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VOLUME[ VOLUME 1  ]  

CHAPTER[ XXX. WHICH TREATS OF ADDRESS DISPLAYED BY THE FAIR DOROTHEA, WITH OTHER

MATTERS PLEASANT AND AMUSING

The curate had hardly ceased speaking, when Sancho said, "In faith, then,

senor licentiate, he who did that deed was my master; and it was not for

want of my telling him beforehand and warning him to mind what he was

about, and that it was a sin to set them at liberty, as they were all on

the march there because they were special scoundrels."

"Blockhead!" said Don Quixote at this, "it is no business or concern of

knights-errant to inquire whether any persons in affliction, in chains,

or oppressed that they may meet on the high roads go that way and suffer

as they do because of their faults or because of their misfortunes. It

only concerns them to aid them as persons in need of help, having regard

to their sufferings and not to their rascalities. I encountered a chaplet

or string of miserable and unfortunate people, and did for them what my

sense of duty demands of me, and as for the rest be that as it may; and

whoever takes objection to it, saving the sacred dignity of the senor

licentiate and his honoured person, I say he knows little about chivalry

and lies like a whoreson villain, and this I will give him to know to the

fullest extent with my sword;" and so saying he settled himself in his

stirrups and pressed down his morion; for the barber's basin, which

according to him was Mambrino's helmet, he carried hanging at the

saddle-bow until he could repair the damage done to it by the galley

slaves.

Dorothea, who was shrewd and sprightly, and by this time thoroughly

understood Don Quixote's crazy turn, and that all except Sancho Panza

were making game of him, not to be behind the rest said to him, on

observing his irritation, "Sir Knight, remember the boon you have

promised me, and that in accordance with it you must not engage in any

other adventure, be it ever so pressing; calm yourself, for if the

licentiate had known that the galley slaves had been set free by that

unconquered arm he would have stopped his mouth thrice over, or even

bitten his tongue three times before he would have said a word that

tended towards disrespect of your worship."

"That I swear heartily," said the curate, "and I would have even plucked

off a moustache."

"I will hold my peace, senora," said Don Quixote, "and I will curb the

natural anger that had arisen in my breast, and will proceed in peace and

quietness until I have fulfilled my promise; but in return for this

consideration I entreat you to tell me, if you have no objection to do

so, what is the nature of your trouble, and how many, who, and what are

the persons of whom I am to require due satisfaction, and on whom I am to

take vengeance on your behalf?"

"That I will do with all my heart," replied Dorothea, "if it will not be

wearisome to you to hear of miseries and misfortunes."

"It will not be wearisome, senora," said Don Quixote; to which Dorothea

replied, "Well, if that be so, give me your attention." As soon as she

said this, Cardenio and the barber drew close to her side, eager to hear

what sort of story the quick-witted Dorothea would invent for herself;

and Sancho did the same, for he was as much taken in by her as his

master; and she having settled herself comfortably in the saddle, and

with the help of coughing and other preliminaries taken time to think,

began with great sprightliness of manner in this fashion.

"First of all, I would have you know, sirs, that my name is-" and here

she stopped for a moment, for she forgot the name the curate had given

her; but he came to her relief, seeing what her difficulty was, and said,

"It is no wonder, senora, that your highness should be confused and

embarrassed in telling the tale of your misfortunes; for such afflictions

often have the effect of depriving the sufferers of memory, so that they

do not even remember their own names, as is the case now with your

ladyship, who has forgotten that she is called the Princess Micomicona,

lawful heiress of the great kingdom of Micomicon; and with this cue your

highness may now recall to your sorrowful recollection all you may wish

to tell us."

"That is the truth," said the damsel; "but I think from this on I shall

have no need of any prompting, and I shall bring my true story safe into

port, and here it is. The king my father, who was called Tinacrio the

Sapient, was very learned in what they call magic arts, and became aware

by his craft that my mother, who was called Queen Jaramilla, was to die

before he did, and that soon after he too was to depart this life, and I

was to be left an orphan without father or mother. But all this, he

declared, did not so much grieve or distress him as his certain knowledge

that a prodigious giant, the lord of a great island close to our kingdom,

Pandafilando of the Scowl by name--for it is averred that, though his

eyes are properly placed and straight, he always looks askew as if he

squinted, and this he does out of malignity, to strike fear and terror

into those he looks at--that he knew, I say, that this giant on becoming

aware of my orphan condition would overrun my kingdom with a mighty force

and strip me of all, not leaving me even a small village to shelter me;

but that I could avoid all this ruin and misfortune if I were willing to

marry him; however, as far as he could see, he never expected that I

would consent to a marriage so unequal; and he said no more than the

truth in this, for it has never entered my mind to marry that giant, or

any other, let him be ever so great or enormous. My father said, too,

that when he was dead, and I saw Pandafilando about to invade my kingdom,

I was not to wait and attempt to defend myself, for that would be

destructive to me, but that I should leave the kingdom entirely open to

him if I wished to avoid the death and total destruction of my good and

loyal vassals, for there would be no possibility of defending myself

against the giant's devilish power; and that I should at once with some

of my followers set out for Spain, where I should obtain relief in my

distress on finding a certain knight-errant whose fame by that time would

extend over the whole kingdom, and who would be called, if I remember

rightly, Don Azote or Don Gigote."

"'Don Quixote,' he must have said, senora," observed Sancho at this,

"otherwise called the Knight of the Rueful Countenance."

"That is it," said Dorothea; "he said, moreover, that he would be tall of

stature and lank featured; and that on his right side under the left

shoulder, or thereabouts, he would have a grey mole with hairs like

bristles."

On hearing this, Don Quixote said to his squire, "Here, Sancho my son,

bear a hand and help me to strip, for I want to see if I am the knight

that sage king foretold."

"What does your worship want to strip for?" said Dorothea.

"To see if I have that mole your father spoke of," answered Don Quixote.

"There is no occasion to strip," said Sancho; "for I know your worship

has just such a mole on the middle of your backbone, which is the mark of

a strong man."

"That is enough," said Dorothea, "for with friends we must not look too

closely into trifles; and whether it be on the shoulder or on the

backbone matters little; it is enough if there is a mole, be it where it

may, for it is all the same flesh; no doubt my good father hit the truth

in every particular, and I have made a lucky hit in commending myself to

Don Quixote; for he is the one my father spoke of, as the features of his

countenance correspond with those assigned to this knight by that wide

fame he has acquired not only in Spain but in all La Mancha; for I had

scarcely landed at Osuna when I heard such accounts of his achievements,

that at once my heart told me he was the very one I had come in search

of."

"But how did you land at Osuna, senora," asked Don Quixote, "when it is

not a seaport?"

But before Dorothea could reply the curate anticipated her, saying, "The

princess meant to say that after she had landed at Malaga the first place

where she heard of your worship was Osuna."

"That is what I meant to say," said Dorothea.

"And that would be only natural," said the curate. "Will your majesty

please proceed?"

"There is no more to add," said Dorothea, "save that in finding Don

Quixote I have had such good fortune, that I already reckon and regard

myself queen and mistress of my entire dominions, since of his courtesy

and magnanimity he has granted me the boon of accompanying me

whithersoever I may conduct him, which will be only to bring him face to

face with Pandafilando of the Scowl, that he may slay him and restore to

me what has been unjustly usurped by him: for all this must come to pass

satisfactorily since my good father Tinacrio the Sapient foretold it, who

likewise left it declared in writing in Chaldee or Greek characters (for

I cannot read them), that if this predicted knight, after having cut the

giant's throat, should be disposed to marry me I was to offer myself at

once without demur as his lawful wife, and yield him possession of my

kingdom together with my person."

"What thinkest thou now, friend Sancho?" said Don Quixote at this.

"Hearest thou that? Did I not tell thee so? See how we have already got a

kingdom to govern and a queen to marry!"

"On my oath it is so," said Sancho; "and foul fortune to him who won't

marry after slitting Senor Pandahilado's windpipe! And then, how

ill-favoured the queen is! I wish the fleas in my bed were that sort!"

And so saying he cut a couple of capers in the air with every sign of

extreme satisfaction, and then ran to seize the bridle of Dorothea's

mule, and checking it fell on his knees before her, begging her to give

him her hand to kiss in token of his acknowledgment of her as his queen

and mistress. Which of the bystanders could have helped laughing to see

the madness of the master and the simplicity of the servant? Dorothea

therefore gave her hand, and promised to make him a great lord in her

kingdom, when Heaven should be so good as to permit her to recover and

enjoy it, for which Sancho returned thanks in words that set them all

laughing again.

"This, sirs," continued Dorothea, "is my story; it only remains to tell

you that of all the attendants I took with me from my kingdom I have none

left except this well-bearded squire, for all were drowned in a great

tempest we encountered when in sight of port; and he and I came to land

on a couple of planks as if by a miracle; and indeed the whole course of

my life is a miracle and a mystery as you may have observed; and if I

have been over minute in any respect or not as precise as I ought, let it

be accounted for by what the licentiate said at the beginning of my tale,

that constant and excessive troubles deprive the sufferers of their

memory."

"They shall not deprive me of mine, exalted and worthy princess," said

Don Quixote, "however great and unexampled those which I shall endure in

your service may be; and here I confirm anew the boon I have promised

you, and I swear to go with you to the end of the world until I find

myself in the presence of your fierce enemy, whose haughty head I trust

by the aid of my arm to cut off with the edge of this--I will not say

good sword, thanks to Gines de Pasamonte who carried away mine"--(this he

said between his teeth, and then continued), "and when it has been cut

off and you have been put in peaceful possession of your realm it shall

be left to your own decision to dispose of your person as may be most

pleasing to you; for so long as my memory is occupied, my will enslaved,

and my understanding enthralled by her-I say no more--it is impossible

for me for a moment to contemplate marriage, even with a Phoenix."

The last words of his master about not wanting to marry were so

disagreeable to Sancho that raising his voice he exclaimed with great

irritation:

"By my oath, Senor Don Quixote, you are not in your right senses; for how

can your worship possibly object to marrying such an exalted princess as

this? Do you think Fortune will offer you behind every stone such a piece

of luck as is offered you now? Is my lady Dulcinea fairer, perchance? Not

she; nor half as fair; and I will even go so far as to say she does not

come up to the shoe of this one here. A poor chance I have of getting

that county I am waiting for if your worship goes looking for dainties in

the bottom of the sea. In the devil's name, marry, marry, and take this

kingdom that comes to hand without any trouble, and when you are king

make me a marquis or governor of a province, and for the rest let the

devil take it all."

Don Quixote, when he heard such blasphemies uttered against his lady

Dulcinea, could not endure it, and lifting his pike, without saying

anything to Sancho or uttering a word, he gave him two such thwacks that

he brought him to the ground; and had it not been that Dorothea cried out

to him to spare him he would have no doubt taken his life on the spot.

"Do you think," he said to him after a pause, "you scurvy clown, that you

are to be always interfering with me, and that you are to be always

offending and I always pardoning? Don't fancy it, impious scoundrel, for

that beyond a doubt thou art, since thou hast set thy tongue going

against the peerless Dulcinea. Know you not, lout, vagabond, beggar, that

were it not for the might that she infuses into my arm I should not have

strength enough to kill a flea? Say, scoffer with a viper's tongue, what

think you has won this kingdom and cut off this giant's head and made you

a marquis (for all this I count as already accomplished and decided), but

the might of Dulcinea, employing my arm as the instrument of her

achievements? She fights in me and conquers in me, and I live and breathe

in her, and owe my life and being to her. O whoreson scoundrel, how

ungrateful you are, you see yourself raised from the dust of the earth to

be a titled lord, and the return you make for so great a benefit is to

speak evil of her who has conferred it upon you!"

Sancho was not so stunned but that he heard all his master said, and

rising with some degree of nimbleness he ran to place himself behind

Dorothea's palfrey, and from that position he said to his master:

"Tell me, senor; if your worship is resolved not to marry this great

princess, it is plain the kingdom will not be yours; and not being so,

how can you bestow favours upon me? That is what I complain of. Let your

worship at any rate marry this queen, now that we have got her here as if

showered down from heaven, and afterwards you may go back to my lady

Dulcinea; for there must have been kings in the world who kept

mistresses. As to beauty, I have nothing to do with it; and if the truth

is to be told, I like them both; though I have never seen the lady

Dulcinea."

"How! never seen her, blasphemous traitor!" exclaimed Don Quixote; "hast

thou not just now brought me a message from her?"

"I mean," said Sancho, "that I did not see her so much at my leisure that

I could take particular notice of her beauty, or of her charms piecemeal;

but taken in the lump I like her."

"Now I forgive thee," said Don Quixote; "and do thou forgive me the

injury I have done thee; for our first impulses are not in our control."

"That I see," replied Sancho, "and with me the wish to speak is always

the first impulse, and I cannot help saying, once at any rate, what I

have on the tip of my tongue."

"For all that, Sancho," said Don Quixote, "take heed of what thou sayest,

for the pitcher goes so often to the well--I need say no more to thee."

"Well, well," said Sancho, "God is in heaven, and sees all tricks, and

will judge who does most harm, I in not speaking right, or your worship

in not doing it."

"That is enough," said Dorothea; "run, Sancho, and kiss your lord's hand

and beg his pardon, and henceforward be more circumspect with your praise

and abuse; and say nothing in disparagement of that lady Toboso, of whom

I know nothing save that I am her servant; and put your trust in God, for

you will not fail to obtain some dignity so as to live like a prince."

Sancho advanced hanging his head and begged his master's hand, which Don

Quixote with dignity presented to him, giving him his blessing as soon as

he had kissed it; he then bade him go on ahead a little, as he had

questions to ask him and matters of great importance to discuss with him.

Sancho obeyed, and when the two had gone some distance in advance Don

Quixote said to him, "Since thy return I have had no opportunity or time

to ask thee many particulars touching thy mission and the answer thou

hast brought back, and now that chance has granted us the time and

opportunity, deny me not the happiness thou canst give me by such good

news."

"Let your worship ask what you will," answered Sancho, "for I shall find

a way out of all as as I found a way in; but I implore you, senor, not

not to be so revengeful in future."

"Why dost thou say that, Sancho?" said Don Quixote.

"I say it," he returned, "because those blows just now were more because

of the quarrel the devil stirred up between us both the other night, than

for what I said against my lady Dulcinea, whom I love and reverence as I

would a relic--though there is nothing of that about her--merely as

something belonging to your worship."

"Say no more on that subject for thy life, Sancho," said Don Quixote,

"for it is displeasing to me; I have already pardoned thee for that, and

thou knowest the common saying, 'for a fresh sin a fresh penance.'"

While this was going on they saw coming along the road they were

following a man mounted on an ass, who when he came close seemed to be a

gipsy; but Sancho Panza, whose eyes and heart were there wherever he saw

asses, no sooner beheld the man than he knew him to be Gines de

Pasamonte; and by the thread of the gipsy he got at the ball, his ass,

for it was, in fact, Dapple that carried Pasamonte, who to escape

recognition and to sell the ass had disguised himself as a gipsy, being

able to speak the gipsy language, and many more, as well as if they were

his own. Sancho saw him and recognised him, and the instant he did so he

shouted to him, "Ginesillo, you thief, give up my treasure, release my

life, embarrass thyself not with my repose, quit my ass, leave my

delight, be off, rip, get thee gone, thief, and give up what is not

thine."

There was no necessity for so many words or objurgations, for at the

first one Gines jumped down, and at a like racing speed made off and got

clear of them all. Sancho hastened to his Dapple, and embracing him he

said, "How hast thou fared, my blessing, Dapple of my eyes, my comrade?"

all the while kissing him and caressing him as if he were a human being.

The ass held his peace, and let himself be kissed and caressed by Sancho

without answering a single word. They all came up and congratulated him

on having found Dapple, Don Quixote especially, who told him that

notwithstanding this he would not cancel the order for the three

ass-colts, for which Sancho thanked him.

While the two had been going along conversing in this fashion, the curate

observed to Dorothea that she had shown great cleverness, as well in the

story itself as in its conciseness, and the resemblance it bore to those

of the books of chivalry. She said that she had many times amused herself

reading them; but that she did not know the situation of the provinces or

seaports, and so she had said at haphazard that she had landed at Osuna.

"So I saw," said the curate, "and for that reason I made haste to say

what I did, by which it was all set right. But is it not a strange thing

to see how readily this unhappy gentleman believes all these figments and

lies, simply because they are in the style and manner of the absurdities

of his books?"

"So it is," said Cardenio; "and so uncommon and unexampled, that were one

to attempt to invent and concoct it in fiction, I doubt if there be any

wit keen enough to imagine it."

"But another strange thing about it," said the curate, "is that, apart

from the silly things which this worthy gentleman says in connection with

his craze, when other subjects are dealt with, he can discuss them in a

perfectly rational manner, showing that his mind is quite clear and

composed; so that, provided his chivalry is not touched upon, no one

would take him to be anything but a man of thoroughly sound

understanding."

While they were holding this conversation Don Quixote continued his with

Sancho, saying:

"Friend Panza, let us forgive and forget as to our quarrels, and tell me

now, dismissing anger and irritation, where, how, and when didst thou

find Dulcinea? What was she doing? What didst thou say to her? What did

she answer? How did she look when she was reading my letter? Who copied

it out for thee? and everything in the matter that seems to thee worth

knowing, asking, and learning; neither adding nor falsifying to give me

pleasure, nor yet curtailing lest you should deprive me of it."

"Senor," replied Sancho, "if the truth is to be told, nobody copied out

the letter for me, for I carried no letter at all."

"It is as thou sayest," said Don Quixote, "for the note-book in which I

wrote it I found in my own possession two days after thy departure, which

gave me very great vexation, as I knew not what thou wouldst do on

finding thyself without any letter; and I made sure thou wouldst return

from the place where thou didst first miss it."

"So I should have done," said Sancho, "if I had not got it by heart when

your worship read it to me, so that I repeated it to a sacristan, who

copied it out for me from hearing it, so exactly that he said in all the

days of his life, though he had read many a letter of excommunication, he

had never seen or read so pretty a letter as that."

"And hast thou got it still in thy memory, Sancho?" said Don Quixote.

"No, senor," replied Sancho, "for as soon as I had repeated it, seeing

there was no further use for it, I set about forgetting it; and if I

recollect any of it, it is that about 'Scrubbing,'I mean to say

'Sovereign Lady,' and the end 'Yours till death, the Knight of the Rueful

Countenance;' and between these two I put into it more than three hundred

'my souls' and 'my life's' and 'my eyes."

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