Sebastian

“ Sebastian received the boy with trembling avidity:—as he bent to kiss his infant cheek, his silver locks sweeping over the eyelids of the little Prince, awoke him, and he looked smiling up. A nobler smile (for it was radiant with the immortal spirit) lighted up the face of the aged King, he leaned back in the royal{320} chair, he looked at the son of Gaspar, then at Braganza and Luisa, cast a last glance at their child, thought of them he was hastening to rejoin, and fixing his eyes on heaven, he feebly exclaimed, “Die, die! thou hast lived long enough.” ”

“ Sebastian was instantly surrounded by a band of armed men, who drawing their swords at the same moment with a horrid noise, which drew forth a shriek from Kara Aziek, flashed them before him with menacing attitudes.
Sebastian stood root-bound in their circle, his eyes fixed with amazement on the perfidious Chrysostom: stunned by so atrocious a perfidy, his faculties were for awhile overpowered: at length bursting into such a tempest of rage as had been long unknown to him, he called out, “Traitor! fear you not that heaven’s bolt will fall and strike you?” ”

“ The women called him Sebastian for his beauty. A Sebastian he was, per Dio! stuck all over with Amor's fiery darts. Like Sebastian, by his persecutors he would be stripped bare; like that martyr's enemies, they would wound his tender flesh; like Sebastian he would endure, casting his eyes upwards; and like Sebastian he would infallibly be wept by the women. ”

“ Earnest to observe the countenance of Braganza, Sebastian inclined his venerable person, and lifted up the white locks which obscured his sight. His imagination had represented the husband of Luisa, with a mien dignified, but somewhat austere, and a brow armed with the lofty courage of his conduct. On the contrary, he beheld a man in the prime of life, whose elegantly proportioned figure moved with gentle gracefulness; whose face,{292} (seriously sweet) invited love, destroyed apprehension, and spoke a heart warmed with the most amiable affections. ”

“ Sebastian put the embroidered hem of her kaftan to his lips: “You are my guardian angel, he exclaimed, and there are hearts in Portugal worthy of knowing yours, that shall one day bless you!”
The young monarch’s emotion interested Kara Aziek, she wished to see him again more distinctly, and for this purpose lifted up her veil; the instant their eyes met, she dropt it with a modest blush. But her soft beauty, like that of the summer moon, instantaneously changed the impetuous ardour of Sebastian; a serene and delightful admiration succeeded to his agitation ”

“ Soothing, grateful and tender, Sebastian checked his enthusiasm to raise the drooping spirits of Aziek: while endearing vows, and chaste caresses, assured her of his attachment, she forgot every apprehension, and whispered only this sentiment of regret, “Life is too short to love thee in.” ”

“ Sebastian was exalted to the extremest point of human felicity; happiness, lost happiness, he now clasped in the form of Kara Aziek, and enjoyed in the certainty of being able to confer it. “We part no more—we part no more!” he repeated.
Bewildered in a maze of delight, and merely conscious that the looks and voice of Sebastian breathed love like her own, Aziek forgot awhile every obstacle between them; her tears and sighs mingled with his, as she rested on his bosom with the sweet serenity of a pure heart, sure of loving and being beloved ”

“ The money of Sebastian supplied me with books, enabled me to pass my examinations. Be sure I did not slacken in my exertions. Idleness was fraud while the sweat from the brow of the water-carrier poured so freely for my sake. I revered him as a father, not before I had myself become the object of his affections—the recipient of the love which he had never been conscious of before, foundling that he was, and without another human tie! He grew proud of me, prouder and prouder every day—I must be well dressed—I must want for nothing ”

“ Sebastian’s penetrating eye read the lover’s heart; he smiled graciously, and pressing his hand, said, “Yes, for her also, I speak: her safety and her happiness are the sole objects of her father’s anxiety; and how are they to be secured, save in domestic privacy? Think of her again, Hyppolito, as you were used to do; forget the Princess of Portugal, but ever protect and cherish the unpretending Blanche.” ”

“ The Almoçadem received Sebastian with his usual good-natured indolence; and after having suggested one or two alterations, and demanded a few explanations, he pronounced the desired acquiescence. Sebastian would not have prostrated himself to any mortal for a favor merely selfish; but at this mercy to so many sufferers, he cast himself at the feet of Kara Aziek, who sat wrapt up in her veil, exclaiming in Italian.
“It is to you, amiable Lady! that the Christians owe these blessings; henceforth I will believe myself your slave, and then bondage will be no longer abhorrent.” ”

“ Sebastian observed it in silence; then fearing to awake him, rose to seek some other slave who might assist in conveying him to his chamber.
For this purpose he quitted the labyrinth: the pale evening star twinkling through innumerous boughs, alone lighted him on his way. Glowing with bene [Pg 4] volent and friendly joy, he trod with a lighter step, and looked even in the gardens of El Hader as he had done in the magnificent precincts of Xabregas: though wrapt in a homely dress, the kingly air was still visible. There is a gracefulness of mind which ennobles the meanest habit ”

“ The young Duchess trembled with sudden emotion, and her fine countenance assumed an expression of veneration, joy, and sorrow, which heightened its charms; she half bent her knee, while exclaiming, “who is it that I behold? O majestic stranger, dare I believe that I see in you—”
“The father of your mother!” replied the old man, tears trickling down his cheek, “the widowed, wandering Sebastian.”
Luisa sunk at his feet, and devoutly kissed them. “You return then, at last!” she said, weeping with delight, “all who have known or persecuted you, my honoured father, are vanished from the earth. ”

“ Sebastian saw the action, and sprung on him like a tiger; his powerful grasp pinioned the arms of the Moor, who believing him{251}self in the very gripe of death, cried out for mercy: before any one could come to his rescue, Sebastian flung him disdainfully away, saying—
“Take your worthless life—I want nothing beyond pity for a poor dying man. Suffer me unmolested to keep watch before this prison till Hafiz returns; then let the punishment of Gaspar be referred to the Almoçadem: you will appear against him, I shall plead for him, I hope from the lips of the humane Hafiz.” ”

“ During the remainder of the day, Sebastian carefully attended to all the prescriptions of the dervise, he went soon to rest, and at break of day rose to breathe the air in safety at the mouth of the cave.
But two short days before, how differently had the king of Portugal beheld morning dawn!—then at the head of a gallant army, surrounded by zealous friends, strong in youth, health, and hope: now, a solitary fugitive, like some desolate wretch escaped from ship-wreck or an earth-quake, sunk in despondency, and reduced to infantine feebleness. ”

“ The roundness of health and youth was no more to be seen in his figure, giving beauty to strength, and proportion to grace: his cheeks were wan and hollow, his eyes dim, his brow furrowed with the frequent contraction of thought; that enchanting smile which used to distinguish [Pg 177] him from all mankind, never appeared on his lips; who then was to recognize Sebastian in this gloomy-looking traveller?
He slept in the town, and the next morning resumed the road to Setuval.
The second night he took up his abode in a cavern on the coast whence there was a noble view of the town and bay. ”

“ As Kara Aziek hastened to follow the slow progress of Sebastian, some unfeeling wretches scoffingly bade her behold the King her husband, and admire the splendor of his array; she flashed on her insulters a glance of honourable indignation, for in her heart was love and veneration{214} united for him they contemned. No fear, no shame could find entrance there: love raised to enthusiasm by grief and admiration, irradiated her features, and gave its former bright flush to her burning cheek: a single black garment wrapt her somewhat wasted figure ”

“ Their very horses, proudly pranced under housings of cloth of gold and precious stones.
As the long procession passed from the palace to the cathedral, crouds of spectators lining the streets and windows, easily distinguished their prince by the superior nobleness of his air. In the very flower of his youth Sebastian appeared mounted on a white Arabian, the trappings of which were studded with rubies: his own ornaments were few: the order of Christus, alone sparkled in brilliants upon his majestic chest ”

“ Sebastian, after his defeat and escape, had made a vow upon the Holy Sepulchre to lay aside the royal dignity of which he deemed that he had proved himself unworthy, and to do penance for the pride that had brought him down, by roaming the world in humble guise, earning his bread by the labour of his hands and the sweat of his brow like any common hind, until he should have purged his offense and rendered himself worthy once more to resume the estate to which he had been born. ”

“ How do our desires grow with our hopes! how does the possession of one blessing, quicken and inflame our thirst after others!—but a little while before, and Sebastian was indifferent to every thing; now, the smallest of his expectations was considered with lively interest: [Pg 218] he contemplated his reception at Brazil, and his restoration to Portugal, with the anxiety of a spirit newly roused to action; and secure of domestic felicity, felt that no other station than that to which he was born, could fill the expansion of his large soul. ”

“ With Medina Sidonia he conversed aloud on various subjects, calculated to place his integrity under a yet broader light; the gratitude he felt for the protection afforded to his daughter, gave warmth to his manner, and attracted the heart of Don Hyppolito.
Upon that young man Sebastian cast many approving looks, for there was a careless intrepidity in the young Spaniard’s manner, and an ardent precipitation in his speech, which announced a generous and a brave character. ”

“ In expressive silence the Prince took and squeezed his hand, and held it to his heart; his silence was even more eloquent than his countenance: that semblance of coldness which was natural to him, or rather, was the effect of a violent repression of violent sensibility, gave way before the magnitude of his obligations to Sebastian.
“You have indeed retrieved my error!” he said at last, “you have saved my father and the kingdom; you have preserved me from dying of grief and shame! ”

“ By the populace of the kingdom, Sebastian was believed, even in the nineteenth century, to be yet alive, concealed, like Roderic the Goth, or the English Arthur, in some hermit’s cell, or, perhaps, in some enchanted castle until the time of his re-appearance arrives, when he is to restore the glory of his nation. ”

“ Sebastian, complete enough, and attended with circumstances of the horrible extreme enough, to appal men long acquainted with the trade of war, must have powerfully impressed an imaginative susceptible lad, fresh from the domesticities of a rural manse, in whose quiet neighborhood the voice of battle had not been heard for centuries, and surrounded by a simple people, remarkable for the respect which they bear to human life. ”

“ You think it a great life for Sebastian!"
"Sebastian! He is a man. That is different; quite different. But a woman! Especially you, dear lady, for whom one feels that nothing is quite high enough, quite pure enough, quite good enough. ”

“ At the last words, Sebastian’s eyes sparkled with fury, “Mark me, Moor!” he cried in a dreadful voice, “I am a man that will not survive disgrace: by the immortal heavens! if but the shadow of one of your whips ever falls upon this body, I will wash out the stain in blood! Beware then!”
The Africans looked on each other with astonishment: the Almoçadem smiled. “We shall see! we shall see!” he repeated carelessly, “if you do your duty I give orders that you shall not be beaten; but I must have all my slaves do their duty ”

“ Nature had endowed him with an animating cheerfulness of disposition, to which every one resorted for pleasure: he{21} was liberal of his purse, liberal even to carelessness in his judgments; naturally indolent and indifferent in matters of importance; but capable of catching the fever of enthusiasm from another. This last quality gave him his influence over Sebastian.
The king was flattered by the appearance of having roused Antonio from a degrading apathy: for, indeed, except in the prior’s attachment to him, he seemed devoid of any serious feeling. ”

“ There was just light enough for these men to see in the hand of Sebastian, a heap of sequins, with which he tempted them to put off immediately for any port on the opposite coast: they hesitated only a short time; his ardent intreaties and persuasive manner, but above all, his gold, decided them [Pg 122] to incur any risks, they once more hoisted their sail, he leaped into the bark, and in a few minutes they were far out at sea.
Is there a heart to which liberty is sacred, to which a country and a home are dear, that does not throb with anxiety for Sebastian? ”

“ Every thing appears possible to chaste and requited love: Sebastian now fondly believed that they were indeed re-united for ever; he dared presume that saints and angels, pleased with the sight of two hearts so purely attached, would plead for them in Heaven, and obtain their happiness of the Most High. ”