The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane, Alain René le Sage [most read books .txt] 📗

tinsel on their backs, and not a maravedi

in their pockets; my ladies were all of a kidney to levy, rather

than to pay contributions. As love left us in the lurch, we paid

our devotions at the shrine of knavery. With the zeal of martyrs

to a new religion, did we encounter the frowns of the civil

power, whose myrmidons, as like the devil in their nature as

their office, were ordered on the look-out after us; but the

alguazil, with all the good qualities of which the corregidor

inherited the contraries, gave us time to make our escape out of

Madrid, for the good of the trade and a small sum of money. We

took the road to Valladolid, meaning to set up in that town. I

rented a house for myself and Camilla, who passed for my sister,

to avoid evil tongues. At first we kept a tight rein over our

speculative talents, and began by reconnoitring the ground before

we determined on our plan of operations.

 

One day a man accosted me in the street, with a very civil

salutation, to this effect — Signor Don Raphael, do you

recollect my face? I answered in the negative. Then I have the

advantage of you, replied he, for yours is perfectly familiar to

me. I have seen you at the court of Tuscany, where I was then in

the grand duke’s guards. It is some months since I quitted that

prince’s service. I came into Spain with an Italian, who will not

discredit the politics of his country: we have been at Valladolid

these three weeks. Our residence is with a Castilian and a

Galician, who are, without dispute, two of the best creatures in

the world. We live together by the sweat of our brows, and the

labour of our hands, Our fare is not abstemious, nor have we made

any vow against the temptations of a life about the court If you

will make one of our party, my brethren will be glad of your

company; for you always seemed to me a man of spirit, above all

vulgar prejudices, in short, a monk of our order.

 

Such frankness from this arch-scoundrel was met half-way by mine.

Since you talk to me with so winning a candour, said I, you

deserve that I should be equally explicit with you. In good truth

I am no novice in your ritual; and if my modesty would allow me

to be the hero of my own tale, you would be convinced that your

compliments were not lavished on an unworthy subject. But enough

of my own commendations; proceed we to the point in question.

With all possible desire to become a member of your body, I shall

neglect no opportunity of proving my title to that distinction. I

had no sooner told this sharper at all points, that I would agree

to swell the number of his gang, than he conducted me to their

place of meeting, and introduced me in proper form. It was on

this occasion that I first saw the renowned Ambrose de Lamela.

These gentlemen catechised me in the religion of coveting my

neighbour’s goods, and doing as I would not be done by. They

wanted to discern whether I played the villain on principle, or

had only some little practical dexterity; but I shewed them

tricks which they did not know to be on the cards, and yet

acknowledged to be better than their own. They were still deeper

lost in admiration, when in cool disdain of manual artifice, as

an everyday effort of ingenuity, I maintained my prowess in such

combinations of roguery as require an inventive brain and a solid

judgment to support them. In proof of these pretensions, I

related the adventure of Jerome de Moyadas; and on this single

specimen of my parts, they conceived my genius of so high an

order, as to elect me by common con sent for their leader. Their

choice was fully justified by a host of slippery devices, of

which I was the master-wheel, the corner-stone, or according to

whatever other metaphor in mechanics you may best express the

soul of a conspiracy. When we had occasion for a female performer

to heighten the interest, Camilla was sent upon the stage, and

played up to admiration in the parts she had to perform.

 

Just at that period, our friend and brother Ambrose was seized

with a longing to see his native country once more. He went for

Galicia with an assurance that we might reckon on his return. The

visit cured his patriotic sickness. As he was on the road back,

having halted at Burgos to strike some stroke of business, an

innkeeper of his acquaintance introduced him into the service of

Signor Gil Blas de Santillane, not forgetting to instruct him

thoroughly in the state of that gentleman’s affairs. Signor Gil

Blas, pursued Don Raphael, addressing his discourse to me, you

know in what manner we eased you of your moveables in a ready-furnished lodging at Valladolid; and you must doubtless have

suspected Ambrose to have been the principal contriver of that

exploit, and not without reason. On his coming into town, he ran

himself out of breath to find us, and laid open every particular

of your situation, so that the associated swindlers had nothing

to do but to build on his foundation. But you are unacquainted

with the consequences of that adventure; you shall therefore have

them on my authority. Your portmanteau was made free with by

Ambrose and myself. We also took the liberty of riding your mules

in the direction of Madrid, not dropping the least hint to

Camilla nor to our partners in iniquity, who must have partaken

in some measure of your feelings in the morning, at finding their

glory shorn of two such beams.

 

On the second day we changed our purpose. Instead of going to

Madrid, whence I had not sallied forth without an urgent motive,

we passed by Zebreros, and continued our journey as far as

Toledo. Our first care, in that town, was to dress ourselves in

the genteelest style; then assuming the character of two brothers

from Galicia on our travels of mere curiosity, we soon got

acquainted in the most respectable circles. I was so much in the

habit of acting the man of fashion, as not easily to be detected;

and as the generality of people are blinded by a free

expenditure, we threw dust into the eyes of all the world, by the

elegant entertainments to which we invited the ladies. Among the

women who frequented our parties, there was one not indifferent

to me. She appeared more beautiful than Camilla, and certainly

much younger. I inquired who she was; and learned that her name

was Violante, and that she was married to an ungrateful spark,

who soon grew weary of her chaste caresses, and was running after

those of a prostitute, with whom he was in love. There was no

need to say any more, to determine me on enthroning Violante the

sovereign lady and mistress of my thoughts and affections.

 

She was not long in coming to the knowledge of her conquest. I

began by following her about from place to place, and playing a

hundred monkey tricks to instil into her comprehension, that

nothing would please me better than the office of making her

amends for the ill usage of her husband. The pretty creature

ruminated on my proffered kindness, and to such purpose as to let

me know in the end that my labour was not wasted on an ungrateful

soil. I received a note from her in answer to several I had

transmitted by one of those convenient old dowagers, in such high

request throughout Spain and Italy. The lady sent me word that

her husband supped with his mistress every evening, and did not

return home till very late. It was impossible to mistake the

meaning of this. On that very night I planted myself under

Violante’s windows, and engaged her in a most tender

conversation. At the moment of parting, it was settled between us

that every evening, at the same hour, we should meet and converse

on the same everlasting topic, without gainsaying any such other

acts of gallantry as might safely be submitted to the peering eye

of day.

 

Hitherto Don Balthazar, as Violante’s husband was called, had no

reason to complain of his forehead; but I was a natural

philosopher, and little satisfied with metaphysical endearments.

One evening, therefore, I repaired under my lady’s windows, with

the design of telling her that there was an end of life and

everything, if we could not come together on more accommodating

terms than from the balcony to the street; for I had never yet

been able to get into the house. Just as I got thither, a man

came within sight, apparently with the view of dogging me. In

fact, it was the husband returning earlier than usual from his

precious bit of amusement; but observing a male nuisance near his

nunnery, instead of coming straight home, he walked backwards and

forwards in the street. It was almost a moot point with me what I

ought to do. At last, I resolved on accosting Don Balthazar,

though neither of us had the slightest knowledge of each other.

Noble gentleman, said I, you would do me a most particular favour

by leaving the street vacant to me for this one night; I would do

as much for you another time. Sir, answered he, I was just going

to make the same request to you. I am on the look-out after a

girl, over whom a confounded fellow of a brother keeps watch and

ward like a gaoler; and she lives not twenty yards from this

place. I could wish to carry on my project without a witness. We

have the means, replied I, of attaining both our ends without

clashing; for the lady of my desires lives there, added I,

pointing to his own house. We had better even help one another,

in case of being attacked. With all my heart, resumed he; I will

go to my appointment, and we will make common cause if need be.

Under this pretence he went away, but only to observe me the more

narrowly; and the darkness of the night favoured his doing so

without detection.

 

As for me, I made up to Violante’s balcony in the simplicity of

my heart. She soon heard my signal, and we began our usual

parley. I was not remiss in pressing the idol of my worship to

grant me a private interview in some safe and practicable place.

She was rather coy to my entreaties, as favours hardly earned are

the higher valued: at length she took a letter out of her pocket,

and flung it down to me. There, said she, you will find in that

scrap of paper the promise of what you have teased me so long

about. She then withdrew, as the hour approached when her husband

usually came home. I put the note up carefully, and went towards

the place where Don Balthazar had told me that his business lay.

But that staunch husband, with the sagacity of an old sportsman

where his own wife was the game, came more than half-way to meet

me, with this question: Well, good sir, are you satisfied with

your happy fortunes? I have reason to be so, answered I. And as

for yourself, what have you done? has the blind god befriended

you? Alas! quite the contrary, replied he; that impertinent

brother, who takes such liberties with my beauty, thought fit to

come back from his country house, whence we hugged ourselves as

sure that he would not return till to-morrow. This infernal

chance has put all my soft and soothing pleasures out of tune.

 

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