1829.) 
( 8l ) 
MONTHLY REVIEW OF LITERATURE, DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN. 
_—_— 
The Castilian, by Don Telesforo de 
Trueba y Cosio, 3 vols. 1629:— Don 
Telesforo, of 'Trueba and Cosio, the author 
of Gomez Arias, and now of the Castilian, is 
fairly enrolled in the army of English no- 
velists, and must be allowed to take a very 
respectable rank. A tolerably easy use of 
the English language by a foreigner, and 
especially by one of the south, is a thing of 
unusual attainment; but the free and full 
command of it exhibited by the author, is 
quite without precedent—not another word 
can be pleaded in the way of extenuation— 
he writes like a native, and must be judged 
by the same standard, and he need not 
shrink from even challenging scrutiny. The 
subject of the present production is still 
Spanish—of course, the writer could net do 
better than adhere to that with which he 
must be most familiar—it has the charm of 
novelty—it is his own field of action—he 
need fear no rival, for the chances are a 
thousand to one of another Spaniard spring- 
ing up with equal advantages, and no En- 
glishman will contest the ground with him 
—except perhaps the Laureat, should he 
take to novel writing—and we wonder, by 
the way, he does not—though, to be sure, his 
histories have much of the same quality. 
_ The historical period, and indeed the 
Subject, is mainly Don Pedro, surnamed the 
Crucl. The Castilian is one, almost the 
only one of his friends, whose fidelity sur- 
vived all outrages and insults, and adhered 
to him in all extremities, with a devotion 
more than chivalric. Pedro, though repre- 
sented by legitimate histories in the blackest 
and most revolting colours, has yet found 
extenuators, especially one who takes the 
pious cognomen of Gratia dei—not a priest, 
We may be sure. Don Telesforo, too, pro- 
fesses, upon close consideration, to think the 
recorded atrocities exaggerated, and to have 
felt himself warranted in softening the shades 
a little; but the visible signs of this good 
will and gentle purpose, are out of the reach 
of our dull vision—for truly, the Don Pedro 
before us, is as justly entitled to the epithets 
of cruel, truculent, infernal, as any of the 
Don Pedros of history we ever read. He is 
_ the yery demon of revenge—what more can 
he be—the vampire of blood—a Phalaris— 
a Nero—jealous—haughty—passionate—in- 
_temperate—with sundry other choice quali- 
"ties, the direct, and, according to Mr. Godwin t 
the inevitable progeny of despotism—re- 
Nieved, and scarcely relieved, by one single 
touch of humanity—acknowledgment of 
wrong—and that somewhat corrupted by 
the presence or approach of necessity. No 
doubt Pedro is largely indebted to his cleri- 
cal friends—a priest had murdered the fa- 
ther of a cobbler—the cobbler, prompted by 
something like excuseable revenge, killed 
the priest ; and of course the whole com- 
Munity of the clergy were in arms. The 
M.M. New Series.—Vot. VII. No. 37. 
culprit was seized—he was charged rather 
with impiety, sacrilege, blasphemy, than 
murder ; and Pedro, who liked any thing in 
any shape, that savoured of despotism, chose 
himself to try the cause. He called on the 
miserable wretch for his defence, and the 
man nakedly stated the motive. What was 
done to the priest ? He was suspended from 
his sacred functions for a twelvemonth. 
Then let the cobbler be rigidly prohibited 
from mending shoes for the same period. 
The solemn mockery was never forgiven by 
the sacerdotes. 
The Castilian is of course the model of 
honour and loyalty. He is betrothed to a 
very lovely lady, the noble and inflexible 
daughter of a grandee of somewhat pliable 
principles; disposed to be on terms with 
whoever was strongest. Pedro is obliged 
to fly before the triumphs of his bastard 
brother, Enrique de Trastamara, and the 
Castilian accompanies him. Coolly received 
by the Court of Portugal, Pedro and his 
half dozen attendants repair to the Black 
Prince, our own Edward of Wales, in 
Guienne; and the chivalrous spirit of that 
redoubted prince prompts him at once to aid 
legitimacy against illegitimacy. A consi- 
derable force of knights and adventurers is 
assembled, and by the decisive battle of Na- 
jara in 1367, a battle not inferior in con- 
duct, bravery and effect, to those of Poictiers 
and Cressy, though less talked of, Enrique 
is routed, and Pedro replaced on the throne 
of Castile. Revenge was boiling in Pedro’s 
bosom—the new opportunity of indulging it 
was dearer to him than the recovery of his 
throne ; but when he demanded the surren- 
der to himself of the many noble captives, 
Edward firmly stipulated for their forgive- 
ness, and thus for a time rescued them from 
the famished jaws of the human tiger. 
Pedro was compelled to temporize ; but im- 
patient of restraint, and thirsting for blood, 
he soon broke faith with the Prince: and 
long before the English troops quitted Se- 
ville, he had made several quondam cour- 
tiers shorter by the head, and plunged one 
poor lady into the flames. Edward, after 
sundry fruitless remonstrances, in the true 
spirit of a knight, and with the humanity of 
a Christian, was finally disgusted, and aban- 
doning the tyrant, returned to Guienne. - 
This was the signal for new conspiracies 
among the nobles still attached to the cause 
of Trastamara, and more and more alienated 
by the tyrant’s recent crueltics, and their 
own impending peril:. 
Some, however, still adhered, and among 
them, of course, the Castilian, but even his 
fidelity was for a moment shaken. He had 
solicited the king’s permission to marry 
Costanza — the King hesitated —aflected 
surprise—but eventually gave his consent 
for the ceremony at the end of two months. 
That time expired, he peremptorily forbade 
M 
