Old Court Life in Spain, vol. 2/2Elliot, Frances Minto Dickinson
History
Old Court Life in Spain, vol. 2/2
Elliot, Frances Minto Dickinson
Spain -- Court and courtiers
Shouts of laughter follow, and deep draughts of wine are drunk to speed
her parting soul to purgatory; not forgetting the health of the gitana
Caritad, with whom Don Santiago swears he will cut out Don Juan.
Meanwhile Don Juan wanders on from the Alcazar into the dark streets. A
vague notion possesses him he is going to visit some one, but if it be
his new love Caritad, or his ancient flame Amina, of whom he has long
lost sight, or both, he cannot clearly define. From the streets he turns
into the Plaza de San Francesco, and perceives a light in a house
opposite the Palace of the Ayuntamiento (the first floor still remains,
all _miradores_, like the wooden houses in England). On approaching, a
silken ladder appears attached to the balcony.
“By St. Anthony! a public tryst!” Don Juan mutters. “Which of the fair
ones I seek thus openly hangs out the signal?”
Then he falls into a deep cogitation as to the owner of the house. But
Gesuelo has the list of the three hundred and three noble ladies he
loves in Seville, and such peasants too who are worthy of his attention,
and it was thus he came to know Zerlina, and gave such trouble to that
poor fool Masetto. For the life of him, he cannot now remember who lives
here, but in a confused way he recalls the letter which he feels for in
his vest and misses.
“Confusion,” he mutters to himself. “Into whose hands has it fallen?
Meanwhile, here goes!” he cries aloud, “Caritad or the Devil; it is all
the same to me, so it be a woman,” and he vaults on the rounds of the
ladder and swings himself up to the bars of the balcony.
Within he pauses. All is dark. Somehow, the abundant moon shining
outside does not penetrate into the room. To see clearly he must remove
his mask, when he discerns from an inner chamber the glimmering of a
taper.
Drawing his sword he rushes forward and finds himself before a couch
closely shrouded. With haste he removes the draperies and beholds a lady
sleeping. Stooping to observe her more closely, with a beating heart he
removes a veil, and his eyes fix themselves on the hideous aspect of a
corpse festering in its shroud! _This is his first warning._
[Illustration: THE GARDEN OF THE GENERALIFE, GRANADA.]
Later, at midnight, in the ancient quarter of the Macerena, Don Juan
falls in with a funeral procession, with torches, singing, and banners.
It is some grandee of high degree, doubtless--there are so many muffled
figures, mutes carrying silver horns, the insignia of knighthood borne
upon a shield, a saddled horse led by a shadowy page, and the dim forms
of priests and monks chanting death dirges.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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