PART II - CHAPTER LXV.

by Miguel de Cervantes

　　WHEREIN IS MADE KNOWN WHO THE KNIGHT OF THE WHITE MOON WAS; LIKEWISE DONGREGORIO'S RELEASE, AND OTHER EVENTSDon Antonia Moreno followed the Knight of the White Moon, and a number ofboys followed him too, nay pursued him, until they had him fairly housedin a hostel in the heart of the city. Don Antonio, eager to make hisacquaintance, entered also; a squire came out to meet him and remove hisarmour, and he shut himself into a lower room, still attended by DonAntonio, whose bread would not bake until he had found out who he was. Heof the White Moon, seeing then that the gentleman would not leave him,said, "I know very well, senor, what you have come for; it is to find outwho I am; and as there is no reason why I should conceal it from you,while my servant here is taking off my armour I will tell you the truestate of the case, without leaving out anything. You must know, senor,that I am called the bachelor Samson Carrasco. I am of the same villageas Don Quixote of La Mancha, whose craze and folly make all of us whoknow him feel pity for him, and I am one of those who have felt it most;and persuaded that his chance of recovery lay in quiet and keeping athome and in his own house, I hit upon a device for keeping him there.Three months ago, therefore, I went out to meet him as a knight-errant,under the assumed name of the Knight of the Mirrors, intending to engagehim in combat and overcome him without hurting him, making it thecondition of our combat that the vanquished should be at the disposal ofthe victor. What I meant to demand of him (for I regarded him asvanquished already) was that he should return to his own village, and notleave it for a whole year, by which time he might be cured. But fateordered it otherwise, for he vanquished me and unhorsed me, and so myplan failed. He went his way, and I came back conquered, covered withshame, and sorely bruised by my fall, which was a particularly dangerousone. But this did not quench my desire to meet him again and overcomehim, as you have seen to-day. And as he is so scrupulous in hisobservance of the laws of knight-errantry, he will, no doubt, in order tokeep his word, obey the injunction I have laid upon him. This, senor, ishow the matter stands, and I have nothing more to tell you. I implore ofyou not to betray me, or tell Don Quixote who I am; so that my honestendeavours may be successful, and that a man of excellent wits--were heonly rid of the fooleries of chivalry--may get them back again.""O senor," said Don Antonio, "may God forgive you the wrong you have donethe whole world in trying to bring the most amusing madman in it back tohis senses. Do you not see, senor, that the gain by Don Quixote's sanitycan never equal the enjoyment his crazes give? But my belief is that allthe senor bachelor's pains will be of no avail to bring a man sohopelessly cracked to his senses again; and if it were not uncharitable,I would say may Don Quixote never be cured, for by his recovery we losenot only his own drolleries, but his squire Sancho Panza's too, any oneof which is enough to turn melancholy itself into merriment. However,I'll hold my peace and say nothing to him, and we'll see whether I amright in my suspicion that Senor Carrasco's efforts will be fruitless."The bachelor replied that at all events the affair promised well, and hehoped for a happy result from it; and putting his services at DonAntonio's commands he took his leave of him; and having had his armourpacked at once upon a mule, he rode away from the city the same day onthe horse he rode to battle, and returned to his own country withoutmeeting any adventure calling for record in this veracious history.Don Antonio reported to the viceroy what Carrasco told him, and theviceroy was not very well pleased to hear it, for with Don Quixote'sretirement there was an end to the amusement of all who knew anything ofhis mad doings.Six days did Don Quixote keep his bed, dejected, melancholy, moody andout of sorts, brooding over the unhappy event of his defeat. Sanchostrove to comfort him, and among other things he said to him, "Hold upyour head, senor, and be of good cheer if you can, and give thanks toheaven that if you have had a tumble to the ground you have not come offwith a broken rib; and, as you know that 'where they give they take,' andthat 'there are not always fletches where there are pegs,' a fig for thedoctor, for there's no need of him to cure this ailment. Let us go home,and give over going about in search of adventures in strange lands andplaces; rightly looked at, it is I that am the greater loser, though itis your worship that has had the worse usage. With the government I gaveup all wish to be a governor again, but I did not give up all longing tobe a count; and that will never come to pass if your worship gives upbecoming a king by renouncing the calling of chivalry; and so my hopesare going to turn into smoke.""Peace, Sancho," said Don Quixote; "thou seest my suspension andretirement is not to exceed a year; I shall soon return to my honouredcalling, and I shall not be at a loss for a kingdom to win and a countyto bestow on thee.""May God hear it and sin be deaf," said Sancho; "I have always heard saythat 'a good hope is better than a bad holding."As they were talking Don Antonio came in looking extremely pleased andexclaiming, "Reward me for my good news, Senor Don Quixote! Don Gregorioand the renegade who went for him have come ashore--ashore do I say? Theyare by this time in the viceroy's house, and will be here immediately."Don Quixote cheered up a little and said, "Of a truth I am almost readyto say I should have been glad had it turned out just the other way, forit would have obliged me to cross over to Barbary, where by the might ofmy arm I should have restored to liberty, not only Don Gregorio, but allthe Christian captives there are in Barbary. But what am I saying,miserable being that I am? Am I not he that has been conquered? Am I nothe that has been overthrown? Am I not he who must not take up arms for ayear? Then what am I making professions for; what am I bragging about;when it is fitter for me to handle the distaff than the sword?""No more of that, senor," said Sancho; "'let the hen live, even though itbe with her pip; 'today for thee and to-morrow for me;' in these affairsof encounters and whacks one must not mind them, for he that falls to-daymay get up to-morrow; unless indeed he chooses to lie in bed, I meangives way to weakness and does not pluck up fresh spirit for freshbattles; let your worship get up now to receive Don Gregorio; for thehousehold seems to be in a bustle, and no doubt he has come by thistime;" and so it proved, for as soon as Don Gregorio and the renegade hadgiven the viceroy an account of the voyage out and home, Don Gregorio,eager to see Ana Felix, came with the renegade to Don Antonio's house.When they carried him away from Algiers he was in woman's dress; on boardthe vessel, however, he exchanged it for that of a captive who escapedwith him; but in whatever dress he might be he looked like one to beloved and served and esteemed, for he was surpassingly well-favoured, andto judge by appearances some seventeen or eighteen years of age. Ricoteand his daughter came out to welcome him, the father with tears, thedaughter with bashfulness. They did not embrace each other, for wherethere is deep love there will never be overmuch boldness. Seen side byside, the comeliness of Don Gregorio and the beauty of Ana Felix were theadmiration of all who were present. It was silence that spoke for thelovers at that moment, and their eyes were the tongues that declaredtheir pure and happy feelings. The renegade explained the measures andmeans he had adopted to rescue Don Gregorio, and Don Gregorio at no greatlength, but in a few words, in which he showed that his intelligence wasin advance of his years, described the peril and embarrassment he foundhimself in among the women with whom he had sojourned. To conclude,Ricote liberally recompensed and rewarded as well the renegade as the menwho had rowed; and the renegade effected his readmission into the body ofthe Church and was reconciled with it, and from a rotten limb became bypenance and repentance a clean and sound one.Two days later the viceroy discussed with Don Antonio the steps theyshould take to enable Ana Felix and her father to stay in Spain, for itseemed to them there could be no objection to a daughter who was so gooda Christian and a father to all appearance so well disposed remainingthere. Don Antonio offered to arrange the matter at the capital, whitherhe was compelled to go on some other business, hinting that many adifficult affair was settled there with the help of favour and bribes."Nay," said Ricote, who was present during the conversation, "it will notdo to rely upon favour or bribes, because with the great Don Bernardinode Velasco, Conde de Salazar, to whom his Majesty has entrusted ourexpulsion, neither entreaties nor promises, bribes nor appeals tocompassion, are of any use; for though it is true he mingles mercy withjustice, still, seeing that the whole body of our nation is tainted andcorrupt, he applies to it the cautery that burns rather than the salvethat soothes; and thus, by prudence, sagacity, care and the fear heinspires, he has borne on his mighty shoulders the weight of this greatpolicy and carried it into effect, all our schemes and plots,importunities and wiles, being ineffectual to blind his Argus eyes, everon the watch lest one of us should remain behind in concealment, and likea hidden root come in course of time to sprout and bear poisonous fruitin Spain, now cleansed, and relieved of the fear in which our vastnumbers kept it. Heroic resolve of the great Philip the Third, andunparalleled wisdom to have entrusted it to the said Don Bernardino deVelasco!""At any rate," said Don Antonio, "when I am there I will make allpossible efforts, and let heaven do as pleases it best; Don Gregorio willcome with me to relieve the anxiety which his parents must be sufferingon account of his absence; Ana Felix will remain in my house with mywife, or in a monastery; and I know the viceroy will be glad that theworthy Ricote should stay with him until we see what terms I can make."The viceroy agreed to all that was proposed; but Don Gregorio on learningwhat had passed declared he could not and would not on any account leaveAna Felix; however, as it was his purpose to go and see his parents anddevise some way of returning for her, he fell in with the proposedarrangement. Ana Felix remained with Don Antonio's wife, and Ricote inthe viceroy's house.The day for Don Antonio's departure came; and two days later that for DonQuixote's and Sancho's, for Don Quixote's fall did not suffer him to takethe road sooner. There were tears and sighs, swoonings and sobs, at theparting between Don Gregorio and Ana Felix. Ricote offered Don Gregorio athousand crowns if he would have them, but he would not take any savefive which Don Antonio lent him and he promised to repay at the capital.So the two of them took their departure, and Don Quixote and Sanchoafterwards, as has been already said, Don Quixote without his armour andin travelling gear, and Sancho on foot, Dapple being loaded with thearmour.