PART II - CHAPTER XXI.

by Miguel de Cervantes

　　IN WHICH CAMACHO'S WEDDING IS CONTINUED, WITH OTHER DELIGHTFUL INCIDENTSWhile Don Quixote and Sancho were engaged in the discussion set forth thelast chapter, they heard loud shouts and a great noise, which wereuttered and made by the men on the mares as they went at full gallop,shouting, to receive the bride and bridegroom, who were approaching withmusical instruments and pageantry of all sorts around them, andaccompanied by the priest and the relatives of both, and all the mostdistinguished people of the surrounding villages. When Sancho saw thebride, he exclaimed, "By my faith, she is not dressed like a countrygirl, but like some fine court lady; egad, as well as I can make out, thepatena she wears rich coral, and her green Cuenca stuff is thirty-pilevelvet; and then the white linen trimming--by my oath, but it's satin!Look at her hands--jet rings on them! May I never have luck if they'renot gold rings, and real gold, and set with pearls as white as a curdledmilk, and every one of them worth an eye of one's head! Whoreson baggage,what hair she has! if it's not a wig, I never saw longer or fairer allthe days of my life. See how bravely she bears herself--and her shape!Wouldn't you say she was like a walking palm tree loaded with clusters ofdates? for the trinkets she has hanging from her hair and neck look justlike them. I swear in my heart she is a brave lass, and fit 'to pass overthe banks of Flanders.'"Don Quixote laughed at Sancho's boorish eulogies and thought that, savinghis lady Dulcinea del Toboso, he had never seen a more beautiful woman.The fair Quiteria appeared somewhat pale, which was, no doubt, because ofthe bad night brides always pass dressing themselves out for theirwedding on the morrow. They advanced towards a theatre that stood on oneside of the meadow decked with carpets and boughs, where they were toplight their troth, and from which they were to behold the dances andplays; but at the moment of their arrival at the spot they heard a loudoutcry behind them, and a voice exclaiming, "Wait a little, ye, asinconsiderate as ye are hasty!" At these words all turned round, andperceived that the speaker was a man clad in what seemed to be a looseblack coat garnished with crimson patches like flames. He was crowned (aswas presently seen) with a crown of gloomy cypress, and in his hand heheld a long staff. As he approached he was recognised by everyone as thegay Basilio, and all waited anxiously to see what would come of hiswords, in dread of some catastrophe in consequence of his appearance atsuch a moment. He came up at last weary and breathless, and plantinghimself in front of the bridal pair, drove his staff, which had a steelspike at the end, into the ground, and, with a pale face and eyes fixedon Quiteria, he thus addressed her in a hoarse, trembling voice:"Well dost thou know, ungrateful Quiteria, that according to the holy lawwe acknowledge, so long as live thou canst take no husband; nor art thouignorant either that, in my hopes that time and my own exertions wouldimprove my fortunes, I have never failed to observe the respect due tothy honour; but thou, casting behind thee all thou owest to my true love,wouldst surrender what is mine to another whose wealth serves to bringhim not only good fortune but supreme happiness; and now to complete it(not that I think he deserves it, but inasmuch as heaven is pleased tobestow it upon him), I will, with my own hands, do away with the obstaclethat may interfere with it, and remove myself from between you. Long livethe rich Camacho! many a happy year may he live with the ungratefulQuiteria! and let the poor Basilio die, Basilio whose poverty clipped thewings of his happiness, and brought him to the grave!"And so saying, he seized the staff he had driven into the ground, andleaving one half of it fixed there, showed it to be a sheath thatconcealed a tolerably long rapier; and, what may be called its hilt beingplanted in the ground, he swiftly, coolly, and deliberately threw himselfupon it, and in an instant the bloody point and half the steel bladeappeared at his back, the unhappy man falling to the earth bathed in hisblood, and transfixed by his own weapon.His friends at once ran to his aid, filled with grief at his misery andsad fate, and Don Quixote, dismounting from Rocinante, hastened tosupport him, and took him in his arms, and found he had not yet ceased tobreathe. They were about to draw out the rapier, but the priest who wasstanding by objected to its being withdrawn before he had confessed him,as the instant of its withdrawal would be that of this death. Basilio,however, reviving slightly, said in a weak voice, as though in pain, "Ifthou wouldst consent, cruel Quiteria, to give me thy hand as my bride inthis last fatal moment, I might still hope that my rashness would findpardon, as by its means I attained the bliss of being thine."Hearing this the priest bade him think of the welfare of his soul ratherthan of the cravings of the body, and in all earnestness implore God'spardon for his sins and for his rash resolve; to which Basilio repliedthat he was determined not to confess unless Quiteria first gave him herhand in marriage, for that happiness would compose his mind and give himcourage to make his confession.Don Quixote hearing the wounded man's entreaty, exclaimed aloud that whatBasilio asked was just and reasonable, and moreover a request that mightbe easily complied with; and that it would be as much to Senor Camacho'shonour to receive the lady Quiteria as the widow of the brave Basilio asif he received her direct from her father."In this case," said he, "it will be only to say 'yes,' and noconsequences can follow the utterance of the word, for the nuptial couchof this marriage must be the grave."Camacho was listening to all this, perplexed and bewildered and notknowing what to say or do; but so urgent were the entreaties of Basilio'sfriends, imploring him to allow Quiteria to give him her hand, so thathis soul, quitting this life in despair, should not be lost, that theymoved, nay, forced him, to say that if Quiteria were willing to give ithe was satisfied, as it was only putting off the fulfillment of hiswishes for a moment. At once all assailed Quiteria and pressed her, somewith prayers, and others with tears, and others with persuasivearguments, to give her hand to poor Basilio; but she, harder than marbleand more unmoved than any statue, seemed unable or unwilling to utter aword, nor would she have given any reply had not the priest bade herdecide quickly what she meant to do, as Basilio now had his soul at histeeth, and there was no time for hesitation.On this the fair Quiteria, to all appearance distressed, grieved, andrepentant, advanced without a word to where Basilio lay, his eyes alreadyturned in his head, his breathing short and painful, murmuring the nameof Quiteria between his teeth, and apparently about to die like a heathenand not like a Christian. Quiteria approached him, and kneeling, demandedhis hand by signs without speaking. Basilio opened his eyes and gazingfixedly at her, said, "O Quiteria, why hast thou turned compassionate ata moment when thy compassion will serve as a dagger to rob me of life,for I have not now the strength left either to bear the happiness thougivest me in accepting me as thine, or to suppress the pain that israpidly drawing the dread shadow of death over my eyes? What I entreat ofthee, O thou fatal star to me, is that the hand thou demandest of me andwouldst give me, be not given out of complaisance or to deceive meafresh, but that thou confess and declare that without any constraintupon thy will thou givest it to me as to thy lawful husband; for it isnot meet that thou shouldst trifle with me at such a moment as this, orhave recourse to falsehoods with one who has dealt so truly by thee."While uttering these words he showed such weakness that the bystandersexpected each return of faintness would take his life with it. ThenQuiteria, overcome with modesty and shame, holding in her right hand thehand of Basilio, said, "No force would bend my will; as freely,therefore, as it is possible for me to do so, I give thee the hand of alawful wife, and take thine if thou givest it to me of thine own freewill, untroubled and unaffected by the calamity thy hasty act has broughtupon thee.""Yes, I give it," said Basilio, "not agitated or distracted, but withunclouded reason that heaven is pleased to grant me, thus do I givemyself to be thy husband.""And I give myself to be thy wife," said Quiteria, "whether thou livestmany years, or they carry thee from my arms to the grave.""For one so badly wounded," observed Sancho at this point, "this youngman has a great deal to say; they should make him leave off billing andcooing, and attend to his soul; for to my thinking he has it more on histongue than at his teeth."Basilio and Quiteria having thus joined hands, the priest, deeply movedand with tears in his eyes, pronounced the blessing upon them, andimplored heaven to grant an easy passage to the soul of the newly weddedman, who, the instant he received the blessing, started nimbly to hisfeet and with unparalleled effrontery pulled out the rapier that had beensheathed in his body. All the bystanders were astounded, and some, moresimple than inquiring, began shouting, "A miracle, a miracle!" ButBasilio replied, "No miracle, no miracle; only a trick, a trick!" Thepriest, perplexed and amazed, made haste to examine the wound with bothhands, and found that the blade had passed, not through Basilio's fleshand ribs, but through a hollow iron tube full of blood, which he hadadroitly fixed at the place, the blood, as was afterwards ascertained,having been so prepared as not to congeal. In short, the priest andCamacho and most of those present saw they were tricked and made foolsof. The bride showed no signs of displeasure at the deception; on thecontrary, hearing them say that the marriage, being fraudulent, would notbe valid, she said that she confirmed it afresh, whence they allconcluded that the affair had been planned by agreement and understandingbetween the pair, whereat Camacho and his supporters were so mortifiedthat they proceeded to revenge themselves by violence, and a great numberof them drawing their swords attacked Basilio, in whose protection asmany more swords were in an instant unsheathed, while Don Quixote takingthe lead on horseback, with his lance over his arm and well covered withhis shield, made all give way before him. Sancho, who never found anypleasure or enjoyment in such doings, retreated to the wine-jars fromwhich he had taken his delectable skimmings, considering that, as a holyplace, that spot would be respected."Hold, sirs, hold!" cried Don Quixote in a loud voice; "we have no rightto take vengeance for wrongs that love may do to us: remember love andwar are the same thing, and as in war it is allowable and common to makeuse of wiles and stratagems to overcome the enemy, so in the contests andrivalries of love the tricks and devices employed to attain the desiredend are justifiable, provided they be not to the discredit or dishonourof the loved object. Quiteria belonged to Basilio and Basilio to Quiteriaby the just and beneficent disposal of heaven. Camacho is rich, and canpurchase his pleasure when, where, and as it pleases him. Basilio has butthis ewe-lamb, and no one, however powerful he may be, shall take herfrom him; these two whom God hath joined man cannot separate; and he whoattempts it must first pass the point of this lance;" and so saying hebrandished it so stoutly and dexterously that he overawed all who did notknow him.But so deep an impression had the rejection of Quiteria made on Camacho'smind that it banished her at once from his thoughts; and so the counselsof the priest, who was a wise and kindly disposed man, prevailed withhim, and by their means he and his partisans were pacified andtranquillised, and to prove it put up their swords again, inveighingagainst the pliancy of Quiteria rather than the craftiness of Basilio;Camacho maintaining that, if Quiteria as a maiden had such a love forBasilio, she would have loved him too as a married woman, and that heought to thank heaven more for having taken her than for having givenher.Camacho and those of his following, therefore, being consoled andpacified, those on Basilio's side were appeased; and the rich Camacho, toshow that he felt no resentment for the trick, and did not care about it,desired the festival to go on just as if he were married in reality.Neither Basilio, however, nor his bride, nor their followers would takeany part in it, and they withdrew to Basilio's village; for the poor, ifthey are persons of virtue and good sense, have those who follow, honour,and uphold them, just as the rich have those who flatter and danceattendance on them. With them they carried Don Quixote, regarding him asa man of worth and a stout one. Sancho alone had a cloud on his soul, forhe found himself debarred from waiting for Camacho's splendid feast andfestival, which lasted until night; and thus dragged away, he moodilyfollowed his master, who accompanied Basilio's party, and left behind himthe flesh-pots of Egypt; though in his heart he took them with him, andtheir now nearly finished skimmings that he carried in the bucketconjured up visions before his eyes of the glory and abundance of thegood cheer he was losing. And so, vexed and dejected though not hungry,without dismounting from Dapple he followed in the footsteps ofRocinante.