Don Quixote rode completely dazed, unable with the aid of all hiswits to make out what could be the meaning of these abusive names theycalled them, and the only conclusion he could arrive at was that therewas no good to be hoped for and much evil to be feared. And now, aboutan hour after midnight, they reached a castle which Don Quixote saw atonce was the duke's, where they had been but a short time before. "Godbless me!" said he, as he recognised the mansion, "what does thismean? It is all courtesy and politeness in this house; but with thevanquished good turns into evil, and evil into worse."
They entered the chief court of the castle and found it prepared andfitted up in a style that added to their amazement and doubled theirfears, as will be seen in the following chapter.CHAPTER LXIX
OF THE STRANGEST AND MOST EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURE THAT BEFELL DONQUIXOTE IN THE WHOLE COURSE OF THIS GREAT HISTORY
THE horsemen dismounted, and, together with the men on foot, withouta moment's delay taking up Sancho and Don Quixote bodily, they carriedthem into the court, all round which near a hundred torches fixed insockets were burning, besides above five hundred lamps in thecorridors, so that in spite of the night, which was somewhat dark, thewant of daylight could not be perceived. In the middle of the courtwas a catafalque, raised about two yards above the ground andcovered completely by an immense canopy of black velvet, and on thesteps all round it white wax tapers burned in more than a hundredsilver candlesticks. Upon the catafalque was seen the dead body of adamsel so lovely that by her beauty she made death itself lookbeautiful. She lay with her head resting upon a cushion of brocade andcrowned with a garland of sweet-smelling flowers of divers sorts,her hands crossed upon her bosom, and between them a branch ofyellow palm of victory. On one side of the court was erected astage, where upon two chairs were seated two persons who from havingcrowns on their heads and sceptres in their hands appeared to be kingsof some sort, whether real or mock ones. By the side of this stage,which was reached by steps, were two other chairs on which the mencarrying the prisoners seated Don Quixote and Sancho, all insilence, and by signs giving them to understand that they too wereto he silent; which, however, they would have been without anysigns, for their amazement at all they saw held them tongue-tied.And now two persons of distinction, who were at once recognised by DonQuixote as his hosts the duke and duchess, ascended the stage attendedby a numerous suite, and seated themselves on two gorgeous chairsclose to the two kings, as they seemed to be. Who would not havebeen amazed at this? Nor was this all, for Don Quixote had perceivedthat the dead body on the catafalque was that of the fairAltisidora. As the duke and duchess mounted the stage Don Quixoteand Sancho rose and made them a profound obeisance, which theyreturned by bowing their heads slightly. At this moment an officialcrossed over, and approaching Sancho threw over him a robe of blackbuckram painted all over with flames of fire, and taking off his capput upon his head a mitre such as those undergoing the sentence of theHoly Office wear; and whispered in his ear that he must not open hislips, or they would put a gag upon him, or take his life. Sanchosurveyed himself from head to foot and saw himself all ablaze withflames; but as they did not burn him, he did not care two farthingsfor them. He took off the mitre and seeing painted with devils heput it on again, saying to himself, "Well, so far those don't burnme nor do these carry me off." Don Quixote surveyed him too, andthough fear had got the better of his faculties, he could not helpsmiling to see the figure Sancho presented. And now from underneaththe catafalque, so it seemed, there rose a low sweet sound offlutes, which, coming unbroken by human voice （for there silenceitself kept silence）， had a soft and languishing effect. Then,beside the pillow of what seemed to be the dead body, suddenlyappeared a fair youth in a Roman habit, who, to the accompaniment of aharp which he himself played, sang in a sweet and clear voice thesetwo stanzas:
While fair Altisidora, who the sport
Of cold Don Quixote's cruelty hath been,
Returns to life, and in this magic court
The dames in sables come to grace the scene,
And while her matrons all in seemly sort
My lady robes in baize and bombazine,
Her beauty and her sorrows will I sing
With defter quill than touched the Thracian string.
But not in life alone, methinks, to me
Belongs the office; Lady, when my tongue
Is cold in death, believe me, unto thee
My voice shall raise its tributary song.
My soul, from this strait prison-house set free,
As o'er the Stygian lake it floats along,
Thy praises singing still shall hold its way,
And make the waters of oblivion stay.
At this point one of the two that looked like kings exclaimed,"Enough, enough, divine singer! It would be an endless task to putbefore us now the death and the charms of the peerless Altisidora, notdead as the ignorant world imagines, but living in the voice of fameand in the penance which Sancho Panza, here present, has to undergo torestore her to the long-lost light. Do thou, therefore, ORhadamanthus, who sittest in judgment with me in the murky cavernsof Dis, as thou knowest all that the inscrutable fates have decreedtouching the resuscitation of this damsel, announce and declare itat once, that the happiness we look forward to from her restoration beno longer deferred."
No sooner had Minos the fellow judge of Rhadamanthus said this, thanRhadamanthus rising up said:
"Ho, officials of this house, high and low, great and small, makehaste hither one and all, and print on Sancho's face four-and-twentysmacks, and give him twelve pinches and six pin thrusts in the backand arms; for upon this ceremony depends the restoration ofAltisidora."
On hearing this Sancho broke silence and cried out, "By all that'sgood, I'll as soon let my face be smacked or handled as turn Moor.Body o' me! What has handling my face got to do with theresurrection of this damsel? 'The old woman took kindly to theblits; they enchant Dulcinea, and whip me in order to disenchanther; Altisidora dies of ailments God was pleased to send her, and tobring her to life again they must give me four-and-twenty smacks,and prick holes in my body with pins, and raise weals on my armswith pinches! Try those jokes on a brother-in-law; 'I'm an old dog,and "tus, tus" is no use with me.'"
"Thou shalt die," said Rhadamanthus in a loud voice; "relent, thoutiger; humble thyself, proud Nimrod; suffer and he silent, for noimpossibilities are asked of thee; it is not for thee to inquireinto the difficulties in this matter; smacked thou must be, prickedthou shalt see thyself, and with pinches thou must be made to howl.Ho, I say, officials, obey my orders; or by the word of an honest man,ye shall see what ye were born for."
At this some six duennas, advancing across the court, made theirappearance in procession, one after the other, four of them withspectacles, and all with their right hands uplifted, showing fourfingers of wrist to make their hands look longer, as is the fashionnow-a-days. No sooner had Sancho caught sight of them than,bellowing like a bull, he exclaimed, "I might let myself be handled byall the world; but allow duennas to touch me- not a bit of it! Scratchmy face, as my master was served in this very castle; run me throughthe body with burnished daggers; pinch my arms with red-hot pincers;I'll bear all in patience to serve these gentlefolk; but I won't letduennas touch me, though the devil should carry me off!"
Here Don Quixote, too, broke silence, saying to Sancho, "Havepatience, my son, and gratify these noble persons, and give all thanksto heaven that it has infused such virtue into thy person, that by itssufferings thou canst disenchant the enchanted and restore to life thedead."
The duennas were now close to Sancho, and he, having become moretractable and reasonable, settling himself well in his chair presentedhis face and beard to the first, who delivered him a smack verystoutly laid on, and then made him a low curtsey.
"Less politeness and less paint, senora duenna," said Sancho; "byGod your hands smell of vinegar-wash."
In fine, all the duennas smacked him and several others of thehousehold pinched him; but what he could not stand was being prickedby the pins; and so, apparently out of patience, he started up outof his chair, and seizing a lighted torch that stood near him fellupon the duennas and the whole set of his tormentors, exclaiming,"Begone, ye ministers of hell; I'm not made of brass not to feelsuch out-of-the-way tortures."
At this instant Altisidora, who probably was tired of having been solong lying on her back, turned on her side; seeing which thebystanders cried out almost with one voice, "Altisidora is alive!Altisidora lives!"
Rhadamanthus bade Sancho put away his wrath, as the object theyhad in view was now attained. When Don Quixote saw Altisidora move, hewent on his knees to Sancho saying to him, "Now is the time, son of mybowels, not to call thee my squire, for thee to give thyself some ofthose lashes thou art bound to lay on for the disenchantment ofDulcinea. Now, I say, is the time when the virtue that is in thee isripe, and endowed with efficacy to work the good that is looked forfrom thee."