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the whole into a promise, that he should one day see himself joined in the just and holy bonds of matrimony with his beloved Dulcinea del Toboso, from whose fortunate womb would proceed those whelps (meaning his sons) which would perpetuate the glory of la Mancha. In this persuasion, therefore, and firm belief, he raised his voice, and, heaving a profound sigh, replied, "O thou! whosoever thou art, whose prognostication sounds so favourably in mine ears, I beg thou wilt, in my name, beseech the sage enchanter who takes charge of my affairs, that he will not leave me to perish in the confinement which I now suffer, until I shall have seen the accomplishment of those joyful and incomparable promises which thou hast uttered in my behalf. So shall I glory in the hardships of this prison, and bear with pleasure these chains with which my limbs are fettered: and instead of comparing the boards on which I lie to the rough, uncomfortable field of battle, consider them as the soothing down of the most happy and luxurious marriage-bed. With respect to the consolation of Sancho Panza, my 'squire, I confide in his virtue and affection, which will not allow him to forsake me either in prosperity or adversity; for should his evil fortune, or my unhappy fate, hinder me from bestowing upon him the island, or some equivalent according to my promise, at least he shall not lose his wages, specified and bequeathed to him in my will that is already made,-a recompense which, though proportioned to my own slender ability, comes far short of his great and faithful services."

Here the 'squire bowed in the most respect ful manner, and kissed both his hands, as he could not make his compliments to one of them apart, they being fast bound together. Then the apparitions taking the cage upon their shoulders, carried it to the waggon, in which it was immediately fixed.

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sported in this manner, at such a pace as these lazy, slow-footed animals seem to promise; for they used always to be carried through the air with surprising swiftness, wrapt up in some dark and dusky cloud, or in a fiery chariot, or mounted on a hypogriff, or some such creature: so that, before God! I am utterly confounded at my own fate, in being thus transported on a waggon drawn by oxen. But, perhaps, the chivalry and enchantments of this age follow a different path from that which was pursued of old; and as I am a new knight on the face of the earth, and the first who revived the longforgotten order of errantry, perhaps they may have also newly invented other kinds of incantation and other methods of conveying those whom they enchant. What is thy opinion of the matter, son Sancho?"-" I know not what my opinion is (replied the 'squire), because I am not so well read in the scriptures of errantry as your worship; but for all that I will venture to affirm, ay and swear to it, that these apparitions who stroll about us, are not altogether catholic."-" Catholic! my stars !* (answered the knight), how can they be catholic, when they are all devils who have assumed fantastical shapes, and come hither on purpose to perform this deed, and leave me in my present situation? But that thou mayest be convinced of the truth of what I allege, endeavour to touch and feel them,† and thou wilt perceive that they have no other bodies but forms of condensed air, consisting of nothing but mere semblance."-"Fore God! sir (cried Sancho), I have made that trial already, and that same devil who goes about so busy is well provided with good substantial flesh, and has another property widely different from what is reported of evil spirits, all of whom, they say, stink of brimstone and other bad smells; whereas he is so well scented with amber, that you may perceive it at the distance of half a league." Sancho made this remark on Don Fernando, who being a man of fashion, probably wore scented linen. "Marvel not at that circumstance, friend Sancho (replied the knight); for thou must know that devils are a set of very sagacious beings, and although they bring smells along with them, they themselves being spirits, can produce no smell; or if any odour proceeds from them, it cannot be agreeable, but rather stinking and unwholesome, because they carry their hell about them wheresoever they are, and their torments admit of no kind of alleviation: now sweet smells, being agreeable and delicious, can

In the original, mi padre! my father! which I have changed for an exclamation more frequently used in our language.

In the text the knight is guilty of a palpable solecism, in desiring Sancho to touch and feel that which he himself expressly observes was subject neither to touch nor feeling.

not possibly proceed from beings which are productive of nought but evil: therefore if, in thy opinion, that devil smells of amber, either thy senses are perverted, or he wants to impose upon thy understanding, by making thee be lieve that he is not an inhabitant of hell."

Don Fernando and Cardenio overhearing this dialogue between the master and his 'squire, were afraid of Sancho's stumbling upon the discovery of their whole plot, in which he seemed already to have made great progress: therefore determined to hasten their departure, and calling the landlord aside, ordered him to saddle Rozinante, and put the pannel on Sancho's ass. This task he performed with great despatch, while the curate agreed to give the troopers so much a day for attending Don Quixote to the town where he lived. Cardenio having fastened the target to one side of the pummel of Rozinante's saddle, and the basin to the other, made signs for Sancho to mount his ass, and lead his master's steed by the bridle, and then stationed two of the troopers, with their carbines, on each side of the waggon. But before it began to move, the landlady, her daughter, and Maritornes, came out to take leave of Don Qxixote, feigning themselves extremely affected with his misfortune; upon which he said to them, "Weep not, worthy ladies; all these disasters are incident to those who choose my profession; and if I were not subject to such calamities, I should not deem myself a renowned knight-errant; for these things never happen to knights of little fame and reputation, who are never regarded, scarce even remembered on the face of the earth. It is quite otherwise with the valiant, whose virtue and valour are envied by many princes and rivals, who endeavour by the most perfidious means to destroy them; but nevertheless, virtue is so powerful, that of herself she will, in spite of all the necromancy possessed by the first inventor, Zoroaster, come off conqueror in every severe trial, and shine refulgent in the world, as the sun shines in the heavens. Pardon me, beau teous ladies, if I have given you any disgust, through neglect or omission; for willingly and knowingly I never offended a living soul; and pray to God to deliver me from this prison in which I am confined by some malicious enchanter: for if I regain my liberty, the favours I have received from your courtesy in this case tle shall never escape my remembrance, but always be acknowledged with gratitude, service, and respect."

While the knight made these professions to the ladies of the castle, the curate and barber took their leave of Don Fernando and his companions, the captain and his brother, and all the happy ladies, especially Dorothea and Lu

cinda: they embraced each other, and agreed to maintain a correspondence by letters, Don Fernando giving the curate a direction, by which he might write to him an account of the knight's future behaviour and fate, than which, he protested, nothing could yield him more pleasure: and promising, for his own part, to inform the priest of every thing which he thought would conduce to his satisfaction, relating to his own marriage, the baptism of Zo rayda, the success of Don Lewis, and the return of Lucinda to her father's house: the priest having assured him that he would obey his commands with the utmost punctuality, they embraced again, and repeated their mutual proffers of service. The innkeeper coming to the curate, put into his hand a bundle of pa pers, which he said he had found in the lining of the portmanteau, along with the novel of the Impertinent Curiosity; and since the owner had not returned that way, he desired the priest to accept of them; for as he himself could not read, he had no occasion for such useless furniture: the curate thanked him for his present, which he immediately opened, and found written in the title-page, Rinconete and Cortadilla,* a novel; from whence he concluded that, since the Impertinent Curiosity was an enter taining story, this might also have some merit, as being probably a work of the same author; and on this supposition put it carefully up, intending to peruse it with the first convenient opportunity; then he and his friend the barber mounting their beasts, with their faces still disguised, that they might not be known by Don Quixote, jogged on behind the waggon, and the order of their march was this; first of all proceeded the cart, conducted by the driver, and guarded on each side by the troopers with their carbines, as we have already observed; then followed Sancho Panza upon his ass, leading Rozinante by the bridle; and in the rear of all, came the curate and the barber masked, and mounted on their trusty mules, with a grave and solemn air, marching no faster than the slow pace of the oxen would allow; while the knight sat within his cage, his hands fettered and his legs outstretched, leaning against the bars, with such silence and resignation, that he looked more like a statue of stone than a man of flesh and blood; in this slow and silent manner they had travelled about a couple of leagues, when they arrived in a valley, which the waggoner thinking a convenient spot for his purpose, proposed to the curate, that they should halt to refresh themselves, and let the oxen feed; but the barber was of opinion, that they should proceed a little farther to the other side of a rising ground, which appeared at a small distance, where he knew there was another valley

Written by Cervantes himself.

better stored with grass, and much more agreeable than this in which the waggoner proposed to halt. The advice of Mr Nicholas was approv ed, and they jogged on accordingly.

About this time the curate chancing to look back, perceived behind them six or seven men well mounted, who soon overtook them, as they did not travel at the phlegmatic pace of the oxen, but like people who rode on ecclesiastic mules, and were desirous of spending the heat of the day at an inn that appeared within less than a league of the waggon; these expeditious strangers coming up with our slow travellers, saluted them courteously, and one among them, who was actually a canon of Toledo, and mas ter of those who accompanied him, observing the regular procession of the waggon, troopers, Sancho, Rozinante, the curate, and barber, and, in particular, Don Quixote encaged and secured as he was, could not help asking why and whither they were conveying that man in such a manner though he had already conjectured, from the badges of the troopers, that he must be some atrocious robber or delinquent, the punishment of whom belonged to the holy brotherhood. One of the troopers, to whom the question was put, answered," Signor, the gentleman himself will tell you the meaning of his travelling in this manner; for our parts, we know nothing at all of the matter." The knight, overhearing what passed, said to the strangers, "Gentlemen, if you are skilled and conversant in matters of knight-errantry, I will communicate my misfortune; otherwise there is no reason why I should fatigue myself with the relation."

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By this time the curate and barber having perceived the travellers in conversation with the knight came up, in order to prevent their plot from being discovered, just as the canon had begun to answer Don Quixote in these words: Truly, brother, I am better acquainted with books of chivalry than with the summaries of Villalpando; so that, if there be nothing else requisite, you may freely impart to me as much as you please."—" A God's name, then (said Don Quixote), if that be the case, you must know, signor cavalier, that I am enchanted in this cage, through the envy and fraud of mischievous necromancers; for virtue is always more persecuted by the wicked than beloved by the righteous: a knight-errant I am, though none of those whose names fame never enrolled in her eternal records; but of that number, whom maugre, and in despite of envy herself, and all the magi whom Persia ever produced, with the brachmans of India, and gymnosophists of Ethiopia, will leave their names engraved on the temple of immortality, as examples and patterns to succeeding ages, by which all knights-errant may see what steps they must follow, if they wish to attain the height and honourable summit of arms."

Here the curate interposing, said, "Signor Don Quixote speaks no more than the truth ; he is enchanted in that waggon, not on account of his own crimes or misdemeanors, but through the malice of those who are disgusted at virtue and offended at valour: this, signor, is the Knight of the Rueful Countenance, whose name perhaps you have heard, and whose valiant exploits and mighty achievements will be engraved on durable brass, and carved in eternal marble, in spite of the unwearied efforts of malice to cancel and of envy to obscure them."

The canon hearing such a style proceed not only from the prisoner's mouth, but also from the lips of him who was free, had well nigh crossed himself with astonishment, and could not conceive what had befallen him, while his whole company were seized with the same degree of amazement: but Sancho Panza, who was near enough to hear what passed, being willing to undeceive the strangers, said to them, "Gentlemen, whether what I am going to say be ill or well taken, I must tell you the case is this: my master Don Quixote is no more enchanted than the mother that bore me; he enjoys his right wits, eats, drinks, and does his occasions, like other men, and as he himself was wont to do before he was encaged: now, if this be the truth of the matter, how can any man persuade me that he is enchanted? since I have heard divers persons observe, that those who are enchanted neither eat, sleep, nor speak; whereas my master, if he is not hindered, will talk like thirty barristers. (Then turning to the curate he proceeded thus:) Ah, Mr Curate, Mr Curate! you think I don't know you, and imagine that I cannot dive into the meaning of these new enchantments; but you are mistaken: I know you very well, for all your masking; and can smell out your plots, disguise them as you will; in short, as the saying is, Just are virtue's fears, where envy domineers;' and Bounty will not stay, where niggards bear the sway.' Damn the devil, if it had not been for your reverence, my master, by this time, would have been married to the princess Micomicona, and I should have been an earl at least; for less I could I not expect, either from the generosity of my lord of the Rueful Countenance, or from the greatness of my own services: but now I see the truth of what is commonly said, that fortune turns faster than a mill-wheel and those who were yesterday at top, may find themselves at bottom to-day. It grieves me, on account of my poor wife and children, who, instead of seeing their father come home in the post of governor or viceroy of some island or kingdom, as they had great reason to expect, will behold him returning in the station of a common groom; all this I have observed, Mr Curate, for no other reason but to prevail upon your fathership to make a conscience of the ill treatment my master receives at your hands;

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and consider that God may call you to account in the next world for this captivity of my lord Don Quixote, and for all the succours and be nefits that are prevented by his being thus confined."

"Snuff me these candles (cried the barber, hearing the 'squire's declaration), why sure, Sancho, you belong to your master's fraternity; by the Lord! I find you ought to keep him company in his cage, and undergo the same sort of enchantment, so much are you infected with the humour of his chivalry: in an unhappy moment were you got with child by his promises, and in an evil hour did that island you harp so much upon take possession of your skull.""I am not with child by any person whatever (answered Sancho), nor will I suffer any king in Christendom to beget a child upon my body; for though I be a poor man, I'm an old Christian, and owe no man a farthing: if I long for an island, others long for things that are worse, every one being the son of his own works: the lowest mortal may come to be pope, much more governor of an island, especially as my master may gain more than he knows well what to do with. Mr Barber, you had better think before you speak there is something else to do than shaving of beards; and one Pedro may differ from another:* this I say, because we know one another; and you must not think to palm false dice upon me: with regard to the enchantment of my master, God knows the truth, and there let it lie; for, as the saying is, the more you stir it, the more it will- -you know what.'

The barber durst not make any reply, lest Sancho's simplicity should discover what he and the curate were so desirous of concealing; and the priest being under the same apprehension, desired the canon to ride on with him a little before the waggon, promising to disclose the mystery of the encaged knight, with other particulars that would yield him some diversion: the canon put on accordingly, with his servants, listening attentively to every thing the curate was pleased to communicate, concerning the rank, employment, madness, and manners of Don Quixote; for he briefly recounted the cause and beginning of his disorder, with the whole progress of his adventures until he was secured in the cage, by their contrivance, that they might carry him home to his own house, and endeavour to find some cure for his distemper.

The canon and his servants were astonished anew at hearing the strange story of Don Quixote, which being finished, the Toledan replied, "Truly, Mr Curate, I am firmly persuaded that those books of chivalry are very prejudicial in the commonwealth; for though I have been in duced by a false taste and idle curiosity to read

the beginning of almost every one that hath been printed, I never could prevail upon myself to read any one of them from the first to the last page; because, in my opinion, they are all of the same stamp, without any essential difference; and indeed that kind of composition seems to fall under that species of writing called the Milesian Fables, which are no other than extravagant tales calculated for mere amusement, without any tendency to instruction: on the contrary, the scope of your apologues is to convey instruction and delight together. Now, though the principal intention of those books is to delight and entertain the reader, I do not see how they can answer that end, being, as they are, stuffed with such improbable nonsense: for the pleasure that the soul conceives is from the beauty and harmony of those things which are contemplated by the view, or suggested by the imagination; so that we can receive no plea sure from objects that are unnatural and deformed. And what beauty, symmetry, or proportion can be observed in a book, containing the history of a youth of seventeen, who, with one back-stroke, cuts though the middle a giant like a tower, with as much ease as if he had been made of paste; and in the description of a battle, after having observed that there are no less than a million of combatants on the side opposite to that which the hero of the piece espouses, we must, in despite of common sense, believe, that such a knight obtained a victory by the single valour of his invincible arm. Then, how shall we account for the confidence with which some queen, empress, or orphan heiress, throws herself into the protection of an unknown knight-errant? What mind, if not wholly barbarous and uncultivated, can be pleased with an account of a huge tower full of knights, sailing upon the sea, like a ship before the wind; being over-night upon the coast of Lombardy, and next morning arrived in the dominions of Prester John, in the Indies, or in some other country which Ptolemy never discovered, nor Marcus Polus ever saw? If to this observation it be answered, that the authors of those books do not pretend that the stories they contain are true, and therefore they are under no necessity of adhering to such niceties of composition, I reply, that fiction is always the better the nearer it resembles truth; and agreeable in proportion to the probability it bears, and the doubtful credit which it inspires. Wherefore, all such fables ought to be suited to the understanding of those who read them, and written so, as that by softening impossibilities, smoothing what is rough, and keeping the mind in suspense, they may surprise, agreeably perplex, and entertain, creating equal admiration and delight; and these never can be excit◄

Equivalent to our saying, “Every Jack is not a good fellow.”

ed by authors who forsake probability and imi tation, in which the perfection of writing consists. I have never as yet seen in any book of chivalry, an entire body of a fable, with all its members so proportioned as that the middle corresponds with the beginning, and the end is suitable to both: on the contrary, one would think the author's intention is commonly to form a chimera or monster, instead of a figure well proportioned in all its parts. Besides, their style is usually harsh, their achievements incredible, their amours lascivious, their courtesy impertinent, their battles tedious, their dialogue insipid, their voyages extravagant, and, in short, the whole void of all ingenuity of invention; so that they deserve to be banished as useless members from every Christian commonwealth."

The curate, who had listened with great attention, hearing the canon talk so sensibly, looked upon him as a man of excellent understanding, and assented to every thing he said, observing that, in consequence of his being of the same opinion, and of the grudge he bore to such books of chivalry, he had burned a great number of those that belonged to Don Quixote. He then gave him a detail of the scrutiny which had been made, distinguishing such as he spared from those that he condemned to the flames.

The traveller laughed heartily at this account of such an extraordinary trial, saying, that not withstanding what he had advanced to the disadvantage of such books, there was one thing in them which he could not but approve, namely, the subject they presented for a good genius to display itself, opening a large and ample field in which the pen might, at leisure, expatiate in the description of shipwrecks, tempests, battles, and encounters; painting a valiant general with all his necessary accomplishments, sage and penetrating into the enemy's designs; eloquent and effectual, either in persuading or dissuading his soldiers, ripe in council, prompt in execution, and equally brave in standing or in giving an assault. One while recounting a piteous tragical story; at another time, describing a joyful and unexpected event; here a most beautiful lady, endued with virtue, discretion, and reserve; there, a Christian knight, possessed of courtesy and valour; in the third place, an outrageous boasting barbarian; and in a fourth, a polite, considerate, gallant prince: not forgetting to describe the faith and loyalty of vassals, together with the grandeur and generosity of great men. The author may also shew himself an astrologer, geographer, musician, and well skilled in state affairs; nay, if he be so minded, he will sometimes have an opportunity of manifesting his skill in necromancy and magic: he may represent the cunning of Ulysses, the piety of Æneas, the valour of Achilles, the misfortunes of Hector, the perfidy of Sinon, the friendship of Eu

ryalus, the liberality of Alexander, the ability of Cæsar, the clemency and candour of Trajan, the fidelity of Zophyrus, the wisdom of Cato, and, finally, all those qualifications which constitute the perfection of an illustrious hero; sometimes uniting them in one, sometimes dividing them into several characters; and the whole being expressed in an agreeable style and ingenious invention, that borders as near as possible upon truth, will, doubtless, produce a web of such various and beautiful texture, as, when finished, to display that perfection which will attain the chief end and scope of such writings, which, as I have already observed, is to convey instruction mingled with delight. Besides, the unlimited composition of such books gives the author opportunities of shewing his talents in epics, lyrics, tragedy and comedy, and all the different branches of the delicious and agreeable arts of poetry and rhetoric: for epics may be written in prose as well as verse."

CHAP. XXI.

In which the canon prosecutes the subject of knight-errantry, and makes other observations worthy of his genius.

"MR Canon (said the curate), what you have observed is extremely just; and therefore those authors deserve the greater reprehension, who have composed such books, without the least regard to good sense or the rules of art, by which they might have conducted their plans, and rendered themselves as famous in prose as the two princes of Greek and Latin poetry are now in verse."-" I myself (replied the canon), "have been tempted to write a book of chivalry, observing all the maxims and precautions I have now laid down: nay, to tell you the truth, no less than an hundred sheets of it are already written; and, in order to try if my own opinion of it was well founded, I have communicated my performance to a great many people, who are passionately fond of that kind of reading; not only men of learning and taste, but also ignorant persons, who chiefly delight in extravagant adventures; and I have been favoured with the agreeable approbation of them all; nevertheless, I have not proceeded in the work; because, I not only thought it foreign to my profession, but likewise concluded, that the world abounds much more with fools than people of sense; and, though an author had better be applauded by the few that are wise, than laughed at by the many that are foolish, I was unwilling to expose myself to the unin formed judgment of the arrogant vulgar, whose province it principally is to read books of this kind: but what contributed most to my laying aside the pen, and indeed all thoughts of bringing the work to a conclusion, was a reflection I

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