Gerald Fitzgerald: The Chevalier Part 43

If the law that condemns the priest to a life of isolation and estrangement from all human affections be severe and pitiless, there is what many would deem a proud compensation in the immensity of that ambition offered to men thus separated from their fellows. Soaring above the cares and anxieties, whose very egotism renders them little, these men fix their contemplation upon the great events of the world, and, in a spirit that embraces ages yet unborn, uninfluenced by the emotions that sway others, untouched by the yearnings that control them, they alone of all mankind can address themselves to the objects of their ambition without selfish interests. The aggrandis.e.m.e.nt of the Church, the spread and pre-eminence of the Catholic faith, formed a cause which for centuries engaged the greatest intellects and the most devoted hearts of her followers. Among these were many of more eminence, in point of station, than Ma.s.soni; many more learned, many more eloquent, many whose influence extended further and wider, but not one who threw more steadfast devotion into the cause, nor who was readier to peril all--even to life itself--in its support. He had been for years employed by the Papal Government as a secret agent at the different courts of Europe. He had been in Spain, in Austria, in France, and the Low Countries; he had travelled through England, and pa.s.sed nearly a year in Ireland. Well versed in modern languages, and equally acquainted with the various forms of European government, he was one whose opinion had a great weight upon every question of political bearing. Far too crafty to employ this knowledge in self-advancement, where, at the very utmost, it might have led to some inferior dignity at home, or some small 'Nunciate' abroad, he devoted himself to the service of the Cardinal caraffa, a man of immense wealth, high family, overweening pretensions, but of an intellect the very weakest, and so a.s.sailable by flattery, as to be the slave of those who had access to him. His Eminence saw all the advantages to be derived from such a connection. Whatever the point that occupied the Consulta, he was sure to be thoroughly informed upon it by his secret adviser; and so faithfully and so adroitly was he served, that the mystery of their intimacy was unfathomed by his brother cardinals. Caraffa spoke of Ma.s.soni as a person of whom 'he had heard, indeed'; a man trustworthy, and of some attainments, but that was all; 'he had seen him, too, and spoken with him occasionally!'

As for the Pere, the name of his Eminence never pa.s.sed his lips, except in company with those of other cardinals. In fact, he knew few great people; their ways and habits little suited his humble mode of life, and he never frequented the grand receptions of the princes of the Church, nor showed himself at their salons. Such, in brief, was the Jesuit father, who now walked up and down the little study, in a state of feverish impatience it was rarely his lot to suffer. At last the heavy roll of a carriage resounded in the court beneath, the clank of descending steps was heard, and soon after the sound of approaching feet along the corridor.

'Are they come? is it Carrol?' cried the Pere, flinging wide the door of his chamber.

'Yes, most reverend rector,' said a full, rich voice; and a short, rosy-faced little man, in the prime of life, entered and obsequiously kissed Ma.s.soni's extended hand.

'What an anxious time you have given me, Carrol!' said the Pere hastily.

'Have you brought him? Is he with you?

'Yes; he's in the carriage below at this moment, but so wearied and exhausted that it were better you should not see him to-night.' Ma.s.soni paused to reflect, and after a moment said--'We have no time, not even an hour, to throw away, Carrol; the sooner I see this youth, the better prepared shall I be to speak of him to his Eminence. A few words to welcome him will be enough for me. Yes, let him come; it is for the best.'

Carrol left the room, and after some delay, was heard returning, his slow steps being accompanied by the wearied foot-falls of one who walked with difficulty. Ma.s.soni threw the door wide, and as the light streamed out he almost started at the figure before him. Pale, wan, and worn-looking as the stranger appeared, the resemblance to Charles Edward was positively startling. The same l.u.s.trous gleam of the deep blue eyes: the same refinement of brow; the same almost womanly softness of expression in the mouth; and stronger than all these, the mode in which he carried his head somewhat back, and with the chin slightly elevated, were all marks of the Prince.

Ma.s.soni welcomed him with a courteous and respectful tone, and conducted him to a seat.

'This is a meeting I have long and ardently desired, sir,' said the Pere, in the voice of one to whom the arts of the courtier were not unknown; 'nor am I the only one here who has cherished this wish.'

A faint smile, half gracious half surprised, acknowledged this speech, and Carrol watched with a painful anxiety even this mark of recognition.

'The Chevalier is fatigued to-night, reverend father,' said he; 'his endeavours to fulfil our wishes have cost him much exertion and weariness. We have journeyed day and night from Geneva.'

'In this ardour he has only given us a deeper pledge of his high deservings. May I offer you some refreshments, sir?' said he, hastily, struck by the weak pallor of the young man's countenance.

A gentle gesture of refusal declined the offer.

'Shall I show you to your room, then?' said the Pere, rising and opening a door into a small chamber adjoining; 'my servant will attend you.'

'No,' said the youth faintly. 'Let us proceed with our journey; I will not rest till I reach Rome.'

'But you are at Rome, sir; we are at our journey's end,' said Carrol.

The young man heard the words without emotion--the same sad smile upon his lips.

'He must have rest and care,' whispered Ma.s.soni to Carrol; and then turning to the youth, he took him by the hand and led him away.

Having consigned him to the care of a faithful servant, the Pere re-entered the room, his face flushed, and his dark eyes flas.h.i.+ng.

'What miserable deception is this?' cried he. 'Is this the daring, headlong spirit I have been hearing of? Are these the parts to confront an enterprise of peril?'

'He is----'

'He is dying,' broke in the Pere pa.s.sionately.

'Confess, at least, he is a Stuart, in every line and lineament.'

'Ay, Carrol, even to the word failure, written in capitals on his brow.'

'But you see him wasted by fever and long suffering; he rose from a sick-bed to undertake this wearisome journey.'

'Better had he kept his bed till death released him. I tell you it is not of such stuff as this adventurers are made. His very appearance would dash men with discouragement.'

'Bethink you what he has gone through, Pere; the sights and scenes of horror that have met his eyes--the daily carnage amid which he lived--himself, twice rescued from the scaffold, by what seems like a miracle--his days and nights of suffering in friendless misery too.

Remember, also, how little of hope there was to cheer him through all this. If ever there was one forlorn and dest.i.tute, it was he.'

'I think not of _him_, but of the cause he should have served,' said the Pere; 'and once more I say, this youth is unequal to "the event." His father had faults enough to have wrecked a dozen enterprises: he was rash, reckless, and unstable; but his rashness took the form of courage, and his very fickleness had a false air of versatility. Men regarded it as an element full of resources; but this sickly boy only recalls in his features every weakness of his race. What can we do with _him_?'

'Men have fought valiantly for royalties that offered less to their regard,' said Carrol.

'Ay, Carrol, when the throne is fixed, men will rally to maintain it, even though he who wears the crown be little worthy of their reverence; but when the question is to reestablish a fallen dynasty--to replace one branch by another, the individual becomes of immense importance; personal qualities a.s.sume then all the proportions of claims, and men calculate on the future by the promises of the present. Tell me frankly what could you augur for a cause of which this youth was to be the champion?'

Carrol did not break silence for some time; at length he said--

'You told me once, and I have never forgotten it, a remarkable story of Monsignor Saffi, the Bishop of Volterra-----'

'I know what you allude to--how the simple-minded bishop became the craftiest of cardinals. Ay, elevation will now and then work such miracles; but it is because they are miracles we are not to calculate on their recurrence.'

'I would not say that this is not the case to hope for a similar transformation. They who knew Fitzgerald in his better, stronger days, describe him as one capable of the most daring exploits, full of heroism and of a boundless ambition, fed by some mysterious sentiment that whispers within him that he was destined for high achievement. These are inspirations that usually only die with ourselves.

'When I look at him,' said the Pere sadly, 'I distrust them all.'

'You are not wont to be so easily discouraged.' 'Easily discouraged--easily discouraged! It is a strange reproach to bring against me,' said the Pere, with a calm collectedness; 'nor is that the character all Rome would give me. But why am I steadfast of purpose and firm of plan? Because, ere I engage in an enterprise, I weigh well the means of success, and canva.s.s all its agencies. The smallest stream that ever dashed down a mountain has strength in the impulse of its course, while if it meandered through a plain it had been a rivulet. This is a lesson we may reap profit from.'

Carrol did not answer, and Ma.s.soni, covering his face with his hands, seemed lost in deep thought; at last he said--

'What was your pretext to induce him to come back here?'

'To hear tidings of his family and kindred.'

'Did you intimate to him that they were of rank and station?'

'Yes, of the very highest.'

'How did the news affect him?'

'It was hard at first to convince him that they could be true. He had, besides, been so often tricked and deceived by false intelligence, and made the sport of craftier heads, that it was difficult to win his confidence; nor did I succeed until I told him certain facts about his early life, whose correctness he acknowledged.'

'I had imagined him most unlike what I see. If Charles Edward had left a daughter she might have resembled this.'

'Still that very resemblance is of great value.'

'What signifies that a thing may look like gold, when at the first touch of the chemist's test it blackens and betrays itself?'

'He may be more of a Stuart even than he looks. It is too rash to judge of him as we see him now.'

'Be it so,' said the Pere, with a sort of resignation; 'but if I have not lost my skill in reading temperament, this youth is not to our purpose. At all events,' resumed he, more rapidly, 'his Eminence need not see him yet. Enough when I say that the fatigues of the road have brought on some fever, and that he is confined to bed. Within a week, or even less, I shall be able to p.r.o.nounce if we may employ him. I have no mind to hear your news to-night; this disappointment has unmanned me; but to-morrow, Carrol, to-morrow the day will be all our own, and I all myself. And so good-night, and good rest.'