Roland Cashel. With illustrations by Phiz

Front matter

ROLAND CASHEL. _r^ J ,___/W-l, (it?^ P' ffl M3 £3 SI Aic£ . ROLAND CASHEL. BV CHARLES LEYER, AUTHOR OF " HARRY LORREQUER," " THE KNIGHT OF GWVNNE," &C &C. WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY PHIZ. LONDON : CHAPMAN AND HALL, 186, STKAND. MDCCCL. CHARLES WHITING, BEAUFORT HOUSE, STRAND. TO G. P. R. JAMES, ESQ. Mt dear James, You, once upon a time, dedicated to me a tale of deep and thrilling interest. Let me now inscribe to you this volume on the plea of that classic authority who, in the interchange of armour, " gave Brass for Gold." It is, however, far less to repay the obligation of a debt by giving you a " Roland" — not for your "Oliver" — but your " Step mother," than for the pleasure of recording one "Fact" in a bulky tome of Fiction, that I now write your name at the head of this page — that fact being, the warm memory I cherish of all our pleasant hours of intercourse, and the sincere value I place upon the honour of your friendship.

Yours, in all esteem and affection, Charles Lever. Palazzo Ximenes, Florence, October 20, 1849. LIST OF PLATES. / ■»_• PAGE Maritana , Frontispiece Vignette Title-page. The Game at Monte 4 / The Manolo 45 The Two Sisters 52 A Prairie— Evening Ride 70 j/ Bravo Toro! 76 The Dean shows how to take the Bull by the Horns 105 The Cottage 120 / The Major " Stops the Way" 148 The Money-Lender 152 ' A Meeting under the Greenwood Tree 168 A Domestic Detective 183 The Picture Gallery— Sir Andrew Puzzled 203 An Evening Scene 220 How to work a Patent Pump 246 ' The Fisherman's Hut 267 The Discovery 277 "The Sassenachs" 280 Jim 308 Coronation op Miss Meek 319 "After Luncheon — The Start" 329 CORRIGAN PARTS WITH AN OLD FrIEND 336 A Phœnix 370 Aunt Fanny's Benediction 383 A little Bit op Scandal 386 The Wager LIST OF PLATES. page Preparations for Departure 426 "No" is the Feminine of "Yes" 440 The Chess-Players 455 The Temptation 475 Picturesque, but not Pleasant 493 A Family Party 502 The Masquerade 513 The Suspicion 526 Friends. (" Ever faithfully yours") , 546 -■' Guilt and Innocence 553 La Ninetta 590 Linton's last Visit to Maritana.., 610 The Arrest

Chapter I

And thus they lived ye merrie yeare, For they were a jollie crewe Of pleasante laddes that knewe no feare, And — as little of honestie too. Ballade of Capt. Pike. Our tale opens on a gorgeous night of midsummer — at an era so little remote, that to name the precise year could have no interest for tlie reader, and in a region which seemed to comhine all that is delightful in climate with whatever is luxuriant and splendid in vegetation. It was upon the bank of a small river, a tributary of the Oronoso, not very distant from the picturesque city of Barcilonetta, that a beautiful villa stood, the elegance of whose architecture, and the lavish magnificence of whose decorations, were alike evidence that neither taste nor wealth were want ing to its proprietor. In this land where Nature had been so prodigal of her gifts, the luxu rious appointments of this princely abode seemed to partake of the cha racter of a fairy palace ; and the admixture of objects of high art, the treasures of Italian galleries and Spanish collections, with the more vivid realities of the scene, favoured this illusion.

The fortunate owner of this pr.radise, was a certain Pedro Rica, who, for something like fourteen years, had been a resident of Columbia. A widower, with an only child, then an infant of scarce a year old, he had arrived in that country, seeking, as he said, by new scenes, and new associations, to erase, so far as might be, the painful memory of his late bereavement. While he gave it to be understood that he was a Spaniard by birth, some averred that he was a Mexican ; others, that he was a Texan ; and one or two alleged that he was an American of the States, an assumption that the ease and fluency of his English went far to corroborate. Of B whatever nation he came, certain is it that a mystery hung over both his native land and his history ; and as he showed little disposition to enlighten the world on these subjects, as is usual in such cases, his neighbours took their revenge by inventing a hundred stories about him, each one only worse than the other.

At one time it was said that his wealth was acquired by piracy ; at another, that he absconded from a Texan city, with a large sum belonging to the government ; forgery — breach of trust, were among tbe commonest allegations ; and the most charitable only averred that he made his money in the slave-trade. It is but fair to say, that the sole foundation for these various rumours lay in the stern distance of his manner, and the cold, almost repulsive, austerity with which he declined all acquaintance with the neighbourhood. These traits, added to the voluptuous splendour of a retinue and a style of living infinitely above all around, gradually estranged from him the few who attempted to form an intimacy, and left him to live — as it seemed he preferred — a life of solitary magnificence; an object of affected pity to many, but of real envy to all.

As his daughter grew up, he was accustomed to visit the sea-coast each summer for some weeks, and from these absences he, now, usually returned with one or two acquaintances, for the most part officers of the Columbian navy, with whom he had formed an intimacy at the sea-side. Such acquaintanceships seemed to increase from year to year, till at last each autumn saw the " Villa de los Noches Entretenidos," " of the pleasant nights" crowded with guests, whose wild orgies were in strange contrast to the former stillness aud quietude within those walls. A more motley and discordant assemblage it would be hard to con ceive, consisting as they did of adventurers from every land of Europe. The wild and reckless outcasts of every clime and country, the begg-ared speculator, the ruined gambler, the duellist with blood upon his hand, the defaulter with shame upon his forehead.

All that good morals reject, and the law pursues, mingled with others whose faults went no further than waste or improvidence, or the more venial sin, that they came poor into the world, and were stamped "Adventurers" from the cradle. A service that never exercised too nice a scrutiny into the habits of its followers, and whose buccaneer life had all the freedom of piracy, with the assumption of a recognised class, offered no mean attraction to the lover of enterprise ; and certainly, if the standard of morals was low, that of daring, reckless adventure was the very opposite. Amid this pleasant company, we must now ask pardon for introducing our reader, with this saving assurance, that he shall not have long to commune with such companionship. It was, as we have said, a summer's night. A sky, all glittering with stars, spread its dark blue canopy over a scene where, amid the banana, the manioc, and the plantain, flowers of every bright hue were blooming, and fountains gushing ; while, through an atmosphere, tremulous with the song of the mocking-bird, fire-flies were glancing and glittering.

In the deep piazza before the Villa was now assembled a numerous party of men, disposed in every attitude of lounging, ease, and abandon ment ; they seemed, though perhaps after very different estimates, to be enjoying the delicious balm and freshness of the night air. They were of various ages ; and, although the greater number showed by their dress, that they belonged to the naval service, other signs, not less distinctive, pronounced that they were drawn from classes of life as varied as they were numerous ; while, here and there, a Caballero might be seen attired in the picturesque costume of the Caraccas, his many coloured scarf and plumed hat — aiding, in no inconsiderable degree, the picturesque effect of a scene Salvator might have painted. Not only beneath the piazza itself, but on the marble steps, and even beneath them again, on the close shaven turf, the party lay, sated as it were with splendour, and recruiting strength for new dissipations.

Some sat talking in low and whispering voices, as if unwilling, even by a sound, to break the stilly calm. Others, in perfect silence, seemed to drink in the soothing influence of that tranquil moment ; or smoked the cigarettos in dreamy indolence ; while at intervals, from the leafy groves, a merry laugh, or the tinkling of a guitar, would mingle with the bubbling murmur of the fountains, making the very stillness yet more still as they ceased. Behind the piazza, and opening by severaf large windows upon it, could be seen a splendid saloon, resplendent with wax lights, and still displaying on the loaded table the remnants of a sumptuous repast, amid which vessels of gold and vases of flowers appeared. Here, yet lingered two or three guests — spirits who set no store on an entertainment if it did not degenerate into debauch.

A broad alley, flanked by tall hedges of the prickly pear, led from the Villa to a little mound, on which a chestnut tree stood, the patriarch of the wood ; a splendid tree it was, and worthy of a better destiny than it now fulfilled, as, lighted up by several lanterns suspended from the branches, it spread its shade over a large table where a party were playing at "Monte." Even without the suggestive aid of the large heaps of gold beside each player, and piled in the middle of the table, the grave and steadfast faces of some, the excited look of others, and the painful intensity of interest in all, showed that the play was high. Still, although such was the case, and while the players were men whose hot blood and b2 KOLAN'D CASHEL. 4 reckless lives did but little dispose them to put the curb upon their tempers, not a word was spoken aloud ; nor did a gesture or a look betray the terrible vacillations of hope and fear the changeful fortune of the game engendered.

Standing near tbe table, but not mingling in the play, stood Don Pedro himself, his sallow and melancholy features fixed upon the game, with an expression that might mean sorrow or deep anxiety, it were difficult to say which. Beside him, at a small table littered with papers and writing materials, sat his steward, or intendant, a German named Geizheimer, a beetle-browed, white cheeked, thick-lipped fellow, whose aquiline features and guttural accents told that lending money at enormous interest was no uncon genial occupation. Such was his present, and indeed almost his only duty ; for, while Don Pedro seldom or never played, gaming was the invariable occupation of the guests, whose means to support it were freely supplied by the steward : the borrowers either passing a simple note for repayment, or, when the sum was a heavy one, mortgaging their share in the next prize they should capture.

Other contracts, it was rumoured, were occasionally resorted to, but of such we shall speak anon. At a short distance from the table, but sufficiently near to observe the game, stood one from whom nothing short of the passion of play could have prevented every eye being bent. But so it was ; she stood alone and unmarked, while all the interest was concentrated upon the game. Dressed in a white tunic or chemise, fastened round the waist by a gold girdle, stood Maritana Rica, her large and lustrous black eyes eagerly turned to where two youths were standing intensely occupied by the play. Her neck, arms, and shoulders were bare, in Mexican fashion, and even the mantilla she wore over her head was less as a protection than as a necessary accompaniment of a costume, which certainly is of the simplest kind.

Except the chemise, she had no other garment, save a jupe of thin lama-wool, beautifully embroidered and studded with precious stones ; this terminated below the middle of the leg, displaying an ancle and foot no Grecian statue ever surpassed in beauty. If the deep brown of her skin almost conveyed the reproach — and such it is — of Indian blood, a passing glance at the delicate outline of her features, and, in particular, of her mouth, at once contradicted the suspicion. The lips were beautifully arched, and, although plump and rounded, had none of the fulness of the degraded race. These were now slightly parted, displaying teeth of surpassing whiteness, and imparting to the whole expression a character of speaking animation. Although not yet sixteen, her figure had all the graceful development of woman hood, without having entirely lost a certain air of fawn-like elasticity, which, from time to time, her gestures of impatience displayed. t 1 The Came al Monl KOLAND CASHEL. 5 The two young men, on whom her interest seemed fixed, were playing in partnership, and, in their highly-wrought passion, never once looked up from the board.

One, somewhat taller and older by a few years, appeared to exercise the guidance of their play ; and it was easy to see, in the swollen and knotted veins of his forehead, in the clenched hands, and in the tremulous lip, the passionate nature of a confirmed gambler. The younger, whose dress of green velvet, slashed and braided in Mexi can taste, and whose wide-leaved sombrero was decorated with a long sash of light blue silk, whose deep gold fringe hung upon his shoulder, was evidently one less enamoured of play, and more than once busied himself in arranging the details of his costume, of which he seemed somewhat vain. It was in one of these moments that his eyes met those of Mari tana fixed steadfastly upon him, and, fascinated by her unmoved stare, he felt his cheek grow hot, and, whether from a sense of shame or a still more tender motive, the blush spread over his face and forehead.

Mari tana looked steadily! almost sternly, at him, and then, with a slight toss of her head, so slight that none save he who had watched her intently could read its scornful import, she turned away. The youth did not wait a moment, but, slipping from his place, followed along the alley he had seen her take. He who remained, unconscious of his friend's departure, continued to mutter about the chances of the game, and speculate on the amour.t he would dare to hazard. " She is against us every time, Roland !" said he, in a low, half-whispering voice. "Fortune will not smile, woo her how we may! Speak, amigo mio, shall we risk all ?" As he spoke he began counting the piles of glittering gold before him, but his hand trembled, and the pieces clung to his moist fingers, so that he was too late for the deal.

" Sixteen hundred," muttered he to himself. " Ten— twenty — thirty." " The bank loses ! " cried the croupier, announcing the game. " Loses ! " screamed the young man, in an accent whose piercing agony started the whole board — " loses ! because it was the only time I had no wa"-er. See, Roland, see how true it is ; there is a curse upon us." He seized the arm of the person at his side, and clenched it with a con vulsive energy as he spoke. " Saperlote ! my young friend ; you'll never change luck by tearing my old uniform," growled out a rugged-looking German skipper, who, commanding a small privateer, affected the rank and style of a naval officer. " Oh, is it you, Hans?" said the youth, carelessly ; " I thought it had been one of our own fellows. Only think the bank should lose, because I made no stake ; see now, watch this.

Halt !" cried he to the dealer, in a voice thatet once arrested his hand. " You give one no time, Sir, to decide upon his game," said he, with a savage irascibility, which con tinued bad luck had carried to the highest pitch. " Players who risk their two or three crowns may not object ; but, isa man desires to make a heavy stake, it is but common courtesy to wait a moment. A thousand doubloons, the red queen — fifteen hundred," added he, quickly. " Fifteen, and thirty-five— or eight." So saying, he pushed with both hands, the great heap of gold pieces into the middle of the table ; and then, with eyes bloodshot and glaring, he watched each card that fell from the banker's fingers. When the first row of cards were dealt, all was in his savour, and, as the banker took up the second pack, a long suppressed sigh broke from the gambler's bosom.

It seemed, at length, as if fortune had grown weary of persecuting him. " Come, Enrique," said a handsomely-dressed and fine-looking man, who stood opposite to him " luck has turned at last, there is nothing but the queen of spades against you !" As if by some magic spell he had called the card, the words were not out when it dropped upon the table. A cry of mingled amazement and horror burst from the players, whose natures would seem to recognise some superstitious influence in such marked casualties. As for Enrique, he stood perfectly still and silent ; a horrible smile, the ghastly evidence of an hysterical effort, sat upon his rigid features, and at length two or three heavy drops of blood trickled from his nostril, and fell upon his shirt. "Where's Roland?" said he, in a faint whisper, to a young man be hind him.

" I saw him with Maritaiia, walking towards the three fountains." Enrique's pallid cheek grew scarlet, and, rudely pushing his way through the crowd, he disappeared from view. " There goes a man in a good humour to board a prize," said one of the bystanders coolly, and the play proceeded without a moment's inter ruption. With his broad-leaved hat drawn down upon his brows, and his head sunk upon his bosom, he traversed the winding walks with the step of one who knew their every turning ; at last he reached a lonely and un frequented part of the garden, where the path, leading for some distance along the margin of a small lake, suddenly turned off towards a flower terrace, in the midst of which " the three fountains" stood. Instead of taking the shortest way to the spot, Enrique left the walk and entered a grove of trees, through whose thick shade he proceeded silently and cautiously.

The air was calm and motionless, and none save one who had received the education of a prairie hunter, could have followed that track so noiselessly. By degrees the wood became open, and his progress more circumspect, when he suddenly halted. Directly in front of him, not twenty paces from where he stood, was the terrace, over which, in the stilly night air, the fountain threw a light spray-light shower, rustling, as it fell upon the leaves, with a murmur ing sound. Lower down, was a little basin surrounded by a border of white marble, and beside this two figures were now standing, whom, by the clear starlight, he could easily recognise to be Roland and Maritana. The former, with folded arms, and head bent down, as if in thought, leaned against a tree, while Maritana stood beside the fountain, moving her foot to and fro in the clear water, and, as though entirely engrossed by her childish pastime, never bestowed a look upon her companion.

At last, she ceased suddenly, and turning abruptly round, so as to stand full in front of him, said, " Well, Senhor, am I to hope our pleasant interview is ended, or have I still to hear more of your complaints, those gentle re monstrances that sound, to my ears at least, more wearisome than words of downright anger ?" " You have not heard me patiently," said the youth, advancing to wards her, while the slightly shaken tones of his voice contrasted strangely with the assured and haughty accents in which he spoke. " Patiently !" echoed she, with a scornful laugh. " And where was this same goodly gift to be learned ? Among the pleasant company we have quitted, Senhor ? whose friendships of a night are celebrated by a brawl on the morrow ! From the most exemplary crew of the Esmeralda, and in particular, the worthy lieutenant, Don Roland da Castel, who, if report speaks truly, husbands the virtue so rigidly that he cannot spare the smallest portion to expend upon his friends ?"

" If my thrift had extended to other matters," said the youth, bitterly, "mayhap I should not have to listen to language like this ?" " What say you, Sir !" cried the girl, passionately, as she stamped upon the ground with a gesture of violent anger. " Do you affect to say, that it matters to me whether you stood there as loaded with gold as on the morning you brought back that Mexican prize, and played the hero with such martial modesty ; or as poor — as poor — as bad luck at cards can make you ? If I loved you, I'd have as little care for one event as the other !" " You certainly thought more favourably of me then, than now, Mari tana !" said Roland, diffidently. " I know not why you say so !" " At least you accepted my hand in betrothal" " Stay !" cried she, impetuously. " Did I not tell you, then, before the assembled witnesses— before my father— what a mockery this same ceremony was— that its whole aim and object was to take advantage of that disgraceful law that can make an unmarried girl, a widow, to inherit the fortune of one she never would have accepted as her husband.

Speak, Sir! — and say, did I not tell you this, and more too, that such a bridal ceremony brought little fortune to the bridegroom, for that already I had been thrice a widowed bride ? Nay, more, you heard me swear as solemnly, that while I regarded the act as one of deep profanation, I felt in nowise bound by it. It is idle, then, to speak of our betrothal !" " It is true, Maritana, you said all this ; although, perhaps, you had not now remembered it, had not some other succeeded to that place in your regard" "There, there!" cried she, stopping him impatiently. "I will not listen again to the bead-roll of your jealousies. People must have loved very little, or too much, to endure that kind of torture. Besides, why tell me of these things ? You are, they say, a most accomplished hunter, and can answer me, — if, when in chase of an antelope, a jaguar joins the sport, you do not turn upon him at once, the worthier and nobler enemy, and thus, as it were, protect what had been your prey."

The youth seemed stung to the quick by this pitiless sarcasm ; and although he made no reply, his hands, convulsively clutched, bespoke the torrent of agitation within him. " You are right, Maritana !" said he, after a pause. "It is idle to speak of our betrothal — I release you." " Release me!" said she, laughing contemptuously; "this is a task I always perform for myself, Senhor, and by the shortest of methods, as thus." As she spoke, she struggled to tear from her finger a ring, which resisted all her efforts ; at last, by a violent wrench, she succeeded, and holding it up for a second, till the large diamond glittered like a star, she threw it into the still fountain at her feet. " There, amigo mio, I release you — never was freedom more willingly accorded !" "Never was there a slave more weary of his servitude !" said the youth, bitterly.

" If Don Pedro Rica but tear his accursed bond, I should feel myself my own again." " He will scarce refuse you, Sir, if the rumour be correct that says you have lost eleven thousand doubloons at play. The wealthy con queror stands on very different ground from the ruined gambler. Go to him at once ! Ask back the paper ! Tell him you have neither a heart nor a fortune to bestow upon his daughter ! That, as a gambler, fettered by the lust for play, you have lost all soul for those hazardous enterprises that win a girl's love, and a father's consent." She waited for a moment that he might reply ; and then, impatient, perhaps, at his silence, added—" I did not think, Senhor, you esteemed yourself so rich a prize ! Be of good cheer, however ! —they who are less cognizant of your deserts will be more eager to secure them."

With these slighting words she turned away. Roland advanced as if to follow her, but with a contemptuous gesture of the hand she waved him back, and he stood like one spell-bound, gazing after her, till she disappeared in the dark distance.

Chapter II

" La Diche viene quando no se aguarda."— Spanish Proverb. (Good luck comes when it is not looked for.) Roland looked for some minutes in the direction by which Maritafia had gone, and then, with a sudden start, as if of some newly taken resolve, took the path towards the Villa. He had not gone far when, at the turn of the way, he came in front of Enrique, who, with hasty steps, was advancing towards him. " Lost, every thing lost !" exclaimed the latter, with a mournful ges ture of his hands. "All gone!" cried Roland. " Every crown in the world !" " Be it so ; there is an end of gambling, at least !" " You bear your losses nobly, Senhor !" said Enrique, sneeringly ; " and, before a fitting audience, might claim the merit of an accomplished gamester. I am, however, most unworthy to witness such fine philosophy.

I recognise in beggary nothing but disg-race!" " Bear it, then, and the whole load too !" said Roland, sneeringly. " To your solicitations only I yielded in taking my place at that ac cursed table. I bad neither a passion for play, nor the lust for money getting ; you thought to teach me both, and peradventure, you have made me despise them more than ever." " What a moralist !" cried Enrique, laughing insolently, "who dis covers that he has cared neither for his mistress nor his money till he has lost both." " What do you mean ?" said Roland, trembling with passion. " I never speak in riddles," was the cool reply. " This, then, is meant as insult," said Roland, approaching closer, and ROLAND CASHED. speaking in a still lower voice ; " or is it merely the passion of a disappointed gambler V " And if it were, amigo mio," retorted the other, " what more fitting stake to set against the anger of a rejected lover ?"

" Be it so !" cried Roland, fiercely ; " you never caught up a man more disposed to indulge your humour. Shall it be now ?" " Could not so much courage keep warm till daylight ?" said Enrique, calmly. " Below the fountains there is a very quiet spot." "At sunrise?" " At sunrise," echoed Enrique, bowing with affected courtesy, till the streamers from his hat touched the ground. " Now for my worthy father-in-law elect," said Roland ; " and to see him before he may hear of this business, or I may find it difficult to obtain my divorce." When the youth arrived at the Villa, the party were assembled at supper. The great saloon, crowded with guests and hurrying menials, was a scene of joyous but reckless conviviality, the loud laughter and the louder voices of the company striking on Roland's ear with a grating discordance he had never experienced before.

The sounds of that festivity he had been wont to recognise, as the pleasant evidences of free and high-souled enjoyment, now jarred heavily on his senses, and he wondered within himself how long he had lived in such companionship. Well knowing that the supper party would not remain long at table, while high play continued to have its hold upon the guests, he strolled into one of the shady alleys, watching from time to time for the break ing up of the entertainment. At last some two or three arose, and, preceded by servants with lighted flambeaux, took the way towards the gaming-table. They were speedily followed by others, so that in a brief space— except by the usual group of hard-drinking souls, who ventured upon no stake save that of health — the room was deserted. He looked eagerly for Don Pedro, but could not see him, as it was occasionally his practice to retire to his library, long before his guests sought their repose.

Roland made a circuit of the Villa, and soon came to the door of this apartment, which led into a small flower gar den. Tapping gently here, he received a summons to enter, and found himself before Don Pedro, who, seated before a table, appeared deeply immersed iu matters of business. Roland did not need the cold and almost stern reception of his host to make him feel his intrusion very painfully ; and he hastened to ex press his extreme regret that he should be compelled by any circumstances to trespass on leisure so evidently destined for privacy. " But a few moments' patient hearing," continued he, " will show that to me at least the object of this visit did not admit of delay." "Be seated, Senhor; and, if I may ask it without incivility, be brief, for I have weighty matters before me."