PART II - CHAPTER LV.

by Miguel de Cervantes

　　OF WHAT BEFELL SANCHO ON THE ROAD, AND OTHER THINGS THAT CANNOT BESURPASSEDThe length of time he delayed with Ricote prevented Sancho from reachingthe duke's castle that day, though he was within half a league of it whennight, somewhat dark and cloudy, overtook him. This, however, as it wassummer time, did not give him much uneasiness, and he turned aside out ofthe road intending to wait for morning; but his ill luck and hard fate sowilled it that as he was searching about for a place to make himself ascomfortable as possible, he and Dapple fell into a deep dark hole thatlay among some very old buildings. As he fell he commended himself withall his heart to God, fancying he was not going to stop until he reachedthe depths of the bottomless pit; but it did not turn out so, for atlittle more than thrice a man's height Dapple touched bottom, and hefound himself sitting on him without having received any hurt or damagewhatever. He felt himself all over and held his breath to try whether hewas quite sound or had a hole made in him anywhere, and finding himselfall right and whole and in perfect health he was profuse in his thanks toGod our Lord for the mercy that had been shown him, for he made sure hehad been broken into a thousand pieces. He also felt along the sides ofthe pit with his hands to see if it were possible to get out of itwithout help, but he found they were quite smooth and afforded no holdanywhere, at which he was greatly distressed, especially when he heardhow pathetically and dolefully Dapple was bemoaning himself, and nowonder he complained, nor was it from ill-temper, for in truth he was notin a very good case. "Alas," said Sancho, "what unexpected accidentshappen at every step to those who live in this miserable world! Who wouldhave said that one who saw himself yesterday sitting on a throne,governor of an island, giving orders to his servants and his vassals,would see himself to-day buried in a pit without a soul to help him, orservant or vassal to come to his relief? Here must we perish with hunger,my ass and myself, if indeed we don't die first, he of his bruises andinjuries, and I of grief and sorrow. At any rate I'll not be as lucky asmy master Don Quixote of La Mancha, when he went down into the cave ofthat enchanted Montesinos, where he found people to make more of him thanif he had been in his own house; for it seems he came in for a table laidout and a bed ready made. There he saw fair and pleasant visions, buthere I'll see, I imagine, toads and adders. Unlucky wretch that I am,what an end my follies and fancies have come to! They'll take up my bonesout of this, when it is heaven's will that I'm found, picked clean, whiteand polished, and my good Dapple's with them, and by that, perhaps, itwill be found out who we are, at least by such as have heard that SanchoPanza never separated from his ass, nor his ass from Sancho Panza.Unlucky wretches, I say again, that our hard fate should not let us diein our own country and among our own people, where if there was no helpfor our misfortune, at any rate there would be some one to grieve for itand to close our eyes as we passed away! O comrade and friend, how illhave I repaid thy faithful services! Forgive me, and entreat Fortune, aswell as thou canst, to deliver us out of this miserable strait we areboth in; and I promise to put a crown of laurel on thy head, and makethee look like a poet laureate, and give thee double feeds."In this strain did Sancho bewail himself, and his ass listened to him,but answered him never a word, such was the distress and anguish the poorbeast found himself in. At length, after a night spent in bitter moaningsand lamentations, day came, and by its light Sancho perceived that it waswholly impossible to escape out of that pit without help, and he fell tobemoaning his fate and uttering loud shouts to find out if there wasanyone within hearing; but all his shouting was only crying in thewilderness, for there was not a soul anywhere in the neighbourhood tohear him, and then at last he gave himself up for dead. Dapple was lyingon his back, and Sancho helped him to his feet, which he was scarcelyable to keep; and then taking a piece of bread out of his alforjas whichhad shared their fortunes in the fall, he gave it to the ass, to whom itwas not unwelcome, saying to him as if he understood him, "With bread allsorrows are less."And now he perceived on one side of the pit a hole large enough to admita person if he stooped and squeezed himself into a small compass. Sanchomade for it, and entered it by creeping, and found it wide and spaciouson the inside, which he was able to see as a ray of sunlight thatpenetrated what might be called the roof showed it all plainly. Heobserved too that it opened and widened out into another spacious cavity;seeing which he made his way back to where the ass was, and with a stonebegan to pick away the clay from the hole until in a short time he hadmade room for the beast to pass easily, and this accomplished, taking himby the halter, he proceeded to traverse the cavern to see if there wasany outlet at the other end. He advanced, sometimes in the dark,sometimes without light, but never without fear; "God Almighty help me!"said he to himself; "this that is a misadventure to me would make a goodadventure for my master Don Quixote. He would have been sure to takethese depths and dungeons for flowery gardens or the palaces of Galiana,and would have counted upon issuing out of this darkness and imprisonmentinto some blooming meadow; but I, unlucky that I am, hopeless andspiritless, expect at every step another pit deeper than the first toopen under my feet and swallow me up for good; 'welcome evil, if thoucomest alone.'"In this way and with these reflections he seemed to himself to havetravelled rather more than half a league, when at last he perceived a dimlight that looked like daylight and found its way in on one side, showingthat this road, which appeared to him the road to the other world, led tosome opening.Here Cide Hamete leaves him, and returns to Don Quixote, who in highspirits and satisfaction was looking forward to the day fixed for thebattle he was to fight with him who had robbed Dona Rodriguez's daughterof her honour, for whom he hoped to obtain satisfaction for the wrong andinjury shamefully done to her. It came to pass, then, that having salliedforth one morning to practise and exercise himself in what he would haveto do in the encounter he expected to find himself engaged in the nextday, as he was putting Rocinante through his paces or pressing him to thecharge, he brought his feet so close to a pit that but for reining him intightly it would have been impossible for him to avoid falling into it.He pulled him up, however, without a fall, and coming a little closerexamined the hole without dismounting; but as he was looking at it heheard loud cries proceeding from it, and by listening attentively wasable to make out that he who uttered them was saying, "Ho, above there!is there any Christian that hears me, or any charitable gentleman thatwill take pity on a sinner buried alive, on an unfortunate disgovernedgovernor?"It struck Don Quixote that it was the voice of Sancho Panza he heard,whereat he was taken aback and amazed, and raising his own voice as muchas he could, he cried out, "Who is below there? Who is that complaining?""Who should be here, or who should complain," was the answer, "but theforlorn Sancho Panza, for his sins and for his ill-luck governor of theisland of Barataria, squire that was to the famous knight Don Quixote ofLa Mancha?"When Don Quixote heard this his amazement was redoubled and hisperturbation grew greater than ever, for it suggested itself to his mindthat Sancho must be dead, and that his soul was in torment down there;and carried away by this idea he exclaimed, "I conjure thee by everythingthat as a Catholic Christian I can conjure thee by, tell me who thou art;and if thou art a soul in torment, tell me what thou wouldst have me dofor thee; for as my profession is to give aid and succour to those thatneed it in this world, it will also extend to aiding and succouring thedistressed of the other, who cannot help themselves.""In that case," answered the voice, "your worship who speaks to me mustbe my master Don Quixote of La Mancha; nay, from the tone of the voice itis plain it can be nobody else.""Don Quixote I am," replied Don Quixote, "he whose profession it is toaid and succour the living and the dead in their necessities; whereforetell me who thou art, for thou art keeping me in suspense; because, ifthou art my squire Sancho Panza, and art dead, since the devils have notcarried thee off, and thou art by God's mercy in purgatory, our holymother the Roman Catholic Church has intercessory means sufficient torelease thee from the pains thou art in; and I for my part will pleadwith her to that end, so far as my substance will go; without furtherdelay, therefore, declare thyself, and tell me who thou art.""By all that's good," was the answer, "and by the birth of whomsoeveryour worship chooses, I swear, Senor Don Quixote of La Mancha, that I amyour squire Sancho Panza, and that I have never died all my life; butthat, having given up my government for reasons that would require moretime to explain, I fell last night into this pit where I am now, andDapple is witness and won't let me lie, for more by token he is here withme."Nor was this all; one would have fancied the ass understood what Sanchosaid, because that moment he began to bray so loudly that the whole caverang again."Famous testimony!" exclaimed Don Quixote; "I know that bray as well asif I was its mother, and thy voice too, my Sancho. Wait while I go to theduke's castle, which is close by, and I will bring some one to take theeout of this pit into which thy sins no doubt have brought thee.""Go, your worship," said Sancho, "and come back quick for God's sake; forI cannot bear being buried alive any longer, and I'm dying of fear."Don Quixote left him, and hastened to the castle to tell the duke andduchess what had happened Sancho, and they were not a little astonishedat it; they could easily understand his having fallen, from theconfirmatory circumstance of the cave which had been in existence therefrom time immemorial; but they could not imagine how he had quitted thegovernment without their receiving any intimation of his coming. To bebrief, they fetched ropes and tackle, as the saying is, and by dint ofmany hands and much labour they drew up Dapple and Sancho Panza out ofthe darkness into the light of day. A student who saw him remarked,"That's the way all bad governors should come out of their governments,as this sinner comes out of the depths of the pit, dead with hunger,pale, and I suppose without a farthing."Sancho overheard him and said, "It is eight or ten days, brother growler,since I entered upon the government of the island they gave me, and allthat time I never had a bellyful of victuals, no not for an hour; doctorspersecuted me and enemies crushed my bones; nor had I any opportunity oftaking bribes or levying taxes; and if that be the case, as it is, Idon't deserve, I think, to come out in this fashion; but 'man proposesand God disposes;' and God knows what is best, and what suits each onebest; and 'as the occasion, so the behaviour;' and 'let nobody say "Iwon't drink of this water;"' and 'where one thinks there are flitches,there are no pegs;' God knows my meaning and that's enough; I say nomore, though I could.""Be not angry or annoyed at what thou hearest, Sancho," said Don Quixote,"or there will never be an end of it; keep a safe conscience and let themsay what they like; for trying to stop slanderers' tongues is like tryingto put gates to the open plain. If a governor comes out of his governmentrich, they say he has been a thief; and if he comes out poor, that he hasbeen a noodle and a blockhead.""They'll be pretty sure this time," said Sancho, "to set me down for afool rather than a thief."Thus talking, and surrounded by boys and a crowd of people, they reachedthe castle, where in one of the corridors the duke and duchess stoodwaiting for them; but Sancho would not go up to see the duke until he hadfirst put up Dapple in the stable, for he said he had passed a very badnight in his last quarters; then he went upstairs to see his lord andlady, and kneeling before them he said, "Because it was your highnesses'pleasure, not because of any desert of my own, I went to govern yourisland of Barataria, which 'I entered naked, and naked I find myself; Ineither lose nor gain.' Whether I have governed well or ill, I have hadwitnesses who will say what they think fit. I have answered questions, Ihave decided causes, and always dying of hunger, for Doctor Pedro Recioof Tirteafuera, the island and governor doctor, would have it so. Enemiesattacked us by night and put us in a great quandary, but the people ofthe island say they came off safe and victorious by the might of my arm;and may God give them as much health as there's truth in what they say.In short, during that time I have weighed the cares and responsibilitiesgoverning brings with it, and by my reckoning I find my shoulders can'tbear them, nor are they a load for my loins or arrows for my quiver; andso, before the government threw me over I preferred to throw thegovernment over; and yesterday morning I left the island as I found it,with the same streets, houses, and roofs it had when I entered it. Iasked no loan of anybody, nor did I try to fill my pocket; and though Imeant to make some useful laws, I made hardly any, as I was afraid theywould not be kept; for in that case it comes to the same thing to makethem or not to make them. I quitted the island, as I said, without anyescort except my ass; I fell into a pit, I pushed on through it, untilthis morning by the light of the sun I saw an outlet, but not so easy aone but that, had not heaven sent me my master Don Quixote, I'd havestayed there till the end of the world. So now my lord and lady duke andduchess, here is your governor Sancho Panza, who in the bare ten days hehas held the government has come by the knowledge that he would not giveanything to be governor, not to say of an island, but of the whole world;and that point being settled, kissing your worships' feet, and imitatingthe game of the boys when they say, 'leap thou, and give me one,' I takea leap out of the government and pass into the service of my master DonQuixote; for after all, though in it I eat my bread in fear andtrembling, at any rate I take my fill; and for my part, so long as I'mfull, it's all alike to me whether it's with carrots or with partridges."Here Sancho brought his long speech to an end, Don Quixote having beenthe whole time in dread of his uttering a host of absurdities; and whenhe found him leave off with so few, he thanked heaven in his heart. Theduke embraced Sancho and told him he was heartily sorry he had given upthe government so soon, but that he would see that he was provided withsome other post on his estate less onerous and more profitable. Theduchess also embraced him, and gave orders that he should be taken goodcare of, as it was plain to see he had been badly treated and worsebruised.