CHAP. XLVIII.

Guzman pays his addresses to the Banker’s Daughter, and marries her: consequences of this marriage.

As soon as I had got rid of Helena, her mother and the hostess, I devoted myself entirely to my new amour, and thought of nothing else but to become the son-in-law of Don Andrea, who, on his side, fearing that I should embark in some new intrigue, had no less impatience to give me his daughter than I to obtain her. I went the very next day to the Banker’s house, who kept me to dinner, towards the end of which my intended bride appeared, as if by chance; I rose immediately to pay my respects to her, and express the agreeable surprise her presence excited in me. She returned my compliments with a modest air, and would have retired, but her father prevented her. Eugenia, said he to her, stay with us; this gentleman is my friend, and I am happy to let him have a proof of it by giving you leave to converse with him. I did not fail to thank him for so great a favour, with which I was quite delighted, and more so indeed than I really appeared to be.

I then entered into conversation with Eugenia, and to increase my joy, Don Andrea, under pretence of writing some letters, retired to a corner of the drawing room, to leave us more to ourselves.

If he acted in this manner to afford me the opportunity of a delightful conversation, he did not favour a fool, for I availed myself of this interview, not knowing when I should have a more favourable one, to declare my passion. I called forth all my genius, which served me well enough on the occasion, and the lady enchanted me by the delicacy of her replies; in the mean time, the father still pretending to be very busy, now and then asked pardon for being no better company; I returned him compliment for compliment, and following my point, still courted the daughter in a low voice, as if afraid of disturbing him in his reading. We had been three hours together, when the Banker thinking proper to put an end to our conversation, came and joined us, and Eugenia after having made a curtesy disappeared.

I now felt so much esteem, or rather was so much in love with this lady, that I could not forbear breaking out in praise of her; and speaking from the fullness of my heart, I told Don Andrea, that no one could possibly be more sensible of his daughter’s merit than I was. The old fox listened to me very attentively, and to encourage me to explain myself more clearly, he held a long discourse on the necessity of persons of my age marrying, to avoid an infinite number of precipices to which they are daily exposed, and on the importance of the choice of a wife, since it commonly decided the happiness or misery of her husband. He then proceeded to assure me of the good opinion he had conceived of me; telling me that I had won his heart by my ingenuous manners and the confidence I had placed in him; and that I might rely that there was nothing that lay in his power which he would not do to convince me of it. I was not much behind hand with him in professions. I opened my whole heart to him, and protested that he might make me the happiest of men in giving me Eugenia. He considered for some time, or appeared to do so, to persuade me that I set his friendship at too great a trial; however, before we parted, I knew what I had to expect. He embraced me tenderly when I left him, and told me he had certain views of establishing his daughter more advantageously, but that he had given them all up to shew me how dear I was to him. At these words, I took one of his hands, and kissed it with a transport that proved more fully than all I could have said, the gratitude of my heart.

From this time the banker called me his son. He managed all my affairs; the six thousand franks which he had engaged to pay me in three months, he now advanced immediately, to assist me in furnishing my house, and he bought for me, at a cheap rate, several elegant pieces of furniture, which a person in want of money was obliged to sell. In a word, I dined every day with my future father-in-law. I saw his daughter every day, and enjoyed all the privileges of a son-in-law; except that one only, which the title of a husband could give a right to. One thing alone surprised me, which was, that in all the conversations I had as yet had with Don Andrea, he had never uttered a word about any portion. I attempted to sound him on this subject, but he gave me to understand that his intention was not to part with much ready money on the wedding-day. “You will receive only ten thousand franks down,” said he, “but you may rely on the sum of fifty thousand after my death.” I thought ten thousand franks but a paltry portion for the daughter of a man whom I had thought so rich; nevertheless, considering that tradesmen do not like to lessen their capitals, I was obliged to be contented.

I now earnestly entreated Don Andrea not to let me languish in the expectation of being in reality his son-in-law. He yielded to my solicitations, and our nuptials were celebrated with great pomp. My father-in-law paid me the ten thousand franks, as had been agreed, and I soon found employment for them. I made my bride a present of all the jewels I had left, bought her most superb dresses; kept up incessant rejoicing in my new house for the first fortnight; provided women and footmen to attend her. In a word, I set up a way of living which would soon have ruined me, had I not by my own industry supplied the means to meet this increased expenditure. The banker, it is true, promised mountains of gold, if fortune would but smile on his speculations. He was a man of vast designs and projects, and his son-in-law being something of the same turn of mind, we thought of no less than monopolizing in a very short time the whole business of the kingdom. Unluckily, however, for the success of our enterprises, his sole reliance was on my purse, and mine on his; and the illusion soon vanished, when we found ourselves obliged to communicate the state of our affairs to each other. The eyes of both of us were opened without recrimination, for, in fact, we had nothing to reproach each other with; on the contrary, our mutual confidence had the effect of making our union more close; and being now known to each other for what we really were, like robbers we swore to be faithful.

Our partnership at first made a great noise, owing to the mysterious tone with which Don Andrea told every body that he had chosen for his son-in-law a man who was possessed of immense riches. It was soon spread about, and every one was for dealing with us, and came to us in preference to other bankers; and we might by our credit only have increased every day the favourable opinion they had of our wealth, if we had been contented to have associated with tradesmen, and no doubt we should have made a considerable fortune; but the uncommon weak partiality that my father-in-law always had for people of the Court, put a check to our success. What he received with one hand was squandered with the other. If a Marquis, a Count, or a Knight of San Jago, were civil to him, they were sure to obtain any loan of money, and knowing his vanity, they would not fail to lavish upon him the most flattering compliments.

If a minister looked favourably on him, the very next day he would send him some rich present to no purpose whatever. He always had his head filled with chimerical projects which he would put in execution, and if I happened to shew him the folly of them, he laughed at me, and treated me with contempt, as a man who had not common sense, and was quite a novice in the business of the great world.

However, with all his experience, our best substance was soon spent, our stock grew low, and we were reduced to make use of every means to renew and uphold our credit. What engines did we not set to work for that purpose? we bought and sold any thing; we received pawns; we lent money at usurious interest; in short there was no sort of commerce which we were not engaged in; besides what I knew already, my industry, improved by exercising it, helped me to new expedients for the good of our society. However, I must own that I was but a mere beginner compared to my father-in-law. Our gains were great, and would have been sufficient to have maintained us agreeably; and if we had understood how to live with economy, we should not have been obliged to make use of some sorry shifts, which in spite of all our skill we were sometimes compelled to resort to. In addition to this, our domestic expenses were most profuse. If Don Andrea was fond of luxury and good living, his daughter was not behind hand with him; there was nothing too rich or too fine for her; we kept as magnificent a table as any nobleman, more servants than we conveniently wanted, and our house was continually full of relations and friends whom we entertained and treated with the greatest profusion.

This bustle did not less please my humour than that of my wife, and while our affairs went on well, I did not in the least oppose it. I got tired, however, in two or three years after my marriage, when I perceived that through bad management, and some unforeseen accidents, our fortune began to diminish apace. Frightened at the prospect of distress, I ventured to remonstrate gently with Eugenia; God knows how I was treated by her! I complained to Don Andrea, who reproved her; and the whole family blamed her for her behaviour; but even my softest words, the reproaches of her father, and the entreaties of her friends, did but exasperate her the more against me: in a word, she declared to me that she did not mean to have the least reform in her family. After this decree, which the temper of my wife made quite absolute, I wisely resolved not to contradict her any more, but endeavour to fortify myself with more patience for the future.

It was, however, with extreme grief, that I saw melting away, like snow, all the money I had brought with me from Italy; and I could not think of the consequences of my marriage without sighing bitterly for having been so deprived of sense as to marry at all. Sometimes, to excuse myself for having acted so foolishly, I recalled to mind the rich figure that Don Andrea made when I became his son-in-law; and who could have imagined that I should find my ruin in an establishment that appeared to possess the means of the most solid fortune? When I observed that there was no longer any hope of being able to live on the same footing, I applied to my father-in-law for advice in my embarrassment.

It was on this occasion that he showed me how skilful he was in all the tricks of business. “The truth is,” said he, “you must do here, what I have done myself in similar cases; which is to save the little that remains to you at the cost of others:” then without the least delay, he counterfeited letters of transfer, and false contracts, and I do not know how many similar deeds, all equally worthy of a public reward, if proper justice could always be administered to all honest folks that make use of them. He did not stop here; for in order to establish my credit, which was now become necessary to him, he made me purchase an estate of five hundred ducats a year, which his brother possessed; when I say purchase, I mean only in appearance, for we were not able, both together, to muster a sufficient sum to shew the Notary, that he might witness the payment of the purchase-money. It cost me, however, but fifty crowns to borrow this sum for one day, and thus the sale was apparently completed. At the same time I gave the seller a deed, by which I formally declared that the said estate did not belong to me, but was as much his as ever, to whom I abandoned the enjoyment of it, having no manner of claim. I was well pleased with these shuffling tricks, because they were advantageous to me. Besides, I knew that they were commonly practised in all trading cities.

Thanks to my father-in-law, I had now secured something to myself, let fortune be as contrary as it pleased; and being able to trade again upon the faith of this new estate, I went on in my usual courses. Unfortunately this state of things could not last long. People who have been cheated are sure to be undeceived at last: besides, my wife’s always spending more than I gained, was sufficient of itself to ruin me, and I could not hold out against it any longer. Don Andrea was still lucky enough to get himself out of the scrape. As for me, I could no longer keep out of the clutches of a cursed Alguazil, who arrested me on the part of my creditors, and led me to prison; but they found themselves overreached when they set about seizing my effects, and learned that they were secretly made over. I was not so unconscionable as to wish them to lose all; so I paid each a tenth part of what was due, promising to liquidate the remainder in ten years. I was set at liberty again on these terms.

The proud Eugenia was so extremely mortified at my imprisonment and bankruptcy, the shame of which she thought would fall on her only, that she could not be consoled, and died very shortly after; and as she left no child, I found myself under the obligation of refunding her dowry, which under my present circumstances, could not fail to destroy my every project. To tell the truth, therefore, the tears I shed at her death were not the effect of the loss of my wife, but of regret for my money which she had so foolishly squandered, and for her’s which I had to return to her father. Notwithstanding which I did not fail to act the good husband, and ordered her funeral so superb, that my creditors murmured at it. Though I had now become a widower, I did not cease to live on good terms with Don Andrea. Besides that I could not have gained any thing by tricking him, he was the only man who was in possession of all my secrets, and I had still occasion for his assistance. I submitted, therefore, very patiently to all he required of me, and he was so much pleased with my conduct towards him, that he behaved in an equally handsome manner towards me.