The Gold Mines [pp. 257-263]

I43.] The Gold Mines. 261
thets with which Niccoli addressed him, ceased
from the old man's exhaustion, be strode boldly
before him.
"'I can bear from you, all these injuries,' he
said;'you well know, that if some of them are
merited, it is rather from my position, than my own
fault. If to chastise the insolent, and throw
back contempt, for contempt constitutes a wretch,
then am I one. But no man can be called a vagabond who lives in the habitation of his ancestors,
and follows their profession. But all this is of
no importance; these are mere words. That I am
voor is your true objection, and it is a great one.
If I chose to take your daughter without her fortune, I could do so in spite of you all; but I would
relinquish her, even to that soulless man, rather than
expose a being so lovely and fragile, to the privations and vicissitudes of a life like mine. For this
reason, I demand not only your daughter, but a
portion of her wealth, however small the portion
may be, and you have also the right to require that
I should not come empty-handed. She is young,
there is no cause to hasten her marriage. Grant
rwe olte year, one single year, name a reasonable
sum, and if at the end of that period, I cannot
place the stipulated amount before you, I swear
here, to renounce eVe-:elaim which the generous
preference of your daughter has given me to her
hand.'
"' It is well arranged,' returned the same old man
who had already spoken;' under any circumstances,
a year should intervene between the betrothal and
the marriage. If the young man, in a year from
this day, before midnight, shall place on the table
here, in gold or silver money, or in virgin gold,
the same sum I intended bestowing on my grandson, I promise, in the name of all present, there
shall be no opposition made to the maiden's caprice,
should it last so long; and we will consult her
wish in the disposal of her hand, in preference to
the judgment and desire of her father. The sum
is only three thousand pounds!'
A laugh of mockery and derision was heard
among the relations.
"' I Yes, yes!' they cried,' it is all just! let the
Mineralo bring three thousand pounds, and he shall
marry Lelia. Neighbor Niccoli, it is a wise proposition; allow us to intercede for Francesco, and
ask your consent.'
"' Gentlemen!' said Francesco, with an embarrassment mingled with anger,' the sum of three
thousand pounds —'
" He was interrupted by shouts of contemptuous
laughter.
"' It is a right loyal proposition,' repeated the relations;' consent to it, neighbor Niccoli, consent.'
"' I consent!' said Niccoli, disdainfully.
"' Be it so!7 returned Francesco, with indignant
pride, and he retired, his heart deeply wounded.
";It was remarked, that from this day, the habits
and the character o ththe Mineralo were greatly
changed. He not only forsook the society of his
dissipated comrades, but also that of respectable
persons whose houses were open to him, either on
account of his musical talent, or because his conduct wa s so superior to that of the other Mineral.
Day after day, he devoted himself to his precarious toil. The chance of seasons made no difference with him. The storm did no t induice him
t o seek shelter, nor the rain de tain him at home.
All day, and frequently all aranight too, he might be
seen in the fields, on the mountain s, o n the banks
of the torrents. He seldom even perm itted hims elf t he happines s of meeting th e b eloved one, for
whom he submitted to so many trials.
"Gold, g old was his only thought by day, his only
dream by night. When the lovers were sometimes together, in the solitude and mystery of
night, it was but to whisper a few w or ds of false
confidence, of consolation and hope. She co uld,
during these interviews, speak onlv with sighs and
tears, but he seemed f ull of enthusiasm and firm
f a i th. Notwp ithstanding, days and weeks rolled on,
the moon rene wed her light, the end of the year
dr ew near, and the greater pa r t of the imme nse
s um was stil in mbom the bosom of the mountains.
" The hopes of the Mineralo daily diminished.
He coul d no longer utte r coconsol ation, which had
.fled even from his dreams; he could only clasp
Lelia, in sadnes s and grief, to his breast, when she
hazarded a question concern ing h is labors, a nd then
mechanically return to his hopeless task.
" It is a strange, and sometimes a sublime s tudy,
the m e o ouh in he mystery of a woman's mind. The health of
Lelia had been deeply affected by the events we
have related. Her cheeks had been pale and her
frame weak for several months, and now was the
painful impression added, of these mute but eloquent interviews with her lover. The more the ir
griefs grew dark, the more their affairs seemed
desperate, the higher mounted her co urage, a s if
to conquer fortune. The hopes of Leli a increased
in proportion to the fears of Francesco, and the
energy which abandoned this man, hitherto so
courageous, appeared to pass to her. Even her
physical faculties reflected the force of her spirit.
Her nerves acquired more than their natural vigor,
her cheeks flushed, and the light of her eyes was
brilliant.
"The cold and indolent imagination of man has
not half a wooman's resources under such circumstances. Relinquishing all trust in fortune and
chance, she turned to the altars, anrd to the mrost
venerated saints and martyrs of her land. She
made vows and pilgrimages, she questioned even
her dreams, she sought predictions in the poems of
Dante, she interpreted for herself the poetry of
heaven, the mystical language of the stars. The
y,ear drew to its close, and the sum which the gold
seeker had amassed, though miracullous in amount,
1843.]
Tlte Gold Mines.
261