University of Virginia Library

17. CHAPTER XVII.
SCENE AT MASS.

The morning sun shone on a stirring and brilliant
scene in the Place d'Armes. Trumpets were sounding;
banners of gold and green were flouting in the sky;
arms flashed like noonday lightning; horsemen glittering
with steel, and gay in plumes and velvet, galloped
to and fro across the Plaza, and the voices of captains
marshalling their men, mingled with the heavy tramp of
moving columns, and the thunder of squadrons wheeling
into line. The Count of Osma had commanded a
Te Deum in gratitude for his conquest, and was preparing,
with his whole army, to enter the Cathedral,
where, obedient to his orders, the priests were already
assembled, waiting only for his presence.

In few towns taken by storm has there been known
any suspension of daily mass; and with the occupation
of this province and subversion of the former government,
the captain-general did not, therefore, desire
to proceed so far as the suspension of religious worship
on the very day of his triumph; and, fearing that
the daily oblation should cease through his agency, he
had yielded to the control of certain superstitious fears
rather than to any feelings of religious veneration.
With his proclamation for Te Deum to be celebrated
an hour after sunrise, he issued an invitation, or, rather,
mandate, for the citizens to assemble at mass as usual,
promising that a space on either side of the crypt should
be appropriated to the females, while the porch and places
not occupied by the soldiery should be given up to
the males: to this invitation he annexed an amnesty
for all past offences, on condition of its being generally
complied with. Consequently, when, an hour after
sunrise, the chimes tolled for mass, the hitherto deserted
streets were filled with citizens, the majority of
whom were females, on their way to the Place d'Armes.
Here the men lingered a while to survey the spectacle,
while the women entered the Cathedral, and, with feelings
of mingled curiosity, devotion, and expectation,
crowded around the altar.

The count had just come forth from his pavilion, and
now stood in front of it, surrounded by his principal officers,
his hand upon the mane of his warhorse, accompanied
by his daughter, the bridle of whose palfrey
was held by the Ethiopian eunuch.

The face of the haughty chieftain was pale, and his
brow, partly shaded by the sable plumes of his casque,
was thoughtful and gloomy. He had evidently passed
a sleepless morning since the departure of the enchantress,
and remorse was as evidently not unmingled with
the motives that led him to proclaim a Te Deum. He
sought in it also the peace of his own conscience, which,
chased by guilty fear, would fain fly to the altar for refuge
and protection. The fitful clouds of emotion that
now passed across his face betrayed a troubled spirit

rather than a devotional heart; and his eye roved piercingly
over the troops into the crowd beyond, as if in
search of some person whom he feared, yet hoped to
discover. At length, as if satisfied with his scrutiny,
he assumed a more cheerful countenance; and, turning
to his daughter, who, habited, à l'Amazon, in a suit of
silver cloth scaled like armour, with a green robe fastened
across her left shoulder by a single diamond,
stood by his side anxiously watching his face, said, with
a smile,

“To thy saddle, Lil! The troops are marshalled,
and the mass waits our presence.”

“I am most happy, dearest father,” she said, pressing
his hand and speaking low, “that you have the
will to do this holy duty this morning, instead of the fearful
deed thou didst contemplate. The glorious sun
smiles on thy piety.”

“Thou wouldst have made a rare abbess, girl!
Thou art infected with piety, and hast prayers ready at
thy tongue's end, like a saintly nun,” he said, pleasantly
returning her caress.

“Had I not religion, father, I should ne'er have had
the courage to follow thee into battle at thy command.
It has taken from me all fear of death, and so o'ercome
my woman's weakness.”

“By the red rood! thou dost not, in truth, fear death,
as I have often witnessed! but I did lay thy gallant
bearing to the blood in thy veins.”

“Lay it to my faith and my duty to thee, sir, neither
of which shall fail while Heaven gives me life and
hope.”

“Thou art a good girl, and a brave! Thy piety
hath done thee little harm; yet I would, for my pride's
sake, thou hadst borne thyself in the field as thou hast
done alone by the blood that thou hast gotten from thy
ancestors. Put thy prayers to account, then, child, this
morning, for I know thou lovest thy father, and he hath
full need of them!”

He spoke with scornful bitterness the last sentence,
and, turning from her, sprang into his saddle. His

example was instantly followed by those about him;
and with his daughter on his left, and beyond her Sulem
the Ethiopian, whose gigantic size and ferocious
aspect drew all eyes upon him, rode to the front of the
line, and gave the command to fall into open column.
Having stationed himself, with his staff, before the
grand entrance to the Cathedral, the whole body of
troops, with slow and solemn martial music, passed in
review before him. First came the cuirassiers, shining
with poitrel and casque, mounted on gayly-prancing
steeds, and moving noisily along with jingling
chains and clashing sabres. In their midst, lifted
proudly aloft, was borne a crimson standard, on which
was inscribed, in letters of gold,

Then came the body of lancers, with a cloud of flying
pennants fluttering from the upraised lances, and
helms streaming with flaming horsehair. Then came,
in a long column, the body of men-at-arms, marching in
close phalanx to the slow measure of the military music,
mingled with which, occasionally, was heard the
deep thunder of the organ within the Cathedral. As
they approached the entrance, the cuirassiers opened
to the right and left, and formed on either side of the
door: the lancers did the same; and the foot, marching
down between the lines of cavalry, entered the
church. The count then dismounted, which was a
signal for the whole troop to leave their saddles; and,
preceded by a Spanish standard, surmounted by a crucifix,
borne by the alfarez real, the royal standard-bearer,
passed into the church; the dismounted troopers,
marching six abreast in his rear, filed off to the
right and left, and filled the entire body of the vast
temple; while the men-at-arms occupied the sides,
and the cuirassiers and lancers the centre. Lifting
his helmet, which the soldier raises only to his Maker,
as he crossed the threshold with Estelle by his side,
the count dipped his finger in the font of holy water,
and blessed his brow and breast, and was about to proceed

on when his eyes rested on Sulem. They instantly
blazed with fierce light, and he cried, with indignant
horror,

“Dog of a Mohammedan! would you defile the holy
church with your presence? Back with thee beyond
the outer portal, and wait my coming!”

The Moor crossed his hands submissively upon his
bosom, and retired from the vestibule amid the holy
execrations of the soldiers, while with slow and martial
tread the Count of Osma moved up the aisle of warriors
towards the high altar. Numerous candles, towering
like columns of marble, burned around and upon it;
and with the dazzling display of gold, and silver, and
precious stones on cross and crozier, with the rich
dresses of the priests, and all the pomp and circumstance
of Roman worship, the whole seemed a blaze
of glory.

When the men-at-arms first began to march in, the
priest at the foot of the altar commenced chanting “In
nomine patris;” and, as the knight entered, he ascended
it, chanting “Aufer à nobis” in a clear, distinct
voice that filled the house. The count advanced to
the crypt, and, kneeling above it before the altar, seemed
for a few seconds to be engaged in inward prayer.
He then lifted his head, and, apparently forgetful of
all around him, was intent solely on the progress of
the mass. The gorgeous apparel of the altar; the
imposing manner and costume of the priests; the religious
tone of the temple; the clouds of ascending incense;
and the sublime anthem of “Gloria in excelsis,”
swelling from the choir and filling all the dome, impressed
his mind with holy and reverential awe. His
soul was overpowered; his spirit enchanted; and,
willingly yielding up his senses to the scene, he deluded
himself with the belief that his emotions of pleased awe
proceeded from reverential piety. The worship of
Estelle, who knelt beside him, was as pure as her own
spirit. It originated in the soul, and was far elevated
above sense. Her responses were deep and fervent,
and her adoration humble and sincere.

After the adoration and oblation of the Host and of
the chalice, and when the priest had blessed the incense,
the count rose from his knees as if he were
wearied with his devotions, or had performed enough
of an accustomed duty to make his conscience easy,
and began to survey the worshippers about him. His
eyes, after glancing with military pride over the serried
hosts that kneeled along the vast pavement, rested
on a group of female worshippers on the left of the
crypt, and became suddenly fixed, as if fascinated.
There were many lovely forms clad in flowing veils,
and many dark eyes of beauty in that group; but there
was one figure—one pair of eyes, that timidly encountered
his—that enchained his vision, and the glances
of which penetrated his heart. They were of a most
piercing black, yet so soft that they seemed to be dissolving
in their own fire. They had no sooner met
his, being inadvertently directed towards him as he
rose from his knees, than they were again turned upon
the altar full of adoration, while the lips of the fair
owner moved in prayer. He thought she shrunk from
his gaze with fear. He observed, too, that her cheek
grew pale; that the hand that held the silver-clasped
missal trembled; and he was skilled enough in woman's
heart to know that, though her lips were praying,
and her eyes turned towards the altar with devotion,
she was thinking of his fixed look with alarm. He
was conscious that she was terrified, and he became
more deeply interested in her; for her alarm heightened
her rare beauty, and filled him with curiosity to
know who she was. Passion at the same instant inflamed
his bosom, and he inwardly resolved, if the
maiden was to be won, she should become his. That
she was a quadroone, the flowing lace veil fastened at
the top of the head and descending to the feet, the raven
hair, and voluptuous outline of the symmetrical person,
sufficiently betrayed. As he gazed, his soul was fired
with the guilty desire that had taken possession of it,
and the sublime anthem of Te Deum swelled unheeded
upon his ears, for thenceforward he had neither ears,

nor eyes, nor thought, save for the fair creature who
had fascinated his senses.

Beside the maiden he observed that there kneeled a
dark and singularly handsome woman, who, from her
air and manner, was her mother or her duenna; and he
saw with pleasure that she had discovered his silent
admiration of her protégée, and by word and look reproved
the timidity with which she shrunk from it.
He acknowledged her favouring part in this pantomime
by a glance, which she returned with such intelligence
that he was at once assured that the chief obstacles to
his success were removed. It has been said that the
Count of Osma, notwithstanding he was the father of a
beautiful girl of sixteen, was still a gay and gallant
man; and that, although forty years of age, female
beauty had for him the charm and fascination of his
youth. Enough, too, has been given of his character
to show that, in seeking the indulgence of his wishes,
he was likely to be restrained by no very lofty moral
sense. It was Azèlie who was the object of his passion;
and the proud and gratified look of her mother
betrayed that the moment she had hoped for had arrived;
that the plan she had conceived for the ambitious
advancement of her daughter, and her own revenge
upon the gay Marquis Caronde, had opened as
she would wish it. From the hour of the Spanish governor's
arrival, after being satisfied that she could look
no longer towards the outlawed Jules, she had secretly
determined, trusting to the surpassing charms of Azèlie,
to place her, on the first public occasion, in the view
of the captain-general. The proclamation for mass
presented to her active mind an opportunity not to be
passed by; and, commanding Azèlie to follow her, she
entered the Cathedral, and kneeled with her near the
spot reserved for the governor. She saw, as she had
anticipated, the effect of her beauty upon him, and her
triumph was thus far complete.

The mass at length terminated with the brief ceremony
of consecrating the standard by sprinkling it with
holy water, and the benediction of the priest was pronounced

upon the assembly. A thousand voices responded
“Amen;” a hundred banners waved above a
sea of plumes, and the organ sent out its answering
thunder, while through clouds of incense gleamed the
lances of the retiring columns. The Spanish knight,
whose piety had so soon changed to passion, and whose
adoration for the image of the Virgin had so readily
become transfixed to a living maiden, after vainly endeavouring
to encounter once more the timid gazelle
eyes of the lovely quadroone, which had produced such
an extraordinary effect upon him, left the altar with
Estelle, and passed at a hastened step through the line
of men-at-arms to the door. They here received their
horses from the Ethiopian, and sprung into their saddles.
With an impatient eye, the count then watched
the lively tread of the men-at-arms as they marched
forth to the loud, martial crash of instrumental music,
and, as the rear platoon crossed the threshold, he commanded
the cavalry to form column and trot forward,
and ordered the troops to display their line across the
Place d'Armes as before. He then remained in his
saddle near the door until the female worshippers came
forth, when his eye sought among them for the form of
Azèlie. At length he discovered her shrinking within
the throng from his observation; and, though modestly
veiled from head to foot, he could not mistake the air
and figure of her who had captivated his senses.
Bending in his saddle, he touched the ear of the Moor.

“Sulem, seest thou yonder maiden, veiled, yet vainly
striving to conceal the celestial beauty that shines
through?” he said, in a low tone, in the listening ear
of the ready slave.

He followed the direction of his glance as he spoke,
and replied with a look of secret intelligence.

“'Tis enough, Sulem,” he answered, approvingly; “I
would know who she is, her abode and condition.”

“Your slave lives but to obey,” replied the Ethiopian.

“Signors!” cried the count, turning from him, and
addressing the officers and regidors of the provincial
cabildo, who were on horseback around him, “we have
done our duty to God and the church, now let us do

it to the king and his province! We will presently
review the troops, and appoint them quarters, and then
take possession of the government-house and offices
of state. I would, once for all, this day settle on a
firm basis both the municipal and provincial government,
and see the alcalde and alguazil mayor,” he continued,
bowing to each of these chosen dignitaries,
“forthwith assuming the honours and duties of their
stations. Before sunset the Spanish laws shall have
superseded those of the former superior council, and
Spanish officers shall administer them. By the rood,
signors, we will have a loyal Spanish city of it ere
many hours.”

“With the cutting off a few heads,” said one of the
officers, with a decided tone and manner, that sufficiently
showed his willingness to have the recent slaughter
of the men-at-arms atoned for by blood.

“We have enough on hand to-day, Don San Juan,
to establish ourselves firmly in power; there will be
time enough to-morrow to look to these things,” said
the governor, with a meaning smile of anticipated vengeance;
“we must do nothing now to destroy the happy
confidence our proclamation of this morning has
inspired in the citizens. All in good time. The
town's-people must be encouraged to resume their occupations,
pursuits, and amusements: by this means
we shall at once secure their confidence, and we may
then take our vengeance into our own hands. We
will imitate the chirurgeon, who gives a sleeping potion
before he proceeds to amputate the limb. The
line is formed! Let us ride, signors!”

There was a smile interchanged by the gentlemen
present ere they spurred after him, partly at themselves,
that they should be mistaken for a moment as to the
known character of the count, and be deluded into the
belief that he was about to exercise unusual clemency
towards the town, with the blood of thirteen of his body-guard
not yet drunk up by the earth, and partly at
their mutual gratification on the prospect of retribution
upon the authors of the massacre.

In less time than the Count of Osma had named, the
government was settled, and all its offices filled, from
the alguazil mayor down to the guarda major; and by
the middle of the day all the former laws and usages
of the province were changed or abolished. The Cabildo
he established was composed of six perpetual
regidors, two ordinary alcaldes, an attorney-general
syndic, and a clerk, over which he presided in person;
but it was provided, during his absence, that one of the
ordinary alcaldes should assume the chair, and immediately
on adjournment, that two regidors should go to
the palace, and report to him what had been done. It
held its first session the same afternoon in the council-chamber,
and from that time the laws of Spain became
the sole guide of this tribunal in their decisions; but
as these, as well as those of the former régime, were
founded on the Justinian Code, the transition did not
become apparent to the citizens before it became complete.
The count, as governor, reserved to himself
the exercise of judicial power, both in civil and criminal
matters, throughout the province, and was the sole
arbiter in the tribunal of the cabildo. Thus, in a few
hours, Louisiana changed laws and masters. The citizens,
judging it useless to repine at what could no longer
be avoided, at once threw off their hostile character,
and received the Spaniards with, if not real, at least
outward cordiality. Before night things resumed their
wonted course, and the hum of business and the laugh
of pleasure were again heard from the bench of the
craftsman and the boudoirs of beauty; and, save a
body-guard retained at the gate, no troops remained in
the Place d'Armes, and nothing was suffered to remain
to offend the townsmen's eyes.

The sumptuous chambers of the governor's palace
were at noon thrown open to the possession of the
new ruler, and its corridors echoed to the step of a
Spanish master. Here Estelle found a suite of rooms
that seemed to have been expressly prepared for her,
and met with a luxury and elegance that compensated
her for the gorgeous apartments of the Spanish mansions

she had left behind. To confirm the universal
confidence, and to give the citizens an opportunity of
paying their court to him, he being now in full possession
of the governor's house, the count issued a proclamation
from his private cabinet for a levée to be
held in the hall of his palace in the evening, to which
he invited all citizens friendly to his government, while
to the former councillors he sent a courteous command
requiring their attendance. Thus, in one short day,
with consummate address and wisdom, and with a fair
countenance of peace, did the wily and politic governor
lay the foundation of his power, which shortly he
was to exercise in a deed of barbaric revenge, that has
no parallel save in the conduct of an Asiatic despot.
In the mean while, during the hours that intervened before
the approaching levée, he made himself acquainted
with the state of parties in the city, and also learned
who were the true authors of the attack upon his
embassy.