Anselmo would not believe it, but blind with rage drew a daggerand threatened to stab Leonela, bidding her tell the truth or he wouldkill her. She, in her fear, not knowing what she was saying,exclaimed, "Do not kill me, senor, for I can tell you things moreimportant than any you can imagine."
"Tell me then at once or thou diest," said Anselmo.
"It would be impossible for me now," said Leonela, "I am soagitated: leave me till to-morrow, and then you shall hear from mewhat will fill you with astonishment; but rest assured that he wholeaped through the window is a young man of this city, who has givenme his promise to become my husband."
Anselmo was appeased with this, and was content to wait the time sheasked of him, for he never expected to hear anything againstCamilla, so satisfied and sure of her virtue was he; and so he quittedthe room, and left Leonela locked in, telling her she should notcome out until she had told him all she had to make known to him. Hewent at once to see Camilla, and tell her, as he did, all that hadpassed between him and her handmaid, and the promise she had given himto inform him matters of serious importance.
There is no need of saying whether Camilla was agitated or not,for so great was her fear and dismay, that, making sure, as she hadgood reason to do, that Leonela would tell Anselmo all she knew of herfaithlessness, she had not the courage to wait and see if hersuspicions were confirmed; and that same night, as soon as she thoughtthat Anselmo was asleep, she packed up the most valuable jewels shehad and some money, and without being observed by anybody escaped fromthe house and betook herself to Lothario's, to whom she related whathad occurred, imploring him to convey her to some place of safety orfly with her where they might be safe from Anselmo. The state ofperplexity to which Camilla reduced Lothario was such that he wasunable to utter a word in reply, still less to decide upon what heshould do. At length he resolved to conduct her to a convent ofwhich a sister of his was prioress; Camilla agreed to this, and withthe speed which the circumstances demanded, Lothario took her to theconvent and left her there, and then himself quitted the citywithout letting anyone know of his departure.
As soon as daylight came Anselmo, without missing Camilla from hisside, rose cager to learn what Leonela had to tell him, and hastenedto the room where he had locked her in. He opened the door, entered,but found no Leonela; all he found was some sheets knotted to thewindow, a plain proof that she had let herself down from it andescaped. He returned, uneasy, to tell Camilla, but not finding herin bed or anywhere in the house he was lost in amazement. He asked theservants of the house about her, but none of them could give him anyexplanation. As he was going in search of Camilla it happened bychance that he observed her boxes were lying open, and that thegreater part of her jewels were gone; and now he became fully aware ofhis disgrace, and that Leonela was not the cause of his misfortune;and, just as he was, without delaying to dress himself completely,he repaired, sad at heart and dejected, to his friend Lothario to makeknown his sorrow to him; but when he failed to find him and theservants reported that he had been absent from his house all night andhad taken with him all the money he had, he felt as though he werelosing his senses; and to make all complete on returning to his ownhouse he found it deserted and empty, not one of all his servants,male or female, remaining in it. He knew not what to think, or say, ordo, and his reason seemed to be deserting him little by little. Hereviewed his position, and saw himself in a moment left withoutwife, friend, or servants, abandoned, he felt, by the heaven abovehim, and more than all robbed of his honour, for in Camilla'sdisappearance he saw his own ruin. After long reflection he resolvedat last to go to his friend's village, where he had been stayingwhen he afforded opportunities for the contrivance of thiscomplication of misfortune. He locked the doors of his house,mounted his horse, and with a broken spirit set out on his journey;but he had hardly gone half-way when, harassed by his reflections,he had to dismount and tie his horse to a tree, at the foot of whichhe threw himself, giving vent to piteous heartrending sighs; and therehe remained till nearly nightfall, when he observed a manapproaching on horseback from the city, of whom, after saluting him,he asked what was the news in Florence.
The citizen replied, "The strangest that have been heard for manya day; for it is reported abroad that Lothario, the great friend ofthe wealthy Anselmo, who lived at San Giovanni, carried off last nightCamilla, the wife of Anselmo, who also has disappeared. All this hasbeen told by a maid-servant of Camilla's, whom the governor found lastnight lowering herself by a sheet from the windows of Anselmo's house.I know not indeed, precisely, how the affair came to pass; all Iknow is that the whole city is wondering at the occurrence, for no onecould have expected a thing of the kind, seeing the great and intimatefriendship that existed between them, so great, they say, that theywere called 'The Two Friends.'"
"Is it known at all," said Anselmo, "what road Lothario andCamilla took?"
"Not in the least," said the citizen, "though the governor hasbeen very active in searching for them."
"God speed you, senor," said Anselmo.
"God be with you," said the citizen and went his way.
This disastrous intelligence almost robbed Anselmo not only of hissenses but of his life. He got up as well as he was able and reachedthe house of his friend, who as yet knew nothing of his misfortune,but seeing him come pale, worn, and haggard, perceived that he wassuffering some heavy affliction. Anselmo at once begged to beallowed to retire to rest, and to be given writing materials. His wishwas complied with and he was left lying down and alone, for he desiredthis, and even that the door should be locked. Finding himself alonehe so took to heart the thought of his misfortune that by the signs ofdeath he felt within him he knew well his life was drawing to a close,and therefore he resolved to leave behind him a declaration of thecause of his strange end. He began to write, but before he had putdown all he meant to say, his breath failed him and he yielded uphis life, a victim to the suffering which his ill-advised curiosityhad entailed upon him. The master of the house observing that it wasnow late and that Anselmo did not call, determined to go in andascertain if his indisposition was increasing, and found him lyingon his face, his body partly in the bed, partly on thewriting-table, on which he lay with the written paper open and the penstill in his hand. Having first called to him without receiving anyanswer, his host approached him, and taking him by the hand, foundthat it was cold, and saw that he was dead. Greatly surprised anddistressed he summoned the household to witness the sad fate which hadbefallen Anselmo; and then he read the paper, the handwriting of whichhe recognised as his, and which contained these words:
"A foolish and ill-advised desire has robbed me of life. If the newsof my death should reach the ears of Camilla, let her know that Iforgive her, for she was not bound to perform miracles, nor ought I tohave required her to perform them; and since I have been the author ofmy own dishonour, there is no reason why-"
So far Anselmo had written, and thus it was plain that at thispoint, before he could finish what he had to say, his life came toan end. The next day his friend sent intelligence of his death tohis relatives, who had already ascertained his misfortune, as wellas the convent where Camilla lay almost on the point of accompanyingher husband on that inevitable journey, not on account of thetidings of his death, but because of those she received of her lover'sdeparture. Although she saw herself a widow, it is said she refusedeither to quit the convent or take the veil, until, not longafterwards, intelligence reached her that Lothario had been killedin a battle in which M. de Lautrec had been recently engaged withthe Great Captain Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordova in the kingdom ofNaples, whither her too late repentant lover had repaired. On learningthis Camilla took the veil, and shortly afterwards died, worn out bygrief and melancholy. This was the end of all three, an end thatcame of a thoughtless beginning.
"I like this novel," said the curate; "but I cannot persuademyself of its truth; and if it has been invented, the author'sinvention is faulty, for it is impossible to imagine any husband sofoolish as to try such a costly experiment as Anselmo's. If it hadbeen represented as occurring between a gallant and his mistress itmight pass; but between husband and wife there is something of animpossibility about it. As to the way in which the story is told,however, I have no fault to find."
CHAPTER XXXVI
WHICH TREATS OF MORE CURIOUS INCIDENTS THAT OCCURRED AT THE INN
JUST at that instant the landlord, who was standing at the gate ofthe inn, exclaimed, "Here comes a fine troop of guests; if they stophere we may say gaudeamus."
"What are they?" said Cardenio.
"Four men," said the landlord, "riding a la jineta, with lancesand bucklers, and all with black veils, and with them there is a womanin white on a side-saddle, whose face is also veiled, and twoattendants on foot."
"Are they very near?" said the curate.