We must retrace4 our steps to the year 1569, and on a beautiful June afternoon we shall see slowly entering Pastrana a covered waggon5 of the sort still called "galeras." The mysterious vehicle excited much curiosity, and a crowd of men, women and children gathered round it when it stopped at the threshold of the ducal palace of Pastrana, whose heavy doors opened to receive it, leaving the curious outside. In the first courtyard Prince Ruy Gómez de Silva and his wife the Princess de évoli were waiting with all their children, even down to the babies in the arms of their nurses and maids, the duennas, waiting-maids, pages and other retainers in rows, according to their standing6. All eyes were fixed7 on the waggon, with curiosity mingled8 with respect, and those in the back row stood on tiptoe to see better. The curtains of the cart were at last withdrawn9, and Ruy Gómez and his wife went forward respectfully; all heads were stretched out, and an old woman, who had been in the service of the Condesa del Mélito, the mother of the Princess, fell on her knees and beat upon her breasts. Three strange figures alighted, such as were never seen about the streets at that time; they wore tunics10 of coarse cloth, white cloaks of the same material, and their bare feet were shod with sandals of esparto grass; long, thick black veils covered their faces and almost all their persons. A small bundle tied up in a cloth was carried under the cloak by the last figure to alight.
All these marks of curiosity and respect, however, were well justified11, as the woman who was first to get out, dressed in the coarse cloth, was St. Theresa de Jesus, who was come to found a convent of barefooted Carmelites at Pastrana. It was not two years since Ruy Gómez had come into possession of his duchy, and he was hastening to do all he could for the material and moral welfare of his vassals12. He wished to establish a monastery13 in his town, and the Princess a convent for women, which she had given over to Mother Theresa, attracted by the wonderful things she had heard of this marvellous woman, and anxious to flatter her own curiosity and vanity by associating herself with one with whom God held familiar intercourse14 and to whom He showed such stupendous wonders. The saint accepted the offer; she was just beginning her great reforms, and for this purpose went from Toledo to Pastrana, passing by Madrid, where she stayed with an old friend of ours and a devoted15 follower16 of the saint, Do?a Leonor Mascare?es, in the Franciscan convent which Do?a Leonor had founded and to which she had retired17. She gave Mother Theresa many details of the Princess's difficult temper, having known her well at Court. Well primed with this information the saint went to Pastrana, where she arrived towards the end of June. Here, she says in her book about her foundations, "I found the Princess and the Prince Ruy Gómez, who received me very well; they gave me a private apartment, which was more than I could have expected, because the house was so small that the Princess had had much of it pulled down and rebuilt, not the walls, but many things. We were there for three months, hard times, the Princess asking me things contrary to our religion. I had even determined18 to leave rather than give in, but the Prince Ruy Gómez, in his gentle way (he was very gentle and sensible), made his wife come to reason." Besides the troubles alluded19 to by the saint the Princess made others from her capricious, domineering character and want of fine feeling. She had heard that St. Theresa was very beautiful, in spite of being fifty-four, and she was dying of curiosity to see her face, but the saint would not consent to show it to her, nor did she or her companions ever lift their veils before the Princess or anybody else. This exasperated20 the Princess, and she was always peeping through the windows and keyhole hoping to surprise Theresa in one of her trances, in which Our Lord used to appear to her. Theresa laughed at what she calls stupidities, but in the end this constant prying21 worried and became intolerable to her. The Princess also gave her another real cause for annoyance22; knowing that her confessor had ordered her to write her wonderful life, the Princess, full of curiosity, wished to read it. Mother Theresa refused with much firmness; this piqued23 the capricious lady, who wrote to the saint's superiors, asking them to order her to let the Princess read the manuscript she had with her at Pastrana. They, being either very complacent24 or not knowing the Princess's character, did not hesitate to give the order. Theresa obeyed without delay, and then the Princess triumphed. She greedily read the ingenuous25 pages in which the divine marvels26 are told with such sublime27 simplicity28; they excited her imagination, and, like all talkative women, feeling the necessity of imparting her feelings, she committed the breach29 of confidence of giving the manuscript to her duennas, waiting-maids and pages. So from hand to hand, in hall and antechamber, went the mysterious outpouring of the Virgen del Carmel, and so many comments were made that they reached the ears of the Inquisitor, who sent for the book. The severe tribunal kept it for ten years and then returned it without observation or alteration30, but not before all this had caused very great annoyance.
At last the foundation was finished, and Mother Theresa left for Salamanca and the Prince and Princess for Madrid, where a year afterwards Ruy Gómez died in his house in the lane of St. Mary. He expired in the arms of his old and faithful friend Juan de Escovedo; his last moments were aided by two barefooted Carmelite friars who came from Pastrana. The Princess gave way to paroxysms of grief, which were more like fits of temper; in the first moments she roared rather than wept over her sorrow, as she really loved the worthy31 man who had gratified her vanity and her senses, the only two poles which guided this lady's life. Suddenly, thinking herself like St. Theresa, inspired by Heaven, she determined at once to retire to the Carmelite convent at Pastrana and end her days in retirement32 and prayer. In vain the two monks33, her relations and friends put before her her obligations as a mother, the duties which the will of Ruy Gómez imposed on her by making her guardian34 of her children, and her strict obligation to administer the properties and fortunes of these minors35.
The widow's obstinacy36 was fanned by this opposition37, and as her only answer she requested the two friars to give her the habit. They replied that they could not do so without the permission of the superiors and the authorisation of Mother Theresa. The Princess shrugged38 her shoulders and ordered a new habit, but as one was not forthcoming at once, she attired39 herself in an old, dirty one and covered herself with a black veil, as she had seen St. Theresa do, never raising it to show her face. As the sandals of esparto grass hurt her bare feet she ordered them to be lined with the softest cloth. She also ordered a waggon covered with an awning40 like St. Theresa's, and with her duennas and maids set out for Pastrana, without taking leave of anyone and abandoning the body of her husband. Her mother, the Princess del Mélito, got into the cart almost by main force, so as to accompany her to the convent. One of the friars, Bartholomé de Jesus, seeing that she was really going, outstripped41 the Princess's waggon and arrived at the convent at two in the morning to warn the nuns42. The Prioress, Elizabeth de San Domingo, a discreet44 woman of rare virtue45, came downstairs, and on hearing that the Princess was arriving in a few hours, already habited as a nun43 and with the intention of remaining at the convent, exclaimed, clasping her hands in amazement46, "The Princess a nun—then I give up this house as lost."
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1
tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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3
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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4
retrace
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| v.折回；追溯，探源 | |
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5
waggon
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| n.运货马车，运货车；敞篷车箱 | |
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6
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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7
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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8
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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9
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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10
tunics
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| n.（动植物的）膜皮( tunic的名词复数 )；束腰宽松外衣；一套制服的短上衣；（天主教主教等穿的）短祭袍 | |
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11
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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12
vassals
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| n.奴仆( vassal的名词复数 )；（封建时代）诸侯；从属者；下属 | |
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13
monastery
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| n.修道院，僧院，寺院 | |
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intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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15
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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follower
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| n.跟随者；随员；门徒；信徒 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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alluded
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| 提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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prying
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| adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开 | |
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annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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piqued
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| v.伤害…的自尊心( pique的过去式和过去分词 )；激起（好奇心） | |
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complacent
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| adj.自满的；自鸣得意的 | |
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ingenuous
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| adj.纯朴的，单纯的；天真的；坦率的 | |
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marvels
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| n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 )；令人惊奇的事物（或事例）；不平凡的成果；成就v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 ) | |
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27
sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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29
breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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alteration
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| n.变更，改变；蚀变 | |
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31
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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32
retirement
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| n.退休，退职 | |
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monks
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| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
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guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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minors
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| n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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36
obstinacy
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| n.顽固；（病痛等）难治 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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38
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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attired
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| adj.穿着整齐的v.使穿上衣服，使穿上盛装( attire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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40
awning
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| n.遮阳篷；雨篷 | |
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41
outstripped
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| v.做得比…更好，（在赛跑等中）超过( outstrip的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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42
nuns
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| n.（通常指基督教的）修女， （佛教的）尼姑( nun的名词复数 ) | |
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43
nun
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| n.修女，尼姑 | |
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44
discreet
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| adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的 | |
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45
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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46
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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