J96 Roy al Intrigue ; or, ^Airo. 



and he was led forth, but whether to life or death, he knew not. The 

 balmy breeze from his native mountains once more breathed on his 

 faded cheeks ; his feet once more pressed the light and springing soil ; 

 the love of life revived within his sunken heart ! He was hurried on 

 board ship, and heard the orders given to sail that very hour. 



Once out of sight of the land of his birth, " a change came o'er the 

 spirit" of his captivity ; his fetters were removed ; clothes, linen, books, 

 and his guitar, were furnished to him ; a ready obedience was shewn to 

 attend; to all his wishes ; but the commander impressed on him the 

 necessity of silence (beyond the mere expression of his wants) ; chains 

 and close confinement were threatened as the inevitable penalty of diso- 

 bedience to that order ! It was in this state of miserable exclusion from 

 all social converse, as a criminal, under sentence of death, the reader 

 first beheld the interesting Manoel on board the Antorcha in the Bay of 

 Cadiz ! 



On the third night after his arrival in the old world, .he was removed 

 on shore (with the same mystery which attended his entrance on board 

 the vessel), accompanied by the commander, who, having placed him in a 

 close carriage with two persons (armed), he bade him a kind adieu ! 



The journey lasted eight days, during which he was never left a 

 moment to himself; his companions were equally silent and uncommu- 

 nicative as those he had so lately left ; and it was not until a week after 

 his arrival at the capital, that the first bright glimpse of the joys of life, 

 of hope, and love, cheered his almost broken spirit ! He had been ele- 

 gantly lodged; indulged with every luxury his taste suggested: one 

 irksome restraint alone existed ; he was still a prisoner ! On the 

 seventh evening, the deep silence of his apartment was broken by the 

 sudden, yet cautious entrance into it by a secret door of a lady whose 

 dress and deportment marked her as being a person of superior distinc- 

 tion. Having for some moments surveyed the captive with looks of 

 pity (mingled with such strong emotions of a warmer passion, as caused 

 a crimson tide to dye the clear olive cheek of the unsophisticated youth), 

 she occupied the chair which he, with peculiar grace had placed for her 

 on her entrance, standing, himself, in distant arid respectful admiration. 

 The lady asked with an evident degree of inquietude " Dost thou 

 know me, youth ?" " No, Madam !" answered the blushing Manoel : 

 " but it would not become the humble slave of an unhappy destiny, the 

 poor criminal Manoel, to sit in such a presence ! had my fortune 

 been cast in a happier lot, here could I pay the homage of my duty, 

 and, as your faithful servant, devote my poor life to your commands !" 

 The lady, astonished at the fervency of his language, asked herself the 

 question Can I have been betrayed ? reason answered No ! for up 

 to the very moment of executing her purpose, the intended visit was 

 known but to herself alone : " Take courage, my son," (said the lady) 

 " you are no longer a criminal ! No longer a prisoner ! To-morrow's 

 light shall see your pardon sealed ! . The Queen, my gracious mis- 

 tress ! has heard your story : she pities ! she forgives you : as a 

 mother, she has granted a fond mother's petition ! Nay, your future 

 fame, your fortune, your life, depend on your discretion ; let not one 

 word of this visit ever escape your lips farewell !" She held out her 

 hand, which the youth on bended knee seized, and, while bathing it 

 with tears of joy and gratitude, almost devoured it with kisses ! The 

 lady lingered ; she raised him from his humble posture and in another 



