Reel Life (Sep 1913 - Mar 1914)

6 Red Life hiy Bias In order to get a clear impression of the picture Victor Hugo had in mind when he wrote Ruy Bias, in 1838, we should rememiber that Spain — which in ISOO was the world's greatest nation, under the Emperor, Charles V — had been gradually degenerating, going to pieces, for two hundred years — and was, in 1698 a land filled with ' the grossest corruption, with an aristocracy who, seeing no hope for the future, were squandering their fortunes in the wildest sort of dissipation, taxing the people until they starved and committed' all sorts of crimes openly in the streets df Madrid, utterly incompetent and conscienceless as a governiing class. The army numbered scarcely eight thousand, unpaid, starving and barefooted men — and many of the Grandees who had run through their entire ifortunes had drifted into the ranks of the Zaiiri, or gipsy-bohemian street rdbbers. Back of all this, one should also remember that the aristocracy kept in iforce all of the false dignity and rigid observances, developed under Philip II, which made upper class life about as cheerless and monotonous as that of a monastic hermit in hi'S cell. No woman could speak to a man unless in the presence of a duenna — she couldn't take a walk out of doors unattended — and every branch of society was seething with intrigue of every description. The King, Charles II, was merely a figure-head, politically — ^spending his last years in hunting, praying, dissipating, as much as possible away from his young and heautiful Queen, Maria of Neubourg, w^ho was chaperoned to" suoh an extent by her duennas that she was a prisoner in the palace. The despotic government was such that the King held the power of life and death over his subjects. For one of the masses to openly acknowledge that he loved the Queen was actually high treason, punishable by instant death. Individuals, of the masses, existed merely by his royal pleasure — ^if anything about them displeased him, he could have them executed without a question being raised by anyone. These facts must be kept in mind to understand both the temerity and the fears of Ruy Bias — whom we first meet as a lackey in the service of Don Salluste de Bazan, Marquis of Finlas and President of the Alcaldes of the Court — (a comibination of Secret Service Ohieif and Head of the Government Police) . Don Salluste, at the moment, is under sentence of banishment to his Castillian estates because he will not marry one of the Queen's Bavarian Maids of Honor whom he has seduced — and is boiling over with schemes for revenging himself upon the Queen, HOOVERJ' who has caused his downfall. Looking from the window he sees, in the street, his cousin Don Caesar de Bazan — who, having run through all his money, has become a Zaiiri, consorting with the street and highway bandits, though supposed to be in the Indies — and sends for him. When Don Caesar — who, though an adventurer, is still a gentleman of far better character than himself — enters the room, Don Salluste offers to reinstate him — provide him with money, etc. — if he will assist in obtaining revenge upon a woman. This, Don Caesar indigmantly refuses to do — throwing the purse of gold at his cousin's feet. Don Salluste then leaves the Toom for a moment, and Ruy Bias discovers in Don Caesar an old and tried friend among the Zafiri. Ruy Bias, loving the Queen as he does, feels bitterly the degradation of his lackey's livery — and impulsively tells his friend how he daily risks his life to obtain certain German flowers ifor the Queen and drop them over a high wall into her private garden. Don Caesar is sympathizing with him when the Marquis returns — and by that scoundrelly Grandee's order, is arrested by two alguazils who send him as a slave to the Moors in Barbary. Don Salluste has noticed with some amazement a remarkable resemblance between Ruy Bias and Don Caesar. Making the lackey write and sign a bond to serve him faithfully under any and all conditions, he tells him he will advance his fortunes and make him a Grandee of Spain. Handing Ruy Bias a handsome court-sword, he throws a richly embroidered cloak around his shoulders, places a Grandee's hat upon his head — ^and when the Queen enters the long gallery at the back of the room, introduces Ruy Bias to the Court as his cousin, Don Caesar de Bazan — just returned from the Indies. Then Don Salluste retires to his estates, temporarily, in exile — ^after whispering to his protege that he wishes him to make the Queen fall in love with him. Through the influence of another relative at Court, Ruy Bias is presently brought to the King's notice, at the Escorial, and is sent by him with a royal letter to the Queen in Madrid. The Queen has missed her houquet of German flowers in the gairden ifor three days — ^but found a blood-stained bit of lace at the foot of the wall, upon the last occasion, and a love-note inside the bouquet. Neglected by the King, she is already in love with this devoted admirer whom she has never seen. When Ruy Bias presents the King's letter, she notices that a bit of lace is missing from his doublet and that his left hand is bound up in a bloodstained handkerchief — wounded, undoubtedly, upon the sharp iron