Towards the end of the seventeenth century, when Charles II. was reigning in Spain, a wandering tribe of gipsies appeared in the romantic city of Madrid, and every day were to be seen in the streets and public squares, amusing the light-hearted populace with their merry songs and dances.
With this tribe there came a beautiful young girl, named Maritana, who possessed a voice of wonderful charm and sweetness; and in a very short time the enchanting singing and fair looks of the pretty gipsy-maiden had won the hearts of all. Every day Maritana sang and danced before delighted crowds; and even the Queen, as she drove by with her ladies, would stop her state carriage to listen for a few moments to the pretty Gitana\'s thrilling voice.
Now, when the gay young King of Spain, Charles II., beheld Maritana for the first time he was so struck with her dazzling beauty that he determined to see her again; and several times he went disguised into the streets of the city, mingling with the crowds that applauded the gipsy-maid, in order to gain acquaintance with her.
On one of these occasions he was seen and recognised, in spite of his disguise, by the Chief Minister of State, Don José de Santarem, and this wily nobleman, understanding at once that his royal master was infatuated with the charms of the fair Maritana, quickly decided, in order to serve his own ends, to do all in his power to aid the King in his pursuit of the maiden.
For a long while Don José had secretly loved the cold and stately Queen, whom the pleasure-loving King had already begun to neglect; but so far, all his efforts to gain her favour had proved in vain, for the proud, exalted lady refused even to smile upon him. But the sight of the disguised King paying court to the pretty gipsy gave rise to a sudden scheme in the busy brain of the unscrupulous Minister. He would encourage this temporary infatuation, and convert Maritana to the purposes of the King\'s unrestrained passion; and then, once the Queen was persuaded of her husband\'s faithlessness, might she not be persuaded to look for a lover herself, as a means of avenging her wrongs? And that lover should be Don José de Santarem!
Fully determined to carry out this base plan, Don José himself went up to Maritana and began to make pretty speeches to her, praising her beauty and lovely voice; and having observed that the disguised King had slipped gold into her hand, he also gave her a piece of money of the same value, and begged her to sing him another song. Delighted at gaining two pieces of gold in one day, Maritana was glad enough to sing, and when the song came to an end she talked merrily to the Minister, telling him that she longed to be a great lady and to live in dazzling halls, drive in a gilded coach, and wear fine clothes and glittering jewels.
Pleased to find that his intended victim had just such longings and ambitions as would serve him in his schemes regarding her, Don José declared that all these things she desired might indeed be hers, since her own wondrous beauty could easily win them; and he added that if she would trust her fortunes to him, he would quickly make her a great lady.
Maritana merrily replied that she would gladly accept any such good fortune he might offer her; and then she ran off to sing and dance in another street.
No sooner had she gone out of the square than a handsome, but dissipated-looking roysterer, whose once gay garments and general appearance showed signs of poverty and riotous living, and yet who preserved a certain dignity and charm of manner, issued forth from a tavern close by, declaring to the bystanders that he had just lost his last coin to gamblers; and Don José, to his surprise, recognised in this shabby, yet débonnaire stranger, an old friend of his boyhood\'s days, Don C?sar de Bazan, a nobleman of equal rank with himself.
He went up at once and renewed acquaintance with him, and Don C?sar, who was of a sunny-hearted, careless disposition, related to his old friend the reasons for his present poverty, declaring candidly that gay living and generosity to friends had quickly run through the fine fortune he had inherited, and that in order to escape from his numerous creditors, he was compelled to travel about from place to place.
As it was now some years since he had been in Madrid, he asked if there was any news in the city; and Don José replied "None; except that the King has issued an edict against duelling, declaring that every survivor of a duel shall be shot, unless it take place in Holy Week, when he is to be hanged instead."
Now Don C?sar was an expert duellist, and celebrated for the number of his encounters; so on hearing this news, he said with a laugh and shrug of his shoulders: "Why, then, I must avoid a quarrel, for it is Holy Week now, and it would be a dire dishonour for the last of my race to be hanged!"
At this moment there was a loud outcry, and a boatman rushed into the square, dragging with him a wretched youth whom he had just rescued from attempting to drown himself; and close upon his heels followed the Captain of the Guard, into whose hands he was about to deliver the culprit to be brought up for justice.
But the poor boy, whose name was Lazarillo, begged wildly to be set free, declaring that a harsh master\'s ill-treatment had made him long to destroy himself, but that he would make no more attempts if he could be saved from punishment; and on hearing his pitiful story and sad cries, Don C?sar, who had a tender and generous heart, hastened to his assistance and freed him from his captor.
The Captain of the Guard angrily commanded this unexpected champion to instantly deliver the boy up to justice, that he might be punished for his offence; but Don C?sar, indignant at being thus addressed by one whom he deemed his inferior, drew his sword and haughtily declared that he meant to protect the helpless youth.
A hot quarrel now ensued, and a few minutes later the two were engaged in a duel, despite Don José\'s repeated warnings about the King\'s edict, and the special penalty of Holy Week. Don C?sar, with a few skillful strokes, easily despatched his adversary; but before he had time to escape to a place of safety he was surrounded and captured by the city guards, who quickly bore him off to the prison-house. Here he was thrown into a cell, together with the poor youth whose cause he had championed so recklessly, and who now refused to leave him; and having thus flagrantly gone against the King\'s edict, he was immediately condemned to death, and sentenced to be hanged next morning at seven o\'clock.
Now Don José de Santarem, instead of being grieved at the terrible misfortune that had befallen the friend of his boyhood, at first cared naught about the matter; and then, suddenly seeing in this very incident a means of helping on his own evil schemes, he determined to make a strange offer to the doomed man. If only he could wed the beautiful Gitana to Don C?sar de Bazan within the next few hours, all his plans would go well; for as the widow of a Grandee of Spain, Maritana would be entitled to a high position at Court, and thus be brought into daily contact with the King, who would then be constantly under the spell of her fascinating beauty.
Having carefully laid his plans with great cunning, the wily Minister repaired to the prison-house at five o\'clock next morning; and armed with all authority as the King\'s Chief Minister, he made his way to the Count\'s cell, and entered. He found Don C?sar already awake and talking cheerfully to the young Lazarillo in his usual gay and careless manner, quite regardless of his quickly-approaching end; and hurrying forward, he greeted him pleasantly, saying he had come to serve him.
Don C?sar replied merrily that there was little in which a dying man could be served, but he added that he should be glad if the Minister would take the boy, Lazarillo, into his service, as he felt an interest in his fate. Don José readily agreed to this, and next he cunningly asked if the Count were satisfied to die the death of a dog by hanging—the death meted out to outcasts and low-born rogues.
The haughty family pride of Don C?sar was stung by this subtle taunt, for it was galling to him beyond measure to thus bring disgrace upon his ancient name, and he eagerly besought his old friend to entreat the King to grant him the privilege of being shot instead of hanged, as befitted a noble of Spain.
Then Don José announced that he could quickly obtain him this favour, but only on condition that he married before his execution, and that he asked no questions whatever about his bride, who would be thickly veiled; and Don C?sar, glad to secure a soldier\'s death even upon such strange terms as these, willingly agreed, and at once retired to a small inner chamber to dress himself in the handsome wedding garments the Minister had already ordered to be brought there. He also requested that his guards and executioners might be permitted to join him in his last meal; and Don José, delighted at the success of his scheme, at once gave orders for a fine feast to be served immediately, after which he hurried away to find Maritana.
Just as he was leaving the prison, a sealed packet was handed to him, and opening it, he found that it was a free pardon for Don C?sar from the King. Knowing that this unexpected circumstance would spoil all his fine plans, the merciless Minister determined that the pardon should not arrive at the prison until after the execution, and thrusting the document within the folds of his tunic, to be forwarded later, he went on his way.
Although still so early in the morning, he soon found Maritana already singing gaily amidst the gipsy camp; and drawing her to one side, he whispered that he had come to offer her a splendid position, a fine house, and great riches, on condition that she agreed to be married immediately to a high-born noble of Spain, Don C?sar de Bazan.
On hearing that such a brilliant marriage, which more than fulfilled her highest ambitions, was in store for her, Maritana clapped her hands joyfully; for though she had seen the capture of Don C?sar the day before, and had even pleaded for his release, she had not heard his name spoken, and knew naught of his death-sentence; but when Don José added that for certain State reasons he could not explain to her she must go through the ceremony thickly veiled, and not behold her bridegroom until some days afterwards, she grew suspicious, and said she did not like such mystery.
Then the cunning Minister, to relieve her fears, said that it was the express command of the Queen that she should go through this ceremony and obey all his directions, however strange they might seem; and on hearing this, Maritana, who was grateful to the Queen for noticing her singing in the streets, now willingly gave her consent, thinking that even such an unusual marriage as this must be right if it was the royal lady\'s command. So she allowed herself to be dressed in a wedding robe, and so heavily veiled as to be completely blind-folded; and as soon as she was ready, Don José took her to the prison-house, together with a priest.
It was now about six o\'clock; and they found Don C?sar already carousing merrily with the very soldiers who were to shoot him an hour later. The doomed man was quite in his usual good spirits, and determined to enjoy the last minutes of his life; but the boy, Lazarillo, was sad, and refused to join in the feast. Such a strong feeling of gratitude and love for his generous, light-hearted protector had sprung up within the youth\'s heart that he could not bear to think of his quickly-approaching death, and he longed to discover some means of saving him. As he gazed helplessly round the prison chamber, his eyes fell upon the file of arquebuses leaning against the wall, with which the fatal volley was presently to be fired; and at the sight of the dreaded weapons, a sudden thought flashed across his quick brain. Creeping quietly along to the arquebuses, he dexterously............