how auristella became a prey to jealousy when she found that it was her periander who won all the prizes at the festival.
o mighty power of jealousy! o infirmity, that art so planted in the heart, that thou canst only be uprooted thence with life itself! ah! beauteous auristella, stay and reflect ere you allow yourself to become a prey to this cruel suffering! but who can restrain thought within bounds, which is so light and subtle, that bodyless it passes through stone walls, enters human bosoms, and penetrates the deepest recesses of the soul?
i have said this, because, when auristella heard the name of periander pronounced, and having before heard the praises of sinforosa, and now hearing of the favour she had shown to him by placing her garland on his head, suspicion entered her heart, her patience failed, and uttering a deep sigh, she embraced transila, and said, "o dear friend, i pray to heaven that thou hast not lost thy beloved ladislaus, as i lose my brother periander. dost thou not hear from the lips of this worthy gentleman, that he is honoured as conqueror, crowned as the victor, and more attentive to win the favour of a fair lady, than to take the trouble of seeking after the wandering steps of his poor sister? he goes about seeking laurels and trophies in foreign lands, and leaves her among the wild rocks and mountains, and perils of the angry ocean, who by his advice and for his pleasure, am placed amid all these dangers."
the captain of the ship listened to these words with great attention, and knew not what conclusion to draw from them. he was about to speak, but the words that were going to be uttered were arrested suddenly, for the wind rose all at once with such fury, that he was forced to leave auristella without an answer, and call to his sailors to mind the sails, reef and secure them. all hands hastened to the work. the ship began to fly before the wind, over a tremendous sea; maurice, with his companions, retired to their cabin, to leave the deck free for the mariners. there, transila asked auristella what meant the sudden alarm that had seized her, caused, as it seemed, by only hearing the name of her brother, periander; and she could not conceive why the praises and successes of a brother should give her so much disquiet.
"alas! my friend," replied auristella, "so it is, that i am forced to keep perpetual silence over this pilgrimage i am upon; which seems doomed to be endless, unless life should end first; i am obliged to keep it. if you knew who i am (would to heaven that you might know!) you would see the exculpation of my fears, for you would know then what has given them birth; you would see misfortunes unlooked-for, and labyrinths, from whose mazes you would not conceive it possible to escape—you would see how strong can be the bond of fraternal love.
"you would see how natural it is for lovers to be jealous, if i, with great propriety, am jealous of a brother. this captain, my friend, does he not exaggerate the beauty of sinforosa? and do not you see her crowning the head of periander? yes, doubtless; and this brother of mine, have not you seen how beautiful and brave he is? then, how likely it is that he has awakened feelings in the heart of sinforosa, that have made him forget his sister?"
"remember, lady," answered transila, "that all this which the captain has been relating, happened before the time of the captivity in the barbarous island, and that since then you have both seen and discoursed with your brother, and have you not found that he loves nobody as he loves you, and cares for nothing but to please you. and i do not believe that jealousy can ever be so strong as to divide a sister from a brother."
"daughter," said old maurice, "the effects of human love are often as different as they are unreasonable. do you endeavour to be prudent and discreet enough, not to try and fathom the thoughts of others, nor desire to know more than they choose to tell you of themselves. curiosity about one's neighbour's affairs is to be censured and avoided."
auristella heard maurice say this, and it made her determine to keep her own secret, and hold her tongue; for transila, who was a little indiscreet, might soon have contrived, to draw from her, and make public, all her history.
the wind abated, without having caused the danger which the sailors feared, or disturbing the passengers. the captain came to visit them, and to finish his story, for he was very anxious to learn what could be the cause of auristella's disturbance on hearing the name of periander. auristella, on her part, wished much to hear more of the history, and to learn from the captain whether sinforosa had bestowed any other favours upon periander, besides that of crowning him with her garland; and, accordingly, she asked him the question very modestly, and with caution, lest he should suspect her motive.
the captain replied, that sinforosa had no opportunity to bestow more favours (since that was the word for the civilities of ladies) on periander, but that in spite of the excellence of sinforosa, he thought that she kept him much in her imagination; for after he was gone, when any one spoke of his graces and charms, she praised them up to the skies; and she had persuaded her father to send out a vessel in search of him, and make him return to his court, which more confirmed his suspicions.
"what! is it possible," said auristella, "that high-born maidens, daughters of kings, whom fortune has set in high places, should humble themselves so much as to suffer their secret thoughts to be discovered by their subjects? and seeing that it is a truth, that greatness and majesty do not agree well with love, it follows of course that sinforosa, a princess, beautiful and free, ought not to have been captivated at first sight, by an unknown boy, whose rank could not be very exalted, when he came, the steersman of a boat, with twelve half-naked companions, as all rowers are."
"auristella, my daughter," said maurice, "be silent, there are more miracles displayed by love than by any other human passion; so many and so wonderful are they, that they pass in silence unnoticed, however remarkable they may be. love joins the sceptre with the shepherd's crook; greatness with low estate. it makes possible the impossible, renders different ranks equal, and is powerful as death. you, lady, well know, and so do i also, the fine qualities and rare beauty of your brother periander; and it is the privilege of beauty to attract and subdue all hearts. such characters as his, the more they are known, the more are they loved and esteemed; so it would be no miracle if sinforosa, all princess though she is, should love your brother; because it is not as the simple periander alone, that she loves, but as one in whom beauty, valour, dexterity, activity, in short every merit and accomplishment is centred."
"what, then," cried the captain, "periander is this lady's brother?"
"yes!" answered transila, "for whose sake she lives in perpetual sadness, and all of us, her friends who love her and wish her well, and who know him also, in grief and bitterness." then they related to him the whole story of the wreck and loss of arnoldo's ship; the separation of the barge and skiff, with all else that was necessary to make him understand what had happened up to the present moment. and at this part of their history the author of the first volume leaves them and passes to the second, wherein things will be related which although they do not surpass truth, yet go beyond what one could conceive, since they could scarcely enter into the most lively and expansive imagination.
