Elvira, The Sainted Princess [Tales From The Lands Of Nuts And Grapes (Spanish And Portuguese Folklore)]
Wamba was king of the Goths, who inhabited the northern part of Lusitania. He was one of the bravest kings that ever reigned, and the walls of his palace still stand as evidence of the skill with which he studied to improve his capital. But although he was wise, he was not a good man, and his bravery in war was not tempered by mercy. Like all his predecessors, he was cruel to his victims, and was more feared than loved.
Wamba
had but one daughter, Elvira, whose mother was a princess of the Moorish family
reigning in Andalusia. She was so beautiful and so good, that she contributed
in no small degree in rendering her father’s reign famous. Her long hair was of
a lovely glossy black; her eyes, of the same dark hue, had all the softness of
her race, and it was this very tenderness of look that gave majesty to her
appearance.
In
those days there were but very few Christians in Europe. The Crescent of the
false prophet had overcome for a time the Cross of the true Saviour. To the
teachings of an old man, who in secret worshipped the true God, Elvira owed the
first lessons she got of Christianity; and once the good seed was sown, it
multiplied.
Wamba
did not know that his daughter was a Christian; but he knew that she was very
good, and that for her goodness she was very much beloved by all his subjects.
Now,
it so happened that in the dungeon of his palace there were many prisoners
condemned to death by starvation, and it perplexed the king to know how it was
that they continued to live. Every morning he would ask of the gaoler if the
prisoners had died, and the answer was that they seemed quite well.
So
one day he hid in a nook of the staircase, hoping to find out who fed his
prisoners. He had not long to wait, for he soon saw Elvira descending, followed
by a young courtier, Alaric, and carrying something in her apron.
Elvira,
unknown to her father, had been in the custom of carrying bread to the poor
prisoners, and she was assisted in her work of mercy by her lover Alaric .
When
she got close to the king, he started out of his hiding-place, and seizing her
by the arm, she, in her fright, let fall her apron, out of which fell beautiful
roses, into which the bread had been transformed.
Great
was the surprise of the king, for he thought she was carrying victuals. Then, in
his rage, he said—
“Elvira,
thou art in league with the evil one, and thou and thy lover shall die!”
Elvira
and Alaric were themselves so astonished at what had taken place, that they
could not speak, and allowed themselves to be led away to separate gaols
without offering an explanation.
Wamba
had it proclaimed that next day his daughter Elvira and her lover Alaric would
be burnt in the public square for having dealings with the evil one. Many of
his oldest courtiers tried to persuade him that he was too precipitate; but he
was not to be moved, and all that night Elvira and Alaric were preparing to
meet death.
At
the first ray of light Wamba was up, and with his soldiers and executioners
hurried to the public square. Elvira and Alaric were led among a strong body of
men, and everything was being prepared for burning the lovers, when Elvira’s old
tutor presented himself before Wamba, and said—
“Know,
O king, that thy daughter fears not death, for her comfort is on the Cross, and
not on the Crescent. If any one be to blame, I am he, for I instructed her. Let
me, then, be burned in her stead.”
Wamba
gazed fiercely at the old man, and, raising his massive olive staff surmounted
by a gold crown, exclaimed—
“Thou
shalt also die, but not before thou hast witnessed her sufferings. Thy God is a
false God, or if He have power to save all of you, He shall cause this ancient
olive staff to grow and throw out green leaves by to-morrow morning, or else
you shall all die;” and saying this, he stuck his royal staff into the ground.
Elvira
was to be allowed to remain close to the staff, but no one with her; and, so
that she might not escape, guards were posted all round the square.
Kneeling
at the side of that emblem of authority, which for generations had been wielded
by her ancestors, she gave vent to her prayers and tears, and the latter fell
so quickly that they moistened the ground; and when morning came, Wamba, on arriving, saw his
royal staff growing, a sapling then, but shortly to grow into a tree, even as
the Christian faith in its sapling stage was to throw out its spreading
branches over the kingdom, till they all became one people, loving but one God.
Wamba
caused a church to be built near the spot, which church still exists; and the
olive-tree grows by its side, giving the name of Olive-tree to the Square.
Alaric
was married to Elvira; and Wamba having been called to the grave of his
forefathers, these two reigned conjointly, and appointed the old tutor their
counsellor.
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