CHAPTER XIV.

Maximin appears among them ill of a fever. He dies after joining the hands of Periander and Auristella, now known as Persiles and Sigismunda.

So little certainty is there in all earthly joys, that no man can promise himself a moment of perfect security. Auristella repenting¹ the declaration she had made of her wishes and intentions to Periander, now hastened to seek him out joyfully², believing that with her hand and her repentance⁴ all would come right, and according to his desire, for she believed herself to be the key of the wheel of his fortune, and the Polar star of all his hopes; nor was she deceived in this, for already had he brought himself to comply with her will. But mark the cheats of this ever changing fortune. In one short instant, as we have seen, she finds herself quite another thing from what she was of late. She meant to smile, and she weeps; she thought of happy life, and she is at the point of death; she expected to see Periander, and lo, in his place, his brother Maximin! who, with a number of equipages and a large retinue⁵, now approaches, entering Rome by this, the Terracina road; and seeing the crowd of persons that surrounded the wounded Periander, he ordered his carriage to stop, that he might learn the cause. Serafido went to meet him, saying, "O Prince Maximin, I bring you evil tidings; yonder wounded man in the arms of that beautiful lady is your brother Persiles, and she is the peerless Sigismunda; after all your diligence you find them in a sad time and season, so that instead of rejoicings, you will only come to follow them to their grave."

"They will not go to it alone," answered Maximin; "but I shall bear them company. Accordingly I am come;" and, putting his head out of the carriage, he recognized his brother, although he was all covered with blood. He knew Sigismunda, too, although her face was pale as death, for the terror which had deprived it of colour had not altered the features. Sigismunda was all lovely before, but, if possible, she looked lovelier still in her sorrow, for, in some cases, grief only adds to beauty."

He left his carriage, and sunk into the arms of Sigismunda—Auristella no longer—but the queen of Friseland, and, in his imagination, queen of Tile also.

These strange events all came under the name of what is called fortune, which is but another name for the ordering of a heavenly Providence⁶.

Maximin had set out for Rome, in the hope of finding better physicians to cure him of his disease than those he had at Terracina, and they had warned him that before he could reach Rome, he would be dead, more skilful⁷ and sagacious in this matter than in finding out how to cure him: it is true that his was an illness seldom cured.

And now before the great cathedral of St. Peter, in the midst of an open plain, has hideous⁸ death stepped forth⁹ to meet the young and beautiful Persiles, and threatens him with destruction, whilst to Maximin it gives a grave. He, finding himself near expiring, with his right hand takes Persiles' left in his own, and lifts it to his eyes, whilst in his left hand he takes Persiles' right and joins it with Sigismunda, saying, in a faint and feeble voice, and failing breath, "Your truth and virtue¹⁰, my children, and my brother, I well know: open, O my brother, those closed lids of thine, and shut these eyes of mine in eternal sleep, and with thy other hand clasp that of Sigismunda, and seal therewith my gift and wish that she should be thy wife, and let this blood that is spilt of thine, and these thy friends who surround thee, be witnesses of the marriage. Thy father's kingdom is left for thee, and thou wilt¹¹ have Sigismunda's also. May ye both enjoy health and happiness for many years to come!"

These words, so tender, so joyful³, and yet so sorrowful, revived the fainting spirits of Periander, and, obedient to his brother's desire (on whom death had set his seal) he closed his eyes, and, in accents divided between grief and joy, pronounced the words which bound him for ever to Sigismunda as her husband.

This unexpected and melancholy¹² event affected¹³ the bystanders strongly, and many of them shed tears, and sighs and sobs¹⁴ were heard all around.

They lifted up the dead body of Maximin and carried it into St. Peter's church, and placing Persiles, only half alive, in the carriage of the dead prince, they returned with him to Rome, where they found neither Bellarmina nor Delicia, both of whom had gone back to France with the duke.

Arnoldo was strongly affected when he heard of this unexpected and strange marriage; he felt deeply how many years he had wasted in this pursuit, how many deeds he had done, and actions performed, in the hope of being at last rewarded by the peaceable possession of Sigismunda's peerless charms; and that which most vexed¹⁵ and disturbed his mind, was, to remember all that Clodio had said, which he would not believe, and of which he had now obtained such manifest proof. At first, indignant and disturbed, he determined¹⁶ to set off without speaking a word to either Persiles or Sigismunda; but, on second thoughts, considering their royal birth, and the excuse they had, and that this great piece of good fortune was reserved clearly for Persiles, he resolved that he would go to them; he did so, and was very kindly¹⁷ received, and, in order to console him and give him less cause to complain, they offered him the young princess Eusebia, Sigismunda's sister, for a wife. He accepted this offer willingly, and he would have accompanied them at once to their own country, but that he thought it right to go and ask his father's leave, since in the affair of marriage, and indeed in all serious or important matters, it is right for children to consult their parents' pleasure. He stayed to assist in the cure of his intended brother-in-law; and when he was perfectly¹⁸ restored to health, he departed to join his father, and to prepare for his promised bride.

Felicia Flora¹⁹ had decided²⁰ to marry Antonio the Barbarian²¹; for she said she would never return to live among the friends and relations of the man who would have murdered him.

Croriano and Ruperta, their pilgrimage ended, returned to France, taking with them ample matter for discourse²² in the events of the feigned²³ Auristella's history.

Persiles had his brother buried in St. Peter's, and took all his servants under his protection.

They visited all the churches in Rome, and loaded Constance with caresses²⁴.

Sigismunda presented her with the diamond cross, and would not part with her till she left her married to the count, her brother-in-law. Then, having kissed the Pope's feet, her vow²⁵ accomplished²⁶, and her soul at peace, she lived in sweet companionship with her husband Persiles, to see their children's children grow up around them, their lives prolonged and blessed in their happy and numerous posterity²⁷.

The End

1 repenting   

对（自己的所为）感到懊悔或忏悔( repent的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was repenting rapidly. 他很快就后悔了。
• Repenting of his crime the thief returned the jewels and confessed to the police. 那贼对自己的罪行痛悔不已；归还了珠宝并向警方坦白。

2 joyfully   

adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地

参考例句：

• She tripped along joyfully as if treading on air. 她高兴地走着，脚底下轻飘飘的。
• During these first weeks she slaved joyfully. 在最初的几周里，她干得很高兴。

3 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

4 repentance   

n.懊悔

参考例句：

• He shows no repentance for what he has done.他对他的所作所为一点也不懊悔。
• Christ is inviting sinners to repentance.基督正在敦请有罪的人悔悟。

5 retinue   

n.侍从；随员

参考例句：

• The duchess arrived,surrounded by her retinue of servants.公爵夫人在大批随从人马的簇拥下到达了。
• The king's retinue accompanied him on the journey.国王的侍从在旅途上陪伴着他。

6 providence   

n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝

参考例句：

• It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
• To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。

7 skilful   

(=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的

参考例句：

• The more you practise,the more skilful you'll become.练习的次数越多，熟练的程度越高。
• He's not very skilful with his chopsticks.他用筷子不大熟练。

8 hideous   

adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的

参考例句：

• The whole experience had been like some hideous nightmare.整个经历就像一场可怕的噩梦。
• They're not like dogs,they're hideous brutes.它们不像狗，是丑陋的畜牲。

9 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

10 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

11 wilt   

v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱

参考例句：

• Golden roses do not wilt and will never need to be watered.金色的玫瑰不枯萎绝也不需要浇水。
• Several sleepless nights made him wilt.数个不眠之夜使他憔悴。

12 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

13 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

14 sobs   

啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She was struggling to suppress her sobs. 她拼命不让自己哭出来。
• She burst into a convulsive sobs. 她突然抽泣起来。

15 vexed   

adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论

参考例句：

• The conference spent days discussing the vexed question of border controls. 会议花了几天的时间讨论边境关卡这个难题。
• He was vexed at his failure. 他因失败而懊恼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

17 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

18 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

19 flora   

n.(某一地区的)植物群

参考例句：

• The subtropical island has a remarkably rich native flora.这个亚热带岛屿有相当丰富的乡土植物种类。
• All flora need water and light.一切草木都需要水和阳光。

20 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

21 barbarian   

n.野蛮人；adj.野蛮(人)的；未开化的

参考例句：

• There is a barbarian tribe living in this forest.有一个原始部落居住在这个林区。
• The walled city was attacked by barbarian hordes.那座有城墙的城市遭到野蛮部落的袭击。

22 discourse   

n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述

参考例句：

• We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。
• He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。

23 feigned   

a.假装的，不真诚的

参考例句：

• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work. 他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。
• He accepted the invitation with feigned enthusiasm. 他假装热情地接受了邀请。

24 caresses   

爱抚，抚摸( caress的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A breeze caresses the cheeks. 微风拂面。
• Hetty was not sufficiently familiar with caresses or outward demonstrations of fondness. 海蒂不习惯于拥抱之类过于外露地表现自己的感情。

25 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

26 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

27 posterity   

n.后裔，子孙，后代

参考例句：

• Few of his works will go down to posterity.他的作品没有几件会流传到后世。
• The names of those who died are recorded for posterity on a tablet at the back of the church.死者姓名都刻在教堂后面的一块石匾上以便后人铭记。