"You've got a likely one here to thrust any in!" said Sancho; "leaveme alone for that! Why, this is not the first time in my life I havecarried messages to high and exalted ladies."
"Except that thou didst carry to the lady Dulcinea," said DonQuixote, "I know not that thou hast carried any other, at least inmy service."
"That is true," replied Sancho; "but pledges don't distress a goodpayer, and in a house where there's plenty supper is soon cooked; Imean there's no need of telling or warning me about anything; forI'm ready for everything and know a little of everything."
"That I believe, Sancho," said Don Quixote; "go and good luck tothee, and God speed thee."
Sancho went off at top speed, forcing Dapple out of his regularpace, and came to where the fair huntress was standing, anddismounting knelt before her and said, "Fair lady, that knight thatyou see there, the Knight of the Lions by name, is my master, and I ama squire of his, and at home they call me Sancho Panza. This sameKnight of the Lions, who was called not long since the Knight of theRueful Countenance, sends by me to say may it please your highnessto give him leave that, with your permission, approbation, andconsent, he may come and carry out his wishes, which are, as he saysand I believe, to serve your exalted loftiness and beauty; and ifyou give it, your ladyship will do a thing which will redound toyour honour, and he will receive a most distinguished favour andhappiness."
"You have indeed, squire," said the lady, "delivered your messagewith all the formalities such messages require; rise up, for it is notright that the squire of a knight so great as he of the RuefulCountenance, of whom we have heard a great deal here, should remain onhis knees; rise, my friend, and bid your master welcome to theservices of myself and the duke my husband, in a country house we havehere."
Sancho got up, charmed as much by the beauty of the good lady asby her high-bred air and her courtesy, but, above all, by what she hadsaid about having heard of his master, the Knight of the RuefulCountenance; for if she did not call him Knight of the Lions it was nodoubt because he had so lately taken the name. "Tell me, brothersquire," asked the duchess （whose title, however, is not known）， "thismaster of yours, is he not one of whom there is a history extant inprint, called 'The Ingenious Gentleman, Don Quixote of La Mancha,' whohas for the lady of his heart a certain Dulcinea del Toboso?"
"He is the same, senora," replied Sancho; "and that squire of hiswho figures, or ought to figure, in the said history under the name ofSancho Panza, is myself, unless they have changed me in the cradle,I mean in the press."
"I am rejoiced at all this," said the duchess; "go, brother Panza,and tell your master that he is welcome to my estate, and that nothingcould happen me that could give me greater pleasure."
Sancho returned to his master mightily pleased with thisgratifying answer, and told him all the great lady had said to him,lauding to the skies, in his rustic phrase, her rare beauty, hergraceful gaiety, and her courtesy. Don Quixote drew himself up brisklyin his saddle, fixed himself in his stirrups, settled his visor,gave Rocinante the spur, and with an easy bearing advanced to kiss thehands of the duchess, who, having sent to summon the duke her husband,told him while Don Quixote was approaching all about the message;and as both of them had read the First Part of this history, andfrom it were aware of Don Quixote's crazy turn, they awaited himwith the greatest delight and anxiety to make his acquaintance,meaning to fall in with his humour and agree with everything hesaid, and, so long as he stayed with them, to treat him as aknight-errant, with all the ceremonies usual in the books ofchivalry they had read, for they themselves were very fond of them.
Don Quixote now came up with his visor raised, and as he seemedabout to dismount Sancho made haste to go and hold his stirrup forhim; but in getting down off Dapple he was so unlucky as to hitchhis foot in one of the ropes of the pack-saddle in such a way thathe was unable to free it, and was left hanging by it with his face andbreast on the ground. Don Quixote, who was not used to dismountwithout having the stirrup held, fancying that Sancho had by this timecome to hold it for him, threw himself off with a lurch and broughtRocinante's saddle after him, which was no doubt badly girthed, andsaddle and he both came to the ground; not without discomfiture to himand abundant curses muttered between his teeth against the unluckySancho, who had his foot still in the shackles. The duke ordered hishuntsmen to go to the help of knight and squire, and they raised DonQuixote, sorely shaken by his fall; and he, limping, advanced asbest he could to kneel before the noble pair. This, however, theduke would by no means permit; on the contrary, dismounting from hishorse, he went and embraced Don Quixote, saying, "I am grieved, SirKnight of the Rueful Countenance, that your first experience on myground should have been such an unfortunate one as we have seen; butthe carelessness of squires is often the cause of worse accidents."
"That which has happened me in meeting you, mighty prince,"replied Don Quixote, "cannot be unfortunate, even if my fall had notstopped short of the depths of the bottomless pit, for the glory ofhaving seen you would have lifted me up and delivered me from it. Mysquire, God's curse upon him, is better at unloosing his tongue intalking impertinence than in tightening the girths of a saddle to keepit steady; but however I may be, allen or raised up, on foot or onhorseback, I shall always be at your service and that of my lady theduchess, your worthy consort, worthy queen of beauty and paramountprincess of courtesy."
"Gently, Senor Don Quixote of La Mancha," said the duke; "where mylady Dona Dulcinea del Toboso is, it is not right that otherbeauties should he praised."
Sancho, by this time released from his entanglement, was standingby, and before his master could answer he said, "There is nodenying, and it must be maintained, that my lady Dulcinea del Tobosois very beautiful; but the hare jumps up where one least expects it;and I have heard say that what we call nature is like a potter thatmakes vessels of clay, and he who makes one fair vessel can as wellmake two, or three, or a hundred; I say so because, by my faith, mylady the duchess is in no way behind my mistress the lady Dulcinea delToboso."
Don Quixote turned to the duchess and said, "Your highness mayconceive that never had knight-errant in this world a more talkativeor a droller squire than I have, and he will prove the truth of what Isay, if your highness is pleased to accept of my services for a fewdays."
To which the duchess made answer, "that worthy Sancho is droll Iconsider a very good thing, because it is a sign that he is shrewd;for drollery and sprightliness, Senor Don Quixote, as you very wellknow, do not take up their abode with dull wits; and as good Sancho isdroll and sprightly I here set him down as shrewd."
"And talkative," added Don Quixote.
"So much the better," said the duke, "for many droll things cannotbe said in few words; but not to lose time in talking, come, greatKnight of the Rueful Countenance-"
"Of the Lions, your highness must say," said Sancho, "for there isno Rueful Countenance nor any such character now."
"He of the Lions be it," continued the duke; "I say, let SirKnight of the Lions come to a castle of mine close by, where heshall be given that reception which is due to so exalted apersonage, and which the duchess and I are wont to give to allknights-errant who come there."
By this time Sancho had fixed and girthed Rocinante's saddle, andDon Quixote having got on his back and the duke mounted a finehorse, they placed the duchess in the middle and set out for thecastle. The duchess desired Sancho to come to her side, for shefound infinite enjoyment in listening to his shrewd remarks. Sanchorequired no pressing, but pushed himself in between them and the duke,who thought it rare good fortune to receive such a knight-errant andsuch a homely squire in their castle.
CHAPTER XXXI
WHICH TREATS OF MANY AND GREAT MATTERS
SUPREME was the satisfaction that Sancho felt at seeing himself,as it seemed, an established favourite with the duchess, for he lookedforward to finding in her castle what he had found in Don Diego'shouse and in Basilio's; he was always fond of good living, andalways seized by the forelock any opportunity of feasting himselfwhenever it presented itself. The history informs us, then, thatbefore they reached the country house or castle, the duke went on inadvance and instructed all his servants how they were to treat DonQuixote; and so the instant he came up to the castle gates with theduchess, two lackeys or equerries, clad in what they call morninggowns of fine crimson satin reaching to their feet, hastened out,and catching Don Quixote in their arms before he saw or heard them,said to him, "Your highness should go and take my lady the duchess offher horse." Don Quixote obeyed, and great bandying of complimentsfollowed between the two over the matter; but in the end the duchess'sdetermination carried the day, and she refused to get down or dismountfrom her palfrey except in the arms of the duke, saying she did notconsider herself worthy to impose so unnecessary a burden on sogreat a knight. At length the duke came out to take her down, and asthey entered a spacious court two fair damsels came forward andthrew over Don Quixote's shoulders a large mantle of the finestscarlet cloth, and at the same instant all the galleries of thecourt were lined with the men-servants and women-servants of thehousehold, crying, "Welcome, flower and cream of knight-errantry!"while all or most of them flung pellets filled with scented water overDon Quixote and the duke and duchess; at all which Don Quixote wasgreatly astonished, and this was the first time that he thoroughlyfelt and believed himself to be a knight-errant in reality and notmerely in fancy, now that he saw himself treated in the same way as hehad read of such knights being treated in days of yore.