While uttering these words he showed such weakness that thebystanders expected each return of faintness would take his lifewith it. Then Quiteria, overcome with modesty and shame, holding inher right hand the hand of Basilio, said, "No force would bend mywill; as freely, therefore, as it is possible for me to do so, Igive thee the hand of a lawful wife, and take thine if thou givestit to me of thine own free will, untroubled and unaffected by thecalamity thy hasty act has brought upon thee."
"Yes, I give it," said Basilio, "not agitated or distracted, butwith unclouded reason that heaven is pleased to grant me, thus do Igive myself to be thy husband."
"And I give myself to be thy wife," said Quiteria, "whether thoulivest many years, or they carry thee from my arms to the grave."
"For one so badly wounded," observed Sancho at this point, "thisyoung man has a great deal to say; they should make him leave offbilling and cooing, and attend to his soul; for to my thinking hehas it more on his tongue than at his teeth."
Basilio and Quiteria having thus joined hands, the priest, deeplymoved and with tears in his eyes, pronounced the blessing upon them,and implored heaven to grant an easy passage to the soul of thenewly wedded man, who, the instant he received the blessing, startednimbly to his feet and with unparalleled effrontery pulled out therapier that had been sheathed in his body. All the bystanders wereastounded, and some, more simple than inquiring, began shouting, "Amiracle, a miracle!" But Basilio replied, "No miracle, no miracle;only a trick, a trick!" The priest, perplexed and amazed, made hasteto examine the wound with both hands, and found that the blade hadpassed, not through Basilio's flesh and ribs, but through a hollowiron tube full of blood, which he had adroitly fixed at the place, theblood, as was afterwards ascertained, having been so prepared as notto congeal. In short, the priest and Camacho and most of those presentsaw they were tricked and made fools of. The bride showed no signsof displeasure at the deception; on the contrary, hearing them saythat the marriage, being fraudulent, would not be valid, she said thatshe confirmed it afresh, whence they all concluded that the affair hadbeen planned by agreement and understanding between the pair,whereat Camacho and his supporters were so mortified that theyproceeded to revenge themselves by violence, and a great number ofthem drawing their swords attacked Basilio, in whose protection asmany more swords were in an instant unsheathed, while Don Quixotetaking the lead on horseback, with his lance over his arm and wellcovered with his shield, made all give way before him. Sancho, whonever found any pleasure or enjoyment in such doings, retreated to thewine-jars from which he had taken his delectable skimmings,considering that, as a holy place, that spot would be respected.
"Hold, sirs, hold!" cried Don Quixote in a loud voice; "we have noright to take vengeance for wrongs that love may do to us: rememberlove and war are the same thing, and as in war it is allowable andcommon to make use of wiles and stratagems to overcome the enemy, soin the contests and rivalries of love the tricks and devicesemployed to attain the desired end are justifiable, provided they benot to the discredit or dishonour of the loved object. Quiteriabelonged to Basilio and Basilio to Quiteria by the just and beneficentdisposal of heaven. Camacho is rich, and can purchase his pleasurewhen, where, and as it pleases him. Basilio has but this ewe-lamb, andno one, however powerful he may be, shall take her from him; these twowhom God hath joined man cannot separate; and he who attempts itmust first pass the point of this lance;" and so saying hebrandished it so stoutly and dexterously that he overawed all whodid not know him.
But so deep an impression had the rejection of Quiteria made onCamacho's mind that it banished her at once from his thoughts; andso the counsels of the priest, who was a wise and kindly disposed man,prevailed with him, and by their means he and his partisans werepacified and tranquillised, and to prove it put up their swords again,inveighing against the pliancy of Quiteria rather than thecraftiness of Basilio; Camacho maintaining that, if Quiteria as amaiden had such a love for Basilio, she would have loved him too asa married woman, and that he ought to thank heaven more for havingtaken her than for having given her.
Camacho and those of his following, therefore, being consoled andpacified, those on Basilio's side were appeased; and the rich Camacho,to show that he felt no resentment for the trick, and did not careabout it, desired the festival to go on just as if he were marriedin reality. Neither Basilio, however, nor his bride, nor theirfollowers would take any part in it, and they withdrew to Basilio'svillage; for the poor, if they are persons of virtue and good sense,have those who follow, honour, and uphold them, just as the richhave those who flatter and dance attendance on them. With them theycarried Don Quixote, regarding him as a man of worth and a stoutone. Sancho alone had a cloud on his soul, for he found himselfdebarred from waiting for Camacho's splendid feast and festival, whichlasted until night; and thus dragged away, he moodily followed hismaster, who accompanied Basilio's party, and left behind him theflesh-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 ofthe good cheer he was losing. And so, vexed and dejected though nothungry, without dismounting from Dapple he followed in the footstepsof Rocinante.
CHAPTER XXII
WHERIN IS RELATED THE GRAND ADVENTURE OF THE CAVE OF MONTESINOS INTHE HEART OF LA MANCHA, WHICH THE VALIANT DON QUIXOTE BROUGHT TO AHAPPY TERMINATION
MANY and great were the attentions shown to Don Quixote by the newlymarried couple, who felt themselves under an obligation to him forcoming forward in defence of their cause; and they exalted hiswisdom to the same level with his courage, rating him as a Cid inarms, and a Cicero in eloquence. Worthy Sancho enjoyed himself forthree days at the expense of the pair, from whom they learned that thesham wound was not a scheme arranged with the fair Quiteria, but adevice of Basilio's, who counted on exactly the result they hadseen; he confessed, it is true, that he had confided his idea tosome of his friends, so that at the proper time they might aid himin his purpose and insure the success of the deception.
"That," said Don Quixote, "is not and ought not to be calleddeception which aims at virtuous ends;" and the marriage of lovershe maintained to be a most excellent end, reminding them, however,that love has no greater enemy than hunger and constant want; for loveis all gaiety, enjoyment, and happiness, especially when the loveris in the possession of the object of his love, and poverty and wantare the declared enemies of all these; which he said to urge SenorBasilio to abandon the practice of those accomplishments he wasskilled in, for though they brought him fame, they brought him nomoney, and apply himself to the acquisition of wealth by legitimateindustry, which will never fail those who are prudent and persevering.The poor man who is a man of honour （if indeed a poor man can be a manof honour） has a jewel when he has a fair wife, and if she is takenfrom him, his honour is taken from him and slain. The fair woman whois a woman of honour, and whose husband is poor, deserves to becrowned with the laurels and crowns of victory and triumph. Beautyby itself attracts the desires of all who behold it, and the royaleagles and birds of towering flight stoop on it as on a dainty lure;but if beauty be accompanied by want and penury, then the ravens andthe kites and other birds of prey assail it, and she who stands firmagainst such attacks well deserves to be called the crown of herhusband. "Remember, O prudent Basilio," added Don Quixote, "it was theopinion of a certain sage, I know not whom, that there was not morethan one good woman in the whole world; and his advice was that eachone should think and believe that this one good woman was his ownwife, and in this way he would live happy. I myself am not married,nor, so far, has it ever entered my thoughts to be so; neverthelessI would venture to give advice to anyone who might ask it, as to themode in which he should seek a wife such as he would be content tomarry. The first thing I would recommend him, would be to look to goodname rather than to wealth, for a good woman does not win a goodname merely by being good, but by letting it he seen that she is so,and open looseness and freedom do much more damage to a woman's honourthan secret depravity. If you take a good woman into your house itwill he an easy matter to keep her good, and even to make her stillbetter; but if you take a bad one you will find it hard work to mendher, for it is no very easy matter to pass from one extreme toanother. I do not say it is impossible, but I look upon it asdifficult."
Sancho, listening to all this, said to himself, "This master ofmine, when I say anything that has weight and substance, says Imight take a pulpit in hand, and go about the world preaching finesermons; but I say of him that, when he begins stringing maximstogether and giving advice not only might he take a pulpit in hand,but two on each finger, and go into the market-places to his heart'scontent. Devil take you for a knight-errant, what a lot of thingsyou know! I used to think in my heart that the only thing he knewwas what belonged to his chivalry; but there is nothing he won'thave a finger in."