PART I - CHAPTER XLVI.

by Miguel de Cervantes

　　OF THE END OF THE NOTABLE ADVENTURE OF THE OFFICERS OF THE HOLYBROTHERHOOD; AND OF THE GREAT FEROCITY OF OUR WORTHY KNIGHT, DON QUIXOTEWhile Don Quixote was talking in this strain, the curate was endeavouringto persuade the officers that he was out of his senses, as they mightperceive by his deeds and his words, and that they need not press thematter any further, for even if they arrested him and carried him off,they would have to release him by-and-by as a madman; to which the holderof the warrant replied that he had nothing to do with inquiring into DonQuixote's madness, but only to execute his superior's orders, and thatonce taken they might let him go three hundred times if they liked."For all that," said the curate, "you must not take him away this time,nor will he, it is my opinion, let himself be taken away."In short, the curate used such arguments, and Don Quixote did such madthings, that the officers would have been more mad than he was if theyhad not perceived his want of wits, and so they thought it best to allowthemselves to be pacified, and even to act as peacemakers between thebarber and Sancho Panza, who still continued their altercation with muchbitterness. In the end they, as officers of justice, settled the questionby arbitration in such a manner that both sides were, if not perfectlycontented, at least to some extent satisfied; for they changed thepack-saddles, but not the girths or head-stalls; and as to Mambrino'shelmet, the curate, under the rose and without Don Quixote's knowing it,paid eight reals for the basin, and the barber executed a full receiptand engagement to make no further demand then or thenceforth forevermore, amen. These two disputes, which were the most important andgravest, being settled, it only remained for the servants of Don Luis toconsent that three of them should return while one was left to accompanyhim whither Don Fernando desired to take him; and good luck and betterfortune, having already begun to solve difficulties and removeobstructions in favour of the lovers and warriors of the inn, werepleased to persevere and bring everything to a happy issue; for theservants agreed to do as Don Luis wished; which gave Dona Clara suchhappiness that no one could have looked into her face just then withoutseeing the joy of her heart. Zoraida, though she did not fully comprehendall she saw, was grave or gay without knowing why, as she watched andstudied the various countenances, but particularly her Spaniard's, whomshe followed with her eyes and clung to with her soul. The gift andcompensation which the curate gave the barber had not escaped thelandlord's notice, and he demanded Don Quixote's reckoning, together withthe amount of the damage to his wine-skins, and the loss of his wine,swearing that neither Rocinante nor Sancho's ass should leave the innuntil he had been paid to the very last farthing. The curate settled allamicably, and Don Fernando paid; though the Judge had also very readilyoffered to pay the score; and all became so peaceful and quiet that theinn no longer reminded one of the discord of Agramante's camp, as DonQuixote said, but of the peace and tranquillity of the days ofOctavianus: for all which it was the universal opinion that their thankswere due to the great zeal and eloquence of the curate, and to theunexampled generosity of Don Fernando.Finding himself now clear and quit of all quarrels, his squire's as wellas his own, Don Quixote considered that it would be advisable to continuethe journey he had begun, and bring to a close that great adventure forwhich he had been called and chosen; and with this high resolve he wentand knelt before Dorothea, who, however, would not allow him to utter aword until he had risen; so to obey her he rose, and said, "It is acommon proverb, fair lady, that 'diligence is the mother of goodfortune,' and experience has often shown in important affairs that theearnestness of the negotiator brings the doubtful case to a successfultermination; but in nothing does this truth show itself more plainly thanin war, where quickness and activity forestall the devices of the enemy,and win the victory before the foe has time to defend himself. All this Isay, exalted and esteemed lady, because it seems to me that for us toremain any longer in this castle now is useless, and may be injurious tous in a way that we shall find out some day; for who knows but that yourenemy the giant may have learned by means of secret and diligent spiesthat I am going to destroy him, and if the opportunity be given him hemay seize it to fortify himself in some impregnable castle or stronghold,against which all my efforts and the might of my indefatigable arm mayavail but little? Therefore, lady, let us, as I say, forestall hisschemes by our activity, and let us depart at once in quest of fairfortune; for your highness is only kept from enjoying it as fully as youcould desire by my delay in encountering your adversary."Don Quixote held his peace and said no more, calmly awaiting the reply ofthe beauteous princess, who, with commanding dignity and in a styleadapted to Don Quixote's own, replied to him in these words, "I give youthanks, sir knight, for the eagerness you, like a good knight to whom itis a natural obligation to succour the orphan and the needy, display toafford me aid in my sore trouble; and heaven grant that your wishes andmine may be realised, so that you may see that there are women in thisworld capable of gratitude; as to my departure, let it be forthwith, forI have no will but yours; dispose of me entirely in accordance with yourgood pleasure; for she who has once entrusted to you the defence of herperson, and placed in your hands the recovery of her dominions, must notthink of offering opposition to that which your wisdom may ordain.""On, then, in God's name," said Don Quixote; "for, when a lady humblesherself to me, I will not lose the opportunity of raising her up andplacing her on the throne of her ancestors. Let us depart at once, forthe common saying that in delay there is danger, lends spurs to myeagerness to take the road; and as neither heaven has created nor hellseen any that can daunt or intimidate me, saddle Rocinante, Sancho, andget ready thy ass and the queen's palfrey, and let us take leave of thecastellan and these gentlemen, and go hence this very instant."Sancho, who was standing by all the time, said, shaking his head, "Ah!master, master, there is more mischief in the village than one hears of,begging all good bodies' pardon.""What mischief can there be in any village, or in all the cities of theworld, you booby, that can hurt my reputation?" said Don Quixote."If your worship is angry," replied Sancho, "I will hold my tongue andleave unsaid what as a good squire I am bound to say, and what a goodservant should tell his master.""Say what thou wilt," returned Don Quixote, "provided thy words be notmeant to work upon my fears; for thou, if thou fearest, art behaving likethyself; but I like myself, in not fearing.""It is nothing of the sort, as I am a sinner before God," said Sancho,"but that I take it to be sure and certain that this lady, who callsherself queen of the great kingdom of Micomicon, is no more so than mymother; for, if she was what she says, she would not go rubbing noseswith one that is here every instant and behind every door."Dorothea turned red at Sancho's words, for the truth was that her husbandDon Fernando had now and then, when the others were not looking, gatheredfrom her lips some of the reward his love had earned, and Sancho seeingthis had considered that such freedom was more like a courtesan than aqueen of a great kingdom; she, however, being unable or not caring toanswer him, allowed him to proceed, and he continued, "This I say, senor,because, if after we have travelled roads and highways, and passed badnights and worse days, one who is now enjoying himself in this inn is toreap the fruit of our labours, there is no need for me to be in a hurryto saddle Rocinante, put the pad on the ass, or get ready the palfrey;for it will be better for us to stay quiet, and let every jade mind herspinning, and let us go to dinner."Good God, what was the indignation of Don Quixote when he heard theaudacious words of his squire! So great was it, that in a voiceinarticulate with rage, with a stammering tongue, and eyes that flashedliving fire, he exclaimed, "Rascally clown, boorish, insolent, andignorant, ill-spoken, foul-mouthed, impudent backbiter and slanderer!Hast thou dared to utter such words in my presence and in that of theseillustrious ladies? Hast thou dared to harbour such gross and shamelessthoughts in thy muddled imagination? Begone from my presence, thou bornmonster, storehouse of lies, hoard of untruths, garner of knaveries,inventor of scandals, publisher of absurdities, enemy of the respect dueto royal personages! Begone, show thyself no more before me under pain ofmy wrath;" and so saying he knitted his brows, puffed out his cheeks,gazed around him, and stamped on the ground violently with his rightfoot, showing in every way the rage that was pent up in his heart; and athis words and furious gestures Sancho was so scared and terrified that hewould have been glad if the earth had opened that instant and swallowedhim, and his only thought was to turn round and make his escape from theangry presence of his master.But the ready-witted Dorothea, who by this time so well understood DonQuixote's humour, said, to mollify his wrath, "Be not irritated at theabsurdities your good squire has uttered, Sir Knight of the RuefulCountenance, for perhaps he did not utter them without cause, and fromhis good sense and Christian conscience it is not likely that he wouldbear false witness against anyone. We may therefore believe, without anyhesitation, that since, as you say, sir knight, everything in this castlegoes and is brought about by means of enchantment, Sancho, I say, maypossibly have seen, through this diabolical medium, what he says he sawso much to the detriment of my modesty.""I swear by God Omnipotent," exclaimed Don Quixote at this, "yourhighness has hit the point; and that some vile illusion must have comebefore this sinner of a Sancho, that made him see what it would have beenimpossible to see by any other means than enchantments; for I know wellenough, from the poor fellow's goodness and harmlessness, that he isincapable of bearing false witness against anybody.""True, no doubt," said Don Fernando, "for which reason, Senor DonQuixote, you ought to forgive him and restore him to the bosom of yourfavour, sicut erat in principio, before illusions of this sort had takenaway his senses."Don Quixote said he was ready to pardon him, and the curate went forSancho, who came in very humbly, and falling on his knees begged for thehand of his master, who having presented it to him and allowed him tokiss it, gave him his blessing and said, "Now, Sancho my son, thou wiltbe convinced of the truth of what I have many a time told thee, thateverything in this castle is done by means of enchantment.""So it is, I believe," said Sancho, "except the affair of the blanket,which came to pass in reality by ordinary means.""Believe it not," said Don Quixote, "for had it been so, I would haveavenged thee that instant, or even now; but neither then nor now could I,nor have I seen anyone upon whom to avenge thy wrong."They were all eager to know what the affair of the blanket was, and thelandlord gave them a minute account of Sancho's flights, at which theylaughed not a little, and at which Sancho would have been no less out ofcountenance had not his master once more assured him it was allenchantment. For all that his simplicity never reached so high a pitchthat he could persuade himself it was not the plain and simple truth,without any deception whatever about it, that he had been blanketed bybeings of flesh and blood, and not by visionary and imaginary phantoms,as his master believed and protested.The illustrious company had now been two days in the inn; and as itseemed to them time to depart, they devised a plan so that, withoutgiving Dorothea and Don Fernando the trouble of going back with DonQuixote to his village under pretence of restoring Queen Micomicona, thecurate and the barber might carry him away with them as they proposed,and the curate be able to take his madness in hand at home; and inpursuance of their plan they arranged with the owner of an oxcart whohappened to be passing that way to carry him after this fashion. Theyconstructed a kind of cage with wooden bars, large enough to hold DonQuixote comfortably; and then Don Fernando and his companions, theservants of Don Luis, and the officers of the Brotherhood, together withthe landlord, by the directions and advice of the curate, covered theirfaces and disguised themselves, some in one way, some in another, so asto appear to Don Quixote quite different from the persons he had seen inthe castle. This done, in profound silence they entered the room where hewas asleep, taking his his rest after the past frays, and advancing towhere he was sleeping tranquilly, not dreaming of anything of the kindhappening, they seized him firmly and bound him fast hand and foot, sothat, when he awoke startled, he was unable to move, and could onlymarvel and wonder at the strange figures he saw before him; upon which heat once gave way to the idea which his crazed fancy invariably conjuredup before him, and took it into his head that all these shapes werephantoms of the enchanted castle, and that he himself was unquestionablyenchanted as he could neither move nor help himself; precisely what thecurate, the concoctor of the scheme, expected would happen. Of all thatwere there Sancho was the only one who was at once in his senses and inhis own proper character, and he, though he was within very little ofsharing his master's infirmity, did not fail to perceive who all thesedisguised figures were; but he did not dare to open his lips until he sawwhat came of this assault and capture of his master; nor did the latterutter a word, waiting to the upshot of his mishap; which was thatbringing in the cage, they shut him up in it and nailed the bars sofirmly that they could not be easily burst open.They then took him on their shoulders, and as they passed out of the rooman awful voice--as much so as the barber, not he of the pack-saddle butthe other, was able to make it--was heard to say, "O Knight of the RuefulCountenance, let not this captivity in which thou art placed afflictthee, for this must needs be, for the more speedy accomplishment of theadventure in which thy great heart has engaged thee; the which shall beaccomplished when the raging Manchegan lion and the white Tobosan doveshall be linked together, having first humbled their haughty necks to thegentle yoke of matrimony. And from this marvellous union shall come forthto the light of the world brave whelps that shall rival the raveningclaws of their valiant father; and this shall come to pass ere thepursuer of the flying nymph shall in his swift natural course have twicevisited the starry signs. And thou, O most noble and obedient squire thatever bore sword at side, beard on face, or nose to smell with, be notdismayed or grieved to see the flower of knight-errantry carried awaythus before thy very eyes; for soon, if it so please the Framer of theuniverse, thou shalt see thyself exalted to such a height that thou shaltnot know thyself, and the promises which thy good master has made theeshall not prove false; and I assure thee, on the authority of the sageMentironiana, that thy wages shall be paid thee, as thou shalt see in dueseason. Follow then the footsteps of the valiant enchanted knight, for itis expedient that thou shouldst go to the destination assigned to both ofyou; and as it is not permitted to me to say more, God be with thee; forI return to that place I wot of;" and as he brought the prophecy to aclose he raised his voice to a high pitch, and then lowered it to such asoft tone, that even those who knew it was all a joke were almostinclined to take what they heard seriously.Don Quixote was comforted by the prophecy he heard, for he at oncecomprehended its meaning perfectly, and perceived it was promised to himthat he should see himself united in holy and lawful matrimony with hisbeloved Dulcinea del Toboso, from whose blessed womb should proceed thewhelps, his sons, to the eternal glory of La Mancha; and being thoroughlyand firmly persuaded of this, he lifted up his voice, and with a deepsigh exclaimed, "Oh thou, whoever thou art, who hast foretold me so muchgood, I implore of thee that on my part thou entreat that sage enchanterwho takes charge of my interests, that he leave me not to perish in thiscaptivity in which they are now carrying me away, ere I see fulfilledpromises so joyful and incomparable as those which have been now made me;for, let this but come to pass, and I shall glory in the pains of myprison, find comfort in these chains wherewith they bind me, and regardthis bed whereon they stretch me, not as a hard battle-field, but as asoft and happy nuptial couch; and touching the consolation of SanchoPanza, my squire, I rely upon his goodness and rectitude that he will notdesert me in good or evil fortune; for if, by his ill luck or mine, itmay not happen to be in my power to give him the island I have promised,or any equivalent for it, at least his wages shall not be lost; for in mywill, which is already made, I have declared the sum that shall be paidto him, measured, not by his many faithful services, but by the means atmy disposal."Sancho bowed his head very respectfully and kissed both his hands, for,being tied together, he could not kiss one; and then the apparitionslifted the cage upon their shoulders and fixed it upon the ox-cart.