Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/victimofmagicald31tsch - V I C T I M o r AGICAL DELUSION; V O L. III. THE VICTIM OF MAGICAL DELUSION; O R, T H E M Y S T E R Y O F T H E REVOLUTION OF P L: J MAQICO-POLITICAL TALE, FOUNDED ON HISTORICAL FACTS, AND TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN OF CAJETAN TSCHINK. By P. IV I L Z. VOL nr. L 0 N D O N: PRINTED FOR G. G. AND J. ROBINSON, PATER- NOSTER - ROW, 1795- THE VICTIM O F MAGICAL delusion: I Felt like one who is fuddenly roufed from a dream, and look- ed around nie v/ith uncertain, examining eyes, fearching for the Irifliman. He perceived it a.nd came towards me. The fudden change of the moft oppo- fite fenfations^ particularly the lait fcene, had afFefted me very m.uch, and I fat my- felf down upon a tomb. ^' Is it not true, Hiermanfor ?*' faid I after a long filence, ^* I have dreamed Dreamed?" he replied with aftonifli- ment, and what have you dreamed?" Vol. III. B ' xMe« IS, THEVICTIMOF " Methought my tutor was Handing upon this tomb, and talking ftrange things.'^ I have had the fame vifton,'' Hiermanfori don't fport with my un- derilanding.'* It is as I have laid." It cannot be!" I exclaimed vehe- mently, it was an illufion. Don't think that I am ftill as credulous as I have been. Confefs. only that the vifion was a new illufion. whereby you wanted to try me." An illofion requires the alTiftance of imachines; and I give you leave, nay, I befeecli you to fearch for them. You may ranfack the whole burying ground; but your labour will be loft." That may be 1 It has perhaps been one of your fmeft artifices, but neverthe- lefs it was mere delufion." " It was delufion, becaufe you will have it fo.'* " Hiermanfor ! what do you wiih me to believe V/hatever you can believe*" Here M A G I C A L D E L U S I O N. 5 ^' Here the figure of my tutor was (land- ing, and there I flood and converfed with You may have been dreaming, it was perhaps one of my finefl artifices," " What can you fay againfl it ?'* " Nothing, my Lord, nothing!" I conjure you, what can you fay againft it ?" " On one part I could find it improba^ ble that two people iliould have the fame if I fhould attempt to unfold it at large." " O let me tafte only a few drops from that facred fountain I" «^ At ^4 '^'HE v'^ICTIM OF! At fome other time, my Lord ! im- portant affairs bid me at prefent to leare you. Will you accompany me to town «^ With pleafure." His coach had been waiting for us at fome diftance from the burying place.— The Irifhman ordered his coachman to make hafte, and told me on the road that I muft depart for Ma***t in two days. At the fame lime he promifed to meet me the following night at eleven o'clock, and to continue the fabjeft on which he had been fpeaking. He fet me down at my houfe and took leave. The time which Lady Delier had fixed for our interview was paft. This would have been extremely painful to me in any other fituation of mind, but now my thoughts were employed by objefts of greater importance. What I had feen and heard at the burial place had made a deep impreffion upon me. The more I refiecled on the vifion, the more did it furpafs my power of conception. Decep- tion is afraid of the light, feeking the dufk of evening, or the darknefs of night? in order to blind the eyes of the deluded perfon ; MAGICAL DELUSION, rs perfon ; deception plays ofF ks machine^ ries in places which are fhut up, and pre- vioufly have been fitted for the purpofe ; at the fame time it endeavours to harrow the mind, by folemn preparations, in a " difpofition anfwerable to the deception ^ but here I could not perceive any thing of that kindc The vifion appeared at noon, and in an open place, and when the Irifiiman called me away to the burial place, I was going to inform myfelf of a love affair, and of courfe, in a difpofition very unpropitious for apparitions or ghofts; deception takes care to prevent the be- holder from coming near its works, and I was near enough to touch the phantom ; deception never expofes its fecret ma-- chines to the danger of being difcovered, and the Irifiiman invited me to make the ftritlefl inveftigation. And the vifion itfelf, as it appeared, a living human fi- gure, and yet fo incorporeal, that my arms penetrated it without leaving a veflige be- hind — ^-the refemblance to Antonio fa great, that it feemed to be the living ori- ginal; and this figure fpoke and returned anfwers fo adequate to my quellions;— it did tS T H E V I C T I M O F did not, indeed, move its lips, and tht voice differed a little from that of An- tonio ; however, its fpeaking organs were materially different from his natural ones. At lall, the difappearing and re-appearing at my de fire — did it not denote a free will of the vifion ? — In (liort, the longer I re- fiefted on the matter, the lefs did it ap- pear to me the v/ork of deception. " And if it was no lidion, what / have feen ; what an ailonifiiing myftery does it imply ? How is it poffible for a living, ab- fent man to appear to his friend, as the deceafed are reported to do ? How can his foul difembody herfelf for a fiiort tim.e, and inclofe herfelf in an imitated fhape ? The Irifliman has, indeed, given me a hint concerning the polfibility of fuch miracles} but how unfit was I to comprehend that diftant hint, and how much did my foul thirft for the promifed continuation of his difcourfe ? He is in the right, I did not, as yet, deferve to be inilru8;ed in the myfteries of occult know- ledge ; I tnerited to be put off vfith vain delufions. How little did my impetuous curiofity agree with a difciple of occult know- MAGICAL DELUSION. kno"svledge ; how iniigniiicant muft I have appeared to him ! How great did he fhev/ himfelf to me 1 With what an aftonilhing omnifcience did he read my mofl hidden thoughts ; with what a great fagacity has he laid open my weaknefs, and with how much franknefs told me my defe61s! If it were his intention to deceive me any far- ther, he Vv'ould filently have taken advan- tage of my blind fidcjand carefully avoid- ed to open my eyes. He certainly could not have given me a more unfafpicious and convincing proof of the goodnefs and purity of his fentiments towards me.^ — This opennefs, this noble fmcerity^ de- ferves, undoubtedly, my unbounded gra- titude. Yes, Antonio^ he jhall guide me in thy rodra ! I will ccirfide in him as 1 have confided in thee.''' In the evenins: I went to Amelia, to inform her oF my impending departure. Shewasjuft playing on the harp fi chord, and received me with a filent fmile, with- out fuftering herfelf to be interrupted in her play. The Earonefs, however, re- ceived me with cold civility; I could giiefs the reafon of it; however I had no oppor- ir T H E V I C T I M O F opportunity to make an excufe. Tlie affe8:ing pieces, which Amelia played with an unfpeakable charm, began to melt my foul, and to thrill me with a fweet melancholy. But fuddenly the recollec- tion of the Irifhman, of my refolutionj and of my departure fluflied through my head : I left my dangerous poll, and Amelia ceafed playing. I had placed myfelf at the open window— -llie followed me thither. " So immerfed in meditation, my Lord " I am thinking of my departure."' You are not going to leave us I muft depart the day after to-mor- row. Bufinefs of great importance re- quires my perfonal attendance at Ma***t." This news produced furprife and filenceo The coldnefs of Lady Delier began to thaw. I hope your bufinefs, my Lord," faid file, is not fo very preffing." " Alas ! it is fo preiTmg that it fuffers mot the leaft delay." " Alas 1" Amelia repeated, one fhould think your departu.re was painful to your heart l" MAGICAL DELUSION. 25, heart 1" She blufhed, as if fee had faid fomething imprudent, " Alas ! it is too painful to my heart; but who cares for my heart ?" " Indeed," Lady Delier replied^ yoa think very unkind of us." ^- It is a gloomy night," faid Ameliaj going to the window ; and the thread of our converfation was cut off" at once. I endeavoured to lead it again to its for- mer channel; however I perceived that the converfation grew irkfome and dull; it turned on a hundred moft infignificant trifles, but the Countefs avoided care- fully to touch the former firing, although I founded it repeatedly, fofter or louder* At length I took leave. Lady Delier was fo kind as to fee me down ftairs; I told her that an important vifit from the Irifhman, whom I had endeavoured m vain to put oflF, had prevented me from keeping the appointment. She took my excufe very kindly, and made me pro- mife to meet her the next morning at ten o'clock at the fir grove. Uneafmefs and curiofity drove me thi= ther at the appointed hour. The Baro- nefs 20 THE VICTIM OF nefs was waiting for me. ^' The Coun- tefs is at church," faid fhe, " let me take advantage of her fhort abfence, and com- mit a little treachery ; but take heed not to betray me to my friend !'* '* Certainly not," I replied, my curio- fity being harrowed up to the higheft de- gree by this exordium. All that I have to difclofe to you is contained in two words : you are beloYed| my Lord !" « My Lady!"— Give me leave to relate the matter in a proper manner." The Baronefs, feem-. ingly delighted with my aftonifhment, con- tinued, " recoiled your firft interview with the Countefs; you have not been indifferent to her already, at the time when fhe accepted the ring which you offered her ; however, the good Countefs did not know it then herfelf. She fancied her fentiments to be merely the effects of the gratitude which ilie imagined fhe owed you, becaufe you have been the primary caufe of the long wiflied for apparition of her deceafed Lord. Llowever, that ap- parition v/hich declared you, afterward^ the MAGICAL DELUSION. 21 the foil of the murderer, made thereby Amelia think it her dutv to reftrain her kindnefs for yen. The difhcuhy Vv'hich file had to fubmht to the voice of duty, told her plainly, that in her heart fom.e- thing more than gratitude was panting for you. Fortunately, the ghoft himfelf had defired her to forgive the murderer ; fhe imagined, therefore, it vould be but juft to extend the forgivenefs to the fon. She did not fore fee that her tendernefs for ^•ou, covered by that pretext, vould find fo much the lefs difficulty to fteal again into the heart ^^dlich it fcarcely had been expelled. Xct before Amelia's tender^ nefs for you rofe to a degree, \vhich kit no room for doubt of her attachment for you, did fne perceive that her readinefs to be reconciled to you, originated lefs from the requefi of the ghoif, than from^ that of her ov:n heart. You may believe me, mv Lord, that it vras no eafy matter to drav; thefe particulars from Amelia's lips. She concealed carefully in her bo- fom a pafTion, the exi Hence of which ftie trembled to confefs. She had made avow of eternal fidelity to her late Lord, and al- though at T H E V I e T i M O F though ffie fancied fhe had not violated her promife by involuntary fentiments, yet a coofeiiion of thefe fentiments, though depofited only in the bofom of an intimate friend, appeared to her a profanation of her folemn declaration. However, her fpeaking frequently of you with evident marks of partiality, made me, neverthe- lefs, fufpe8: a part of the fecret, which the Irifhman's vifit foon unfolded entirely to me. You know that he has been in our houfe fome time ago, informing us of your exaltation to the ducal dignity, and at the fame time, placed the declaration of the ghoft, concerning the murder, in its proper point of view. Howeverj you are ftill ignorant of the molt im- portant circumftance. I will not dwell on the uncommon praife he bellowed on your family, and you in particular, but only mention that he concluded his pa. negyrics with the obfervation, that the Countefs herfelf would deem you deferv- ing her love, if fhe Ihould be acquainted more intimately with your Grace. This ^anexpeQed turn perplexed Amelia evi- t dently. MAGICAL DELUSION, identiy. She replied, flie did not doubt the amiable qualities of the Duke, how- ever fhe had vowed eternal fidelity to the Count. If that is your fole objedionj'* the Iriiliman replied, " then I fhall foon remove it. The deceafed himfelf fhail releafe you from your voWj from the per- formance of which he can derive neither benefit nor pleafure; it is in my power to make him declare it himfelf." " No, no V exclaimed Amelia, terrified, the reft of the deceafed fhall not be inter- rupted ; I fhould not be able to ftand the fight of him." No apparition, my Lady,*' the Irifhman replied, you fhall neither hear nor fee the deceafed I"—- With thefe words he took a blank piece of paper out of his pocket-book, requeft- ing Amelia to v/rite upon it the follow^- ing words — Spirit of the Count of Clairval, fhall I preferve my heart and hand faithful to thee till death, according to my vow ?" As foon as the Countefs had been perfuaded to it with great diffi- culty, and wrote thefe words, the Irifii- man prevailed upon her to carry the pa- per to an apartment to which no one could J4 THEVICTIMOF could have accefs without her knowledge and leave. Amelia chofe the apartment contiguous to her bed-chamber. The Ihutters were bolted from within, the pa- per placed upon a table, and the room ftrongly fumigated by the Irifliman, who uttered fome myfterious words. When they had retired, the IriHiman requefted her to return and look after the paper; however fiie could fee nothing except the words writted by herfelf, upon which flie fliut the door, and put the key in her pocket. " Sleep eafy,'* the Iriftiman added, and don't open the chamber before to- morrow morning, when you will find an anfwer to your queftion.'' " The Irifhman left us at eleven o'clock^ and Amelia went to her bed-room, which fhe left not for a moment all the night.— She went to bed, but uneafmefs and cu- riofity did not fuffer her to clofe her eyes. Not the leaft noife was heard in the ad» joining apartment, and when Amelia en- tered it early in the morning, Ihe ob- ferved beneath the lines fhe had wrotCj pale but legible charaSers^ which fhe 2 inftantlr M A O I C A IL D E L U S I -O N. iiTftantly knew to be the hand-writing of her deceafed Lord— Thy vow, which binds me to a being living upon earth, and thee to one who is deceafed-, (hackles my liberty-3 I break thefe chains. The nmn by whofe orders I have been affaffi- nated is Vafco^'^ellos." " T.nagine how Amelia w^as allonifhed at an incident which evidently was the eliecl of a faperior pov/er ; the apartment, the fliutters, and the door of which had been carefully fecured, . and which was guarded by iVmelia herfelf, being entirely inaccefiible to any m^ortal, except by vio- lent means, of which no traces could l>e perceived on the window fhutters. This miraculous event was decifive for my friend, who profeiTed herfeif entirely at liberty from that moment. Your Grace will eafdv believe, me, that the tender attachment to you, Y>'hich had found accefs to her heart, guarded by a folemn vow, acquired a.dditional ac- tivity when the ihackles v/ere thrown off. The gholl himfelf appeared to have fiknt- ]y approved, by naming the real mur- derer, the paffion for a Princej whofe fa- - Vol. Ill, C ther 7.6 T H E V I C T I M O F ther had been injured by an unjuft fufpi- cion. Amelia endeavoured, neverthelefsy to conceal from me the real ftate of her heart, and, out of caprice, rather would leave me to guefs, than to confefs herfelf, what might have been mifinterpreted as a weaknefs. However, that very conftraint •'Ahich Ihe experienced by concealing a fecret that ftruggled to break its confine- ment, fome words which llie dropped un- knowingly, her gloomy looks and filent melailchoiy in fliort, all thofe traits yhich feem to have told you fo very little of Amelia's fecret fentiments, convinced me foon that love was the filent tormentor of her heart. I communicated my difco- very to her, and fhe confeifed at laft that I was not mi Rake n." Gracious Heaven !" I exclaimed, fhe confeifed—" And at the fame time defired me ear- jieRly to conceal it carefully from you; and do you know for what rcafon ?" No!" Amelia feared fhe was not beloved by you. Your having proceeded on your tra- vels during her illnefs widiout fo much as I taking MAGICAL D E L U S I O . -7 laking leave of her, made her already fufpecl vour indifference. This fiiipi- cion gamed addiiional Ttrength by your never having v:rote a fingle line to her after vour departure. Your behaviour during vour prefeni ilay ^vith us too, has cured her of that error as little as the in- formation of }'our departure,''" Should it be poffible my love could have efcaped Amelia's looks ?" It did not efcape my oblervation.— I gathered carefully all the marks of it^. and communicated them to my friend, Hovever. they appeared lo her to be nothing farther than proofs of gallantry, vrhich every ^veil-educated man is wont to offer ai the fhrinc of beauty. Is it poiiible." ilie faid. that true, ardent love, could refrdin fo long from coming to an explanation And indeed, my Lord, can you lay any thing agamft this objeclion My Lady, I could not entertain the leaft idea of fuch an explanation, vhile the mifunderflanding concerning the mur- derer of Count Clairval wa^ not removed. aUhough 1 had not been ignorant of the C 2 rcfi* - •^ T H E V I C T I M O F reTidence of Amelia, v/hich was unknown to me ever fmce the removal from the caftle in the foreft, and the myfterious conduB: of the Countefs has prevented me from declaring now, what I ardently wiflied to avow publicly ever fmce I got acquainted with her. ■ What has made guefs uiy happinefs, has induced me to apprehend my misfortune — I even feared to offend the Countefs by my prefence. I expe8:ed fecret diflike to me, at moll pity, but never a return of my love." " .1 fee you are but a novice in love," Lady Delier faid fmiling, " and I have of courfe a8:ed wifely that I opened your eyes !" O ! ■ my dearell Baronefs !" I replied, kifling her hand, my gratitude will end only with my life." " Silence! Silence!" flie exclaimed, putting her hand on my lips, I have told youj as yet, only good news— the worft is coming now !" " What can that be ?" I afl<:ed with conflernation, " You fliall hear Amelia's own words The Duke" faid flie^ " does not love me^ MAGICAL DELUSION. 29. Tf^st. and even if he fliould have a paffie^t- fox me, and avow it, he lliould hear the confeiTion of niy rccipro-cal tendernefs. but never receive my hand. I am indeed releafed of my vow, but my prefen-t li- berty will raife my fidelity to my deceafed Lord., whkh was till nov/ mere duty, to m-erit, and I will remain conllant to- him, as far as it wdll be in my power. I can* nQtcoinmand my love for the Duke, how- ever my hand is at my difpoial." Heavens ! how you have damped my. happinefs 1" I replied after a painfuX paufe. Should a mere whim of the Conn- tefs really be able to difliearten you-r- Grace ? you do not confider how foon the love of a living adorer can fubdue. the fidelity to a deceafed hufband. Ame- lia's heart is yooirs, and her hand will cer- tainly follow." It is not only tiiis. ii^fecerti^tude diat mi3.h.es. me iineai)'> tlie CQuiiiefs loves me fcecaiife (he- Cc^^nnot kelp. ii. Can. a Love wbich^ 1 da not o^e to^ a Yclisntary at- tachmem i^sdbj-iase: liapOT" i"* C 3 ' ^ Row 30 T H E V I CT I M O P How you are roving ! what ought u> ■make you proud and happy damps your fpirits. What was it that impelled Ame- lia irrehitibly to love you ? can it have been any thing eife but the confcioufnels ojp your perfections, and an irrefiftibie fympathY which has united your hearts ; and what can be more defirable, what more fmcere and durable than fuch bonds ? My Lord, love has done every thing for you, and you have done nothing for love. Difciofe to Amelia your fentiments, com- ,iTiunicate to her your tejiderneis, and her involuntary attachm.ent to you will foo^a be changed into a voluntary paffion." " My dcareft friend! my comforter!'* J exclaim.ed, " what friendly genius is it that fpeaks through you, and animates my whole nature ?" " The genius of love — I have loved too, and know how to advife in affairs of the heart. But tell me fmcerely, my Lord, would your father confent to a match beneath your dignity ?" " It would be of no confequence if he fliould not ; I am Duke." I un- MAGICAL D E L U S r O N. 31 I underiland you; however I fear Amelia vrould never conTent to a union which fliould be deditute of the benedic- tion of the Marquis of \'iria'^*al." Mv father loves me» and he vnll never oppofe his only ion in a matter upon Vnich depends the happinefs of his life." ^\'ell then ! I will leave you to your sood fortune. I fnall not fail to contri- b-ute as much as is in m\" power to pro- mote that union. However, (added lire with dignity) I expect from your candour, that vou will not mifinterpret mv inter- view with you, and the intereii I take ii> that auair." I look upon it as a proof of your in- e it 1 m able fr ien d fli i p . " 0\ m.v children I the Countefs re- fumed with great emotion, I love vou as a mother. I could not bear any longer that two people, who feem to have been born for each other, fliould mifundei'- ftand one another in a manner fo tor- menu ng to both of ^'ou. You will ren- der Amelia happv. mv Lord, or I am dreadfully miitaken in my opinion of you. With this hope I put the fate of my ndend jis TH E V I e T I M O F entirely ia your hand. I confide to your -care an angel, whofe early improvement waa my work, and conftittites my pride,, and whole perfeBions yon fcarcely know l>y half. I intriift to you a being of the pureft and moft excellent of heaj;ts. Con- - elude from this, upon the coniidence I. repofe in you." I fliall endeavour to deferve it." Retire now, eife we (hall be fa rpri fed: by Amelia ; but -take care not to make her fufpeft our interview and converfa- lion. You even mull not vifit us this- evening eai-lier than ufual." 1 promifed it, and retired. My whole frame had been in a feverifli tremor from^ the beginning of our converfation, I could fcarcely utter the moft neceifary anfwers to the difcourfes of the Earonefs,, To be beloved by Amelia! This intelli- g^ence imparadifed me, and my heart could fcarcely. contain the unfpeakable. blifs which had been fliov/ered down upon, me."^ i went home like a dreaming per- fon, * The editor has taken the liberty to curtail this, and mwj other paffagesj which depicl the Duke as Uvif^g or. Tqju^ •\t€i->t agaia afema^^ srf tm.&e% -i^as:- ried ine^. unknov.ii'ng to me, to t'ke mat . ^Liiither a fecret impulse rt^rg^d-.m^ fe© go,* H-ow^evcTj the -ievei-e ccmimnd ^©f" BaFoiiefs had drawn alarg-e-Cir-cle aurou-ncL Amelia's .abode, ■whicli repelled -me, % hovered s,t the margin of k like- a fpel]- bound fpirit, and fighedfor die arxivai of' the appomted hour. Ne^^/er had tlie Tes- ting in of night been cx-peQied whh more impatience, and the fun appeared to me to retire unoifually late from the hori- zjon. At length the- wi£aed-for hour arrived > however, the miGment when I was going to the houfe which contained all that was . d^ear to- nxe, d.n unfpeakable anxiety damped fuddenly mv rapturo-iis joy. I. had promifed not to- betray bv my heha- uiour the intelligence which the Baronefjs- hshvul, and- poc> tr.17 ths difpoution of his mind : nay,. ■ to omit them entirely wheneverit could be done with- out fpoiling his tale. His charader^ and the different, fituations in which we fnalJ behold hiin, will always fugged to the- reader, whofe fsnfibilit}' and imagination ane of a-lively nature, the ftate of his heart y thjC le^- may £afi-1y,^pply this defecl frcm KoajcIs^- C 5 had 34 T H E V I C T I jM O F had imparted to me, and yet I deemed k impoffible to prelerve llich a dominion over myfelf if the vehemency of my ftate of mind ftould not abate. This was the fource of my anxiety, which added to the danger of expofing myfelf, becaufe it de- prived me of the fmall remnant of felf dominion which my rapturous joy had left me. I entered the houfe. The wo- man of the Countefs told me her Lady was in the garden. I went through feveral TOWS of trees without finding her. The moon peeped now and then through the fleecy clouds, and concealed her fiivery orb again. The great extent of the garden, and the impetuous ftate of my mind, in- creafed the difficulty of finding the idol of my heart. At length, ftepping forth from a fide path, enclofed with high hedges, I fancied I faw fomething ftirring at a diftance, near a ftatue. Having ad- vanced fome paces, the light of the moon reflefting from the marble ftatue upon Amelia, removed every doubt. I ap- proached with tottering fteps, and found Amelia reclining againft the pedeftal of a Diana, and immerfed in profound medita- tion. M A G I C A L D E L U S 10 N. 35 tion. The ruflling of the dry leaves be- neath my footfteps, roufed her from her reverie. Good evening, my Lord." faid flie with evident confafion, have you not met Lady Delier?" '^No, my Lady! I have not/' She left me fome time fince, and might already have returned.'* ^' Very ftrange ! I am com.e to take leave, and meet you firfl: by accident.'* Leave ?" (he replied with furprife Then you are determined to depart to- morrow." I muft." A long paufe. And you are going to Ma***t To Ma*'^*t5 and from thence to my native country." A fecond paufe. At length fiie faid with emphafis and afteclion: Heaven protecl you on your journey." " Deareft Countefs— " What is the matter witli vou, my Lord?" Amelia exclaimed, fixing her eyes on me, Good Godj how Dale vou look I" Co The THE VICTIM OF The emotions of my heart were dread- ful ; my working bofom threatened to- burft. God knows," I replied with a. faltering voice, whether I fliall fee you. again." " We fhall certainly meet again." faid Hie, looking up to heaven. ^' Merciful God ! fhould my hope^ blolTom firft beyond the grave." What hopes fhe exclaimed witli inquifitive ailonifliment. And do you. not divine how this fepa- ration will wound my heart ?'* Amelia looked anxiouHy around, as i£ feeking Lady Delier; and then fixed her eyes again doubtfully on mc. " My Lord, your words and your be- haviour are niyfiexious to me.'\ Then receive their explanation kindr ly," I replied, letting myfelf down on Q,ne knee, and taking hold of her hand^. I love you." The Countef-^ was Uruck dumb with furprife, — And thijs you tell me when taking leave T' flie lifped at kngth.; I fancied I perceived a foftpreffure from, fer hand^ and returned it with globing, M A G- 1 C A L D- E.L U S I Q N. s^r Eps. She bent her taper form to raife me i^p, and Lady Delier ftepped fuddenly be- tween us. " What do I fee ?" fhe ex- claimed, d-iifembling aHonifhmen.t, " a declaration of love Amelia remained filentj. and the Baxo- aefs repeated hcE qiieition. ' A declaration, my Lady!" I rep lie dj. but no anfwer. " My fweet friend," flie whifpered arch- ly in Am^elia's ear,. I hope you will not- let him dcfpairJ' I cannot conceive, my Lord-," Am.e- 1 la replied, wItv you make this, declara- tion wlien, taking /c'^i;^' /" I told her nearly the fame I had faid: to. the Baronefs in the mornino;. Am.elia. viewed me a long time with filent ailonifli-- raent, and at length replied A mif under Handing, a mifunder-^ (landing on both fides 1 very ft range in- deed 1" file iliook her head fmilino;. My deareft love," the Baronefs ex- claimed, look at. th-e Duke, how he. •watches, every word of yoiirs^ in hope o£ -xex:eiving an anfwer^." ^ - - - Amela,- - 3^ T H E V I C T I M O F Amelia feemed to hefitate what to re- > ply ; however, after a fhort filence, faid to me with the innate dignity of a noble, generous mind : My Lord, if you v/ani to have a confort, then I muft beg you to forget me. But if you are in quell of a loving heart, then — " added fhe in a low accent, and Vvdth crimfoning cheeks, you have found it." I dont know what I replied, nor can I recolleft what I faid afterwards ; for from the mom.ent fne had pronounced the con- feffion of her reciprocal love, I thought myfeif tranfported to Paradife, and breathed in a new and better fphere. The poifeffion of Amelia's heart, enfured to me by the declaration of her own lips, had expelled from my breaft every terreilial wifh; my whole nature feemed tome exalt- ed and purified of all earthly dregs, and the flame which had penetrated my frame, v/as a facred hre cleared of every particle of fenfualiiy, O ! innocent love, thou offspring of the facred affinity of two congenial fouls, thou art perhaps the fole fpecies of union and enjoyment, which is capable to afford us here below a notion M A G ! C A L D E L U S I O N. 39 of the union and the pleafure of the inha- bitants of the heavenly regions. How na- tural therefore, if we, particularly in the firft moments of enjoyment, are incapa- ble to exprefs fuch fentiments by wrords. However, mv faltering accents, my con-- fufed expreiTions, and my incoherent fen- tences, feemed.neverthelefs to be as well underftood by ilmelia, as if fhe were read- ing in my foul, which I could conclude from her words, and the ftill plainer fpeaking play of her mien. Love had difiufed over her countenance new and unfpeakable charms, which furrounded her with a glory that made her appear to me a more than mortal being. And to be beloved by her — that blifs would have overpowered me, if I had not been made acquainted withhiy happinefs in the morn- ing. Lady Delier, who had left us to our- felves all the time, interrupted us at length. Children!" faid (lie, do you know that it is not far from eleven o'clock?" I ftarted up as if fome griily fpeftre had furprifed me, becaufe I recolle6led the Unknown^ eleven o'clock being the time when 4-0 TH E V I C T I M O F wbcil I had promifed to- meet him. at rBe place of rendezvous, at a cori£de,xable diftanse. X was obliged to take lea^e of Amelia. Ta take leave 1— withoi^t knowing Tv'hether I flioiild ever fee her again, for I was to depart the next morn witli the- daw:n of day. This idea overpowered me fo much, that I promifed Amelia, and myfelfto vifit her once more to-morrovv: before my deparLure. Our feparatioii> vjas, neverthelefs, fo afflri^ing, the parting^ on both fides fo dilhcult, and the lail adieiL ptronounced with quivering Hps.—- Alas ! a.fecret prefentin>ent feemed to whifper ia my ear that we fliould meet no more- How many times did I attempt to go and flopped again — how many times did I go -and return agiain to afTure Amelia that I 'fAould certainly fee her once more ! — ■ . Her emotions, feemed, indeed, to b£ iefs vehement than mine, however,, I could mot be deceived, and obferved the. fecret workings of her foul, perceived the pearly tear that fiarled. from her eye and. the violent heaviog of her. bofom* M A ai € A L D E L U S I C'N. 4^ Lady Delier did not long- remain an- idle fpeQator, exhorting us to dedicate- tbe prefent moment to joy, and ta yield to- our grief to-morrow, tearing the Cauntefs^ from my arms and wi filing me a good I Hopped oj^ce more on the terrace, fa\^: rbe two ladies retirincr to a ^rove of beech- o o trees, and Amelia turn twice, beckoning to me. My tea.rs flowed fluently, my arm.i v;ere expanded for^l^r, tb€ darknefs of the night concealed her from my wifli- ful looks. I ru'^v'^d mechanically into- tbe fireet, and arrived at the place of ren- dezvous without knowing how. It was a. lonely fpot covered with trees. Tbe I r i (h.m a n f o o n j pi n e d me .. My time is fnort," he faid, " and I have to tell you a great deal ; let us fit djDv.-p-,." So faying he led me to a ftone bench beneath a fpreading oak, and we fcated ourfelves. He feemicd to obferve my being violent- ly agitated, and kept a long and folemn fiLence to give me time to recover. — " I VviQi^ riiy dear Duke !'— he at kngth be- gan, that you may no-t expeS more from. this., 4« T H E V r C T I M O F this interview than I am allowed to gite, I muft Gonftne myfelf merely to the theoretical part of that occult fcience to- which I have promifed to initiate you after the time of probation fhall be finifhed. However, it is here as it is v^ith all other fciences ; the pupil of fenfe gueffes by the theory, what he may expeB from the praQical part of the fcience — as a painter beholds in a flvetch the piBure which is to be drawn, or as an architect fees in the plan drawn on the- paper tiie buMding^^ which is to be conftruded; be therefore fa- tisfied with what I dare impart to you foi^ the prefent." I do not defire you to difclofe to me, more than I am able to bear at prefent." The Irifhman paufed again^ and then began thus : " If our powers of perception were- confined only to our fenfes, the vifibie world would then encompafs all our ideas^,^ fentiments, wifhes and hopes. No idea^ of fpirits, of God and of immortality would raife us above the fphere of ma- teriality. In order to produce and to con= ceive thefe ideas a fuperfenfiWe faculty is M A G I C A L D E L U S r O N, ^ j: • required. This faculty M-hich, if clofery^' examined, bears not the leaft refem- blance to the reft of our intelleftuai powers, is called reajon. The idea of the whole fenfible worM offers nothing to us tliat is not corporeal, finite, and perifii- able. However the territory of reafon op^ns ta us a profpeQ ta a world with* out bounds, and of an everlafting dura« tion ; difplays to us a kingdom of fpiritg which is governed Xtj one Infinite Spirits after wife and facred lav;s. An unknown world of which we had not the moll drftant notion, of whicli fenfation gives- us not the leaft hint, and for which our fenfes have no perception nor fcale, opens to our view when our reafon begins to unfold itfelf. You fee. therefore what faculty of the foul muft be our guide in our prefent inveitigation, if we wifti to penetrate, by means of it, to the kingdom of fpirits." '•Reafon!" Certainly 1 there is no other choice left ; and therefore let us learn to value and to ufe this light that illuminates the darknefs in which every objeft difappears from 4^ T H E V I C T I M O F from the eyes of mere fenruive men, ot moll, appears very ohjcure to them. That man whofe reafori is overdarkened, or difcompofed by fenfuality, either will de- ny the exigence of fpirits and our rela^ tion to them, or attribute to them the con- tradi8:ory lhape which his difordered ima- gination has hatxhed out, lik^ the blind- born, w^ho denies the exiftence of colours; as ridiculoas and. ahfurd, or if he be-- lieves the unanimous teftiniony of thofe that fee, imagines- colours to bear fome refemblance to founds. Unbelief asid fuperilition afford us numberlefs inftanccs of people of that defcription. Only the more impartial ha~v^e always maintained that o.neoughtnot to judge precipitately of thefe obje6ts, and only the wifefc of man- kind have been able to form a juft judg,- naent of them." Q Hiermanforl introduce me to the circle of the latter. I have already in. tlie different periods of my life adhered to^all the -Other parties.. In the days of my earlier youth 1 believed in apparitions,, like the moll: ignoxant of the loweff clafs. In a more advanced period of life i fan^ cied :magical delusion. 45 *cieci I was convinced of the impoffibility •of apparitions, and ever fmce I got ac- qua-inted with you, I have been wavering between unbelief and fuperftition. It was but lately that I refolved to poftpone my judgment on thefe fubjecls, till I fhould DQ better convinced, and this conviction I expect of you." ^' I will not chfappointyour hope ; how- ever, I muft repeat once more that I can lead vomo truth bv no other road but that of reafon purified from all fenfuai dregs. You will find it difficult to purfue that road, and it v;ill be no eafy taflv to -me to guide you. I fiiall be obliged to avoid all -emblematic language, in order to convey to your mind thefe fuperfenfible notions in their natural purity, and it will be ne- celfary that you fliould know how to ap- ply the abiiraclefL and pured notions, al- though they fhould contradict your pre- fent manner of perception." I fhall at leaft not be wanting in atten- tion and good-will." Firft of all, it will be necefTary to agree in the notion of what is called /pirit. The befl: method of fixing that notion 45 THE VICTIM OF notion will be to examine what the word fpirit xneans according to the gencFal ^ rules of language. If one fays^ man con« flits of body and fpirit, by the former a corporeal, and by the latter an incpr^ poreal being is underftpod. We have, . therefore, a common point from which we can proceed in our inveftigation. Spirit is oppofite to body. In this point . ^ve agree according to the molt genera! meaning and ufe of the word/' I do." ; " Let us fee what follows thence ! Every body is a compounded, extendedj impenetrable being, fubje8: to the laws of motion, confequently, every^zW/ is a fimple, unextended and penetrable being not fubje6ledto the laws of motion/' Exaaiy fo 1" " Bodies are extended, that is they oc-- cupy a TGom^ and the proportion which one body bears to the other in point of rocn?.^ conftitutes its^/(^?^-d'; fpirits are not extend- ed, and confequently exift in no room, and in no place,'* How am I to underftand this ?" Juft as I have faid. — ^But let me elucidate M A G I C A L D E L U S I O N. 45 elucidate my argument. Why cannot two bodies exift at the fame time, in the fame fpace ? Becaufe they exclude each other on account of their extenfion and impenetrability. Two bodies rnuft, of courfe, occupy two different places, if exifting at the fame time ; that is, every individual body mufl occupy its own in-, dividual place. And why muft every body occupy its own place ?" • Becaufe of its expanfion and impe- netrability. " " Very well ! But thefe two qualities cannot appertain to a fpirit, and, confe- quently, a fpirit can occupy no place." ^' This feems really to follov/." " This argument can alfo be Rated thus : a fpirit has, as a fimple being, neither a right nor a left, neither a front nor a back (ide, and confcquently can have no relation from ito ftde to any thing that occupies a fpace. The conclufion is very palpable." Then a fpirit could occupy no room in the whole material world " Would you perhaps affign to fpirits a place in the immaterial world ? How could 4S T H E V rc T I M O F could you imagine, without contradiclio^5 that fpace or place can exift in Juch a world ? If one fpirit -does not occupy aroomjthenall fpirits together can occupy none, how could therefore any proportion exift among them with relation to fpaoe^ or place ?" " i comprehend and do not compre- hend you. You want to convince me of the poffibility of apparitions of fpirits, and deny the exiftence of fpirits; for if they do occupy no place either in the vifible or invifible world, where elfe can they €xift?" " How fenfitive and confufed your ideas are 1 Don't you perceive that your queftion is equal to. tliis : i;^ whtch^flace do fpirits exift ? and that, of courfe, you premife in your queftion what I havejuft clearly proved to be abfurd. Do you not comprehend that room and flace axe nothing elfe but external qualities, only relations of material things? and do you believe that the exiftence of any being depends merely on external qualities and material relations ?" Have patience v/ith me ! ' th^ invifible caufe of its external ac- tions, which are vifible in the fpace. This internal principle of the body, acls upon the ipirit in the fame manner in which the fpirit acli upon this principle. Soul and D 2 body 5 52 THE VICTIM OF body, confequently, cannot a8: upon each other immediately^ but only by means of this principle. As all material beings, concretively taken, compofe a great to - tum, which is called the phyfical world, fo the concrete of all immaterial beings compofes what we call the immaterial world. It follows from the antecedent, that the order, regularity, and union which are feen in the former world, are entirely different from the order, regu- larity, and union v/hich prevails in the latter world. AH material beings are fubje6: to the fceptre of ftern necelTity, and kept in order by phyfical laws; the rank which thefe beings maintain towards one another, is founded either on innate qualities, or fuch as have been attributed lo them by general agreement ; and they are nearer each other, or more diftant from one another, according to their re- lations conliituted by fpace and time. — How different is this in the m.aterial world ! rational beings, endowed with free will, are fubjeR to no other lav/s but to thofe of morality ; the prerogatives and degrees which fubfift among them, de- r;i A G I C A L D E L U S I O N. 53. pend on the different degrees of their wif- dom and virtue, and according to the fimilarity or difference of their manner of thinking, and of their fentiments, they are nearer each other, or more diftant from one another; that is, they harmo- nize, or difharmonize. Man belongs, by virtue of his body and foul, to both of thefe worlds, and, confequently, is con- nefted with the material and immaterial world. It may therefore happen, that the fame perfon v;ho acls an important part on earth, in virtue of his phyfical or political fituation, occupies zd the fame time the loweft degree amiong the fuperterreftrial beings; that the foul of a body whofe beauty charmis every eye here belov/, is an indifferent, or a contem.pt- ible object in the fpiritual world; thauthe foul of an inhabitant of Saturn, and that of an inhabitant of the earth, with regard to their fpiritual communion, are often- times, nearer neighbours than the fouls of thofe whofe abode is beneath the fame roof." This is very plain I*' D 3 ^« The 54 T H E V i C T I M C F Tlie human foul, of courfc, is al- ready-j in this life, conne6led with the members of the invifible world, and this connection is lafting and effential, while that with the body is accidental and tran- iient. However a union of fubftances, that is, of adive natures, cannot be fup- pofed to exift without a reciprocal influ- ence ; confequently the human foul mull have an eife6live influence upon the fpi- rits to whom fne is linked, and the mem- bers of the fpiritual world muft a8: reci- procally on our foul. But why are we not equally fenfible of thefe reciprocal influences and communications, as of thofe which fubfill between our foul and body ? The caufe of this is very obvious. The human fpirit can have a clear idea only of the objefts of the material v/orld, becaufe of its corporeal organ ; it is, there- fore, not even capable of a clear imme- diate contemplation of its own felf, much lefs of its immaterial relations to other fpirits : the difference which exifls be- tween thofe ideas which arife in our foul 'by means of its immateriality, and its communion with fpiritual beings, and the ideas which it receives by the medium of z the A G i C A L DEL U S I 0 N. .5 the bod}-, or abilracled from material ob- ]etts. is lb eiTentialj that the ideas of the former kind cannot comxe m connection vith thofe of the latter; for v/hich reafon %\-e have either no notion at all of them, or. at moil, a very obfcure one ; how- ever, vre become plainly- confcious of them as foon as the union of the foul and its corporeal organ ceafes," This. Hierrnanfor. feems, in fome meafure to be the cafe when we are fleep- ins- and the fenfitive or2;ans are reftino- from their occupations. Should therefore thofe philofophers of antiquity, who have believed that in our dreams we are ca- pable of being influenced by fuperior be- ing, and of receiving fupernatural infpi- rations, be miflaken There is^ certainly, fome truth in this remark. I m.uft, however , obferve, that we do not poffefs that capacity when dreaming, but when we are fafL afleepo It is commonly thought that we have only obfcure notions in the latter ftate, and this opinion arifes from our not recollecl- ing them when we awake; however, on what ground can one conclude therefrom D 4 that 56 T H E V I C T I M O F that tbey have not been clear while we were fleeping ? Such ideas, perhaps, may be clearer and more extenfive, than even the moft perfpicuous when we are awake, becaufe the aQivity of our foul is neither modified nor confined by any thing what- ever, the fenfitive organs being intirely at reft. However, this very reft of our fenfitive organs, is the caufe which pre- vents the re-produftion of thefe ideas when we are awake, our fleeping body having no fbare in them, and, confequently, being def~ titute of its concomitant notion of them^ they, of courfe, remain infulated in our foul, having no connexion at all with thofe ideas which arife within ourfelves before and after we are faft. afleep, and in which our body takes a greater or a fmaller fliare. This is not the cafe with our dreams; for when we are dreaming, the faculties of the foul do not aB: fo pure and uncontrouled as when we are faft afleep. Dreaming is an intermediate ftate betv/een waking and fleeping. We have then already, in fome meafure, clear ideas, and interweave the aftions of our foul with the imprefiions of our exterior fenfesg MAGICAL DELUSION. 57 fenfes, whereby a ftrange, and fometimes ridiculous mixture is engendered, which we partly recoiietl when we awake." You have, as yet, proved only the probability of clear notions during our being fall afleep ; could you not alfo prove their reality ?" " Certainly ! however thefe arguments do not belong to the theoretical part of our philofophy. Yet I mud beg of you to recolleB;, en pafiant, the actions of fome no8;ambulos, who fometimes, dur- ing the profoundeft fleep, fhow more underflanding than at any other time, but cannot recoiled thofe anions when, awake ?" ''This is true!" I exclaimed, "this throws an aftonifhing light upon this matter." " Yet not only while afleep," the Irifii- man continued, '' but alfo when av/ake, many people can be capable of having a clear notion of their connexion with the fpiritual world, and the influence of fpi- rits upon them. Yet the effential diT ference which exifts between the notions D 5 of 58 T H E V i C T i M O F o{ fpirits and thofe of men is a great impe- diment^ which, however, is not at all in- furmountable. It is true that man can- not have an iynmediate notion of thofe fpi- ritual ideas, becaufe of the co-operation of his corporeal organs ; however they can, in virtue of the law of the affocia- tion of ideas, produce in the human mind thofe images which are related to them^ and confequently procreate analogical re» prefentations of our fenfes, which, al- though they are not the fpiritual aftions themfelves, yet are their fymbols," I perceive what you are aiming at." ^ Examples will render the mattei more intelligible to you. Experience teaches that our fuperior intelle8,ual no - lions, which are near a-kin to the fpirr- tual ideas, commonly aifume a bodily garb, in order to render themfelves per- fpicaous. Thence the poet transforms wifdom into the Goddefs Minerva, the ftings of confcience into furies, and perfo- nifies virtues and vices; the mathem.ati- cian defcribes time by a line, and is there any philofopher wha always, lornas an. idea evea of the Godhead j without inter- mixing MAGICAL D E L U S I O N. j.^ mixing human qualities ? In that manner ideas, which have been imparted to us by fpiritual influence, may drefs themfelves in the fymbols of that language \vhich is common to us, and the prefence of a fpi- rit which we perceive, affume the image of a human fiape — witnefs the late appari- tion of your tutor. — — Thus the theory of all fupernatural infpirations and viiions is afcertained ; confequently the appari- tions of fpirits have that in common wuth. our dreams, that they reprefent to us ef- fects which are produced v^ithin ourfelves, as if happening zvithcut ourjehes ; hov/< ever, at the fame time, they differ from ilicm with refpecl to their being really founded upon an effect from a fpi- ritual influence. However this iniiuence cannot reveal itfelf to our confcioufnefs immediately, but only by means of affo- ciated linages of our fancy, which attain the vivacity of objects really perceived. You fee, therefore, what an eifentia.1 dif- ference there is between the phantoms of our dreams, and the apparitions of fpi- rits. But here is the boundaiy of theory. The criterion w^hereby apparitions of fpi- D 6 ritSj €o THE VICTIM OF rits, in every particular cafe, can be dif- tinguiflied with certainty, from vain phan- toms, and fupernatural infpirations from natural ideas, and the means of effeQing apparitions, and of obtaining affiftance and inftru6lions from fpiritual beings } thefe and feveral more things belong to the pradical part of the occult philo- fophy. Here my Lord, I mud conclude for the prefent, and drop the curtain. Strefs of time obliges me to abbreviate my dif- courfe on a fubjeft which would not be exhaufled in many days; however I may fafely leave to your own underftanding the finifliing and enlargement of this Iketch. Suffice it that I have enabled you to comprehend the apparition of your friend, and to fee that reafon does not pronounce judgment againft fubjefts of this nature, but rather is the only mean which affords us light and certainty with refpe8: to them. The. theory which I have given you may, at the fame time, ferve v ou to judge whether it will be worth your trouble to be initiated in the 1 myfteries M A G I C A L D E L U S I O N. 62 myfteries of the praclical part 01 this phi- lofophy. However, I muft tell you, that no mortal who has not fanftified himfelf by bridling his fenfitive nature, and pu- rifying his fpiritual faculties, can be ad^ mitted to that fanftuary. Are you re- folved to do this ?" " I am, put me to the teft I" « Then depart with the firft dawn of day for Ma**id, without taking leave of the Countefs/' The Irifiiman could not have chofen a feverer trial, nor demanded a greater fa- crifice. The combat which I had to fight with my heart, before I could come to a refolution, was fhort but dreadful, — I promifed the Irifhman to execute his will. '•Well!" faid he, " then hear what meafures you are to take. As foon as you fhall be arrived at Ma*'^id you mufl:5 w^ithout delay, wait upon the Prime Mi- nifter, 01iv"'*ez, and the Secretary of State, Suma"^ez, but take care not to dif- cover your political views to either of them; pretend that you intend to flay fome time at Ma**id merely for the fake of 6t T H E V I C T I M O F of amufement. Repeat your viHts till you have gained their conMence. Your winning demeanor, my Lord, and your intimate connexion with Vafcon"*eIIos will render this conqueft eafy.—Farewellj at Ma**idwe fliall meet again We parted. The Irilhman returned once more. " Your manner of life while at Ma^^idj" faid he, « will require great expences, and you muft be well provided with money. I have taken care that you fiiall be well fupplied with that needful article. You will find in your apartment a fum which you may difpofe of at plea- fure." So faying, he left me fuddenly. On coming home, I found on my table two bags with money, each of them con- taining a thoufand ducats. Pictro told me they had been brought by a fervant of the Irifh Captain. No one will doubt that I was now en- tirely devoted to the Irifhman. By his difcourfe at the burying place he had per- Juaded^ and by his liberality convinced me^ that I could not do better than to let my- felf be guided entirely by him; and as I at firft had been determined to this by M A G I C A L D E LU S I O N, 63 the conquering fuperiority of his foul, fo I was now confirmed in it by the applaufe of my reafon. Nay, if the Irifhman fnould now have offered to break off all conne8:ion v;ith me, I fiiould have court- ed his friendihip, fo much had I been charmed by the profound wifdom of his difcourfe. Not the leafh veftige of mif- truil againft his fecret power w^as left in my foul, and the very regard for philo* fophy which but lately had prejudiced me againft him, was now one of the llrongefl; bonds that chained me to him.— How^ agreeably v/as I furprifed to find in Reajon herfelf, whom I formerly had thought to be the principal adverfary of the belief in miracles, the moft convinc- ing arguments for the fame, and to have been conquered with the fame weapons which I had been fighting with againft the Irifnman, without having the leaft rea- fon to reproach him with having had re- courfe to any ftratagem whatever. The franknefs and the ftrength of argument which diftinguiflied every ftep of hiaphi^ lofophical inftruQion, were to me the moft unexcep-tionablc fecurity for the juftnefs^ 64 T H E V I C T I M O F juftnefs of the refult. If he had deli- vered his arguments in a flowery and myfterious language, fupported by the charms of declamation, then I fhould cer- tainly have fufpe6led them; however he had made ufe of the cool, fimple, and clear language of realon, divefted of all fophiftical artifices; flarted from princi- ples which are generally received, drew no conclufions to w^hich he was not enti- tled by his premifes, combated errors and prejudices upon which he could have founded , furreptitious conclufions; nay, it appeared as if he, unmindful of what he was to prove, had left it entirely to the courfe of his impartial inquiry whi- ther it would lead him, and I beheld my- felf, with aftonifhment, on the conclu- fion of it, at the mark from which the road we had taken threatened to lead us aftray. I cannot defcribe the wonderful bold ideas which the inflruclions I had re- ceived produced in my mind, nor the awfully agreeable fenfations which thofe ideas v^ere accompanied with. The rifing fun furprifed me in that indefciibable ftate MAGICAL DELUSION, liiate of mind, and reminded me by his rays, that it v:as time to fet off. I made, without delay, the requifite pre- parations, and in a quarter of an hour, ftepped in m.y carriage. I looked once more bad<. to the fpot where Amelia re- fided, and drove through the city-gate. At the firfl: ftage I wrote to her that an unforefeen important accident had forced me to fet out on my journey fo early in the m^orning that it would have been unbecom- ing to pay her the promifed farewell vifit; I vow^ed to return on pinions of love, as foon as buiinefs at M****d fhould be fettled. I painted with lively colours all the pains of feparation, and all the ten- dernefs of an affliQed heart, in order to convince Am^elia, that I had been forced by ftern neceffity to depart without feeing her once m^ore. Alas 1 the farther the rolling carriage removed me from the dear objeft of my love, the miore I grew fenfible of the greatnefs of the facrifice which I had m.ade to the Irifhman. I examined my letters and papers in order to divert my gloomy thoughts, and found one more copy of a letter from the Irifh- man 6^ T H E V I C T 1 M O F man which I had not yet decyphered, - The following is the refult of my en- deavours to unfold its contents : ^ My Lord, ' My defigns on Miguel had very ^ near been ruined by the iofs of his life ; ' and in fome meafure I m.yfelf have been ' the caufe of his having been hurried to • the brink of deftruclion. But who ' could have forefeen fuch an event ! ' With the leave of your Excellency, I * fliall relate the incident at large. ' I had fent one part of my fervants to ^ follow Miguel on his journey. I myfelf ' ftaid behind in order to make an attempt ^ of reftoring the health of the Countefs, ' for wliofe life the ignorance of her phy- « fician had made m.e tremble. The fuccefs ' I met with furpaifed m.y moft fanguine ' expeftation. Some drops of an eleftuary ^ which I poured into the mouth of the ' Countefs produced fo fudden an effeQ, ' that, in a few hours, the m.oft unequivo- ^ cal figns of returning health were per- ' ceiveda M .-\ G I C A L DELUSION. 67 ' ceived. As foon as I had been iDiorm- • ed of this defirable change. 1 follow-ed • I\iiguel vrith the reft of my people, hav- ' ing previoufly ordered the valet of the ' CoLintefs to v;rite three days after to the ^ Duke, that the Countels ^Tas dead — and • in a few days later, that I had recalled • her to life. At the lame trnie I reouefted -1. • him to defire his difmuTion from Ame- ' lia and to follow me. becaufe I wanted Mils affi fiance in the execution of my de- • figns. The view I had in commanding ' him to inform the Duke of Amelia's pre- • tended death was to convince myielf by • the ma.nner in which he fhould receive ^ that intelligence, whether his love to the • Countefs had been onh* a tranfient at- ' tachment. or vrhether his naihon for her ^ was of a more ferious nature, and what ' degree it had attained. I need not ex- ' plain to vour Excellencv, how neceiTary ' this knovrledge was to me. The fecond ' comraiffion had no other aim, than to ^ pour balfam in Miguel's wound, and at ^ the fame time, to make me appear to him ' a miracle-working being, and his and ' Amelia's 6g T H E V I C T I M O F ' Amelia's friend ; whereby I expe6led to ' gain his confidence. ' I purfued my road with fo much ^ fpeed, that I overtook Miguel before he' ' had finilhed one half of his journey, and *^ joined my people, who preceded me. ' As foon as the Duke had arrived at the ' place of his defdnation, and we along ' with him, I quartered my people in dif- ' ferent places in fuch a manner, that he ' was furrounded by them from all fide«. ' I took a convenient houfe in the fuburbs ' for myfelf, in order to efcape his looks ' with greater fafety. ' On the third day after our arrival, ^ Miguel received the letter by which he ^ was informed of the Countefs's death. ^ The effe8: wdiich this intelligence pro- ^ duced upon him mud have been a kind ' of frenzy. One of my people who ' watched all his fteps, informed me late ' in the evening, he had feen Miguel rufh- * ing out of his houfe with every mark of * defpair in his countenance, and running ' with fuch a velocity that he and his com- * rade hardly had been able to follow ^ him. He added, that Miguel after two. ' hours. M AG I C AL D E L U S I O N. 69 hours roaming about, had Hopped not far ' from hence, at the banks of a river, * where he was walking up and down, ab- ^ forbed in profound reverie. ^ Soon after a fecond meffenger told ^ me, Miguel had plunged into the river, ^ but one of his comrades who had watch* * €d him narrowly, and leapt after him, ' had faved him., and was going to carry ' him to my houfe. A few minutes after, ' Miguel was brought by fome of my ' people. He refembied a corpfe, the ^ palpitation of his pulfe was fcarcely ' perceptible, and he was entirelv bereft ' of his recolleclion. I ordered him in- ' ftantly to be carried to a fpacious empty ' vault, and while fome of my rnen endea- ' voured to reftore him to the ufe of his ^ fenfes, I was making preparations to ' chailife him feverely when he fhould ' have recovered from his ibapor. ^ As foon asm^y fervants perceived that ^ he was recovering, I ordered him to be * carried into the middle of the vault, and ' placed myfelf in deep difguife oppofite ' him at a confiderable diftance, making a « hgnal to thofe who were prefent to re- * tire • THE VICTIM OF ^ tire to an adjoining apartment, and to « take the candles with them. No fooner ^ was every thing in order, than I per- * ceived by a deep groan of Miguel, that ^ he had recovered his recoUeftion.— « His ftate of mind when awaking, muft ^ have been very flrange. His recollec- ^ tion told him, that he had plunged ^ into the river, in a place where he ^ faw nobody prefcnt, and no%v he awoke ^ in a dry, empty, and fpacious dark « room : he muft have fancied he awoke in ^ another world ; and this idea feems to ^ have thrilled him with its acuteft pun- ^ gency, for he uttered a loud fcream ^ which made the vault re found.* This ^ was the fignal for which my people had * been waiting in the adjoining chamber. ^ They kindled a pole which was hxed ^ near * This is a mirtake, for we know by tlie Duke's o'.vn account, vol. I, p. 141, that he uttered tliis fcream be- caufe he felt himfelf pulled down by an inv-ifibie hand when he was going to get up. The IriHinian liaving known nothing of this circumftance, it is probable that the unknown caufe of this pulling down, was no other than a foot of the Duke, with which he, in his /lupor^ kept his cloak down, when lie was getting up without knowing it. , EditC'?«. MAGICAL DELUSION. 71 * near an aperture in the wall, and enve- * loped with flax, and wetted with fpirit of ' wine, which fpread a faint light through * the fpacious vault. The aftonifliment ' which Miguel was feized with, when ^ looking all around and feeing nothing ^ but a man wrapt in a fcarlet cloak, fur- « pafTes all powers of defcription. His ^ anxiety encreafed when he faw me daring ^ at him without replying a word to his * queftions, and heard one of my people ' exclaim, in a doleful accent, woe ! v/oe ! * woe 1 When I, at laft, ftepped forth and * made myfelf known to him, he proftrated * himfelf, as if in the prefence of a fupe- * rior being. I read him a fevere lefture ^ on his rafh deed, and at the fame time * endeavoured to roufe his ambition for * the fervice of his country, in which ' I fucceeded. A foft mufic began at * once in the adjoining chamber, on a * fignal which I made to my people. The « melodious {trains of a harp and a flute ^ were accompanied by the fweet notes of * an harmonious voice, which announced ' to the aftonifhed Miguel that Amelia ' was alive. His rapture bordered on * frenzy. 72 TH E V I C T I M O F frenzy. I ordered him to be filent^ * blind-folded him and delivered him to ' the care of a fervant, whom I f^cretly ' ordered to condu8: him to his hotel, and * to return no anfwer to his queflions. ^ My deputy acquitted himfelf extremely * well of his truft. He led him filently to * his hotel, and when Miguel turned round * the corner of the houfe, unfaftened the * bandage which blind-folded his eyes, and ^ concealed himfelf in a houfe, the door of * which was open. Miguel muft have ' been ftrangely htuated, when after a ^ few fteps the bandage dropped from his ^ eyes and nobody was feen around him. ' Very fortunately the night was far ad- ^ vanced, and the whole affair remained * concealed. ' Thus happily ended an adventure ' which had b^un in a manner fo inaufpi- ^ cious. ^ However, Palefi^i has committed a ^ foolifh trick, which I cannot forgive * him. He defired his difmiffion from ^ the Couritefs, which being refufed by his * Ladyj who imagined him to be a faith- ' fai M A 1 C A L D E L U S 1 O N. - ^ ful fervant, he left her clandsftinely. He * ftiali fmart for this inconfiderate adion. ^ I anij with the greateft refped. As far as this letter informed me that no faperior power had had a fhare in the above mentioned adventure, it contained nothing that was new to me, for the Irifli- man himfelf had not concealed from me, that all the wonderful adventures which had happened to me before Paleflci's con- feffion had been the efFe8: of illufion ; however it was important to me to learn how^ and by what artifices I had been de- ceived. I cannot but confefs that this natural explanation of the whole affair excited my aflonifhment at the Irifhmar>^ not lefs than thofe adventures had fur- prifed me at the time when I believed him to be a fupernatural being, and that I ardently wiflied to have cleared up feveral other events of that epocha which I could not unriddle. Soon after my arrival at M****d, I went to pay a vifit to the miniller. He received me very kindly, and difcourfed Vol. hi. E - above 74. THE VICT I M OF above an hour with me, although he was fo overcharged with ftate-affairs that no flranger could get accefs to him. I was not lefs fuccefsful with the Secretary of State, in whofe favour I ingratiated my- felf fo much in the courfe of half an hour, that he profeffed himfelf extremely happy for having got acquainted with me. Both of them invited me to vifit them frequently during my ilay at M****d, an invitation which I took care to make the beft ufe of. I perceived foon with afionifliment and joy, that I was getting nearer the mark much fooner than I had expefted firft. Though I am of opinion that the vifibly growing favour of thefe two courtiers was partly founded on perfonal attach- ment, yet the Irifnman had not been mif- taken when he told me, that the relation which exifted betv/een myfelf and Vaf- con^ellos would render the accefs to their confidence eafier. Sum'^-^ez, the Secre- tary of State, enjoyed the moil intimate confidence of the Minifter, and was relate €d to Vafcon^ellos. Therefore the friend- fliip of the latter paved for me the road to Suiii**ez5 MAGICAL DELUSLON. 75 Sum**ez, and the friendfhip of Sum**ez to 01iva*ez. The two Secretaries of State were the chief adminiftrators of the go- vernment; Sum*'*ez in the council of Port***l, at Ma***d5 and Vafcon*elIos in the council of ftate at -Lis bon, and confe- quently were the vice-tyrants of my na- tive country, who jointly executed the defigns of Oliv^^ez, who in the name of the King of Sp-^*n was at the helm of def- potifm. That the Irifhman had very well calcu- lated thefe concatenations, will appear by the fubfequent plan which he founded upon them. I had ^VTOte to Amelia, and Lady Deiier, as foon as I had arrived at M"^***d, and now received an anfwer from both of them. Every line of the former breathed heavenly love and kind- nefs; the tender and amiable fentiments of her foul, purified by the trials of mif~ fortunes, were palpably difplayed in her letter, as in an unfpotted mirror. O i how many a time did I kifs, read, and re- perufcit, till at length, what a fweet delu- fion of my enraptured imagination ! I fan- cied I faw the amiable writer before me^ E 2 . . and 76 THEVICTIMOI? and heard from her Hps the words which were written on the paper.— The following paffage in Lady Delier*s letter ftruck me particularly: ^ I neither ' have read Amelia's letter, nor has flie < read mine ; however, if fhe has been * fincere, fhe will have wrote to you many ' fond things, as I can guefs by her grief * at your departure, and by the warmth * with which fhe is animated when fhe * fpeaks of you. I think that Amelia's ' refolution not to marry again will be * dropt, as foon as the murderer of her « late Lord ceafes to liVe, if not fooner. * However, I would not have you to think ' that Amelia ever has mentioned ^ny * thing to that purpofe, or that I believe * that a noble fpotlefs foul like hers, could ' harbour fentiments of revenge ; but I ' fuppofe only that the amiable enthufiall ^ perhaps fancies that the ghoft of her mur- ' dered Lord will not enjoy a perfect tran- ' quility and happinefs, before the perpe- . ' trator of that villainous deed has re- « ceived the juft reward of his atrocious * crime. Endeavour, my Lord, to fettle « your affairs at Mad^*d as foon as pof- ' fiblcj M A G I C A D E L S I O N. n * fible, in order to gladden our hearts by * afpeedy return.' With regard to the latter point I wrote to Amelia : ' My affairs make a rapid and * fuccefsful progrefs, and I fhall foon fee * your Ladyfhip again. See Amelia again! ' What happinefs do thefe words imply ! ' Heavens, how great would my felicity « be if I conftantly could fix my eyes on * the lovelieft of women! How fuperla- ' tively happy fhould I be if I were Ame- * lia's brother, in order that I could be * conftantly about her, and (peak to her; * or her (lave, that I could breathe under * the fame roof with her, follow her every * where, and anticipate every wink and ' every wifh of hers.' I had been about three weeks at Ma- d^'^d when I vifited the minifter one even- ing, and found him in company with a perfon who, by his drefs, appeared to be a man of rank. He feemed to be very old and infirm, but conceive my aftonifli- ment^ when, on approaching nearer, I fancied I difcerned the features of the Irifnm.an, though every thing elfe was Jo entirely changed, that he appeared to E 3 . ' be 7S T H E V I C T I M O- F be quite a different perfon ; a wig cover- ed his head, his dark eye-brows were changed into grey, his completion yellow- ifh, his voice weak, and frequently inter- rupted by a heftic cough. The xninifter met me with the words : My Lord Duke, I have the honour to prefent to your Grace the Marchefe Ricieri, who lately is returned from a journey through your native country." The Marchefe rofe with difficulty, as it appeared, from his feat^ and after reciprocal civilities, and a ffiort converfation, took his leave. My looks followed him with aftonifh- ment to the anti-chamber, and I found it -extremely difficult to conceal my emotions from the minifter, who told me that the Marchefe had brought bad news from Tort*'^*l, where the fpirit of fedition was faid to be very bufy. Not knowing how far I durft difclofe my thoughts on that head without blundering upon the defign of the Irifliman, I returned an indifferent anfwer, and endeavoured to turn the con- verfation to fome other objeft. Fortu- nately com.pany was announced, I Raid an hour longer, and then took leave. On Ivf A G I C A L i) E L U S I O N. -9 On mv way to the hotel, fomebody tap- ped me on the flioulder. and a ^veil-known voice faid, I am glad to fee your Grace' ^vell." I turned round and the Iriihraan- ftood before me, dreffed in black, and wrapt in a fcarlet cloak. I was feized- wich aftonifliment. I give you joy. my Lord;" faid he in a friendly accent. how do vour affairs go on ?" " Extremely wellP' I replied, adding after fome hefi- tation; will you go vdth me to my ho- tel ?'' Pie acccepted my invitation. Be fo kind." faid he when we were arrived at my aparrm^nt. to take care that we are not interrupted, nor over- heard!"' This preamble made me cxpecl to hear important matters, and I was not- deceived. Having communicated to him hovr I had fucceeaed with Oliva'^ez, and Suma*^ez, he approved mv diligence and difcretion, adding, " it is now time to come nearer to the point. I am going to entruil vou ^Tith two commiiiilons, both of wnich are equallv important." Let me hear what I am to do !"' Firll of all you muft endeavour to prompt the muniftcr to publifn a royal E 4 ediclj to THEVICTIMOF edifl, by which the Port****e nohWky are ordered, under the penalty of loling their eftates, to enter into the military fervice of Sp**n." " Good God, what do you mean by tbatr *^ Then," he added, without noticing my exclamation, " you muft advife the ininifter to feize the perfon of the Duke of Brag**za." 1 flared at the Irifhman. ^' Then the revolution is to be given up !" faid after apaufe of anxious aftoniihment. " Not at all, it rather is to be promoted by thefe means." I cannot comprehend you;" I exclaim- ed, you either are countera6ling your own plan ; or the revolution will be de- ftroyed in the bud." i6 yiy good Duke, one muft frequently appear to countera8: a plan in order to carry it into execution with greater fafety. I will explain myfelf more diftinQly." So fzpying, he pufhed his chair clofer tp me^ and continued in a lower accent ; " Let us take a fhort view of the fituation of your country. Not to mention the enor- MAGICAL DELUSION. Si enormous lofs of its poffefTions abroad, %vhich it has fuffered during the fubjectioii to Sp*^n, the interior iip.te of the empire is deplorable beyond defcription. The King of Sp^'^n looks upon your country as a conquered province, and takes the greatefl pains to exhauft it entire!}^, in or- der to keep it in inactivity with more eafe; the royal revenues of Port***! are either diftributed among the favourites of the King, or mortgaged; more than 300 gallies, and 2000 cannons have been car- ried to Sp**n; the nobility are injured by the m.oft unjud: demands; the clergy muft lee their benefices in the pofleffion of fo- reigners; the people are beggared by enormous taxes — in fhort matters have almofi been carried to the highefh pitch. So much the better, for this is a fign that our undertaking is ripe for execution. Let us flrain the firings a little morCj and they mufl break." And what then ?" faid I with ardour. General commotion, and at the fame time univerfal confufion will be the con- fequence ; and it is very obvious that thus my country will not regain its liberty, but E ^ rather g2 THE VICTIM OF rather be plunged in a more bpprefTive flate of flavery. If the people are not fupported by the nobility, and both parties not united under one common head, the furious unbridled populace v/ili rage 'till the Sp***fli goads fliall have reduced them again to obedience." " You have divined my moft fecret thoughts," the Irifhman replied. I was as if dropt from the clouds. " Then I have entirely mifconftrued your words," 1 replied, " 1 am to endeavour to obtain an edi8: in virtue of which the Porf^***ze nobility are to be bound to enter in the fervice of Sp**n, under the penalty of lofmg their eftates; I am to advife the minifter to feize the Duke of B a? Did you not fay fo ?" ^'Exaaiyfo!" " However, if the P — e nobility fliould enter into the Sp***fh fervice, how are they to be a6live in the fervice of their "country If the Duke of Bra***za fhould be feized, how will it be poffible that he fhould become the head of the confpi- rators ?" Heaven MAGICAL DELUSION, S3 " Heaven forbid your ifs fhouid be realized !" " But why the preparations for it? In- deed I do not comprehend you." You foon fhall; only fuffer me to go on. The people muft be fupported by the accelTion of the nobility and clergy, and all parties guided by a common leader; thus far you' are perfe^lly right : and in order to eiFe8: that purpofe every prepara- tion has been made, and the general com^ motion will be effeded in a harmonious and regular manner, if ever it can be ef- fefted. But, deareft Duke, you look upon what may happen as already exift- ing. I was faying juft 'now, that matters have almojl been carried to the higheft pitch ! one moment of rafhnefs may ruin the moft prudent plan. It is true, that the people and the clergy are v/aiting anx~ ioufly for the fignal of a revolution ; how- ever the nobility are not fufficiently ex- afperated. Once already have they been ordered to enter into the fervice- of Sp**n again ft the Cata**nians ; however they were fatisfied to evince their difplea- fure filently, by obeying the edicl reluQ- E 6 antly S4 THE VICTIM OF antly and negligently. If in this fituation of affairs that ediQ fhould be renewedj and the tranfgrelfors punifhed by the fei- zure of their eftates, their refentment, which is burning under the enibers, %vill foon huT^ out into a blaze ; then all the ftates of the empire will be equally pro- voiced, and it will be feafonable for the Duke of Bra***za to give the fignal for a general commotion." But is not this very Duke to b^ feized and imprifoned ? ' Neither is he to be feized, nor are the Port****ze nobility to enter i^nto the Spa**ih fervice, but both parties are to be provoked, by the fevered oppreflion, in fuch a manner that their refentment may break out into open revolt." His father would not have wanted ftich a violent incitement ; the Duke has, however, inherited very little of the fpirit of his parent « A rafh * The Grandmother of the Duke of Brag**za had already attempted to enforce her claim to the throne ; fhe was, liowever, obliged to yield to fuperior power. His farther was hurt fo much at the Iof» of the crown, that MAGICAL DELUSION. gj A rafh refolution is not always the firmeft, nor is a precipitate deed always the beft. And befides, the undertaking of the Duke of Bra***za is of fuch a na- ture, that he rifks nothing lefs than his own and his family's welfare ; it requires therefore a more mature confideration « But if he fliould flinch back !'* His that he had formed the defign to feize the King of Sp**n when he flopped at his palace at Vi**ciofa, OO' his journey to Li*bonj and not to fet him at liberty till he fhould have renounced to him the crown of Por- ***al. His friends reprefented to him how impoffible it would be to accomplifh this defign ; however he could not be perfuaded to defift From all farther at- tempts of getting poffeffion of the fceptre of Por***al, and his people were frequently inftigated by him to qaarrel with the King*s Officers at Lifbon, on which occafion the populace evinced clearly how ftrong their attachment to the family of Bra***z;a was. But mat« ters were never pufned any farther, the proper time when the crown of Por***al (hould be reftored to its lawful poffiffors being not yet arrived. The old Duke was fo much grieved at his unfticcefsful attempt, that at length his reafon was difordered. He fpoke con- ftantly of war and arms, and ordered his family, on his death-bed, to bury him with Royal pomp, which was ai^ually done, though in fecret. Editor* U THEVICTIMOF - " His retreat mufl: be entirely cut ofFj and this is to be effefted by the execu- tion of the fecond commiffion which I have given you/* " How am I to underftand this ?" " You think this meafure would be too harfh and violent, however it is not a mere arbitrary artifice, but adapted to the fituation in which the Duke of Bra- ***za is at prefent. The minifter of Sp**n is not ignorant of the fermenta- tions in Po****al, and fufpe6ling the Duke to be the chief fource of them, his principal attention is direfted to him.— But what could Oliva^ez have attempted againft him as yet ? Open force would have been fruitlefs, and not only for- warded the general revolt, but alfo jufti- fied the a6lions of the Duke. He was therefore forced to have recourfe to art. At firft he conferred the government of Mi*an upon the Duke, in order to have an opportunity of getting him in his power ; however that keen-fighted noble- man declined that honour, pretending not to have fuflicient knowledge of the coun- try to acquit himfelf honourably of a trull M A G I C A L D E L U S I O N» of fo much importance. Soon after the minifter found another opportunity of laying a new fnare. . The King of Sp^*n having refolved to chaftife the rebelHous CataPnians in perfon, the Duke was very civilly invited to accompany him in the field ; but he begged to be ex- cufed, alledging that this would be at- tended with great expences, and that his finances were very low. However Oli- va*^z was not difcouraged by this refufal^ and has lately made a third attempt. A rumour having been fpread all over the country, that a French fleet was approach- ing the coafts of Po^^^^al, probably with a view to make a defcent, Oliva^z con- ferred upon the Duke an almoft unlimited power to make the requihte preparations againftthe impending invafion, andparticu- larlyto review all the ports, to fortify and to garrifon them. Meanwhile the Sp**ifh Admiral, Don Lopez Ox^^^co had re- ceived fecret orders to carry his fleet to a port where the Duke fhould be, to in- vite him to review it, and when he fhould have feized him, to fail with his prifoner to Sp**n, This, plan was however ren- dered ii THEVICTIMOF dered abortive by a dreadful ftorm, which difperfed the fleet, and forced the Admi- ral to defift from his defign of vifiting the Port****ze ports. No new attempt has been made fince, and the minifter is fx- lently hatching other artifices. Yet this calm is, without comparifon, more dread- ful than all the attempts which have been made. 1 know that he has an emiffary in Port***F) who watches fecretly every ftep of the Duke *, whofe liberty and life are in imminent danger. The ruin of the head of the conipiracy would be a mor- tal blow to the whole revolutionary ib- ciety; even the imprifonment of the Duke would unnerve the hands of the confpi- rators. If, therefore, the revolution is (o take place, the Duke muft be fecured againft the fecret machinations of the mi- nifter; I fay the /ecrel machinations, for if they fhould be carried on publicly, as it has been the cafe as yet, his fnares may eafily be evaded. For which reafon it will be matter of great importance to per- fuade the miniller to carry on his attempts in * This emiSary will fooa be introduced to the reader^ M A G I C A L D E L U S I O N. in the ufual way, and to efFe6l this will be in your power. Nay, you yourfelf muft frame and dire6l the defigns upon the Duke.'' I fear," faid I to the IriOimaa, " you expetl more from my feeble exertions than I fhall be able to perform." " Hear firft my plan ! You are to go, the day after to-morrow, to Oliva^ez.and to inform him that you have received in- telligence of the commotions in Por- **>.al — " Befides,'' I interrupted him, " OH- va*ez has told me to-day that he has re- ceived an account of thefe commotions from a certain Marchefe Ricieri, who 19 returned from his travels through For- *^*al.'' So much the better !" he replied, without returning my inquifitive look, or changing his countenance at the name Ricieri, " fo much the better! then you have a prefacer, to whofe introduction you can link your difcourfe. Tell, there- fore, the minifter, that the letter which you have received from Por***al makes u very plain to youj why the Duke had declined - THE VICTIM OF declined all the invitations which the court had given him. 01iva*ez will re- queft you to explain thefe words, and then you muft reply, that you fufpeft the Duke of Brag**za to avoid the neigh- bourhood of the Court, becaufe he is fenfible he has deferved the refentment of the King by his difloyalty. At the fame time you muft add, that you are very forry to be obliged to declare againft fo near a relation as the Duke ; that, how- ever, the voice of your confcience has more weight with you than that of con- fanguinity, and that your allegiance to the King of Sp*^n and your country, which has been reduced to the greateft diftrefs by the conftant internal commo- tions, does not fuffer you any longer to regard as a friend, the man who was the chief caufe of all thefe troubles. Thus you will gain the confidence of the mi- nifter, and he will afk you what meafures for feizing the Duke you think would be moft proper and fafe. Take hold of that opportunity to convince the minifter that, and for what reafon, violent meafures of any kindj would produce the worft con- fec^uencesv MAGICAL DELUSION. 92 fequences. Approve of the means which the wifciom of his policy has already adopted as the fafeft, by which the Duke ought to be perfecuted till no farther evafion fliould be left for him. Oliva- ^ ez will defire you to give him your opi- nion more at large, and then you mud addrefs him to the following purpofe : — I am of opinion that you ought to in= form the Duke of the misfortune which has befallen the fleet, and ta charge him, under the pretext that this had rendered the fituation of the empire very perilous, with the commiffion to infpe8: all the ftrong places of the kingdom, and to for- tify them where he fliall think it requifite. At the fame time you will do well to or= der all the commanders of the fortified towns to feize the Duke as fecretly as pof- fible. In order to prevent any evafions under the pretext of want of money, you muft fend him, at the fame time, a fum fufficient for defraying the expences of his journey." " .' " But fuppofe," faid I, " this propofal ftiould be accepted, how could the Duke of Brag*-^za cfcape the fnare Can 5* THEVICTIMOF " Can we not apprize him of his dan- ger ? If he cannot find means to efcape the fnare by dint of art, he muft have re- courfe to open force, and call to arms. Thus the revolution will begiuj and our chief aim be attained." " One can predi6l," the Irifhman con- tinued, with fome degree of certainty, that 01iva*ez will not reje6l that propo- fal, which is nothing but a continuation of his former plan, and, of courfe, will flatter his conceit. As foon as you fhall have carried this point, you muft endea- vour to effe6l the promulgation of the edi8; againft the nobility; which will be no difficult tafk, if you pretend to have been informed by letters from Por**^*al, that the major part of the nobility is en- tirely devoted to the Duke, and will fup- port him if a revolt fhould break out. — Hence you may draw the conclufion that the fermentation in Por**^al will never Ceafe, and the A\rifeft meafures againft him, though ever fo fuccefsful, will not have the defired effect, while the nobility fhall not be employed fomewhere elfe, and forced to fubjnit to the edift by which they MAGICAL DELUSION, they are ordered to enter into the fervice of Sp**n, I advife you, at the fame time, to add, that the indulgence which has been fliewn to thofe who have refufed to obey the proclamation of the Court, will ren- der the nobility more daring, and the Duke of Brag**za more dangerous. In fhort, you muft exert every power of perfuafion to incite the miniiler to renew and to enforce that edict/* After a fhort paufe the Irifhman added: — This advice would appear fufpicious, if propofedby any other perfon but your- felf. You have gained, already, his con- fidence to fuch a degree, that it wirll de- rive additional ftrength from your appa- rent zeal. And indeed every thing that can contribute to remove all traces of fufpicion from you concurs in your per- fon ! The propofals which you are to make have not only the appearance of deftroying the defign of the Duke and the confpirators, but you have alfo been on your travels when they were fabricated, and of courfe, cannot be fufpe8:ed of having the lead fhare in them. While you have been here your time has been fpent 94 T H E V I C T I M O F fpent in amufements and diverfions, how could you, therefore, be fuppofed to have been capable of paying any attention to deep laid intrigues of ftate ? On the con- . trary, the minifter is no ftranger to your father's fidelity to the King of Sp*'^in5 and of the fecret hatred which your fa- mily harbours againft the Duke of Bra- g**za; how could, therefore, your pro- pofal appear to him otherwife than natu^ ral and fincere? Your friendfliip for Ve- las*os alone would be fufficient to make him believe fo." " I need not to remind you," added the Irifhman, when he was going to leave me," not to forget to intereft the Secre- tary of State, Suma*ez, for your tran- faftions." " But.fuppofe," I replied, " I fliould acquit myfelf of my charge to your fatif- faftion, how am I to conceal the matter from my father ?" The Irifliman replied after a momen- - tary confideration : " If the minifter fhould approve your propofals, you muft requeft him frankly not to mention any thing to the Marquis, pretending to in- tend MAGICAL DELUSION. 9^ tend to furprife him in an agreeable man- ner, by an oral account, when the whole affair fhall be happily concluded." Before he took leave, he enjoined me to be circumfpeft, courageous, and active. I cannot fay w^hether it was owing to the execution of this advice, to the facility of the tafk, or to favourable acci- dents, that I carried my point without difficulty. The minifler approved my plan; the Duke of B a received the above mentioned order along with 40,000 ducats, and the edi8: concerning the no- bility was renewed. However, the Duke of B a again efcaped the fnare. He did, indeed, execute the orders of the Sp**"*f}i court, travelled all over Por"**« ■^^1, and obferved every where hov/ the people v/ere devoted to him ; the money he had received, and the power that was entrufied to him., enabled him to gain many friends, and he entered the fortified towns fo well efcorted, that none of the Sp*-^^"^{h governors dared to feize him. The Iriihman who gave me this infor- mation; provided me at the fame time with THE VICTIM OP with inflru6lions how to a6l if the miniller fliould complain of the mifcarriage of my plan, which foon happened. 01iva*ez acquainted me very peevifhly, with the bad fuccefs of our undertaking, " We may yet carry our point,*' I replied, after fome refleftion, with feeming unconcern. If you wifli to purfue your plan, you may eafily lay a new fnare for him, from which the Duke will not be able to extri- cate himfelf. You have the bed oppor- tunity of fending him an order to repair to Mad**d, and to make to his Majefty an oral report of the ftate of Port*"**l.'* The miniiier approved of this advice, and carried it into execution without de- lay. The Duke of B a, who was well aware that the order from the Sp***fli court could not be declined any longer, fent his Chamberlain to Mad**d in order to hire a palace, to engage a number of fervants, and to make every preparation for his pretended arrival, but neverthelefs did not come. One time he pleaded ill health, at another time want of money, and at laft, wifhed to know what rank* he was to hold at Mad*M. However,! was fo q fortunate ^ MAGICAL DELUSION. 97, forLiinate as to guide the miniiler in Tuch ^ a manner that every obftacle vas re- moved at laiT. and the Duke received 6000 ducats for defraying the expences of his journey. Now," faid the Iriflinian to me, ^- the. Duke will find it impoffible to fliift any longer, and either muft repair to x\Iad' "^d, which he will take care not to do. or give the fignal for the revolution. Your bull- nefs, my Lord, is finifhed, and nothing further will be required of you than the ftriclell fecrecy. When your country will be free, v;e fliall meet again, and then you may expecl to fee all my promifes accompnfned." I thanked him, and when he v:as going to leave me, afl^ed him, hovr does our royal hermit do ?" He — — - is well, and you iliall hear from him as ibon as the Duke of E — ~a fliiU have dilpoilhflbd the King of Sp^n of the throne of P— t 1." But my old friend — — " Will loon prels vou again to his bo= iom;^ And Amelia ^ Vol. Ill, F Con- 9$ T H E V i C T I M O F Confidering the terms on which you already are with her, you will not be in want of the affiftance of my power." So faying, he took a friendly leave of me. It was indeed high time that the Irifh- man releafed me from my engagement, for my ftay at Mad — d began to grow ex - tremely irkfome to me. An irrefiftible power urged me to return to her who had inthralled me with magic bonds. My feparation from her, and the letters 1 re- ceived from the dear woman, had heated my palTion to the higheft degree. Her letters, breathing nothing but tendernefs and affeQion, were indeed entirely defti- tute of that fiery impetuofity of love which charafterifed mine; however, this was jufl adding fuel to the flame, v/hich con- fumed me. I felt that I could not live without her. She did not indeed encou- rage my hope of getting poifefTion of her hand, yet fhe did not repel it entirely, and feveral hints which Lady Delier had given me, ferved to fupport it. I was already computing with rapture the effe6l which my unexpeded arrival would produce on Amelia^ and made the neceifary prepara- tions ■ MAGICAL DELUSION. 99 tions for my return to her without appri- fing her of it ; however, my foul preceded thefe preparations, and only the lefier part of it was remaining at Mad — d; no wonder, therefore, that the letters of my father, and the Marquis of Ferei^a, which recalled me to Port— I, had no effect upon me. ' I cannot divine," the Marquis wrote to me, ^ what may have induced your fa- ^ ther to jreturn this year to the capital ' much earlier than ufual. However, I ^ can tell you that you Vvill fcarcely know * him again v/hen you fliall fee him. ^ Ever iince he pretends to have feen the ' ghoft of Count Santeval, he is changed ' moft wonderfally. He is in a (late of ^ utter apathy, gloomy and referved, and ' I may truly fay, fuperftitious. He ' avoids, fince his late illnefs, as much > as decency will permit, all conver- ' fation, even mine. There is but one ' perfon w^ho ha.s free accefs to him, and ^ feems to have poffefTed himfelf entirely ^ of his confidence. Let me give you a ^ d^fcription of' that man, F 2 ^ Ima« .-00 THE VICTIM OF ' Imagine to yourfelf an elderly man ^ above the middle fize, with a long, thin * face, a yellov/ complexion, a ftrongly ^ furrowed brow, hollow, fmall, and red * eyes, and daring, almoft deadened ^ features, which, when he fmiles, change ^ into a kind of grinning. This phyliog- * nomy, of which no faithful verbal def- ' cription can be given, and which has ' been ftamped in a mod unfavourable * manner by nature's forming hand, is ' foftened by an afiefted air of piety ; how- ' ever, if examined minutely and narrow- ' ly, peeps with increafed horrors through * the borrowed veil. This countenance * appears to me like a dreadful myftery, * and I cannot behold it without fecret ^ terror. The tout enfemble of that man * exa6lly fits this head—a fneaking gait~a ' {looping neck — a grey coat — but you * muft and will fee himi yourfelf. I hate * him from the bottom of my foul, and ' think that he is not capable of a good « a6lion, and that his mere prefence muft ' be fufficient to difpel even from the ' hearts of others every noble fentiment. « It would be a myftery to me, how your * father MAGICAL DELUSION, lo j * father can conveiTe with him, if I did ' not know that he has been bh-nded by ' his hypocrify and devout difcourfes, * That man (he calls himfelf Alumhrado ) ^ pretends to be regenerated, and talks a ^ great deal of the gifts of fupernatural ^ light. Your father, who takes for fter- * ling truth whatever comes from his lips, ' feems to be more charmxcd with him ' every day. O hailen, my fiiend, to de- ^ liver your faiher from this ignoble, and-, ^ as I fear, dangerous enchantment. I ' think that an emotion like that which ' the fight of you. after folong a feparation, ' mull caufe in the mind of your father will ^ be neccifary to roufe him from his ^ apathy 5 &c. cfeco &c.' My fituation rendered this letter, as I have already mentioned, inefFe6luaL The apprehenfions of the Marquis appeared to me exaggerated; his unfavourable judg-. ment of Alumbrado. originating from phyfiognomhcal reafons unjuft, and un- charitable, and m.y father old and fenhble enough to (ee and avoid the danger, if any fhould be exiiting. 1 deemed the re- T 3. turn 'joz T .H E V r C T I IvI O F turn to the Countefs much more preffing than the journey to P— — 1, took leave of Oliva^^z and Surname z, affiiring them that the affair concerning the Duke of B— — a had been puihed to a point where it foon would come to a crifis without our affill- ance. They were of the fame opinion^ and difrfiiiTed me in a very obliging man- ner. I had already made every preparation for fetdng out the next morning, when a .letter from Amelia and Lady Delier de- feated my defign. The former informed m.e that a preffing letter from her uncle, who was on the brink of eternity, and de- fired to fee her once more before his deaths rendered it neceifary for her to haften to Cadiz. In the letter of the Baronefs, which, amongft others, contained the di- reBion of the Countefs at Cadiz, the por- trait of Amelia was enclofed. Amelia's portrait! the im.age of thofe heavenly charms, the contemplation of which would afford delight even to angels, and the lifelefs imitation' of which filled my foul with rapture. O ! with what an iinfpeakable delight did my entranced eyes. MAGICAL DELUSION. log eyes imbibe them! hovv did the fight of fhem recall to my enraptured bofom all thofe fweet emiOtions which the prefence of the original had formerly excited in niy bread. This foftened the blow vrhich repelled me fo luddenly from the port of happinefs- which 1 fancied I had alrnoft reached. Alas ! this blow inflicled a deep wound on my heart, which at once found all the' fweet prefentiments of meeting again changed into the namciels throbs of a new feparation. However, the fight of the picfure reprefenting to m^e the abient dar- ling of my heart, and the fec;^-et meaning of that gift gave me (bine comfbrt5 ^^^d in- (pired me with new hopes. Who elie bux my Amelia could have f:nt me that pre ■ fent ? Her letter did. indeed, contain onl')^ a few diiiant hints, and the pitlure vras enclofed in that of Lady Delier ; yet this did not miiguide me, for I was too well acquainted with Amelia's delicacA\ I refolved now to return to my father^ and to prepare him for my union with the Countefs. I04 T HE VICTIM OF I a61ed wifely in furprifing him by my fuclden arrival, for otherwife he would, probably, not have received me widi that kindnefs to which my unexpefted appear- ance impelled him. No fooner were the firfl moments of mutual fondnefs paft, ■when he faid, with apparent coldnefs, ^'^the world muft have had very irrefifti- ble charms for you ?" The charms of novelty, my dear father." . - " It muft have been very painful to you to return to your paternal houfe ; for it feems vou had almofi forgot your way homeward.'' ^ I had much to fee, and have ex- pei;ienced a great deal 1" " I do not doubt it"; you have had very little leifure for thinking of your father." : , /. I endeavoured to refute this reproach which I had expeQed, and fucceeded pret- ty well. The Marquis grew warmer and more affeftionate ; he enquired after my tutor and Count Clairval. It feem.ed to wound him deeply tliat I could give no fatisfaftory account of the former. With regard MAGICAL DELUSION. 105 re^:^ard to the latter, I told him that im- portant family affairs had called him from me unexDeciedly, '■ ^. My father appeared then not to be in a favourable difpofition for liilening to an account of my connexion with the Countefs, and ho^v ftrongly foeverthe im- pulfe of my heart pre (fed m.e to fpeak oa that fubjeft, yet prudence advifed me to wait for a more favourable opportunity. The following morning appeared to me propitious for that purpofe. My father Vv'as very cheerful, and I contrived being. farprifed by him with Amelia's picture in my hand. " What have you there he aked TOG' " The pi61_ure of the Dowager Countefs of Clairval/' How far is fne related to your tra- vel ling companion ?" .'^ She was married to his brclher." So young, and already a widov/ faidhe, looking at the piHure; I fhould have miilaken it for the picture of a girl o f fe \ e n te e n )■ e ar s . H o w e v e r j th e p ai nt er s are ufed to fl.-tter.". . ,". . . F 5 V ' ■ ^ I affiire 185 T H E V I C T I M O F " I allure you, the original pofTefTes numberlefs charms which have. efcaDed the artiit." " Then the Countefs muFt be extreme- ly hanclfome." She is an angel." The face is more interefling than handfome." " Handfome and interefling to an high degree.'* " You are in love with her.'* My father— " 1 iliould be very forry at it." " For what reafon ?'* I afKed, thunder- iiruck. The young Princefs of L***^— what do you think of her?" I don't like her at all."' " This would grieve me extremely, for I have chofen her for your wife My heart has already chofen. Your confent, my father — " ^' The Countefs of Clairval ? Never !" Y'ou don't know her. Her family and fortune are very confiderable." I liope you will not liken her, in that refpeclj to the Princefs of L**** ?" « Not IvI A G I C A L DELUSION. 107 Xot at all ! but the annable cha- racter cf the Countefs — The character of the Princefs is with- out blame. My dear fon, eonfider the fplendor and the honotir which our fa- mily vrould derive from that alliance. Confider that you v;iH render me happy by that union. When you, by my dehre, broke off your connexion with a certain Barbis, you revived my hope of feeing you aUied to the fam.ily of L**^* ; do not thwart my plan by a new love, do not crofs my fondeft willies. You are, in- deed, your own miafter, and may chufe for yourfelf ; you mult, however, not ex- pect my confent and a father's bleffing, if you do not marry the Princefs of L**"*. I am fenfible that it vrill give you pain to renounce the Countefs, and for that reafon will not prefs your farther at prefent. I fnall not defire you to come to a refolu- lution before the end of feven weeks. Till then, do not mention a vrord about the m.atter." Seeing that I was going to replv, he took me by the hand. Be a m.an,"" faid he; who knows how to conquer juvenile F 6 paSons. V jo8 T H E VICTIM O F pailions. Gain my regard as you have gained my afFeQ:ion. My life is joylefs, do not make me hate it. My dear foii, I have facriflced much for you, facrifice now in return a httle for your father!'' So laying, he left me. . O I why did he requeft me in /i{cb a manner to make him^ a facrifice v^hich would have rendered me miferable ! I wifhed then the firft time in my life that he had fpoken to me in a menacing, do- mineering, or only in a harfli tone, then I ihould have had a pretext for refilling him and enforcing my own will. But how^ could I have had the courage of contradifting that tender folicitation, that entreating perfuafion of a father. And yet, was I not neceflitated to do fome- thing worfe, to counterad my parent ? 1 never felt more flrongly than at that mo» ment, that it was utterly impofiible for me to renounce the poifeffion of Amelia » Alas ! never was a fituation more unfor- tunate than mine, and never has a human lieart been reduced to fuch a dreadful conflid with itfelf by two people fo dear as my father and Amelia were to me. I looked MAGICAL D E L U S I O N. 109 I looked around with weeping eyes in fearch of a perfon to whom I could un- bofom my ftraitened heart. I went to the Marquis of Ferei^'a.* I had not informed him of my return ; he uttered a fcream of joy when he faw me enter his apartment. However, his fatisfaftion at my return made room to forrow, when I acquainted him with my deplorable fituation. Yes, my friend!" faid he, after he had viewed me fome minutes with looks of pity, " if it is in vour power to fubdue that paffion, then let me implore you — " Don't finifli that fentence !" I inter- rupted him, it is impoffible V "If that is the cafe, then only two ways are left to you to attain the confent of your father ; one of w^hich is tedious and rugged, but ftraight." . " Name it V ; " You muft endeavour to work upon the nerves of the .paternal heart in fuch a ' " manner, * Here have I expunged a pldiure which the painter has drawn of me, with too much partiality. Marquis of Ferei^a., 219 THE VICTIM OF manner, that his afFe6lion for you gets the better of his ambition." " And the fecond — ^' Is a bye-road which will lead you foon and fafely to the mark- — ferpents are, however, lurking on that road, and tygers lying in ambufh—" Dont't name it 1" I will name it, in order to caution you againft it— it is called — Alumbrado. O my friend !" fqueezing my hand affec- tionately, " go take the ftraighteft road." " That I will, you have given me a very bad character of that Alumbrado." And would not retra6l a fyllable of what I have wrote." " Where is he, I have not yet feen him." " He is abroad." I am curious to get acquainted with Don't come near him, left he catch • you in the fame fnare in which he has caught your father." " Fear nothing, I fhall endeavour to deliver my father from that fhameful cap-^ tivitv." O ! if MAGIC AL DELUSION. iir O ! if you could do it! But be on your guard, left he whom you are going to draw out of the pit, drag you after him into the abyfs." I promifed itj and he clafped me in his arms. > - Previous to my departure from P -I^ I had promifed the Marquis to keep a journal, and to infertthemoft remarkable incidents, which I was to communicate to him after my return. He enquired now after that journal. " It abounds with remarkable inci- dents," I replied, " and you will learn ftrange things on perufmg it : I have not mentior>ed a fyllable of them in my let- ters to you, in order to furprife you. However, you muft curb your curioiity till I fhall have arranged my papers." The Marquis confented to my re- queft. My noble friend ! you will forgive me that artifice. It was a mere pretext, in order to ftay your curiofity till the re- volution ihould have taken place ; for I had promifed the Irilhman to obferve the ftri£left filence till then, It was no mill ru ft 11-2 T H E VICTIM OF ' iniftrufl: that influenced me, but duty im- pofed upon me by the promife I had made; and the event proved that I a8:ed wifely in doing fo." Four days after my firil meeting with my friend, the Irifnman flopped me one evening in going home. His eyes llafhed like lightning, his features were diftorted^ his countenance was truly dreadfuL " Have you," faid he, grinding his teeth, betrayed the confpiracy to Vafcon- *ellos ? ' " No." 1 replied. Have you warned him of the im-pending danger in fome other manner ?" " No." " Have you difeloied the fecret to one of your friends?" To no man living," "Can you pledge your honour for the truth of your declaration ?" " I can." Thefe queftions fucceeded each other rapidly, and he left me with equal haile* I WaS almoft petrified at this incident. My adonifhment, however, i oon save place to a different fenfation, for I con- cluded from the v/ords, and the pertur- bation of the Iriihman, nothing lefs than that the plot had been diicovered.. The intelligence v/liich 1 gained afterwards z feemed M A G I C A L D E L U S I O N, 113 feemed to confirm this conje6lure. Vaf- concel*os had left his caftle fuddenly and croffed the river Ta*o, a circuinriance that juflly had raifed the fufpicion of his having difcovered the plot through one of his niimberlefs fpies, and inilantly made preparations for feizing the confpirators. However, this apprehenfion was refuted that very night. VafconceP^os had only been at a feaft, and returned late at night in high fpirits, and preceded by a band of muficians, not fufpe8:ing that he would be a dead man at that hour the following night. I myfelf did not im.agine that the revolution would break out fo foon, al- though 1 knew that event to be drawing near. The day following, (December 1, 1640) at eight o'clock in the morning, the confpirators repaired in fmall divi lions from all parts of the town to the Ducal Palace, partly on horfeback, and partly on foot, but moft of them in coaches or chairs, in order to conceal their arms. The number of noblemen, moft of whom Vv'ere the chiefs of their families, amounted to fifty, and that of the citizens to two hundred. As foon as it had ftruck eight by 'Sm^ TKEVICTIMOr by the clock of the cathedral, Pintc? Rib**ro5 one of the Duke s privy couii- feilors, gave the lalt fignal for the attack by firing a piftol, and the confpirators marched to the different places of thei$ deftination. Pinto Rib^'^ro repaired with his troop to the palace of Valcon'^ellos, who was fo little prepared for the unexpe6led at- tack, that he fcarcely could get time to conceal himfelf in a cheft. However he was difcovered, fainted with a piilol fliot, ftabbed with a number of poniards, and thrown out of the v/indow amid the loud exclamation : The tyrant is dead I long live liberty and King Johnj the new So» vereign of Port**'-!!" The populace who were afTcmbled, un- der the windows of the palace, repeated thefe vv'ords with loud acclamations of joy. In order to prote6l the corpfe againft the fury of the mob, the fociety of cha- rity preffed their way through the crowd and carried it away on a bier, which is only ufed at the burials of flaves. Meanwhile another troop had pene- trated into the palace of the Vice-Queen, The, MAGICAL DELUSION, 1 1,5 The Archbiiliop of Bra^a, who was with her, and as a near relation of Vafconcel**S5 had alfo been doomed to deftru6lion5 was faved with great difnculty from the fury of the confpirators by the interceflion of Miguel d'AFeida. The Vice -Queen turned to the confpirators when they ruflied into her apartment, declaring that Vafconce^los had deferved their hatred, but that they would be treated as rebels if they fliould proceed a fcep farther. She however was told, that fo many nobles liad not affembled merely on account of a wretch who ought to have been exe- cuted by the public hangman, but in or- der to re (lore the crown to th^ Duke of Bra — -za, who was the lawful owner of it. The Vice- Queen began to talk of the power which fiie had been entrufted with by the King of Spa*n. The reply was, that no one could be acknowledged as King but John, Duke of B~a. She now offered to run out of the apartment in order to implore the aififtance of the people ; however fom.e of the noblemen flopped her, telling her it would be dan-- gerous to fuffer her to appear before a people ii6 -THE VICTIM OF people who had been opprefTcd many years, and were highly exafperated. — • And v/hat could the people do to me fhe faid with fcornful looks. Nothing elfe but throw your Flighnefs out of the window;" one of the noblemen replied. The Archbilhop of Bra'-a was fo much exafperated at this fpeech, that he feized a fword in order to avenge the Vice» Queen. Almei*a however embraced and entreated him to retire, becaufe he had had great difficulty to perfuade the con- fpirators to fpare his life. This difco- very difarmed at once the zeal of the Prelate. Meanwhile the chiefs of the Spani— -ds had been feized, and the confpirators re- quefted the Vice-Oueen to fend an order to the Commander of St. Ge^^ to furren- der; for that caftle, which commanded the whole town, was ftill in the polTeflion of the Spani— ds. The Vice-Queen re- fufed to comply with their requeft ; yet when flie was told that her refufal would be the fignal for killing all the imprifoned Spani—ds, ihe drev/ up the defired order, expefting that no attention would be paid to MAGICAL DELUSION. ij7 to it. However the commander of the caftle, who did not dare to defend him- felf, executed her order literally, and thus the town was freed of all fear. It is al- moft incredible how quickly and eafily the four troops of the confederates took the polls allotted to them, and gained their aim. But much more aftonifliing is the readinefs and the quicknefs with which not only the whole kingdom, but alfo all foreign fettlements followed the example of the capital. The revolution no fooner had begun than it was accom- plidied. It is the only one in its kind, and a fimilar one never will happen.— The execution of it proves with how much wifdom it has been dengned and conduced. It was, however, like a fudden clap of thunder to my father, and affeded him with redoubled force, becaufe it hap- pened fo unexpeQedly. The (low rifmg of the tempeft, the filent brewing on the political horizon had been concealed from him by his retirement from the world, and even the vifible forerunners of it, which at laft forced themfelves upon his lis T H E V I C T I M O F his eyes, appeared to him to be nothing but the lightning arifmg from tranfient vapours. The fudden eruption of the tempeft, and its confequences, ahuoft pe- trified him. His filent ftupor foon gave room to the loudell manifeftations of his diffatisfa^lion; and nothing but repeated perfuafions to yield to ftern neceffity and fuperiority, could prevail upon him to remain quiet. His refentment againil the new King remained however rankling in his heart ; he did homage to the Sovereign with vi- fible fatisfadion, and, as I fufpeft, not without fecret refervation, while I fwore to him the oath of allegiance, in -hopes that I fhould foon renew it to the lawful King, who was ftill concealed. My country now was delivered from the Spa- n— h yoke, but my heart remained in the thraldom of love. The fetters which it was chained with were, indeed, nothing •but garlands, but neverthelefs ftronger 4han bonds of adamant; how was it there- fore to be expelled, that I fhould have been inclined and capable to obey my -father^ who wanted me to break them ? This MAGICAL DELUSION. This bondage was fo fweet to me, and my fliaring it with an adored woman, ren- dered it dearer to me than the mod un- bounded liberty ; it was my fole and moft ardent wifh to tie the bonds by which we were united fliil fafter. But alas ! my father defired me not to mention a fyl- [able of a union with Amelia, and with» out his fanftion I durft not expeQ her confent! Tlie Marquis of Ferei'^a ex- haufted in vain all his eloquence in or- der to melt the flinty heart of my inex* orable parent. In that wretched fituation I fent feveral times for Alumbrado's af- fillance, yet I always fhrunk back at the idea of owing any obligation to that man* His firft vifit confimied the remarks of the Marquis, and all the civilities he la- vifiied upon me, ferved only to ftrengthen my antipathy againfi him. My foul was as gloomy as my exterior fituation. The view of my heaven was overdarkened by clouds »which grev/ darker and darker. Only one ftar was glimmering through the blacknefs of that difmal night : one fmgle fiar to which I could dire6l my weeping eyes. I was confident that the I Irifli- 129 THE VICTIM OF Irifhman could be no firanger to my comfortlefs fituation, and would aid me by his power, imagining that he now had the beft opportunity of rewarding my re- liance in him, and would undoubtedly conduft me over infurmountable obftacles to the promifed land of happinefs. Mean- while the time when my father expelled my declaration for the Princefs of L*** was approaching with gigantic ftrides, and the Irifhman did not appear. Anxiety ftruggled with my hope. I enquired every where for my proteQor, but I en- quired in vain, and my anxiety increafed to black defpair, 4^ * # * # * * * * •CONTINUATION By the Marquis of FiiREr^A. Here a great deal is wanting in the me^ moirs of the Duke of Cami^a, which I cannot leave unfupplied, otherwife an im- portant part of his Jiiftory will be loft, and MAGICAL DELUSION. 121 and the reft remain obfcure. To fill up this empty fpace, will be the laft duty of friendfliip I (hall be able to perform for that unhappy man. I fhall, therefore, continue his mournful tale, till I can con- ne6l again the thread of my narration to the remaining papers of the Duke. The grief availing the heart of my unhappy friend foon depi6Led itfelf fo ftrongly in his countenance, that 1 began to tremble for his health. Alas! my ap- prehenfion was but too foon realized, his fufferings being increafed, by an informa- tion he received from the brother of the new King, to a degree which entirely overcame his enfeebled fpirits. ' My deareft friend,' the Prince wrote to him, ' I have not difcontinued, fince ' your departure, the inquiries after your * tutor, which 1 began when you was * here. However, I ftiould undoubtedly ^ have continued them with the greatell ' prudence and adivity, without coming ' any nearer to the mark, if the very man * whom I had been endeavouring to find ^ out had not fpared me that fruitlefs ' talk. Vol. IJL G « Yes, lit THE VICTIM OF « Yes, my friend, your tutor has per» « fonally furprifed me in a moil pleafing < manner. But, O ! my friend, moderate « your joy when reading thefe lines. The * meeting with that dear man was like an <^ airy vifion, which appears and vanifhes * again after a few moments. Your tutor * came, and went to thofe realms from ' whence no mortal can return. ' Five days are now elapfed, fmce he « aftoniflied me, one morning, by his un- ' expeded vifit. I foon obferved with * furprife, that he returned the manifefta- ' tions of my joy with much reftraint, while * his inquifitive looks were doubtfully di- « reeled at m.e. His relation foon unfolded « this myftery. ^ Will you believe it, my friend, that ^ in that very night, when we expelled him * in vain with fo much impatience and anxiety, he had been taken up fecretly, * carried off, and imprifoned ? He was * on his way to my houfe, when he met a * carriage which he miftook for mine. In * this opinion he was confirmed, when the * coachman flopped the horfes, and a fcr- ^ vant in my livery opened the coach ^ door MAGICAL D E L U 3 I 0 xN. izj * door for him. Tw^o unknown gentle- « men, ^vho were fitting in the carriage, ' begged him to get m, pretending to have ' been fent by me to fetch him. He join- < ed them without hefitation, and when * the coachman drove out of the town ' gate, inftead of taking the road to my * houfe, he was told that one more gueft « vras to be fetched. This pretended gueft ^ made his appearance in the fuburbs, * and as foon as he had s^ot in the carriacie, * pointed a dagger at the heart of your tu-- ' tor. while his tv:o aiTociates feized and ' tied his hands. All this was effected be- ' fore Count Galvez could gain time for ^ rehllance, which would have been equal- ' ly dangerous and fruitlefs. He vras told ' that if he would fubmit filentlv to his « fate, no injury fhould be offered him', ' but that he would be ftabbed without * mercy if he fliould cry for auiifancc ; ' at the fame time he vras blindfolded, * and after about half an hour's ride, the ^ carriage ftopped, when your tutor was <^ taken out of it, and conduced over * feveral flights of (leps. through loner G 2 *^ paiTageSj S24 THE VICTIM OF * paffages, in a room where he was fhat * up, and left alone. * When Count Galvez removed the ^ bandage from his eyes, he found himfelf * in a fpacious apartment, lighted wdth * lamps ; two fmaller rooms were on each ' fide, but none of them had windows. « Some time after his arrival, two maflied * men brought him viftuals and drink, * which afterwards was repeated every ' noon and evening. He was in want of * nothing, liberty excepted. He could * not leave his apartments, which were ^ bolted on the outfide, and having not * been able to perfuade his mafl^ed attend- * ants to anfwer to his queftions, he could * not learn where he was imprifoned. The * frequent chiming of bells, the finging * of hymns, which feemed to be very near * him, and feveral other circumftances, * made him, however, fuppofe that he was * confined in a cloiiler. ' It is remarkable, that during his con- ^ finement, he was obliged to fit to a * fculptcr, who executed his ftatue fo maf- * terly, that it refembled him in the moil * flriking manner* The artift too was X * mafked. M A G I C A L DELUSION, 1 2 5 * mafked, and nothing could perfuade^ ^ him to tell for what purpofe the ftatue- * was defigned. ' At length the wiflied-for hour of en- * largement arrived. The prifoner wa^ * called up between one and two o'clock * in the morning, and ordered to prepare ^ for his departure. He w^as blindfolded ^ and conducted to the ftreet, w^rere he ' w^as placed in a coach, and threatened * with inftant death if he fnould dare to ' utter a fyilable. After half an hour's ' ride, he w'as taken out of the coach, * upon which, his conductors drove av/ay ' at a furious rate. As foon as he per- ' ceived that he Vv^as alone, he removed ' the bandage from his eyes, and found ' himfelf in a lonely part of the fuburbs, ' and with the firfl dawn of day called at * my houfe. ' As foon as Count Galvez had linifhed * his extraordinary tale, I fumm.cned my ' fervants, in order to clear myfelf from a ^ fufpicion which afRitled me feverely, ^ and examined them rigoroufly in his ' prefence. It was, however, proved that ^ my horfes and carriages^ as well as all G- Q . ^ mv J '.6 T H E VICTIM OT ^ my fervants, had been at home at the ' hour when the Count was carried off, * which rendered it very probable that * the Unknown muft have imitated my * equipage and livery, -in order to enfnare ' the Count with greater eafe. ^ Your tutor enquired much, and with * great affection after you ; I told him as * much as I knew, but he was not fatisfied * with it. The following morning he de- ^ parted for Lifb^n, in hopes of meeting ^ you there, after a long and painful fepa- ' radon. I rode on horfeback by his car- ' riage in order to accompany him a few * miles; the impatient defire of feeing * you foon m.ade your tutor urge the ' podiilion to prefs his horfes onward; * the fellow was offended at the inceffant ' folicitations of the Count, and drove ' flower, which vexed our friend to fuch ^ a degree, that he exhorted the poRillion ' rather warmly to proceed fafter, adding ' fome menaces. The poftillion being ' provoked by your tutor's threats, whip- ^ ped his horfes furioufly, w^ithout taking ^ proper notice of the neighbourhood of ^ the precipice^ which you will recoiled ; ^ the MAGICAL DE LU SI PN, i^f ^ the animals grew wild, and the car- ^ riage was precipitated into the abyfs. ' The Count fcarcely breathed, when he ' received aiTiilance, a.nd the poftillion * was darned to pieces againft the rocks. ' 1 ordered intlantly all poffible care to * be taken of our friend; however^ a vio- ' lent vomiting of bloody the confequence ^ of a contufion on his bread, put an end ' to his life the fubfequent day. A few ^ minutes before his death, he wrote the * following note* but was foon interrupted * by a fainting ht. " Ere while we were feparated by meiij but now we are going to bedifunited by God, I do not murmur; yet I fhould have been happy to fee vou once more, ^* On the brink of eternity I am expand- ^» ing my handsj bleffing thee, excellent young man! Weep not at my death; we fliall m^eet again in yon blifsful man- fions, where all good men fhall be re- " united for ever. Honour my memory " by keeping firm to my principles, which from rr.y foul, flowed over in your mind." G 4; * Two ?2g THE VI CTIM OF ' Two mortal wounds like thofe which « the ill-fated love affair, and the death of * Count Galvez, infliBed on the heart of ' my friend, confined him to a fick bed. ' Now happened v/hat I had dreaded, with- * out my having been able to prevent it. * Alumbrado, who was returned from his * journey, intruded an my friend, and ' foon traced out the fafeft road to his * heart. My friend was weak enough to * communicate to him the fituation in * which he was with regard to Amelia; ' and Alumbrado hefitated not a moment ' to procure him the confent of his father, * The power exercifed by that man over ' the Marquis was fo great, that the latter ' fuffered himfelf to be perfuaded to write ' to the Countefs, and to invite her, in * the mod honourable and flattering man- * ner, to render his fon happy by giving * him her hand. ' The Duke wrote only the following * few lines : My deareft love ! I addrefs myfelf to *^ you on the brink of the grave ; your hand can fave or hurl me down; my «^ doom reils with you, O 1 come, angelic woman. MAGICAL DELUSION. 129 woman, and lead me from the gate of " death to a paradifiacal life ; come and reward my love, which alone fupports my breaking heart." P. S. " Vafconcel^os has bled under the avenging fword of the redeemers of my country." ' The anfwer of the Countefs was ta ^ the following purport : 0 \ that this letter could fly on the pinions of love, in order to carry in- " ftantly to my friend health and joy. Yes, your requeft is granted. Receive, *^ my deareft Duke, to whom my hear^ has yielded, receive my ban(^ too, and the vow of eternal fidelity. My uncle " having recovered his health, nothing " fhall detain me from embarking in the " firft veffel which fhall fail for Port***L The idea that your beft wifhes, the blef- fing of your father and my uncle, and " the guardian genius of love, will con- " duQ: me on my voyage, will affift me ^' to conquer my fear of the fea. I fhould never have done writing if this letter " did not require expedition, and my friend; who arrived here the day before G 5 'J yefter- I30 T HE V I C T I M O F " yefterday, infiiled upon adding a few words to thofe of €s Your " Amelia Clairval.** " Give me leave, my Lord, to add only my fincereft congratulations, and " to aflc your Grace, whether you do not acknowledge now as a foothfayer Your humble and obedient fervantj Anna dz Dklier." -The Duke had began to mend rapidly ever fmce the Marquis confented to his union with Amelia; the letter of the Countefs redored his health intirely. No mortal could be more happy and cheer- fal than the Duke of Cami*a. It was na- t'jral that Alumbrado, who, as the author of his happinefs, had no fmall claim to his gratitude, fliould acquire in his eyes a value, which intirely difpelled the antipa- thy he ai firft had conceived againft him^ 1 foon was made fenfibk of that change, wbeti MAGICAL DELUSION. 13 r when I took one time the opportunity of dropping a fev/ words concerning Alum- brado. " I cannot conceive," the Duke replied warmly, " why you are fo much prejudiced againft that man; it is true his phyfiognomy does not fpeak much to his recommendation; it is, however, very unphilofophical to condemn a perfou merely on account of his features," Say whatever you will/' I replied, an unde- fcribable repelling fenfation, which cer- tainly does not deceive me~" You have conceived an antipathy againft him,'" the Duke interrupted me^ ^"^ and that can-r not be refuted by arguments ; however,. I will remind you of a faft, which here will be in its proper place. Socrates^ v/hofe phyfiognomyy as you will recollect^, was very much to his difadvantage, hap- pened once to be ia^ a company of friends, when a philofopher, who pre- tended to be a phyliognomiil, took the word; he was requefted to delineate the charatler of Socrates, who was- a ftranger to him.. The philofopher named feveral vices which he preten-ded to read plainly in his face, A general laughter v/as-tli-e i3a THE VICTIM OF effed of his judgment; however, Sa-> crates remained ferious, and declared that he really had felt a natural propenfity to thofe vices, but had got the better of it by unremitted affiduity. The application of this inftance, I leave to your own good fenfe." " How?" I exclaimed with furprife, you compare Alumbrado with Socrates, an abfurd afcetic with a reverend fage, hypocrify with virtue ?" This enormous infatuation vexed me to fuch a degree, that i could not help giving vent to my jufl refentment. However, I perceived foon that my words did not make the lead impreffion on my mifguided friend. Eeing therefore obliged to defift from my endeavours to change the opinion of the Duke, I ftrove with additional afliduity to cut off his connexion with Alumbrado, at lead till he fliould be united to Ame- lia, expelling that this angel would foon drive away that demon of darknefs. I propofed to the Duke a journey to **ina, for the benefit of his health, and offered to accompany him. He confented to it without difficultyj expefting to beguile by exercife MAGICAL DELUSION, 135: cxercife and divcrfions, the time which, from his impatience of feeing Amelia ar- rive, appeared to him to creep on with fnail-like flownefs. My aim would how- ever have been attained without this ex- pedient, Alumbrado leaving Lisbon un* expeftedly } yet we fet out on our pro- pofed journey. We had not been feven days at **ina when the Duke was already impatient to leave that place. However improbable it was Amelia could arrive fo foon, yet this idea left him no reft. We returned on the eighth day, and travelled day and night. It was five o'clock in the m.orning, when we alighted at his palace. Scarcely had we entered his apartment when his Secretary brought a letter, which he faid had been left by a pilot at a late hour laft night. The Duke reddened and grew pale alternately, while he opened it. — " She is arrived, fhe is arrived !" he ex- claimed, and the letter dropped out of his hand trembling with rapture. " She is arrived!' he repeated, taking it up and re-perufingthegladful lines, The emotions of 3H T H E V I C T I M O P of his mind were fo violent, that he v;as obliged to fit down. Amelia is ar- rived 1" he exclaimed again, rifing and ftraining me to his bofom. The letter was couched in the following words ; * Has not your heart told you, my ^ deareft Duke, that I am near you ? I ^ fhould already have prefTed you to my « panting heart, if the Captain had fuf« * fered me to go in the boat which will ' fet the pilot on ihore. But he has op- « pofed by deiign, on account of the fwel- ' ling fea and the great diflance. If ^ Heaven favours us you will fee me ta» ^ morrow. « Your ^ Amelia/ Well, my friend," faid the Dukes "when I returned the paper to him, has my prefentiment deceived me ? have not 1 done well to urge our return -Butwhy do we tarry here ? (he added) let us fly to the harbour 1" The horfes w^ere inftantly faddled, and we mounted them in our travelling drefs.. MAGICAL DELUSION. 2^5 drefs. We rode in full fpeed. and each of us indulged filently his fentiments. — . The fl^y was gloomy, and the univerfal ftiUnefs, not interrupted by the leaft breeze of air, feemed to prefage no good. At length we fancied, with aftonifhment, we heard the diftant rolling of thunder; however we foon perceived that it was the echo caufed by the report of guns. The diftant firing of cannon, and the fore- runners of a rifing tempeft, thrilled my heart with chilling anxiety, for I appre- hended the fliip muft be in great danger. Soon after the firing ceafed, but this calm w^as more dreadful to me than the report of the cannon. We fpurred our horfes without uttering a word, for nei- ther of us dared to confefs his apprehen- fions. Being at length arrived at the fea fliore — ^ Heavens! v/hat a fcene of horror did we behold ! the furge was dreadful, the cliffs and the ftrand were covered wuth a white fpume* The rays of the fun could not penetrate the fog Vvhicli over- fpread the furface of the fea. We could, therefore, not difcover the ifland where the fbip v/as lying at anchor, it appear- in £ 2^6 THE VICTIM GF ing to US in the fhape of a black cloud, which feemed to be a mile diftant from the fhore. The veil which concealed the danger of the fhip from our eyes only ferved to augment our anxiety. A troop of mariners and foldiers un- der the command of Men^os, were ar- rived with us at the fliore. The drums beat, and a general volley was fired. A flafh of lightning darted inftantly over the fca, and immediately after it the report of a gun was heard. We all haftened to the fide where we had perceived the fig- nal, and obferved, through the fog, the body and the main-yard of a large fhip. We were fo near that we could hear the "whiftling and the acclamations of the fai- lors, in fpite of the roaring of the moun- tainous billows. The fhip's crew fired a gun every three minutes, as foon as they perceived that afTiftance was near. I admired my friend's firmnefs of mind with which he, at a fight that ought to have rendered him almoftdiftra8:ed, fhew- ed the greateft zeah to fave the crew, or- dering a large lire to be lighted on the cliffs^ i\i A G I C A L DELUSION. 137 Gliifs, and boards, cables, empty cafks and provificns to be kept in readinefs. An impending hurricane Teemed to be lurking in the air. The middle of the clouds \vas of a horrid blacknefs, and their edges Vy-ere of a copper colour. The leaves of the trees vrere moving, and yet not a breath of air was felt. The cries of the lea fowls, who were reforting to the ifland forprotection. refounded through the air. At length we heard fuddenly a dread- ful roaring, as if foaming torrents were rufhing down from the fummit of a lofty mountain, and every one exclaimed, this is the hurricane ! In the fame moment a violent whirlwind removed the foggy veil which had concealed the ifland from our eyes. We had now a clear view of the fliip ; her vrhole deck was covered with people, her colours were hoified, her fore-part was fecured by four anchors, and her Hern by one. Her flem oppofed the billovring waves which came roaring from the fea, and was raifed fo high above' the furface of the Vvater. that one could fee her whole keel, vhile the Hern was almoft J38 T H E V I C T I M O F almoft entirely buried in the foaming bil- lows. The dangerous fituation of the velTel rendered it impoffible for her to put out to fea, or to run on fhore. The howling of the wind, and the roar- ing of the waves, which were fwelling higher every moment, was dreadful. The whole channel between the ifland and the ftiore was a mafs of white thick froth, cut through by black and hollovv^ waves* The appearance of the horizon prognof- ticateda longlafting dorm. Some waves of a dreadful fliape feparated from the main every now and then, and darted with the velocity of lightning acrofs the channel, wdiile others remained immove- able like enormous rocks. Not one blue fpot could be defcried in the firmamentj a pale faint glimmer enlightened heaven^ earth and fea. The death-like palenefs of the Duke^s countenance, his perturbated mien, his fteps now flow and now moving with ve- hemence, and the contortions of his lips, befpoke the tempeft raging in his foul exceeding the violence of the hurricane that was lafliing the ocean. The haplefs niaix MAGICAL DELUSION. 139 itian now looked up to heaven, and now caft his anxious looks around, as if in fearch of fome perfon, and I heard him pronounce repeatedly die name of Hier- manfor. This fight wounded my heart deeply, and prelTed burning tears from my eyes. Meanwhile a dreadful accident hap- pened on the fea. The anchors which the fore-part of the fhip was moored with were torn from the cables by the vio- lent agitation of the velfel, which, riding now only with the fmall bower, was dallied againft the adjacent rocks. A general piercing cry filled the air when this la- mentable incident happened. The Duke was going to plunge into the fea, and I retained him with great difficulty by his right arm. Seeing, however, that his defpair rendered him callous againiL our ardent prayers not to ruili into the very jaws of death, Pietro and niyfelf tied a long rope round his body, taking hold of one end. He now plunged into the boil- ing waves, v;hich inftantly devoured, and foon after call him up again. Thus he advanced daringly towards the fhip. He feemed 3^0 THE V I CTI M OF feemed feveral times to have a chance of forcing his way to the veffel, the irre* galar motions of the fea leaving him on the dry rocks; however the towering bil- lows foon returned with additional fury^ and buried him beneath an enormous mafs of water, which flung the Duke half dead upon the fhore. But no fooner had he recovered his fenfes, than he darted upj haftening with new courage towards the veffel, which^ however, began to fe- parate, torn by the violence of the furi- ous waves. The fhip's. crew, who now defpaired of faving their lives, plunged in crovv^ds into the fea, grafping in the agony of defpondency the floating chefts, cafiis, and whatfoever they could lay hold on. I ihall never forget that horrid fcene of woe! Two ladies now made their ap- pearance on the ftern of the velfel : one of them w^as the Countefs, and the other Lady Delier. Amelia expanded her arms towards her lover, who exerted all his ftrength to join the darling of his foul. — She feemed to have known the Duke by his undaunted courage. The Baronefs wrung M A G I C A L D E L U S I O N. 141 wrung her hands, looking anxioufly at the fpeftators, and pointing at Amelia, as if flie wanted to fay : leave me to my fate, but fave my friend 1 Amelia was (landing on the deck without betraying the fmallefl fign of fear, and feemed to be refigned to her impending deplorable doom, beck» oning to us, as if fhe wanted to bid us an eternal adieu. All the fpe6lators wept, and rent the air with doleful cries and la- mentations. The Duke fummoned the lad remains of his ftreng-th, fi;rus;din$y with the frothing wa.ves, in order to fave his miftrefs from the brink of fell deftruc- tion; but a mountainous billow of an enormous bulk forced its way through the fpace betwixt the ifland and the coafl, darting at the fnip. In the fame moment Amelia ruflied into Lady Delier's arms, encircling her friend in wild agony^ and in that iituation they were buried in the abyfs along with the veffel. The ftupefadion of horror which we were feized with, rendered us almoft in- capable of dragging the Duke on fnore. The fpirit of the haplefs man feemed to have t^z T HE V IC T I M OF have fled to better regions, along with that of his ill-fated bride. He was ftretched out on the ground, violently bleeding, | and feemingly a lifelefs corpfe. ' I dropped down by hi~s fide, feized with terror and grief, imprinting kiffes on his afh-pale face, contorted by pains. I cal- led his, mine, and at laft Amelia's name in his ear ; but feeing him without the leaft motion at the found of the latter, I really feared that he was dead. Pietro beat his breaft, tore his hair, and rent the air with doleful lamentations. The bye-ftanders crowded upon us, and perceiving, after many fruitlefs trials, fome faint veftiges of life in the Duke, we carried him to the next houfe and put him to bed. The contufions and wounds he had received, by having been dafiied againft the rocks, were examined by a furgeon, who de- clared they were not mortal. 1 uttered a loud fhout, throwing myfeif on my knees, and offering fervent thanks to God. The Duke opened his eyes and clofed them again. The furgeon deiired us to retire, and not to difturb his reft, 2 While M A G I C A L D E L U S I 0 N. 143 While Pietro went on horfeback to the houfe of the Marquis, in order to inform him of the accident that had happened to his fon, I repaired to the llrand, in hopes that the bodies of Amelia and Lady De- lier would be driven on fhore. How- ever the wind having fhifted fuddenly, as is ufual in hurricanes, I was obliged to give up the hope of procuring an ho- ■nourable burial to thofe unhappy ladies. The Duke was in a fenfelefs ftupor, when I returned. Alas ! his fpirit feemed to tarry reludantly in a world which fe- parated him from his adored Amelia. But ■why fliould I tear open again my half- gicatrifed wounds ? I fiiall not enter into a^defcription of his fituation. I ftiii fancy I hear the fnrieks of horror, and the wild fhouts which he uttered during a burning fever, when he fancied he faw his Amelia either in dangerous or in happy fituations. His imagination and his lips were con- ftantly occupied with her* When, at length, his fever abated, and his recollec- tion returned, he really fancied the hif- •tory of Amelia's haplefs fate to be the delufion of a feverifh dream. xVlthough I was H4- T H E V I C T I M O F I I was very cautious to diflodge this de*. lufive opinion only gradually, yet the difcovery of his error afFeQ:ed him fo vio- lently, that I apprehended it would de- prive him, if not of his life, at leall of his underftanding. Here I cannot omit mentioning a fcene which happened at the beginning of his amendment. The Marquis had ordered him to be carried to his houfe as loon as he began to mend, and nurfed him with paternal care. He came, one day, when the Duke was fleeping, and I fitting by his bed-iide, to enquire how his fon did : as he bent over the fleeper, and feemed to look anxioufly whether any figns of returning health appeared in his face, he obferved on the bofom of his fon a blue ribbon. He pulled it carefully out, and the pi6lure of the Queen of Fr*"^ ce v/as fufpended to it. The countenance of the Marquis refembled at firft that of a per- fon who is dubious whether he is av/ake or dreaming ; but foon after I faw his face grow deadly pale, and his whole frame quiver violently. No fooner had he re- covered the power of utterance, than he MAGICAL DELUSION. 145 beizsed me to retire. Two hours after be left the apartment of my friend in vio- lent agitation, without obfervingme. On my entrance into the fick room I found the Duke bathed in tears. The ribbon was ftill failened round his . neck, but the picture of the Queen was taken from it. I fignified to him my aRonirnment. He fqueezed my hand tenderly, and faid : — ■■ You are my only friend, for whorn I wifh to have no fee rets ; and yet I am fo unhappy as to have this wifh too de- nied me. Don't prefs me to tell you what has been tranfacled between me and my father ; I have been obliged to promife with a dreadful oath to take the fee ret along with me in my grave— In my grave 1" he added a little while after, I am impatient to occupy that habitation everfince Amelia and Antonio have made it their abode." " Miguel 1" I exclaimed, ftraining him to my heart, difpel thefe gloomy thoughts. You fliall learn that- one has not loft every thing when in polTeffion of a friend like me." Vol. III. H I know ^4^ T H E V I C T I M O F I know you, and I thank you,'' lie replied, withemotion " let us die together - this world is not deferving to contain us. What bufiners have we in a world (he added with a ghaftly look) in which vice only triumphs, and good men find no- thing but a grave ?" Reader, do not fancy this language to have originated merely from a tranfient agitation of mind ; alas ! it originated from a heart exafperated by the concurrence of the moft melancholy misfortunes, and this exafperation was rooted deeper than I had fancied at firft. It generated in his foal poifonous flioots which injured his religion. He declared it to be impof- fible a good God could defignedly make good men fo unhappy as he had been rendered^ He afcribed the origin of his misfortunes to a bad principle, which, having a fiiare in the government of the world, had appropriated his underftand- ing merely to the execution of its bad purpofes. He maintained that it was con- trary to the nature of an infinitely good being to effeft even the beft purpofes by bad means; and if there were in this world M A G I C A L D E L U S I O N. 147 w-orid as much diforder, imperfe^lion, and misfortune, as harmony, perfection and happinefs, this would be an unde- niable proof that the world was governed, and had been created jointly by a good and a bad principle. In fliort, he fub- fcribed entirely to the fyilemof the Mani- chees* I perceived this new deviation of his mind with allon'fliment and grief, and thought it my duty to lead him back in the path of truth as foon as poffibie, be- caufe this error deprived him of the lad confolation in his fufferings. For which reafon I endeavoured to convince him, that the ideas of a bad and a good prin- ciple annul each other; that it is a down- right contradic\it)n to believe in the ex- iftence of a bad God: that, confequently, the fundamental ideas of his fyftem were abfurd, and, of courfe, the fyftem itfelf unfupported. I proved to him that the evil in this world is not inconfiftent with the.goodnefs and providence cf God, and that even the happinefs of the wicked, and the fuflPerings of the good, ought not to undermine our belief, but rather to H 2 ftrengtheR 148 THE VICTIM OF ftrengthen our hope of a life hereafter^ in which every one will receive the juft reward of his a6lions. But how convinc- ing foever my arguments would have been to any unprejudiced perfon, yet they made very little impreffion on the Duke, whom the difharmony and gloomi- nefs of his mind had too much pi'epol- feffed for his comfortlefs fyftem. Far from finding the lead: contradiction in it, he was firmly perfuaded that the belief in a- bad principle ferved to defend God againft the complaints and reproaches of the unfortunate, while he found a great eonfolation in venting his refentment a- gainft the bad principle, whom he be- lieved to be the author of his fufferings. He was therefore firmly refolved to re- fute the arguments which I had oppofed to his fyftem ; and as foon as he was able to leave his bed, began tb arrange his ideas on that head, and to fecure them by a proper train of arguments againft my objeftions. He had almoft finiflied his work when Aiumbrado returned fxom his journey. It M A G I C A L T) E L U S I O i49> It is almoft incredible, with hov; much appearance of truth and cordiality he manifefted his grief at the haplefs fate of the Duke. He affected fuch a tender fel- low-feeling5 and fo much friendfhip for Miguel, that the latter was charmed with him, and fancied the favourable opinion he had conceived of Alumbrado to be fully juftified. The hypocrite not only pitied him, but at the fame time, endeavoured to afford him comfort. Mentioning, however, among other arguments, how wonderful the v/ays of Providence are, and hov7 God promoted our bappinefs even through the evils of this world, the Duke (liook his head. Alumbrado was furprifed at it, and enquired what objec- tion he had againft that do6lrine ? The Duke, who thought him deferving of his confidence, was fo imprudent as to unfold to him his new creed ; nay, he carried his inconfiderationfo far as to read to him part of his tracl which he had wrote on that fubjeft. Although I was very much ter- rified at it, yet I was impatient to know Alumibrado's opinion and behaviour ' on this occafion. My aftonifhment rofe to II g the 150 THEVICTIMOF the higheft degree, -when he refuted the arguments of the Duke with a franknefs which generally is fuppofed to arife only from love of truth, and defended the goodnefs and providence of^ God, with an evidence and warmth which can origi- nate only from the light of religion. The dignity and energy with which he fpoke had an irrefiiiibie effe8: on the Duke ; he call his eyes upon the ground in dumb amazementa and appeared to be confound- ed and afhamed. ] cannot but confefs that! myfelf began to believe 1 had been egregioufly miftaken 211 my opinion of Aiumbrado's chara6ler« I begged his pardon in my heart, and though I could not love him, yet 1 thought it my duty not to refufe him my regard any longer. However, foon after two accidents hap- pened which gave me reafon to apprehend tbat I had changed my opinion too pre- maturely. I got intelligence that Alum- brado vifited the houfe of a man whofe chara6lerwas very much fufpefted. Baeza was his name. The important office which he kept at the cuftom houfe, and the extenfive MAGI C A L DELUSION. 151 txtenfive trade he carried on ail over Europe, had rendered his houfe refpefted, weaUhy, powerful, and honoured. He was a Jew by birth, but changed his reli- gion from political motives. His conduft, at leaft, did not refute the opinion that he confefTed-only with his lips the Roman Catholic religion, and it had given rife to much fcandal Y>^hen 01iva*ez con- ferred on him- the order of Chrift. The eonne8;icn between hhn a^nd this minifter was very inti;i>-.tc and not at all fhakeix by the revolution ; but continaed, only with more affiduity and circumfpedion, which was no difficult VdiK to a con- fummate hypocrite like Baeza. It will be obvious that Aliimbrado's connec- ti'on with this man dilpleafed me for more than one reafon. Another circumftance contributed to ftrenglhen my fufpicion of Alumbrado's honedy. The Duke miffed a iheet of his tra8: on the fyftem of the Manichees, Alumbrado had vifited him frequently, had been alone in his ftudy many a time where the manufcript was lying on the writing defic. The Duke, far from fufpe6ling himj fancied he H 4 had jsz THE VICTIM OF had miflaid the paper, and having re-^ nauncedthat fyftem on Aiumbrado's per- faafion, did not care much for that tra8:. Although my repeated exhortations and rny avowed antipathy had not been able to prevail on my friend to drop all connexions with that dangerous man, yet they had retained him from being too in- timate with him ; however, fi nee he knew that I had conceived a more favourable opinion of Alumbrado, he attached him- ieif more clofely to him. The old Mar- quis obferved this change with great fatis- faBion, but, at the fame time, faw with greater grief the recovery of his fon's health make but very flow progrefs. The caufe of it was a fecret, but rooted melan- choly, into which the overflowing exafpe- ration of his heart and furious agony of mind had changed ever fince he had adopted the principles of the Manichean fyilem. This melancholy corroded his vitals like the flow poifon of a cancer, and flopped not only the circulation of the vital powers, but alfo the energy of the foul of my unhappy friend in its wonted aftivity . The fituation of his mind was therefore merely ^ UAGlCAL DELUSION. 153 ffterely paflive, whkh rendered him the more fufceptible for thofe external impref- fions which fitted the fituation of his mind, the lefs power of refiflance and felf- - adivity he poffeffed. Thus he was an in- ftrument which Alumbrado could play on- at pleafure. The latter feemed, how- ever, not yet determined what meafures he fliould take for attaining his aim ; but, unfortunately, the Duke himfelf put him: afterwards on the right track. He found particular pleafure in converfing with his new confidant on the happinefs which loving fouls would derive from their re- union in a better world, and he negleQ:ed me now for no other reafon but becaufe I could fay but very little on that fubjefc while Alumbrado's imagination and elo- quence were inexhauftible. I had no- hope of giving the mind of the Duke a different turn ; his natural vivacity, which formerly fo frequently avocated his atten- tion from one objeft, and oftentimes di- re6led it irrcfiftibly to another of a nature entirely oppofite, this vivacity was entire- ly extinguiflied ; a gloomy famenefs, which was immoveably fixed to the object which H 5 once . 154 THEVICTIMOF once had attraQed his attention, having flept in its place. Every terreftrial joy had fled with Amelia, Lady Delier and Antonio ; the fource from which he at prefent derived his pleafure, originated beyond the grave. How joyfully would he have overleaped the cleft which fe- parated him from the darlings of his heart, if he had not been kept back by mine and Alumbrado's perfuafions. This ftate of mind encreafed his anxious defire of difcovering an artificial bridge of com- munication with the kingdom of fpirits. In Diort, all the ideas he had imbibed in the fchool of the Irifliman awoke in his mind with redoubled force. What at firft had been to him a mere obje6l of know- ledge, became now the moft important concern of his heart. One time he fur- prifed Alumbrado with the queftion whe- ther he thought it polTible to converfe with fpirits before our death ? However the artful man extricated bis neck with great dexterity from the fling, replying, that fuch a queftion could not be anfwer- ed in general, nor with a few words. I perceived that Alumbrado viewed the Duke M A G I C A L D E L U S I O N. 155 Duke attentively and began to raufe, aU though he had cut oiF abruptly the thread of the converfation. No one can conceive how ardently the Duke longed for the arrival of the Irifh- man, of whom he expected to receive the final folution of that problem. One rather fhould think that the Irifhman ought to have loft all credit with him, on account of his treacherous behaviour; for not only his firft promife to put the Duke in poffeffion of Amelia by means of his fupernatural power; but alfo the fecond, that he would initiate him in the pra6lical myfteries of his fupernatural wifdom, as foon as the revolution fliould have been accompliflied, was ftill incompleted. However, the Duke excufed him, inftead of fufpeding his having deceived him. Hiermanfor," he faid, " is not all-pow- erful; how could he therefore, avert that fatal blow from Amelia's head ? Hierman- for has not fixed the day of his return; perhaps he has been detained by bufinefs of the greateft confequence, or means to try the meafure of my confidence in him; but whatever may be the reafon of his H 6 non TH E V I CT I M O F non arrival, he certainly will not omit to make good his word/' Alumbrado aflced him who that Hiermanfor was? and the Duke related to him at large his adven- tures with that man, without betray- ing the fliare he had had in the revolution. I expefted that Alumbrado, who at once was made acquainted with fo dangerous a rival, would do his utmoft to ruin his cre- dit; but I was miftaken; all that he ven- tured to fay, was, indeed, very much againft him ; but he added, that one ought not to judge prematurely on fo great and deep a charader. This lenient judgment was not fuffi- cient to cure the Duke of his delufion; although his confidence in the Irifhman was very ftrong, yet his patience was very weak, and my reafoning againft Hier- manfor began to make him uneafy. Seve- ral times was he going to make public in- quiries after him, but the apprehenfion of offending him without being able to find him out always prevented him from- doing it. At laft, when the Irifhman did not appear after a long and fruitlefs ex- peftation, my friend took it. in his head to MAGICAL DELUSION. S57 to inquire after the Count de Clairval, and in cafe he fiiould difcover him, to feize him either by fraud or art, becaufe he expelled to receive from him fome in- formation of Hiermanfor. Alumbrado defired the Duke to give him a defcriptioii of the Count. He is almofh of mv fize," my friend replied, " but fair, of an interefting countenance, and a tranquilj gentle ferioufnefs, generally chara6lerizes his mien, which, however, frequently be- fpeaks the mod jovial humour; his nofe is rather of the aquiline kind, his mouth almoft woman-like handfome, and his chin falls a little back, yet without disfiguring him." " If you wifh to get him in your power," Alumbrado replied, " I will en- deavour to Jpell-hind him ; but then I fhall want his pidure ; could you delineate it on a piece of paper?" The Duke, who as little as myfelf knew what to think of this offer, looked alternately at me and at Alumbrado. " Indeed," the latter con- tinued, I wifh to poffefs the picture of the Count; leave the confequence tome." '•If you really wifli to poffefs it," my friend replied, you fliall have it." PoffefTmg »5S THE VICTIM O f PofTelTing a great flcill in drying Uriking likeneffes, he finifhed the por- trait the day following, affifted by his ima- gination, and gave it to Alumbrado. We were impatient to iearn what he was going to do with it; however, he vifited the Duke four days without mentioning the picture; but on the fifth day informed hiim in what hotel he would find the Count. We were looking at him in dumb aftonifhment, when he added, *^ Make hafte, now you can furprife him, and if he fhould refufe to follow you, you only need to tell him that the guard is waiting for your order to feize hinu" Alumbrado had fpoken the truth ; the Duke found the Count in his apartment. The latter was at firfi incapable of utter- ing a word, but having recovered from his aftoniihment, he declined in a faltering accent to accept the invitation of my friend. But when he heaid the Duke talk of the guard, and faw that he was a pri- foner, he fubmitted to his fate. _ The Duke ordered his trunk to be carried to his coachj and then drove with him to his palace, Appre^ M A G I C A L DELUSION. i j| Apprehending that the Count would be referved in the prefence of a third perfon, he had previoudy requeiled me to retire \s'ith Alumbrado to a clofet, v;here could hear and fee them without being ob- ferved. The introduction to their dif- courfe had already been finiflied in ths carriage, confequently we heard only the continuation. As foon as they had entered the room, the Duke defired the Count to give him the key of his trunk, \vhich was delivered to him without hefita- tion. "While he was opening the trunk and fearching for papers which he could not find, the Count took his letter-cafe out of his pocket and threw it in the chimney fire. Although the Duke haftened to fave it, yet a great part of it had already been con- fumed by the flames. The reft he locked up in his writing defk. ^Vhy have you done this he fai-d to the Count with rifmg anger. " Becaufe I do not like to have my fe- crets w'leiled from me by force." The Duke took feveral turns in his apartment in order to recover his equa- nimityj iS6 THE VICTIM Oi? nimity, and then rung the bell. Wine," he called to the fervant, who brought it immediately and retired, " Count," faid the Duke in a mild accent, the wine poffeffes the virtue of rendering people communicative and fin« cere. Let us drink." " You fiiall draw my fecrets from me neither by force nor artifice. I fliall at leaft have the merit of confeffing voluntarily, what I can, and dare con- fefs." Very well. However, wine pof- feffes alfo the virtue of difpelling ani mofity and perplexity. Come, let us drink." The Count confented to it. ^' Firft of all," faid the Duke, after they had been feated, " tell me where is Hiermanfor? Hepromifed to pay me avifit as foon as Por***al fliould be delivered from the Spa**f[i yoke, but has not been as good as his word." " He could not. Affairs of the greateft importance have called him to Brafil, where he very probably is at prefent." T « Do MAGICAL DELUSION. i6i Do you think that he will fulfil his promife after his return." " Undoubtedly ! But why do you wifii for his vifit." He has promifed to initiate me in the myfleries of an occult philofophy. You are perhaps capable of fupplying his place." " No, my Lord." But you will be able to afford me fome information wdth refpe6t to thofe il- lufions by which I have been put to the teft ?" Yes !'* the Count replied, after a paule. " I only defire you to explain to me the more intricate and mod important de- ceptions, for the reft I hope to unfold with- out your affiflance." Mofl of them you will already have difcovered by the papers w^hich you have ta — found in my trunk." How do you know that The Duke afl<.ed with aflonifhment. " 1 know it from Hiermanfor," " And by whom has be been informed of it ? ' «By j.6a THE VICTIM OP By your Grace." " By me? I do not recoiled to have difcovered to him any thing." " Not direftly ; however, you have be- trayed yourfelf." On what occafion ?" When he paid you a vifit at **ubiar Do you not recoiled to have allied him. whether he had difcovered to Amelia that your real father had not been the mur- derer of her Lord ? This you could not have known if you had not feen my pa- pers." _ , " It is tme," the Duke replied after a fliort filence, " hov/ever, thofe papers did not extend farther than to the time when Hiermanfor was taken up in your and my tutor's prefence. I was then going to de- fcend into the fubterraneous vaults of a ruinous building, in order to take a bril- liant pin out of the hair of a fleeping vir- gin." " I know it ; but you would have found neither the fleeping virgin nor any of thofe things which Hiermanfor told you you would meet with," MAGICAL D E L U 5 I 0 N. Is it poffible; fliould he have rifked a fraud in which I fa eafilv could have found him out He knew before-hand that you would not get to the bottom of the ftaircafe, for it was fettled previoufly that I fiiould appear in time ^\'ith the officers of the police, and recall your Grace by firing a piiloL^' Indeed!'' faid the Duke with afto-- iiiiliment, *• now I recoiled another very flrange incident. I fliould perhaps not have defcended without your interfe- rence, for I was feized with an uncommon anxiety, which increafed every ftep I pro- ceeded. I cannot conceive what w-as the reafon of it; however it feemed as if an invifible power puflied me back," This I will explain to you. Don't you recollect that a thick fmoke afcended from the abyfs ? A ftupifying incenfe Vvdiich poffeffed the povrer of ftraitening the breaft, and creating anxiety, v/as burn- ing at the bottom of the ftaircafe." I cannot but confefs," the Duke faid, after a fhort paufe, that the exe- cution was not lefs cautious than the plan has ,64 THE VICTIM OF has been artful. I had indeed been im-^ pelled, at that time to believe that Hier» man for was not only poITelfed of the knowledge of fubterraneous treafures, but aifo of the power and the inclination of affording me a fiiare of them, and that it had been merely my fault to have re- turned empty handed. His curfory ac- count of the wonderful things I flrould meet with in the abyfs had contributed to fet my imagination at work, and I was more defirous to fee thofe miracu- lous things, than to get polfeiTion of the jewels.'* Your Grace refented it very much that I had interrupted that adventure by the feizure of Hiermanfor." Indeed I did, but what view had you in doing it ?" " It was of great confequence to me,, to prove myfelf to you and your tutor, in an inconteftible manner, an implacable enemy of Hiermanfor. How could I have eflFe8:ed it better than by feizing him ? the magiftrate was an intimate friend of mine, and the whole farce pre-con- certed with hira.'* . Then 1 JvIAGICAL DELUSION. 165 Then the Irifliman has not been taken up ferioufly The officers of the police had been ordered to fet him at liberty as foon as he fliould be out of your fight." Now I can comprehend why you To obftinately oppofed me when I intreated my tutor to make an attempt at deliver- ing Hiermanfor. — But what would you have done, if I had perfifled in my refo- lution of taking that ftep ?" " Then you fhould certainly not ha\^ done it alone; I would have accompa- nied you to the magiftrate, who, un- doubtedly, would have found means of oonfoling you with refpeB: to Hierman- for's fate. It feemed, neverthelefs, not to be advifeable to fufrer you to remain any longer in the neighbourhood of the theatre where that fcene had been per- formed. You might have peeped behind the curtain without our knowledge, and your tutor could have made fecret enqui- ries. An accident might eafily have be- trayed to you that the procefs againft Hiermanfor v;as a fiftion; in fhort, we could not have acted wkh iafety and li- berty i6S THE V I€TIM OF berty while you fhould have been near the Icene of aQion, and for that reafon the magiftrate was fuborned to endeavour to perfuade you to a fpeedy flight, in which he fucceeded to our greatefl fa- tisfaftion." " Now it is evident ho^ "^iermanfor could fhew fo much tranquillity and un- concern when he was taken up, how he could promife to fee me at ^^n, and make good his promife.'* " The latter was indeed an eafy mat- ter; however he wante d to render his re-ap- pearance interefting by concomitant ex- traordinary circumftances. A lamentable incident procured him the means of ef- fe6ling his purpofe. You w^ill recolletl the execution of Francilka, the too late difcovery of her innocence, and the noc-' turnal funeral to which I invited you. — = Hiermanfor could not have re-appeared to you on a more remarkable opportunity. At that period, when your foul was thril- led wuth gloomy melancholy and chilling fenfations, the fight of a man whom you fuppofed to languifli in a dungeon, or perhaps to have finifhed already his ca- reer MAGICAL DELUSION. 167 reer on the flake, could not but make the deepeft imprelion on you. You know that he omitted notning that pro- mifed to enforce that impreflion." But how could he then already know that I had been raifed to the ducal dig^ nity ?" " Ke had received early intelligence of it by a letter from a friend, who was in- intimate with the fecretary of your fa- ther." " Let drop the difcourfe on the fcene of that night, it is accompanied with too horrid and painful ideas. Let us repair to the retired cell of the royal hermit, where no inferior miracles are crowding upon us. Firft of all, tell me whether you really think him to be the old banifhed King ? ' " I do, indeed, not only becaufe Hier- manfor has told me fo, but alfo becaufe his whole form refembles in a mod flriking manner, the pitlure of the real King." But when do you think he will af- cend the throne of Port*-al ?" *' I fuppofc; very foonl'' <^ Do x6S THE VICTIM OF " Do you, indeed ? I can fee, as yet, no preparations for it. They even do not talk of the old King ; every one be- lieves him to be dead ; I think it would be time to fpread the news of his being ftill alive." " I mufl confefs that I have neither heard nor feen any thing of him fince we left him in his cell. I hope Hiermanfor s return will be the period of his taking polfelTion of the throne. Perhaps he in- tends to introduce him in triumph in Port**-al.'^ " It feems, at leaft, that they are very intimately conne6led. Do you recoUeft how Hiermanfor appeared at night, in a manner equally mylterious and furpri^- ing, when he was fummoned by the royal Hermit." O! as for that juggling trick-—" The Duke ftarted from his chair. A juggling trick — -this too fliould have been a juggling trick?" " How can you be furprizcd at this difcovery ?" The incident was indeed wonderful enough MAGICAL DELUSION. 16^ .enough for giving rea-Ton to think it fii~ |)ernaturaL" " You are right. That artifice could not but produce an aft oni filing efFecl on an uninformed fpe6:ator. The Hermit -pronounces fome unintelligible ^\'ords 'while he kilTesthe pi6lure three times; the Jamp is extinguifhed and lighted again, as if it were by an invifible hand ; a fudden noife is heard, and a fiame flafiies over the piclure. All this is very furprifing. However, if one knows that the altar, on which the picture is placed, conceals a machine, that the Hermit's finger touches; a fecret fpring, and this puts the wheels 4Df the machine in motion, that the wick in the lamp is conneQed with it, and pul- led down and up again through the tube in which it is fixed ; if one knows bow Hiermanfor entered the cell, then the whole incident will be divcfted of its fu- pernatural appearance." But this very appeaiance of Hier- manfor is entirely myiterious to me.'* " And yet it has been effefted in a very frmple manner. A moveable board, which could be puflied to and fro v/ithout the Vol, IIL I leaft 17^ THE VICTIM OF leaft noife, was concealed among tliofe- of which the cell was compofed. Hier- manfor dole through that hidden avenue as foon as he faw from without, through a fmall hole, the lamp extinguifhed. He could enter without the leaft danger of deteBion, becaufe you had turned your back towards him, and fixed your atten- tion entirely on the altar." Then every thing had been previ- oufly prepared and pre-concerted with the King ?' Certainly !" And the whole conduct of the King has been regulaled by Hiermanfor ?" Yes, my Lord." " The incident," the Duke replied af« ter a paufe, " now ceafes, indeed, to ap- pear miraculous to me ; however the be- haviour of the King feen^is to me fo much the m.ore myfterious. How^ is it poiTible that this reverend old man could confent to deceive me in fo degrading a man- ner ?" It was no eafy taflc to perfuade him to it.^ However, after Hiermanfor hdA exhaufted his eloquence in vain, he de- o clare4 MAGICAL DELUSION. 171 clared at length proudly, that no other choice was left him, than either leaving his crown for ever in the poffeffion of an ' ufurper, or to confent to that innocent artifice. The King thought he was bound to choofe the latter, for the benefit of the empire and his private happinefs." A long filence on both fides. At iengtlr the Duke refumed : " Hiermanfor fhowed me the ghoft of my tutor at the church- yard ; by what means has that been ef- feaed ?" " Your Grace will allow me to leave this queftion unanfwered " For what reafon ?" the Duke a&ed with feeming coolnefs. Becaufe my anfv/er would explain nothing to you.'' Why do you think fo ? the expla- nations which you have given me, as yet, have been very fatisfa8:ory to m.e." They concerned only things which you were able to comprehend." " indeed! you pay me a very bad com.pliment 1" ^* My Lord, do not mifunderfiand me, )'ou liave been telling me a little v/hiie I ^ agoj 1^2 THE VICTIM OF ago, that you have not yet been initiated by Hiermanfor in the laft myfteries of hi^ philofophy !'* " I did, but what follows thence ?" « That you are ilill in want of the knowledge which will be requifite, if you are to be capable of comprehending the appearance of your tutor/' Don't pretend to perfuade me that this apparition has been effefted by fu- pernatural means." " I will perfuade you to nothing, I only tell you what I know." " And I tell you only what I do not believe. All the other incidents fhould have been effefted by delufive arts, and Antonio's appearance only be excepted ?" " The appearance of Antonio was no deception." " You will never make me believe it." I cannot blame you for it." f Why not?" Becaufe I have forfeited the right of deferving credit." '^he Duke was filent, viewing the Count : , :: ' ively. The latter refumed : " Be- . is very indifferent to me what 3 you M A G I C A L D E L U S I O N, 171 think of the mattter. Hiermanfor may fet you right." How far are you conne6led with Hiermanfor ?" Very much like you. He has made himfelf my mafter, and I am fubfervient 10 him." Do you fervehim vvith reluftance ?'* With devotion."' Then you will know to w^hom yoil are devoted ?" , • I don't know much more of him than your Grace." Even that little which you know of him would be remarkable to mcj if au- thentic." I fhould tire your patience if I were to repeat to you all the improbable fto- ries which are related of him. There are, how^ever, very few credible ac- counts of him." " I proteft I fliould be glad to know them." " Even the true family name of Hier- manfor is not known to me. He is faid to have been born in Ireland, of plebeian parents. A near relation who profeiTed I g aitro- .174 THE VI C TI M O F aftrology, had obferved the ftars on his | birth, and prophefied great things of him. The fame man perfuaded his parents to give him a learned education, which they afterwards repented fo much the lefs, when they perceived the aftonifliing progrefs in learning which he made. When he had attained the years of adolefcence, his re- lation inilruQed him in mathematics and aftronomy. The fame of Hiermanfor's great learning procured him the phice of governor in a noble family. The eldeR daughter fell in love with, him, and the language of her eyes foon betrayed to him the impreffion he had made on her heart. She was a blooming beauty, who had attraQed by her uiicbramon charms, and rejected many woers of high rank. It had been referved for Hiermanfor to kin- dle in her heart the lirft fpark of iove^ and yet he appeared infeniible of his good fortune. But he was not. He enter- tained a high fenfe of the preference given to him : honeily and prudence commanded him, however, to conceal his fentiments for a perfon who was fo far fuperior to him in point of rank, Yet youthful age is not M A G I C A L D E L U S I O N, 1 7V not always capable of maintaining the rigorous di6lates of reafon againit the fe- ducing voice of the paffions^ and thus Kiermanfor betrayed, in an unguarded moment, the fecret of his heart, ^vhich was received with rapture by the young lady, and carefully concealed in her bo- fom. But from that moment he refolved to endea.vour to rile to a fituation which would permit him to woo the hand of his miftrefs without blufhing. This bold- idea had no fooner taken place in the foul of the refolute youth, than he began to delineate a plan for the execution of it. Hiermanfor thought the naval fer- vice vrould be the Ihorteft way of attain- ing a fplendid fortune, and inftantly na- vigation became the chief objed of his Itudy. He found very foon an opportu- nity of putting his acquired knowledge in practice, which he chiefly owed to the fupport of the faniily in which he had been tutor. The proofs of uncom- mon fkill which he gave in naval mat- ters, foon raifed him to the rank of a captain, when his miftrefs died. Kier- manfor refigned his place in the navy, I 4 and sr^ THE VICTIM OF and was received as lay hrother in the or- der of the Carmelites. Having performed his VOV7 he was fent to Rome, where he got acquainted with a prieft of the fame order, whofe name was Father Gabriel, and who was famed for his great fldll in phyfic and natural knowledge. InftruB:- ed by that learned man, he improved ra- pidly, and acquired at the fame time .^reat knowledoc in natural masic, in which his relation had already infirucled him. A genius like his could not, however, confme himfeif for a length of time to cloiftered retirement and a fpcclative life^' His fuperiors fent a nriilTion to the Indies, and Hiermanfor got leave to make that journey with the milFionaries. There he is faid to have acquired among the Bra- mins the knov;ledge of the occult fcien- ces, in the myfteiies of which he has pro- mifed to initiate your Grace. I do not know v/hat prompted him to leave the or* der afterwards. His fuperiors parting with him reluctantly, rendered it very dif- ficult for hhn to procure difpenf^itioa from his vowso At length he got leave to rctir<^ M A G I C A L DELUSION. X77 reiirej under the condition never to be inimical to the order.-— This is all that I know of his life." " Then every thing the Magiftrate and the Hermit have related of him is a fic- tion ?" the Duke enquired after a fhort lilence. ^ ' ^ ■ ' ' , • " Not at all I" the Count replied, " al- mod all thofe accounts are founded on fafts, though they have been embelliflied by fictitious epifodes. The furprifing feats of Hiermanfor, of v/hich you have been informed, were however effefted merely by means of natural magic." For inftance, the delivery of the old * King from the caftle of St. Lukar — how has it been effe6led ?" " It certainly has been performed by Hiermanfor's acutenefs, though not through him alone." And the apparition of Antonio at the church-yard- — " " Has been efFeBed by his fupernatui ^ ral power." Count! by all that is^ dear to you, by Hiermanlbr's friendfhip; |)y cur recon- I 5 ciiiaticn^ >I78 THE VICTIM OF ciliation, what is your real opinion of that apparition ?" That it was efFe8:ed by his fuperna- tural power!" ■ The Duke rofe land preffed the Count's hand, Have you any fecret wifh which I could fatisfy ? fpeak freely, and I will fatisfy it, coft it what_it will, only make a frank and candid confeffion." " I have confeffed every thing aL ready." " If you, perhaps, hcfitate to difcover your real fentiments here, you may fix feme other place, and I pledge my honour, that no man living ihali be made acquaint- ed with, your fecret." My dear Duke! J have indeed told you what i think." Count, I conjure you, by every thing facred, by the horrors of eternity !" here the Duke encircled him with his arms5 by Amelia's fpirit, tell me what do yoa think of that apparition ?" I believe ^bat apparition to have been eifefted by Hiermanfor's fupernatu- tal power," replied the Cotmt after a fhort filence. The MAGICAL DELUSION. 179 The Duke ftepped a few paces back, and having viewed him fome time with a {fern look, faid, " You are my prifoner, do you know that Is can fend you to the dungeon ?" " I am in your power." Where you will not be entreated to fpeak the truth ?" " Even on the rack I fliall not contra- di8; what I have faid." ' ' ' ' ^' Come !" faid the Duke, after he had walked up and down the room in filcnc meditation ; ^' Come, I will give vou fome time for confideration,"^ — -So faying^- he led the Caunt into another room vv'here he locked him up. " What fhall I do with that fellow he faid to me when he returned to us^ believe what he has faid and fet him at liberty ; or miftruft and retain him ?" Retain him," my reply was; " if he fees that you are in earneft, he certainly will confefs," Alumbrado was of the fame opiniony our advice was however neglefted, for the next morning when I went to fee the Dukc^ J found the Count had already been libe-- T i. ,iS0 THE VICTIM O? rated. The matter happened in the fol- lowing manner : The Duke had paid him one more vifit at night, in order to get fom^e explanation of Amelia's hiftory, afking the Count whether his account of Amelia's adven- tures had ^een (Iri^lly true, or intermixed withfi8:ion ? The Count confcffed franklyv that he had not been very confcientious in his relation, but had added to his picture many fiftitious jflrokes ; nay, that he had disfigured even the principal incidents by interpolation, in order to encreaie by his adventrous tale, the Duke's propenfity to wonderful incidents, and thus to render Amelia more interefting to him. The Duke afl^ed him how he could have riflced a fraud v;hich the firll meeting with the Countefs could have laid open to him» I was well aware," the Count replied^ that you as well as Amelia would be prompted by the tender han.iony which made your hearts beat in unifon, to avoid fpeaking of incidents which would have introduced Am.elia's late Lord and her love for him." The Duke aflced him whether the Irjfibman had not afted in concert MAGICAL DELUSION. iSs concert with Lady Delier ? " Only as far as he made ufe of her to direct the love that had taken place between your Grace and Amelia," the Count anfwered; "the conditions and reftriftions under which the Baronefs was to affift in forwarding your mutual union are unknown to me." The Count being aflced, whether that won- derful note by which Amelia had been releafed from her vow of eternal fidelity to her deceafed Lord, had been a con- trivance of Hiermanfor's natural fkillj or the effeB: of fupernatural power; the Count replied, the latter had been the cafe. The Duke had been affeQed fa much by the repeated mention of his Amelia, that he began to melt in tears. The Count thought this (late of mind very propitious for regaining his liberty, an4 obtained it without difficulty. What could the Duke have refufed in that fitiict^ tion to Amelia's brother-in-law ? Alumbrado feemed to be not lefs dif^ pleafed with this event than myfelf. My hope that the Count would entirely de«t ftroy, by an ample difcovery of the juggling tricks of the Iriflxman; the Duke's belief. iS-a THE VICTIM OF belief in the rupernatural of the Iat» ter was now utterly deftroyed, for he had not unfolded the moft important myftery; the apparitition of Antonio at the church- yard. Yet I derived fome confolatioii from the papers of Clairval, which were ftill in the hands of the Duke, and pro- pofed to throw fome light on that extraor- dinary incident. My friend himfelf feem- ed to entertain the fame hope, and al- though the papers had been partly con- fumed by the lire, yet he was not dif- couraged, and undertook the laborious taflc of decyphering them. We retired left we ihould difturb hini. ' The next morning Alumbrado came to my palace, informing me that he went to pay a vifit to the Duke, but had not been admitted. We concluded from this, that he had not yet finiflied decyphering of the papers. The Duke joined us about an hour after with gloomy looks, he gave me fome writings and faid, 'Hhat is all that I could make out ) read it and edify yourfelf."— ' I began to read aloud, " Beloved and traPiy — " the Duke interruptedme—^" It is a letter MAGICAL DELUSION. a letter to Hiemianfor, written by the Lady of the late Duke of B-« — -a, at a time when he had little hope of afcend- ing the royal throne of P L « Beloved and trufty ! I have read all « your letters to our Privy Secretary, ^ along with the note by which you ac- ^ quaint him with your intention of in- *^ troducing Miguel to the Hermit. I ' always read your letters with admira- * tion, yet I cannot but confefs that I have « great Treafon to fufped you have it ' m.ore at heart to be admired, than to ' gain Miguel over to cur party. I fliouk! ' think Miguel could have been fecured * to us in a fafer, eafier, and more expedi- < tious manner, and you would have faved * yourfelf a great deal of time and trou- < ble if you had attempted it. Why are « thofe fuperfiuous machinations, why < thofe expenfive, intricate, artificial, and < give me leave to add, thofe fragile ma-^ « chines which fo eafily may be deftroyed ? ^ You could certainly have enfnared Mi- ' guel in a more fimple and a lefs pre» « carious manner, Machineries like thofe * which i84 TH E VICTIM OF « which you have made ufe of are always < liable to the danger of being difcovered « by accident, which may ruin the whole * plan. ' You will perhaps reply, that, if he ^ fliould make fuch a difcovery, it would ^ be of little confequence ; that you know ^ this Miguel too well, are too fenfible of ^ your fup^riority, that he cannot do with' ^ out you, and that you keep him in chains « which he will not be able to fiiake off, ' though your whole miraculous web * Ihould be dilfolved in fmoke. But, if * fo, wherefore thofe needlefs artifices ? * What benefit will arife from your mira-* * cles and ghofts ? The love intrigue ^ with Amelia, and the charm of your * eloquence would have been fufficient for « gaining Miguel over to our party. .* I may he miftaken, your proceedings * are however riddles to me, if 1 do not < fuppofe that an arrogant a6livity has « prompted you to contrive extraordinary « intrigues, and to have recourfe to mar- « vellous machineries. People of your « genius are wont to do fo. You defpife « the ways of common mei)^ force new ♦ road^ MAGICAL DELUSION. ji^ ^ roads through infurmountable rocks, cn- « tangle your man in numberlefs magic ' fetters, with no other view, than to have ' the pleafure of feeing your prifoner in- ' fnare himfelf deeper and deeper by his * attempts to regain his liberty. The fnn^ * pie, artlefs turn of a play, does not fuit ' a genius like-your's, which delights only ' in knitting and diifolving intricate knotSj ' and in having recou^'fe to artificial, com^ ' plicated machines ; obftacles and dan- gers ferve only to give additional ener- ' gy to your a6livity. Miguel was, per- ' haps, only an objecl which w'as to ferve I ' you for trying 'your fkill and art, in or- ^ der to fee how far you could rely on ^ your capacities for more important op- ' portunities. ' But however it be, I am rather bound ^ to thank you for }-our zeal to ferve our ' caufe, than to criticife the choice of the ' means you have made ufe of. Accom- * plifh wdrat you have begun, and you « may be fure of my favour and attive ^ gratitude.' ^ : While I had been reading, the Duke v;alked up and down the room with hafty fi: rides. iS6 ' T H E V I C T I M 0 F ftrides. He now flopped. Well, Mar- quis! well, Alumbrado 1" faid lie, " do I not a6l a charming part in this letter ?" We remained filent, becaufe we faw that he was violently agitated. " They treat me as a fimpletonj as a blockhead. Is it not true ?" " How you exaggerate it !" faid L- They afcribe to you want of experi- ence, and that is all." " O Marquis, don't you fee in what a tone, and with how much contempt the proud woman fpeaks of me ?" " She is a woman who mJ (lakes you." Heavens and earth ! and I fliould brook her injuries without taking re- venge ?" My Lord !'* Alumbrado faid, in what relation have you been to the Duchefs ? I cannot fee the connexion of the whole affair ?'"' The Duke explained this connexion to him, by difcovering the fliare he had had in the revolution. Alumbrado was all attention during this accountj and when it was finiflied feemed M A G I C A L D E L U S I O N. 2I7 feemcd to be abforbed in profound medi- tation. Friend !" faid I to the Duke, "there are Tome more written leaves" — " It is Hiermanfor's anfv/er to the let-- ter you have been reading." I read the letter aloud. 'It is with no fmall aflonifhment ^ that I find m.yfelf called to an account, ^ in the letter which your Grace did me * the honour of writing to me, for a point * which I fmcerely wifh never had been * mentioned. The remarks you have * made on it redound as much to the ' honour of your Grace^s penetration and * fagacity, as they tend to mortify me by * betraying me into a confeflion, which I * would have refufedto make toanym.ortal * living, except to fo noble a challenger. ' My fecond letter to your Privy Secre- ^ tary, explaining fufFxciently the motives ^ which have prompted me to gain Miguel ' over to our party by the arts of natural ^ magic, I think I need not add new- ' arguments to thofe contained in that ' letter, if your Grace v/ill take the trou- ^ ble to re-perufe and to ponder them at- ' tentively* m THEVICTIMOF < tcntively. Befides the reprehenfion * your Grace is direfted lefs againft the ' means which I have made ufe of, than ^ againit the manner of their application, * You afk in your letter, why I have had * recourfe to fuch fuperfluous machina- ' lions, to fuch expenfive, intricate, arti- ' ficial, and fragile machines ? Indeed you ' think too contemptibly of Miguel. His ^ penetration, as well as his great know- < ledge, raife him far above the common * men of his age; his underftanding, which ^ has been improved under the tuition of , ' an Antonio de Galvez, is not to be im- ' pofed upon fo eafily as you think. Be- ' lides, you will have the goodnefs to ' confider that he was not the only perfon * I had to deal with, and that his tutor, who ' never ftirred from his fide, was always ' ready to cut afunder the magical bonds * in which I had entangled him. But why ' do I hefitate any longer to tell you the ' plain truth ? My defign was not di- * retled againft Miguel alone, but on his ' tutor too. It was the m.oft ardent wifh ' of my heart to gain this man to our party f by my magical artS; and that was it which^ M A G I C A L D E L U S I O N. i8f ^ which forced me to have recourfe to f fo many machinations, and fuch expen- ^ five and complicated machines. If my ^ defi'gn upon him had been crowned with * fuccefs, Miguel too would have been an * eafy and certain conqueil, ■ ^ If your Grace fhould afk what has ^ prompted me to form fo daring a plan, « and what reafons I had to hope for fuc- « cefs ? I beg you will condefcendto pon- ^ der the following points : Count Galvez ^ was an infurmountable obftacle in my' ^ way to Miguel, which rendered it necef- ^ fary either to draw him in our intereft, ^ or to remove him from his pupil. It ^ will be obvious to you for v;hat reafon ' I refolved to attempt the former, if you * will confider how much advantage our ^ affairs would have derived from fo va-* ^ luable a conqueft. If we could have * made fure of Antonio, we then fhould ^ alfo have drawn the court of Rome in our « interefl by his intercelTion. Before the ' the prefent Pope was raifed to the papal ^ throne, he and a number of perfons of * the higheft rank were intimately con- ' nefted with him. We could^ therefore, « have 290 THE VICTIM OF « have expelled to intereftfor our caufe by ^ his influence a court, which will become * our moil dangerous enemy, if it fliould * not take our part ; and I apprehend this * will be the cafe.* ' What a triumph would it have proved ^ to me, if I had fucceeded in my at- ^ tempt to fubdue this man through my ^ magical operations, and to catch in one « fnare two perfons of fo great an import- 's ance to our caufe. The idea of infnar- * ing the Count by means of miracles and * ghofts was, indeed, a very bold one, ^ but not fo inconfiderate as it may ap- ^ pear at hrft fight. Antonio has fpent * the earlier years of his youth in a monaf- ^ tery at Rome. It was not unknown to * me, that experience and meditation ^ have enabled him afterv/ards to dived ^ himfelf of the prejudices ^vhich there ^ have been infiilled in his mind : I was* ' how^ever* * On the margin of the niaTnifcript, the following siote was written by an unknown hand : * The hl^k- * man has not been miftaken, for nine years aie now * paft fince the revohjdoo has taken place, and the new < King of Pori**'^l, has not yet been acknowledged by * the court of Rome/ MAGICAL DELUSION, w hawever, at the fame time, well aware < that the imprefilons we receive in our « juvenile days, are re-produced with vi- ' vacity on certain occafions. I alfo ^ knew that his philofophy does not deny ' the exillence of fpirits, and the hope of ' futurity which he defended with enthu- ' fiafm, renders the human mind but too ^ prone to give credit to the apparitions ' of fpirits, if they have the appearance of ' reality. Even his propenfity to fpecu- * laticn, his fondnefs of folitude, the inte- « reft he took in fuperfenfitive obje^ls, ^ his melancholy temper, prompted me. to * exped that my artifices would find ac- ^ cefs to his heart; and if the heart is but ^ interefted for fomething, then the under- * {ianding too is generally half gained, ' However, he who intends to gain it en- ^ tireJy^ muft take care not to expofe his ^ blind fide to a keen-fighted and pert ge- ^ nius, and for that reafon I was obliged ^ to endeavour to carry the ilkilion to ^ the higheft degree of probability; I was ' under the neceffity of attempting to ^ make it impoffible to Count Galvez to ^ penetrate my delufions. This will con- ^ vince J9» THE VICTIM OF « vince your Grace that my plan, how « bold foever it might have been, has not « been formed without probability of Juc- * cejs. However, when Count Clairval ^ began to cultivate a more intimate con- ^ neBion with Antonio, I was made fcnfi- « ble that my expeQations have been too * fanguine. ' He entreated me to give up a de£gn « that never could fucceed. Prudence ^ commanded me to follow his advice, ' though it moriiiied my ambition ex- ^ tremely. No other expedient was now ^ left than to remove Count Galvez from * his pupil, becaufe I apprehended that he would ruin my defign on Miguel, Your Grace knows how fuccefsfuUy this was executed. * Perhaps you will aflc, whether it would not have been polTible to gain Count Galvez for our caufe by fome other means ? I mufl: reply in the nega- tive. Miguel could indeed have been enfnared by other means, but not more expeditioujly ; (and every thing depended upon difpatch) but his tutor neven The latter is attached to the King of 6 Sp**n MAGICAL DELUSION. 195 ^ Sp**n with unfliaken loyalty, becaufe « he thinks it his duty to be loyal ; and a ^ man of fifty years, of fo firm and rooted « principles, cannot be enticed from what * he thinks to be his duty, before it ceafes' ' to be duty to him. But what power upon ^ earth could abfolve from a duty juch a * man ? Here fupernatural powers muft ^ interfere and abiblve him, beings from « anoL.::\:- world muft appear as bails. « I can fcarcely think that the failure * of this plan has originated from a fault ' of mine, for 1 have tried every means * of exhibiting my miracles and ghofts in ^ a fnape of probabilitv. Yet this has en- ^ tangled me on the other fide in a very ^ difagreeable dilemma. Miguc^ to whom. ' his tutor has rendered fufpeded even ^ my moft confummate artifices, muft be ^ kept fteady in the courfe he once has ' taken. I fiiall, perhaps, be neceiiitated * to perform fomething quite extraordi- ^ nary in order to fix the mind of this ' wavering young man who is conftantly ^ preffing for\vards. Thus I think to ' have given a fatisfaclory anfwer to the * queftion why I have introduced fo ex- VoL. Ill, K ' pennve? 194 THE VICTI M OF ^ penfive, complicated and artificial ma- * chines. ' If your Grace fhould aflc why I have * kept my defign on Miguel's tutor fo fe- ' cret, then I muft tell you, that I con- ' cealed it fo carefully becaufe I intended « to furprife the confederates unexpe6l- « edly by my valuable acquifition, if I * fhould have fucceeded ; and if not, to ' fpare myfelf the mortification of having ' it faid that I had undertaken a tafk to ' which my powers were not equal. I * hope your Grace will reward my frank « and plain confefTion by burying it in ^ eternal fecrecy/ I returned the letter to the Duke, and a long filence enfued. He broke it firft. *^ My friend, you know my adventures with this Irifhman, what do you think of him?" How can you aflc that queftion after all the difcoveries we have already made r" *^ 1 wifli to have it anfwered by you/' ** I think," faid I in a pathetic accent, " that Irifhman muft be a fupernatural being." «^ Ridicule MAGICAL DELUSIOr^. 195 Ridicule me as long as you pleafe— I cannot but confefs that he is, neverthe- lefs, incompreheDfible to me." " My dear Duke, I know what I am to think of the Iriihman, but I fcarcely know what to think of you." You difapprove of my connexion with that man." Very much." Tell me your fentiments without re- ferve ; I know you have had a ftrong de= fire for fome time to come to an explana- tion with me." " You have been ill, and I wifli to fparc you." :v/ .-<■:-;::....'.: .. :_ " I don't want your forbearance. Speak." At another time, my friend^ at an* other time." No delay. Alumbrado is no {Iran- j ger to my hiftory, and confequently may- hear your obfervation on it." "If you infift upon it, then I mufl: tell you that I am extremely vexed at the i idea that the fellow, who dared to fport - with your underftanding has enjoyed the \ triumph of guiding you in leading-ftrings ' K Z whither- 195 THE VICTIM OF \vhitherfoever he chofe. I am glad that you have rendered his magical labours lb toilfome ; I am rejoiced at the refiftance -which you have oppofed to his attacks ; but it grieves me that he has conquered you fo diflioneftly and artfully. I can- not but confefs that the artifice to which your penetration yielded, has been enor- mous ; however, I am angry with you be- caufe the man whom you really had dif- covered to be a cheat, fucceeded a fe- €ond time in gaining your confidence/' Do you then imagine that the Irifli- man has impofed on me in the latter pe- riod of our connexion as well as in the beo'innim^ of it ?" " Undoubtedly." " That this occult fcience confiftsmere- ly in juggling tricks? In natural arts of all kind." By what natural means could he have elfetled the apparition of Antonio at the church-yard ? I cannot tell ; however, we fhould probably have learned it from the Count if he had not been fuffered to efcape." « 1 am A G I C A L D E L U S I O S\ 197 ^' I am glad you remind me of the Count. Why did he refufe fo obftinately^, to explain that incident in fpite of mv prayers and menaces, declaring folemnly that it had been effected by fiipernatural means, although he has candidly difco- vered the reft of the delufions of the Inih- man. Vvhat benefit could he expect from deceiving me any longer, the reyolution being eRabliOiedj and confequently his end attained Has he not confefTed that he is in the feryice 01 the Irirnman ? Can you know what orders he has receiyed from his em= ployer ? "Was not the yeil of myftery which the Count has thrown oyer that in- cident, the only remaining mean of fup- porting the authority of his lord and maf- ter? Who knows what he ^vould have confefTed if you had fnovrn a firm refolu- tion to enforce your menaces ? ' 1 confefs I acled very weakly and rafhly. in fuffering him to efcape fo foon'." At bottom it matters very little* What confidence could you have repofed in the confefTion of a man^ who on a for- K 3 raer THE VICTIM OF mer occafion has impofed you in fo fhame^ lefs and daring a manner? And what will you fay if I prove to you that he has be» lied you the laft time too?" You aftonifli me.'* Don't you rccolle6l that he pretended the note through which Amelia has been abfolved from her vow by her late Lord, to have been the effeQ of Hiermanfor's fupernatu|"al power ?" " Not only the Count, Hiermanfor too has made me believe it." " Both of them have told you a bare- faced lie." ^' Friend, how will you be able to make good your charge ?" " By proving that pretended miracle to be a juggling trick." " You have raifed my expeSation to the higheft pitch." ^« I have learned that trick of a jug- der, and I am fure that which the Iriih- man has made ufe of is the fame. He gave Amelia a blank flip of paper, and direfted her to write the queftion on the upper part of it. Here you muR regard three points ; firft of aiij that he bim/eif gave M A G I C A L D E L U S I 0 N. i gave the paper to Amelia ; fecondly, that he defired the queftion to be written on the upper part of it; and thirdly, that he dictated the queftion to her; he then put the paper on the table, fumigated the apartment with an incenfeof his own com- pofitian, and requefted the Countefs to look at the paper in the morning. It was very natural that the anfwer to the queftion was feen beneath it, having been previoufly written v/ith fympathetic ink the preceding evening, but firft rendered vifible in the night by the fumigation. Very likely it had been written by the Count, who could imitate the hand-writ- ing of his brother." The Duke gazed at m.e a long while, feized wdth dumb aftonifiiment. At length he clapped his hands joyfully, ex- claiming, " O ! my friend, what a light have you caft upon that dark myfterious affair." A light," my reply was, that will aftift you to fee clearly how difiioneftly the Irifhman and the Count have dealt with you to the laft. They endeavoured to perfuade you that you had been de- K 4 ceived 30O THE V I C T I M O F ceived at firft, merely for the fake of pro-- bation, and that you had been paid with fterling truth after Palefki's difcovery. Poor deceived man; you have always been befet with lies and delufions; the fole point in which they diiTcred from each other, confining merely in the fuperior art which the latter impofitions were con- trived with." Then you believe that the apparition at the church-yard has alfo been a decep- tion, like the incident with the miraculous note." " Yes, I have every reafon to think fo. When I have once caught a perfoninthe a8: of committing a fraud, I then have the greateil right to fuppofe that he has repeatedly impofed upon me ; and when I am convinced that he has frequently de- ceived me, I then have the greateil rea- fon to conclude that he has cheated me the laft time alfo." « Then you think a real apparition of a ghoft to be impoffible." Why do you aik that queftion ? All that we have to decide at prefent, is, whether MAGICAL DELUSION. 2ot ^liether the Irifiiman or any man living can effe6l fuch an apparition." " You want to evade, my queftion,'* Indeed not!'' " Then tell me, do you think appari- tions of ghofts to be poffible ?" " Tell me, does not this queftion im- ply, that, are men capable of feeing ghofts?" '* Certainly." ^ :i " That I deny.'* m zL^i^. ^ , " You think that no man living has that capacity," " And not without reafon. We can fee only thofe objeds which throw an image on the retina of the eye, and confe- quently only expanded things; a fpirit has no expanlion, and therefore cannot be feen by us." ?; . ' " You cut it very fhort." " My argument is valid." Yet you have demonftrated nothing elfe but that we cannot fee pure fpirits > we may, neverthelefs, be capable of feeing fpirits in bodily clothing." " This I grant without the leaft hefi-* tationj for daily experience proves it* Kg We tct THE VICT I M OF We fee me?7^ of courfe we fee fpirits in i?odily do thing J* You fancy to efcape me by this turn | but you are miftaken. You allow that we can fee fpirits if clothed in a bodily covering/' What we fee is always nothing but the bodily covering ; but we mull con- dude by other marks and circumftances, whether it be inhabited by a fpirit. Be- lides, there is in the whole dominion of our fenfihle knowledge not one being that anfwers our idea of a fpirit; this idea has ^een produced merely by reajoning^ and therefore a fpirit never can become an ob- jeQ of our perception.'" " Very ftrange 1" the Duke replied^ ftaking his head ; the Irifhman has faid much the fame, and neverthelefs, he hit upon an expedient of proving to me the poffibility of apparitions." " I have read that argument ; it is taken from the dialeftic. This circumflance alone ought to have made you fufpe6l it. Or are you fuch a novice in that fcience that you fhould not know how pliable it u to accommodate itfelf to all opinions? Thofe MAGICAL DELUSION. 203 Thofephilofophers^vho fancy all the beings of the ^vhole creation to be fpirits. as well as thofe who deny the exiftence of God, draw their arguments from that fource. Is there any abfurdity that could not be fitted to that bai^elefs philofophy ?" " You are carrying matters too far. The Irifliman did indeed propound feve- ral pofitions, which by their evidence en- force their claim to truth," That I do not deny. A great deal of philofophical penetration is how^ever required, if one fhall be able to difcerii the truth and falfehood, which it* affer- tian imply in a ftrange and motly mix* ture. One feels indeed, frequently, the falfehood of fophiftical fubtilties without being able to refute them," I fliould be glad to know what you have to obje6t againft the doBrine of thie Irifhman concerning the poffibility o£ apparitions ?" Iri order to do this, it will be necef- fary previoufly to abftratt his do-clrine. When a fpirit^" the Irifhman faysj operates on mine, then he is prefent to iiie» If I were a mere ra-tional being, I K Q the a. THE TICTIM OF then lliould be fatisfied with imagining tfie prefenee of the fpirit, ze;///?^/// myfelf; but fmee I am a fenfible beings by virtue of Hiy nature, iny imagination forms a cor- poreal idea of the obje6l which my under- fianding /y^/V^y^j-; that is, it forms an image of it. The prefenee of a fpirit, therefore, puts my inferior intelleclual powers ir^ motion by means of the fuperior ones ; I do not only imagine it merely without rayfelf, but I perceive, at the fame time, a fbape ajifv/erable to it; I not only col- leQ: the ideas which he produces in my mind, . but, at the fame timiC, fliape them in words. In fliort, I fee the fpirit and hear him fpeak.- — Do you think, my friend, that I have comprehended the doErine of the IriOiman apej-feaiy!" " The fhape in which I fee the fpirit is^ eonfequently, no real fubftanee, but only the produ^lof my fenfitive power of per- ception, of my imagination," 46 Very right," " Confequently, the feeing of a fpirit' is, indeed, founded on a fpiritual influx, ■whichj hov/everj is formed and fhaped at' 1 pleafure M A G I C A L D E L U S I O N. 2©^ pkafure by our imagination; thereforcj on every apparition of fpirits truth would be intermixed with illufion, and the no- tions which have been inftilled in our mind by our education, and all the pre- judices we have imbibed in our infancyj would a6l an important part on every oc- cafion of that kind ?" I perceive what you are aiming at." Then tell me, what would the gift of feeing fpirits and ghofts benefit us, fince the fpiritual efPe6i could not but be inter- woven fo clofely with the phantoms of our imagination, that it would be impof- fible to difcern reality from the grofs illu- fions which it is furrounded with?" The Duke was abforbed in filent me- ditation, and I continued: — Don't you fee that Juperftttion thus would be at full liberty to exercife its fway over us, becaufe we fliould be led to believe that even the moft abfurd de- lufions of our imagination could poJfiMy ho. founded on a fpiritual influx The Duke continued to be filent, and I refumed - And 20$ THE VICTIM OF And don't you fee that it would be impoffible to difcern a ghoft-feer from a lunatic ?" The Duke ftarted up : " How, from a lunatic ?'* " Undoubtedly. The charafteriftic of lunacy confifts in miftaking mere objeds of the imagination for real fubftances, exifting without ourfelves, the original caufe of which is a convulfion of the vef- fels of our brain, which are put out of their equilibrium. This fufpenfion of the equilibrium can arife either from weak- nefs of nerves, or from too ftrong a pref- fure of the blood towards the head, and mere phantoms of our imagination then appear to us, even while awake, to be real objefts without ourfelves. Although fuch an image fnould be but faint at firft, yet the confternation at fuch an apparition, fo contrary to the natural order of things, would foon excite the attention, and im- part to the phantom a vivacity that would not fuffer the deluded perfon to doubt its reality. It is therefore very natural ; for the vifionary fancies he fees and hears very plainly, what no perfon befides him per- ceives^ M A G I C A L D E L U S I O N. 207 ceives, or imagines he fees fuch phantoms appear and difappear fuddenly, when they are gamboling only before one fenfe^ that of ftght^ without being perceived through another fenfe; for example, that of feelings and therefore appear to be pe- netrable. The diftemper of the viiionary does not affeft the underftanding imme- diately, but only the fenfes ; in confe- quence of which the unhappy wretch can- not remove the deiufion by arguments of reafon, becaufe the real or fuppofed per- ception through the fenfes, always ante- cedes the judgment of the underiianding, and pofTeffes an immediate evidence which far furpaffes all reflexion. For which reafon I can blame no perfon who treats the ghoft-feers as candidates for the lu- natic hofpital, inftead of looking upon them as people belonging, partly, to ano- ther world." Marquis, Marquis !" the Duke faidj fmiling, " you ufe the ghoft-feers very ill. I fhould leave them entirely at your mercy, if the Irifhman had not promifed to communicate to me a criterion by which 268 THE VICTIM OF ^hich one can difcern real apparitions from vain phantoms of the imagination." " It is a pity he has only promifed it, it being probable that this promife will not be performed with greater punftua- lity than the reft of his engagements." " The event wili provehow much you wrong him,'^ " But v/hat would you fay, if I could prove that he can communicate to you no criterion of that nature ?" " If you could do this—" " Nothing is eafier. The criterion "whereby a real apparition of a ghoft could be difcerned from an illufion, muft be either external or internal : that is, you muft be able to afcertain the prefence of a ghoft, either by means of your fenfes, or by conclufions deduced from the im- preffion your mind receives. Don't you think fo ?" " It would be much fafer if thefe two criterions co-exifted." " It would be fufficient if only one of thefe two criterions were poffible. How- ever you fhall foon be convinced that neither can be proved. Whatever you per- A G I C A L D E L U S 1 O N. asg perceive, or fuppofe you perceive by means of your fenfes, in cafe of an apparition^ is either a real material objeft, whereby perhaps an impoftor, perhaps nature, who is fo inexhauftible in her effeBis, or an accidental meeting of uncommon inci* dents furprifes you; or it is an objeft that exiils no where but in your heated imagination ; what you perceive through your fenfes never can be the fpirit him- felf. becaufe fpirits are incorporeal be* ings, and therefore neither can be feen, heard, nor felt ; it is, confequently, evi- dent that no external criterion of the re- ality of an apparition can exift." " This, I think, cannot be difputed.'' But there exifts perhaps an internal criterion. In order to decide this quef- tion, let us confider what paffes in the human mind when a ghoft appears. Firft of all, a lively idea of the prefence of a ghofl: takes place, and fenfations of ter- ror, aftonifliment and awe arife— -however this idea and thefe fenfations, may be no- thing elfe but the confequence of an un- common, though natural external im- preffion of a feverifh fancy, and confe- quently 210 THE VICTIiM OP quently never can be indubitable proofs of the prefence of fpirits. But perhaps the prefence of fpirits is afcertained by the co-exiftence of certain extraordi» nary notions, fenfations, and cognitions ? This too cannot be, for we muft be con- vinced that they could not arife in our foul in a natural manner, if we fliall be able to afcertain their having been pro- duced by the influence of a fpirit. In that cafe it would be requifite we fhould know the whole ftore of our clear and obfcure ideas, all their reciprocal rela. tions, and all poffible compofitions which x)ur imagination can form of them, a know- ledge that is referved only for the om- nifcient Ruler of the world. If we hap- pen fometimes, in our dreams, to have the mofl: wonderful vifions, to reafon in the moft fenfible manner, to difcover new truths, and to predid incidents which af- terwards really happen ; why fhould not the fame faculty of the foul which pro- duces fuch uncommon effe8:s in our dreams, furprife us fometimes with fimi- iar operations while we are awake, when it h agitated in a violent manner ? In fhort| MAGICAL DELUSION. af 2 fnort, my friend, there exiTts neither an internal nor an external criterion where- by we could afcertain the reality of an apparition." O hov; infufficient is human reafonl" the Duke groaned, how ambiguous the faculty through which we fancy we re- femble the Godhead, and that guides us much unfafer than inliin6t direfts brutes. But a fhort time nnce I thought it to be confonant with reafon to believe in ap- paritions of ghoils. and now I am con- vinced of the contrary. Your arguments have pulled down wdiat thofe of the IriOi- man have conftrufted, and thus I am conftantly driven from one belief to the oppofite one. Where fliali I find, at length, a fixed point to reft upon ? O 1 how happy is he, who undifiurbed by the reftiefs inftincl of thinking, and of invefti- gating the nature of things, refts in the lap of faith 1" I had not yet recovered from, my afto- nifhment at the fpeech of the Duke, when Alumbrado afked niCj after a fhort paufe : ■- ' - " • . . - - ' • . .. Then 212 THE V I CT I M O F Then you think it abfurd to beliere in the poffibility of apparitions ?" " A belief that has no firm foundation is abfurd." " You then think every apparition, however it be fhaped — " Is delufion, the fource of which arifes either from external natural caufes, or flows from our bewildered imagina- tion} or from both at once." " One queftion more !" the Duke faidy What do you think of the occult wif- dom which Hiermanfor is faid to have learnt from the Bramins That it confifts in a profound know- ledge of phyfic and natural hiflory." " And the fupernatural power he h boalling of-~?" Is nothing but a fldlful application of that knowledge ?'* The Duke remained filent for fome time, and then refumed:-— " You think it impoffible for mortals to acquire a fupernatural power ?" I fmiled. " It feems you deny alfo the polTibi- lily of miracles 1" Alumbrado faid with a dread- M A G r C A L D E L U S I O N. ^ij dreadful look, ^-hich he however foon fweetened again. I am convinced of the poffibility of miracles," I replied, becaufe it is felf- evident that God, who is the author of the laws of nature, can alter and fufpend them; but this only the Creator can do ; man, confequemly, is not capable of working miracles." But men can become inftruments in the hand of God," Alumbrado conti- nued, vrhereby Providence performs miracles !"' Undoubtedlv* but no wretches like the Irifhm.an. The eternal fource of truth and holinefs can never employ, as an im- mediate inilrument, animpoilor who deals in lies and artihce." Where will you find a mortal with- out fault ?" the Duke faid, indeed you a.re too much prej udiced againft the Irifh- man. He did not deceive me out of ma- lice or feififhnefs, but only for the fake of a juH and noble purpofe." Aclions that are in themfelves im= moral, like impofition and lies, never can be rendered moral by the juftnefs of- their 214- T H E V I C T I M 0 F their end, and an organ of the Godhead never can employ means of fo culpable a nature. But, my friend, if you really are perfuaded tlie furtherance of the re- volution to have been a noble and juft aftion, why has the Irifhman been obliged to exert all his arts to prevail on you to affifl in the execution of that undertak- ing?" The Duke caft his eyes to the ground, and Alumbrado left us. Miguel feemed to be penetrated with fhame and confu- fion, and continued for fome time to keep his eyes rivetted to the ground without uttering a word. I took him affe6tionately by the hand : It was not my intention to tell you my opinion of your adventures with the Irifh- man in Alumbrado's prefence ; you have forced me to do it, and I could not help telling my mind freely." I thank you for it." Your obftinacy and my franknefsmay prove fatal to me." « How fo ?" " It will perhaps coft me my life and liberty." I do MAGICAL DELUSION. 215 *^ I do not comprehend you."- " I have declared myTelf againfl: the belief in apparitions, and Alumbrado is perhaps at prefent on the road to the in- ^ quifition, in order to inform againft me.'* " Have you not yet conquered your prejudices againfl him? Don't be uneafy, and ceafe judging unjuftly of a man againft whom you have no real'on of com-^ plaint, except a countenance which you do not like." You did not obferve the fiend-like look he darted at me, O my friend, whatever may befall me, I will fubmit willingly to it, if I have fucceeded in re- calling you from your errors T' I thank you for your love, but I apprehend very much I am one of thofe unhappy men of whom you have been faying, that no arguments of reafon can remove their delufion, I am fenfible that my fenfation has an immediate evi- dence, which overpowers every perfua- fion of the underilanding — this I am fen- fible of, as often as I recall to my mind the apparition at the church-yard." " You 41^ THE VICTIM OF " You view me with looks of pity,'* the Duke continued after a jfhort paufe, I divine your thoughts. However, if you had feen what I have witneffed — " " Then I fhould have been aftonifhed at the artful delufion^ and the dexterity of the Irifhman." " And at the fame time would not have been able to conceive, as well as myfelf, how it could have been performed in a natural manner," " I grant it ; but I never conclude that any thing has been performed by fuperna - tural means, becaufe I cannot compre- hend how it could have been effefted in a natural m^anner. There was a time when you fancied the apparition in Ame- lia's apartment to have been effcQed by fupernatural means, and yet it was not fo. Who would have the childifli arrogance to fancy his intelle8:ual faculties to be the fcale of the powers of nature, and his knowledge the limit of human art ? — However the apparition of the church- yard has fome defeds, which its author could not efface in fpite of his dexterity, and which eafily would have difpelled the MAGIC AL DELUSION. sif the delufion before the eyes of a cool obferver. The Irifhman could not give to the phantom the accent of Antonio's voice, how ildlfuUy foever he imitated his features. That the apparition did not move his eyes and lips, nor any limb, is alfo a fufpicious circumftance, that proves the limits of the artificer's Ilull. But what renders the reality of the appa- rition rnoft fufpicious is, undoubtedly, your friend's ignorance of what his pre- tended /pir^V (confequently his proper Jelf) told you at the church-yard; for if he had known any thing of it, he would not have concealed it from the Prince of Braganza, in whofe arms he died, much lefs from you, in his farewell letter. Fi- nally, if you confider what your tutor has told the Prince about his ftatue, which has been cut in wood during his imprifonment, you willfindit very probable that the Irifli- man has made ufe of it in fome nranner or other for effefting that delufion.'* The Duke flared at me like a perfon fuddenly roufed from a profound fleep.— « Marquis he faid, at length, you have opened my eyes; but my unvront Vol, III, L looks asS THE VICTIM OF looks are unable to penetrate another fad I cannot expel from my memory." " Again, an apparition— ?'* Which, however^ did not happen to rne, but to my father/' " You mean the apparition of Count San* ?" The very fame." " Your father has related to me all the particulars of it; I^have reflefted upon it, and imagine I am capable of explaining it in a natural manner. Your father re- ceived, two days before the ghoft appeared to him, a letter, by which he was inform- ed that the Count was dangeroufly ill, and that his life was defpaired of on ac- count of his advanced age. This intelli- gence affe6led him violently, and the idea of the impending diffolution of his deareft friend, prevailed in his mind from that mo- ment. The melancholy of your father feemed to encreafe hourly, reduced him in the day to the ftate of a dreaming per- fon, and difturbed his reft at night. As often as he awoke in the fecond night, he fancied he heard fomebody groan, yet the groaning perfon was undoubtedly no- M A G I C A L D E L U S I O N. ztf body but himfelf, and the caufe of his groans originated from the preflure of the blood againft tlie breafc. This preffure awakened him once more, early in the in the morning, v/ith forne violence ; he fell again alleep a fev/ minutes after, and it was very natural that the object of the dream that ftole upon him fiiould be no other but Count San*. Your fa- ther miftook that dream for a real appari- tion and nothing is more pardonable than- this felf-deceit. The only circumftance that renders this incident remarkable, isj that the Count really expired in that very- hour. However, I allc you whether it be fo very ftrange, if our imagination^ which deceives us fo many thoufand times by its delufions fliouldat length coincide once accidentally vnth the truth ?'* ^» One rather ought to wonder," the Duke replied, ^* that this is fo rarely the cafe." " Here you have two inllances of ap- paritions," I refumed, which agree ia their being delufions, only with that differ- ence, that one of them which happened at ihe church-yard originated from external L a caufesj 210 THE VI C TI M O F caufes, and the other from the imagina- tion of your father. We are not always fo fortunate as to be able to explain appa- tions in fo natural a manner; our incapa- city and ignorance gives us, however, no right to think that they are fupernatural." " You think then that the belief in ap- paritions and the influence of fpirits ori- ginates merely from ignorance?'* Certainly ; when man was yet in his unpolifhed ftate, and ignorant of the laws of nature and of thinking, the uncivilifed BiOTtals could not but obferve many ex- ternal phenomena which they could not explain, their ftock of experimental know- ledge not being equal to that taflc. Ne- ceffitated by the law of reafon to fearch for the caufe of every efFe6l, they fubfti- tuted unknown caufes, when unable to find out any that were known to them, and miftook thefe powers for fpirits, be- caufe they were invifible to them, though they perceived their effefts." I do not deny, my friend, that the original fource of the belief in appari- tions, and the influence of fpirits, has taken its rile from an evidently falfe conclufion^ It MAGICAL DELUSION. 22X It has however been frequently the fate of truth that its difcovery was founded on- erroneous premifes ; confequently the manner in which an idea is generated can- not render its internal truth fufpefted, provided it be fupported by other valid arguments." " Your remark is very juft and true^yet it cannot be applied to the prefent cafe, for I have already proved that v;e poffefs neither an external nor an internal crite- rion by which we could difcern the in- fluence and apparition of thofe invifible beings, and that we confequently have no fufhcient reafon to believe in their exift- ence. This too I will not conteil. You have, however, proved only the impoffi- bility of finding out a criterion by which we could difcern the real influence of fpirits, but not the impoITibility of that in- fluence itfelf. It may yet be fuppofed that thefe beings can produce apparitions W'ithout, and effeds within ourfelves. and that we are connefled with them in an efPeclual and fecret manner. While this internal impofTibility is not prov- ed* it Vfill not be abfurd to imagine L 3 that ai2 T H E V I C T I M O F tiiat men AvBo-.mortify their fenfualit}^^ who are entirely abforbed in medita- tion, and fix their looks merely on fu- perterreftriai things, may be favoured more frequently with the influence of ipiritual beings, and a more intimate con- nect ion with them." " J will not pretend to fay that this clafs of men qualify themfelves for ghofl- feers by the mortifications you have been mentioning; it is however certain, that they are in a fair way of becomiing fanatics and madmen. At the fame time, I think it very imprudent to facrifice every earthly pleafure, to negleO: the duties we owe to human fociety, on account of the poffibi- bility of a matter, the reality of which is founded on no arguments whatever. It is no abfolute impoffibility that I fiiould one time be made a Mandarin of Chinaj yet the bare poffibility of it will certainly not induce me to trouble my head with the iludy of the Chinefe ftate-politics in or- der to qualify myfelf for that dignity. Moreover, it is not only pofTible, nay, it is probable that the moon is inhabited by rational beings? I fliall neverthelefs cer- tainly MAGICAL D ELUSION. tij Mainly not be anxious to give any ofFence to the man in the moon by my actions. But to be ferious, my friend, the point of your queftion is not, whether it be polTible fpirits fhould have an influence on us and external objefts, but whether we really do poffefs a certain and decifive criterion whereby we can afcertain the reality of that influence; and I think I have fuf- ficientiy proved that we pofTefs none. Nay I even maintain, that if fomething fhould not only be poffible, but aifo really exift, yet its exiftence is no concern of mine, while I cannot afcertain its exiPc- ence by a fufiicient ground, while it does not manifeftits exiilence_to ray knowledge by certain and indubitable criterions." " But your objection," I refumed after a fliort filencc, may be purfued ilill further. You maintain that I could not prove the internal Impojjihility of the in- fluence of fpirits on human beings, and thus far you are right; but I have an equal right to maintain that you alfo cannot prove their real poffibi'ity for in tha.t cafe it would be requifite to know not only wli^t a fpirit is according our idea, L 4 but 2u THE VICTIM OF but alfo what it is in it/elf-, and that only the Author of fpirits can know. We know our own foul only by its eifeQs, and no mortal can explain the ejfential nature of this firil caufe of all our ideas and ac- tions. For that very reafon it ever will ])e coiiceaied from us whether it is related at all to fpirits here below, and what the nature of that relation is ? Here, my friend, are the limits of human reafon, be- yond which we cannot proceed without falling in with the empty fpace of fophif- tical phantoms. While you fhall remaia within the lawful boundaries, you never will have reafon to complain of the infuf- ficiency of human reafon, as you have done juft now. It is criminal arrogance to overleap the facred limiits, to which Providence has confined it ; for the eter- nal wifdom of God is equally entitled to our regard by what it has denied, as by what it has granted us. Defcend, there- fore, my friend, defcend from the empty fpace to which the Irifhman had feduced you, to the firm ground of ex- perience and common fenfe ! Happy is he who looks upon this ground as a poll al- lotted MAGICAL DELUSION. 225 j lotted to him, which we can never tranf- grefs without being punifhed, and which implies every thing that can afford us fa- tisfaftion while we keep firm to what is ufeful." About fix weeks after this converfation I happened, one night, to fup with the Marquis in the company of his fon and Alumbrado. Our difcourfe on the new government was growing very w^arm, when the clock in the room ftruck ten. Alumbrado fuddenly grew deadly wan, and feemed to be ftruck dumb ; his eyes ftared at one fpot, and he refembled a lifelefs ftatute. We looked at each other with aftoniftiment ; the old Marquis was the firft who called to him, but received no anfwer, and ftairted up feized with terror. The Duke and myfelf followed his ex- ample; our endeavours to reftore Alum- brado to recolleQion were, however, fruitlefs ; he remained in profound ftupe- faftion. Not knowing what had happen- . ed to him, we were going to fend for a phyfician, when he rofe from his chair like a perfon to v/hom nothing uncommon has happened^ and told us vrith the greateft L 5 unconcern^ a25 T H E V I C T I M O F unconcern, " This very moment a ftrange accident has happened 300 miles from hence. At ^li*, at the Sun Tavern, the pifture of the new King which was hung up in the dining room, gave occaiion to a difcourfe concerning him. One of the guefts faid a great deal to his praife, mani- fefting, at the fame time, a ftrong appre-- henfion that the King of S— n might not fubmit fo quietly to the lofs of the crown of p 1^ and perhaps, reclaim it by force of arms. Another gueft declared this to be a vain idea, maintaining that the new King was as firmly hxed on his throne as his pidure oppofite him on the wall ; but no fooner had he pronounced thefe words, when the piQure fuddenly fell to the ground with a tremendous noife." Here Alumbrado flopped. While we ivere Handing around him in dumb afto- nifhment, he eyed us with the firm look of a perfon who has related a,n incident of which he has been an eye witnefs. Afto- nifiiment and horror feized me, and I did not know v/hat to fay. The Duke reco- vered firft from his furprife, aficing him by what means he had got that intelli- gence. M A G I C A L DELUSION. a^j gence. " I muft beg you," Alumbrado replied in a low accent, " to fupprels a queftion to which I can give no fatisfac- tory anfwer. However," he added with emphafis, " you may rely on the truth of my intelligence." He had not deceived us. On the fixth day after this extraordinary incident, let- ters from *li"'^ arrived confirming the fame event, and nine days after, it was reported in the foreign newfpapers. It really hap- pened on the fame evening, and the fame night vvhen Alumbrado had informed us of it. Being unexpeQ:adly honoured by the new King with a commifiion that obliged me to leave the kingdom of P— 1, foori after this extraordinary incident had hap- pened, I was not at leifure to inveftigate the fource of Alumbrado's prophecy; nor could I learn the Duke's opinion of it ; my deluded friend beginning to grow very clofe and referved in my prefence. It grieved me to be obliged to leave hini in Alumbrado's power, under fuch criti- cal circumflances, I could however, not delay my departure. The Duke tore L 6 ; himfelf 418 THE VICTIM OF himfelf from my embraces with weeping eyes, and promifed to write frequently to me. A week after my arrival at the place of my deftination, I received a letter from my friend, which I am going to tranfcribe faithfully. * I have had to-day a moft important * converfation with Alumbrado. The * principal fubje8: of it was the old con- * cealed King of P™ 1, for whofe refto- * ration I had interefted myfelf. " Can ' you ferioufly believe — " Alumbrado * faid, " that the perfon with whom you * have converfed at the Hermitage, has * really been the old King of P 1 ? It * leems you did not even fufped that the * introduQion of the old man was a jug- * gling farce, which was afted with a view * fimilar to thofe of the other delulions of * the Irifliman ? Although we fhould fup- * pofe that the King had not been killed * in the field of battle, and that he himfelf * had been the identical perfon who was * confined at the caftle of St. Lukar, which ^ however, has not been proved, yet the ' whole M A G I C A L D E L U S I O N. 229 s v/iiole affair would itill bear a very fufpi- ^ cious afpecl. Not to mention the great ' improbability of his efcape from a well- ' guarded caftle, where he v;as kept in ' clofe confinement, and of his having at- ^ tained an age of 1 08 years notwithftand-^ ' ing the hardfliips he fuffered in the field ' of battle, and in his prifon.— I only beg ^ you to conlider who it was that intro= « ducedhimtoyou as King of P- — 1? Was * not the Irifhman that perfon ? At the * Tame time, give me leave to recal to * your recollection, that Count Clairval ' has confeffed that the pretended King * a6led in concert with that impoftor. and * then tell me fincerely, what ground you * have to believe fuch an improbability on ^ the teftimony of two cheats ? Perhaps * you will appeal to his great refemblance ' to the late King ? But have not three ' perfcns before him pleaded fnriilarmarks ■ as proofs of the identity of their per- * fon, and neverthelefs been unmafked as * impoftors ? My good Duke, on mature * confideration it feems thai the Irifhman * relied very much on your youth and the ^ abfence THE V I C T I M O F « abfence of your tutor, when he impofed ^ upon you by that juggling trick." Ah ! what ideas do you recall to n^y * memory ! (I exclaimed) that letter from « the Queen and the anfwer of the Irifh-' ' man.—" ; . ^ > ^ Very right ! (Alumbrado interrupted * me) theie letters fufficiently prove, that * you was confidered as a young man who * promifed to be a lit inftrument for exe« « cuting their defign. And it is no longer *a fecret what that defign was, and in * whofe head it has been hatched out. The * proud Duchefsof B- — za had a longing « for the crown of P— — 1, and it was fhe * who perfuaded the Duke to form a plan * of feizing it. Your afTiftance, my dear ^ Duke, was wanted for attaining that aim, ' but the confpirators forefaw at the fame * time, that you would refufe it, your an- * tipathy againft your illuftrious relation being no fecret to them. For that rea- ^ fon they pretended that the Duke of i B ^a had no other view but to replace « the old King on the throne of hisancef- * tors. It was neceffary you fhould be > made to believe that be was fiill alive and MAGICAL DELUSION. * and in fafety ; for that purpofe the her- ^ mit was brought on the Hage, and a8:ed ^ his part with no common " Damned complot 1" I exclaimed, with ^ rifmg indignation." Compofe yourfelf, ^ my Lord," Alumbrado re famed, your ^ anger will now avail you very littko ^ Take care not to manifeft your indigna- * tion too loudly, left the nev/ King might ' forget that you are his relation^and have * affifted him to afcend the throne. Yoh ^ can do nothing elfe at prefent, but to ' fubmit humibly to his authority; and I ' advife you at the fame time not to neg- ^ led paying due regard to the Queen, for ^ ihe rules the King and the empire. Do- ' not expect that the prefent King wiU * yield the fceptre he has ufurped to any ^ man living. If you don't believe me, ^ you may inquire of him after the old ' King, and he wuU tell you, that he has ^ refigned the government to him, becaufe ' he feels himfelf unequal to the arduous ^ taflv of ruling a large kingdom, on ac- ^ count of his advanced age, or perhaps * that he is dead." . / ..ii^ «^My Z2t THE VICTIM OF « My dear Marquis, what do you think ^ of this ? I fear Alumbrado is not mif- ' taken, and I am in a ftate of mind that ^ would render it imprudent for me to < appear at court; but as foon as the « tempeft that ruffles my mind fliall be * fubdued, I will pay a vifit to the new ' King in order to come to the bottom of * the truth.' * P. S. You will be fo kind to con- ^ tinue to direO: your letters to Li'^bouj ' for neither I nor my father fhall leave ' the town this fummer/ Before I could return an anfwer to this letter, I received a fecond, the contents of which were as follow : « Will you believe, my friend, that * I defired three times to have an au- ^ dience, before my royal coufin conde- * fcended to admit me to his prefence ? ' This utter want of regard and gratitude * re-kindled my indignation in fuch a * manner, that I entered the royal apart- ^ ment in a way that was not very confo- * nant with the court etiquette. The ' King5 MAGICAL DELUSION, 233 King, however, received me very cour- teoufly, pretending to be extremely for- ry tiiat the accumulated affairs of ftate had not allowed him to receive my vifit fooner, declaring at the fame time that he was very glad tofee me. " I am come, (I replied) in order to tell you that I am farprifed that the old King has not yet made his appearance, and releafed you fiom the heavy burden of ftate buii-^ nefs/* Don't you know that he is dead?" ' The emotions that I felt at thefe words are beyond all defcription ; and my aftonifhment, the palenefs that over- fpread my face, and my filencej muft have betrayed them to the King. " A4: what are you aftonifhed thus ? not at the death of an old man of a hundred and eight years - " No," I replied after a paufe, «* but I am furprifed that he died at fo feafona- ble a period." " Will you explain yourfelf more dif- tinaiyr'' " I think it is a very ftrange accident that the royal hermit fhould have en- ' tered 434 THE VICTIM O F ' tered the kingdom of heaven, and left ^ your Majefty the terreftrial crown, juft * when he v/as to fhow himfelf to the peo- ^ pie as their lawful king." *^ It was an accident," And a very fortunate one for your Majefty." What do you call fortunate ? My family had a lawful claim to the crown of P — t -I5 and I have an additional right to the pofieffion of it becaufe I have torn it from the head of the ufurper at the riik of my life. I would, how- ever, have refigned it cheerfully to my grand uncle if his death had not de- ftroyed that plan. You are miftaken if you think the lot of a King to be fa enviable. The burden of governmxent lies heavy on my fhoulders. " O ! there are means of alleviating that load." " Of which I fhail make as little ufe aa polTible, for it will be the chief object of my cares, and will afford me the greateft pleafure to render my people happy." " Yv'ha M A G I C A L D E LU SI O N. 255 ^' Who could doubt it ? Yet I think one ought to make the death of the de- ceafed King publicly known." If we could but hrft convince the people that he has been alive lately. The profound incognito behind which he concealed himfelf, throws an infur- mountable bar in our w^ay. No one would believe us." " Upon my honour, I almoll difbelieve it myfelf any longer." You are right; one needs not to lieve what one is convinced of^ for you have feen him with your own eyes. If fate had fuffered him to fhow^ himfelf in public, every one would have ac- knowledged him to have been the per- fon that he really was, the old lawful King of P— t 1. Ha.ving5 however, lived and died in obfcurity, the whole matter may remain a fecret, and that fo much the more becaufe the difcovery w^ould be intirely ufeiefs. It is there- fore my royal pleafure that no mention whatever be made of it. Farewell! (he added after a ihort paufej you will always find me your afiTeBionate King." * Thus, 23^ T HE VICTIM OF ' Thus ended my audience. Do not « defi re me, my friend, to difclofe to you « the ideas and fenfations which it pro- ' duced within me. I fhall endeavour to ' obliterate even the recoUeQion of that ' fcene. ' Alumbrado is very much difpleafed * with the manner in which I have fpoken ^ to the King. " Do you imagine," faid he, * that his offended pride ever will forgive * you the torments of that felf-denial * which the patience he has oppofed to « your galling language has coft him ? The ^ facrifice which he has made to his policy ^ by that painful forbearance, will cer- ' tainly coil you dear. Henceforward, * you muft renounce every hope of being ^ promoted; for he will be careful to ' keep in fubmiffion, and at a proper dif- * tance, a man of fpirit, as you muft have ' appeared to him. This is perhaps the ^ leall misfortune that threatens you; ' your warmth, your ill-timed franknefs, ' may produce confequences of a more ^ ferious nature. Alas! why have you ^ Hot been on your guard ? Have I not ^ advifed MAGICAL DELUSION. 237 « advifed you to appear with humility iii * his prefence ?" ' Alumbrado had certainly the moll ^ friendly view in reprimanding me thus; ^ he did not know that every word of his ^ wounded my heart like a two-edged ' dagger." /-.f '^.^-^^ -v . : . . ;: , ^ I have been interrupted bv the vifit ' of a Prelate of very high rank. He ' came to inform my father and niyfelf, ^ that the Vice-Queen of P — t — — 1 had ' been imprifoned by the order of the ' King, becaufe fhe has had the impru- ' dence to declare that the new King had ^ ufurped the throne in a fraudulent man- ' ner, and that it was the duty of every ^ inhabitant of P — t 1 to acknowledge ' only the King of Sp — n as his lawful ' fovereign, becaufe the voluntary oath ^ of allegiance the P — t — fe had fworn to ' the latter, could not be made void by « that which the Duke of B -a had ob- ^ tained by artifice and force. " I cannot ' conceive," the Prelate added, "what rea- ' fonable obje6lion can be alledged ^ againit this declaration ; but neverthe- 2sl T H E V I C T I M O F « iefs, no one dares to affirm it, for fear of « fharing the fate of the Vice-Queen." t The Vice-Queen and the Prelate, ap» « pear to me to be in the right. How- ' ever, what can be done ? Farewell, my « friend, and let it not be long before you ' favour me with an anlwer. * P. S. This very moment I received « an anfwer to a letter I had wrote to a ^ friend near the place where the hermit ^ lived. Fie informs me that the old man € expired four months fince, worn out ^ with age.' I fufpe8:ed already from the firft letter^ but more fo from the fecond, that the Duke was in danger of taking a courfe from which he could not return too foon. I imagined I had difcovered the defign which Alumbrado had formed upon him, and fhuddered at the idea that he might carry his point. Y et my fufpicion againft Alumbrado was ftill a mere fuppoiitiong which gave me no right to accufe him. After mature confideration I thought^ however, it would be bell to deliver the Duke, againil whom his plan appeared to be MA G IC AL DELUS ION. 239 be chiefly dire6led, from his clutches, and thus expefted to gain two advantages by one ftroke : not only to cut the finews of Aiumbrado's undertaking afunder, but alfo to guard the Duke againft the fnare which was laid for him. With that view I wrote to the latter: ' Your letters Tiave been very import- « ant to me ; I muft, however, beg you ' to fetch my anfwer yourfelf. Don't re- ^ fufe my requeft, and haften to the arms * of your friend, whofe happine fs in a ^ place on which nature feems to have « lavifhedall her bleffings, would becom- ^ plete if you were prefent. Here we ^ will difcufs the political concerns v/hich ' give you fo much uneafinefs, for I have ' more than one reafon for not doing it ^ by way of letter, and my affairs threaten * to detain me here forne time longer. ^ The journey v/ill not only improve * your iiealth, but it will alfo eale your * mind, which is bent down at prefent by * a gloomy famenefs of ideas, and very * much wants amufement and diveriion, * I am convinced that your m.elancholy « will 24.0 THE VICTIM OP * will not purfue you to the paradife that ^ blofibms here. And if only your ^ gloominefs of mind fhall have left you, ' you will view things that now appear to « you in a frightful fhape, in a more ' pleafmg light. At the fame time you ' may expecl that the commiffion the King « has charged me with, will enable m.e to * explain to you many political objeds « which I dare not do in writing. Come, ' * my friend, you certainly will not regret * your having undertaken this journey. . ' Sec. &c. Sec: My letter produced the defired ef- fe6l. The Duke returned me a very affeftionate anfwer, and promifed to be- gin the journey in a fortnight. How joyfully and impatiently did my heart pant for his arrival ! but I was difappointed. He did not come, but fent me a letter, which I am going to communicate to the reader, « Why am I not yet arrived?— Afk ^ Heaven that queftion, but not me, for ^ I have done every thing in my power I ' to MAGICAL B £ L U S I O N. 241 « to fulfil my promife. In fpite of Alum- ' brado's remonftrances, I went on board ' of the fliip that was to convey me to * my friend. A favourable breeze that * fwelled our fails, enlivened my hopes of ' embracing you foon. Evening fet in, ' and the wind and the &y continued to be * propitious. The fecond and the third ^ night dole upon us amid the fame fa- ' vourable aufpices. ^ ^ I do not know how it happened, that ^ on the third night the recolle6lion of my ' fainted Amelia awoke within my mind ^ with additional vivacity. It was not, * however, affociated with painful, but ' with bitter-fweet fenfations, which fre- ' ' quently aiFord to feeling minds a more ^ delicious pleafure than joys unmixed. I [: ^ proceeded inlenfibly from lenfations to , the realms of fancy. I ioo!:ed at the ^ ftar of love, and imagined I beheld « Amelia's fainted fpirit enthroned in its ^ filver luftre. My foul foared above the * immenfe fpace that feparated us, and Vanticipated the blifs of the celefiial ipi- ' rits. — O ! why has llie fo foon been ren- ' dered ienfible of the limits of her powcr^ Vol. HL M which 242 T H E V I C T I iM O F ^ which obliged her to return to our fub- ^ lunary globe ? ' I felt a faintnefs which invited me to ^ reft, and having bid adieu to the ftarry ^ firmament and the ocean, I went to my * cabin, where the folacing hand of fleep ^ foon clofedmy eyes. ^ I awoke an hour before the dawn of « morn. Finding myfelf entirely refrefh- ' ed, I left my couch and returned on « deck, in order to hail the ftars once ' more, before they iLould be difpelled ' by the majeftic king of day. But what ^ a fcene did ray gazing eyes behold !~ ^ The firmament appeared no longer to ^ be over us, but we feemed to ride upon « it. I did not know whether I was ^ dreaming or awake, rubbing my eyes * repeatedly. In vain, the fcene re- ^ mained unaltered : intenfe darknefs co- ' vered the fky, all its ftars and galaxies ^ appeared to be on the water. ^ O nature ! thy grateful fon never will ^ forget the enjoyment which this unde- ^ fcribable fpeftacle has afforded him ! — ^ I gazed a long time in filent wonder at * the illuminated furface of the ocean, be- ^ fore MAGICAL DEL u SIGN. 243 fore I could exairiine the individual beauties of that grand fcene. Whither- foever I directed my gazing looks, I be- held fiery ftreaks. However, all parts were not equally illuminated ; fome fpots emitted quick flafnes of light, while others continued fome minutes to fparkle. The feparated water guflied before us in luminous ftreams, and the furrow which the vefTel drew formed a white bright ftreak behind us, which was interfperfed with fl^y-blue fpots. The multifarious and dazzling light was flapping on the curling waves ; thefpume which the little bubbles produced on the furface of the water, glittered like fil- ver-coloured fnow. I could have plunged in the watery abyfs in order to fink down in that heaven. ' The rifmg fun put a flop to that en- chantment. My fellow travellers began to ftir. I haftened to tell them what a fcene they had miffed. A reverend old man, who was prefent v;hen 1 related what I had feen, fmiled. One can fee, faid he, " that this is your firfl voyage ; this phenomenon is nothing - M 2 ' uncoiii- 244 T H E V I C T I M O F * uncommon in ail feafons, and particu- « lady in warmer climes ; neverthelefs * the naturalifts ftill differ in their opi- ^ nion of its caufe, fome believing that it « proceeds from fmall luminous infers, ' and others from an oily fubftance that ^ feparates from rotten animal bodies. — * Many pretend this phenomenon to be ^ the forerunner of an impending tempell, * but this is falfe." ' The old man may not have been mif- ^ taken, yet this time he was refuted by * experience. The little clouds which ' were fwimming fingly in the ilcy, united ' by degrees and overdarkened the fun. * A black tempeft began to gather in the ^ north. The crew were juft going to ^ prepare againft the ftorm, when fud- * denly a violent gale of wind arofe, and hurried the veffel with incredible rapi- dity over the ruffled furface of the fea. We loft one of our anchors, which fell from the deck with a thundering noife. Some loud peals of thunder gave the fmnal for the breakingr out of the ftorm. The light of day difappeared, the bil- lows of the fwelling fea were rolling one ' upon MAGICAL D E L U S I O N. a^^^ ^ upon another with a roaring noife ; the ^ dreadful flailies of lightning feemed to dye the furface of the o cean ^vith blood, ^ and each clap of thunder threatened to ' fliiver the maft to atoms. The foaming ' of the Vvaves, the rolling of thunder, and ' the howling of the winds, feemed to ' announce to that part of the world the ' return of old chaos. ' The (Irong flaflies of lightning made « us fuddenlv obferve that land was near. ' How welcome foever fuch adifcoverv is ^ in fair weather, yet it was to us the moll ^ dreadful incident that could have hap- • pened, on account of our imminent dan- ^ ger of being wrecked. . Our cables ' feemed not to be able to refifh lon^ the fury of the v/inds and waves which af- ' failed the veffel. ' All thefe circumftances contributed to ' recall to nly mind the recolle8:ion of a ' fimilar incident which had robbed me * of my Am.elia. The wounds of my ' heart began to bleed ax^refli, and the ' melancholy fenfations which affailed miy ' mind, deprived mQ of the power that I, ^ otherwife, fhould have oppofed to the M 3 ' terrors 345 T H E V I C T I M a F ^ terrors which furrounded me. My * hearc beat violently againft my breaft, « and nothing but my ambition could have * prevented me from joining thofe who « groaned and lamented loudly, wringing ^ their hands and tearing their hair. « I flood on deck a prey to fpeechlefs ^ agony, when fuddenly fomebody tapped * me on the Ihoulder. Conceive my ' ailonifiiment when, on turning round, I * faw Alumbrado {landing behind me. I ' llaggered back as if a midnight fpedtre * had taken hold of me with icy hands.^ — ' Terror and furprife deprived me of the * power of utterance, and fufpended every ' motion of my limbs. He had made the ^ voyage without my knowledge, and ' found means to keep himfelf concealed 6 from me ; you may therefore imagine, * hov/ violently I was alFefted by the fud- « den appearance of that man, whom I ^ fancied to be at Lif*on. " Are you not forry now, that you « have flighted my advice ?" Alumbrado « faid, " it feems you will not fee your ' friend in this v/orld." Some minutes ^ paffed before I was able to reply. " Let - ' - ^ us MAGICAL DELUSION. 24? ^ US now enjoy in filence the grandefl: ' fpedacle that nature can alFord !" So ' faying, he looked wdth tranquillity at ^ the foaming ocean, as if he had been ' {landing on tlie fneltering fhore, far ^ diftant from the danger that furrounded ^ us from all fides. His eyes beheld with ^ inconceivable ferenity the wild commo- ' tion of the v/aves, which now raifed the ' veffel to the flaming clouds, and now ^ hurled it into the gaping abyfs of the ' boiling fea. The firm tranquillity which * Alumbrado's countenance bef^^oke, in ' fpite of the furious combat of the ele- ' ments, the impending deftruftion of the ^ fliip, and the doleful lamentations of the ' defponding crew, appeared to me to de- ^ note more than human courage. I ^ gazed with fecret awe at a being that ^ feemed to be delighted with a fpe61acle, ' which made every hair of my head rife ' like bridles. ' At length the flalhes of lightning grew ^ fainter, the roaring of the thunder lefs ' violent, and the fury of the winds feemed ' to be exhaufted; but the fea continued ' to be agitated in fo dreadful a manner, M 4 ' that T H R V i C T I M O F ^ that \vc apprehended the cables would ^ ROL be able to fland the motion of the ^ lliip any longer. In vain did we im- * p]ore human affiftance by the difcharge of ^ our guns, the towering waves threaten- ^ ing deftriiPaon to the boats that at- ^ tempted to come to our relief. In vain will human force endea- * vour to wage the unequal conteft againft * all-poweriul nature ! ' I exclaimed whefi ' I beheld that defponding fight. Alum- ' brado turned round. " I will tame the * fury of theie foaming waves, if you will ' promife to return to Lif*on 1" I gazed * at him in fpeechlefs aftoniniment. " I * am in earnefi," he refamed, will you ^ return to Lif^on ? ' If I will?" I re- ' plied, If I will ? how can you afk ^ me that queftion ? enable me to do it T' ' Alumbrado left me without returning ' an anfwer. ^ A few minutes after he returned.— You will, p relent] y, behold a miracle,'' ' he faid, but I mull requeil you to tell ' nobody the author of it." * I promifed it, and the miracle enfued. ^ The rolling foaming fea grew calm and - ^ fm.ooth. MAGICAL DELUSION. 249 * fmootli. Vv'e went on fliore, and found ' ourfelves not farther than a day's jour- ' ney from Lir^on. • You fee, rny friend^ that a higher 'power, againft which oppofition would ' have been ufelefs, has put a flop to my ^ voyage. I have related the hillory of ^ it without making any comments, and ' leave it to vour own judgment to form a 'juil opinion of it. As for me, I am ' convinced that I have at length found - the man whom mv boding; foul has lon^ ' been in fearch of.' This letter aftonifiied me to the higheft degree, and, at the fame time, augmented my apprehenfions very much. In my an- fwer I declared neither for nor againfl: Alumbrado's fupernatural pov/er, becaufe I neither chofe to confirm the Duke in his belief in it, nor to n{k lofmg his con-^ fidence; for how could I have expecled to receive farther intelligence of his con- neclion with Alumbrado, if i had been deprived of the latter ? and yet it was of the utmofi importance to me to learn every tranfa8:ion of that defigning m.an. M 5 Net- 250 T H E VI CT I M O F Notwitbftanding this precaution, near a month elapfed without my having re- ceived an anfwer to my letter. I wrote a fecond time to him, but before his an- fwer could reach me, was ordered by the King to return inftantly, and to make an oral report of the iffue of my commif- fion. I was, therefore, obliged to depart without being able to wait the arrival of his letter. 1 anticipated the pleafure of furprifing him by my unexpefted arrival, and went to his palace as foon as I arrived at Lif- *on. He rather feemed furprifed than pleafed at the unexpeOied fight of me, afking w^ith a kind of anxiety, whether I had received his laPc letter. When I an- fwered in the negative he feemed to grow more eafy, but adding, fome time after, that it would be fent after me without delay, his brow began again to be over- clouded. I was not much pleafed with this behaviour,, aiid begged him to relate to me the fequel of Alumbrado's hi (lory, but he deiired me to avv^ait the arrival of his letter, in which I fhould find a cir- cumllantial account of it. In vain did I conjure him by the ties of our friend- fhip MAGICAL D E LU S I O N, 255 ^ point out to you reajon as the only in- ^ fallible inftruQior and guide, at the ex- ^ pence of faith, and at the fame time ^ ftrove to confound that very reafon by * artful and fallacious conclufions, as the ^ Marquis of F* has demonftrated in a ' mafterly manner. The Irifliman was ' very careful not to make you refleB: on ' the limits of reafon and the power of ' men, becaufe a genius like you would ^ eahly have concluded how much w^e ^ are in want of divine illumination and ^ grace ; and it was his chief aim to re- ' move the light of religion, becaufe his ^ works required being covered by delu- ^ five mids. You will never have feen / him frequent the church, nor perform ^ religious rites, will never have heard ' him. pronounce certain facred names. ^ I knov/ that fort of people, who are fo ^ much the more dangerous, the more ' they are flvilled in concealing their real ^ iliape behind deceiving mafks. The ^ fpreading libertinifm, and the furious ^ rage of explaining every thing natu- ^ rally, threatens indeed to fufpend the ^ belief in the exiftenccj nay even in the ' poffi^ 355 THE VICTIM OF ' bility of miracles and forcery, however ' they have not ceafed notwithftanding ^ that. The opinions of men m.ay alter, * but things will remain as they are. « The fame Omnipotence that in times of ' old has led the Ifraelites through the ' red fea, manifells itfelf ftill in our days ' through fignsand miracles, although they ^ are not acknowledged as fuch by the ^ blind multitude. The fame reprobated * fpirit that fpoke formerly through the € oracle of Delphos, and by whofe affifl- ^ ance Simon the magician performed « extraordinary feats, is ftill aftive in our c prefent times. Is it, therefore, impro- ' bable that men who by their fuperior ' fan6iity rife above the generality, and « conneO: themfelves more intimately with « the Godhead, fhould refemble the Su- « preme Being in power, and enjoy an- « immediate influence of the Ruler of the « world? Is it fo very incomprehenfible * that the fpirit of darknefs fhould favour « thofe who refemble him in Yackednefs, ^ and endow their inclination of perpe- ^ trating wicked deeds v/ith a phyfical « power of executing their diabGlical de- ^ figns ? MAGICAL DELUSION. 257 ^ ligns ? People of either defcription * will, indeed, always rarely be met with; ^ fuperftition will mi (lake as fach many * who do not belong to that clafs, yet ^ who can prove that they do not exift ^ at all ? I am, certainly, no enemy to * reafon, however I conceive it to be not ' lefs abfurd obRinately to reje6l what- ^ ever is miraculous, than to believe it ' blindlv. I efteem reafon Vvdnie it does * not overPcep the limits to which it is * confined, as the Marquis of has ^juftly obferved, nor attempts to expel ' faith. There are fupernatural things, ' facred truths, which the former never * can comprehend, being referved only * for the latter. Faith is hailed by noon- ^ tide light, even where reafon finds no- ' thing but midnight darknefs. Vv^hiie ' the latter proceeds flowly, and v/ith un- ^ certain fteps, through a mazy labyrinth ' of conclufions and arguments, the for- ' mer enjoys a clear immediate fight of ' truth, and experiences all the flrength ^ of its evidence. The period is however ^ arrived, when men begin to abandon ^ themfelves exclufively to the cold fpe- ' culaticns 258 THE VICTIM OF ' culations of reafon, and this fatal maxim ^ manifeds itfeif but too evidently in the * pratlical life. Rarely any thing is un- ' dertaken before it is pondered and ' weighed moft anxioufly with a pufillani- ' mous minutenefs. And this is one of ' the chief caufes of the prefent fcarcity ' of great and ftriking anions. The fa- ^ cred flame of enthufiafm extinguiOies, ^ and every energy of foul dies away ^ along v^ith it. While reafon waftes her ^ whole ftrength in barren fpeculations, ' the demands and wants of our heart re- ' inain unfatisfied, a kind of infenfibility ' Reals upon us, the mind grows pufilla- ' nimous, and all noble palfions are fuf- - ' focated. No, no ! this is , no age in ' which great geniufes can thrive ! Rea- ' foning has produced but very few im- ^ mortal deeds ; faith, however, although ^ it iliould have been only the faith of ' man in his natural abilities, has fre- ^ quently rendered impoiTible poffible — - - ^ If fo, what miracles will faith in the af- ' fifcance of an omnipotent being be able ' to perform ? The fird King of Portu- ^ gal has given us the moft glorious proof , > ■ ^ of MAGICAL DELUSION. s;9 ^ of the truth of this afTercion : he vrent. ^ as you knovv from hiflory, Avith four ^ thoufand raen againft the inndcls, and ^ ^vas oDDofed bv five kin^s with four ' hundred thoufand Moors. Terror aad ' difmay feized his little army at this ' fight ; however, the celebrated appari- ' tion through which God promifed him ^ the viclory over his enemies, revived * the broken fpirit of his troops. x-\nd « what elfe but faith in this promife could ' have made him riik and gain a battle, ' in which one man had to encounter an ' hundred?" - ; . - v.. .. ; ' My dear Marquis. I have been inter- ' rupted again by the vifit of a great pre- * latec and, with your permiiffion, fnall ' communicate to you the fub (lance of ' what he has told me. The Jews (he ' faid' have, as you will knovr, offered ' to the new Recent, on his acceihon to ' the throne, to pay a great fum of nio- ^ ney to him, if he would grant them li* ' bercy to live and to trade in the coun- ^.try as externa.1 Chiiftians. without being * perfecuted by the Inquifition. — It v.-ould ^ have been highly advantageous to reli- ' gion 26o T H E V I C T I M O F * gion, if this liberty had been granted to * the Jews ; for although they fliould ' have vifited the Chriftian churches at * fir ft only for form's fake, and obferved ^ only the external rites of worihip, yet ' many would have been edified, and ' convinced of the truth of Chrilli- * anity fo irrefiftibly, that they v/ould ' have ferioufiy embraced the Chriliian ' religion. The Inquifitors themfelves * have intimated this to the King, How- ' ever the , I do not know how to * call him, who cares little for the pro- * pagation of faith, has refufed to grant * this petition of the jews. The Inqui- ' fition has informed the Pope of it; and * the holy father, who as yet has refufed * to acknowledge his royal authority, will ' now have an additional reafon for not ^ confirming the ufurped dignity of a free * thinker, v;ho injures the intereft of the ^ church v/henever opportunity offers* ' I have, however, great reafon to fuf- ' peel that our new King foments thefe ^ diffentions defignedly, for fome horrid ' purpofe. Not contented with having ' alienated the nation from their lawful ' Sove- M A G I C A L D E L U S I O N. z6i « Sovereign, he alfo endeavours to obtain * an opportunity of alienating them from * the chief of the church. O Marquis ! ' O Duke ! what gloomy profpe6ls for ' all thofe who are refolved to live and « to die in the religion of their ancef- ' tors. " Stop," the Marqais exclaimed, he ^ fhall not dare to carry matters to that ' point; by heaven, he fliali not." My ' father had not yet ceafed giving vent to ' his indignation, when the other prelate, ' whom I mentioned in my laft letter, ' joined us. The two prelates were re- * joiced to fee each other, and concealed ' their fentiments fo little from each other. ^ that they both avowed their opinions of ' the new King without the leaft referve. I cannot conceive how you," fa.id he, who < had joined us, turning to my father and ' me, " w4io are fprung from royal blood, ' can fubmit to the humiliation of obey- ' ifig a ufurper, wdio v^ill do every thing * in his pov/er to humble your family as * much as poffible. Don't you perceive ^ that he confers the higheft dignities on ^ other people, while he, out of a cow^- ardly T H E VI C TI M O F ' arclly policy, keeps his neareft relations ^ at a diftance, and in profound fubmif- ' fion ? The King of Sp — n knows your ' merits, and is capable of rev/arding ' them properly. Who would not rather ' hold an important office under the ^ greateft Monarch, than live in inac- ' tivity and obfcurity, under the mod in- ' fignihcant King in Europe? Thefe are ' the fentiments of many nobles who are * ftill firmly attached to their old lawful « Sovereign." ^ Dear Marquis, my heart is deeply ^ affliQed, and ftrange ideas are crofling ' my head. What mufc I do ? Alum- ' brado fays, nothing, bat commit every « thing to the paternal care of God. * To day I received your letter, in ^ which you reproach me for my long « filence. I am, however, not forry that ^ my letter, which I wanted to fend eight « days ago, has been kept back through « negligence, for now I fliall be able to ^ conclude it with the relation of a moft « extraordinary incident. ^ I ufed for fome time to vifit every « evening our favourite fpo^ before the 4 « town^ M A G I C A L D E L U S I O N. 2^3 s town, which always attrafted me very ^ much, partly by its natural chaniis, and ^ partly by the undifturbed folimde .one ^ enjoys there. On the left fide, a chain ' of hills, that form a beautiful group; on the right, a wood, inclofmg the exten- 6 five plain, and in the middle the prof- * peel of the diftant blue mountains ' You know what an enchanting effe8: * that fpot produces, particularly at fun- ' fet ; and thither I took a walk every ' evening. The way to that charming * place is decorated with the ruins of an ^ old chapel, which partly is furrounded ' with a half decayed wall. Approach- ' ing thofe ruins lail evening, I faw ' Alumbrado flep forth with hafty paces. Stop!'' he exclaimed, " Do you know ^ that you will be a dead man if you pro- ' ceed a ftep farther Alumbrado s un- ^ expeQed appearance, his intelligence, ' and the ferioufnefs of his countenance ^ convulfed my nerves. " A dead man ?" ' I exclaimed. " Yes 1" faid he, " did ^ I not foretell you that the King would * vent his refentment againft you ? If you ^ go fifty fteps farther^ you will bleed ^ under 264. THE VICTIM OP ^ under the hands of his banditti. You ^ ftare at me," he continued. " If you « wifli to be convinced of it, then follow « me into the chapel, and let us change ^ cloaths ; I (hall purfue this path, wrapt « in your cloak, and the hired affaffins « will fall upon me, under the miftaken ^ notion that I am the perfon whom they ^ have been ordered by the King to af- * faffinate. If you will afcend to the top ' of this turret, you may witnefs the ^ whole fcene." I Ihuddered with hor- ^ ror, and peremptorily refufed to fubmit « to it." " You need not to be under the ' leaft apprehenfion for my life," he re ' plied. " All that I defire of you is to « make no noife when you fee me fall, ^ but to go quietly home without mention- * ing to any one what you will have feen. ^ We fiiall meet again at your houfe." ^ AH my objeftions availed nothing; we * exchanged our drefs, he faw me to the '* top of the turret, and left m.e. I pur- ^ fued him with anxious looks and a beat- * ing heart. ' Alumbrado had fcarcely reached the ^ fkirts of the woodj when I heard the 2 ^ report M A G I C A L D E L U S I O N. %6s rcport of a piftol, and faw him drop down, upon which three ruffians darted forth from the buflies, gave him fome (tabs, and carried him into the wood. I ftaggered down the narrow ftair-cafe by which I had afc ended the turret, and went home, thrilled with emotions that furpafs all power of defcription. I fat up till after midnight, but no Alum- brado came; however, at fix o'clock he entered my apartment. I cannot de- fcribe what I felt on feeing him. He w^as unhurt, but neverthelefs I dag- gered back at the light of him. " Alum- brado!" faid I, after a paufe of dumb aftonifhment, " do I really fee you alive after the fcene my eyes have wit- neffed lafl night ?" Piftols and dag- gers," he replied, " cannot hurt the man who is under the immediate pro- te6lion of God. Come," added he, let us go to your father.'* « I related to my parent the incident of the preceding night. He feemed to be petrified. The cruel villainy of the King, and the fupernatural power of Alumbrado, appeared to have carried Vol. IIL N 'him 66 T H E V I C T I M O P him beyond himfelf ; the thanks which he wanted to offer to the latter for the prefervation of my life, and curfes againft the King, hovered at the fame time on his lips ; but he could not fpeak. Let us take a walk in the garden," Alumbrado faid. We went; but 1 fliall not repeat the converfation that took place. Yet I do not think that Alum- brado has added fuel to the fire. " The Duke of B a," faid he, "is King, and accountable to no other tribunal but that of God. No mortal dare lift up his hand againil him without the ex- prefs command of God or his Vice- gerent. I have received no fuch or- der, and I think you neither. All that you can do is to be on your guard againil the King, and to miention to no one the villainous tranfaftion of laft night. Will you promife this ? Your own fafety requires it," We promifed it. ' I could not help manifefting my ailoniiliment at Alumbrado's wonderful prefervation. " Do you then think," faid hcj that only thofe who are * leagued MAGICAL D E -L U S I O N. 287 ^ leagued with the fpirit of darknefs are proof againft fire-arnis and fvrords, and ' th^ the children of light do not enjoy ' that privilege ? I ^vill give you a ^ proof of it; fend for a gun and balls* ' here is po^vder." So faying, he pro- ' duced the powder horn Vv'hich I had ^ miffed fome days. " You have," added he, either loft it or it has been ftolen, for I have found it in the hands of the banditti." ^Vhat are you going to do vrith balls and a gun My father afked with marks of aftonifhment. That you fliall fee inftantly," Alunibrado re- plied, if you only will fend for both/' I ordered Pietro to fetch my fowling piece and a couple of balls out of my apartment. He returned v;ith them, and Alumbrado whifpered in my ear to lend him out of the room. Having dif- niiffed the fervant, Alum.brado begged me to charge the gun, but previouily to examine carefully the powder and the balls. I did as he had delired me, and the gun being charged, Alumbrado faid to the Marquis : 2\ow take the gun, my Lord, and fire it at me.'' My father 26S T H E V I C T I M O F ^ was almpil petrified at this requeft, and * having gazed at him a good while, with looks of aftoniOiment, exclaimed : • No ! I never fhall do any thing of that kind!" — Then you too are deftitute of faith ?" Ahimbrado faid, looking up to heaven, O God, how degenerated are even the faithful adorers of thy fon V ^' I have declined it out of no other motive," the Marquis replied^ ' but becaufe I will not tempt the omni- potence of God." " The motive of my requeft is not temptation, but the glory of God," Alumbrado replied. If I fall, then I am a daring provoker of the Almighty, and deferve my fate ; but if I remain unhurt, you will have reafon to conclude that the power of God has warded off the ball, and know in what light to view me." So faying, he uncovered his breaft, retreated three fteps, and defired my father to fire. ' My father took up the piece, level- ling it at him with a trembling and fear- ful hand. " I beg you will not fpare me, and infill upon your aiming at my head or heart!" The Marquis took « his iM A G I C A L DELUSION'. ' his aim, but trembled fo violently that • he was obliged to lay down the gun^ ' Alumbrado defired m€ to ilcp nearer, ' and putting my hand to his bare breaft, ^ laid : Feel whether this heart beats fo ^ timoroufly as that of your father." Thefe • words provoked the pride of the Mar- ^ quis, he ordered me to fliep ahde, ^ levelled his piece and difcharged it. ' A cloud of fmcak concealed Alum* ' brado's fituation for a monient from our ^ eyes. It is impoffible to depid the ^ fenfations that ruihed upon mv heart, ^ when I beheld him in his former fitua- ^ tion, and heard him exclaim : You ^ ha.ve aimed ^^-elL my Lord, hov'ever, ' the ball has recoiled from my breait, ' there it lies on the floor.'' Mv father • lunk on his knees and lifted his hands to ^ heaven as if praying, and I gazed at ^ Alumbrado with filent awe. Duke!" (aid the latter, charge the • gun once more."' The Marquis liarted ' up. exclaiming: For vrhat purpcfe I vrant your fon to repeat the deed."- — No, there is no occaflon for it;'* my fa- - ther replied; the omnipotence of the N 3 ' Eternal 2^o T H E V I C T I M O F ' EteFiial has been glorified iaflicientiy." jup£ now," Aiumbrado returned, you ' have been of too little faith, and now ^ you are too credulous? Is it impoffibie ^ that you Hiould have miffed your aim ? ' That the ball accidentally has hit ano- ther objecl and recoiled ? But although ' you fiiould be convinced that you have ' aimed well and hit me, is the Duke fo ^ In iliort^ I was obliged to charge the piece again, and Aiumbrado ex- ' pofedhis uncovered bofom once more. * I could rely on my gun, and was fure ^ not to mifs him, becaufe he was (landing * only feven paces diftant from me. I * pointed at Alumbrado's head, took my ' aim well, and fired; however, he ftep- ' ped forth from the cloud of fmoak like * a being of a fuperior order; the ball lay ' on the floor, and Aiumbrado had not ' received the leaPc hurt. ' He now took a dagger out of his pocket, ^ and plunged it twice in his brealt, up ' to the hilt, extracting it without a wound ' being feen, ^ O my MAGICAL DELUSION. 271 ^ O my friend, make liafte to recant at the feet of this aflonifning man the pre- judices which you ha%^e uttered againft him. Blufh at your philofophy, where- by you have combated fo frequently my propenlity to fupernatural events^ I have always had a prefentiment that, this irrefiRible propenhty would be gra- tified one time ; yet I was a ftranger to the road which led to the objed of my moil ardent wiihes. Alumbrado has pointed it out to me, and a new epocha of my life has commenced with that pe- riod. 11 ow little, and how^ difgufting and vain does now all the wifdom and all the tinfel fplendor of the vrorld ap-^ pear to me, fmce I have been made ac- quainted with that higher good, which is concealed from, and inacceffible to the greateft part of human kind.' * P. S. On reading my letter overj I find a fevv paffages in it. which would determine me not to fend it on account of the great watchfulnefs with \vhich all letters are examined by order of the King, if I had not been aifured that N 4 . . ' thoie 272 T H E V I C T I M O F tliofe which are dire61ed to you are ex- empted from examination. Having perufed this letter of the Duke of Carina, I did not know whether I fliould haften firft to him, to his father^ or to Alumbrado. I ordered inftantly my carriage to be got ready ; but when I was going to ftep out of the houfe, my valet Hopped me, pale and panting for breath. My Lord," he ftammered, Coming— I have"---^' Weil, what is the matter It is almoft incredible," he refumed, it is rumoured all over the town—'' Here he flopped again. His confterna- lion communicated itfelf to me, and I ex- claimed ,in a trembling accent, " For heaven's fake ! what has happened It is reported that the Marquis of Villa R%1 and his Ion— but don't be terrifiedg roy Lord !" — What ?" I replied, Are you-—" I could not proceed, my lips be- ing fealed with terror—" It is rumoured that the Duke of Carina and his father have been taken up on an accufation of having confpired againft the life of the King." Thefe words curdled the blood in my veins 5 MAGICAL DELUSION. 2;3 veins, and I was ready to drop to the ground ; however, defpair foon roufed me from the ftupor that had feized me. 1 got in my carriage in order to enquire perfonally into the truth of that dreadfui intelligence. Coming in the {treet I ob- ferved a univerfal commotion, and re- ceived, but too foon, a confirmation of my valet's intelligence ; being informed^ at the fame time, that forty- five perfons more had been arrefted along with the Duke and his father. The multitude were af- fembled before the royal palace, demand- ing with a furious clamour, that the trai- tors fliould be delivered up to them ; the king however thanked them for their zealj and ordered the conftable to difperfe the populace. My aftonifliment, my agony and con- fternation, and an indifpofition which had been brought on by the violent agitation of my mind, prevented me from recollect- ing that this was the very day on which I was to expe6l the friend, of whofe in- tended vifit I had been apprifed by that letter from an unknown perfon. The fuc~ ceeding day I happened to fee that letter N 5 accidentally S74. T H E V I C T I M O F accidentally on my writing-deflc, and die friend to v;hom I was to deliver it, not having made his appearance at the fixed hour^ I made ufe of the liberty I had re-- ceived to open it. Conceive my allonifhment when I fav/ the hand-writing of the Duke of Ca^ina^ ' When you fhall read thefe lines,' he wrote, ^ the great deed will be performedg « and P 1 reduced again under the S— *— fh dominion. Forgive me, for ^ having this time deceived your confi- ' dence, and believe me, that nothing but ^ your connection with the new King could ^ have prevented me from communicating ^ the matter to you before our defign is car- ^ lied into execution. For that reafon only ^ I have had recourfe to art, and v/rote ^ this letter which will inform you of the ^ whole tranfaftion, but is to be opened * only when it will be impoifible to put a ^ ftop to our undertaking. ^ Not only my father and myfelf, but ^» alfo thofe two prelates whom I have ' mentioned in my letters, and a great * niim.ber of noblemen agreed after fe- ^ Yeral convcrfetions to force theufurper T.I A G I C AL D E L U S I O N. 275 ^ to reftore the crown 01 P 1 to tlie * Kins; of S n: vet this defis^n apDcar- ^ ed to be fo dangerous, that neither the ' Marquis nor myfelf would engage in it ^ before we had the confent of i\lum- ' brado. We preiTed him, therefore, one ^ evening to grant us his permiffion and ^ aiFiftance. He hefitated a long while, ' and at length repHed, Well 1 I will ' oppofe you no longer, but I delare fo^ * iemnly that I will not afFord you the ' ieaft affiftance in your defign againfl the ^ King before I fhall be convinced that it ' is the will of God, which we can learn ' by no other means but prayer. The * fpirit of God infpires thofe that are * praying to hirn with iincerity of heart, ^ and the fentiments which prevail in our * foul in that fi'tuation are the voice of ^ God. Let us devote this night to pra-yer, ' addrefs the Omnifcient ieparately, and ^ to-morrow morning communicate to each ^ odier what the Lord fhall reveal to us, •If you fhall continue firm in your refc^ * lution after you have performed your ' devotion, then it is the wull of the * Lternal; and we will go to work." N 6 ^ I had^ 276 THE VI CTIM 0F ^ I had, for a long time, entertained the « wifh of fpending a night in a churchy ' imagining that this would afford me a ' pleafure of a moll fingular nature. I ^ refolved, therefore, to execute Aium- ' brado's propofal, and, at the fame time, ^ to gratify this darling wiih of my heart. * With that view, I concealed myfelf one evening in the cathedral. The firft idea * which forced itfelf upon my mind, as * foon as I was left alone in that facred * place, was that of the immediate pre- * fence of the Eternal, and this notion * filled me with folemn awe. I went to * the altar, throwing myfelf on my face * upon the fteps of it, and adoring the * omniprefent God with ardent fervour. I * foared beyond the limits of materiality, * tranfported by devotion, and my foul * and every fenfe was hurried along by * the torrent of holy enthufiafm. I prayed * with filial fubmiffion for filial illumina- * tion and heavenly aid. * The clock on the church fteeple tolled * eleven, when I recovered from my pious ' trance. The church was covered with ^ awful darknefs ; the folitary lamps which i: * were MAGICAL DELUSION. 277 ^ \fere burning before the altar, and the * images of the faints, produced on the ^ oppolite parts of the fabric large maffes ^ of light and iliade, while they fpread ' only a faint dufk over the other parts of ' the Gothic building. The pre fence o-f ' the Eternal, the melancholy ftillnefs of ^ night, the extenfive circumference of * the venerable edifice, made me fenfible, ^ with a kind of horror, of my folitary * fituation. The profound ftillnefs that * reigned around was interrupted only * now and then by a momentaneous cracks * ing, by the clattering of the wandows, ' the whiftling of a guft of wind rufliing * through the foftly refounding organ- * pipes, and by the chiming of a belL * Proceeding further, I was (truck with * the hollow found of my footfteps, which * reminded me that the marble pavement ' covered the vault in which the bodies of * the deceafed fathers of the order w^ere ' awaiting the morn of refurre8:ion. I * went through one of t'le aides, and flopped ' in awful contemplation, now at an altar, ^ now at the image of a faint, and now at * a tomb. The antique^ artlefs appearance ' of ^78 THE VICTIM OF of many images and ilatues contributed much to encreafe their awful elFed. A chapel, where a whole length piQure of Chrifi on the crofs was fufpended, at- tracted my attention particularly, be- caufe the quickly repeated flirtation of the lamp which was placed before it had made me fancy that the pifture was ftir- ring. The fingular diftribution of light, darknefs, and fhade prevailing through the whole church, the fudden flaring and dying away of the lamps, produced the moll different and furprifing effefts on the eye, and furnifned the imagina- tion with multifarious objefts of occu- pation. ' At length, I entered a great hall, which led to the hindmoil porch, and from thence to a church-yard, the iron gate of which v/as locked. The firft look I directed at it made me ftart back, feized with furprife. I looked once more at it, and beheld again feveral white figures that appeared and vaniflied with a rufl- ling noife. I cannot but confefs that a chilly tremor feized my limbs and fixed me to the ground. A fev/ minutesafter^ 2 'a monk MAGICAL DELUSION. 279 « a monk carrying a lanthorn appeared in « the back part of the burying place ; and ' a iliort reflexion unfolded to me the * whole myftery. The noife which I had ' heard proceeded from his fteps. and the ^ figures were nothing elfe but white ftatues. ' which appeared and difappeared as he * moved the lanthorn in walking. Pro- ^ bably, he had been praying in the porch, ^ and was now returning to his cell : I ' concealed myfelf in a pew, in order to ^ avoid being feen by him. A wearinefs ^ which proceeded from the chilly night * air and want of fleep, bade me, at length, » put a ftop to my wanderings. I feated ^ myfelf in a pew, where I abandoned my- ^ feif to the wild freaks of my imagina- * tion. ' The dawn of day was already peep- ^ ing through the ftained windows, when I ^ awoke from the fanciful dreams of my ' wondering mind, and the purple rays of * the morning fun reflefted with radiant * glory from the image of the holy Vir- * gin, fufpended againft the wall oppofite * the window, I was abforbed in the con- * templation of this fublime objeB: for ^ , ^ fome •Zo. T H E V I C T I M O F fome time ; however the trance m which this charming fight had thrown me, foon gave room to religious fenfa- tioiis of a more fubiime nature; a pious confidence in the heavenly aid of Pro- vidence was kindling in my bofom, and I was going to proftrate myfelf before the blelTed Virgin, when the church was thrown open. 1 haftened to conceal myfelf in a corner, and flipped out of the church as foon as the fexton had entered it. In going home, I fanced I obferved Hiermanfor at a diftance, nay he feemed even to advance towards me ; however, I fled from him with horror, ' About an hour after my return, I was joined by Alumbrado, who entered my apartment with awful folemnity. His countenance fpoke more plainly than his lips. W e went to the Marquis who feemed to have awaited our arrival with impatience, and bowed refpe6lfully to Alumbrado. " You have been watching lafl: night," the latter faid to us, and dedicated it to devotion. Is your refolution ftill firm and unalterable 2'' « Yes'r MAGICAL DELUSION. 2S1 Yes 1" we replied at the fame time. * A long paufe enfiied. At length Alumbrado began: "I too have dedi- cated the night to devotion, and join in your league." Taking us by the hand, • I have converfed with God, and re- ceived heavenly revelations, which I will communicate to you, if you will pro- mife eternal fecrecy." ' We promifed it.' * Yes, my friends," he refumed, " God has chofen you to be mini iters of his avenging juftice. Your miiTion is honourable, but awful ■—awful, and, at the fame time, blifsful. But I muft re- mind you, that it does not befit the inftruments of the Eternal to fcan his holy degrees, nor to refill. Will you, therefore, promife to obey implicitly We will." " To obey alfo v/hen the decrees of God fiiall come in contradi8:ion v/ith your opinions and feelings ?" The decrees of the Eternal are im- penetrable, but ever wife and ever juft. We will obey!" Then youfwear to obey blindly ?" ' ^ We 282 THE VICTIM OF ' We fwore, and now we learned ffom ' Aliimbrado our miflion, and the whole ^ plan of the fecret league. It would be ' fuperfluous to give you the particulars ' of it, becaufe it will be executed, and * confequently known to you when you * fhall read this letter. — Farewell, my * friend, for whom I always flmll retain a ' tender afFeclion, although you fhould ^ become my moft inveterate enemy, _^ Farewell.' ? ..-j y. This letter partly unfolded to nie the myftery of the whole event; Icould, how- ever, bell form a clear idea of the parti- culars of the confpiracy and the whole defign v/hen the culprits were tried. I lhall confine myfelf to a brief flvetch of that infernal plot. Oli*arez the Minifter of S—^ having not been able to put a ftop to the fecret preparations the Duke of B — -za bad been making for reftoring the crown of Port— I to his family, and his three lad artful attempts to that effe6l having rnif- carried, he fent Alumbrado whom he had already fuccefsfully employed on differ- ^ ent MAGICAL DELUSION. 2S.1 cnt occarions5to Lif'^'on. in order to watch the fecret motions of that nobleman and to counteracl them efrectually. Alum- brado fixed his eyes on a man Vr'ho was generally refpected as well on account of his rank, his birth, and extraordinary merits, as of his great wealth ; the !\Iar= quis of Villa — Re"^d, whofe fecret anti= pathy againftthe Duke of B a, Oli'^arez had pointed out to him. With the alTift- ance of this man. he defigned to lay the mine which was to blow up the great work of the Duke of E — -a. He found the Marquis in a fituation of mind that feem- ed to promife verv little fuccefs in the profecution of his political views. The fuppcfed apparition of Count San^^ and the illnels which had fucceeded it, had changed him from a ilatefman to a pietiitical hermit. Hovrever, an intri- guing genius like Alumbrado was not dif- couraged by thefe unfavourable fvmp- toms ; he only changed his meafures, and founded on religious fanaticifm and fu- perftition a plan, by which he expected to intereft the Marquis for his defigns. Yet he had. perhaps, imagined this tafl^ much eafier 284 T H E V I C T I M O F eafier than it really was, or the progreffes the Marquis made were flower than he had expe6led — in fhort, the revolution broke out before he had attained his pur- pofe. This unexpected blow did not deprefs Alumbrado's fpirit. He had, in- deed, not been able to difpute the acquifi- tion of the crown of P 1 with the Duke of B a ; he formed however, the refo- lution to deprive him of it. With this view he returned to S — n to confult with 01i*arez. The latter had really been in- duced by the diffimulation of the Duke of Cam*na, to believe him ferious in his de- vices againft the family of B a, and this was fufficient to prompt him to agree with Alumbrado that one ought to .endeavour to intereft the Marquis and his fon for the defign againft the new Sovereign. That, and how this has been efFePied, was proved afterwards by the event. Alumbrado had forefeen that the exe- cution of fo dangerous a defign would re- quire many co-operating powers, and therefore had taken care to procure in time the requifite affiftants. One of his principle affociates was the archbifliop of iM/VGICAL DELUSION. 2S5 Br-ga, Primate of P - — 1. an cicquifiticn which colt Alumbrado very little trouble, the Prelate meeting him half way. The archbifhop had witneffed the fiiccersful iffue of the revolution with the greaceil indignation, becaufe he ^vas entirely de- voted to the S- fh court and theVice Queen to whom he owed his preferment. On the breaking out of the Revolution, he had already drav/n the fword againft one of the confpirators in order to avenge his bene- faclrefs ; her confinement was therefore an additional motive to him for joining the confpirators, by whofe affiftance lie hoped to avenge her wrongs and to reftore her to liberty. Alumbrado gained through him even the bifhop of 'arda, Grand In- quifitor of the Empire. The infmuation that he would not enjoy long his import- ant office under the new government, the King being inclined to abolifh the Inqui- fition, was the chief motive of his having taken a part in the confpiracy. Both prelates were very fenfible how ne- ceffary it was that the Marquis and his fon fhould join the confpirators if Alumbra- do's dcfign fhould fucceed, and therefore I fupported THE VICTIM OF fupported him in his endeavours to en- fnare thefe noblemen, although they dif^ fembled to have not the leaft connexion with that vile deceiver. Meanwhile the latter endeavoured fecretly to encreafe the number of the confpirators through the intereft of thefe two prelates, and they fucceeded in gaining over to their party Count Arm*mar, a coufin to the Primate, a great number of other Port***efe noble- men and the Jews. It has already been mentioned in the letters of the Duke, that the new King rejeQed their petition of being fuffered to live and to trade in the kingdom as external Chriflians, uncon- trolled by the Inquifition. The Primate made them a voluntary offer of that pri» vilege ; nay, he even promifed fecretly^ in the name of the King of S — n, that they fliould have a public fynagogue, if they would co-operate in the execution of the plot, which they confented to v/ithout hefitation. The defign itfelf was, indeed, horrid enough. On the 6th of Auguft, 1641, the Jews were to caufe a conflagration in the nigbtj not only in the royal palacej but alfo MAGICAL DELUSION. 2S7 alfo in different parts of the town, in or- der to divert the attention of the people. Then the confpirators were to penetrate into the palace under the pretext of extin- guifliing the fire, and to ftab the King ; the Queen, however, and the two young Princes, were to be feized by the Duke of Carina, in order to obtain through them the pofTeffion of the caftle. The Primate with his train was, meanw^iile, to parade through the ftreets, in order to frighten the refraftory multitude with the Inquifition, and when the whole plan fhould have been happily executed, the Marquis of Villa R al was to be invefted with the dignity of Vicegerent. This was the plan of an undertaking that could be attempted only by fool- hardy and deluded men. Alumbrado, who knew belt how hazardous and adventurous it was, was well aware, that, even if their defign fliould be executed in the moft fuc- cefsful manner, the capital only would be gained, and every thing loft again if they were not fupported by an external power. He found it therefore neceffary that a S— fli fleet fliould be ready to furprife the port aS8 T H E V I C T I M O F port as foon as the fire fliould break out, and a fniall army of S— rds waiting on the frontiers, in order to penetrate in the country on the firft intelligence of the Tuccefsful execution of the undertaking. o Oliv'^rez was to alFord this affiftance, and confequently, intelligence mud be fent him and every thing preconcerted, which was extremely difficult, the new Sovereign having ilTuedthe ftriftefl; orders not to fuf- fer any fufpicious letter to pafs the fron- tiers. Ba"^za, of whom I have already made mention in a former page, had, on ac- count of his extenfive trade, received an exclufive privilege of carrying on an un- molefted correfpondence with S — n, Alumbrado found means to infmuate himfelf with this important man in fuch a manner, that he undertook the dangerous tafli of forwarding the letter which con- tained that intelligence. However — = The Irifhman was returned from his journey. Some expreffions which he ac- cidentally overheard and feveral unufual movements his eagle eye efpied, excited his fufpicion, in fpite of the fecrecy of the confpirators and the great precaution they obferved MAGICAL DELUSION. a§9 obferved in carrying on their plot. He found it, neverthelefs, very difficult to come upon the right tack. Although he had fucceeded in his attempt of getting admittance to Ba*za's houfe in the dif- guife of a foreign merchant, and gained the confidence of that m.an by means of fome very great money tranfactions, yet he could not trace out the leaft thing con- cerning the fecret plot which he fufpe6le*d to be carrying on, Ba*za being alwavs on his guard, notwithilanding the repeat- ed inve8:ives the Irifhman uttered asainft the new government in order to allure him to take the bait. But when Baeza received the aforefaid letter in order to fend it to S — n, he betrayed fo much anxiety that it could not efcape the keen- fighted looks of the Irifiiman. The latter employed every art to difpofe the mer- chant to direct that letter to the Marquis of Aja^onti, a commander of a Sp — fli for- trefs on the frontier, and afted his part with fo much dexterity, that Baeza adopt- ed his advice without entertaining the leaft fufpicion, thinking that the letter would certainly be delivered to the Minifter Vol, III* O when 290 THEVICTIMOF when it once had reached the Sp — fh ter- ritory. The Irifhman could not indeed, divine the important contents of the letter, and the uneafmefs which the merchant betray- ed concerning its fafe delivery, could alfo have originated from the great importance of the mercantile papers it might have contained. It w^as, therefore, a mere a8: of prudence that he fent inftantly a mef- fenger to his friend Ajam^nti, requefting him to examine that letter carefully if it fhould come to his hands. The Marquis receiving the letter open- ed the firft cover, and feeing itdirefted to the Sp— fli Minifter of State, and fealed with the great feal of the Primate of 1, his fufpicion having been roufed by the previous notice he had received from the Irifiiman, he opened it without hefitation, and thus difcovered the imminent danger threatening the life of the King of P — 1. Being a near relation to the Queen and fmcerely attached to the King, he fent the letter without delay to his royal kinfman. The King was feized with aftoniftiment and horror when he learned what a dread- ful M A G I C A L D E L U SI O N. 291 ful plot was carrying on againfl himfelf and the kingdom. He convoked inllantly the Privy Council, and concerted with them the neceffary means which were to be taken in order to award the impending blow. The fifth of Auguft, in the night of which the plot was to be carried into ex- ecution, the King fent orders to all the troops that were quartered in the neigh- bourhood of LiPon, to m.arch inftantly to the capital under the pretext of a review. On the morning of the fame day, he de- livered himfelf fealed inllruclions to his moil faithful officers, ordering them, not to be opened before noon^when they were to execute the contents with the greateft difpatch. Thefe precautions being taken^ the King ordered the Great Council of State to affemble at one o'clock. The Bifliop of Br'^ga and the Marquis of Villa Re^l were arrefted as foon as they entered the council chamber, and a captain of the life guard feized the Duke of Ca*ina at the fame time in the public ftreet. This was the time when all the officers opened their fealed orders, which contained the O 2 names 292 T H V I C T I M O T names of thofe whom they were to arreftj and of the prifon to which they were to condu8: them. Every one of the con- fpirators was confined in a different pri- fon, and fome were arrefted by more than one officer. All thofe that had been ordered to execute the King's command, arrived at the fame time at the places of their deftination, and performed their mif- fion almoil in one moment. The number of the prifoners amounted to forty-feven. A committee of Grandees was now ap- pointed to try the confpirators. The letters through which the plot had been difcovered were not produced at the be- ginning of the trial, in order not to be- tray the Marquis of Aja^onti. Baeza be- ing threatened to be put to the rack con- feffed hrfi, and the reft confirmed his con- feffion after having been put to the tor- ture. The Marquis of Villa Re*l and the Duke of Carina, and the two prelates confeiTed voluntarily. - Alumbrado endured the firft degree of ^ the torture v;ithout confeffing any thing ; however, at the fecond he began to be more traBable. Ima- M A G i C A L D E L U S I O N. 293 Imagining that my readers will be de- firous to learn the particulars of the life of this extraordinary man, I will give a lliort fketch of what I could learn. He was born at *a*. If the virtues of parents were as inheritable as their rank and fortune, he would not have been a difgrace to a family as noble as it was refpeclable. Already in his juvenile age he exhibited marks of a penetrating uri- derilanding, of an extraordinary docility and acutenefs, but nature had thrown away her gifts upon a villain. The great rigour with which his father v/atched his conduQ:, had no other efre6l but that of making him a hypocrite, for he would commit any crime if he could do it un- obfervedj although he was generally be- ^ lieved to be a pattern of every virtue. In his ninth year he killed a girl by a {lone thrown from a fling, and was capable not only of fathering the crime upon one of his play-fellows, but, at the fame time, of rendering his accufation more plaufibie by his folemn proteftations, and the tears he fhed over the corpfe. Progrefs of time changed his condud not in the leaft, O 3 he 294 THE VI C TI M O F he ratlier improved in wickednefsj and in the art of concealing his crimes. Inheriting from his father an immenfe fortune, he determined to indemnify him- felf for his former conftraint, by the mod licentious manner of life, and abandoned liimfelf to all forts of debauchery, with a fury that ruined both his health and his fortune. The grief at this condu6l broke the heart of his mother, at which he was not very forry, expefting to improve his fortune by a ntw inheritance. He was, however., difappointed, for his mother, thinking it flnful to fupport him in his debaucheries, left her wealth to a cloifter^ Glowing with thirft for revenge, he fet it on fire and ran away. The vengeance of Heaven purfued him, and want foon completed the meafure of his wretchednefs. Whitherfoever he went he was haunted by the unrelenting pu- nifhments of the Omniprefent Judge on high, and the greateft diftrefs. At length he obtained leave of a captain, who was juft going to fea, to embark on board of his veffel. Thus he did, indeed, get out of the reach of public juftice, but not of the M A G I C A L D E L U S I 0 N. 295 the vengeance of Heaven. The fliip was captured by Algerine pirates, and he was dragged to captivity. He abjured his religion and turned Mahometan, in order to eafe the yoke of flavery that lay heavy on his fhoulders. His great capacities enabled him foon to " improve his fituation, and during fome fuccefsful cruizes againft his own coun- trymen, he acquired a confiderable for- tune, which he increafed rapidly through his fpeculations on land and fea, which he carried on for more than twenty years with aftonifhing fuccefs. Meanwhile he took every opportunity of injuring the Chriftians, and Portugal loil through his infernal intrigues her moft valuable pof- fellions in Africa. Yet his good fortune became at lad the fource of new misfortunes, puffing him up with pride in fuch a manner, that he afpired to a dignity in the (late which a renegado rarely or never obtains. The Dey of Algiers died, and he fpared nei » ther expences nor artifices to be confti- tuted his fucceffor; his ambitious view^s were however fruiirated. His pride was O 4 woundedj 2^6 THEVICTIMOF wounded, and he endeavoured to gain his aim by additional bribes, but in vain ! Enraged with new difappointment, he confpired againft the new Dey ; a Der- vife, whom he wanted to implicate in his plot, betrayed him, and he had fcarcely ' time to fave himfelf by a fudden flightj leaving all his ill-gotten wealth behind. On his return to Europe he difguifed himfelf in the garb of a pilgrim, and af- fefted to be a peregrinating penitentiary. IVherever he paffed through he pretended to have, vifited the holy fepulchre, where the infidels had detained him a long while in captivity, from which he had been de- livered, at length, in a miraculous man- ner. He diftributed fmall pieces of wood^ ilone, and earth, as valuable relics, for which the poor fuperftitious multitude paid him great fums of money. Thus he roamed from place to place, and met every where with credulous peo- ple, with hofpitality and alms. At Aran- *uez he got acquainted with the Bifhop of P — *5 who, at that time, exercifedthe office of a papal legate at the court of Spa*n. His pharifaical hypocrify ena- bled MAGICAL DELUSION. 397 bled him to ingratiate himfelf with that worthy prelate, who was fo much de- ceived by him, that he received him into his fervice. Alumbrado difpatched the private fecretary of his deluded mafter by a dol'e 01 poifon, and fucceeded him in his place. The unfufpecling prelate was fo much pleafed with Alumbrado's ^ abilities and fervices, that he recom- mended him to 01iva*ez when he re- 1^ turned to Rome, The charafter of the Prime Minifher of Spa'^n differed m.aterially from that of the Eifhop ; Alumbrado, however, knew how I to accommodate himfelf to every one. He foon prejudiced his new patron fo ^ much in his ' favour^ that he entrufted him with tlie execution of a political charge of the greateft importance, and Alumbrado acquitted himfelf fo well of his commiffion, that the Minifter pro- mifed to reward his fervices on the hrft opportunity. Alumbrado improved every opportunity of fecuring the favour of his mafter, and endeavoured anxioufly to ex- plore his ruling palTions. The keen-fighted diffembler foon found out that the Minifter was a great admirer -,.05 of 29S THEVICTIMOF of the occult fciences, and inftantlj hinted that he had acquired a great know- ledge of thofe fciences on his travels^ From that moment the Miniller was ra- ther in Alumbrado's fervice than the lat- ter in his. Thus they had lived together in mu- tual good underftanding five years, when the commotions in Port**al began to alarm the Court of Mad"^*d. Alumbra- do was fent to Lifbon, in order to coun- teraft the machinations of the Duke of Brag^^^za, but having not been able to effe6l his purpofe, attempted to carry his point by forming a confpiracy, which, if it had fucceeded, would have proved fa- tal to the life of the new King, and plunged the empire into the greateft mi- le ry. Unfortunate young man! who haft been implicated in the mod enormous artifices of a monfter in that infernal plot; have not all the torments of Hell raged in thy bofom, when the veil which that arch de- ceiver had thrown over that horrid under- taking was removed, when thy feducer was unmaflved before his judges, and thou T faweft M A G I C A L D E L U S I 0 N. 299 faweft in whofe hands thou haft been, and how the miracles by which thou had ft been enfnared. had been wrought ? A fragment which I have copied from the records of the trial, will enable the reader to form an idea of the ftate of my unhappy ^i^iend. ■>-,-,. Buke. It is impoffible, I fay, Alumhrado. And yet it is exactly as I have told you. It was you who prompted me by your relation of your adventures with the Irifhman. to gain you for my purpofe by delufrVe miracles, Thefe were the only means left me by the Marquis of F******* for I could not expect to en- fnare you by apparitions of ghojis^ after the fenfible arguments which he had op- pofed to your belief in their exiflence. Your friend's philolophical caution not ro truft a man whom you fliould have caudit once in the act of committino; a fraud, obliged me to be on -my guard, and I endeavoured to periuade )'ou that I was a jai'nt. I pronounced the Iriihman 71 force?'£r iwovdtv to prejudice you againit him, and to exclude, him from all further conneclion with you. Thus I gained more 3C0 T H E V I C T I M O F more than I ever llioiild have done, if I had pronounced him an impoiior, becaufe 1 had it very much at my heart to infpire you with a blind belief in fupernatural events of every kind, and a blind confidence in my miracles. It gave me great plea- fare to have found out a mean through which I could influence you and the Marquis at cnce^ and guide both of you to one mark. 1 feared, however, the Marquis of F — — would difcover my artifices, and for that reafon recommended him to the King by a third perfon, for the tranf- a6lion of affairs which removed him far enough from us. "■•''Duke. Infernal villainy! execrable wretch ! But no, your deeds contra- di6l your confeffion. No, Alumbrado, human art cannot produce miracles like yours. Did not nature herfelf obey you ? Alumhrado. Your imagination only obeyed me. The idea of the miraculous had been inflilled in your mind already, and I had nothing elfe to do but to ilrengthen it, in order to get poffefTion of the confidence which Hiermanfor had en- , . joyed. MAGIC AL DELUSION. 30? joyed. I thought it, however, prudent to ufe a different method. He founded his fupernatural power on the occult fci- ences, and I on religious myfteries. I .did not find it more diSicult to lead yea from the delufions of fpeculdt'rce phllofophyj to thofe of implicit fatth^ than to give you proofs of my miraculous povrer. A little dexterity, a little fuccefs on my part, and a judicious accommodation to circum- ftances, delivered you and the Marquis into my power. I gained my purpofe. and this was the only miracle in the whole affair. Duke. However, the effetls which vou produced, are ftiil fo very myfterious to me. — - Ahrmhrado. And yet every thing was done in a very natural manner. Duke. How could you know the acci- dent that happened at the Inn at "^li"^^, in the very moment when it took place. Alumhrado, Becaufe I had precon= certed it with fome of my emiffaries at *li*. You nov; will comprehend how I could know the day and the hour, and % ^ . . - . . how 302 T H E V I C T I M O F how that incident could agree fo exaftly with my predi6tion. Duke. What end did you mean to gain hj that deception ? Alumhrado, The throwing down of the pi61:ure by an invifible hand, was to give you a hint that a higher power had de- creed the dethronement of the King. Duke, However, the appealing of the tempeftuous fea could be no delufion, nor an accident. Through what extraor- dinary means did you efFe6l it? Alumhrado, Mere precaution enabled me to efFeft it. Experience had taught me that oil pofTelfes the extraordinary quality of reftoring the equilibrium of the water, if violently agitated, and of fmoothing the fwelling waves. For that reafon I have been ufed never to make a voyage without carrying fome caflcs of oil with me ; and I had taken the fame precaution Avhen I went on board of the yeffel in which you had taken your paffage. Having left you, after I had announced to you the pretended miracle, I ordered my people to beat off the hoops of the cafks and to throw them overboardo The . - oil ' ^ MAGICAL DELUSION. 105 oil inftantly fpread over the furface af the water and calmed the agitated waves.* Buke. (After a paufe) It was your intention to perfuade me to return to Li^^on, and you have gained your aim by that expedient; but what would you have done if no tempeft had afforded you an opportunity of deceiving me by a pretended miracle ? -r -^'-r^- r^-k' Alumhrado, I fhould have watched another opportunity, and devifed other artifices ; for it was with that view that I accompanied you on your voyage without your knowledge. Duke, By what means did you pre- ferve your life, under the hands of the royal banditti ? Alumhrado, The whole fcene you be- held from the top of the turret was pre- concerted by me. The fellows who at- tacked * Pliny long ago knew that extraordinary quality of the oil, and in our times it has been coniirmed by the experiments of the immortal Franklin. Mr. Ofeirez- kowf^y, the celebrated Ruffian academician, experienced the fame on his phyfical voyage, and our modern fea- men in general are no Grangers to that effedof the oil, and frequently make ufe of it in dangerous furges, mA- THEVICTIMOF tacked me, neither bad been fent by the King, nor were they banditti, but had been previoufly inftru6led by me how to aQ; their pillols were charged only with powder, and their poniards did not wound me. This will explain to you the whole miracle. Duke, Not fent by the King, did you fay. He then bad no defign againft my life? -DiiiOiir-. Alumbrado, No, the King never bad the leaft idea of fuch a deed. Duke. Villainous ! villainous ! to de- ceive me thus ! — And with what view did you devife that horrid fraud? Alumbrado.. I wanted to inflame your father's mind with refentment againft the King. Nay, I will tell you more. It was my work that the King treated you with fo much coldn^fs, and neglefted to raife your family; for I had reprefented you and your father to him, by one of my agents, as perfons who beheld his new dignity with envious eyes. Through thefe mutual exafperations, I gained the advantage of increafmg your perfonal antipathy againft the King, and of turn- ing M A G I C A L D E L U S I O 305^ ing it, at length, into hatred that had all the appearance of juft refentnient. ly-- Buke. Ah! I now begin to penetrate the whole atrocity of your artful \S'iles, Then it was you who has incited the King againft me and my family, and formed the plot againft his life ? Alumhrado, What w^ould it avail me to deny the charge ? Duke, And yet it feemed as if you had not been concerned in the confpiracy. The defign againft the King had already been determined, and ftill you withheld your confent and affiftance. Alumhrado, And not without reafon, I would not expofe rayfelf. The grand Inquifitor and the Primate took care to gain you to our purpofe without your fufpe8:ing it, while I was direQ:ing the plot behind the curtain ; I fhould have deftroyed my own w^ork if I had ftepped forth too foon. My feeming backward- nefs fpurred you on, and fcreened me from fufpicion. However, after I had performed the laft fiQ:itious miracle, I thought myfelf fufficiently fecured againft all fufpicion, and calculated that it would be 3o6 T H E V I C T I M O F be feafonable to command you in the name of God, to take an aftive part in the confpiracy. Buke, After the laft fiditious miracle ? Do you mean that incident by which you - fhowed yourfelf proof againfl ball and - dagger ? Aliimhrado, I do. The miracle will appear very natural to you when I tell you that I had filled the powder-horn, which I had conveyed fecretly from your apartment, with a powder of my own in- vention, which could not carry the ball farther than five fteps. Having placed myfelf feven fteps diftant from the gun, I "was far enough out of harm's way. 1 re- quefted to be fired at twice, in order to empty the powder-horn of its contents, a precaution that prevented you from dif- covering, afterwards, the real nature of the powder. The dagger with which I llabbed myfelf, had alfo been previoufly made for that purpofe, and could do me no harm. The blade of it, w^iich was not much pointed, fnapped back into the hollow handle on the fmalleft refiftance^ which made you believe that it had pene- trated xM A G I C A L D E L U S I O N. 307 trated my breaft. A fpring which forced it again into its former fituation, rendered it entirely impoffible for you to difcover the fraud. Duke, What views had you in making me believe that you was invulnerable ? Alumhrado. Was it not to be expefted that you would repofe the utmoft reliance on the affiilance of a man who fhould ap- pear to you proof againll balls and dag- gers ? However, I have, as yet, ex- plained to you only the particular views I had in performing ficlitious miracles, and now will tell you that every one of them tended to efFe8: a general end, which V7as nothing lefs than to perfuade you and the Marquis to believe that God was working and fpeaking through me. Our plot was fo hazardous, the circumfcances fp unfavourable, and fuccefs fo improba- ble, that we had reafon to apprehend you would flirink back from your refolution, when you fliould have pondered m.ore maturely the danger which it was attended with. For this reafon I thought it mod prudent to appear to you to be an organ of the godheadj becaufe it was to be ex- peBed 20% THEVICTIMOF peeled that you would fear no danger whatever, if you fhould be perfuaded that our defign was the work of God, and fup- ported by his omnipotent power; for with God nothing is impoiTible. In order to corroborate you in that belief, I advifed you to have recourfe to prayer. Buke. Daring wretch ! how could you run that rilk ? Alumhadc, Why not ? you had al- ready taken your refolution before you implored God to fignify his will to you. The execution of our plan had beeuj fome time fmce, the principle idea that prevailed in your mind, and forced itfelf upon you on every occafion, and, of courfe, in your prayers too it was, there- fore, very natural that, in the latter cafe, you fhould miftake for a decree of God what, in reality, was nothing elfe but the voice of your provoked paffions. I en- tertained not the leaft apprehenfion that devotion would produce more pious fen- timents in your mind, becaufe the fophif- try of your palfions, and ihe two prelates had already perfuaded you that our de- fign was jult ; 1 rather expelled that the fer» MAGICAL DELUSION. 309 fervour of your prayer, particularly at night, would encreafe the fermentation of your blood, and animate you with ad- ditional courage to execute our plan. Duke, Infernal fpirit ! but no ! thou art worfe than Satan ! for he refpefts the temples and altars, but thou haft laid thy fnares even in thofe facred places. Pray- ers and faith^ thefe facred treafures of man become in thy hand tools of feduc- tion ; and thou doll not tremble at the idea of being accountable to the all- feeing Judge for thy villainous deeds ?— What wouldft thou have done, daring wretch ! if a ray of di^-ine illumination had difpelled my errors ? Alurnhrado, I was not afraid of that. You could expeO: no fuch illumination from above, becaufe your own reafon would have pointed out to you the illega- lity of vour defign, if you had confulted your own good fenfe rather than your paffions. God does not work miracles while we can be inftructed by natural means. Duke. But fuppofe he had— for how canft thou prefcribe -limits to the wifdom -A ,t-:5l - 10 V of 3IO TH E VICTIM O F of God, fuppofe he had, neverthelefs^ condefcended to open mine eyes through his holy fpirit ? Alumbrado, (carelefsly.) I then fliould have had recourfe to a natural expedient — which I intended to adopt in cafe of emergency. You will recolleQ: that you miffed a fheet of your treatife on the Ma~ nicheean Jyftem ; it was I who purloined it» If you had flirunk back from your en- gagement^ I would have threatened you with all the terrors of the Inquifition ; the fheet was written by you and the grand Inquifitor my friend; confequently now as other choice was left you, than either to make good your engagement or to expe- rience all the horrors of that tribunal. Duke^ (fhuddering with horror.) Lead me back to my dungeon, left the afpeft of this monfter fhould poifon me entirely. The day after the trial, the fon of the gaoler brought me a letter, which, to my utter aftoniihment, was from the Duke^ and contained the following lines* : * * # * * » * * # * * * * * Griefj * This letter is the fame vvhkh is prefixed to the liril Yolume of ihefe Memoirs* MAGICAL ©ELUSION. 31$ Grief, horror, pity, hope, and defpair afiailed my heart alternately, after I had read this letter. I moiftened it with burn- ing tears. When this violent agitation of niy mind began to abate fo much that I could refleO: again, I confidered what could be done for the prefervation of this haplefs man, and regardlefs of my indif- pofition haftened to the archbiihop of Lif^on, who always had been very par- tial to the Duke and was much refpeBed by the Queen. I entreated this worthy prelate to intercede with the latter for my haplefs friend. " Alas !" he replied, " I have attempted it already without fuccefs." How, my Lord ?" her reply was, " how can you intercede for a traitor who has meditated our deltru8:ion and the ruin of our kingdom. All that you can expect is that I fhall forget what you have allied." This account of the archbiihop rent my heart ; however, I entertained Hill fome hope that the King, whofe generous difpofition I knew, would not prove caU lous againft my tears and prayers. 1 went without delay to the palacej and was ad- mitted* THE VICTIM OF mitted. I fupplicated him on my knees, to grant his royal mercy to the unfortu- nate deluded young man, and exerted every power of eloquence to excite his pity. " Rife, Marquis,*' the King re- plied, " there is no occafion for your in- terceffion ; I have determined already to pardon the Duke and the reft of the con- fpirators ; yet their fate does not depend on myfelf alone, but alfo from the de- cifion of the Council of State." With that refolution I was difmifled. The following day, the gaoler brought me a fecond letter from the Duke, which I fliall tranfcribe literally : ^ My dearest Friend, « I am allowed to converfe with you « once more. The 200 dobras have ' gained the gaoler, and the promife of « a like fum has prompted him to engage * to deliver this letter to you. I muft in- ^ form you of an important incident, that ' happened laft night, within the walls of ^ my dungeon. The door of my prifon MAGICAL DELUSION. 315 was fuddenly flung open, and Hierman^ for entered. Although 1 have great rea- fon to be angry with him, yet he ap- peared to me an angel of light, in com- parifon with Alumbrado. The fight of him roufed my heart from its ftate of de- fpondency ; however, my former gloomit nefs of mind foon returned, when af- ter a long and folemn filence, he ex- claimed : " muft we meet again in this place ?" « I could return no anfvv'er; the con- fcioufnefs of my guilt lay heavy on my mind, and the looks of the Irifhmaa confounded me. Without being af« feQed by my perplexity, he refumed, after a fhort filence : " you was a no- ble, deferving young man when I left you, and now I find you a rebel. I do not know whether it was the accent in which he pronounced thefe words, or the truth they implied, that made my blood ferment on a fudden — in fhort, I exclaimed ; " if you had fulfilled your promife as anhoneft man, I fliould then perhaps not have been in this fituation." The Irifiimanfeemed to be afFe8;ed vehe- Vqlo IIL P * mently* 314. THE VICTIM OF ^ mently. " By heaven ! my Lord !" lie ^ exclaimed^ " it was no fault of mine, « a journey, and bufmefs of great import- « ance, prevented me from feeing you fooner. But I do not comprehend yoTi ^ fuflEciently, will you be fo kind as to explain the meaning of your words ?" I will, as foon as you fhall have given me an explanation of an inci- dent which you have promifed to clear up." What incident do you mean ?" the Jrifliman faid. " The apparition of Antonio, at the church-yard. Was it a natural con* trivance of your invention? " Itwas/^' " Merciful God 1" What is the matter with you ?" " Don't afk me, the explanation — the explanation—'* " The apparition was elFe8:ed by means of a convex mirror ; the vifion which you wanted to embrace was nothing elfe but the image of a ftatue of your tutor, which was refleaed on the fpot where it * appeared MAGICAL DELUSION. 315 appeared by a mirror placed before that ftatue." " But how did it happen that the mirror efcaped my obfervation ?" " You v/ill recollecl that the vifion ap- peared not far from the chapel, behind the wall of which the mirror was placed in fuch a manner that it could not be perceived by you.'' " And Antonio's ftatue ?'* " You would have obferved it if the fight of the apparition had not engrolTed your whole attention ; however, its having been painted white like the reft of the ftatues in the church-yard, probably would have induced you to miflake it for the ftatue of fome faint or other, and thus it would not have attraQed your attention." " But how could the apparition difap^ pear and re-appear at my den re ?" " That was not difficult. One of my people, who direded the mirror through one of the church windows, removed it when the vifion difappeared, and re- placed it again in its proper fttuation P ^ ^ when 31^5 THE VICTIM OF ^ when you defired the phantom to ap- ^ pear once more." " But if I had difcovered the arti« « fice " Don't you believe that I had taken * the neceflary precaution ? Even if you * had feen the mirror, yet you would not * have difcovered its efFeft. 1 was, how- * ever, pretty fure that you would not * enter into an examination, being well * aware that you would have no inclina- * tion of doing it, becaufe I had defired ' you to make every inveftigation you ^ fhould wifh, and thus prompted you to * believe that I apprehended no difco- * very/* " However, the phantom fpoke, how ^ could that be Not the phantom, but Count Clairval, « who was in the gallery of the chapel, * fpoke through a fpeaking trumpet. The * direftion of the trumpet and the ftriking 4 refemblance the phantom bore to your ♦tutor, induced you to attribute the words which he pronounced to the vifion." r Hiermanfor/' faid I after a paufe, then MAGICAL DELUSION. 517 then your laft miracle tec ^\'^s a de- « lufion ?" You have my confeffion." And neverthelefs you affured me fa- ^ folemnly that it was the Tvork of fuper- ^ natural po^ver !" I did fo ; but I intended to recant ^ after the end vrhich I had in view fn ould ^ have been attained, Unforefeen inci- ' dents prevented me frorn doing it ^ fooner," Why did not Count Clairval recant * in your name, when I entreated him fo ' lolemnlv and fo preihng to confefs the * fraud " He had received no orders to that * purpofe/' You promifed me. one time, to * initiate me in a new philofophy. and to ' introduce me to an happinefs that is con- ' cealed from other mortals."' ^' Then I promufed you what I am not * able to perform. V/uhcut circumlocu- ^ tion, I impofed upon you I"' And you have the courage to tell me * this to my face ?" P c> I have 3i8 THE V I C T I M 0 F I have fpoken the truth, and hope you ^ will forgive me. Yes, I have deceived ' you, and the fuccefs of the revolution * depended chiefly upon that innocent * fraud. I deceived you becaufe — for- * give me my franknefs-— becaufe you ' would be deceived." Your morality agrees pretty well with * your policy." I am aftoniflied," the Irifhman re- * plied with a contemptuous fmile, " that ^ ycu prefume to call my morality in quef- * tion ; the clangor oF thefe fetters con- * trafts very much with your moral * fpeeches.'* ' Scarcely able to retain my rifing in- ^ dignation, I replied, " But if I could * prove that this innocent fraud, as you ^ pleafe to call it, has been the chief caufe ' of my crioie, of thefe fetters, and of my ^ impending execution ?" Heaven forbid it the Jrifliman ex- ^ claimed, feized with terror. You have excited by your delufions ' my propenfity to miraculous events. The * explanation of your deceptions did not ' at all deilroy the dangerous effeB: they s? ^pro; M A G I C A L D E L U S I O N. 319 ^ produced on my mind, becaufe I never ^ was able to recover entirely from the * erroneous opinion that the apparition of ' the church-yard had been the efFeft of * fupernatural power. An infernal im- * poftor took advantage of the iituation of ^ my mind, and incited me through new * deluiions to engage in the undertaking * that has been the caufe of thefe fetters,, * Are you now fenfible of the injury I * have futiered through you ?" * The Iri&man grew pale, and feemed * deprived of the power of utterance. At < once he recovered from his fudden ^ terror, and ftarted up. " Whither are * you going ?" I exclaimed. ^« To the ^ King ?" he replied. " What bufmefs ^ have you with the King ?" I enquired, " I am going to implore him to fpare your ^ life and to fet you at liberty. Forgive * me, unfortunate young man ! (he added) ' ' forgive me 1 I v/ill exert every power ' of perfuafion for the prefervation of * your life." So faying he left m.e, and I' ^ have not feen him fmce. I muft pa- ' tiently await the effeB; of his applica- P 4 ' tipn» ^ib THE VICTIM OF * tion. Farewell ! my friend farewell ! 1 ' am not afraid of leaving this world, for « Amelia is dead, Antonio is no more, and, alas ! my father too will be con- * demned to die. However, the idea of * dying branded with ignominy, thrills * me with terror and defponding agony, « Gracious Heaven, ward olf this dreadful * blow, if it be poifible 1' Hefitating between hope and fear, I awaited the day which was to decide the fate of my haplefs friend. It arrived. — My melancholy tale draws nearer towards its conclufion? why does my hand tremble thus ? why do thefe tears ftart from my eyes? what means this dreadful agony that almoft breaks my heart ? Alas ! thy doom is fixed, ill-fated victim of delufion ! - The judges who were to decide the fate of the confpirators met, and decreed that the Marquis of Villa Re^l and the Duke of Ca*ina fhould be beheaded as rebels againft the King, whofe authority they had a knowledged with the reft of the ftates of the empire; and the other con- fpirators^ MAGICAL DELUSION. 33 c fpirators hanged and quartered. The punifhment of the Primate and the Grand Inquilitor was left to the deciHon of the King. The King propofed in the council of Hate in which this decree was debated, that fome of the criminals fhould be ex- ecuted, but the reft imprifoned for life. The Marquis of **ira infifted, however, upon the execution of the legal punifli- ment, and was feconded by the other members. The King mitigated the pu- nifhment of thofe who had been fen- tenced to be hanged, ordering them to be beheaded. The two prelates, whofe fate had been left to hi^ Royal pleafure,. were doomed to eternal imprifonment. Going to Court the next day, 1 heard Alumbrado had found means to efcape from his prifon. It was believed Oliv-- rez had bribed the gaoler by a large fum to fuffer him to liberate himfelf, which appeared to me very probable, as the latter could be found no where, and very likely had joined the villain in his flight, whoj however^ as it is to be wiflied for P 5 the r^ i T H E VIC T i xM O- F the bed of human kind, will not efcape the puniiliment due to his crimes*. What I am going to relate now is the account of an eye-witnefs, for how could I have been prefent on fucb an heart- breaking occafion ? On the 28th of Auguft a fcalFold, co- vered with black cloth, was erefted be- fore the hoiife where the prifoners had been confined the preceding night. On this fcaffold three ileps were feen, on each of which a chair was placed, the upper * He did not efcape the vengeance of Heaveri if, as I have reafon to fuppofc, Aliimbrado is the fan e per- fon with Vi*o*va. The latter ^ed from Port**al to S!)Li*n, deceived tlie Minifter through his pretended oc- cult krjowledgcj and continued to be connected with him after he had been removed from the helm of go- T^rnmeot, However a journey which . Alumbrado Hiads to Tol**o, vvheie he attempted to play off his magical delufions, brought on his deftrudion ; he wa& ieizcd by the ofS.cers of the Inquifition, and executed as a heretic and forcerer. 01i*arez too was re fte by the Inquifrtion, Vvhen that ruthlefs tribunal was in- formed of his conneifiion with the villainous Alum- brado ; his relations are, however, believed to have difpatched liioi by polfon, in order to fpare hini the difgrace of a public execution. Marquis of Saxj*-^'***^ MAGICAL DELUSION. ^i?^- upper one for the Duke of Cam-^'na, the middle chair for the Marquis of Villa R"^al, and the lower one for the Duke of Ar^amar. The Marquis of Villa R*al was the firft who ftepped out of one of the windows of the houfe, which ferved inftead of a door. He begged the bye-ftanders par- don in a fhort fpeechj and was beheaded. As foon as his corpfe v/as covered his fon made his appearance. His pale and ftaring countenance refembled that of a corpfe. He uttered not a fyllable, feated himfelf on the chair, and one blow fe- vered his head from his body. The pen drops from my hand, and the idea of that horrid fcene curdles the blood in my veins. Reader, who art perufmg thefe pages, look back once more on the road on which a noble young man, adorn- ed with the mod exceHent genius, and the beft of hearts, fuffered himfelf to be feduced to a crime for which he atoned •with his life I CON- 3*4 THE VICTIM OF CONTINUATION, (By an Unknown Hand.) The Marquis of F*, to whom the pre- ceding Memoirs had been entrufted for publication, dying nine weeks after the execution of his unhappy friend, left thefe interefting papers to me, after I had pro- mifed him on his death-bed to execute the lad requeft of their ill-fated author. I have difcharged the truft repofed in me fome years fince, and the charafter of the poor deluded young man has been vindicated in the eyes of the public, who have received the mournful tale of his misfortunes with tears of pity. The continuation of thefe extraordinary Me- moirs, which I am going to add, is fo wonderful and remarkable, that I wife it had been in my power to communicate it to the public along with the reft; the whole being, however, a fecret of ftate^ which I am not allowed to difclofe while the perfons concerned in it are alive, I lliall, perhaps^ be obliged to leave the pub-. MAGICAL DELUSION. 325: publication of the fubfequent pages ta my children. Nine years are already elapfed fmce the execution of the confpirators, and the death of the Marquis of F* and — the Duke of Carina, whofe haplefs fate the latter has bewailed in {ilent grief, and "who generally is believed to have been executed with the reft of his affociates, is yet alive. The King, who ardently wifhed ta fpare the life of the Duke, but at the fame time was afraid of counterafting the de- cree of the council of ftate, who had doomed him to public execution, found himfelf in no fmall embarraffment. How^- ever, the Irifliman, who wifhed with equal ardour to fave the life of the poor mif- guided young man, foon found out means of dilTolving the Gordian knot. " I could," faid he to the King, ^' make a mafk, which no one ihould be able to dif- cern from the real phifiognomy of the Dukcj and this malk I could faften to the face of fome other perfon, in fuch a manner, that every one fliould believe that perfon to be the Duke, If; there- fore^ 3^^ T H E V I C T I M O F fore, we can find a perfon who refembles him in fize, and in the make of his body, and at the fame time fliall be willing to lofe his head in the place of the Duke, it will not be difficult to fave the life of the latter, v/ithout either offending the Senate, or leaving him at liberty to con- fpire a fecond time againft the life of your Majefty. This perfon, who in every re~ fpe6l Y/ill anfwer our purpofe, is Alum- hrado. He is of the fame fize with the Duke, and if informed that he is con- demned to be torn by horfes, will not refufe to accept the mafk, and to die by the fword in the place of the Duke. In or- der to cover this innocent fraud, we muft give out that Alumbrado has efcapcd from the prifon, and thus the benevolent wiih of your Majefty can be accomplillied with fecrecy and fafety." This plan of the Irifliman was exe- cuted with the privity and afliftance of only a few perfons, who took a folemn oath never to difclofe the fecret, and Alumbrado was beheaded in the room of the Duke. The deceit was., carried on fo dexteroufly, that no-ne of thofe v/ho MAGICAL DELUSION. 327 witnefied his execution, fufpecled him to be any other perfon but the Duke whom he reprefented. The latter, however, knew nothing of this fraud that had been praElifed in his favour, for aUhough the Iriihman had modelled his face in w^ax, yet he had not received the moil diftant hint of the pur- pofe for which it had been done. When he was carried out of his dungeon, a few hours after the execution of his father and the difguifed Alumbrado, and led through a dark fubterraneous pafTage, he fancied that he was to meet his doom. He was conducted over many fecret flair- cafes, and at length entered, through an iron door, a dark apartment where he was ordered to wait. But foon after a fe- cond door was opened, and an apartment illuminated with numberlefs torches pre- fented itfelf to his view. There he be- held the King fitting at a table, and a man with a fack and a fword (landing by his fide, who beckoned to him to ftep Rearer. The Duke having entered the apartment, the door v^as bolted after him., and he expefted everv moment to be his iaft. jgrS THE VICTIM OF laft. The King looked at him for feme time without fpeaking a word, and at laft began : — " You have defigned the ruin of your country, and confpired againft my life, what do you think you de- ferve Death 1" the Duke replied. You have been doomed by the Council " of State to fulFer a very painful death ; *^ I have, however, mitigated their fen- ^< tence into that of your being executed by the fword." The Duke thanked the King for his clemency, and looked at the man, whom he miftook for the ex- ecutioner. " Your fentence has been executed already !" the King refumed^, after a long paufe of awful expeQation^ The filence of the Duke, and the expref- lion of his features, befpoke his delire for an explanation of thefe myfterlous words. " You gaze at me the King added, " you doubt, perhaps, the truth ^« of what I have faid? however you ftiall foon be convinced." So faying he made a lignal to the man who was (land- ing by his fide, upon which the latter opened the fack, and taking out a head recently cut off? fhowed it to the Duke, who MAGICAL DELUSION, js^ who ftaggered back when he difcerned his own features in the face of the bleed- ing head. The whole myftery was naw explained to him^ and the King added ? ^* You owe your life to my mercy and the invention of the Irifhman; it is, however, not in my power to reftore you to human fociety. Although you are alive, yet you will be numbered among the dead, and be loft to the world for ever. You will pafs your life banifhed from fociety, and de- " prived of liberty, yet you may reft aifured that none of the comforts of life, liberty excepted, will be denied you." This fentence w^as executed literally. The Duke was confined for the reft of his life in a ftrong tower fituated on the river Ta*o, where handfome apartments were allotted to him, and wanted no- thing but liberty., TRANSLATOR'S ADDRESS TO HIS THIXKING READERS, BEFORE the TranHator takes leave of the Reader, who will not^rithhold a tear of tender pity from the Kero of the preceding pages, when informed that the mournful tale of his deviations and haplefs fate is not the oS'spring of imaginary ficlion, but founded on hiftorical facts, recorded in Abbe Vcrtot's excellent Hiftory of the Revolution in Portugal; he deems it his duty as a man, and as a Chriixian, to put his young friends, who will perufe his tranflation, in a way to avoid the fnares of fuperftirion, the dire effects o/" which are the theme of the preceding volumes. A careful attention to the four following principles, will be the fureft means of {leering clear of the dangerous rocks and quickfands of fupsrftirion, on which the happinefs of fo many mortals has been wrecked ; the Tramliaror, therefore, begs his readers who value their peace of mind, never-to forget T^at Order is the Sup re 7m La.-v of Nature, The motion of the eeleftial bodies, the ecliptical ccurfe of our globe, the regular change of day and night, and of the difilrrent feafons, and every objecl we beheld in Nature's boundlefs realm?, enforce :ne truth of that principle on the raind of the attentive obferver. V/e no where behold eiFc'fls without a fuScient caufe, no where caufes without proportionate eirecls ; no where vacancies nor irregular leaps in the feries and concate- nation ( H ) nation of things ; no where beings that are infulated and unallied to the whole; no where fupernatural ef- feds nor im?nediate interpofitions of the Godhead, where the regular powers of Nature are fufticient to efTed th2 great views of the Creator, On the contrary, v/e be- feold every where the moft indilTolublc union, and the cxadeft proportion between caufe and effed, every where the moft admirable connexion between all the fmaller and the lelTer parts of the whole, and between all the mutations and changes that take place therein : wc behold every where fixed, immutable laws, after which all the works of God, the fun and the fmalled' grain of fand, the worm and man, the king of crea- tion, move and a^^, every where great ends and means that are proportionate to them* Who can examine the world, without perceiving the moft perfeft order whereby it is ruled ? And what reafonable man would conclude from what he does not knGiv, nor caji compre" hend oi the contrary of thofe things which he can fee and examine \ How was it poffible that man could fuc- cefsfully carry on his occupations and labours without this unalterable order of things? Hov/ could he know the will of his Creator, and how execute it ? how con- clude with the leaft fecurity from what is paft, of what will be ? how compute the fuccefs of his undertakings, Hieditations and exertions ? What a dreadful fceue of confufion would a world exhibit, wherein the feries and the connexions of things were conftantly interrupted through miracles, or the iniaence of fuperior beings. Order is, and ever will be,, the fupreme law of Na- ture refpefta therefore, this law, take it for your guide on your pilgrimage^ and you will avoid the de^ Yiations of fuperftition. Super- < ) Superftition mlfconceives this order of things, ex- pedis efFefts without caufes, or from fuch caufes as have no relation to them ; it arbitrarily transforms the nature of things, feparates what is indilTolubly con- ceded, and connedls in the fame arbitrary manner things which evidently contradi*fl each other, or are not connefted at all. Superftition obliterates the natural limits of created beings, imputing to tliem qualities and powers which they do nst, nor can poffefs, if they fliali be and con- tinue to be what they really are. The fuperSitious expects every where miracles and exceptions from the ftated rules of Nature, and the more wild and con- fufed his fancies are, the more important folutions of myfteries do they appear to him to promjfe. But is not this fcorning the laws of the Supreme Ruler of the world, and cenfuring the order of things which is founded thereupon : Is not this expofing the world, which is the work of the Supreme wifdom and good- nefs, to all the dangers and confuiions of blind fata- lity, and defiroying all dependence on our reafoning and conclufions, on our anions, hopes and expedla- tions ? Is fuch a manner of thinking confiftent with a found knowledge of God, and of the ways of Provi- dence ? If you wiili to avoid the delufions and the fnares of fuperftition, that bane of human happinefs, of good order, and of peace of mind, O ! then refpeft Order as the fupreme law of Nature, as the unalter- able will of her Creator and Ruler ! Make yourfelves acquainted with the regulation of the world, and the eternal laws after which it is governed; fufpecl every thing that is contrary to the regular courfc of Nature, and do not fooliihly dream that it is in the power of mortal ( iv J mortal man to change or abrogate it by means of cer- tain words and formulas, or of certain myfterious ce- remonies. Endeavour to trace out the natural caufe of every effed, and if you cannot find it, at leaft take care not to yield to the felf-conceited idea, that there cxifts no natural caufe, becaufe you are too fliort- fighted to fee it. Let your fyftem of reafoning be go- verned by the fame accurate connexion, the fame natu- ral combination and order you behold in the whole creation, and you will not be furprifed by felf-delufion, or the deceptions of impoftors. Reafon is the greatejl prerogative of Man', a fecond truth that powerfully can guard us againft the wiles of fuperftition. What diftinguifhes us more eminently from all other inhabitants of our globe, what renders us more the re- femblance of our Maker than Reafon? the faculty of tracing out the caufes of things, of forming jufl ideas of their connexions with each other, and of deducing firm conclufions from what we know, of v/hat we do not know ? Our fenfible organs and fenfations we in common with the beafts of the field \ reafon only renders us fuperior to them. Reafon enables us to dii- cover the delufions of our fenfes, or to compare and adjuft the imprelTions we have received from external objeds. By the light of reafon we can inveftigate the origin of our feelings, trace out their fecret caufes and their turns, and raife them to clear notions. Af- filed by reafon, we can govern every Other faculty of our mind, ftrengthen or weaken, and dired it jn a manner which is mofl: favourable for the difcovcry and examination of truth. Without reafon every natural phenomenon would confound us, and every uncommoa eiiia ( T ) €ffe ifdom, knowledge, advantages and eminent qualities, which are to cod you little or nothing, and which you are to obtain without the lead exertion and trouble, through faith, hope, or mechanical prccefles and cerem.onies. This is, however, not the courfe of nature, is not the will cf^the Creator, nor the dellination of mian ; it is the hope and the wifh of the lazy and weak, the language of him who is averfe from labour and trouble, and yet wants to reap the fruits arifmg therefrom. Apply your faculties according to your deftination, apply them with diligence and cheerfulnefs, perform your duty faithfully, and enquire for wifdom and know- ledge, wealth and honour, health and power, on the road of activity and ufefulnefs, for this is the only path that leads to happinefs and human perfedion. The laft principle I wifh to recommend to you as a fafeguard againll fuperflition is : Ma^i is not defigned to foreknew the future enjcTits oj his Ufe I and how could he know, by what means fcrefee them ? if that Ihould be pofTible, the powers of his underfianding, his reafon and his knowledge, either muft be fo much enlarged, that he could form the moft accurate idea of the great concatenation of all poffible events and caufes through- out the creation, and then he would not be a mortal, that is a limited being ; (this, however, would be a kind of omnifcience, which is the fole prerogative of the Godhead) or he muft be infpired in a miraculous manner by the Supreme Being, which would infinitely multiply miracles and wonders, and fubvert the wife laws ( ) lav/s of nature^ But let us fuppofe the Godhead (hould really give it in the power of man to explore his future fate, would he be the happier for it ? No, undoubtedly not ! a knowledge of that kind rather would prove the greateft bane to the happinefs of the individual, and of the human race in general. The villain would grow more daring, and fcorn all divine and human laws, if he could forefee that no temporal bad confequences would attend his vile coarfe, and every one that could foreknow the bleflings which fu- turity has in ftore for him, would anticipate the joys that await him; fo that the expefled happinefs, when realifed, would charm him infinitely lefs than if it had furprifed him unawares. Many great geniufes, that through their talents have proved blelTmgs to the world, and, notwithftanding their unremitted exer- tions to raife a fortune, through their fervices to hu- man kind, lived and died in poverty, would have re- laxed in their zealous endeavours to render themfclves ufeful to the ftate, if they could have forefeen their fate ; the world would have been deprived of the fruits of their diligence, and defpair would have utterly de- ftroyed every remnant of comfort which the ignorance of their future fate has left them ; while, on the contrary, heaven - born hope gave wings to their genius, and animated them to purfue their career with redoubled alacrity. If the favourite of fortune could forefee that the fickle Goddefs never will prove incon- ftant to him, would this not render him proud and overbearing ? would not the firm perfuafion that the uninterrupted continuation of his happy fituation would • entirely exempt him from every application to the kindnefs and affiftance of his fellow creatures, render him negledful in his endeavours to preferve their I 0^2 good i ( X } <-;€ud opinion ? while, on the contrary, the uncertainty in which he is, with rcfpea to his future fate, makes it his intereft .to gain the atTedion of his fellow crea- tures. If, on the other fide, the favourite of fortune could with certainty forefee that a time will inevitably arrive when his prefent happy fuuation will be over« clcuded, his wealth loll, his body racked with excruci-. aiing. pains, &c. &c. would not this fore-knowledge poifon the enjoyment of his prefent happincfs, and render him miferable even in the lap of blifs ? In fhortj would not the poflibility of exploring future events de- ftroy the felicity of numberlefs mortals, baniih hope^ that fweet comforter, and oftentimes, the only re- maining friend of the unfortunate, from this fublunary world ? Would it not frequently render vice more dar- ing, and break the only ftalf cf fulFering virtue ? If, therefore, we are perfuaded that a good God rules the world, and that the Supreme Being watches wiih a paternal care over the felicity of mankind, we cannot, we dare not expeffi, that he ever will fulfer man to remove the myflerious veil that hides futurity from mortal- iight ! Some of my readers will, however, perhaps ob- ject that, notv/ithlianding the oiany bad confequences which inevitably muft arife from a fore- know ledge of future events, man would, at the fame time, be ena- bled to avoid at lead thofe misfortunes that can be guarded off by vigilance and prudence. I grant that man would be more capable to take meafures againil future evils, but experience authorifes me to maintains that but very few would make fuch a v^^ife ufe of that knowledge. Did not the holy feers of yore, did not our Saviour foretell the Jews the dire confequences of their perverreiu'ft> • and yet did they not bid defiance to ( xi ; to the judgments of punifning Heaven? Does not every Chrifiran know that vice leads to eternal mifery hereafter? and do v.-e not every day behold, noiwith- Handing the general belief in that awful truth, thou- lands and thoufaads difregard the v.-arning voice of Heaven, and purfae the road to eternal defiruclion v/it:! unabated ardour ? Is it to be expected that man, who rilks his eternal falvatioii for the gratification of his defires during, a fnort and uncertain life, that man who does not tremble at the certainty of endiefs mifery, would be rendered more careful in the choice of his - enjoyjBents, and in the mode of his proceedings through the foreknowledge of future temporal woe ? Let us therefore, never prefume, nor even v/lfh fo pry into - futurity, let us not revolt againil the exprefs command of the great Ruler of the Univerfe : not regard thera that have familiar fbirits, nor fsek after wizards, and fufped every one who promifes to remove the veil from the hidden face of futurity. Let us look upon thofe daring mortals as the greateft enemies to human happi- nefs, as rebels againii the law of heaven, and as im- poilors who abufe cur credulity, and under the cloak of occult fciences, make us fubfervient to their private views. Let us not be aftonifi^icd when we now and then find fome of their predictions reaiifed ; but al- ways conlider that this is owing merely to accident, and that one truth they utter, is overbalanced by num- berlefs lies. Let us aft up to the beft of cur know- ledge, fulfil our duties to God and men, confide in the paternal care of Providence, and he that rules the fate of the whole creation, will fiand our friend and protec- tor in the time of need. FINIS, ERRATA. N. B. The great diftance of the Tranfiator's abode from the Printuig-Office, having made it impoffible he could have corre61ed the proofs himfelf, many errata have crept into the preceding Volumes, which he begs leave ta point out to the Recider, V O L I. Page 22, line ii, from the top, read ivere, for was. 44j 10, read /q/?, for left. '1^> 3? from the bottom, add, oui?, before afked, 77, 9, from the top, for and the conjuror not^ read, nor had the conjuror. 3> from the top, for relying, read replying, Sy, 1, for the following day, readj the fubfequent day. 93, 7, from the bottom, for In your fagacity, in, read, to your fagachy^ to 104, 13, from the top, for fliall, rcKd^ Jhah. 1 06, 14, from the top, for fitting, re^df fettlng. Ill, 3, from the bottom, for ing, read, iveep'nig 148, lo, from the top, for guelder s, read, ^«i/r/r/«<:/j!)ij/ for principle. 231 > 3, ffom tlie top, add it after put. 241, 7, from the bottom, read begin for began. 250, IX, vf3Ld. incontefiable^iov in- conteftible. 254, 7, from the top, infert as after band. E R ^ A T Ac V o L. nr. Page 9, line 7, 'from the bottciti, infert. to after trate, 16, lOj from the top, read ujey-e for was. 2 0, from the bottom, infert and htfore con. 24, II; from the top, read 'wriiien for writted. 50, 14., read ^7;^ for ?aiy. 55, II, from the bottom; read ings for ing. 58, 12, from the top, read he ibr are. 75, 5 , read Sp — ~n for Port* * *1 . 94j 7j read for or. 103, 3 2, read thtoes for throbs. 128, 4, read the for a. 134, 1 2 J read for by. 157, 3, read/o7r£' for fraxid. i8?, 85 from the bottom, dele are after why. 298, I, from the top, infert on after impoled. 2785 13, for multifarious J read mui - tH-anous. aSoj, 12, from the top, r^:^^ fancied forfanccd, 284, I; from the bottom-, read for prin- cipic.