The moment the speaker mentioned the name of Don Fernando,Cardenio changed colour and broke into a sweat, with such signs ofemotion that the curate and the barber, who observed it, feared thatone of the mad fits which they heard attacked him sometimes was comingupon him; but Cardenio showed no further agitation and remained quiet,regarding the peasant girl with fixed attention, for he began tosuspect who she was. She, however, without noticing the excitementof Cardenio, continuing her story, went on to say:
"And they had hardly discovered me, when, as he owned afterwards, hewas smitten with a violent love for me, as the manner in which itdisplayed itself plainly showed. But to shorten the long recital of mywoes, I will pass over in silence all the artifices employed by DonFernando for declaring his passion for me. He bribed all thehousehold, he gave and offered gifts and presents to my parents; everyday was like a holiday or a merry-making in our street; by night noone could sleep for the music; the love letters that used to come tomy hand, no one knew how, were innumerable, full of tender pleadingsand pledges, containing more promises and oaths than there wereletters in them; all which not only did not soften me, but hardened myheart against him, as if he had been my mortal enemy, and as ifeverything he did to make me yield were done with the oppositeintention. Not that the high-bred bearing of Don Fernando wasdisagreeable to me, or that I found his importunities wearisome; forit gave me a certain sort of satisfaction to find myself so sought andprized by a gentleman of such distinction, and I was not displeased atseeing my praises in his letters （for however ugly we women may be, itseems to me it always pleases us to hear ourselves called beautiful）but that my own sense of right was opposed to all this, as well as therepeated advice of my parents, who now very plainly perceived DonFernando's purpose, for he cared very little if all the world knew it.They told me they trusted and confided their honour and good name tomy virtue and rectitude alone, and bade me consider the disparitybetween Don Fernando and myself, from which I might conclude thathis intentions, whatever he might say to the contrary, had for theiraim his own pleasure rather than my advantage; and if I were at alldesirous of opposing an obstacle to his unreasonable suit, they wereready, they said, to marry me at once to anyone I preferred, eitheramong the leading people of our own town, or of any of those in theneighbourhood; for with their wealth and my good name, a match mightbe looked for in any quarter. This offer, and their sound advicestrengthened my resolution, and I never gave Don Fernando a word inreply that could hold out to him any hope of success, however remote.
"All this caution of mine, which he must have taken for coyness, hadapparently the effect of increasing his wanton appetite- for that isthe name I give to his passion for me; had it been what he declared itto be, you would not know of it now, because there would have beenno occasion to tell you of it. At length he learned that my parentswere contemplating marriage for me in order to put an end to his hopesof obtaining possession of me, or at least to secure additionalprotectors to watch over me, and this intelligence or suspicion madehim act as you shall hear. One night, as I was in my chamber with noother companion than a damsel who waited on me, with the doorscarefully locked lest my honour should be imperilled through anycarelessness, I know not nor can conceive how it happened, but, withall this seclusion and these precautions, and in the solitude andsilence of my retirement, I found him standing before me, a visionthat so astounded me that it deprived my eyes of sight, and mytongue of speech. I had no power to utter a cry, nor, I think, didhe give me time to utter one, as he immediately approached me, andtaking me in his arms （for, overwhelmed as I was, I was powerless, Isay, to help myself）， he began to make such professions to me that Iknow not how falsehood could have had the power of dressing them up toseem so like truth; and the traitor contrived that his tears shouldvouch for his words, and his sighs for his sincerity.
"I, a poor young creature alone, ill versed among my people in casessuch as this, began, I know not how, to think all these lyingprotestations true, though without being moved by his sighs andtears to anything more than pure compassion; and so, as the firstfeeling of bewilderment passed away, and I began in some degree torecover myself, I said to him with more courage than I thought I couldhave possessed, 'If, as I am now in your arms, senor, I were in theclaws of a fierce lion, and my deliverance could be procured bydoing or saying anything to the prejudice of my honour, it would nomore be in my power to do it or say it, than it would be possible thatwhat was should not have been; so then, if you hold my body clasped inyour arms, I hold my soul secured by virtuous intentions, verydifferent from yours, as you will see if you attempt to carry theminto effect by force. I am your vassal, but I am not your slave;your nobility neither has nor should have any right to dishonour ordegrade my humble birth; and low-born peasant as I am, I have myself-respect as much as you, a lord and gentleman: with me yourviolence will be to no purpose, your wealth will have no weight,your words will have no power to deceive me, nor your sighs or tearsto soften me: were I to see any of the things I speak of in him whommy parents gave me as a husband, his will should be mine, and mineshould be bounded by his; and my honour being preserved even though myinclinations were not would willingly yield him what you, senor, wouldnow obtain by force; and this I say lest you should suppose that anybut my lawful husband shall ever win anything of me.' 'If that,'said this disloyal gentleman, 'be the only scruple you feel, fairestDorothea' （for that is the name of this unhappy being）， 'see here Igive you my hand to be yours, and let Heaven, from which nothing ishid, and this image of Our Lady you have here, be witnesses of thispledge.'"
When Cardenio heard her say she was called Dorothea, he showed freshagitation and felt convinced of the truth of his former suspicion, buthe was unwilling to interrupt the story, and wished to hear the end ofwhat he already all but knew, so he merely said:
"What! is Dorothea your name, senora? I have heard of another of thesame name who can perhaps match your misfortunes. But proceed;by-and-by I may tell you something that will astonish you as much asit will excite your compassion."
Dorothea was struck by Cardenio's words as well as by his strangeand miserable attire, and begged him if he knew anything concerningher to tell it to her at once, for if fortune had left her anyblessing it was courage to bear whatever calamity might fall upon her,as she felt sure that none could reach her capable of increasing inany degree what she endured already.
"I would not let the occasion pass, senora," replied Cardenio, "oftelling you what I think, if what I suspect were the truth, but so farthere has been no opportunity, nor is it of any importance to you toknow it."
"Be it as it may," replied Dorothea, "what happened in my storywas that Don Fernando, taking an image that stood in the chamber,placed it as a witness of our betrothal, and with the most bindingwords and extravagant oaths gave me his promise to become myhusband; though before he had made an end of pledging himself I badehim consider well what he was doing, and think of the anger his fatherwould feel at seeing him married to a peasant girl and one of hisvassals; I told him not to let my beauty, such as it was, blind him,for that was not enough to furnish an excuse for his transgression;and if in the love he bore me he wished to do me any kindness, itwould be to leave my lot to follow its course at the level mycondition required; for marriages so unequal never broughthappiness, nor did they continue long to afford the enjoyment theybegan with.
"All this that I have now repeated I said to him, and much morewhich I cannot recollect; but it had no effect in inducing him toforego his purpose; he who has no intention of paying does not troublehimself about difficulties when he is striking the bargain. At thesame time I argued the matter briefly in my own mind, saying tomyself, 'I shall not be the first who has risen through marriagefrom a lowly to a lofty station, nor will Don Fernando be the firstwhom beauty or, as is more likely, a blind attachment, has led to matehimself below his rank. Then, since I am introducing no new usage orpractice, I may as well avail myself of the honour that chanceoffers me, for even though his inclination for me should not outlastthe attainment of his wishes, I shall be, after all, his wife beforeGod. And if I strive to repel him by scorn, I can see that, fair meansfailing, he is in a mood to use force, and I shall be left dishonouredand without any means of proving my innocence to those who cannot knowhow innocently I have come to be in this position; for whatarguments would persuade my parents that this gentleman entered mychamber without my consent?'
"All these questions and answers passed through my mind in a moment;but the oaths of Don Fernando, the witnesses he appealed to, the tearshe shed, and lastly the charms of his person and his high-bredgrace, which, accompanied by such signs of genuine love, might wellhave conquered a heart even more free and coy than mine- these werethe things that more than all began to influence me and lead meunawares to my ruin. I called my waiting-maid to me, that theremight be a witness on earth besides those in Heaven, and again DonFernando renewed and repeated his oaths, invoked as witnesses freshsaints in addition to the former ones, called down upon himself athousand curses hereafter should he fail to keep his promise, shedmore tears, redoubled his sighs and pressed me closer in his arms,from which he had never allowed me to escape; and so I was left bymy maid, and ceased to be one, and he became a traitor and aperjured man.