guises; and that, among the rest, he knew Queen Guinever and her woman Quintaniona, that officiated as Sir Lancelot's cup-bearer, as he came from Britain."

4

Sancho, hearing his master talk at this rate, had like to have forgot himself, and burst out a-laughing; for he well knew that Dulcinea's enchantment was a lie, and that he himself was the chief magician, and raiser of the story; and thence, concluding his master stark mad, “In an ill hour," quoth he, "dear master of mine, and in a woful day, went your worship down to the other world; and in a worse hour met you with that plaguy Montesinos, that has sent you back in this rueful pickle. You went hence in your right senses; could talk prettily enough now and then; had your handsome proverbs and wise sayings every foot, and would give wholesome counsel to all that would take it; but now, bless me ! you talk as if you had left your brains in the devil's cellar."-" I know thee, Sancho," said Don Quixote, "and therefore I regard thy words as little as possible.”—“ And I yours,” replied Sancho: "nay, you may cripple, lame, or kill me, if you please, either for what I have said, or mean to say; I must speak my mind though I die for it. But before your blood is up, pray, sir, tell me how did you know it was your mistress? Did you speak to her? What did she say to you? and what did you say to her ?"-" I knew her again," said Don Quixote, "by the same clothes she wore when thou shew'dst her to me. I spoke to her; but she made

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no answer, but suddenly turned away, and fled from me like a whirlwind. I intended to have followed her, had not Montesinos told me it would be to no purpose; warning me besides, that it was high time to return to the upper air; and, changing the discourse, he told me that I should hereafter be made acquainted with the means of disenchanting them all. But while Montesinos and I were thus talking together, a very odd accident, the thoughts of which trouble me still, broke off our conversation. For, as we were in the height of our discourse, who should Come to me but one of the unfortunate Dulcinea's companions, and, before I was aware, with a faint and doleful voice, Sir,' said she, my Lady Dulcinea del Toboso gives her service to you, and desires to know how you do; and, being a little short of money at present, she desires you, of all love and kindness, to lend her six reals upon this new fustian petticoat, or more or less, as you can spare it, sir, and she will take care to redeem it very honestly in a little time."

6

"The message surprised me strangely; and therefore, turning to Montesinos, Is it possible, sir,' said I, that persons of quality, when enchanted, are in want ? O! very possible, sir,' said he; 'poverty rages every where, and spares neither quality enchanted nor unenchanted; and therefore, since the Lady Dulcinea desires you to lend her these six reals, and the pawn is a good pawn, let her have the money; for sure it is very low with her at this time.” 'I scorn to take pawns,' said I; • but my misfortune is, that I cannot answer the full request; for

I have but four reals about me;' and that was the money thou gavest me the other day, Sancho, to distribute among the poor. However, I gave her all I had, and desired her to tell her mistress, I was very sorry for her wants; and that if I had all the treasures which Croesus possessed, they should be at her service; and withal, that I died every hour for want of her reviving company; and made it my humble and earnest request, that she would vouchsafe to see and converse with her captive servant, and weather-beaten knight. Tell her,' continued I, ' when she least expects it, she will come to hear how I made an oath, as the Marquis of Mantua did, when he found his nephew Baldwin ready to expire on the mountain, never to eat upon a table-cloth, and several other particulars, which he swore to observe, till he had revenged his death; so, in the likesolemn manner will I swear, never to desist from traversing the habitable globe, and ranging through all the seven parts of the world, more indefatigable than ever was done by Prince Pedro * of Portugal, till I have freed her from her enchantment.'- All this and more you owe my mistress,' said the damsel; and then, having got the four reals, instead of dropping me a curtsey, she cut me a caper in the air two yards high."

"Now Heaven defend us !" cried Sancho. "Who

* This Prince Pedro of Portugal was a great traveller for the time he lived in, which gave occasion to the spreading of many fables concerning him, and which made the ignorant vulgar say, he travelled over seven parts of the world.

could ever have believed that these devilish enchanters and enchantments should have so much power as to bewitch my master at this rate, and craze his sound understanding in this manner? Alas! sir, for the love of Heaven take care of yourself. What will the world say of you? Rouse up your dozing senses, and do not dote upon those whimsies that have so wretchedly cracked that rare head-piece of yours."-"Well," said Don Quixote, "I cannot be angry at thy ignorant tittle-tattle, because it proceeds from thy love towards me. Thou thinkest, poor fellow, that whatever is beyond the sphere of thy narrow comprehension must be impossible; but, as I have already said, there will come a time when I shall give thee an account of some things I have seen below, that will convince thee of the reality of those I told thee now, the truth of which admits of no dispute."

CHAPTER XXIV.

Which gives an account of a thousand Flimflams and Stories, as impertinent as necessary to the right understanding of this grand History.

THE translator of this famous history declares, that, at the beginning of the chapter which treats of the adventure of Montesinos' cave, he found a marginal annotation, written with the Arabian author's own hand, in these words:

"I cannot be persuaded, nor believe, that all the wonderful accidents said to have happened to the

valorous Don Quixote in the cave, so punctually befel him as he relates them: for, the course of his adventures hitherto has been very natural, and bore the face of probability; but in this there appears no coherence with reason, and nothing but monstrous incongruities. But, on the other hand, if we consider the honour, worth, and integrity, of the noble Don Quixote, we have not the least reason to susp ct he would be guilty of a lie; but rather that he would sooner have been transfixed with arrows. Besides, he has been so particular in his relation of that adventure, and given so many circumstances, that I dare not declare it absolutely apocryphal; especially when I consider, that he had not time enough to invent such a cluster of fables. I therefore insert it among the rest, without offering to determine whether it is true or false; leaving it to the discretion of the judicious reader. Though I must acquaint him by the way, that Don Quixote, upon his death-bed, utterly disowned this adventure, as a perfect fable, which, he said, he had invented purely to please his humour, being suitable to such as he had formerly read in romances." And so much by way of digression.

The scholar thought Sancho the most saucy servant, and his master the calmest madman, that ever he saw; though he attributed the patience of the latter to a certain good humour, and easiness of temper, infused into him by the sight of his mistress Dulcinea, even under enchantment; otherwise he would have thought his not checking Sancho a greater sign of madness than his discourse. "Noble