PART I - CHAPTER VII.

by Miguel de Cervantes

　　OF THE SECOND SALLY OF OUR WORTHY KNIGHT DON QUIXOTE OF LA MANCHAAt this instant Don Quixote began shouting out, "Here, here, valiantknights! here is need for you to put forth the might of your strong arms,for they of the Court are gaining the mastery in the tourney!" Calledaway by this noise and outcry, they proceeded no farther with thescrutiny of the remaining books, and so it is thought that "The Carolea,""The Lion of Spain," and "The Deeds of the Emperor," written by Don Luisde Avila, went to the fire unseen and unheard; for no doubt they wereamong those that remained, and perhaps if the curate had seen them theywould not have undergone so severe a sentence.When they reached Don Quixote he was already out of bed, and was stillshouting and raving, and slashing and cutting all round, as wide awake asif he had never slept.They closed with him and by force got him back to bed, and when he hadbecome a little calm, addressing the curate, he said to him, "Of a truth,Senor Archbishop Turpin, it is a great disgrace for us who call ourselvesthe Twelve Peers, so carelessly to allow the knights of the Court to gainthe victory in this tourney, we the adventurers having carried off thehonour on the three former days.""Hush, gossip," said the curate; "please God, the luck may turn, and whatis lost to-day may be won to-morrow; for the present let your worshiphave a care of your health, for it seems to me that you areover-fatigued, if not badly wounded.""Wounded no," said Don Quixote, "but bruised and battered no doubt, forthat bastard Don Roland has cudgelled me with the trunk of an oak tree,and all for envy, because he sees that I alone rival him in hisachievements. But I should not call myself Reinaldos of Montalvan did henot pay me for it in spite of all his enchantments as soon as I rise fromthis bed. For the present let them bring me something to eat, for that, Ifeel, is what will be more to my purpose, and leave it to me to avengemyself."They did as he wished; they gave him something to eat, and once more hefell asleep, leaving them marvelling at his madness.That night the housekeeper burned to ashes all the books that were in theyard and in the whole house; and some must have been consumed thatdeserved preservation in everlasting archives, but their fate and thelaziness of the examiner did not permit it, and so in them was verifiedthe proverb that the innocent suffer for the guilty.One of the remedies which the curate and the barber immediately appliedto their friend's disorder was to wall up and plaster the room where thebooks were, so that when he got up he should not find them (possibly thecause being removed the effect might cease), and they might say that amagician had carried them off, room and all; and this was done with alldespatch. Two days later Don Quixote got up, and the first thing he didwas to go and look at his books, and not finding the room where he hadleft it, he wandered from side to side looking for it. He came to theplace where the door used to be, and tried it with his hands, and turnedand twisted his eyes in every direction without saying a word; but aftera good while he asked his housekeeper whereabouts was the room that heldhis books.The housekeeper, who had been already well instructed in what she was toanswer, said, "What room or what nothing is it that your worship islooking for? There are neither room nor books in this house now, for thedevil himself has carried all away.""It was not the devil," said the niece, "but a magician who came on acloud one night after the day your worship left this, and dismountingfrom a serpent that he rode he entered the room, and what he did there Iknow not, but after a little while he made off, flying through the roof,and left the house full of smoke; and when we went to see what he haddone we saw neither book nor room: but we remember very well, thehousekeeper and I, that on leaving, the old villain said in a loud voicethat, for a private grudge he owed the owner of the books and the room,he had done mischief in that house that would be discovered by-and-by: hesaid too that his name was the Sage Munaton.""He must have said Friston," said Don Quixote."I don't know whether he called himself Friston or Friton," said thehousekeeper, "I only know that his name ended with 'ton.'""So it does," said Don Quixote, "and he is a sage magician, a great enemyof mine, who has a spite against me because he knows by his arts and lorethat in process of time I am to engage in single combat with a knightwhom he befriends and that I am to conquer, and he will be unable toprevent it; and for this reason he endeavours to do me all the ill turnsthat he can; but I promise him it will be hard for him to oppose or avoidwhat is decreed by Heaven.""Who doubts that?" said the niece; "but, uncle, who mixes you up in thesequarrels? Would it not be better to remain at peace in your own houseinstead of roaming the world looking for better bread than ever came ofwheat, never reflecting that many go for wool and come back shorn?""Oh, niece of mine," replied Don Quixote, "how much astray art thou inthy reckoning: ere they shear me I shall have plucked away and strippedoff the beards of all who dare to touch only the tip of a hair of mine."The two were unwilling to make any further answer, as they saw that hisanger was kindling.In short, then, he remained at home fifteen days very quietly withoutshowing any signs of a desire to take up with his former delusions, andduring this time he held lively discussions with his two gossips, thecurate and the barber, on the point he maintained, that knights-errantwere what the world stood most in need of, and that in him was to beaccomplished the revival of knight-errantry. The curate sometimescontradicted him, sometimes agreed with him, for if he had not observedthis precaution he would have been unable to bring him to reason.Meanwhile Don Quixote worked upon a farm labourer, a neighbour of his, anhonest man (if indeed that title can be given to him who is poor), butwith very little wit in his pate. In a word, he so talked him over, andwith such persuasions and promises, that the poor clown made up his mindto sally forth with him and serve him as esquire. Don Quixote, amongother things, told him he ought to be ready to go with him gladly,because any moment an adventure might occur that might win an island inthe twinkling of an eye and leave him governor of it. On these and thelike promises Sancho Panza (for so the labourer was called) left wife andchildren, and engaged himself as esquire to his neighbour.Don Quixote next set about getting some money; and selling one thing andpawning another, and making a bad bargain in every case, he got togethera fair sum. He provided himself with a buckler, which he begged as a loanfrom a friend, and, restoring his battered helmet as best he could, hewarned his squire Sancho of the day and hour he meant to set out, that hemight provide himself with what he thought most needful. Above all, hecharged him to take alforjas with him. The other said he would, and thathe meant to take also a very good ass he had, as he was not much given togoing on foot. About the ass, Don Quixote hesitated a little, tryingwhether he could call to mind any knight-errant taking with him anesquire mounted on ass-back, but no instance occurred to his memory. Forall that, however, he determined to take him, intending to furnish himwith a more honourable mount when a chance of it presented itself, byappropriating the horse of the first discourteous knight he encountered.Himself he provided with shirts and such other things as he could,according to the advice the host had given him; all which being done,without taking leave, Sancho Panza of his wife and children, or DonQuixote of his housekeeper and niece, they sallied forth unseen byanybody from the village one night, and made such good way in the courseof it that by daylight they held themselves safe from discovery, evenshould search be made for them.Sancho rode on his ass like a patriarch, with his alforjas and bota, andlonging to see himself soon governor of the island his master hadpromised him. Don Quixote decided upon taking the same route and road hehad taken on his first journey, that over the Campo de Montiel, which hetravelled with less discomfort than on the last occasion, for, as it wasearly morning and the rays of the sun fell on them obliquely, the heatdid not distress them.And now said Sancho Panza to his master, "Your worship will take care,Senor Knight-errant, not to forget about the island you have promised me,for be it ever so big I'll be equal to governing it."To which Don Quixote replied, "Thou must know, friend Sancho Panza, thatit was a practice very much in vogue with the knights-errant of old tomake their squires governors of the islands or kingdoms they won, and Iam determined that there shall be no failure on my part in so liberal acustom; on the contrary, I mean to improve upon it, for they sometimes,and perhaps most frequently, waited until their squires were old, andthen when they had had enough of service and hard days and worse nights,they gave them some title or other, of count, or at the most marquis, ofsome valley or province more or less; but if thou livest and I live, itmay well be that before six days are over, I may have won some kingdomthat has others dependent upon it, which will be just the thing to enablethee to be crowned king of one of them. Nor needst thou count thiswonderful, for things and chances fall to the lot of such knights in waysso unexampled and unexpected that I might easily give thee even more thanI promise thee.""In that case," said Sancho Panza, "if I should become a king by one ofthose miracles your worship speaks of, even Juana Gutierrez, my oldwoman, would come to be queen and my children infantes.""Well, who doubts it?" said Don Quixote."I doubt it," replied Sancho Panza, "because for my part I am persuadedthat though God should shower down kingdoms upon earth, not one of themwould fit the head of Mari Gutierrez. Let me tell you, senor, she is notworth two maravedis for a queen; countess will fit her better, and thatonly with God's help.""Leave it to God, Sancho," returned Don Quixote, "for he will give herwhat suits her best; but do not undervalue thyself so much as to come tobe content with anything less than being governor of a province.""I will not, senor," answered Sancho, "specially as I have a man of suchquality for a master in your worship, who will know how to give me allthat will be suitable for me and that I can bear."