PART II - CHAPTER XIV.

by Miguel de Cervantes

　　WHEREIN IS CONTINUED THE ADVENTURE OF THE KNIGHT OF THE GROVEAmong the things that passed between Don Quixote and the Knight of theWood, the history tells us he of the Grove said to Don Quixote, "In fine,sir knight, I would have you know that my destiny, or, more properlyspeaking, my choice led me to fall in love with the peerless Casildea deVandalia. I call her peerless because she has no peer, whether it be inbodily stature or in the supremacy of rank and beauty. This sameCasildea, then, that I speak of, requited my honourable passion andgentle aspirations by compelling me, as his stepmother did Hercules, toengage in many perils of various sorts, at the end of each promising methat, with the end of the next, the object of my hopes should beattained; but my labours have gone on increasing link by link until theyare past counting, nor do I know what will be the last one that is to bethe beginning of the accomplishment of my chaste desires. On one occasionshe bade me go and challenge the famous giantess of Seville, La Giraldaby name, who is as mighty and strong as if made of brass, and thoughnever stirring from one spot, is the most restless and changeable womanin the world. I came, I saw, I conquered, and I made her stay quiet andbehave herself, for nothing but north winds blew for more than a week.Another time I was ordered to lift those ancient stones, the mighty bullsof Guisando, an enterprise that might more fitly be entrusted to portersthan to knights. Again, she bade me fling myself into the cavern ofCabra--an unparalleled and awful peril--and bring her a minute account ofall that is concealed in those gloomy depths. I stopped the motion of theGiralda, I lifted the bulls of Guisando, I flung myself into the cavernand brought to light the secrets of its abyss; and my hopes are as deadas dead can be, and her scorn and her commands as lively as ever. To bebrief, last of all she has commanded me to go through all the provincesof Spain and compel all the knights-errant wandering therein to confessthat she surpasses all women alive to-day in beauty, and that I am themost valiant and the most deeply enamoured knight on earth; in support ofwhich claim I have already travelled over the greater part of Spain, andhave there vanquished several knights who have dared to contradict me;but what I most plume and pride myself upon is having vanquished insingle combat that so famous knight Don Quixote of La Mancha, and madehim confess that my Casildea is more beautiful than his Dulcinea; and inthis one victory I hold myself to have conquered all the knights in theworld; for this Don Quixote that I speak of has vanquished them all, andI having vanquished him, his glory, his fame, and his honour have passedand are transferred to my person; forThe more the vanquished hath of fair renown,

　　The greater glory gilds the victor's crown.Thus the innumerable achievements of the said Don Quixote are now setdown to my account and have become mine."Don Quixote was amazed when he heard the Knight of the Grove, and was athousand times on the point of telling him he lied, and had the liedirect already on the tip of his tongue; but he restrained himself aswell as he could, in order to force him to confess the lie with his ownlips; so he said to him quietly, "As to what you say, sir knight, abouthaving vanquished most of the knights of Spain, or even of the wholeworld, I say nothing; but that you have vanquished Don Quixote of LaMancha I consider doubtful; it may have been some other that resembledhim, although there are few like him.""How! not vanquished?" said he of the Grove; "by the heaven that is aboveus I fought Don Quixote and overcame him and made him yield; and he is aman of tall stature, gaunt features, long, lank limbs, with hair turninggrey, an aquiline nose rather hooked, and large black droopingmoustaches; he does battle under the name of 'The Countenance,' and hehas for squire a peasant called Sancho Panza; he presses the loins andrules the reins of a famous steed called Rocinante; and lastly, he hasfor the mistress of his will a certain Dulcinea del Toboso, once upon atime called Aldonza Lorenzo, just as I call mine Casildea de Vandaliabecause her name is Casilda and she is of Andalusia. If all these tokensare not enough to vindicate the truth of what I say, here is my sword,that will compel incredulity itself to give credence to it.""Calm yourself, sir knight," said Don Quixote, "and give ear to what I amabout to say to you. I would have you know that this Don Quixote youspeak of is the greatest friend I have in the world; so much so that Imay say I regard him in the same light as my own person; and from theprecise and clear indications you have given I cannot but think that hemust be the very one you have vanquished. On the other hand, I see withmy eyes and feel with my hands that it is impossible it can have been thesame; unless indeed it be that, as he has many enemies who areenchanters, and one in particular who is always persecuting him, some oneof these may have taken his shape in order to allow himself to bevanquished, so as to defraud him of the fame that his exaltedachievements as a knight have earned and acquired for him throughout theknown world. And in confirmation of this, I must tell you, too, that itis but ten hours since these said enchanters his enemies transformed theshape and person of the fair Dulcinea del Toboso into a foul and meanvillage lass, and in the same way they must have transformed Don Quixote;and if all this does not suffice to convince you of the truth of what Isay, here is Don Quixote himself, who will maintain it by arms, on footor on horseback or in any way you please."And so saying he stood up and laid his hand on his sword, waiting to seewhat the Knight of the Grove would do, who in an equally calm voice saidin reply, "Pledges don't distress a good payer; he who has succeeded invanquishing you once when transformed, Sir Don Quixote, may fairly hopeto subdue you in your own proper shape; but as it is not becoming forknights to perform their feats of arms in the dark, like highwaymen andbullies, let us wait till daylight, that the sun may behold our deeds;and the conditions of our combat shall be that the vanquished shall be atthe victor's disposal, to do all that he may enjoin, provided theinjunction be such as shall be becoming a knight.""I am more than satisfied with these conditions and terms," replied DonQuixote; and so saying, they betook themselves to where their squireslay, and found them snoring, and in the same posture they were in whensleep fell upon them. They roused them up, and bade them get the horsesready, as at sunrise they were to engage in a bloody and arduous singlecombat; at which intelligence Sancho was aghast and thunderstruck,trembling for the safety of his master because of the mighty deeds he hadheard the squire of the Grove ascribe to his; but without a word the twosquires went in quest of their cattle; for by this time the three horsesand the ass had smelt one another out, and were all together.On the way, he of the Grove said to Sancho, "You must know, brother, thatit is the custom with the fighting men of Andalusia, when they aregodfathers in any quarrel, not to stand idle with folded arms while theirgodsons fight; I say so to remind you that while our masters arefighting, we, too, have to fight, and knock one another to shivers.""That custom, sir squire," replied Sancho, "may hold good among thosebullies and fighting men you talk of, but certainly not among the squiresof knights-errant; at least, I have never heard my master speak of anycustom of the sort, and he knows all the laws of knight-errantry byheart; but granting it true that there is an express law that squires areto fight while their masters are fighting, I don't mean to obey it, butto pay the penalty that may be laid on peacefully minded squires likemyself; for I am sure it cannot be more than two pounds of wax, and Iwould rather pay that, for I know it will cost me less than the lint Ishall be at the expense of to mend my head, which I look upon as brokenand split already; there's another thing that makes it impossible for meto fight, that I have no sword, for I never carried one in my life.""I know a good remedy for that," said he of the Grove; "I have here twolinen bags of the same size; you shall take one, and I the other, and wewill fight at bag blows with equal arms.""If that's the way, so be it with all my heart," said Sancho, "for thatsort of battle will serve to knock the dust out of us instead of hurtingus.""That will not do," said the other, "for we must put into the bags, tokeep the wind from blowing them away, half a dozen nice smooth pebbles,all of the same weight; and in this way we shall be able to baste oneanother without doing ourselves any harm or mischief.""Body of my father!" said Sancho, "see what marten and sable, and pads ofcarded cotton he is putting into the bags, that our heads may not bebroken and our bones beaten to jelly! But even if they are filled withtoss silk, I can tell you, senor, I am not going to fight; let ourmasters fight, that's their lookout, and let us drink and live; for timewill take care to ease us of our lives, without our going to look forfillips so that they may be finished off before their proper time comesand they drop from ripeness.""Still," returned he of the Grove, "we must fight, if it be only for halfan hour.""By no means," said Sancho; "I am not going to be so discourteous or soungrateful as to have any quarrel, be it ever so small, with one I haveeaten and drunk with; besides, who the devil could bring himself to fightin cold blood, without anger or provocation?""I can remedy that entirely," said he of the Grove, "and in this way:before we begin the battle, I will come up to your worship fair andsoftly, and give you three or four buffets, with which I shall stretchyou at my feet and rouse your anger, though it were sleeping sounder thana dormouse.""To match that plan," said Sancho, "I have another that is not a whitbehind it; I will take a cudgel, and before your worship comes nearenough to waken my anger I will send yours so sound to sleep with whacks,that it won't waken unless it be in the other world, where it is knownthat I am not a man to let my face be handled by anyone; let each lookout for the arrow--though the surer way would be to let everyone's angersleep, for nobody knows the heart of anyone, and a man may come for wooland go back shorn; God gave his blessing to peace and his curse toquarrels; if a hunted cat, surrounded and hard pressed, turns into alion, God knows what I, who am a man, may turn into; and so from thistime forth I warn you, sir squire, that all the harm and mischief thatmay come of our quarrel will be put down to your account.""Very good," said he of the Grove; "God will send the dawn and we shallbe all right."And now gay-plumaged birds of all sorts began to warble in the trees, andwith their varied and gladsome notes seemed to welcome and salute thefresh morn that was beginning to show the beauty of her countenance atthe gates and balconies of the east, shaking from her locks a profusionof liquid pearls; in which dulcet moisture bathed, the plants, too,seemed to shed and shower down a pearly spray, the willows distilledsweet manna, the fountains laughed, the brooks babbled, the woodsrejoiced, and the meadows arrayed themselves in all their glory at hercoming. But hardly had the light of day made it possible to see anddistinguish things, when the first object that presented itself to theeyes of Sancho Panza was the squire of the Grove's nose, which was so bigthat it almost overshadowed his whole body. It is, in fact, stated, thatit was of enormous size, hooked in the middle, covered with warts, and ofa mulberry colour like an egg-plant; it hung down two fingers' lengthbelow his mouth, and the size, the colour, the warts, and the bend of it,made his face so hideous, that Sancho, as he looked at him, began totremble hand and foot like a child in convulsions, and he vowed in hisheart to let himself be given two hundred buffets, sooner than beprovoked to fight that monster. Don Quixote examined his adversary, andfound that he already had his helmet on and visor lowered, so that hecould not see his face; he observed, however, that he was a sturdilybuilt man, but not very tall in stature. Over his armour he wore asurcoat or cassock of what seemed to be the finest cloth of gold, allbespangled with glittering mirrors like little moons, which gave him anextremely gallant and splendid appearance; above his helmet fluttered agreat quantity of plumes, green, yellow, and white, and his lance, whichwas leaning against a tree, was very long and stout, and had a steelpoint more than a palm in length.Don Quixote observed all, and took note of all, and from what he saw andobserved he concluded that the said knight must be a man of greatstrength, but he did not for all that give way to fear, like SanchoPanza; on the contrary, with a composed and dauntless air, he said to theKnight of the Mirrors, "If, sir knight, your great eagerness to fight hasnot banished your courtesy, by it I would entreat you to raise your visora little, in order that I may see if the comeliness of your countenancecorresponds with that of your equipment.""Whether you come victorious or vanquished out of this emprise, sirknight," replied he of the Mirrors, "you will have more than enough timeand leisure to see me; and if now I do not comply with your request, itis because it seems to me I should do a serious wrong to the fairCasildea de Vandalia in wasting time while I stopped to raise my visorbefore compelling you to confess what you are already aware I maintain.""Well then," said Don Quixote, "while we are mounting you can at leasttell me if I am that Don Quixote whom you said you vanquished.""To that we answer you," said he of the Mirrors, "that you are as likethe very knight I vanquished as one egg is like another, but as you sayenchanters persecute you, I will not venture to say positively whetheryou are the said person or not.""That," said Don Quixote, "is enough to convince me that you are under adeception; however, entirely to relieve you of it, let our horses bebrought, and in less time than it would take you to raise your visor, ifGod, my lady, and my arm stand me in good stead, I shall see your face,and you shall see that I am not the vanquished Don Quixote you take me tobe."With this, cutting short the colloquy, they mounted, and Don Quixotewheeled Rocinante round in order to take a proper distance to charge backupon his adversary, and he of the Mirrors did the same; but Don Quixotehad not moved away twenty paces when he heard himself called by theother, and, each returning half-way, he of the Mirrors said to him,"Remember, sir knight, that the terms of our combat are, that thevanquished, as I said before, shall be at the victor's disposal.""I am aware of it already," said Don Quixote; "provided what is commandedand imposed upon the vanquished be things that do not transgress thelimits of chivalry.""That is understood," replied he of the Mirrors.At this moment the extraordinary nose of the squire presented itself toDon Quixote's view, and he was no less amazed than Sancho at the sight;insomuch that he set him down as a monster of some kind, or a human beingof some new species or unearthly breed. Sancho, seeing his masterretiring to run his course, did not like to be left alone with the nosyman, fearing that with one flap of that nose on his own the battle wouldbe all over for him and he would be left stretched on the ground, eitherby the blow or with fright; so he ran after his master, holding on toRocinante's stirrup-leather, and when it seemed to him time to turnabout, he said, "I implore of your worship, senor, before you turn tocharge, to help me up into this cork tree, from which I will be able towitness the gallant encounter your worship is going to have with thisknight, more to my taste and better than from the ground.""It seems to me rather, Sancho," said Don Quixote, "that thou wouldstmount a scaffold in order to see the bulls without danger.""To tell the truth," returned Sancho, "the monstrous nose of that squirehas filled me with fear and terror, and I dare not stay near him.""It is," said Don Quixote, "such a one that were I not what I am it wouldterrify me too; so, come, I will help thee up where thou wilt."While Don Quixote waited for Sancho to mount into the cork tree he of theMirrors took as much ground as he considered requisite, and, supposingDon Quixote to have done the same, without waiting for any sound oftrumpet or other signal to direct them, he wheeled his horse, which wasnot more agile or better-looking than Rocinante, and at his top speed,which was an easy trot, he proceeded to charge his enemy; seeing him,however, engaged in putting Sancho up, he drew rein, and halted in midcareer, for which his horse was very grateful, as he was already unableto go. Don Quixote, fancying that his foe was coming down upon himflying, drove his spurs vigorously into Rocinante's lean flanks and madehim scud along in such style that the history tells us that on thisoccasion only was he known to make something like running, for on allothers it was a simple trot with him; and with this unparalleled fury hebore down where he of the Mirrors stood digging his spurs into his horseup to buttons, without being able to make him stir a finger's length fromthe spot where he had come to a standstill in his course. At this luckymoment and crisis, Don Quixote came upon his adversary, in trouble withhis horse, and embarrassed with his lance, which he either could notmanage, or had no time to lay in rest. Don Quixote, however, paid noattention to these difficulties, and in perfect safety to himself andwithout any risk encountered him of the Mirrors with such force that hebrought him to the ground in spite of himself over the haunches of hishorse, and with so heavy a fall that he lay to all appearance dead, notstirring hand or foot. The instant Sancho saw him fall he slid down fromthe cork tree, and made all haste to where his master was, who,dismounting from Rocinante, went and stood over him of the Mirrors, andunlacing his helmet to see if he was dead, and to give him air if heshould happen to be alive, he saw--who can say what he saw, withoutfilling all who hear it with astonishment, wonder, and awe? He saw, thehistory says, the very countenance, the very face, the very look, thevery physiognomy, the very effigy, the very image of the bachelor SamsonCarrasco! As soon as he saw it he called out in a loud voice, "Make hastehere, Sancho, and behold what thou art to see but not to believe; quick,my son, and learn what magic can do, and wizards and enchanters arecapable of."Sancho came up, and when he saw the countenance of the bachelor Carrasco,he fell to crossing himself a thousand times, and blessing himself asmany more. All this time the prostrate knight showed no signs of life,and Sancho said to Don Quixote, "It is my opinion, senor, that in anycase your worship should take and thrust your sword into the mouth ofthis one here that looks like the bachelor Samson Carrasco; perhaps inhim you will kill one of your enemies, the enchanters.""Thy advice is not bad," said Don Quixote, "for of enemies the fewer thebetter;" and he was drawing his sword to carry into effect Sancho'scounsel and suggestion, when the squire of the Mirrors came up, nowwithout the nose which had made him so hideous, and cried out in a loudvoice, "Mind what you are about, Senor Don Quixote; that is your friend,the bachelor Samson Carrasco, you have at your feet, and I am hissquire.""And the nose?" said Sancho, seeing him without the hideous feature hehad before; to which he replied, "I have it here in my pocket," andputting his hand into his right pocket, he pulled out a masquerade noseof varnished pasteboard of the make already described; and Sancho,examining him more and more closely, exclaimed aloud in a voice ofamazement, "Holy Mary be good to me! Isn't it Tom Cecial, my neighbourand gossip?""Why, to be sure I am!" returned the now unnosed squire; "Tom Cecial Iam, gossip and friend Sancho Panza; and I'll tell you presently the meansand tricks and falsehoods by which I have been brought here; but in themeantime, beg and entreat of your master not to touch, maltreat, wound,or slay the Knight of the Mirrors whom he has at his feet; because,beyond all dispute, it is the rash and ill-advised bachelor SamsonCarrasco, our fellow townsman."At this moment he of the Mirrors came to himself, and Don Quixoteperceiving it, held the naked point of his sword over his face, and saidto him, "You are a dead man, knight, unless you confess that the peerlessDulcinea del Toboso excels your Casildea de Vandalia in beauty; and inaddition to this you must promise, if you should survive this encounterand fall, to go to the city of El Toboso and present yourself before heron my behalf, that she deal with you according to her good pleasure; andif she leaves you free to do yours, you are in like manner to return andseek me out (for the trail of my mighty deeds will serve you as a guideto lead you to where I may be), and tell me what may have passed betweenyou and her-conditions which, in accordance with what we stipulatedbefore our combat, do not transgress the just limits of knight-errantry.""I confess," said the fallen knight, "that the dirty tattered shoe of thelady Dulcinea del Toboso is better than the ill-combed though clean beardof Casildea; and I promise to go and to return from her presence toyours, and to give you a full and particular account of all you demand ofme.""You must also confess and believe," added Don Quixote, "that the knightyou vanquished was not and could not be Don Quixote of La Mancha, butsome one else in his likeness, just as I confess and believe that you,though you seem to be the bachelor Samson Carrasco, are not so, but someother resembling him, whom my enemies have here put before me in hisshape, in order that I may restrain and moderate the vehemence of mywrath, and make a gentle use of the glory of my victory.""I confess, hold, and think everything to be as you believe, hold, andthink it," the crippled knight; "let me rise, I entreat you; if, indeed,the shock of my fall will allow me, for it has left me in a sorry plightenough."Don Quixote helped him to rise, with the assistance of his squire TomCecial; from whom Sancho never took his eyes, and to whom he putquestions, the replies to which furnished clear proof that he was reallyand truly the Tom Cecial he said; but the impression made on Sancho'smind by what his master said about the enchanters having changed the faceof the Knight of the Mirrors into that of the bachelor Samson Carrasco,would not permit him to believe what he saw with his eyes. In fine, bothmaster and man remained under the delusion; and, down in the mouth, andout of luck, he of the Mirrors and his squire parted from Don Quixote andSancho, he meaning to go look for some village where he could plaster andstrap his ribs. Don Quixote and Sancho resumed their journey toSaragossa, and on it the history leaves them in order that it may tellwho the Knight of the Mirrors and his long-nosed squire were.