The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories Read online

  The following is the tragical scene, which is only introduced to show the subject-matter that enabled Elfonzo to come to such a determinate resolution that nothing of the kind should ever dispossess him of his true character, should he be so fortunate as to succeed in his present undertaking.

  Amelia was the wife of Farcillo, and a virtuous woman; Gracia, a young lady, was her particular friend and confidant. Farcillo grew jealous of Amelia, murders her, finds out that he was deceived, AND STABS HIMSELF. Amelia appears alone, talking to herself.

  A.Hail, ye solitary ruins of antiquity, ye sacred tombs and silent walks! it is your aid I invoke; it is to you, my soul, wrapt in deep mediating, pours forth its prayer. Here I wander upon the stage of mortality, since the world hath turned against me. Those whom I believed to be my friends, alas! are now my enemies, planting thorns in all my paths, poisoning all my pleasures, and turning the past to pain. What a lingering catalogue of sighs and tears lies just before me, crowding my aching bosom with the fleeting dream of humanity, which must shortly terminate. And to what purpose will all this bustle of life, these agitations and emotions of the heart have conduced, if it leave behind it nothing of utility, if it leave no traces of improvement? Can it be that I am deceived in my conclusions? No, I see that I have nothing to hope for, but everything for fear, which tends to drive me from the walks of time.

  Oh! in this dead night, if loud winds arise,

  To lash the surge and bluster in the skies,

  May the west its furious rage display,

  Toss me with storms in the watery way.

  (Enter Gracia.) G.Oh, Amelia, is it you, the object of grief, the daughter of opulence, of wisdom and philosophy, that thus complaineth? It cannot be you are the child of misfortune, speaking of the monuments of former ages, which were allotted not for the reflection of the distressed, but for the fearless and bold.

  A.Not the child of poverty, Gracia, or the heir of glory and peace, but of fate. Remember, I have wealth more than wit can number; I have had power more than kings could emcompass; yet the world seems a desert; all nature appears an afflictive spectacle of warring passions. This blind fatality, that capriciously sports with the rules and lives of mortals, tells me that the mountains will never again send forth the water of their springs to my thirst. Oh, that I might be freed and set at liberty from wretchedness! But I fear, I fear this will never be.

  G.Why, Amelia, this untimely grief? What has caused the sorrows that bespeak better and happier days, to those lavish out such heaps of misery? You are aware that your instructive lessons embellish the mind with holy truths, by wedding its attention to none but great and noble affections.

  A.This, of course, is some consolation. I will ever love my own species with feelings of a fond recollection, and while I am studying to advance the universal philanthropy, and the spotless name of my own sex, I will try to build my own upon the pleasing belief that I have accelerated the advancement of one who whispers of departed confidence.

  And I, like some poor peasant fated to reside Remote from friends, in a forest wide. Oh, see what woman's woes and human wants require,

  Since that great day hath spread the seed of sinful fire.

  G.Look up, thou poor disconsolate; you speak of quitting earthly enjoyments. Unfold thy bosom to a friend, who would be willing to sacrifice every enjoyment for the restoration of the dignity and gentleness of mind which used to grace your walks, and which is so natural to yourself; not only that, but your paths were strewed with flowers of every hue and of every order.

  With verdant green the mountains glow,

  For thee, for thee, the lilies grow;

  Far stretched beneath the tented hills,

  A fairer flower the valley fills.

  A.Oh, would to Heaven I could give you a short narrative of my former prospects for happiness, since you have acknowledged to be an unchangeable confidant--the richest of all other blessings. Oh, ye names forever glorious, ye celebrated scenes, ye renowned spot of my hymeneal moments; how replete is your chart with sublime reflections! How many profound vows, decorated with immaculate deeds, are written upon the surface of that precious spot of earth where I yielded up my life of celibacy, bade youth with all its beauties a final adieu, took a last farewell of the laurels that had accompanied me up the hill of my juvenile career. It was then I began to descend toward the valley of disappointment and sorrow; it was then I cast my little bark upon a mysterious ocean of wedlock, with him who then smiled and caressed me, but, alas! now frowns with bitterness, and has grown jealous and cold toward me, because the ring he gave me is misplaced or lost. Oh, bear me, ye flowers of memory, softly through the eventful history of past times; and ye places that have witnessed the progression of man in the circle of so many societies, and, of, aid my recollection, while I endeavor to trace the vicissitudes of a life devoted in endeavoring to comfort him that I claim as the object of my wishes.

  Ah! ye mysterious men, of all the world, how few

  Act just to Heaven and to your promise true!

  But He who guides the stars with a watchful eye,

  The deeds of men lay open without disguise;

  Oh, this alone will avenge the wrongs I bear,

  For all the oppressed are His peculiar care.

  (F. makes a slight noise.) A.Who is there--Farcillo?

  G.Then I must gone. Heaven protect you. Oh, Amelia, farewell, be of good cheer.

  May you stand like Olympus' towers,

  Against earth and all jealous powers!

  May you, with loud shouts ascend on high

  Swift as an eagle in the upper sky.

  A.Why so cold and distant tonight, Farcillo? Come, let us each other greet, and forget all the past, and give security for the future.

  F.Security! talk to me about giving security for the future-- what an insulting requisition! Have you said your prayers tonight, Madam Amelia?

  A.Farcillo, we sometimes forget our duty, particularly when we expect to be caressed by others.

  F.If you bethink yourself of any crime, or of any fault, that is yet concealed from the courts of Heaven and the thrones of grace, I bid you ask and solicit forgiveness for it now.

  A.Oh, be kind, Farcillo, don't treat me so. What do you mean by all this?

  F.Be kind, you say; you, madam, have forgot that kindness you owe to me, and bestowed it upon another; you shall suffer for your conduct when you make your peace with your God. I would not slay thy unprotected spirit. I call to Heaven to be my guard and my watch-- I would not kill thy soul, in which all once seemed just, right, and perfect; but I must be brief, woman.

  A.What, talk you of killing? Oh, Farcillo, Farcillo, what is the matter?

  F.Aye, I do, without doubt; mark what I say, Amelia.

  A.Then, O God, O Heaven, and Angels, be propitious, and have mercy upon me.

  F.Amen to that, madam, with all my heart, and with all my soul.

  A.Farcillo, listen to me one moment; I hope you will not kill me.

  F.Kill you, aye, that I will; attest it, ye fair host of light, record it, ye dark imps of hell!

  A.Oh, I fear you--you are fatal when darkness covers your brow; yet I know not why I should fear, since I never wronged you in all my life. I stand, sir, guiltless before you.

  F.You pretend to say you are guiltless! Think of thy sins, Amelia; think, oh, think, hidden woman.

  A.Wherein have I not been true to you? That death is unkind, cruel, and unnatural, that kills for living.

  F.Peace, and be still while I unfold to thee.

  A.I will, Farcillo, and while I am thus silent, tell me the cause of such cruel coldness in an hour like this.

  F.That RING, oh, that ring I so loved, and gave thee as the ring of my heart; the allegiance you took to be faithful, when it was presented; the kisses and smiles with which you honored it. You became tired of the donor, despised it as a plague, and finally gave it to Malos, the hidden, the vile traitor.

  A.No, upon my word and honor, I never did; I
appeal to the Most High to bear me out in this matter. Send for Malos, and ask him.

  F.Send for Malos, aye! Malos you wish to see; I thought so. I knew you could not keep his name concealed. Amelia, sweet Amelia, take heed, take heed of perjury; you are on the stage of death, to suffer for YOUR SINS.

  A.What, not to die I hope, my Farcillo, my ever beloved.

  F.Yes, madam, to die a traitor's death. Shortly your spirit shall take its exit; therefore confess freely thy sins, for to deny tends only to make me groan under the bitter cup thou hast made for me. Thou art to die with the name of traitor on thy brow!

  A.Then, O Lord, have mercy upon me; give me courage, give me grace and fortitude to stand this hour of trial.

  F.Amen, I say, with all my heart.

  A.And, oh, Farcillo, will you have mercy, too? I never intentionally offended you in all my life, never LOVED Malos, never gave him cause to think so, as the high court of Justice will acquit me before its tribunal.

  F.Oh, false, perjured woman, thou didst chill my blood, and makest me a demon like thyself. I saw the ring.

  A.He found it, then, or got it clandestinely; send for him, and let him confess the truth; let his confession be sifted.

  F.And you still with to see him! I tell you, madam, he hath already confessed, and thou knowest the darkness of thy heart.

  A.What, my deceived Farcillo, that I gave him the ring, in which all my affections were concentrated? Oh, surely not.

  F.Aye, he did. Ask thy conscience, and it will speak with a voice of thunder to thy soul.

  A.He will not say so, he dare not, he cannot.

  F.No, he will not say so now, because his mouth, I trust, is hushed in death, and his body stretched to the four winds of heaven, to be torn to pieces by carnivorous birds.

  A.What, he is dead, and gone to the world of spirits with that declaration in his mouth? Oh, unhappy man! Oh, insupportable hour!

  F.Yes, and had all his sighs and looks and tears been lives, my great revenge could have slain them all, without the least condemnation.

  A.Alas! he is ushered into eternity without testing the matter for which I am abused and sentenced and condemned to die.

  F.Cursed, infernal woman! Weepest thou for him to my face? He that hath robbed me of my peace, my energy, the whole love of my life? Could I call the fabled Hydra, I would have him live and perish, survive and die, until the sun itself would grow dim with age. I would make him have the thirst of a Tantalus, and roll the wheel of an Ixion, until the stars of heaven should quit their brilliant stations.

  A.Oh, invincible God, save me! Oh, unsupportable moment! Oh, heavy hour! Banish me,, Farcillo--send me where no eye can ever see me, where no sound shall ever great my ear; but, oh, slay me not, Farcillo; vent thy rage and thy spite upon this emaciated frame of mine, only spare my life.

  F.Your petitions avail nothing, cruel Amelia.

  A.Oh, Farcillo, perpetrate the dark deed tomorrow; let me live till then, for my past kindness to you, and it may be some kind angel will show to you that I am not only the object of innocence, but one who never loved another but your noble self.

  F.Amelia, the decree has gone forth, it is to be done, and that quickly; thou art to die, madam.

  A.But half an hour allow me, to see my father and my only child, to tell her the treachery and vanity of this world.

  F.There is no alternative, there is no pause: my daughter shall not see its deceptive mother die; your father shall not know that his daughter fell disgraced, despised by all but her enchanting Malos.

  A.Oh, Farcillo, put up thy threatening dagger into its scabbard; let it rest and be still, just while I say one prayer for thee and for my child.

  F.It is too late, thy doom is fixed, thou hast not confessed to Heaven or to me, my child's protector--thou art to die. Ye powers of earth and heaven, protect and defend me in this alone.

  (STABS HER WHILE IMPLORING FOR MERCY.) A.Oh, Farcillo, Farcillo, a guiltless death I die.

  F.Die! die! die!

  (Gracia enters running, falls on her knees weeping, and kisses Amelia.) G.Oh, Farcillo, Farcillo! oh, Farcillo!

  F.I am here, the genius of the age, and the avenger of my wrongs.

  G.Oh, lady, speak once more; sweet Amelia, on, speak again. Gone, gone--yes, forever gone! Farcillo, oh, cold-hearted Farcillo, some evil fiend hath urged you to do this, Farcillo.

  F.Say not so again, or you shall receive the same fate. I did the glorious deed, madam--beware, then, how you talk.

  G.I fear not your implements of war; I will let you know you have not the power to do me harm. If you have a heart of triple brass, it shall be reached and melted, and thy blood shall chill thy veins and grow stiff in thy arteries. Here is the ring of the virtuous and innocent murdered Amelia; I obtained it from Malos, who yet lives, in hopes that he will survive the wound given him, and says he got it clandestinely--declares Amelia to be the princess of truth and virtue, invulnerable to anything like forgetting her first devotion to thee. The world has heard of your conduct and your jealousy, and with one universal voice declares her to be the best of all in piety; that she is the star of this great universe, and a more virtuous woman never lived since the wheels of time began. Oh, had you waited till tomorrow, or until I had returned, some kind window would have been opened to her relief. But, alas! she is gone--yes, forever gone, to try the realities of an unknown world!

  (Farcillo leaning over the body of Amelia.) F.Malos not dead, and here is my ring! Oh, Amelia! falsely murdered! Oh, bloody deed! Oh, wretch that I am! Oh, angels forgive me! Oh, God, withhold thy vengeance! Oh, Amelia! if Heaven would make a thousand worlds like this, set with diamonds, and all of one perfect chrysolite, I would not have done this for them all, I would not have frowned and cursed as I did. Oh, she was heavenly true, nursed in the very lap of bright angels! Cursed slave that I am! Jealousy, oh! thou infernal demon! Lost, lost to every sense of honor! Oh! Amelia-- heaven-born Amelia--dead, dead! Oh! oh! oh!--then let me die with thee. Farewell! farewell! ye world that deceived me!

  (STABS HIMSELF.) Soon after the excitement of this tragical scene was over, and the enlisted feeling for Amelia had grown more buoyant with Elfonzo and Ambulinia, he determined to visit his retired home, and make the necessary improvements to enjoy a better day; consequently he conveyed the following lines to Ambulinia:

  Go tell the world that hope is glowing,

  Go bid the rocks their silence break, Go tell the stars that love is glowing,

  Then bid the hero his lover take.

  In the region where scarcely the foot of man hath ever trod, where the woodman hath not found his way, lies a blooming grove, seen only by the sun when he mounts his lofty throne, visited only by the light of the stars, to whom are entrusted the guardianship of earth, before the sun sinks to rest in his rosy bed. High cliffs of rocks surround the romantic place, and in the small cavity of the rocky wall grows the daffodil clear and pure; and as the wind blows along the enchanting little mountain which surrounds the lonely spot, it nourishes the flowers with the dew-drops of heaven. Here is the seat of Elfonzo; darkness claims but little victory over this dominion, and in vain does she spread out her gloomy wings. Here the waters flow perpetually, and the trees lash their tops together to bid the welcome visitor a happy muse. Elfonzo, during his short stay in the country, had fully persuaded himself that it was his duty to bring this solemn matter to an issue. A duty that he individually owed, as a gentleman, to the parents of Ambulinia, a duty in itself involving not only his own happiness and his own standing in society, but one that called aloud the act of the parties to make it perfect and complete. How he should communicate his intentions to get a favorable reply, he was at a loss to know; he knew not whether to address Esq. Valeer in prose or in poetry, in a jocular or an argumentative manner, or whether he should use moral suasion, legal injunction, or seizure and take by reprisal; if it was to do the latter, he would have no difficulty in deciding in his own mind, but his gentlemanly honor was at stake; so he conclude
d to address the following letter to the father and mother of Ambulinia, as his address in person he knew would only aggravate the old gentleman, and perhaps his lady.

  Cumming, Ga., January 22, 1844

  Mr. and Mrs. Valeer--

  Again I resume the pleasing task of addressing you, and once more beg an immediate answer to my many salutations. From every circumstance that has taken place, I feel in duty bound to comply with my obligations; to forfeit my word would be more than I dare do; to break my pledge, and my vows that have been witnessed, sealed, and delivered in the presence of an unseen Deity, would be disgraceful on my part, as well as ruinous to Ambulinia. I wish no longer to be kept in suspense about this matter. I wish to act gentlemanly in every particular. It is true, the promises I have made are unknown to any but Ambulinia, and I think it unnecessary to here enumerate them, as they who promise the most generally perform the least. Can you for a moment doubt my sincerity or my character? My only wish is, sir, that you may calmly and dispassionately look at the situation of the case, and if your better judgment should dictate otherwise, my obligations may induce me to pluck the flower that you so diametrically opposed. We have sword by the saints--by the gods of battle, and by that faith whereby just men are made perfect--to be united. I hope, my dear sir, you will find it convenient as well as agreeable to give me a favorable answer, with the signature of Mrs. Valeer, as well as yourself.