest
The soul of Roderick, touch not on that deed!
God in his mercy may forgive it him,
But human tongue must never speak his name
Without reproach and utter infamy,
For that abhorred act. Even thou.... But here
Siverian taking up the word, brake off
Unwittingly the incautious speech. Even I,
Quoth he, who nursed him in his father’s hall, ...
Even I can only for that deed of shame
Offer in agony my secret prayers.
But Spain hath witness’d other crimes as foul:
Have we not seen Favila’s shameless wife. ”

“ But this I tell thee, that as I came to teach thee the way in which thou shouldst live, and thou wilt not follow my directions, I will return as I came. And now I marvel not at any thing which has befallen thee, for thou [385] hast a right stubborn heart; hard and painful wilt thou find the way of thy salvation, and in vain wilt thou do all this, for it is a thing which profiteth nothing.
Ch. 247.—Of the Reply which King Don Rodrigo made to the false Hermit.
“Good man, said the King, all that thou shalt command me to do beyond the rule which the holy Hermit appointed me, that will I do ”

“ The rule which thou hast taken on thyself
Toledo ratifies: ’tis meet for Spain,
And as the will divine, to be received,
Observed, and spread abroad. Come hither thou,
Who for thyself hath chosen the good part;
Let me lay hands on thee, and consecrate
Thy life unto the Lord.
Me! Roderick cried;
Me? sinner that I am!... and while he spake
His wither’d cheek grew paler, and his limbs
Shook. As thou goest among the infidels,
Pursued the Primate, many thou wilt find
Fallen from the faith ”

“ Thy heart is true: and had the mitred Priest
Of Seville been like thee, or hadst thou held
The place he fill’d; ... but this is idle talk, ...
Things are as they will be; and we, poor slaves,
Fret in the harness as we may, must drag
The Car of Destiny where’er she drives,
Inexorable and blind!
Oh wretched man!
Cried Roderick, if thou seekest to assuage
Thy wounded spirit with that deadly drug,
Hell’s subtlest venom; look to thine own heart,
Where thou hast Will and Conscience to belie
This juggling sophistry, and lead thee yet
Through penitence to Heaven! ”

“ Rather than wrath, regarding Roderick, said,
Thou preachest that all sins may be effaced:
Is there forgiveness, Christian, in thy creed
For Roderick’s crime?... For Roderick and for thee,
Count Julian, said the Goth, and as he spake
Trembled through every fibre of his frame,
The gate of Heaven is open. Julian threw
His wrathful hand aloft, and cried, Away!
Earth could not hold us both, nor can one Heaven
Contain my deadliest enemy and me!
My father, say not thus! Florinda cried;
I have forgiven him! I have pray’d for him! ”

“ And looking round with sweeping eyes exclaim’d,
Auria, and Spain, and Heaven receive the vow!
[35]
IV.
THE MONASTERY OF ST. FELIX.
Thus long had Roderick heard her powerful words
In silence, awed before her; but his heart
Was fill’d the while with swelling sympathy,
And now with impulse not to be restrain’d
The feeling overpower’d him. Hear me too,
Auria, and Spain, and Heaven! he cried; and thou
Who risest thus above mortality,
Sufferer and patriot, saint and heroine,
The servant and the chosen of the Lord,
For surely such thou art, ... receive in me
The first-fruits of thy calling. ”

“ Will light upon the hermit’s harmless hand. [155]
Thus Roderick answer’d in excursive speech,
Thinking to draw the old man’s mind from what
Might touch him else too nearly, and himself
Disposed to follow on the lure he threw,
As one whom such imaginations led
Out of the world of his own miseries.
But to regardless ears his words were given,
For on the dog Siverian gazed the while,
Pursuing his own thoughts. Thou hast not felt,
Exclaim’d the old man, the earthquake and the storm;
The kingdom’s overthrow, the wreck of Spain,
The ruin of thy royal master’s house,
Have reach’d not thee!... ”

“ Reveal’d thee, O my Son! but I restrain’d
My heart, and yielded to thy holier will
The thoughts which rose to tempt a soul not yet
Wean’d wholly from the world.
What thoughts? replied
Roderick. That I might see thee yet again
Such as thou wert, she answer’d; not alone
To Heaven and me restored, but to thyself, ...
Thy Crown, ... thy Country, ... all within thy reach;
Heaven so disposing all things, that the means
Which wrought the ill, might work the remedy.
Methought I saw thee once again the hope, ...
The strength, ... the pride of Spain! The miracle
Which I beheld made all things possible. ”

“ Thou wouldst not with these adjurations seek.
But who thou art, I marvel, that dost touch
Upon that string, and ask in Roderick’s name!... [83]
She bared her face, and, looking up, replied,
Florinda!... Shrinking then, with both her hands
She hid herself, and bow’d her head abased
Upon her knee, ... as one who, if the grave
Had oped beneath her, would have thrown herself,
Even like a lover, in the arms of Death.
Pelayo stood confused: he had not seen
Count Julian’s daughter since in Roderick’s court,
Glittering in beauty and in innocence,
A radiant vision, in her joy she moved ”

“ Roderick then held the consecrated cup.
Me too! exclaim’d Florinda, who till then
Had listen’d speechlessly; Thou Man of God,
I also must partake! The Lord hath heard
My prayers! one sacrament, ... one hour, ... one grave, ...
One resurrection!
That dread office done,
Count Julian with amazement saw the Priest
Kneel down before him. By the sacrament
Which we have here partaken, Roderick cried,
In this most aweful moment; by that hope, ...
That holy faith which comforts thee in death,
Grant thy forgiveness, Julian, ere thou diest!
Behold the man who most hath injured thee! ”

“ The sins which trouble me, and at his feet
Lay down repentantly, in Jesu’s name,
The burthen of my spirit. In his name
Hear me, and pour into a wounded soul
The balm of pious counsel.... Saying thus,
She drew toward the minister ordain’d,
And kneeling by him, Father, dost thou know
The wretch who kneels beside thee? she enquired,
He answered, Surely we are each to each
Equally unknown.
Then said she, Here thou seest
One who is known too fatally for all, ...
The daughter of Count Julian.... Well it was
For Roderick that no eye beheld him now ”

“ My Lord and Prince, Spain’s only hope and mine!
Then Roderick, echoing him, exclaim’d, My Lord,
And Prince, Pelayo!... and approaching near,
He bent his knee obeisant: but his head
Earthward inclined; while the old man, looking up
From his low gesture to Pelayo’s face,
Wept at beholding him for grief and joy. [69]
Siverian! cried the chief, ... of whom hath Death
Bereaved me, that thou comest to Cordoba?...
Children, or wife?... ”

“ And taking Roderick’s hands in both her own,
And wringing them with fervent thankfulness,
May God shew mercy to thee, she exclaim’d,
When most thou needest mercy! Who thou art
I know not; not of Auria, ... for of all
Her sons and daughters, save the one who stands
Before thee, not a soul is left alive.
But thou hast render’d to me, in my hour
Of need, the only help which man could give.
What else of consolation may be found
For one so utterly bereft, from Heaven
And from myself must come. ”

“ The false Hermit said, Now thou thyself manifestest that he was not so worthy as a man ought to be who knows that which is to come. For according to thy words, he knew not that I should come here, who can say mass if I please; and if there be good judgement in thee, thou wilt understand that I must needs be nearer to God, because I know all which he had commanded thee to do, and also how he was to die. And I can know better in what place he is, than he who has commanded thee to observe this rule, knew concerning himself while he was here. ”

“ But I see that thy life is not that of a man of abstinence, nor of one who forsakes worldly enjoyments for the love of God; rather it seemeth by what I see in thee that thy life is a strengthening of worldly glory; for thou satisfiest thy flesh with good viands as I was wont to do, when I was puffed up with the vanities of the world. Wherefore I will in no wise follow thy way, for I see that thou art a worldly man, who deceivest God and the world, and when it comes to the end thou thyself wilt be deceived.
Ch. 244.—Of what the Devil said to King Don Rodrigo to dispart him from his penance. ”

“ And then for three months he had no other temptation.”
Ch. 251.—How the Devil, in the Figure of La Cava, the Daughter of Count Don Julian, sought to deceive King Don Rodrigo.
“The King was saying his prayers at the hour of vespers on a Tuesday, when he saw people on horseback coming toward him: and as they were about the reach of a cross-bow from him, he saw that they alighted, and that there came toward him a woman, who was full nobly clad ”