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the penance which Sancho Panza here present must undergo, in order to restore her to the light she has lost; and therefore, O Rhadamanthus, who sittest with me in judgment, within the gloomy caverns of Lethe, as thou art intimately acquainted with all the determinations of the inscrutable Fates, touching the revival of this damsel, relate and declare them without loss of time, that we may no longer delay that happiness which we expect from her re

covery.

Scarce had Minos pronounced those words, when his fellow-judge and companion Rhadamanthus stood up, saying, "So ho, ye ministers of this house, high and low, great and small, come hither one by one, and mark the face, the arm, and loins of Sancho with two dozen of tweaks, one dozen of pinches, and half a dozen pricks with a pin: for upon this execution depends the revival of Altisidora." Sancho Panza hearing this sentence, broke silence, and exclaimed aloud, "I vow to God, I will sooner turn Turk, than allow my face to be marked, or my flesh to be handled, in any such manner! Body o' me! what has the pinching of my face to do with the resurrection of that damsel? The old woman has got a liquorish tooth, and she is still licking her fingers, forsooth. Dulcinea is enchanted, and I must be scourged for the disenchantment of her lady ship: Altisidora is dead by the hand of God, and, in order to bring her to life, I must suffer two dozen of tweaks; my body must be pinked into a sieve with large pins, and my arms pinched into all the colours of the rainbow! Such jokes may pass upon a brother-in-law; but I am an old dog, and will not be coaxed with a crust."-" Then thou shalt die (cried Rhadamanthus, with an audible voice): tame that savage heart of thine, thou tiger; humble thyself, thou proud Nimrod! suffer and be silent: we ask not impossibilities, and therefore thou must not pretend to examine the difficulties of this affair: tweaked thou shalt be; pinked shalt thou find thyself, and pinched until thy groans declare thine anguish. So ho, I say, ye ministers, execute my command, or, by the faith of an honest man, you shall see for what you were born."

In consequence of this summons, six duennas came walking through the court-yard in procession, one by one, the four first with spectacles, and each with her right arm raised, about four inches of the wrist being bared according to the present fashion, that the hand may seem the larger. Sancho no sooner beheld these matrons than he began to bellow like a bull, exclaiming, "I might have allowed myself to be handled by all the world besides, but that duennas should touch me, I will by no means consent! they may cat-claw my face, as my master was served in this very castle: they may run me through the guts with daggers of steel: they

may tear the flesh off my arms with red-hot pincers; all these tortures will I bear patiently, for the service of these noble persons: but I say again, the devil shall fly away with me before I suffer a duenna to lay a finger on my carcass!" Then Don Quixote, addressing himself to Sancho, broke silence in these terms: 66 Exert thy patience, my son, for the satisfaction of these noble personages, and give thanks to Heaven which hath endued thy person with such virtue, that by the martyrdom of thy flesh, the enchanted are delivered from enchantment, and even the dead revived."

By this time the duennas had surrounded Sancho, who, being softened and persuaded, seated himself in a proper posture, and held out his face and beard to the first, who treated him with a well-planted twitch, and then dropped a profound curtsy. "Less courtesy, less anointing, good madam duenna (cried the 'squire); for, by the Lord, your fingers smack of vinegar!" In a word, he was tweaked by all the duennas, and pinched by a great number of other persons belonging to the family: but what he could by no means be brought to endure, was the puncture with pins, which they no sooner began to perform, than, starting up in a rage, and seizing a lighted torch that stood near him, he assaulted the duennas and all the rest of his executioners, crying," Avaunt, ye ministers of hell! I am not made of brass, to be insensible to such torture." At this instant Altisidora, who must have been tired with lying so long upon her back, turned herself on one side; and this motion was no sooner perceived by the spectators, than all of them exclaimed, as if with one voice, "Altisidora moves, Altisidora lives!" Then Rhadamanthus desired Sancho to lay aside his indignation, seeing the intended aim was already accomplished.

Don Quixote seeing Altisidora stirring, fell upon his knees before Sancho, saying, "Now is the time, dear son of my bowels, and no longer my 'squire! now is the time to inflict upon thyself some of those lashes thou art obliged to undergo for the disenchantment of Dulcinea. This, I say, is the time, when thy virtue is seasoned, and of efficacy sufficient to perform the cure which we expect from thy compliance." To this apostrophe the 'squire replied, "This is reel upon reel, and not honey upon pancakes: scourging, to be sure, is a very agreeable dessert to a dish of twitches, pinches, and pin-prickings. There is no more to be done, but to take and tie a great stone about my neck, and toss me into a well; it will be much better for me to die at once, than to be always the wedding heifer, to remedy the misfortunes of other people: either let me live in peace, or, before God! all shall out, sell or not sell."

By this time Altisidora sat upright on the tomb, and at that instant the waits beginning

to play, were accompanied by the music of flutes, and the voices of all the spectators, who exclaimed, "Live Altisidora! Altisidora live!" The duke and duchess, together with Minos and Rhadamanthus, rising from their seats, and being joined by Don Quixote and Sancho, went to receive this young lady, and help her in descending from the tomb; while they were thus employed, she assumed a languid and fainting air, and, inclining her head towards the duke and duchess and the two kings, darted a sidelong glance to Don Quixote, saying, "God forgive thee, unrelenting knight! by thy cruelty I have been doomed to remain, as I believe, above a thousand years in the other world! but as for thee, thou most compassionate 'squire that this wide earth contains! I thank thee kindly for that life I now enjoy. From this day, friend Sancho, thou mayest command six of my shifts to be converted into shirts for thy own body; and if they are not quite whole, at least they are white and clean. Sancho thanked her for the present, with mitre in hand and knee on ground: and when the duke ordered his servants to take away those badges of disgrace, and restore his own cap and coat, the 'squire entreated his grace to let him keep the mitre and the flaming robe, and carry them to his own country, as a mark and memorial of this incredible adventure. To this supplication the duchess replied, "That he might keep these testimonials: for he knew how much she was his friend."

The duke ordered the court to be cleared, the company to retire to their several chambers, and the knight and 'squire to be conducted to the apartments which they had formerly occupied.

CHAP. XVIII.

Which follows the preceding, and treats of matters that must be disclosed, in order to make the history the more intelligible and distinct.

SANCHO slept that night in a truckle-bed, in the apartment of Don Quixote,-a circumstance which he would have waived, if possible, because he well knew his master would keep him awake with questions and replies, and he was not at all in a talkative humour; for the pain of his past sufferings kept them still present in his fancy, depriving his tongue of its usual freedom; and he would have much rather slept alone in a hut, than in the richest chamber thus accompanied. His apprehension was so true and his suspicion so just, that scarce had his master committed his body to the bed, when he accosted the 'squire in these words: "What is thy opinion, Sancho, of this night's adventure? Great and powerful is the force of amorous disdain, as thou hast seen with thy own

eyes Altisidora dead-not by the shaft, or sword, or warlike instrument, or mortal poison, but solely by the reflection of that rigour and disdain with which I have always treated her advances."-" She might have died in good time, when and how she thought proper (cried Sancho), and left me quiet at my own house, seeing I never treated her either with love or disdain in the whole course of my life; for my own part, I neither know nor can I conceive, as I have formerly observed, what the health or life of such a whimsical girl as Altisidora has to do with the martyrdom of Sancho Panza; but now at length I can clearly and distinctly perceive that this world actually abounds with enchanters and enchantments, from which I pray God may deliver me, since I cannot deliver myself: in the meantime, I humbly beseech your worship to let me sleep, without farther question, if you have not a mind to see me throw myself out of the window."-" Sleep then, friend Sancho (said the knight), if thou canst enjoy the benefit of slumber, after the pinching, twitching, and pricking thou hast undergone.". "No pain is comparable to that of the twitching (replied the 'squire); for no other reason but because it was inflicted by duennas, whom God in heaven confound. I again entreat your worship to leave me to my repose; for sleep is a remedy for those miseries which we feel when awake." "Be it so (said the knight), and the Lord make thy sleep refreshing."

While these two are left to their repose, Cid Hamet, author of this sublime history, takes occasion to explain the motives that induced the duke and duchess to raise the edifice of the adventure above related. He says, the bachelor Sampson Carrasco still remembering how, as Knight of the Mirrors, he had been vanquished and overthrown by Don Quixote, and his whole design blotted and defaced by that unlucky fall and defeat, he resolved to try his fortune once more, in hope of meeting with better success; and learning where the knight was, from the information of the page who carried the letter and present to Sancho's wife Teresa Panza, he purchased a new suit of armour, and a horse, ordered a white moon to be painted on his shield, and fastened the whole cargo on the back of an he-mule, which was conducted by a certain ploughman, and not by his old 'squire Tom Cecial, lest he should be known by Sancho or Don Quixote.

With this equipage he set out for the duke's castle, where he was informed of the knight's motions and route, together with his intention to assist at the tournament in Saragossa. His grace likewise gave him an account of the jokes they had executed upon our adventurer, with the contrivance of Dulcinea's disenchantment, to be effected at the expense of Sancho's posteriors. Nor did he forget to relate the trick which Sancho had

practised on his master, în making him believe that Dulcinea was enchanted and transformed into a country wench; as how also my lady duchess had persuaded the 'squire that Dulcinea was really and truly enchanted and transformed, and he himself the person that was mistaken and deceived, particulars which afforded abundance of mirth to the bachelor, who could not help admiring afresh the mixture of archness and simplicity in Sancho, as well as the unaccountable madness of Don Quixote. The duke begged he would return that way, and communicate his success, whether he should be vanquished or victor. Sampson having promised to comply with his request, set out in quest of our knight; and as he did not find him in Saragossa, proceeded to Barcelona, where he met with the adventure we have already related in its proper place: then he returned to the duke's castle, where he gave an account of the whole engagement and the conditions of the combat; in consequence of which, Don Quixote was already on his return, to fulfil, like a worthy knight-errant, the promise he had made to reside at his own habitation for the term of one year, during which the bache lor said he might possibly be cured of his madness. He declared this was his sole motive for disguising himself in such a manner; as it was a thousand pities, that a gentleman of Don Quixote's excellent understanding should continue under the influence of such infatuation. He accordingly took his leave of the duke, and returned to his own country, in full hope that the knight was not far behind.

From this information, his grace took the opportunity to contrive this last adventure, so much was he delighted with the behaviour of Sancho and Don Quixote. He ordered a great number of his people on horseback and a-foot, to scour the country far and near, and a patrole through every road by which he thought the knight could possibly return, with orders to bring him to the castle, either by fair means or foul. Accordingly, when they found him, they gave notice to his grace, who, having already preconcerted what was to be done, no sooner heard of his coming than he directed that the torches and tapers should be lighted around the court, and Altisidora placed upon the tomb, together with all the apparatus already described, which was so naturally and artfully executed, that it differed very little from the real truth. Nay, Cid Hamet moreover observes, that he looked upon the jokers to be as mad as those who were joked, and the duke and duchess to be within two fingers' breadth of lunacy; seeing they placed such happiness in playing pranks upon two confirmed madmen, one of whom the new day found sleeping at full snore, and the other watching over his disastrous thoughts, and very impatient to quit his couch; for, whether vanquished or victor, Don Quix

ote never took pleasure in lolling on the lazy down.

It was now that Altisidora, who, in the knight's opinion, had returned from death, in compliance with the humour of her lord and lady, entered his apartment, crowned with the same garland she had worn on the tomb, clad in a robe of white taffety powdered with flowers of gold, her hair flowing loose upon her shoulders, and supporting herself upon a staff of fine polished black ebony. This apparition discomposed our hero to such a degree, that he shrunk within his nest, in silent confusion, and almost covered himself wholly with the sheets, fully determined against making any return of compliment. Meanwhile, Altisidora, sitting down upon a chair at his bed's head, heaved a profound sigh, and thus addressed herself to him, in a faint and tender tone: "When women of fashion, and damsels of reserve, trample upon honour, and give their tongues the liberty to break through all inconveniences, so as to divulge the secrets which their hearts conceal, their condition must be desperate indeed. I am one of those, Signor Don Quixote de la Mancha; sorely hampered, vanquished, and enamoured, but withal so patient and modest, that my soul broke through my silence, and I lost my life: in consequence of thy rigour, O flinty-hearted knight! more deaf than marble to my complaints, have I been dead for two days, or at least supposed to be dead by those who saw me; and if love, in pity to my fate, had not deposited a remedy in the tortures of that worthy 'squire, I should have remained for ever in the other world."-" Love (said Sancho), might as well have deposited the remedy in the tortures of my ass, and I should have thanked him for it heartily: but pray, madam, tell me, so may Heaven send you a kinder lover than my master, what did you see in the other world? What is going forward in hell? for surely those who die in despair must go to that baiting-place."-" To tell you the truth (answered Altisidora), I could not be quite dead, seeing I did not enter the infernal regions; for, had I been once fairly introduced, I could not have left the place again, whatever inclination I might have had to return. The truth is, I went no farther than the gate, where I saw about a dozen devils playing at tennis, in their drawers and doublets, having bands edged with Flanders lace, and ruffles of the same at their wrists, which were naked to the length of four inches, in order to enlarge the appear. ance of their hands, in which they wielded rackets of fire; but what I chiefly admired was, that instead of balls they made use of books, which seemed to be filled with wind and flocks,— a circumstance equally new and surprising; and yet there was another particular, which still increased my astonishment: for, whereas among the gamesters of this world, it is natural for

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the winners to be merry, and for the losers to be sad, in that diabolical pastime all the players growled and grumbled and cursed one another." "That is not to be wondered at (replied the 'squire); for the devils, play or not play, win or not win, can never be content." "That must certainly be the case (answered Altisidora); but there was likewise another peculiarity at which I wonder, I mean at which I then wondered; namely, that after the first toss, the ball was useless, and could not be used a second time; so that they whirled them away, On one new and old, in a marvellous manner. of these, which was finely gilt and lettered, they bestowed such a violent stroke, that the guts flew out in scattered leaves."-" What book is that?" said one devil to his fellow. The other answered that it was the second part of the history of Don Quixote de la Mancha, composed not by the original author Cid Hamet, but by an Arragonian, who calls himself a native of Tordesillas. Away with it! (cried the first), plunge it into the lowest abyss of hell, that mine eyes may never behold it again." "What! is it so bad?" said the second. "So very bad (replied the other), that if I myself had endeavoured to make it worse, it would not have been in my power. They proceeded with their play, driving about the unfortunate book; and I hearing them mention Don Quixote, whom I love and adore, endeavoured to retain the vision in my memory."-"A vision it must have been without all doubt (said Don Quixote); for there is no other I in the whole world; and as for that history, it is bandied from hand to hand, without finding a resting-place; and every body has a fling at the author: nor am I in the least mortified to hear that I wander like a fantastic shadow through the dark abodes of hell, as well as through the enlightened mansions of this globe, as I am not the person recorded in that history, which, were it elegant, faithful, and authentic, would live for ages; but, being fasle and execrable, as it is, there will be no great distance between its birth and burial."

Altisidora was going to proceed with her la mentations, when she was prevented by the knight, who said with great solemnity, "I have often told you, madam, that I am sorry you have placed your affection upon me, who can make no other return than that of gratitude and thanks: I was born for Dulcinea del Toboso, and the Fates, if such there be, have consecrated me for her service; so that to imagine any other beauty shall ever occupy the place which she possesses in my heart, is to suppose a mere impossibility. Let this declaration, therefore, undeceive and prevail upon you to retire within the limits of virtue and decorum, seeing no man is obliged to perform impossibilities.' Altisidora, in consequence of this repulse, assumed an air of indignation, and, in

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an affected transport of rage, exclaimed, "How now, Don Stock-fish! soul of a mortar! stone of a date! more positive and obstinate than a courted peasant when his arrow hath chanced to hit the mark; by the Lord! if I once fall upon you, I will tear your eyes out. Hark ye, Don beaten and cudgelled, are you such a wiseacre as to suppose I died for love of you? All you have seen this last night was pure fiction; for I am not the woman to have a finger-ach, much less to die for such a camel."-" O' my conscience! I believe what you say (cried Sancho); that of dying for love is a most ridiculous affair: your lovers, indeed, may easily say they are dying; but that they will actually give up the ghost, Judas may believe it for me."

During this conversation, the musician and poet, who had sung the two stanzas which we have already repeated, came into the apartment, and made a profound bow to Don Quixote, saying, "Sir knight, I beg you will esteem and reckon me among the number of your most humble servants; for many days have elapsed since I have conceived the warmest affection for your person, from the fame of your When Don character and achievements." Quixote desired to know who he was, that he might respect him according to his merit, he answered, that he was the musician and pane gyrist of the preceding night. "Assuredly your voice is extremely sweet (said the knight); but, methinks, the verses you sung were not much to the purpose; for what affinity is, there between the stanzas of Garcilasso and the death of this young lady?"-" Your worship must not wonder at that impropriety (answered the musician); it is a common practice among beardless poets of this age to write what they will, and steal from whom they please to pillage, whether it be or be not to the purpose, and every absurdity that occurs in their singing or writing they attribute to the licentia poetica."

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Don Quixote's reply was prevented by the entrance of the duke and duchess, who came to visit him in his chamber, and a long diverting conversation ensued, in the course of which Sancho uttered so many humorous sallies and satirical jokes, that their graces admired anew the mixture of his acuteness and simplicity. As for the knight, he humbly requested that he might be allowed to depart that very day, as it was much more proper that vanquished knights, like him, should live in hog-sties than in sumptuous palaces. They graciously complied with his request, and when the duchess inquired if Altisidora had as yet acquired his good graces, "Your grace must know (said he), that damsel's distemper wholly proceeds from idleness, which may be easily cured by continual and decent occupation: she tells me it is the fashion in hell to wear lace, and as she knows how to make it, let the work never be out of her hand,

which being employed in moving the bobbins, the idea or ideas of what she loves will no longer move in her imagination: and this is the truth, the substance of my opinion, and the marrow of my advice."—" Ay, and of mine too (cried Sancho); for never in my born days did I know a lace-maker die for love: the thoughts of girls employed at that work run more upon the finishing of their tasks than upon the idle fancies of love; and, for myself, I can safely say, that while I am digging in the field, I never so much as dream of my duck; I mean my wife Teresa Panza, whom I love as the apple of mine eye.". "You talk like an oracle, Sancho (said the duchess): and I will take care that, from this day forward, Altisidora shall be employed in some plain work, which she understands to perfection."-"Your ladyship shall not need to use any such expedient (replied Altisidora); for the consideration of the cruelty with which I have been used by that felonious monster will blot him effectually from my remembrance, without any other assistance; and, in the meantime, with your grace's permission, I will retire, that I may no longer have before my eyes-I will not say his rueful countenance, but his frightful and abominable aspect."-"These reproaches (said the duke), put me in mind of the old observation, that scolding among lovers is the next neigh bour to forgiveness."

Altisidora, making a show of wiping the tears from her eyes with a white handkerchief, dropped a low curtsy to her lord and lady, and withdrew; and Sancho sending after her an earnest look, "Poor damsel (cried he); I can bequeath-bequeath thee nothing, I say, but bad luck, seeing thou hast placed thine affection upon a soul of rush, and an heart of oak; had it lighted upon me, another sort of a cock would have crowed thy fortune."

Thus the conversation ended; Don Quixote put on his clothes, dined with the duke and duchess, and set out that same evening for his own habitation.

CHAP. XIX.

Of what happened to Don Quixote and his 'Squire in their journey to their own village.

THE perplexed and vanquished Don Quixote travelled along, extremely chagrined on one account, though greatly rejoiced on another: his melancholy was occasioned by his overthrow, and his joy produced from the consideration of that virtue inherent in his 'squire, which he had seen demonstrated in the resurrection of Altisidora, though he had some scruples in persuading himself that the enamoured damsel was actually dead. As for Sancho, he felt no sort of pleasure; but, on the contrary, was much

mortified to find that Altisidora had failed in performing her promise touching the present of the shifts; and his imagination dwelling upon this circumstance, he said to his master, "Truly, signor, I must certainly be the most unfor tunate physician that ever lived upon the earth, in which there are many leeches, who, though they kill their patients, insist upon being paid for their trouble, which, by the bye, is no more than writing and signing a list of medicines upon a scrap of paper; for the apothecary makes up the prescription, and so the farce is acted; whereas I receive not a doit though I cure other people's maladies at the expense of pinches, twitches, pin-pricks, lashes, and drops of blood; but I vow to God! if any other patients are put into my hands, they shall be well anointed be fore I undertake the cure; for, The abbot chants but to supply his wants: and I cannot believe that Heaven hath bestowed such virtue upon me, in order that I should throw it away upon the undeserving." "Thou art in the right, friend Sancho (replied Don Quixote); and Altisidora is much to blame in having with held the promised shifts, although thy virtue is gratis data, without having put thee to the trouble of studying aught but the art of enduring personal torture; for my own part, I can say, that if thou hadst demanded payment for the disenchanting stripes, I should have allowed it to thy own satisfaction; though I know not how such hire might interfere with the cure; and I should not wish that the premium might impede the effect of the medicine; nevertheless I do not think that the experi ment could be attended with any bad consequence. Consider, Sancho, what thou wouldst have; then proceed to the flagellation, and pay thyself fairly out of my money which is in thy own hands.'

At this proposal the 'squire opened his eyes and ears a full span, and, resolving in his heart to scourge himself with good-will, answered in these words: "Ay, now, signor, I find myself extremely well disposed to comply with your worship's desire, since my compliance will be attended with some profit; and I own my regard for my poor wife and children makes me seem a little selfish. Pray, what will your worship please to give for every stripe ?"-" Were I to pay thee, Sancho (said the knight), according to the greatness of thy deserts, and the quality of the cure, the bank of Venice and mines of Potosi would not afford a sufficient recompense: but see how much of my money thou hast got, and set thy own price upon every lash."-"The number of stripes to be given (answered the 'squire), amounts to three thousand three hundred and odd: of these I have received about five, which shall stand for the odd; so that three thousand three hundred remain. Now, if we value each lash at a quarter of a rial, and I would not bait a doit though

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