The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane, Volume 2 (of 3)Le Sage, Alain René
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The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane, Volume 2 (of 3)
Le Sage, Alain René
Adventure and adventurers -- Fiction; Blas, Gil (Fictitious character) -- Fiction
As for Alcacer and myself, we were so strongly attached to one
another, that I verily believe, Love never yet did such execution as
when he took aim at us two. Our passion was of such a violent
nature, that we seemed to be under the influence of some spell.
Those who knew how well we were together, thought us the happiest
pair in the world; but we, who knew best, found ourselves the most
miserable. Though Don Lewis had as fine an outside as ever fell to
the lot of man, he was at the same time so jealous, that there was no
living for vexation at his unfounded surmises. It was of no use,
knowing his weakness and humoring it, to lay an embargo on my looks,
if ever a male creature peeped into harbor; his suspicious temper,
seldom at a loss for some crime to impute, rendered my armed
neutrality of no avail. Our most tender moments had always a spice
of wrangling. There was no standing the brunt of it; patience could
hold out no longer on either side, and we quarrelled more peaceably
than we had loved. Could you believe that the last day of our being
together was the happiest? Both equally wearied out by the perpetual
recurrence of unpleasant circumstances, we gave a loose to our
transports when we embraced for the last time. We were like two
wretched captives, breathing the fresh air of liberty after all the
horrors of our prison-house.
Since that adventure, I have worn a breastplate against the little
archer. No more amorous nonsense for me, at least to a troublesome
excess! It is quite out of our line to sigh and complain like
Arcadian shepherdesses. Those should never give way to a passion in
private, who hold it up to ridicule before the public.
While these events were passing in my domestic establishment, Fame
had not hung her trumpet breathless on the willows; she spread it
about universally that I was an inimitable actress. That celestial
tattler, though bankrupt times out of number, still contrives to
revive her credit; the comedians of Grenada therefore wrote to offer
me an engagement in their company; and by way of evidence that the
proposal was not to be scorned, they sent me a statement of their
daily receipts and disbursements, with their terms, which seemed to
be advantageous. That being the case, I closed, though grieved in my
heart to part with Phenicia and Dorothea, whom I loved as well as
woman is capable of loving woman. I left the first laudably employed
in melting the plate of a little haggling goldsmith, whose vanity so
far got the better of his avarice that he must needs have a
theatrical heroine for his mistress. I forgot to tell you that on my
translation to the stage, from mere whim, I changed the name of Laura
to that of Estella; and it was under the latter name that I took this
engagement at Grenada.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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