 |
William Beckford
L'Esplendente (c. 1779-80)
The
plot of this early tale is quite simple. A young boy, Mehemed, raised
in the Mahometan faith by his family in the mountains
above Seville, is taught the teachings of Islam and the practice of
the faithful by his father, Abdoulrahman. Spain in the middle of the
17th century is an unhospitable place for Muslims. It is only in the
remote and secluded parts of the mountains that Mehemed (or Ferdinand,
as is his Christian name) can practice his ancestrial religion undisturbed
by the ruthless Christians and their Inquisition.
Mehemed grows to be a young man of a romantic nature. His prime pleasures
in his early days consists of culling the blossoms of the trees and
exploring the natural mysteries of the secret vale where his father
conceals him during a period of intended meditation and repose. He
is taught how to cultivate the land, and how ”to prune with judgment,
to graft the fruit upon another, & to collect the ripe seeds from
plants and flowers.” He is urged to study the Koran:
"So long, & so eagerly did he continue, that the day reclined, & darkness
surprised him before he was aware. Absorbed in meditation he forgot
to light the tapers which stood by the coffer on either side; & folding
his arms he remained motionless for Hours, quite lost in a reverie.
Heaviness insensibly overspread his eyes. He crept under the carpets, & lulled
by the riplings of the waters dropped asleep. The Dooms of Eblis & of
Harut were in his dreams." (pp.20-21)
Left by Abdoulrahman to his own devices it is not long before Mehemed
is restless and discontented in his meditative isolation. In an attempt
to find a passage out of the secret vale in which he is confined, he
falls down a cliff and is injured. Bruised and battered he manages
to return to a simple mosque built by his father and uncle, where he
tries to compose himself and heal his wounds. A few blank leaves and
a pencil left by his father attracts his attention and helps him to
pass the time, and he tries to sketch out in drawings the particulars
of his dream. Drawing so amuses him that soon he can think of little
else. In the brief time before his father’s return he makes rapid
progress in his newfound art.
Abdoulrahman returns with a guest, a wealthy Israelite who has saved
Mehemed’s uncle from a band of villains, and who is now given
a temporary refuge for himself and his riches in the mountains. Soon,
however, Abdoulrahman discovers his son’s sketches, and hearing
him tell of the pleasurable feelings their production has produced
in him he is outraged: ”O, Mehemed - these are idolatrous recreations!
We are forbidden by the prophet to imitate the works of Alla, or impiously
represent any of the Animals into whom he has inspired Life.” (p.31)
With these words Abdoulrahman tears up the drawings, and throws them ”to
the winds & the Torrents.” (p.32)
Mehemed is taken to meet the Israelite, Ben Jacoup, who is at that
moment being cared for by the boy’s mother, Almahide, and the
grateful uncle, Almansor. The young Muslim and the old Jew are both
in raptures over their new acquaintance, and a warm friendship soon
develops. From Jacoup Mehemed hears of the pleasures of the great cities
of the plain: ”Thus a multitude of new ideas poured in upon him, & he
burnt with impatience to see them realised.” (p.40) The old man
both encourages and discourages these desires, but he rapidly recognizes
the young man’s artistic inclination, and decides to aid Mehemed
in his painterly pursuits in spite of Abdoulrahman’s religious
conviction. ”These are ridiculous prejudices, & I would have
you dispise them. As often as you please during my residence amongst
these Hills, you shall repair to this Spot & divert yourself with
my Books. I can furnish you with pencils. There are colours in that
chest [...] its Contents are at yr devotion.” (p.45) Mehemed
is instantly occupied in copying the drawings of precious illuminated
manuscripts with so much ease and freedom that Jacoup is astonished.
In order to multiply the young disciple’s talents, and also to
divert his rambling inclination, he decides to teach him Hebrew; and
it is with equal fluency of genius that Mehemed adopts the fundamentals
of that knowledge.
But he is soon tired of these employments. His imagination craves livelier
objects to copy and work from, and he burns with a desire to visit
the great city of Seville. Jacoup, at first anxious not to show himself
a protector of a Muslim boy, is finally persuaded to lend his help
when Mehemed gives him a valuable silver vase. Both secretly congratulate
themselves at the fullfillment of their separate desires, ”The
Jew hugging himself upon the noble acquisition he had made at so small
an expence, & Meh’med rejoicing in the approaching accomplishment
of his Wishes.” (p.69)
A week later, aided by Jacoup who has already left, Mehemed’s
flight to Seville is effected. Jacoup suggests that the young man in
order to evade his father’s investigations would be better off
in the safety of a convent, and in the able hands of Father Teronimo. ”Safe
within that sacred Inclosure you may remain, & as his disciple
perfect yourself in an Art to which you so fervently incline. The Church
is filld with the masterpieces of Murillo, which my holy Friend will
assist you in copying; & after some Months, pass’d not unprofitably
in this retreat, I think you may enlarge yr circle of acquaintance & enjoy
the pleasures of Seville without risque of your Father’s perquisitions.” (p.75)
Mehemed must also assume his Christian name of Ferdinand, and hide
all trace of his Moorish ancestry.
Teronimo proves to be a competent if limited mentor. Ferdinand is soon
in need of a more skilled teacher. He finds one in the famous Murillo,
who returns to Seville just in time to find Ferdinand busy copying
his work:
"Murillo arrived in Seville, from a Palace he had been long adorning; & coming
to review his works in the Caridad, retreated several steps backwards
when he perceivd one of his most capital imitated & surpass’d.
Instead, however, of conceiving any mean or jealous sentiments he ran
to embrace the Artist with transport; but when so youthful a Figure
advanced to receive his congratulations, he could scarcely credit his
eyes, or believe him the Author of the piece he admired." (pp.82-83)
Under Murillo’s creative supervision Ferdinand explodes into
artistic frenzy, and he, L’Esplendente, is almost instantly the
talk of the town. His work is eagerly sought after but instead of painting
for the nobles he continues to amuse himself with ”lighter sketches & suites
of his own romantic ideas.” (p.91) He lives in a small cottage
of Murillo’s at the oceanside, and finds immense pleasure in
mixing with the gipsies:
"Of a Night, twas his greatest pleasure to frequent the coves & recesses
of the Cliffs on the Coast where the Gitanos assembled; & leaning
over the mossy acclivities to notice their sports below. Sometimes
he would join the Revellers, share all their freaks, & plung into
the Waters with the foremost of the Band; shew himself as active & pliant
as themselves. This prowess was not unobserved by the Female part of
the Company, who did not disdain accepting him as a partner in the
Dance which generally succeeded these marine expeditions. In this exercise
he soon excelled, & after the second Evening gained the prize of
suppleness & agility. The sly looks & inviting glances of his
Companions stole into his Heart. He found himself subdued by their
bewitching gestures, & thought the Morning approached too soon
which summond them away." (pp.91-93)
Eventually his days at the cottage are over and he enters into the
paid service of the Duke d’Arcos, a grandee of Spain, and a man
more appreciative of the arts than most of his station. A thousand
ducats ensures him of Ferdinand’s future productions, and he
is glad that he at last has found a painter worthy of painting his
daughter, Donna Rosalia.
On their way to the Duke’s castle the company stays a short while
in Cordova. Ferdinand is struck by remorse when he visits the Cathedral,
formerly a mosque of great importance, and now desecrated by Christian
worship. He recalls his father, whose agonies he envision: ”A
cold sepulcral gust, which flew along the Arcades, seemed to bear voices
which apraised him with having rejected a Parents admonitions. He thought
the very marbles murmur’d, & that the pillars rung with hollow
sounds [...].” (p.110) Ferdinand flees the Cathedral only to
indulge in the riotous celebrations of the city’s nobles. He
is an instant success - his skill in dancing, and his ”easy & animated
flow of eloquence” (p.112) makes everybody regret his and the
Duke’s inevitable departure.
At length they arrive at the Grandee’s castle, where Ferdinand
is eagerly received, and installed in an elegant room. The Duke shows
the painter his collection of masterpieces, and indicates two empty
spaces; one for the best of Ferdinand’s future work, and the
other for a likeness of Donna Rosalia. Ferdinand is introduced to the
Duke’s daughter:
"At the extremity of this retired spot, he perceived a number of graceful
Figures in white, which to his animated Imagination seemed the Spirits,
or Sylvan Deities. The tallest & most elegant of the group, throwing
down something she held in her hand, ran lightly to meet the Duke;
her veil floated lonely behind. She passed Ferdinand like a transitory
Breeze, & strumming along, fell down at her Father’s feet."
(p.121)
Unknown to the father, who is busy with his affairs, the young couple
fall madly in love. Meanwhile the Duke has received word from Madrid
that he has been awarded the Viceroyalty of Majorca. He expresses an
ardent wish for Ferdinand to accompany him, and when the painter understands
that Rosalia is not to be left behind, he accepts with pleasure.
Work is begun on the portrait. At night, Ferdinand, exalted with the
events of the day, walks in half-daze some way from the castle; and
suddenly finds himself near a rapid stream. He rests. Some unknown
feeling compels him to stay:
"A cold perspiration bathed his forhead. His feet refused to bear him
up; & falling down on the grey moss which covered the surface of
the craggs, he lay oppressed & dejected, whilst faint reverberations
of some wildly musical sounds stole into his Ear. The melody seemed
to approach nearer & nearer, but ceased on a sudden, & a voice
was then heard, wailing amongst the promontories. At this instant,
a mist arising from the stream spread gradually over the Dell. Ferdinand,
alarmed & agitated, looked up; & thro the vapours perceived
some one descending the Cliffs, & advancing towards him." (p.131)
It is one of the gipsies, a gitanilla of visionary powers, who has
descended on him to deliver an ominous prediction: a death will follow
on his leaving Andalusia. She vanishes, and Ferdinand returns to the
castle, dismayed and full of fear. A window is open, and through it
he hears Rosalia’s voice, reading aloud from the adventures of
Orlando and Charlemagne. He is enthralled as much by the stories as
by her voice, and he begins to sketch ”after the principal adventures.” (p.134)
Rosalia is charmed by the drawings he presents to her the following
morning – and there the manuscript ends, in mid-sentence: ”The
happy Ferdinand was almost” (p.135).
***
Beckfordiana
now presents this manuscript in a tentative, preliminary transcription.
Arguably one of the more indecipherable of Beckford's
manuscripts, this transcription is riddled with flaws: innumerable
square brackets containing "ILLEGIBLE" appear throughout
the tale, and these testify to the difficult task of transcribing
what is one of
Beckford's most elusive tales. Hopefully, this online edition will
spark not only masses of helpful and much needed e-mails correcting
the transcription (and offering suggestions for missing words where
such
are needed),
but
also a discussion of the manuscript in the development of Beckford's
career as an author.
Recently
published by Didier
Girard in a French
translation, this is the first
English, original edition of the manuscript.
Bibliography:
L’Esplendente;
MS. Beckford d.11. Extant manuscript in the Bodleian Library, Oxford,
described in T.D. Rogers, Catalogue
of the Papers of William Beckford (1760-1844), [London 1988],
27: “Draft,
with many alterations, of ‘L’Esplendente’, before
1780 [...] iv + 138 pages.” First described (inaccurately) in
Guy Chapman, A Bibliography of William Beckford of Fonthill,
London 1930, pp. 95-96. Also mentioned in Guy Chapman, Beckford, second
ed.,
London 1952, 149; discussed in some depth in André Parreaux,
Appendice G. L’Esplendente, in William Beckford,
Auteur de Vathek (1760-1844). Etude de la Creation Litteraire,
Paris 1960, pp. 535-540, with quotes originating from Boyd Alexander’s
transcripts of the MS.; used and quoted in Boyd Alexander, England’s
Wealthiest Son. A Study of William Beckford, London 1962, pp.
11-13, 40-42, 44-46, 248, n. 8 p. 273; quoted from Alexander (1962)
and used in Robert J.
Gemmett, William Beckford, Boston 1977, 34; in Brian Fothergill, Beckford
of Fonthill, London 1979, pp. 41-42; and in Kim Sloan, Alexander
and John Robert Cozens. The Poetry of Landscape, New Haven and
London 1986, 76. Discussed at length in Dick Claésson, "A
survey of William Beckford's unpublished romance L'Esplendente",
in Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century, vol. 358, 1998,
pp. 189-201. The
date of composition has been shown to be before March 11, 1780;
cf. Parreaux (1960), 535. A partial resemblance to the Biographical
Memoirs of Extraordinary Painters (1780) by Beckford suggests
that the MS. was not composed before 1777, when the Memoirs are
believed to have been primarily written. I believe the approximate
time of its
composition to have been between late 1779 and early 1780. The transcriber
gratefully acknowledges the permission by the Bodleian Library, Oxford
to use and quote from the manuscript.
This transcription is © Dick Claésson.
|
