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Capítulo XXIV
Rasgo historial muy auténtico

En lo restante del viaje fue Arabela tan preocupada con la aventura de los ladrones que se mezcló poco en la conversación general, pero la situación del pueblo de Bath suministró a su imaginación agradables asuntos: las fértiles montañas que lo circundaban la representaron en idea el valle de Tempé113.

—En un sitio como este –dijo– libertó la bella Andrónica al valeroso Hortensio114. ¡Ojalá que a nuestra entrada en el pueblo precediera una acción semejante!

—Para realizar ese deseo, prima, era menester que sucediera una desgracia y creo que no querrías poner tu buen corazón a una prueba desagradable.

—Con sobrada frecuencia se presentan ocasiones de señalarse a gentes que ni tienen la humanidad ni el celo necesarios para ejecutar grandes cosas; si cualquiera otro que la princesa de Mesina hubiera encontrado a Hortensio, era hombre muerto ignominiosamente por haber quitado de en medio a una cigüeña.

—¡Condenar a un hombre a morir por haber muerto a una cigüeña! ¿En qué país se usa tan ridícula crueldad? ¿En las Indias o allá entre los salvajes?

—No, tío mío, sino en Tesalia, en el país más hermoso de la Macedonia, célebre por el valle de Tempé.

—He tratado, sobrina mía, con muchísimos viajeros, pero ninguno me ha hablado de ese valle, de que infiero que no es tan famoso como dices.

—No sé lo que ha podido merecer la atención de los viajeros, pero si, por algún feliz acaso, fuera yo a Tesalia, es cierto que sería objeto de mi curiosidad un sitio tan celebrado por los poetas e historiadores.

—Prima –repuso Glanville–, ¿desearíais algún acaso que os condujese a Turquía?

—Por mí, confieso de buena fe que no lo deseo.

—Sobrina, ¿conque está en Turquía ese famoso valle? Preciso es que la comezón de viajar sea en ti una especie de furor, cuando tienes ganas de ir al gran Mogol, donde dicen que las gentes adoran al diablo115.

—El país de que habla mi prima, padre mío, pertenece al gran Señor, pues ya sabéis que el Mogol…

—Gran Señor, gran Mogol o como quisieres, que para mí todo es uno; mas ello es que Arabela no irá por allá. p. 177

—No, como algunos acaecimientos extraordinarios no me obliguen, porque…

—Siendo así, jamás verás el valle de Tempé, pues… no te llevarán a Turquía contra tu voluntad.

—Pues yo no hallo eso tan desnudo de verisimilitud: ¿no pudiera yo ser llevada a Macedonia si, por una cierta conformidad de destinos, tuviese yo la suerte de aquellas princesas ilustres, nacidas en las extremidades del mundo y reunidas en Alejandría?

—Si lo meditas bien, prima mía, verás que solo se encontraron para tener el gusto de contarse cuentos.

—De cualquier modo que sea –continuó Arabela sonriéndose–, no paséis pena por mí, porque, si alguna vez fuere a Macedonia, no me conciliaré el odio de los tesalienses con una indiscreción parecida a la de Hortensio.... Quizá no tenéis presente, tío mío, que la destrucción de una cigüeña, que entre nosotros nada es, era un crimen gravísimo en Tesalia: unas sierpecillas muy venenosas, que infestaban el país, son el pasto de dichas aves; los tesalienses se figuraron que los dioses les habían enviado cigüeñas para exterminarlas y, agradecidos, respetan a estos pájaros hasta el extremo de darles un género de culto. Hortensio se libró de la muerte por la intercesión de Andrónica y para que su delito quedase borrado, como si no hubiera sido, se le perdonó a condición de que reemplazaría con otra la cigüeña muerta116.

113 El valle de Tempé se encuentra en la región griega de Tesalia, a unos 35 kms. al noreste de Larisa, entre los montes Olimpo al norte y el Osa; por él transcurre el río Peneo, cuya cuenca da ocasión a importantes precipicios. El topónimo se entendía en la época de Lennox como sinónimo de lugar bucólico, como aquí quiere caracterizarse a la estación termal de Bath. Mantengo la acentuación aguda del original porque reproduce la forma griega antigua y se repite sistemáticamente.

114 El rescate de Hortensio por Andrónica (la princesa de Mesina, como indica el texto unas líneas más abajo) se describe en Clélie IV.1 (Dalziel 405).

115 ‘ir a la India’. El «gran Mogol» es el emperador de la India, frente al «gran Señor» de unas líneas de más abajo, también llamado el gran Turco o emperador de los turcos; la aparente confusión geográfica de este pasaje viene dada porque Macedonia, donde se halla el valle de Tempé, pertenecía a Turquía en la fecha en que se escribió esta novela.

116 Parece que, en efecto, en la antigua Tesalia, la cigüeña era animal especialmente venerado por cazar serpientes, de manera que matar a una de ellas podía ser castigado muy severamente, incluso con la muerte.

Chapter III
Which concludes with an authentic piece of history.

Arabella, during the rest of this journey, was so wholly taken up in contemplating upon the last adventure that she mixed but little in the conversation. Upon their drawing near Bath, the situation of that city afforded her the means of making a comparison between the valley in which it was placed (with the amphitheatrical view of the hills around it) and the valley of Tempe.

“It was in such a place as this,” said she, pursuing her comparison, “that the fair Andronice delivered the valiant Hortensius. And really I could wish our entrance into that city might [131] be preceded by an act of equal humanity with that of that fair princess.”

“For the gratification of that wish, madam,” said Mr. Glanville, “it is necessary some person should meet with a misfortune, out of which you might be able to relieve him; but I suppose the benevolence of your disposition may be equally satisfied with not finding any occasion as of exercising it, when it is found.”

“Though it be not my fortune to meet with those occasions,” replied Arabella, “there is no reason to doubt but others do who possibly have less inclination to afford their assistance than myself. And it is possible if any other than the princess of Messina had happened to pass by when Hortensius was in the hands of the Thessalians, he would not have been rescued from the ignominious death he was destined to, merely for killing a stork.”*

“How!” interrupted Sir Charles. “Put a man to death for killing a stork! Ridiculous! Pray, in what part of the world did that happen? Among the Indians of America, I suppose.”

“No, sir,” said Arabella, “in Thessaly, the fairest part in all Macedonia, famous for the beautiful valley of Tempe, which excited the curiosity of all travellers whatever.”

“No, not all, madam,” returned Sir Charles. “For I am acquainted with several travellers, who never saw it, nor even mentioned it; and if it is so famous as you say, I am surprised I never heard of it before.”

“I don’t know,” said Arabella, “what those travellers thought worthy of their notice; but I am certain that if any chance should conduct [132] me into Macedonia, I would not leave it till I saw the valley of Tempe, so celebrated by all the poets and historians.”

“Dear cousin,” cried Glanville, who could hardly forbear smiling, “what chance, in the name of wonder, should take you into Turkey,* at so great a distance from your own country?”

“And so,” said Sir Charles, “this famous valley of Tempe is in Turkey. Why, you must be very fond of travelling, indeed, Lady Bella, if you would go into the Great Mogul’s country, where the people are all pagans, they say, and worship the devil.”

“The country my cousin speaks of,” said Mr. Glanville, “is in the Grand Signior’s dominions. The Great Mogul, you know, sir—”

“Well,” interrupted Sir Charles, “the Great Mogul, or the Grand Signior, I know not what you call him. But I hope my niece does not propose to go thither.”p. 242

“Not unless I am forcibly carried thither,” said Arabella. “But I do determine if that misfortune should ever happen to me, that I would, if possible, visit the valley* of Tempe, which is in that part of Greece they call Macedonia.”

“Then I am persuaded,” replied Sir Charles, “you’ll never see that famous vale you talk of, for it is not very likely you should be forcibly carried away into Turkey.”

“And why do you think it unlikely that I should be carried thither?” interrupted Arabella. “Do not the same things happen now that did formerly? And is anything more common than ladies being carried by their ravishers, [133] into countries far distant from their own? May not the same accidents happen to me that have happened to so many illustrious ladies before me? And may I not be carried into Macedonia by a similitude of destiny with that of a great many beautiful princesses, who, though born in the most distant quarters of the world, chanced to meet at one time in the city of Alexandria, and related their miraculous adventures to each other?”

“And it was for that very purpose they met, madam,” said Mr. Glanville, smiling.

“Why, truly,” said Arabella, “it happened very luckily for each of them that they were brought into a place where they found so many illustrious companions in misfortune, to whom they might freely communicate their adventures, which otherwise might, haply, have been concealed, or, at least, have been imperfectly delivered down to us. However,” added she, smiling, “if I am carried into Macedonia, and by that means have an opportunity of visiting the famous vale of Tempe, I shall take care not to draw the resentment of the Thessalians upon me, by an indiscretion like that of Hortensius.”

“For be pleased to know, sir,” said she, addressing herself to her uncle, “that his killing a stork, however inconsiderable a matter it may appear to us, was yet looked upon as a crime of a very atrocious nature among the Thessalians; for they have a law which forbids, upon pain of death, the killing of storks, the reason for which is that Thessaly being subject to be infested with a prodigious multitude [134] of serpents, which are a delightful food to these sorts of fowls, they look upon them as sacred birds, sent by the gods to deliver them from these serpents and vipers; and though Hortensius, being a stranger, was pardoned through the intercession of the Princess Andronice, they made him promise to send another stork into Thessaly, to the end that he might be reputed innocent.”

istork] A large black and white bird of the genus Ciconia, having long legs, a long stout beak and a long sleek neck as its main features.

iiTurkey] Macedonia, 1752 (1st).

iiivalley] vale, 1752 (1st).