PART I - CHAPTER XXXII.

by Miguel de Cervantes

　　WHICH TREATS OF WHAT BEFELL DON QUIXOTE'S PARTY AT THE INNTheir dainty repast being finished, they saddled at once, and without anyadventure worth mentioning they reached next day the inn, the object ofSancho Panza's fear and dread; but though he would have rather notentered it, there was no help for it. The landlady, the landlord, theirdaughter, and Maritornes, when they saw Don Quixote and Sancho coming,went out to welcome them with signs of hearty satisfaction, which DonQuixote received with dignity and gravity, and bade them make up a betterbed for him than the last time: to which the landlady replied that if hepaid better than he did the last time she would give him one fit for aprince. Don Quixote said he would, so they made up a tolerable one forhim in the same garret as before; and he lay down at once, being sorelyshaken and in want of sleep.No sooner was the door shut upon him than the landlady made at thebarber, and seizing him by the beard, said:"By my faith you are not going to make a beard of my tail any longer; youmust give me back tail, for it is a shame the way that thing of myhusband's goes tossing about on the floor; I mean the comb that I used tostick in my good tail."But for all she tugged at it the barber would not give it up until thelicentiate told him to let her have it, as there was now no furtheroccasion for that stratagem, because he might declare himself and appearin his own character, and tell Don Quixote that he had fled to this innwhen those thieves the galley slaves robbed him; and should he ask forthe princess's squire, they could tell him that she had sent him onbefore her to give notice to the people of her kingdom that she wascoming, and bringing with her the deliverer of them all. On this thebarber cheerfully restored the tail to the landlady, and at the same timethey returned all the accessories they had borrowed to effect DonQuixote's deliverance. All the people of the inn were struck withastonishment at the beauty of Dorothea, and even at the comely figure ofthe shepherd Cardenio. The curate made them get ready such fare as therewas in the inn, and the landlord, in hope of better payment, served themup a tolerably good dinner. All this time Don Quixote was asleep, andthey thought it best not to waken him, as sleeping would now do him moregood than eating.While at dinner, the company consisting of the landlord, his wife, theirdaughter, Maritornes, and all the travellers, they discussed the strangecraze of Don Quixote and the manner in which he had been found; and thelandlady told them what had taken place between him and the carrier; andthen, looking round to see if Sancho was there, when she saw he was not,she gave them the whole story of his blanketing, which they received withno little amusement. But on the curate observing that it was the books ofchivalry which Don Quixote had read that had turned his brain, thelandlord said:"I cannot understand how that can be, for in truth to my mind there is nobetter reading in the world, and I have here two or three of them, withother writings that are the very life, not only of myself but of plentymore; for when it is harvest-time, the reapers flock here on holidays,and there is always one among them who can read and who takes up one ofthese books, and we gather round him, thirty or more of us, and staylistening to him with a delight that makes our grey hairs grow youngagain. At least I can say for myself that when I hear of what furious andterrible blows the knights deliver, I am seized with the longing to dothe same, and I would like to be hearing about them night and day.""And I just as much," said the landlady, "because I never have a quietmoment in my house except when you are listening to some one reading; forthen you are so taken up that for the time being you forget to scold.""That is true," said Maritornes; "and, faith, I relish hearing thesethings greatly too, for they are very pretty; especially when theydescribe some lady or another in the arms of her knight under the orangetrees, and the duenna who is keeping watch for them half dead with envyand fright; all this I say is as good as honey.""And you, what do you think, young lady?" said the curate turning to thelandlord's daughter."I don't know indeed, senor," said she; "I listen too, and to tell thetruth, though I do not understand it, I like hearing it; but it is notthe blows that my father likes that I like, but the laments the knightsutter when they are separated from their ladies; and indeed theysometimes make me weep with the pity I feel for them.""Then you would console them if it was for you they wept, young lady?"said Dorothea."I don't know what I should do," said the girl; "I only know that thereare some of those ladies so cruel that they call their knights tigers andlions and a thousand other foul names: and Jesus! I don't know what sortof folk they can be, so unfeeling and heartless, that rather than bestowa glance upon a worthy man they leave him to die or go mad. I don't knowwhat is the good of such prudery; if it is for honour's sake, why notmarry them? That's all they want.""Hush, child," said the landlady; "it seems to me thou knowest a greatdeal about these things, and it is not fit for girls to know or talk somuch.""As the gentleman asked me, I could not help answering him," said thegirl."Well then," said the curate, "bring me these books, senor landlord, forI should like to see them.""With all my heart," said he, and going into his own room he brought outan old valise secured with a little chain, on opening which the curatefound in it three large books and some manuscripts written in a very goodhand. The first that he opened he found to be "Don Cirongilio of Thrace,"and the second "Don Felixmarte of Hircania," and the other the "Historyof the Great Captain Gonzalo Hernandez de Cordova, with the Life of DiegoGarcia de Paredes."When the curate read the two first titles he looked over at the barberand said, "We want my friend's housekeeper and niece here now.""Nay," said the barber, "I can do just as well to carry them to the yardor to the hearth, and there is a very good fire there.""What! your worship would burn my books!" said the landlord."Only these two," said the curate, "Don Cirongilio, and Felixmarte.""Are my books, then, heretics or phlegmaties that you want to burn them?"said the landlord."Schismatics you mean, friend," said the barber, "not phlegmatics.""That's it," said the landlord; "but if you want to burn any, let it bethat about the Great Captain and that Diego Garcia; for I would ratherhave a child of mine burnt than either of the others.""Brother," said the curate, "those two books are made up of lies, and arefull of folly and nonsense; but this of the Great Captain is a truehistory, and contains the deeds of Gonzalo Hernandez of Cordova, who byhis many and great achievements earned the title all over the world ofthe Great Captain, a famous and illustrious name, and deserved by himalone; and this Diego Garcia de Paredes was a distinguished knight of thecity of Trujillo in Estremadura, a most gallant soldier, and of suchbodily strength that with one finger he stopped a mill-wheel in fullmotion; and posted with a two-handed sword at the foot of a bridge hekept the whole of an immense army from passing over it, and achieved suchother exploits that if, instead of his relating them himself with themodesty of a knight and of one writing his own history, some free andunbiassed writer had recorded them, they would have thrown into the shadeall the deeds of the Hectors, Achilleses, and Rolands.""Tell that to my father," said the landlord. "There's a thing to beastonished at! Stopping a mill-wheel! By God your worship should readwhat I have read of Felixmarte of Hircania, how with one singlebackstroke he cleft five giants asunder through the middle as if they hadbeen made of bean-pods like the little friars the children make; andanother time he attacked a very great and powerful army, in which therewere more than a million six hundred thousand soldiers, all armed fromhead to foot, and he routed them all as if they had been flocks of sheep."And then, what do you say to the good Cirongilio of Thrace, that was sostout and bold; as may be seen in the book, where it is related that ashe was sailing along a river there came up out of the midst of the wateragainst him a fiery serpent, and he, as soon as he saw it, flung himselfupon it and got astride of its scaly shoulders, and squeezed its throatwith both hands with such force that the serpent, finding he wasthrottling it, had nothing for it but to let itself sink to the bottom ofthe river, carrying with it the knight who would not let go his hold; andwhen they got down there he found himself among palaces and gardens sopretty that it was a wonder to see; and then the serpent changed itselfinto an old ancient man, who told him such things as were never heard.Hold your peace, senor; for if you were to hear this you would go madwith delight. A couple of figs for your Great Captain and your DiegoGarcia!"Hearing this Dorothea said in a whisper to Cardenio, "Our landlord isalmost fit to play a second part to Don Quixote.""I think so," said Cardenio, "for, as he shows, he accepts it as acertainty that everything those books relate took place exactly as it iswritten down; and the barefooted friars themselves would not persuade himto the contrary.""But consider, brother," said the curate once more, "there never was anyFelixmarte of Hircania in the world, nor any Cirongilio of Thrace, or anyof the other knights of the same sort, that the books of chivalry talkof; the whole thing is the fabrication and invention of idle wits,devised by them for the purpose you describe of beguiling the time, asyour reapers do when they read; for I swear to you in all seriousnessthere never were any such knights in the world, and no such exploits ornonsense ever happened anywhere.""Try that bone on another dog," said the landlord; "as if I did not knowhow many make five, and where my shoe pinches me; don't think to feed mewith pap, for by God I am no fool. It is a good joke for your worship totry and persuade me that everything these good books say is nonsense andlies, and they printed by the license of the Lords of the Royal Council,as if they were people who would allow such a lot of lies to be printedall together, and so many battles and enchantments that they take awayone's senses.""I have told you, friend," said the curate, "that this is done to divertour idle thoughts; and as in well-ordered states games of chess, fives,and billiards are allowed for the diversion of those who do not care, orare not obliged, or are unable to work, so books of this kind are allowedto be printed, on the supposition that, what indeed is the truth, therecan be nobody so ignorant as to take any of them for true stories; and ifit were permitted me now, and the present company desired it, I could saysomething about the qualities books of chivalry should possess to be goodones, that would be to the advantage and even to the taste of some; but Ihope the time will come when I can communicate my ideas to some one whomay be able to mend matters; and in the meantime, senor landlord, believewhat I have said, and take your books, and make up your mind about theirtruth or falsehood, and much good may they do you; and God grant you maynot fall lame of the same foot your guest Don Quixote halts on.""No fear of that," returned the landlord; "I shall not be so mad as tomake a knight-errant of myself; for I see well enough that things are notnow as they used to be in those days, when they say those famous knightsroamed about the world."Sancho had made his appearance in the middle of this conversation, and hewas very much troubled and cast down by what he heard said aboutknights-errant being now no longer in vogue, and all books of chivalrybeing folly and lies; and he resolved in his heart to wait and see whatcame of this journey of his master's, and if it did not turn out ashappily as his master expected, he determined to leave him and go back tohis wife and children and his ordinary labour.The landlord was carrying away the valise and the books, but the curatesaid to him, "Wait; I want to see what those papers are that are writtenin such a good hand." The landlord taking them out handed them to him toread, and he perceived they were a work of about eight sheets ofmanuscript, with, in large letters at the beginning, the title of "Novelof the Ill-advised Curiosity." The curate read three or four lines tohimself, and said, "I must say the title of this novel does not seem tome a bad one, and I feel an inclination to read it all." To which thelandlord replied, "Then your reverence will do well to read it, for I cantell you that some guests who have read it here have been much pleasedwith it, and have begged it of me very earnestly; but I would not giveit, meaning to return it to the person who forgot the valise, books, andpapers here, for maybe he will return here some time or other; and thoughI know I shall miss the books, faith I mean to return them; for though Iam an innkeeper, still I am a Christian.""You are very right, friend," said the curate; "but for all that, if thenovel pleases me you must let me copy it.""With all my heart," replied the host.While they were talking Cardenio had taken up the novel and begun to readit, and forming the same opinion of it as the curate, he begged him toread it so that they might all hear it."I would read it," said the curate, "if the time would not be betterspent in sleeping.""It will be rest enough for me," said Dorothea, "to while away the timeby listening to some tale, for my spirits are not yet tranquil enough tolet me sleep when it would be seasonable.""Well then, in that case," said the curate, "I will read it, if it wereonly out of curiosity; perhaps it may contain something pleasant."Master Nicholas added his entreaties to the same effect, and Sancho too;seeing which, and considering that he would give pleasure to all, andreceive it himself, the curate said, "Well then, attend to me everyone,for the novel begins thus."