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AN INDEPENDENT FAMILY JOURNAL OF LITERATURE, NEWS, &&. vo
PORTLAND, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1851.
VOLUME. XV.. °
NUMBER 24.
. POETRY
MUsIc.
BY ELIZA COOK.
Oh music! gentle music !
. ‘There's a magic in thy strain ;
, Come where thou wit in lady’s bower,
Or on the battle
The wild harp ati a witehing epell
About its silver strings ;
_. Can aught on earth excel the charm
Its pensive breathing flings?
“ %Tis music's, gentle musio’s, power,
That steals the listening soul away,
©.‘ Till man, entranced in rapture’s dream,
. Forgets he wears a form of clay.
Oh, music! stirring music !
I have seen the war-rteed re:
With dust npon his tired limbs,” -
And white foam on his chest ;
Stretched, quivering with many a wound,
red sod lying,
His ‘der leaves him, for he deems
And brings him to the ranks again!
" Qh, music! mighty music !
» ‘Thou art all of bliss on earth ;
Thon givest the lover's mooulight tale
And poets's song their birth,
, There's not a heart, hewever rude,
However bate it be,
But hath some slender string that yields
«7. 5" An answering tone to thee!
With promised music heaven allures,
‘olden harps, and cherubs! love;
Rejoice, ‘then "that sve have belo
A foretaste of the bliss above!
. SELECT TALE,
ty EL 2
a OR; A WIFE’S DEVOTION,
‘The sun had gone down in solemn splendor far
{away over the bright waters of the Tagus,that brawl
“round the base of old Toledo; every sound was
hushed but that of the tuneful nightingale; and there
was that in all things around which soothed the trou-
bléd spirit, as the night dew does the bosom of the
parched earth } but there was one heart in that old
city that did not beat responsive to the gentle sigh-
ings of nature in her repose. ' It was that of Cardi-
nal Ovejo, the youngest and bautiest prelate! in all
Spain.. Ie was seated in an apartment in_ his pal-
ace, which overlooked the silvery river, but’ in his
sombre meditation did not deign to bestow a glance
upon the placid beanty of the scenc.’ In appear-
ance he was strikingly handsome, with large, deep-
tinted Oriental eyes, noble features, qnd ‘striking
figure. | But there was a disagrecable sternness in
his aspect ; and although he could not have number-
ed more than thirty years, rugged lines crossed
his ample brow, and the excess of passion seemed
to have scared and branded his whole demeanor.—
On this occasion, after some intense thought, he be-
canie restless and agitated,and paced the floor with
hurried and broken strides. Presently he began to
inurmur, and his Tanguage was a8 dark as his pain-
fal thoughts. ”
+, It is five years this day since the barning dream
was dispelicd,” uttered he, aloud ; “and yet my brain
burns as it did then; and even in my prayers her
image floats before my closed eyes, as she appear-
ed in that orange grove, in all the radiance of al-
most immortal loveliness.’ » No limner in his loftiest
flights into the wide realm of beauty ever, painted
such a face as that which haunts me in my slum-
ber, in the turmoil of politics,and the depths of stad-
jes that would appal most men.’ It glows. before
me on' the’ holy steps of the altar. I sce it even
now.”
Ie gazed on vacancy for a few seconds, and then
pressed his hands on his eyes, he shuddered.» When
his emotion had somewhat subsided, he rnised a jew-
eled goblet filled with wine to his lips and when he
, had replaced it on the table it was empty.”
“Wine—wine !" he muttered ; “nothing but wine
will quench the raging fire that is remorselessly con-
suming me. Fire to fire, like earth’ to ‘earth, ‘and
the end is extinction—death. ° Wi ell, be it fo, but
hot before my revenge is completed.” *
As he said this he touched a spring in the wall,
and presently a distant gong sounded faintly. Ina
minute a tap was heard outside the door, and the
next instant a jovial-countenanced man of about the
cardinal’s age entered the room.
“Well, Baptiste ?” said his eminence, hastily.
“Ihave seen them ; they live on one of the mar-
chioness’s estates, about three leagues from hence,”
was the laconic reply.
“I know the spot,” said the cardinal, hoarsely ;
“how did they look ?, Did they seem happy ?”
“Brilliaat,” said Baptiste ; “Leonora~I pray you:
pardon me, my lord—the marchioness looked more
lovely than ever.’ I saw her and Don Fioristan,her
husband, in the orange grove on the Tajo stream.
Don Florestan liad his arm flung about her waist.”
“No more,” said the cardinal,hastily, as he waved
Baptiste away.
~The latter had no sooner Jeft the room than the
former raised his clenched hand on high, and, with
a passionate gesture, exclaimed :
“Te shall feel that the church has not: palsied a
discarded lover's arm ; but how ?—blood—no—that
is the common peasant’s last remedy ; mine must be
asurerand more lasting revenge. If Florestine
were supposed to be dead’ Leonora—her name has
not passed my lips before these five years—she
might be induced to enter a convent, and then I, as
lord cordinal—a holy priest——Ah! ared hot barb
pierces my heart
His emotions were so tumultuous that he
sank down into a chair, and, while a sick-
ly smile played on his stern, intellectual’ counte-
nance, he appeared to be weaving together the tan-
gled threads of an evil scheme, as yet only halfcon-
ceived in his prolifie brain,
His attendant, Baptiste, not troubled with any
darker designs than a contemplated attack. on the
larder,hastened to the less sumptuous quarters of the
palace, and sought out his spouse, a buxom Anda-
lusian girl, whom, through the’ agency of the irre-
vocable vows, he had transferred from’ the kitchen
to.the more comfortable apartments. of the major
domo of the palace. | After he had heartily tired his
masticative members, he was subjected to a: very
searching marital examination on the subject of his
late frequent absence from home. .He resisted the
attack with wonderful equanimity for some time;
but when did a doting husband ever long resist the
pleading eloquence of a handsome figure, pretty
face, anda pair of large black eyes, that rained
sparks of firein his own? Taptiste surrendered at
discretion, and, serap by scrap, just as the coaxing
and wedded blandishments grew more impressive,
poured into his wife’s willing ears an account of
some incidents in the life of the cardinal,which may
explain away the mystery of his solitary, musings.
From Baptiste’s disclosures,it appeared that thecar-
dinal was left an orphan atan early age, with pos-
sessions second only in extent to those enjoyed by
the crown; and that when he attained his majority
he was considered and looked up to by the mothers
of Spain as the most promising young man in all the
wide range of the aristocracy of the country. But
Don Pizarro was a wilful young nobleman, and re-
sisted not only the persuasion of his immediate rel-
atives, but numerous skilful conspiracies which
were hatched against his bachelor freedom. Ile
seemed to delight more in the socicty of the ac-
complished and learned of his own sex, and, above
all, highly prized the friendship of Don Florestan,
a youthful Castilian cavalier, who to graces of per-
son united the attractions of an amiable temper and
highly-cnitivated mind. ,This endured until both
had attained their five-and-twenticth year, when it
unfortunatcly happened that they each—unknown,
though, to the other—became dgsperately enamour-
ed.of the same woman, a remarkably beaatiful
daughter of a grandee of the second class. They
both prosecuted their respective suits with ardor ;
bat fortune smiled so grimly on Don Pizarro, that
the lovely Leonora, despite the positive demands
of her friends, absolutely refused even to entertain
his proposal ; and ‘the ardent lover, driven to the
verge of madness, became’ so pressing, that the
alarmed Leonora was redaced to the dreadful al-
ternative of accepting his hand or entering a nun-
nery. In this dilemma she adopted a middle
course, and clandestincly left her home, The first
intelligence received from her was dated “Rome,”
and it communicated the startling information that
she was married to Spanish cavalier, quite as
noble, a. great deal handsomer, but not quite so
wealthy as Don Pizarro. She did not disclose the
name of the successful lover, so conjucture was
quite as busy in the bosom of her own family as
it. was in that of the tortured Don Pizarro. Don
Florestan at this time was supposed to be on his
travels, so that no suspicion attached to him; and,
after a lapse of about twelve months, Don Pizarro
became so melaficholy and dejected that he deter-
mined upon renouncing the world and all its vani-
ties, and becoming an ecclesiastie., Despite the en-
treaties and, remonstrances of his friends, he, took
holy orders, and’ by dint of wealth, interest, and
talent, soon rose to the highest offices in the church,
the latest acquisitions of his ambition being a car-
dinal’s hat from the papal see, and a writ from
Madrid appointing him supreme governor of Tol-
0.
Bat with all this he was not happy; he was chain-
ed to a sympathy that directed his thoughts into
secular channels; and after many ineffectual strag-
gles with what he justly considered a lamentable
weakness, he resolved to unravel the mystery of
Leonora’s marriage. She was still in Rome, but in
direct and constant communication with her fami-
ly, who, with singular perversity, refused to disclose
the name of her husband. The continued absence
of Don Florestan, too, alarmed his now cultivated
habit of suspecting everybody ; and this, combin-
ed with his restlessness and moroseness, induced
him secretly to dispatch his foster-brother Baptiste
to the Eternal City to make the requisite inquiries.
They were soon made: Don Florestan was the
husband of Leonora! Surprise, grief, indignation,
and those secret feclings which language is too in-
adequate to describe, threw the cardinal on a bed
of sickness, and when he arose from it he was an
altered man. A spirit of fierce resentment, at what
he deemed his friend’s treachery, fastened upon his
disposition, and tinged the remainder of his life—
He would not admit, as was afterwards ychemently
urged to him, that Don Florestan was entirely in-
nocent of any intentional deception i in the affair,or
that it was probable Teonora had not all along
made a confident of him. No; the friend of his
heart had taken a base advantage of a girl’s way-
ward fancy, had foreed Aim in the spring of his
days into a dreary celibacy, and it should be his
study how to inflict upon the bosom of the traitor
the most dreadful retaliation. Revenge battens
and fattens upon dark broodings and sinister sug-
gestions, and therefore it is not surprising that, up-
onthe return of Don Florestan with his bride to
his" native land, the cardinal should have been en-
gaged in maturing his designs against their happk-
ness .
“The blow came, and speedily, for churchmen are
active when once their minds have determined on
a course of action. A charge of treason was con-
cocted against Don Florestan,’ and in less thar a
week after his return to the home of his forefathers
he was torn from the arms of his agonised wife and
thrown into prison, ' Leonora, as will be scen, was
a woman of no ordinagy energy; 80, instead of
wasting time in fruitless feminine regrets, she flew
to the capital. and at the foot of the throne solicit-
ed her husband’s pardon. Ter beauty, conjugal
love, and‘ well-known probity of Don Florestan,
made such a powerful impression at court that an
inquiry was at once instituted, which resulted in es-
tablishing the innocence of Don Florestan, and the
issuing of an order for bis immediate release. The
wily cardinal had forseen all this, and met the war-
rant of the crown with the terrible announcement
that the prisoner was dead—that the unjust accusa-
tion had broken his heart. The eardinal was all-
powerful at Toledo, also a staunch friend of the
crown; and, as the story of Don’ Florestan’s trea-
son had apparently originated in the malice of his
enemies at Rome, the melancholy news was recciy-
ed‘ and aniversally accredited.. The secret of his
early attachment to Leonora was confined to a few,
who, living in the archbishop's own province, wise-
ly bridted their tongues; and so poor Florestan
was ina fair way of being forgotten by all save the
one fond, beautiful being who had sworn to love
him through weal and through woe. She was not
satisfied with even the medical and clerical certifi-
entes of death and: burial that were produced to
her, but cherished a hope—a sort .of lingering,
flutter ing presentiment that she should again pillow
her head on the bosom of her‘ trne, manly-hearted
husband. And here properly. the action of the
story of “Fidelio” commences.
The cardinal, after allowing a reasonable period
to elapse after the reported death of Don Florestan,
meditated. paying the bereaved Leonora a visit of
condolence; but a rumor reached him that she had
disappeared, which, upon investigation, proved to
erfectly correct: Leonora having’ placed her
estates in the hands of a confidential steward, de-
parted no one knew whither. The cardinal, both
mortified and exasperated, instituted the most
rigid search. Every convent, not only in the prov-
ince but all Spain and Poctugal, was _ visited,
and he even extended his inquiries into Italy and
France, but all to no avail.- Leonora was not even
to be traced, and aramor soon began to obtain
credence that in a fit Of gricf she had destroyed
herself, But the faithful steward only shook his
head when questioned on the subject, and neither
threats nor entreaties could prevail upoa him to re-
veal either the locality, or the last wishes of his be-
loved young. mistress. The cardinal, meanwhile
although baffled in one portion of the scheme, felt
a grim satisfaction at having succeeded in another.
The Leonora of his fevered imagination was sepa-
rated from his favored rival, and she, if living, felt
some of the pangs which hai soured his heart, and
alienated his sympathies from the better portion of
his fellow-creatures. , Still he was restless and mis-
erable; a revenge. half-fulfilled kept him, on the
one hand, in a constant state of terror and alarm,
and plunged him, on the other, into a fierce desiro
—a gnawing appetite—for a crowning horror to
complete the detestable work he had so mercilessly
begun. Tle maintained a constant communication
with Rocco, the principal gaoler of the fortress,and
custodian of the horrible dungeons that stretched
under Toledo, even to its: venerable cathedral._—
This functionary was a bluff, shrewd kind of per-
sonage, and as humane as most men of his class
are; but his sensibilities had been sadly blunted by
the frequent occurrence of private executions, at
the bidding of the Inquisition. He, however, had
warrant for all he did, and would not lend himself
to anything which the Minister of the. Iaterior
might take it into his licad to place in the category
of murder... His policy was always to keep on the
windy side of the law. }
Some two weeks aftér the disappearance of Le-
nora he was scated in his sanctum sanctorum, indulg-
ing in the luxury of a pipe of tobacco, when a
stranger was announced, and ushered into his pres-
ence. «: He was a remarkably handsome young man,
dressed in the picturesque costume. of a Spaniard
of the humbler rank of society, and carried in his
hand a letter of introduction, which Roceo gravely
read, and. then, bending his keen dark eyes on the
young man’s pale but singularly good- Tooking, al-
most girlish face, inquired from him his
“Fidelio,” was the reply, uttered in accents any-
thing but manly, .
“And thou wouldst cck service with me 2”
“Yes, senor.”
»~ “It will be hard for so thin a strippling, and I
doubt me much whatI can do with thee. Yet I
would like to oblige my old friend Mateo; and,
to be candid with thee, I like thy looks, _ Now an~
swer, and tell me what thou canst do ?”
~ “Iam a passable scholar—I can write as well as
any scribe in the province.” x
Rocco smiled, as he said :
“Tis an accomplishment I am no great hand at,
nor is there much use here for any pens save those
you see around you.”
Fidelio raised his eyes to ‘the wall of the room,
and perceptibly shuddered as ae saw nothing but
huge bunches of rusty keys, intermingled with war-,
like weapons of every description then in use.—
Roceo noticed his emotion, and laughingly rallied”
him; but after a slight pause he took compassion’
on the youth’s confusion and evident desire to ob-
tain a situation, and said :
» “Well, well, let it pass; friend Matco’s 's request
and thy good looks, my boy, shall not go for noth-
ing. . Rest thee for awhile, and I will sce how thou
canst be employed. Here, Jacqiino, take this
young man under thy charge, and sco him well at-
tended to.”
Jacquino was s the head porter of the gaol, and a
great favorite with Rocco, who had sanctioned a
