When the duke heard this all his anger was near vanishing in a fitof laughter, and he said, "The things that happen to Senor Don Quixoteare so extraordinary that I am ready to believe this lacquey of mineis not one; but let us adopt this plan and device; let us put offthe marriage for, say, a fortnight, and let us keep this personabout whom we are uncertain in close confinement, and perhaps in thecourse of that time he may return to his original shape; for the spitewhich the enchanters entertain against Senor Don Quixote cannot lastso long, especially as it is of so little advantage to them topractise these deceptions and transformations."

"Oh, senor," said Sancho, "those scoundrels are well used tochanging whatever concerns my master from one thing into another. Aknight that he overcame some time back, called the Knight of theMirrors, they turned into the shape of the bachelor Samson Carrasco ofour town and a great friend of ours; and my lady Dulcinea del Tobosothey have turned into a common country wench; so I suspect thislacquey will have to live and die a lacquey all the days of his life."

Here the Rodriguez's daughter exclaimed, "Let him be who he may,this man that claims me for a wife; I am thankful to him for the same,for I had rather he the lawful wife of a lacquey than the cheatedmistress of a gentleman; though he who played me false is nothing ofthe kind."

To be brief, all the talk and all that had happened ended in Tosilosbeing shut up until it was seen how his transformation turned out. Allhailed Don Quixote as victor, but the greater number were vexed anddisappointed at finding that the combatants they had been so anxiouslywaiting for had not battered one another to pieces, just as the boysare disappointed when the man they are waiting to see hanged doesnot come out, because the prosecution or the court has pardoned him.The people dispersed, the duke and Don Quixote returned to the castle,they locked up Tosilos, Dona Rodriguez and her daughter remainedperfectly contented when they saw that any way the affair must endin marriage, and Tosilos wanted nothing else.

CHAPTER LVII

WHICH TREATS OF HOW DON QUIXOTE TOOK LEAVE OF THE DUKE, AND OFWHAT FOLLOWED WITH THE WITTY AND IMPUDENT ALTISIDORA, ONE OF THEDUCHESS'S DAMSELS

Don Quixote now felt it right to quit a life of such idleness ashe was leading in the castle; for he fancied that he was makinghimself sorely missed by suffering himself to remain shut up andinactive amid the countless luxuries and enjoyments his hosts lavishedupon him as a knight. and he felt too that he would have to render astrict account to heaven of that indolence and seclusion; and so oneday he asked the duke and duchess to grant him permission to takehis departure. They gave it, showing at the same time that they werevery sorry he was leaving them. The duchess gave his wife's letters toSancho Panza, who shed tears over them, saying, "Who would havethought that such grand hopes as the news of my government bred inmy wife Teresa Panza's breast would end in my going back now to thevagabond adventures of my master Don Quixote of La Mancha? Still I'mglad to see my Teresa behaved as she ought in sending the acorns,for if she had not sent them I'd have been sorry, and she'd have shownherself ungrateful. It is a comfort to me that they can't call thatpresent a bribe; for I had got the government already when she sentthem, and it's but reasonable that those who have had a good turn donethem should show their gratitude, if it's only with a trifle. Afterall I went into the government naked, and I come out of it naked; so Ican say with a safe conscience -and that's no small matter- 'naked Iwas born, naked I find myself, I neither lose nor gain.'"

Thus did Sancho soliloquise on the day of their departure, as DonQuixote, who had the night before taken leave of the duke and duchess,coming out made his appearance at an early hour in full armour inthe courtyard of the castle. The whole household of the castle werewatching him from the corridors, and the duke and duchess, too, cameout to see him. Sancho was mounted on his Dapple, with his alforjas,valise, and proven. supremely happy because the duke's majordomo,the same that had acted the part of the Trifaldi, had given him alittle purse with two hundred gold crowns to meet the necessaryexpenses of the road, but of this Don Quixote knew nothing as yet.While all were, as has been said, observing him, suddenly from amongthe duennas and handmaidens the impudent and witty Altisidora liftedup her voice and said in pathetic tones:

Give ear, cruel knight;Draw rein; where's the needOf spurring the flanksOf that ill-broken steed?From what art thou flying?No dragon I am,Not even a sheep,But a tender young lamb.Thou hast jilted a maidenAs fair to beholdAs nymph of DianaOr Venus of old.

Bireno, AEneas, what worse shall I call thee?

Barabbas go with thee! All evil befall thee!

In thy claws, ruthless robber,Thou bearest awayThe heart of a meekLoving maid for thy prey,Three kerchiefs thou stealest,And garters a pair,From legs than the whitestOf marble more fair;And the sighs that pursue theeWould burn to the groundTwo thousand Troy Towns,If so many were found.

Bireno, AEneas, what worse shall I call thee?

Barabbas go with thee! All evil befall thee!

May no bowels of mercyTo Sancho be granted,And thy DulcineaBe left still enchanted,May thy falsehood to meFind its punishment in her,For in my land the justOften pays for the sinner.May thy grandest adventuresDiscomfitures prove,May thy joys be all dreams,And forgotten thy love.

Bireno, AEneas, what worse shall I call thee?

Barabbas go with thee! All evil befall thee!

May thy name be abhorredFor thy conduct to ladies,From London to England,From Seville to Cadiz;May thy cards be unlucky,Thy hands contain ne'er aKing, seven, or aceWhen thou playest primera;When thy corns are cutMay it be to the quick;When thy grinders are drawnMay the roots of them stick.

Bireno, AEneas, what worse shall I call thee?

Barabbas go with thee! All evil befall thee!

All the while the unhappy Altisidora was bewailing herself in theabove strain Don Quixote stood staring at her; and without utteringa word in reply to her he turned round to Sancho and said, "Sanchomy friend, I conjure thee by the life of thy forefathers tell me thetruth; say, hast thou by any chance taken the three kerchiefs andthe garters this love-sick maid speaks of?"

To this Sancho made answer, "The three kerchiefs I have; but thegarters, as much as 'over the hills of Ubeda.'"

The duchess was amazed at Altisidora's assurance; she knew thatshe was bold, lively, and impudent, but not so much so as to ventureto make free in this fashion; and not being prepared for the joke, herastonishment was all the greater. The duke had a mind to keep up thesport, so he said, "It does not seem to me well done in you, sirknight, that after having received the hospitality that has beenoffered you in this very castle, you should have ventured to carry offeven three kerchiefs, not to say my handmaid's garters. It shows a badheart and does not tally with your reputation. Restore her garters, orelse I defy you to mortal combat, for I am not afraid of rascallyenchanters changing or altering my features as they changed his whoencountered you into those of my lacquey, Tosilos."

"God forbid," said Don Quixote, "that I should draw my sword againstyour illustrious person from which I have received such great favours.The kerchiefs I will restore, as Sancho says he has them; as to thegarters that is impossible, for I have not got them, neither has he;and if your handmaiden here will look in her hiding-places, dependupon it she will find them. I have never been a thief, my lord duke,nor do I mean to be so long as I live, if God cease not to have mein his keeping. This damsel by her own confession speaks as one inlove, for which I am not to blame, and therefore need not askpardon, either of her or of your excellence, whom I entreat to havea better opinion of me, and once more to give me leave to pursue myjourney."

"And may God so prosper it, Senor Don Quixote," said the duchess,"that we may always hear good news of your exploits; God speed you;for the longer you stay, the more you inflame the hearts of thedamsels who behold you; and as for this one of mine, I will sochastise her that she will not transgress again, either with hereyes or with her words."

"One word and no more, O valiant Don Quixote, I ask you to hear,"said Altisidora, "and that is that I beg your pardon about the theftof the garters; for by God and upon my soul I have got them on, andI have fallen into the same blunder as he did who went looking for hisass being all the while mounted on it."

"Didn't I say so?" said Sancho. "I'm a likely one to hide thefts!Why if I wanted to deal in them, opportunities came ready enough to mein my government."

Don Quixote bowed his head, and saluted the duke and duchess and allthe bystanders, and wheeling Rocinante round, Sancho following himon Dapple, he rode out of the castle, shaping his course forSaragossa.

CHAPTER LVIII

WHICH TELLS HOW ADVENTURES CAME CROWDING ON DON QUIXOTE IN SUCHNUMBERS THAT THEY GAVE ONE ANOTHER NO BREATHING-TIME

When Don Quixote saw himself in open country, free, and relievedfrom the attentions of Altisidora, he felt at his ease, and in freshspirits to take up the pursuit of chivalry once more; and turning toSancho he said, "Freedom, Sancho, is one of the most precious giftsthat heaven has bestowed upon men; no treasures that the earth holdsburied or the sea conceals can compare with it; for freedom, as forhonour, life may and should be ventured; and on the other hand,captivity is the greatest evil that can fall to the lot of man. Isay this, Sancho, because thou hast seen the good cheer, the abundancewe have enjoyed in this castle we are leaving; well then, amid thosedainty banquets and snow-cooled beverages I felt as though I wereundergoing the straits of hunger, because I did not enjoy them withthe same freedom as if they had been mine own; for the sense ofbeing under an obligation to return benefits and favours received is arestraint that checks the independence of the spirit. Happy he, towhom heaven has given a piece of bread for which he is not bound togive thanks to any but heaven itself!"

"For all your worship says," said Sancho, "it is not becoming thatthere should he no thanks on our part for two hundred gold crowns thatthe duke's majordomo has given me in a little purse which I carry nextmy heart, like a warming plaster or comforter, to meet any chancecalls; for we shan't always find castles where they'll entertain us;now and then we may light upon roadside inns where they'll cudgel us."

In conversation of this sort the knight and squire errant werepursuing their journey, when, after they had gone a little more thanhalf a league, they perceived some dozen men dressed like labourersstretched upon their cloaks on the grass of a green meadow eatingtheir dinner. They had beside them what seemed to be white sheetsconcealing some objects under them, standing upright or lying flat,and arranged at intervals. Don Quixote approached the diners, and,saluting them courteously first, he asked them what it was thosecloths covered. "Senor," answered one of the party, "under thesecloths are some images carved in relief intended for a retablo weare putting up in our village; we carry them covered up that theymay not be soiled, and on our shoulders that they may not be broken."

"With your good leave," said Don Quixote, "I should like to seethem; for images that are carried so carefully no doubt must be fineones."

"I should think they were!" said the other; "let the money they costspeak for that; for as a matter of fact there is not one of themthat does not stand us in more than fifty ducats; and that yourworship may judge; wait a moment, and you shall see with your owneyes;" and getting up from his dinner he went and uncovered thefirst image, which proved to be one of Saint George on horsebackwith a serpent writhing at his feet and the lance thrust down itsthroat with all that fierceness that is usually depicted. The wholegroup was one blaze of gold, as the saying is. On seeing it DonQuixote said, "That knight was one of the best knights-errant the armyof heaven ever owned; he was called Don Saint George, and he wasmoreover a defender of maidens. Let us see this next one."

The man uncovered it, and it was seen to be that of Saint Martinon his horse, dividing his cloak with the beggar. The instant DonQuixote saw it he said, "This knight too was one of the Christianadventurers, but I believe he was generous rather than valiant, asthou mayest perceive, Sancho, by his dividing his cloak with thebeggar and giving him half of it; no doubt it was winter at thetime, for otherwise he would have given him the whole of it, socharitable was he."

"It was not that, most likely," said Sancho, "but that he heldwith the proverb that says, 'For giving and keeping there's need ofbrains.'"

Don Quixote laughed, and asked them to take off the next cloth,underneath which was seen the image of the patron saint of theSpains seated on horseback, his sword stained with blood, trampling onMoors and treading heads underfoot; and on seeing it Don Quixoteexclaimed, "Ay, this is a knight, and of the squadrons of Christ! Thisone is called Don Saint James the Moorslayer, one of the bravestsaints and knights the world ever had or heaven has now."

They then raised another cloth which it appeared covered SaintPaul falling from his horse, with all the details that are usuallygiven in representations of his conversion. When Don Quixote saw it,rendered in such lifelike style that one would have said Christ wasspeaking and Paul answering, "This," he said, "was in his time thegreatest enemy that the Church of God our Lord had, and the greatestchampion it will ever have; a knight-errant in life, a steadfast saintin death, an untiring labourer in the Lord's vineyard, a teacher ofthe Gentiles, whose school was heaven, and whose instructor and masterwas Jesus Christ himself."

Title: Don Quixote
Author: Miqeul de Cervantes
Viewed 440112 times

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