Episode 9

May the Lord succor and help him!”

Others:

“It serves him right, since he bore such false witness!”

At last, certain persons who were present—and methought not without great fear—drew near and seized him by the arms, wherewith he dealt lusty blows to those who stood near him. Others seized him by the legs and held them fast, for no vicious mule in the world ever lashed out so furiously. And so they held him for a long time, more than fifteen men lying upon him, and he gave them all their hands full, and if they grew careless, struck them in the face.

Through all this my master remained on his knees in the pulpit, his hands and eyes fixed on heaven, rapt in the divine essence, so that the weeping, uproar, and shouting in the church had no power to draw him from his divine contemplation.

Those good men approached him, and shouting aloud, aroused him, beseeching him to succor that poor wretch who was dying, and not to look upon things past or upon his evil words, seeing he already had his reward for them; but that if he could do anything to deliver him from the danger and suffering he endured, he would do it for the love of God, seeing they clearly perceived the guilt of the culprit and his own truth and goodness, since at his prayer the Lord had not delayed His vengeance.

The commissioner, like one awakening from a sweet slumber, looked upon them, looked upon the criminal, and upon all who stood round about, and very deliberately said unto them:

“Good men, you ought never to intercede for a man upon whom God hath so plainly set His mark; but since He commands us not to return evil for evil and to forgive injuries, with confidence we may beseech Him to fulfill what He commands, and that His Majesty may pardon this man who offended Him by placing an obstacle against His holy faith. Let us all beseech Him.”

And so he came down from the pulpit, and charged them that they should very devoutly pray Our Lord to be pleased to forgive that sinner, to restore him to health and sound mind, and to cast out the devil from him, if His Majesty had permitted him to enter in for his great sin. All knelt down, and before the altar with the priests began to chant a litany in a low voice. And he, coming with the cross and holy water, after chanting over him, my master, lifting his hands to heaven and turning his eyes so that almost nothing was seen save the whites, began a prayer no less long than devout, wherewith he made the whole congregation weep, as they are wont to do at Passion sermons with a devout preacher and auditory, beseeching Our Lord, since He willed not the death of a sinner, but rather his life and repentance, that he who had been misled by the devil and persuaded unto sin might be pardoned, and life and health granted unto him, that he might repent and confess his sins.

And this done, he bade them bring the bull and laid it upon his head; and straightway the sinful constable began little by little to recover and return to himself. And when he was fully restored to his senses, he cast himself at the commissioner’s feet, begging his pardon, and confessing that he had spoken those words through the mouth and command of the devil: first, to do him injury and take vengeance for the quarrel; and secondly, and chief of all, because the devil felt great grief at the good that was to be wrought there by the taking of the bull. My master forgave him, and friendship was made between them; and there was such a rush to take the bull that scarcely a living soul in the town remained without it: husband and wife, sons and daughters, lads and wenches.

The news of what had happened spread throughout the neighboring towns, and when we reached them, there was no need of a sermon or of going to church: they came to the inn to buy the bulls as if they had been pears given away for nothing. So that in ten or twelve places of that countryside to which we went, my master disposed of as many thousand bulls without preaching a single sermon.

When he played that trick, I confess my sin that I also was terrified and believed it was all true, like many others; but seeing afterward the laughter and jests which my master and the constable exchanged over the business, I knew how it had been contrived by the crafty and inventive wit of my master. {In another town, which I will not name for its honor’s sake, the following befell us: my master preached two or three sermons, and devil a bull did they take. Seeing what was happening, and that though he offered them on credit for a year, it availed nothing, and that they were so obstinate in refusing them that his labor was lost, he ordered the bells to be rung to take his departure. And having finished his sermon and taken leave from the pulpit, as he was about to come down, he called the scrivener and me, who went loaded with certain saddlebags, and bade us come to the first step; and taking from the constable the bulls he carried in his hands and those I had in the saddlebags, he placed them by his feet, returned to the pulpit with a cheerful face, and began to scatter his bulls thence by tens and twenties in all directions, crying:

“My brethren, take, take of the graces which God sends home to your very doors! Grudge not the cost, for it is so pious a work to redeem Christian captives who are in the land of the Moors! Lest they renounce our holy faith and go to the pains of hell, aid them at least with your alms, and with five Pater Nosters and five Ave Marias, that they may come forth from captivity. And they avail likewise for your fathers, brothers, and kinsfolk in Purgatory, as you shall see in this holy bull!”

When the people saw them scattered thus, as a thing given for nothing and coming from the hand of God, they snatched them eagerly, even for the children in the cradle and for all their dead, counting from their children down to the least servant they had, counting them upon their fingers. We found ourselves in such a press that they had well-nigh torn to pieces a poor old coat I wore; so that I certify to Your Honor that in little more than an hour not a bull was left in the saddlebags, and it was necessary to go to the inn for more.

When all had finished taking them, my master bade his scrivener and the town clerk to arise, and that it might be known who were to enjoy the holy indulgence and pardons of the holy bull, and that he might render a good account to those who had sent him, to write them down. And straightway all with right good will gave the names of those they had taken, reckoning in order their children, servants, and the dead. The inventory being made, he requested the magistrates that for charity’s sake, since he had business elsewhere, they would bid the scrivener give him a certified copy of the inventory and a statement of those that remained, which according to the scrivener were more than two thousand. This done, he took his leave with great peace and love, and so we departed from that town. And before we left, he was asked by the curate’s lieutenant and the councilors whether the bull availed for infants yet in their mothers’ wombs; to which he replied that according to the learning he had studied, it did not, but that they should inquire of doctors older than he, and that this was his opinion in the matter.

And so we departed, all very merry over the good business done. My master said to the constable and scrivener:

“What think you of these rustics, who, merely saying ‘We are Old Christians,’ without doing works of charity, think to save themselves without spending any of their goods? By the life of the licentiate Pascasio Gómez, at their expense more than ten captives shall be redeemed!”

And so we journeyed on to another town on that side of Toledo, toward La Mancha, as it is called, where we met with others more obstinate still in refusing bulls. After my master and the rest of us had used our customary diligence, in two festivals that we spent there not thirty bulls had been sold. Seeing the great loss and expense he incurred, the subtle trick my master used to dispose of his bulls was this: on that day he sang high mass, and the sermon being ended and he returning to the altar, he took a cross he carried of a little more than a span’s length, and behind the missal, where a brazier stood upon the altar—which they had brought to warm his hands because it was bitterly cold—he placed the cross upon the hot coals without anyone observing it. And when mass was ended and the blessing given, he took it with a handkerchief, wrapped carefully in his right hand and in the other the bull, and went down to the lowest step of the altar, where he feigned to kiss the cross and made a sign that they should come to adore it.

And so the magistrates came first, and the elders of the town, coming one by one as the custom is. And the first who approached, who was an old magistrate, though my master offered the cross to him right delicately, burned his lips and drew back in haste. Whereat my master said unto him:

“Gently, softly, master magistrate! A miracle!”

And so did seven or eight others, and to all of them he cried:

“Softly, gentlemen! A miracle!”

When he saw that the burnt lips were sufficient witnesses to the miracle, he would offer it no more to be kissed. He mounted the steps of the altar, and thence spoke marvelous things, saying that for the little charity among them God had permitted this miracle, and that the cross must be carried to the holy cathedral church of his bishopric; for by reason of the cold charity of the town, the cross burned like fire. Such was the haste to buy the bull that two scriveners, with the priests and sextons, were not enough to write down the names. I believe of a truth that more than three thousand bulls were taken, as I have told Your Honor. Afterward, on departing, he went with great reverence, as was fitting, to take the holy cross, saying he would have it encased in gold. He was earnestly entreated by the council and priests of the place to leave the holy cross with them, in memory of the miracle wrought there. He refused by any means to do so; yet at last, overcome by their entreaties, he left it, on condition that they gave him another old silver cross they possessed, which might weigh two or three pounds, according as they said.

And so we went our way, merry with our good bargain and successful business. In all this no one saw what had happened save myself, because I mounted close to the altar to see whether any wine was left in the cruets, to secure it as I was wont to do. And seeing me there, he put his finger to his mouth, making a sign that I should hold my peace. I did so because it concerned me; though after I saw the miracle, I could scarce contain myself from blurting it out, had not fear of my crafty master prevented me from communicating it to anyone; nor did it ever pass my lips, for he made me swear an oath not to reveal the miracle. And so I kept it until now.} And though but a boy, it pleased me mightily, and I said unto myself:

“How many such tricks must these deceivers play upon innocent folk!”

Finally, I remained with this fifth master nearly four months, wherein I also endured plenty of hardships{, though he fed me well at the cost of the curates and other priests where he went to preach.}