Don Quixote was comforted by the prophecy he heard, for he at oncecomprehended its meaning perfectly, and perceived it was promised tohim that he should see himself united in holy and lawful matrimonywith his beloved Dulcinea del Toboso, from whose blessed womb shouldproceed the whelps, his sons, to the eternal glory of La Mancha; andbeing thoroughly and firmly persuaded of this, he lifted up his voice,and with a deep sigh exclaimed, "Oh thou, whoever thou art, who hastforetold me so much good, I implore of thee that on my part thouentreat that sage enchanter who takes charge of my interests, thathe leave me not to perish in this captivity in which they are nowcarrying me away, ere I see fulfilled promises so joyful andincomparable as those which have been now made me; for, let this butcome to pass, and I shall glory in the pains of my prison, findcomfort in these chains wherewith they bind me, and regard this bedwhereon they stretch me, not as a hard battle-field, but as a soft andhappy nuptial couch; and touching the consolation of Sancho Panza,my squire, I rely upon his goodness and rectitude that he will notdesert me in good or evil fortune; for if, by his ill luck or mine, itmay not happen to be in my power to give him the island I havepromised, or any equivalent for it, at least his wages shall not belost; for in my will, which is already made, I have declared the sumthat shall be paid to him, measured, not by his many faithfulservices, but by the means at my disposal."
Sancho bowed his head very respectfully and kissed both his hands,for, being tied together, he could not kiss one; and then theapparitions lifted the cage upon their shoulders and fixed it upon theox-cart.
CHAPTER XLVII
OF THE STRANGE MANNER IN WHICH DON QUIXOTE OF LA MANCHA WASCARRIED AWAY ENCHANTED, TOGETHER WITH OTHER REMARKABLE INCIDENTS
WHEN Don Quixote saw himself caged and hoisted on the cart in thisway, he said, "Many grave histories of knights-errant have I read; butnever yet have I read, seen, or heard of their carrying offenchanted knights-errant in this fashion, or at the slow pace thatthese lazy, sluggish animals promise; for they always take them awaythrough the air with marvellous swiftness, enveloped in a dark thickcloud, or on a chariot of fire, or it may be on some hippogriff orother beast of the kind; but to carry me off like this on anox-cart! By God, it puzzles me! But perhaps the chivalry andenchantments of our day take a different course from that of thosein days gone by; and it may be, too, that as I am a new knight inthe world, and the first to revive the already forgotten calling ofknight-adventurers, they may have newly invented other kinds ofenchantments and other modes of carrying off the enchanted. Whatthinkest thou of the matter, Sancho my son?"
"I don't know what to think," answered Sancho, "not being as wellread as your worship in errant writings; but for all that I venture tosay and swear that these apparitions that are about us are not quitecatholic."
"Catholic!" said Don Quixote. "Father of me! how can they beCatholic when they are all devils that have taken fantastic shapesto come and do this, and bring me to this condition? And if thouwouldst prove it, touch them, and feel them, and thou wilt find theyhave only bodies of air, and no consistency except in appearance."
"By God, master," returned Sancho, "I have touched them already; andthat devil, that goes about there so busily, has firm flesh, andanother property very different from what I have heard say devilshave, for by all accounts they all smell of brimstone and other badsmells; but this one smells of amber half a league off." Sancho washere speaking of Don Fernando, who, like a gentleman of his rank,was very likely perfumed as Sancho said.
"Marvel not at that, Sancho my friend," said Don Quixote; "for letme tell thee devils are crafty; and even if they do carry odours aboutwith them, they themselves have no smell, because they are spirits;or, if they have any smell, they cannot smell of anything sweet, butof something foul and fetid; and the reason is that as they carry hellwith them wherever they go, and can get no ease whatever from theirtorments, and as a sweet smell is a thing that gives pleasure andenjoyment, it is impossible that they can smell sweet; if, then,this devil thou speakest of seems to thee to smell of amber, eitherthou art deceiving thyself, or he wants to deceive thee by making theefancy he is not a devil."
Such was the conversation that passed between master and man; andDon Fernando and Cardenio, apprehensive of Sancho's making acomplete discovery of their scheme, towards which he had alreadygone some way, resolved to hasten their departure, and calling thelandlord aside, they directed him to saddle Rocinante and put thepack-saddle on Sancho's ass, which he did with great alacrity. Inthe meantime the curate had made an arrangement with the officers thatthey should bear them company as far as his village, he paying them somuch a day. Cardenio hung the buckler on one side of the bow ofRocinante's saddle and the basin on the other, and by signscommanded Sancho to mount his ass and take Rocinante's bridle, andat each side of the cart he placed two officers with their muskets;but before the cart was put in motion, out came the landlady and herdaughter and Maritornes to bid Don Quixote farewell, pretending toweep with grief at his misfortune; and to them Don Quixote said:
"Weep not, good ladies, for all these mishaps are the lot of thosewho follow the profession I profess; and if these reverses did notbefall me I should not esteem myself a famous knight-errant; forsuch things never happen to knights of little renown and fame, becausenobody in the world thinks about them; to valiant knights they do, forthese are envied for their virtue and valour by many princes and otherknights who compass the destruction of the worthy by base means.Nevertheless, virtue is of herself so mighty, that, in spite of allthe magic that Zoroaster its first inventor knew, she will comevictorious out of every trial, and shed her light upon the earth asthe sun does upon the heavens. Forgive me, fair ladies, if, throughinadvertence, I have in aught offended you; for intentionally andwittingly I have never done so to any; and pray to God that he deliverme from this captivity to which some malevolent enchanter hasconsigned me; and should I find myself released therefrom, the favoursthat ye have bestowed upon me in this castle shall be held in memoryby me, that I may acknowledge, recognise, and requite them as theydeserve."
While this was passing between the ladies of the castle and DonQuixote, the curate and the barber bade farewell to Don Fernando andhis companions, to the captain, his brother, and the ladies, now allmade happy, and in particular to Dorothea and Luscinda. They allembraced one another, and promised to let each other know how thingswent with them, and Don Fernando directed the curate where to write tohim, to tell him what became of Don Quixote, assuring him that therewas nothing that could give him more pleasure than to hear of it,and that he too, on his part, would send him word of everything hethought he would like to know, about his marriage, Zoraida'sbaptism, Don Luis's affair, and Luscinda's return to her home. Thecurate promised to comply with his request carefully, and theyembraced once more, and renewed their promises.
The landlord approached the curate and handed him some papers,saying he had discovered them in the lining of the valise in which thenovel of "The Ill-advised Curiosity" had been found, and that he mighttake them all away with him as their owner had not since returned;for, as he could not read, he did not want them himself. The curatethanked him, and opening them he saw at the beginning of themanuscript the words, "Novel of Rinconete and Cortadillo," by which heperceived that it was a novel, and as that of "The Ill-advisedCuriosity" had been good he concluded this would be so too, as theywere both probably by the same author; so he kept it, intending toread it when he had an opportunity. He then mounted and his friend thebarber did the same, both masked, so as not to be recognised by DonQuixote, and set out following in the rear of the cart. The order ofmarch was this: first went the cart with the owner leading it; at eachside of it marched the officers of the Brotherhood, as has beensaid, with their muskets; then followed Sancho Panza on his ass,leading Rocinante by the bridle; and behind all came the curate andthe barber on their mighty mules, with faces covered, as aforesaid,and a grave and serious air, measuring their pace to suit the slowsteps of the oxen. Don Quixote was seated in the cage, with hishands tied and his feet stretched out, leaning against the bars assilent and as patient as if he were a stone statue and not a man offlesh. Thus slowly and silently they made, it might be, two leagues,until they reached a valley which the carter thought a convenientplace for resting and feeding his oxen, and he said so to thecurate, but the barber was of opinion that they ought to push on alittle farther, as at the other side of a hill which appeared close byhe knew there was a valley that had more grass and much better thanthe one where they proposed to halt; and his advice was taken and theycontinued their journey.
Just at that moment the curate, looking back, saw coming on behindthem six or seven mounted men, well found and equipped, who soonovertook them, for they were travelling, not at the sluggish,deliberate pace of oxen, but like men who rode canons' mules, and inhaste to take their noontide rest as soon as possible at the inn whichwas in sight not a league off. The quick travellers came up with theslow, and courteous salutations were exchanged; and one of the newcomers, who was, in fact, a canon of Toledo and master of the otherswho accompanied him, observing the regular order of the procession,the cart, the officers, Sancho, Rocinante, the curate and thebarber, and above all Don Quixote caged and confined, could not helpasking what was the meaning of carrying the man in that fashion;though, from the badges of the officers, he already concluded thathe must be some desperate highwayman or other malefactor whosepunishment fell within the jurisdiction of the Holy Brotherhood. Oneof the officers to whom he had put the question, replied, "Let thegentleman himself tell you the meaning of his going this way, senor,for we do not know."