and so much agreeableness above all other Women I made stricter inquiry after all those that had made their addresses to her with more application than ordinary I learnt that the Count of Lare was desperatly in Love with her and that his passion to her lasted a long time that he was kill'd in the Army that he run headlong into dangers when he had lost all hope of Marrying her I was told moreover that many other persons had endeavoured to win her favour but to no purpose and that all people had given her over because they thought it an impossible thing to thrive in their pursuit I took no small delight in thinking of overcoming this impossibility and for all that I had no design to endeavour it But I saw Bellasire as often as I could possible and as the Court of Navar is not so strict as that of Leon it was not hard for me to find occasions of seeing her and yet there was nothing of seriousness betwixt her and me I spoke to her laughing at the distance that we were at and of the joy I should have if she would change her face and her opinion I imagined that my Conversation was not unpleasant to her and that she was satisfied with my Wit because she found I knew the depth of hers Finding she had a Confidence in me that gave me full liberty to speak to her I prayed her to tell me the reasons why she did so obstinately reject all those that made their addresses to her I will tell you sincerely said she I was born with a natural aversion against Marriage the tyes whereof have alwayes seemed to me very harsh and I believed that nothing but a passion strong enough to blind me could make me tread underfoot all those reasons that seem to oppose that engagement You will not Marry for Love said she and for my part I cannot comprehend how any can resolve to Marry without Love and that a very violent one far from having a passion I never had the least inclination for any Man So that Alphonso if I am not Marryed it is because I never Loved any Man well enough to engage me to it How Madam Answered I no man ever pleased you Your heart has never received any impression it has never been discomposed at the sight or mention of those that adored you No said she I am utterly a Stranger to all the impulses of Love How And of Jealousie too said I I and of Jealousie too replyed she Ah Madam said I if that be I am perswaded that you never had any inclination for any Man It is true said she that no man ever pleased me no I never found any bodyes humour agreeable or any way like my own I know not what effects the words of Bellasire wrought upon me I know not whether I was already in Love without knowing it But the Idea of a heart like hers that never received any impression seemed so wonderful and so new to me that I was in that very instant struck with a desire to please her to gain the glory of touching a heart that all the world believed insensible I was no longer that Man that begun to speak without design I ruminated upon all that she had said and believed that at the same time she told me she never found Man that could please her she excepted me In fine I had hope enough to compleat my intanglement and from that moment I became more in Love with Bellasire than ever I had been with any before I will not repeat to you how I took the freedom to declare my passion to her I began to speak to her by a kind of Rallery for it was hard to talk seriously to her and this Rallery gave me occasion to tell her things that I should not have durst to tell of a long time so that I was in Love with Bellasire and was happy enough to touch her heart though not so happy as to be able to perswade her that I Lov'd her She was naturally diffident of all Mankind though she considered me far above all those that she had ever seen and by consequence more than I deserved yet she would not give credit to my words but her manner of proceeding with me was different from that of all other Women and I found something so noble and so sincere in her ways that I was altogether surprised at it It was not long e're she confessed to me the inclination she had for me she would tell me from time to time what progress I made in her heart and as she concealed nothing from me that was for my advange so likewise she told me what was against me she would say that she could not believe that I Loved Cordially and that she would never consent to Marry me untill she was better satisfied of my Love I cannot express the pleasure I took in finding that I had made an impression upon a heart that never was sensible of any before and to see the confusion she was in to find her self ingaged in a passion which till then was altogether unknown to her how charming it was to me to know the astonishment Bellasire was in being no longer Mistress of her self nor having any more power over her own thoughts I tasted in these beginnings delights beyond my hope or imagination and he that has not known the delight of making a person violently in Love with him that has never been sensible of Love may say she never knew the true pleasures of Love If I had great transports of pleasure to find out the inclination Bellasire had for me I was also in terrible anxieties for the doubt she was in of my passion for her and the impossibility I saw of perswading her to believe it When these thoughts disturbed me I recall'd to mind the opinion I had of Wedlock I found I was going to precipitate my self into the misfortunes which I so much apprehended I thought I should have the affliction of not being capable of assuring Bellasire of the passion I had for her or that if I did convince her and that she should be truly in Love with me I should be exposed to the Misfortune of being no more beloved passionately I said to my self that Wedlock would diminish the passion she had for me and that she would love me no more than as far as duty required and that perhaps she would Love some body else The horror of being Jealous was so impetuous upon me that notwithstanding the esteem and passion I had for her I had almost resolved to quit the resolution I had taken and I preferr'd the Misfortune of living without Bellasire before that of enjoying her without being beloved of her Bellasire's thoughts were almost as distracted as mine she concealed nothing from me no more than I did from her we debated the reasons we had not to engage one anothers Affections we several times resolved to break off and we took leave
entertain her self with her sad thoughts Alphonso took notice of it sometimes to Gonsalvo with amazement and he wondered that the excess of her Melancholly did not tarnish her Beauty In the mean time all Don Gonsalvo's study was to please Zayde and to give her all the Divertisements that Walking Hunting and Fishing could furnish and she busied her self in all that could divert her she spent her time for some dayes in making a Bracelet of her Hair and when she had finished it she fastened it about her Arm with that eagerness which people have for a thing they have finished The same day that she put it on she let it fall by chance in the Wood Gonsalvo seeing her go out went to follow her and going along he found this Bracelet which he easily knew again He was extream glad to have found it and his gladness had been more compleat if he had received it from the hands of Zayde but as he had no hopes of it he thought himself happy to owe it to Fortune Zayde having missed it was comeing back to look for it in the places she had passed she made signes to Don Gonsalvo what she had lost and seemed to be much afflicted at it Though he was in pain to cause her disquiet he could not resolve to part with a thing that was so precious to him he made as if he looked for it too and at last obliged her to leave off her unnecessary search As soon as he was gotten into his Chamber he kissed this Bracelet a thousand times and fastened to it a buckle of Diamonds of great value Sometimes he went out to walk before Zayde was up and when he found himself in a place where he believed no body could see him he would untye this Bracelet the better to consider it One Morning as he was thus busie sitting upon a Beach that somewhat advanced into the Sea he heard some body behind him he turn'd about on a suddain and was surprised to see it was Zayde All he could do was to hide the Bracelet but not so cleverly but that Zayde perceived he had hid something he fancied she saw what he had hid he observed so much coldness and discontent in her looks that he did no longer doubt but that she was angry with him for not restoring her Bracelet he durst not look upon her feating least he should see her make signes to restore it her again which he could not resolve to do She seemed sad and out of order and without looking towards Gonsalvo she set her down and turned her face towards the Sea the wind blew away a Vail she had in her hand unknown to her Gonsalvo rose to take it up but in rising he let fall the Bracelet which he could not tye again for fear of discovering it Zayde turned her head at the noyse Gonsalvo made she saw her Bracelet and picked it up before Gonsalvo could turn that way but he was infinitely troubled when he saw it in her hand both for his concern of losing it and for fear of her anger nevertheless he took courage seeing no more anger nor discontent in her Countenance he rather fancied he saw something of sweet and pleasant He was no less moved by the hope he conceived from Zayde's countenance than he was a moment before by his fear of having displeased her She considered with attention the lustre of the Diamond Buckles that were fastened to the Bracelet and after looking upon it a while she undid it and gave it to Gonsalvo and put the Bracelet into her Pocket When Gonsalvo saw that Zayde returned him only his Buckles he turned himself towards the Sea and threw them in with a careless and melancholly ayre as if he had let them fall in by chance Zayde cryed out and advanced her body to see if there were no possibility of retrieving them but he told her it was in vain to look after them and because she should make no longer reflection upon what he had done he offered her his hand to lead her further from that place They walked without saying any thing to one another insensibly towards Alphonso's House both of them so full of thoughts that they seemed to desire to separate As soon as Gonsalvo had conducted her to her Chamber he left her to think of his Adventure Though Zayde did not seem to him as Angry as he had apprehended he believed that the joy of finding her Bracelet had banished her discontent so that his displeasure was nothing less though he had a great mind to have the Bracelet yet the fear of displeasing Zayde kept him from asking it and left him oppressed with that kind of grief which Love without hope gives all his Consolation was to declare his Grievances to Alphonso and to blame himself for his weakness in being in Love with Zayde You are unjust in your Accusations against your self Alphonso would say sometimes to him It is not easie to defend ones self in the middle of a Desert against the force of such a charming Beauty as Zayde It is all you could be able to do in a great Court where other Beauties might make a diversion or where Ambition at least would claim a share in your heart But did any Man ever Love without hope Said Gonsalvo And how can I hope to be Beloved since I cannot so much as say I Love How shall I be able to perswade it since I cannot utter it which of my actions shall be convincing enough to induce Zayde to believe I Love her in a place where I see none but her self and where I cannot make her sensible I prefer her before all others How shall I banish out of her mind what she Loves by no other means but by her good liking of my Person But my Misfortune has contrived it so that the sight of my face preserves in her the memory of her Lover Ah my dear Alphonso flatter me not nothing but meet folly could make me in Love with Zayde and so much in Love as to make me even forget that I was once before in Love and was abused in it I am of opinion replyed Alphonso that you were never in Love before now since you knew not what Jealousie was but since you Loved her I had no cause of being Jealous of Nugna Bella answered Gonsalvo so well she knew how to deceive me When a Man is seriously in Love said Alphonso he is Jealous without cause you see it by experience in your self make but a little reflections upon the disquiet that Zayde's tears does create you and mark how Jealousie has put it into your head that she laments the loss of a Lover and not that of a Brother I am but over-perswaded replyed Gonsalvo that I Love Zayde much more than ever I did Nugna Bella the Ambition of this last and her Application to the Princes interest often abated of my Love All that I find in Zayde opposite to my Love for
example to believe that she Loves another and neither to know her heart nor her thoughts cannot lessen my Passion for her But Alphonso am not I a Mad-man to Love Zayde much more than ever I did Nugna Bella the success of the Love I bore Nugna Bella was I must confess too cruel yet every Man that is in Love may have the like There was no folly in Loving her I knew her she was in Love with no body else I was acceptable to her I might have Marryed her But Zayde Alphonso But Zayde Who is she What can I pretend in her Does not every circumstance else but her incomparable Beauty condemn me of madness Gonsalvo did often entertain Alphonso with such like discourses In the mean time his Love increased daily he could not refrain letting his eyes speak after such a charming manner that he believed he saw by those of Zayde that their Language was understood he sound her sometimes in a kind of surprise that confirmed him in this belief She could not make her self to be understood by her words it was generally by her looks that she made Gonsalvo comprehend part of what she would say but there was something so passionate and so charming in her looks that Gonsalvo was all inflamed by them Fair Zayde he would say sometimes If thus you look upon those you do not Love What do you reserve for that happy Lover of whom I am so unhappy as to put you in mind If he had not been possessed with these thoughts he would not believe himself so unfortunate not would the actions of Zayde perswade him that he was indifferent to her One day having left her for a while be went to walk upon the Beach and came back again to a Fountain that was in a pleasant part of the Wood where she used to go very often As he came near it he heard some noise and he saw through the Boughs Zayde sitting by Felime the surprise occasioned by this rencounter gave Gonsalvo as much joy as if Fortune had brought him again to the sight of Zayde after a whole years absence He approaches to the place where they were and although he made a noise in walking they talked with so much attention that they did not hear him When he was come before her she seemed no less concerned than a person that had spoken aloud in a place where she was affraid to be over heard and forgotten that Gonsalvo could not understand her The agitation this surprise had put her in had in some measure added to the lustre of her Beauty Gonsalvo having seated himself near her being no longer able to contain himself threw himself of a suddain at her feet and spoke to her of his Love in so passionate a manner that she might easily know what he said without understanding his Language and it was clearly seen by Gonsalvo that she understood him well enough she Blushed and having made a sign with her hand as if she would push him away she rose with a cold kind of Civility as if she would have him rise from a place where he might be incommoded Alphonso happened to walk by in that very instant and she went towards him without so much as looking upon Gonsalvo He remained in that place without being able to rise from thence Thus said he to himself am I treated when I am not looked on as the picture of my Rival but you turn your eyes towards me fair Zayde after such a manner as would charm and enflame the whole World when my Countenance puts you in mind of his But if I do but presume to let you see that I Love you you will not daigne to cast away so much as an angry look upon me for you think me unworthy of the least glance of your eye If I could but make you sensible that I know you bewail a Lover I should think my self happy and I confess my Jealousie would be sufficiently revenged by the displeasure you should have to hear it Is it not for this that I seem to you to be perswaded that you love something that I may have the satisfaction to be assured by your self that you love nothing Ah Zayde my Revenge is concern'd and had rather give you opportunity to satisfie my Curiosity than in the least give cause of offence Being taken up with these thought he steeres his course towards the House to leave the place where Zayd was and that he might be alone in a Gallery where he used to walk He thought a long time upon the means how to make Zayde understand that he suspected she was in Love with some body else but it was not easie to find a way nor could it be well brought about without the help of speech After he had wearied himself with thinking and walking he was going out of the Gallery when a Painter whom Alphonso employed to draw some Pictures earnestly begged of him to view his work Gonsalvo would have been glad to be excused but being unwilling to anger the Painter he stood still to look upon what he was drawing It was a large piece wherein Alphonso gave him order to paint the Sea as it appeared from his Windows and to make it the more pleasant he represented therein a Tempest there appeared of one side Ships foundring in the mid'st of the Sea and on the other side Ships dashed against the Rocks Men were seen endeavouring to save their Lives by Swiming others already drowned whose Bodyes were cast upon the Shore This Tempest put Gonsalvo in mind of Zayde's Ship-wrack and made him bethink him of a way to let her understand what he thought of her Affliction He told the Painter he must add some more Figures to those that he had already drawn that he must in the first place draw upon one of those Rocks in the Picture a young fair Lady with her Body bending forward over the body of a Man stretched our dead upon the Shore that he must paint the Lady weeping as she looked upon this dead body that there must be another Man drawn prostrate at her feet endeavouring to perswade her to remove from this dead body that this fair Person without turning her eyes towards him that spoke to her pushed him away from her with one hand and with the other wiped her Tears The Painter undertook to draw Gonsalvo's fancy and began presently to design it Gonsalvo was well pleased and prayed him to work upon it with all speed and so went out of the Gallery he went to find out Zayde not being any longer able notwithstanding his late displeasure to be separated from her But he was informed that at her return from walking she was gone to her Chamber and so he could get no sight of her all the rest of the day for which he was much Afflicted and apprehended that she had deprived him of her sight on purpose to punish him for presuming to make her understand what he had done The
of one another with intention to execute our resolutions but our Adieus were so tender and our inclinations so strong that we were no sooner out of one anothers sight but we were contriving how to see one another again In fine after many irresolutions on both sides I at last overcome all Bellasires doubts and she clear'd all mine she promis'd to consent to our Marriage as soon as our Friends had agreed upon all things that was requisite for the consummating thereof Her Father was forc'd to leave the Court before all things were concluded for the King commanded him away to the Frontires to sign a Treaty with the Mores and we were forc'd to wait his coming back I was in the mean time the happiest Man in the World the Love I bore Bellasire took up all my thoughts and she loved me as passionately I esteemed her beyond all the Women in the world and believed my self upon the point of possessing her I enjoyed all the freedom that a Man that was soon to Marry her could take One day it was my Misfortune to pray her to tell me all that her Lovers had done for her I took delight to observe the difference betwixt her manner of proceeding with them and that she used with me She named me all those that Loved her she told me what they had done to please her she said that those that were most constant in their pursuit were those she least cared for and that the Count of Lare who Loved her to his death was never acceptable to her After what she had told me I know not for what reason but I had a greater curiosity to know what concern'd the Count de Lare than all the rest his long perseverance touch'd my imagination I pray'd her once more to repeat what passed betwixt them she did so and though she said nothing that could displease me I was seized with a Jealousie I found that although she had shewed no inclination she had shewed a great deal of esteem for him a suspicion took me in the head that she did not tell me all the sentiments she had for him I would not let her know what I thought but retired home in a worse humour than I used to be I slept little I could not rest untill I saw her again the next day and made her tell over again all she had told me the day before it was not possible for her to tell me in an instant all the circumstances of a Passion that had lasted many years she told me some things that she had not thought on before and I believed she did it out of design of concealing them from me I asked her a thousand questions and I beg'd of her upon my knees to answer me with sincerity but when what she answered was as I would have it I thought she said it only to please me if she said any thing that was advantagious for the Count of Lare I thought she concealed more than she would tell of him In sine Jealousie with all the horrors that accompany it seized upon my understanding I afforded her no rest I could no longer shew her either love or kindness I could speak of nothing to her but of the Count of Lare and yet I was out of my Wits for making her remember him and recall to mind what he had done for her sake I resolved never more to speak to her of him but I alwayes found that I had forgotten to make her explain her self upon some circumstance or other As soon as I had begun this discourse I was as it were in a maze I could never get out of it and my affliction was equally great in speaking of the Count de Lare or not speaking of him I passed whole Nights without sleep Bellasire was no more to me the same person How said I what was the charm of my passion Was it not the belief I had that Bellasire never lov'd any thing nor never had Inclination for any body And yet by what she tells me her self she had no aversion for the Count de Lare she had too much esteem for him and she used him with too much respect If she had not been in Love with him she would have hated him for the long Persecutions that he and his Friends raised against her No Bellasire you have deceived me you were not such as I believed you I adored you as one that had never loved any thing that was the foundation of my Love I find no such thing it is just therefore I recall all the Love I had for you But said I to my self again If she had told me truth what a notorious injustice do I do her And how much I plague my self in robbing my self of all the happiness I enjoyed in her Love While I was in these thoughts I resolved to speak once more to Bellasire I believed I should tell her better what grieved me and should satisfie my self in all doubts more clearly than ever I did what I resolv'd I spoke to her but it was not for the last time and the next day I took up the same discourse with more heat than I had done the day before But Bellasire who thitherto with a most unwearied patience and wonderful sweetness had endured all my suspicions and had endeavoured to clear them begun to be tired with the continuance of a Jealousie so violent and so ill-grounded Alphonso said she one day to me I perceive you have got a Capricio in your head that will destroy the passion you had for me but know at the same time that it will inevitably ruine the Love I had for you Consider I beseech you about what it is that you torment me and your self too about a dead Man whom you cannot fancy that I Lov'd since I did not Marry him for if I had had but the least inclination for him my Parents would have Marryed me to him for there was nothing else that could hinder it It is true Madam that I am Jealous of a dead Man and that is it that breaks my heart If the Count of Lare were yet living I should judge by your manner of usage to him how you did use him formerly and what you do for me would convince me that you did not Love him I should have the pleasure in Marrying you to deprive him of the hopes you have given him notwithstanding all you can tell me but he is dead and dyed perhaps in an opinion that if he had lived you might have loved him Ah Madam I cannot but be unhappy every time I shall think that any other but my self could fancy that you could Love him But Alphonso said she if I had Lov'd why did not I Marry then Because answered I you did not love him enough and that the aversion you had for Marriage could not be overcome by a weak Inclination I know you love me much better than ever you loved the Count of Lare but let your love for
convince me that you could have any I would have you added she looking upon me after having been Jealous of a dead Man whom I never loved to be Jealous of a living Man that does not love me How Madam said I you had no intention to make me Jealous of Don Mauriques you only plainly follow your inclination in doing what you do was it not to give me cause of suspicion your leaving of whispering to him or changing your discourse when I come into the Room Ah Madam if that be so I am more unhappy than I thought my self nay I am the most unfortunate of all Man-kind You are not the most unhappy replyed Bellasire but the most unreasonable of all Man-kind and if I should follow the dictates of reason I should break off with you this very moment and never see you more But is it possible Alphonso added she that you can be Jealous of Don Mauriques How can I be otherwise Madam said I when you keep a correspondence with him which I must not know I conceal it from you said she because you were angry when I spoke to him of your strange imaginations and that I had no mind you should know that I spoke to him still of your ill humours and of the dissatisfaction I receive from them How Madam said I you complain of my humours to my Rival and you think ill of me for being troubled at it I complain to your Friend said she and not to your Rival Don Mauriques is my Rival replyed I and I cannot think that you can avoid acknowledging it and I said she cannot believe you dare tell me he is so knowing as you do that he spends whole dayes in praising you to me It is very true said I that I do not suspect that Don Mauriques does any way endeavour to undermine me but that does not hinder but he may be in Love with you nay more I do believe he never yet spoke to you of his Love but after the manner you use him he will not be long before he speaks to you of it and the hopes that your proceedings give him will make him without scruple of Conscience pass over all the tyes and obligations of the Friendship that was betwixt us Can any Man be so void of reason as you are answer'd Bellasire Mark well your own words you tell me Don Mauriques speaks for you to me that he is in Love with me and that he does not speak to me for himself where will you find things so contradictory Is it not true that you believe I love you and that you are convinced Don Mauriques does so too It is very true answered I that I believe both the one and the other If you believe it cryed she how can you imagin that I can love you and love Don Mauriques too Or that Don Mauriques can be in love with me and love you still Alphonso I am infinitely troubled to find the disorders of your mind to be so exorbitant I now perceive your disease is incurable and that in resolving to Marry you I must at the same time resolve to be the most miserable Woman of the world Assuredly I love you very much but not so much as to purchase you at so dear a rate the Jealousie of Lovers is troublesome but the Jealousie of Husbands is insupportable you make me so plainly see what I am like to suffer that I believe I shall never be Marryed to you I love you too well not to be sensibly afflicted to see that I shall not as I hoped spend my dayes with you Leave me alone I conjure you your words and your sight do but increase my sorrow At these words she rose without giving me time to answer and went to her Closet and lockt the door which she would not open upon no intreaty I was forced to go home so desperate and so irresolved in my own thoughts that I wonder I did not run out of the little wit I had left me I came next day to see Bellasire whom I found sad and afflicted she spoke to me without any manner of sharpness nay with great sweetness but without saying any thing that might make me apprehend that she would abandon me I thought she studyed whether she should or no as we easily flatter our selves I believed she would not remain long in the mind she was in I asked her pardon for my folly as I had done a hundred times before I prayed her to say nothing to Don Mauriques I Conjured her upon my knees to change her conduct with him and not to treat him for the future so well as to give me disquiet of mind I will not tell Don Mauriques said she any thing of your folly but I will alter nothing of my way of living with him if I thought he Lov'd me I would never see him more though you had never been concerned at it but he has only a Friendship for me nay more you know he loves else-where I esteem him I love him you have consented I should therefore the disquiet you receive upon his score proceeds from your folly and disorder of mind If I should satisfie you you would quickly pick a quarrel with me upon some other Mans account as you do upon his therefore do not vex your self about my conduct with him for assuredly I shall not change it I am willing to believe said I that all you say is true and that you do not believe that Don Mauriques loves you but I believe it Madam and that 's enough I know you have only a Friendship for him but it is a Friendship so tender so full of confidence esteem and liking that although it should never rise to the heighth of a passion yet I have reason to be jealous of it and to apprehend that it may too much affect your heart The refusal you make of altering your way of proceeding with him gives me to understand that I do not fear him without cause To shew you said she that the refusal I make you does not concern Don Mauriques but your Caprice only if you desired me not to see the Man of the world which is most despicable to me I would deny it you as I do to leave off having a Friendship for Don Mauriques I believe you Madam said I but I am not Jealous of the Man of the world you despise most it is of a Man whom you love well enough to prefer him before my quiet I neither suspect you of weakness or change but I must confess I cannot suffer that your heart should entertain any kindness for any man but my self I am grieved also that you do not hate Don Mauriques though you know he loves you and I think it belongs to me alone to have the advantage over all others to love you without being hated so that you must grant my request without being offended at my Jealousie I said all I could think of to induce her to grant what
but I am not so assiduous about her I am not so observant of her I am not so much concerned that I do not understand her I have not so much mind to speak to her I have been no more afflicted yesterday than I used to be because she was not to be seen and I am not to day less negligent in my dress then I have accustomed to be In fine since I am as susceptible of compassion as you are and yet that there is so much difference betwixt us it followes that you must aile something more than I do Gonsalvo did not interrupt Alphonso but seemed to examine himself upon these particulars to find whether they were true or no. As he was upon the point of returning his Answer one came to tell him according to the directions he gave that Zayde was gone out of her Chamber and she was walking towards the Sea-side then without considering that he was going to confirm Alphonso's suspicion of him he leaves him to go after Zayde He saw her at a distance sitting by Felime in the same place where he found her two days before he had a particular curiosity to observe their actions hoping thereby to dive into the knowledge of their Fortunes He observed that Zayde wept and Felime seemed to endeavour to comfort her that Zayde did not hearken to her but looked still towards the Sea with such jestures as made Gonsalvo imagine that she lamented for some body that might have been cast away with her he had formerly found her weeping in that place but as she had done nothing that might instruct him in the cause of her tears he believed she had only wept for being so far distant from her Country he then began to fancy that those tears she shed were for the loss of a Lover that might be drowned and that it was to follow him perhaps that she had exposed her self to the dangers of the Sea Lastly He fancied to know as sure as if she had told him that Love was the cause of her tears It is not to be exprest what Gonsalvo's thoughts produced in his mind and the trouble which Jealousie caused in a Heart where Love had not yet declared it self He had been in Love formerly but had never been Jealous this passion that till then had been unknown to him made him feel its first effects with so much violence that he believed himself struck with a grief that no other man ever had felt or known but himself He passed as he thought through all the misfortunes that attended Man's life and yet now he feels something more intolerable than any thing he had ever indured before He has no freedom of reason left he leaves the place where he stood to come nearer to Zayde with resolution to ask her the cause of her affection and though he was assured she could not Answer him yet he forbears not to ask her She was far from comprehending what he would say she wipes away her tears and walks along with him The pleasure of seeing her and being seen by her fair eyes did calme the agitation wherein he was he perceived the disorder he was in and settled his countenance the best he could She named Tunis again very often to him and shew'd a great desire to be transported thither he understood but too well what she demanded of him the thought of seeing her depart began already to give him most sensible strokes of grief and it was only by the pains which Love creates that he perceives he is in Love and his jealousie and fear of her absence torments him before he knows that he is fallen in Love He would believe that she should have just cause to complain of his ill Fate if he did but find in himself an inclination to Love but to find himself at one and the same time not only in Love but Jealous neither to understand nor be understood by her he Loved to know nothing of her but her Beauty to have a prospect of nothing else but of an eternal absence were so many evils together that it was impossible to resist them While he made these sad reflexions Zayde continued walking with Felime and after having walked a pretty while she went again to sit down upon the Beach and begun to weep a fresh looking upon the Sea and shewing it to Felime as if she accused it of the misfortune which made her shed so many tears Gonsalvo to divert her shewed her some Fisher-men which were not far off In spight of the affliction and trouble of this new Lover the sight of her he loved gave him a satisfaction and joy which restored him to his former Beauty and as he was less careless of himself than he used to be he might deservedly draw upon him the looks and eyes of all the World Zayde began to look upon him first with attention then with astonishment and after having a good while considered him she turns to her Companion and made her observe Gonsalvo saying something to her Felime looked upon him and answered her with an action that shew'd she approved of what Zayde said to her Zayde eyed him again and spoke something to Felime Felime did the like in fine by this manner of theirs Gonsalvo judged that he might resemble some body they knew this though at first made no impression upon him but found Zayde so taken up with this resemblance that it was apparent to him that amidst all her sadness she took some content to look upon him that he was convinced that he was like that Lover whom she lamented All the remainder of that Day Zayde shewed divers signes that confirmed this his Suspicion Towards Night Felime and she went to search amongst the Remaines of their Loss and they looked so diligently that Gonsalvo observed such Marks of Dis-satisfaction in them when they could not find what they sought after that he had new Causes of Disquiet Alphonso took notice of the Dis-order he was in and after he had Conducted Zayde to her Appartment he staid in Gonsalvo's Chamber You have not yet told me said he all your past Misfortunes but you must acknowledge those that Zayde begins to bring upon you A Man so deep in Love as you seem to me alwayes takes Delight to speak of his Love and though your Evil be great yet perhaps my Help and my Counsel may not be unserviceable to you Ah my dear Alphonso cryed Gonsalvo How unhappy am I How great is my Frailty and How unsupportable is my Despair How wise were you that could see Zayde and not be in Love with her I well perceived Replyed Alphonso that you were in Love with her though you would not own it I knew it not my self answered Gonsalvo It is Jealousie alone that made me sensible I was engaged in Affection Zayde laments some lost Lover which makes her every Day return to the Beach to bemoan her Love in the same Place she believes he was cast away It is
her Window where you used to see her You urge the small Acquaintance we have with our Mistresses said the Prince but we acknowledge their Beauty which in Love is the Principal Verb We judge of their Wit first by their Physiognomy and then by their Letters And when we come to see them nearer hand we are charmed with the Delight of discovering what we had not yet found out Every Word that falls from them has the Charm of a Novelty Their manner of Delivery is surprizing unto us and our Surprize awakens and increases Love When those that are acquainted with their Mistresses before they become enamoured of them are so accustomed to their Beauty and their Witt that they are no more sensible when they are beloved again You will never fall into this Misfortune quoth I But Sir you shall have my consent to love all you do not know provided you give me liberty to love a Person that I know so well as to believe she deserves my Esteem and may give me assurance to find in her what may make me Happy when I am beloved again I say more-over that I could wish she were not prepossessed in Favour of any other And I interrupted Don Ramires should take more Delight to conquer a Heart that were defended by a Passion for another than to vanquish one that never before had been ingaged I should count this a double Victory and I should be much more convincingly perswaded of the true Inclination she should have for me if I saw it begin in the greatest Heat and Passion she might have for another In sine It would be an equal satisfaction to my Glory and my Love to Ravish a Mistress from a Rival Gonsalvo is so opposite to your Opinion said the Prince and judges it so bad that he thinks it not fit to Answer you And truly I am of his side against you But I am against his so particular Acquaintance with his Mistress I should never fall in Love with a Person that I had been used to see And if I am not surprized at first sight I can never be sensible I am of Opinion That natural Inclinations do make their Impressions at the very first Moment and that those Passions that grow with time cannot be truly called Passions Why then said I it may be presumed that you will never Love that Object which you have not loved at first sight And Sir added I Laughing I must bring you my Sister before she is come to that Perfection of Beauty to which in all probability she is like to arrive to accustom your self to see her that so you may never be concerned for her You sear then I should have a Kindness for her said Don Garcias Never doubt it Sir said I Nay I should think it the greatest Misfortune that could happen to me if you should What Misfortune can you find in that Replyed Don Ramires That said I of not being able to joyne with the Sentiments of the Prince For if he should desire to Marry my Sister I should never consent to it by reason of the Interest of his Greatness And if he did not intend to Marry her and she should nevertheless Love him as without doubt she would I should have the Displeasure to see my Sister the Mistress of a Master whom I could not hate though I ought to do it Let me see her I pray you interrupted the Prince before she can make me in Love with her For I should be so troubled to have Sentiments that might displease you that I am impatient to see her that I may assure my self that I shall never fall in Love with her I can no longer wonder Replyed Don Ramires addressing himself to Don Garcias that you have not been in Love with all those fair Ladies that are Bred in the Pallace and to whom you have been accustomed from your Infancy But I must confess I have been surprized that none of those Beauties have had any Influence upon you hitherto And above all Nugna Bella the Daughter of Don Diego Porcellos that seems to me to be so likely to do it It is true said Don Garcias that Nugna Bella is very Lovely Her Eyes are infinitly taking She has a pretty Mouth and the Aire of her Face is Noble and Delicate In fine I should have been enamoured of her had I not been used to see her even from the first Moment I begun to see But why added the Prince were not you in Love with her Don Ramires since you beleive her so amiable Because Replyed he she never loved any Body else I should find no Rival to dispossess her Heart of And I have told you that is the only thing that is able to Charm me You must ask Gonsalvo Sir why he was not taken with her For I am sure he thinks her Fair She has no Tye upon her and he has known her now a great while Who told you said I Smiling and Blushing withall that I do not love her I know not Replyed Don Ramires but by your Blushes I perceive those that told me were deceived Can it possible be cryed the Prince to me that you are in Love If you are tell it me quickly I pray for I am extream glad to see you seized with a Passion of which you make so little shew Seriously said I I am not in Love but to satisfie you Sir I own that I might be in Love with Nugna Bella if I were a little better acquainted with her If there be nothing else to obstruct your Love but to be better acquainted with her assure your self that you are already smitten I will never go without you to the Queen my Mother and I will Embroile my self more often with the King that the care which she alwayes takes to make my Peace may oblige her to send for me at particular Hours In fine I will furnish you with Opportunities enough to speak to Nugna Bella that you may be throughly in Love with her You will find her very Lovely and if her Heart be as well accomplished as her Understanding you will have little else to wish for in this World I beseech you Sir said I do not take so much Pains to make me unhappy And above all let your Pretexts to visit the Queen be any other than your embroiling your self with the King You well know how often he accuses me for your Transgressions and believes that my Father and I to make our selves more considerable do inspire that desire of Authority into you which you take upon you sometimes to his Displeasure In the Humour I am in to make Nugna Bella in love with you I shall not be so circumspect as you would have me I will take all opportunities to carry you with me to the Queens Appartment And though I have no particular Business I will go thither immediately and will sacrifice to the pleasure of making you in Love a Night which I intended to
spend under those Windows where you believe I know no Body I would not trouble you with the Particulars of this Conversation sayes Gonsalvo to Alphonso but that you might see by the Sequel that it was a kind of a Presage of what has since happened The Prince goes to the Queens side he found her with-drawn from all other Company but the Ladies of her own Family of which number Nugna Bella was one She looked so well that Night that it should seem that Chance favoured the Prince's Designes The Discourse was genreal for a time as the Ladies enjoyed more Freedome than at other hours Nugna Bella spoke more than she used and I was surprized to find her to have more Wit than I observed in her before The Prince prayed the Queen to go into her Closset without acquainting us what he had to say to her While she was there I stayed with Nugna Bella and several other Persons without I insensibly engaged her into a particular Conversation and though it was only touching indifferent things there appeared in it something more Gallant than uses to be in the ordinary Discourses We blamed altogether the retired manner of Living to which the Ladies in Spain are obliged to as finding by our own Experience that we are deprived of some Satisfaction in not having any where Liberty to entertain our selves If I felt from that moment that I begun to love Nugna Bella she found likewise as she told me after that I was not indifferent to her being of the humour whereof she was her conquest over me could not be disagreeable to her there was something so bright in my Fortune that a person less ambitious than she might have been dazled with it she never neglected to appear lovely before me though she did nothing opposite to her natural haughtiness Directed by the insight a growing love inspires I soon flattered my self with the hope of pleasing her and this hope was as proper to inflame me as the thought of finding a Rival well beloved was to cure me The Prince was overjoyed to find that I applyed my self to Nugna Bella he every day gave me opportunities to entertain her he was also willing I should tell her of the differences that were betwixt the King and him and to instruct her in the way the Queen was to use to bring him to condescended to what the King desired of him Nugna Bella failed not to give the Queen these Advices and as often as the Queen made use of them she never wanted the success she desired so that the Queen never undertook any thing in the Princes behalf without first consulting Nugna Bella nor Nugna Bella without acquainting me Thus we had great opportunities of conversing with one another and in those conversations I found in her so much wit prudence and agreeableness and she likewise fancied in me so much Merit and really found so much Love that it kindled in us a flame that has been since very violent The Prince would needs be my Confident nor could I hide any thing from him I feared only that Nugna Bella would be offended if I had told him that she shewed me any demonstrations of kindness but Don Garcias assured me that of the humour she was of she would be no way displeased at it He spoke to her of me she was at first out of countenance and in some disorder at what he told her but as he judged right the greatness of the confident made her approve of the confidence she accustomed her self to suffer him to entertain her upon the subject of my passion and received by his hand the first Letters I writ to her Love was to us an agreeable novelty in which we found all the secret charms that are no where to be had but in our first Love As my Ambition was fully satisfied even before I was in Love this last passion was no way weakened by the former I gave up my soul to this new pleasure which till that time was unknown to me and which I valued above all that Grandure can bestow Nugna Bella was not so for these Passions took their Birth in her at the same time and equally divided her heart her natural inclination was without question more prone to Ambition than to Love but as the one and the other had a reference to me I still found in her all the ardour and all the application I could desire not but that she was sometimes as much taken up with the Princes affairs as she was with the concerns of our Love For my part being taken up wholly by my passion for her I found out to my sorrow that Nugna Bella was capable of other thoughts I complained to her of it but I found that my complaints were fruitless and produced nothing but a certain constrained Conversation which gave me to see that her mind was else-where ingaged Notwithstanding having heard say that we could not be perfectly happy in Love no more than in other things of this life I suffered this Misfortune with patience Nugna Bella Loved me with an exact Faith and I could perceive in her nothing but contempt for any else that durst look upon her I was perswaded that she was free from all those imbecilities to which other Women are inclined this thought made my happiness so compleat that I thought I had nothing further to wish for Fortune had placed me in a rank worthy the emulation and envy of the most Ambitious I was Favourite to a Prince whom I loved with a passionate inclination I was beloved by the fairest Woman in Spain whom I adored and I had a Friend whom I thought faithful because I made his Fortune The only thing that troubled my happiness was the Injustice I saw in Don Garcias his impatience to command and to find my Father Nugnes Fernando of a turbulent unquiet spirit and aspiring as the King suspected to raise himself above all other Authority I was apprehensive to be ingaged by the Lawes of Gratitude and Nature to persons that might draw me to do things that did no way seem just to me In the mean time as these were but uncertainties and imaginations they troubled me but sometimes and I eased my mind by communicating them to Don Ramires in whom I had so much confidence that I acquainted him with my very fears and apprehensions of things of the highest importance and my sore-sight of dangers yet afar off But the chiefest occupation of my mind was the design I had to Marry Nugna Bella I had now a long time been in Love with her without presuming to make her that overture I know the King would oppose it because Nugna Bella was the Daughter of a Count of Castile whose revolt was as much feared as my Fathers and it was against the rules of pollicy to let them Unite by the tyes of a Marriage I knew likewise that my Father although he was not
to Hermenesilde that the Prince should find difficulty enough to speak to her whereupon they were so inseparably without the least shew of doing of it purposely that Don Garcias could never find Hermenesilde without Nugna Bella this difficulty was so troublesome to him that he was hardly like the same man As he formerly used to acquaint me with all his thoughts and that he told me never a word of what most possessed then his mind I quickly found a great alteration in his proceedings towards me Do not you admire said I to Don Ramires the injustice of Man-kind The Prince hates me because he feels in his heart a passion that ought to displease me and if he were Loved by my Sister he would hate me more than he does I well foresaw the Mischief that would befall me if her Beauty should make any impression upon him and if he does not change the inclination he has for her I shall not be long his Favourite in the eyes of the publick since I am no more so in his heart Don Ramires was convinced of the Princes Love as well as I but to blot out of my mind a thing that gave me pain I know not said he what grounds you have to believe that Don Garcias is in Love with Hermenesilde it is true he commended her at first but I saw nothing ever since in him that can make out his being in Love And admit he should be in Love what great mischief would there be in that Why may not he Marry her he is not the first Prince that has Married one of his Subjects neither can he find any more worthy of him then she and if he should Marry her what an honour would it be for your House It is for that very reason said I that the King will never consent he should Marry her neither would I have it done without his Consent and may be the Prince himself does not aim at it or if he did that he would not pursue it neither resolutely enough nor long enough to bring it to pass In fine It is a thing that is not feasible nor will I suffer the World to believe That I would hazard my Sister's Reputation upon the ungrounded Hope of a Greatness to which we shall never attain If Don Garcias continues his pursuit of my Sister I will carry her from Court Don Ramires was astonished at my Resolution He was afraid I should fall out with Don Garcias He resolved to Discover to him my Sentiments and fancyed he might do it without my Consent since his intention was to serve me But without doubt the Desire he had to ingratiate himself with the Prince and to creep that way into his Confidence was no small Promoter of this Resolution He took his time to spake to him alone He told him He forced to commit an Infidelity against me by revealing my Thoughts contrary to my Intentions But that the Zeal he had for his Service obliged him to inform him That I believed he was in Love with my Sister and that I was so much grieved at it that I resolved to carry her away from Court Don Garcias was so struck with Don Ramire's Discourse and the thought of seeing Hermenesilde leave the Court that it was impossible for him to conceal his first Transports And therefore believing that Don Ramires could no longer doubt of the Concern he had for my Sister he thought best to acknowledge it thereby to ingage him to continue his Discoveries of my Designes from time to time but he was a while before he could resolve to do this At last being confirm'd in his Intention he Embraces him and confesses That he was in Love with Hermenesilde He told him That he had done what he could to defend himself from being in Love with her upon my Consideration But it was impossible for him to live without being beloved by her That he begged his Assistance to help him to conceal his Passion and hinder that Hermenesilde should be removed from Court Don Ramires his Heart was not of a Temper to resist the Caresses of a Prince whose Favourite he was in Election to be Friendship and Gratitude are too weak to resist Ambition He promises the Prince to keep his Counsel and to serve him with Hermenesild The Prince Embraces him the second time and they concert together how they were to demean themselves in the pursuit of this Enterprize The first Obstacle that occurs is Nugna Bella who never abandoned Hermenesild They resolved to win her to their side and notwithstanding all the strict Tyes that were betwixt her and me Don Ramires takes upon him to find the Means to bring it about But tells him That it was necessary that he should himself endeavour to blot out of my Mind the Knowledge I had of his Passion He advised him to tell me by way of Joke that he was glad he had found means to make me afraid for some time past to Revenge himself of me for the Suspitions I at first conceived of him But seeing this my Apprehension went too far he would no longer let me believe that he had any Sentiments that I might disapprove Don Garcias approving of this Expedient easily executed it And as he understood by Don Ramires the things which gave me the most cause of Suspition it was not hard for him to say he did them of purpose And it was almost impossible for me not to believe him Thus was I throughly perswaded and fancyed my self better with him than ever I was yet I could not but think that he had some Thoughts in Heart which he kept from me Yet I fancied this was but a slight Inclination which he had over-come for which I believed my self obliged to him for having done it for my sake In fine I was very well satisfied with Don Garcia's and Don Ramires was not a little pleased to see me calmed as he desired Then he began to cast about how he might bring Nugna Bella into the Confidence he wished of her Having considered a little with himself about the Means he sought an occasion to speak to her which she often gave him because she knew I concealed nothing from him and that she might Discourse with him about our Concerns He began to entertain her with his Joy that the Prince and I were made Friends She told him She was as glad of it as he For that I found said she Gonsalvo so nice upon the Concern of his Sister that I apprehended he might embroile himself with Don Garcia If I thought Madam said he that you were of those that were capable of concealing any thing from their Lovers when it is necessary for their Interest it would be a great Comfort to me to speak to a Person as concerned as your self in what regards Gonsalvo I fore-see things that gives great Disquiet and you are the only Person to whom I may impart them But Madam it is upon Condition that you
in the right We have no power Madam over our passions for I feel one that draws me so forceably that it is not in my power to resist it but remember it is your opinion that it does not depend on us to oppose it Nugna Bella easily comprehended his meaning at which she seemed a little concern'd as well as he As he had said it with premeditation he was surprised at the effect it had the remembrance of the Obligations he owed me fill'd all his thoughts and put him into some disorder he cast down his eyes and remained a while in a profound silence and Nugna Bella for reasons of the like nature was silent likewise they parted without any further discourse Don Ramires repented him of what he had said and Nugna Bella that she did not answer him Don Ramires went away so much troubled and so out of order that he was not himself after recollecting himself a little he began to reflect upon his own thoughts but the more he examined them the farther he found his heart ingaged he then begun to consider the danger he exposed himself to by so often seeing Nugna Bella he knew the delight he had taken in her Conversation was of another nature than he had imagined Lastly he found he was in Love and that it was too late to endeavour to suppress it The assurance he had that Nugna Bella loved me less left him no force to resist his passion he thought he had excuse enough to engage himself to her when he knew her disingaged from me he found some pleasure in undertaking to conquer a heart of which I was no longer so absolutely possessor but that he might conceive some hopes to gain it but withall that I had power enough over it to acquire him the glory of dispossessing me However when he came to consider that it was Gonsalvo that must be removed from this heart that Gonsalvo to whom he owed so true a Friendship his thoughts made him blush and opposed them so that he believed he had conquered them he resolved to say no more of his Love to Nugna Bella and to avoid the occasions of speaking to her Nugna Bella who had no other trouble but for not answering Don Ramires as she ought to have done made not so many reflections she thought she had no reason to seem to understand what he said to her she believed she ought to have some kindness for a man with whom she had such tyes She said to her self that he had not spoken to her with any design though she had for a long time perceived the Inclination he had for her but least she should repent her or be obliged to use Don Ramires ill she undertook not to believe what she could no way doubt of Don Ramires followed the design he had taken for a while but in vain for he faw every day Nugna Bella She was handsome she no longer loved me she used him kindly It was impossible to resist so many allurements he resolves therefore to follow the inclinations of his heart He had no sooner taken this resolution but all his former remorse vanished the first Treachery he committed against me made the second more easie he had used himself to deceive me and to conceal from me what he said to Nugna Bella He tells her at last that he loved her and he told it her with all the marks of an unfeigned passion exagerating to her his grief for transgressing against out Friendship he inforces that he is hurried on by the most violent passion that ever man had he assures her he does not pretend to be loved again that he well knew the advantages I had over him and the impossibility of removing me out of her heart but that he only begg'd the favour of her to hear him and to help him to recover himself and to conceal his weakness from me Nugna promises the last as a thing she thought her self obliged to fearing least some mischief might happen betwixt us and told him with a great deal of sweetness that she could not grant him the rest Believing she should be a complice to his crime if she should suffer the continuance of it yet for all that she did suffer it the Love he bore her and the Friendship she had for him drew her wholly to his side I appeared less agreeable in her eye she could see no great advantage in my Fortune being threatned daily with an assured Banishment into Castile She knew the King had always a mind to send me thither and that the Prince opposed it only out of a point of Honour she saw no likelihood of his Marrying Hermenesild she was still his Confident in the Love he had for her and by this and Don Ramire's Love towards her she still kept her Credit with Don Garcias she believed the King was less disposed than ever to consent to our Marriage he had no reason to oppose her Marriage with Don Ramires she found in him the same advantages that recommended my Love to her and lastly she concluded that reason as well as prudence did Authorise her change and that she ought to abandon a man that was never like to be her Husband for one that in all probability might Marry her there needs not always so many reasons to warrant a Womans Levity Nugna Bella therefore determins to engage in Affection with Don Ramires though when she made that resolution she was already engaged to him both in her inclination and her words yet whatever her resolutions were she had not force enough to let me see that she deserted me in the time of my disgrace Neither could Don Ramires resolve to declare his Treachery it was agreed betwixt them that Nugna Bella should continue to live with me after the same rate she had been used to do and they believed that I could not easily discover her change because as I told Don Ramires still the least of my thoughts she being always told of them by Don Ramires might easily prevent any cause of suspicion They resolved also to tell Don Garcias how things stood betwixt them thereby to engage him to their interest Don Ramires took upon him to do it though he could not resolve it without trouble for the shame and the fear of being discountenanced embarashed him But the Confidence Don Garcias put in him and the power he gave him to mannage his Love gave him some assurance The truth is that he managed the Prince as he pleased he engages him even to speak a good word for him to Nugna Bella so that this new Favourite had his Master for his Confident as he was his Masters Nugna Bella who apprehended that the Prince would condemn her Inconstancy was ravished to find him rather a promoter of it they redoubled their Bonds of mutual fidelity to one another they then take their measures how to conceal this intelligence she resolved that seeing the
particular Whisperings of Don Ramires and the Prince might give me some Jealousie because in appearance they ought to keep no secret from me that Don Ramires should come to the Prince by a back Stair at such times as he had none with him and that they should never speak any thing before me of their intreigue Thus was I betrayed and forsaken by all those I loved best without being able to suspect them in the least All I was in pain for was only because I fancied some change in Nugna Bella's heart if I complained to Don Ramires Don Ramires gave her notice of it that she might counterfeit better but when I seemed at ease he was unquiet he feared still I had regained Nugna Bella then he would not have her act her part so well in Cheating me she obeyed him and neglected me more than ever Thus he had his Rival complaining to him of the hard usage he received by his order Sometimes he was very glad when he had desired her to put a constraint upon her self to learn by my complaints that she had not constrained her self as much as he desired her It was such a charm for his glory and his love to have ruined such a Rival as I appeared to him and to see my quiet depend upon the least word of his mouth that were it not for his extream Jealousie he would be the happiest man in the world While I was taken up with my Amour my Father was busied by his Ambition he had made so many Cabals and so many intregues in the time of his Exile that he believed himself in a condition to revolt openly but before all I was to be drawn from Court I was too dear and too considerable a pledge to him to leave me in the Kings hands when he intended to declare War against him He was not so apprehensive of my Sister because her Sex and her Beauty would protect her against all events He sent me a person known in all his designes to inform me how matters stood and to command me to quie the Court in that very instant without taking leave either of the King or Prince This Messenger was strangely surprised to find me quite of another opinion than my Father I told him that I would never give my consent to so unjust a revolt that it was true the King had dealt ill with Nugnes Ferrando in taking away his employments but that this affront was to be endured because he had in some measure deserved it that for my part I was resolved not to leave the Court nor ever to take Arms against my King This Messenger carryed back my Answer to my Father he was outragiously mad to see so many great designes quashed to nothing by my disobedience alone He sent me back word that though he never intended it he would pursue his enterprise and that since I had so little obedience for his will he would not change his resolution though the King of Leon were to cut off my head In the mean time Don Ramires his passion for Nugna Bella grew still and he could no longer indure the manner of her conversation with me though he saw it necessary Well Madam says he to her one day after she had entertained me a pretty while you look upon him still with the same kindness that you used to do you speak to him after the same manner you write to him the same kind things who shall assure me that it is no more with the same heart He once pleased you and that 's enough to find the way of doing it again But you know said she I do but what you would have me that is true replyed he and that is it which renders my misfortune insupportable that I must in prudence advise you to do those things which when you do them puts me into despair it is unheard that a Lover ever gave his consent that his Rival should be kindly treated Madam I can no longer endure that you should look upon Gonsalvo there is nothing I would not attempt to ruine him rather than live in the condition I am in for after having rob'd him of your heart I ought not much to scruple cutting his Throat Your Passion answered Nugna Bella is too violent to hold you will first consider how many important secrets you will discover before you fall out with Don Gonsalvo and to what Reproaches you will expose your self I see all that is to be seen Madam said he I see likewise that if I must have but little sense to do what I propose I must have none at all to suffer a man every way lovely that once has pleased you to spake to you every day in private if I knew nothing of it I should have the cruel delight of being deceived But I know it I see you speaking to him it is I that brings you Letters it is I that re-assures him when he doubts of your Affection Ah Madam it is impossible I should hold out any longer using so much violence against my self If you would contribute to my quiet contrive it so that Gonsalvo may leave the Court and the Prince would consent to send him into Castile as his Majesty presses him every day Consider I beseech you replyed Nugna Bella what an action you would have me do Yes Madam returned Don Ramires I have considered it but after all that you have done it is no longer time to stand upon Niceties and if you consent not to the Banishment of Don Gonsalvo I shall believe I have more reason to endeavour his absence from you than I thought Once more Madam by what arguments shall I be convinced that you love him no more you see him you speak to him you know he Loves your heart you say is changed but your proceedings are not In fine Madam nothing can re-assure me but your endeavours to get him Banished and as long as you shall appear averse to it I shall believe you use but little constraint when you tell him you Love him Well then said Nugna Bella I have already committed many Treacheries for the Love of you and I will add this too but give me the means the Prince every day refuses the King to let him be Banished and there is little likelihood that he should grant it to so unreasonable a request as mine I 'le take upon me said Don Ramires to make the Proposition to the Prince and provided you make it appear to him that you are consenting to it I am sure to bring it about Nugna Bella agrees to it and that very night Don Ramires under pretence of their common interest proposes to the Prince to let me be sent away and to make the King believe he did it in obedience to his commands The Prince made no difficulty of assenting he was inwardly so ashamed of what he had done against me that my presence was a continual reproach to him of his weakness Nugna Bella
along with me to the Desert I intended to go to I opposed it so strongly that at last we separated he left me upon condition that in what part of the World soever I should be I should oblige my self to write to him He returned to Leon and I parted with design to Embarque my self at the first Port I should come to But when I was alone left to the reflections of my Misfortunes the remainder of my days appeared so tedious to me that I resolved to go seek my Death in the Wars that the King of Navar had against the Moores I would be known by no other name but by that of Theodirick and I was unhappy enough to acquire some glory which I did not look for instead of that death which I sought after The Peace was concluded I reassumed my former design and your re-encounter made me change that dismal Wilderness whither I intended to go into a most pleasant retreat There I began to find that quiet and tranquility which I had lost not but that Ambition has been busie sometimes to tempt my heart but what I had already tasted of the instability of Fortune render'd it contemptible to me and the Love I had born Nugna Bella was so totally blotted out of my heart by the contempt I conceived for her that I might justly say I had no Passion for any kind of thing although I had yet a great deal of Sadness left in me the sight of Zayde has ravished from me that sad tranquility which I enjoyed hurryes me into new Misfortunes much more cruel than those I have already experimented Alphonso remained both Surprised and Charm'd with Don Gonsalvo's story I confess said he that I had conceived a large Idea of your Merits and Virtues but I must acknowledge that what I have now heard surpasses my former thoughts I rather ought to fear replyed Don Gonsalvo that I have lessened the good opinion you had of me by letting you see how easie I was to be deceived but I was young I was ignorant of the Court-Artifices I was incapable of practising to them I never Loved any but Nugna Bella and the Love I had for her would not let me imagine that that kind of Passion could ever have an end so that nothing could lead me to a diffidence neither of Friendship nor of Love You could not defend your self replyed Don Alphonso from deceit unless you had been of a suspicious Nature and yet your suspicions though never so well grounded would seem to your self unjust since you had not until then any cause given you of diffidence against any that might deceive you and their deceit was carryed on with so much Art that there was no appearance in reason of a fallacy Let us speak no more of my past Misfortune replyed Gonsalvo since I am no longer sensible of them Zayde has taken from me even the remembrance of them and I wonder how I could call them to mind But I could never believe that Beauty alone could make me in Love nor be smitten by one that had other preingagements and yet I adore Zayde to whom I am so much a Stranger that I know nothing of her but that she is handsome and that her heart bleeds for some other Since I was deceived in the opinion I had of Nugna Bella whom I knew what can I expect from Zayde whom I do not know But what should I expect or what pretensions can I have upon Zayde She is utterly unknown to me Chance threw her upon this Coast she is impatient to be gone I cannot keep her against her Will without being both unjust and uncivil Though I should detain her what should I be the better for it I should see her every day bewailing the absence of a Man that she Loves and remembring him as often as she looks upon me Ah Alphonso what a mischief is Jealousie Ah Don Garcia you had reason that is the only passion that surprises us and strikes us of a suddain all the other Passions are but Chains by which we suffer our hearts willingly to be drawn away all true inclinations plucks it from us in spight of us and the Love I have for Zayde is a torrent that draggs me without leaving me the least power of resisting But Alphonso I make you spend the Night here in entertaining you with my sorrowes it is but reason I should let you now take your rest After these words Don Alphonso went to his Chamber and Don Gonsalvo passed the rest of the Night without sleeping one moment The next day Zayde seemed to be taken up with the desire of finding out what she had already sought after but all her endeavours were to no purpose Gonsalvo never parted from her he forgot almost every moment that she could not understand him he asked her the cause of her grief with the same respect and circumspection and fear of displeasing her as if she had understood what he said When he recollected himself and had the displeasure of seeing she could return him no Answer he thought to comfort himself by saying to her all that his Passion could suggest I Love you fair Zayde said he looking stedfastly upon her I Adore you I have at least the satisfaction to tell you so without offending you all your actions tell me that none durst declare it without incurring your displeasure but that Lover for whom you weep has spoken to you without doubt of his Love and you have used your self to hear him How many doubts might you resolve me fair Zayde in one word When he spoke to her in this manner she turned her self sometimes toward Felime with astonishment as it were to make her take notice of a resemblance which always surprised her This was so piercing a smart for Don Gonsalvo to imagine that he put her in mind of his Rival that he would with all his heart renounce the advantages of his Beauty and good mean to be rid of such a resemblance This trouble was so insupportable to him that he could hardly resolve with himself ever to see Zayde more he had rather deprive himself of her sight than to represent to her the Image of him she Loved and her looks seemed so favovrable to him he could not indure them he was so perswaded that they were not addressed to him he would leave her and spend whole Afternoons in the Woods When he returned to her he found her more angry than she used to be he fancied consequently that he saw some inequality in her behaviour towards him but as he could not guess at the cause he imagined that the displeasure of being in an unknown place caused the alterations that appeared in her humour nevertheless he perceived that the Affliction she was in the first dayes of her abode there begun to lessen Felime was more Afflicted than Zayde but her sadness was always alike she seemed to be over-whelmed with grief and endeavoured to be alone to
him have been never so little it has destroyed all my happiness since I am no more the only Man that has pleased you nor am not the first that has made you sensible of Love your heart has been fill'd with other thoughts than those I supplyed In a word Madam it is no more what made me the happiest Man in the World neither are you to me of that value I first set upon you Pray tell me Alphonso how you could live at ease with those you formerly were in Love with all I would fain know whether you found in them a heart that never before had felt any passion I never sought for any such Madam said I nor did I ever hope to find any I never looked upon them as Women that could love nothing else but me I was satisfied to believe that they loved me far beyond all others that they had had any Inclination for But for you Madam it is not the same I always looked upon you as one that was above the reach of Love and who would never have known what it was had it not been for me I thought my self not only happy but proud to have been able to make so extraordinary a Conquest For pitty sake leave me not in the uncertainty in which I am if you have concealed any thing from me concerning the Count de Lare confess it the owning it and your sincerity will perhaps lessen the trouble which I may conceive for it Clear my suspicions and do not let me set a higher value upon you than I ought or a less than you deserve Bellasire made answer If you had not lost your senses you would easily judge that since I did not perswade you I would never go about it but if I could add any thing to what I have already told you it would be an infallible sign that I never had any inclination for the Count of Lare being I say I had not If I had loved him nothing should make me deny it I should believe my self guilty of a hainous Crime if I should renounce any kindness I might have for a dead man who had deserved it so that you may be assured Alphonso that I never had any that may displease Convince me then of it Madam cryed I tell it me a thousand times over write it to me In fine restore me again to the pleasure of loving you as I did and above all pardon me the vexation I give you I torment my self more than I do you and if I could redeem my self out of the state I am in I would do it at the hazard of my life These last words made an impression upon Bellasire she clearly saw I was not Master of my senses she promised me to write down all that ever she thought or did for the Count de Lare and though they were things that she had already told me a thousand times yet I felt a certain pleasure to think that I should see them written with her own hand The next day she sent me what she promis'd I found an exact Narrative of all that the Count of Lare had done for her and all she did to cure him of his passion with all the reasons that might perswade me to believe what she alledged to be true This Narrative was made after a manner that ought to have cur'd me of all my Caprichio's but is wrought a contrary effect upon me I begun with being angry with my self for having forced Bellasire to spend so much time in thinking of the Count de Lare Those parts of her Narrative where she particularised his actions were insupportable to me I thought she had too good a memory for the actions of a man that was indifferent to her those which she related cursorily perswaded me that there was something more behind which she durst not own to me In fine I made a bad construction of all and came to see Bellasire more enraged and more desperate than ever She that well knew I ought to be very well satisfied was much offended to see me so unjust which she made me understand with more force than she used to do I on the other side as angry as I was began to excuse my self as well as I could I saw I was in the wrong but it was not in my power to be in a right sense I told her that my extream nicety in what she might have thought of the Count de Lare was a true mark of the great passion and esteem I had for her and that the great value I set upon her heart made me so apprehensive of any body else having a share in it I said all I could think of to make my Jealousie more excusable Bellasire would not admit of my reasons she told me that slight doubts might arise from what I had told her but such a long and obstinate Jealousie could be produced from nothing else but from an ill humour insomuch that she began to be apprehensive of living with me and that if I continued in this manner she should be forced to change her opinion These Words made me tremble I threw my self at her feet I assured her I would never more speak to her of my suspicions and I believed within my self that I should be able to be as good as my promise but it was for a few dayes only I quickly begun again to vex her I often ask'd her pardon and as often made her think that I still believed she had loved the Count of Lare and that this thought would render me eternally unhappy I had a long Friendship with a man of quality called Don Mauriques he was a Man of extraordinary merit the tyes that were betwixt us had created a great confidence betwixt Bellasire and him their amity was never displeasing to me nay I took pleasure in making it greater he took notice several times of the ill humour I had been in of late Though I concealed nothing from him I was so much ashamed of my Caprichio that I durst not own it to him He came one day to visit Bellasire where I was more unreasonable than ever and she more weary of my Jealousie than she used Don Mauriques knew by the changing of our Countenances that we had some little quarel I always begged of Bellasire never to tell him of my weakness and pray'd her again as I saw him enter to say nothing of it but she was resolved to put me out of Countenance and without giving me time to oppose her she told Don Mauriques all the cause of my disquiet he seemed to be so astonished at it he found it so ill grouned and he handled me so severely for it that he put me quite besides my self You shall be Judge Sir whether I was not mad and how prone I was to Jealousie for it seemed to me that Don Mauriques after the manner he condemned me was prepossess'd by Bellasire I perceived well enough that I passed the limits of reason but I