第 41 页

Having said this, the wise and virtuous Lothario was silent, andAnselmo, troubled in mind and deep in thought, was unable for awhile to utter a word in reply; but at length he said, "I havelistened, Lothario my friend, attentively, as thou hast seen, towhat thou hast chosen to say to me, and in thy arguments, examples,and comparisons I have seen that high intelligence thou dostpossess, and the perfection of true friendship thou hast reached;and likewise I see and confess that if I am not guided by thy opinion,but follow my own, I am flying from the good and pursuing the evil.This being so, thou must remember that I am now labouring under thatinfirmity which women sometimes suffer from, when the craving seizesthem to eat clay, plaster, charcoal, and things even worse, disgustingto look at, much more to eat; so that it will be necessary to haverecourse to some artifice to cure me; and this can be easilyeffected if only thou wilt make a beginning, even though it be in alukewarm and make-believe fashion, to pay court to Camilla, who willnot be so yielding that her virtue will give way at the firstattack: with this mere attempt I shall rest satisfied, and thou wilthave done what our friendship binds thee to do, not only in givingme life, but in persuading me not to discard my honour. And thisthou art bound to do for one reason alone, that, being, as I am,resolved to apply this test, it is not for thee to permit me to revealmy weakness to another, and so imperil that honour thou art strivingto keep me from losing; and if thine may not stand as high as it oughtin the estimation of Camilla while thou art paying court to her,that is of little or no importance, because ere long, on finding inher that constancy which we expect, thou canst tell her the plaintruth as regards our stratagem, and so regain thy place in her esteem;and as thou art venturing so little, and by the venture canst affordme so much satisfaction, refuse not to undertake it, even if furtherdifficulties present themselves to thee; for, as I have said, ifthou wilt only make a beginning I will acknowledge the issue decided."

Lothario seeing the fixed determination of Anselmo, and notknowing what further examples to offer or arguments to urge in orderto dissuade him from it, and perceiving that he threatened toconfide his pernicious scheme to some one else, to avoid a greaterevil resolved to gratify him and do what he asked, intending to managethe business so as to satisfy Anselmo without corrupting the mind ofCamilla; so in reply he told him not to communicate his purpose to anyother, for he would undertake the task himself, and would begin itas soon as he pleased. Anselmo embraced him warmly and affectionately,and thanked him for his offer as if he had bestowed some greatfavour upon him; and it was agreed between them to set about it thenext day, Anselmo affording opportunity and time to Lothario toconverse alone with Camilla, and furnishing him with money andjewels to offer and present to her. He suggested, too, that heshould treat her to music, and write verses in her praise, and if hewas unwilling to take the trouble of composing them, he offered todo it himself. Lothario agreed to all with an intention very differentfrom what Anselmo supposed, and with this understanding theyreturned to Anselmo's house, where they found Camilla awaiting herhusband anxiously and uneasily, for he was later than usual inreturning that day. Lothario repaired to his own house, and Anselmoremained in his, as well satisfied as Lothario was troubled in mind;for he could see no satisfactory way out of this ill-advised business.That night, however, he thought of a plan by which he might deceiveAnselmo without any injury to Camilla. The next day he went to dinewith his friend, and was welcomed by Camilla, who received and treatedhim with great cordiality, knowing the affection her husband feltfor him. When dinner was over and the cloth removed, Anselmo toldLothario to stay there with Camilla while he attended to some pressingbusiness, as he would return in an hour and a half. Camilla begged himnot to go, and Lothario offered to accompany him, but nothing couldpersuade Anselmo, who on the contrary pressed Lothario to remainwaiting for him as he had a matter of great importance to discuss withhim. At the same time he bade Camilla not to leave Lothario aloneuntil he came back. In short he contrived to put so good a face on thereason, or the folly, of his absence that no one could havesuspected it was a pretence.

Anselmo took his departure, and Camilla and Lothario were left aloneat the table, for the rest of the household had gone to dinner.Lothario saw himself in the lists according to his friend's wish,and facing an enemy that could by her beauty alone vanquish a squadronof armed knights; judge whether he had good reason to fear; but whathe did was to lean his elbow on the arm of the chair, and his cheekupon his hand, and, asking Camilla's pardon for his ill manners, hesaid he wished to take a little sleep until Anselmo returned.Camilla in reply said he could repose more at his ease in thereception-room than in his chair, and begged of him to go in and sleepthere; but Lothario declined, and there he remained asleep until thereturn of Anselmo, who finding Camilla in her own room, and Lotharioasleep, imagined that he had stayed away so long as to have affordedthem time enough for conversation and even for sleep, and was allimpatience until Lothario should wake up, that he might go out withhim and question him as to his success. Everything fell out as hewished; Lothario awoke, and the two at once left the house, andAnselmo asked what he was anxious to know, and Lothario in answer toldhim that he had not thought it advisable to declare himself entirelythe first time, and therefore had only extolled the charms of Camilla,telling her that all the city spoke of nothing else but her beauty andwit, for this seemed to him an excellent way of beginning to gainher good-will and render her disposed to listen to him with pleasurethe next time, thus availing himself of the device the devil hasrecourse to when he would deceive one who is on the watch; for hebeing the angel of darkness transforms himself into an angel of light,and, under cover of a fair seeming, discloses himself at length, andeffects his purpose if at the beginning his wiles are notdiscovered. All this gave great satisfaction to Anselmo, and he saidhe would afford the same opportunity every day, but without leavingthe house, for he would find things to do at home so that Camillashould not detect the plot.

Thus, then, several days went by, and Lothario, without uttering aword to Camilla, reported to Anselmo that he had talked with her andthat he had never been able to draw from her the slightestindication of consent to anything dishonourable, nor even a sign orshadow of hope; on the contrary, he said she would inform herhusband of it.

"So far well," said Anselmo; "Camilla has thus far resisted words;we must now see how she will resist deeds. I will give you to-morrowtwo thousand crowns in gold for you to offer or even present, and asmany more to buy jewels to lure her, for women are fond of beingbecomingly attired and going gaily dressed, and all the more so ifthey are beautiful, however chaste they may be; and if she resiststhis temptation, I will rest satisfied and will give you no moretrouble."

Lothario replied that now he had begun he would carry on theundertaking to the end, though he perceived he was to come out of itwearied and vanquished. The next day he received the four thousandcrowns, and with them four thousand perplexities, for he knew not whatto say by way of a new falsehood; but in the end he made up his mindto tell him that Camilla stood as firm against gifts and promises asagainst words, and that there was no use in taking any furthertrouble, for the time was all spent to no purpose.

But chance, directing things in a different manner, so ordered itthat Anselmo, having left Lothario and Camilla alone as on otheroccasions, shut himself into a chamber and posted himself to watch andlisten through the keyhole to what passed between them, andperceived that for more than half an hour Lothario did not utter aword to Camilla, nor would utter a word though he were to be there foran age; and he came to the conclusion that what his friend had toldhim about the replies of Camilla was all invention and falsehood,and to ascertain if it were so, he came out, and calling Lotharioaside asked him what news he had and in what humour Camilla was.Lothario replied that he was not disposed to go on with thebusiness, for she had answered him so angrily and harshly that hehad no heart to say anything more to her.

"Ah, Lothario, Lothario," said Anselmo, "how ill dost thou meetthy obligations to me, and the great confidence I repose in thee! Ihave been just now watching through this keyhole, and I have seen thatthou has not said a word to Camilla, whence I conclude that on theformer occasions thou hast not spoken to her either, and if this beso, as no doubt it is, why dost thou deceive me, or whereforeseekest thou by craft to deprive me of the means I might find ofattaining my desire?"

Anselmo said no more, but he had said enough to cover Lothariowith shame and confusion, and he, feeling as it were his honourtouched by having been detected in a lie, swore to Anselmo that hewould from that moment devote himself to satisfying him without anydeception, as he would see if he had the curiosity to watch; though heneed not take the trouble, for the pains he would take to satisfyhim would remove all suspicions from his mind. Anselmo believed him,and to afford him an opportunity more free and less liable tosurprise, he resolved to absent himself from his house for eight days,betaking himself to that of a friend of his who lived in a village notfar from the city; and, the better to account for his departure toCamilla, he so arranged it that the friend should send him a verypressing invitation.

Unhappy, shortsighted Anselmo, what art thou doing, what art thouplotting, what art thou devising? Bethink thee thou art workingagainst thyself, plotting thine own dishonour, devising thine ownruin. Thy wife Camilla is virtuous, thou dost possess her in peace andquietness, no one assails thy happiness, her thoughts wander notbeyond the walls of thy house, thou art her heaven on earth, theobject of her wishes, the fulfilment of her desires, the measurewherewith she measures her will, making it conform in all things tothine and Heaven's. If, then, the mine of her honour, beauty,virtue, and modesty yields thee without labour all the wealth itcontains and thou canst wish for, why wilt thou dig the earth insearch of fresh veins, of new unknown treasure, risking the collapseof all, since it but rests on the feeble props of her weak nature?Bethink thee that from him who seeks impossibilities that which ispossible may with justice be withheld, as was better expressed by apoet who said:

'Tis mine to seek for life in death,

Health in disease seek I,

I seek in prison freedom's breath,

In traitors loyalty.

So Fate that ever scorns to grant

Or grace or boon to me,

Since what can never be I want,

Denies me what might be.

The next day Anselmo took his departure for the village, leavinginstructions with Camilla that during his absence Lothario wouldcome to look after his house and to dine with her, and that she was totreat him as she would himself. Camilla was distressed, as adiscreet and right-minded woman would be, at the orders her husbandleft her, and bade him remember that it was not becoming that anyoneshould occupy his seat at the table during his absence, and if heacted thus from not feeling confidence that she would be able tomanage his house, let him try her this time, and he would find byexperience that she was equal to greater responsibilities. Anselmoreplied that it was his pleasure to have it so, and that she hadonly to submit and obey. Camilla said she would do so, thoughagainst her will.

Anselmo went, and the next day Lothario came to his house, wherehe was received by Camilla with a friendly and modest welcome; but shenever suffered Lothario to see her alone, for she was alwaysattended by her men and women servants, especially by a handmaid ofhers, Leonela by name, to whom she was much attached (for they hadbeen brought up together from childhood in her father's house), andwhom she had kept with her after her marriage with Anselmo. Thefirst three days Lothario did not speak to her, though he might havedone so when they removed the cloth and the servants retired to dinehastily; for such were Camilla's orders; nay more, Leonela haddirections to dine earlier than Camilla and never to leave her side.She, however, having her thoughts fixed upon other things more toher taste, and wanting that time and opportunity for her ownpleasures, did not always obey her mistress's commands, but on thecontrary left them alone, as if they had ordered her to do so; but themodest bearing of Camilla, the calmness of her countenance, thecomposure of her aspect were enough to bridle the tongue ofLothario. But the influence which the many virtues of Camillaexerted in imposing silence on Lothario's tongue proved mischievousfor both of them, for if his tongue was silent his thoughts were busy,and could dwell at leisure upon the perfections of Camilla'sgoodness and beauty one by one, charms enough to warm with love amarble statue, not to say a heart of flesh. Lothario gazed upon herwhen he might have been speaking to her, and thought how worthy ofbeing loved she was; and thus reflection began little by little toassail his allegiance to Anselmo, and a thousand times he thought ofwithdrawing from the city and going where Anselmo should never see himnor he see Camilla. But already the delight he found in gazing onher interposed and held him fast. He put a constraint upon himself,and struggled to repel and repress the pleasure he found incontemplating Camilla; when alone he blamed himself for hisweakness, called himself a bad friend, nay a bad Christian; then heargued the matter and compared himself with Anselmo; always comingto the conclusion that the folly and rashness of Anselmo had beenworse than his faithlessness, and that if he could excuse hisintentions as easily before God as with man, he had no reason tofear any punishment for his offence.

In short the beauty and goodness of Camilla, joined with theopportunity which the blind husband had placed in his hands, overthrewthe loyalty of Lothario; and giving heed to nothing save the objecttowards which his inclinations led him, after Anselmo had been threedays absent, during which he had been carrying on a continual strugglewith his passion, he began to make love to Camilla with so muchvehemence and warmth of language that she was overwhelmed withamazement, and could only rise from her place and retire to her roomwithout answering him a word. But the hope which always springs upwith love was not weakened in Lothario by this repelling demeanour; onthe contrary his passion for Camilla increased, and she discovering inhim what she had never expected, knew not what to do; andconsidering it neither safe nor right to give him the chance oropportunity of speaking to her again, she resolved to send, as she didthat very night, one of her servants with a letter to Anselmo, inwhich she addressed the following words to him.