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Title: El Buscapié
Author: Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de
Language: English
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TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
In the text version Italic is denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by
=this=.
The book cover was modified by the Transcriber and added to the public
domain.
The Table of Contents was added by the Transcriber.
The spelling of Spanish names and places in Spain mentioned in the
text has been adjusted to the rules set by the Academia Real Española.
However, ancient text quoted in the book has been left unchanged.
At the end of the book, in the original there is an ERRATA section
included, which lists misspellings detected during the printing process
of the book. The ERRATA has been kept for completeness, but those
misspellings have been fixed during the transcription process.
A number of words in this book have both hyphenated and non-hyphenated
variants. For the words with both variants present the one more used
has been kept.
Punctuation and other printing errors have been corrected.
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Joannes Morenus, pinx. London, R. Bentley, 1848. Joseph Brown, sc.
EL BUSCAPIÉ
BY
MIGUEL DE CERVANTES
WITH THE ILLUSTRATIVE NOTES
OF DON ADOLFO DE CASTRO.
TRANSLATED FROM THE SPANISH,
WITH A LIFE OF THE AUTHOR,
AND SOME ACCOUNT OF HIS WORKS,
BY THOMASINA ROSS.
LONDON:
RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET.
1849.
LONDON:
W. OSTELL, PRINTER, HART STREET, BLOOMSBURY SQUARE;
AND BURLINGTON MEWS, REGENT STREET.
CONTENTS
Page
PREFACE v
LIFE OF CERVANTES 1
EL BUSCAPIÉ 99
NOTES 149
ERRATA 236
PREFACE.
In presenting the _Buscapié_ to the English public, it may not be
superfluous, first to explain the title of this literary curiosity, and
next to offer a few observations relative to its nature and origin.
The title _Buscapié_ seems to have been suggested by one of those
quaint conceits common to the Spanish writers of the sixteenth century.
The word etymologically considered, is compounded of _busca_ (seek;
from the verb _buscar_ to seek), and _pie_ (foot); and it signifies
in the Spanish language a squib or cracker, which, being thrown down
in the streets by boys and mischievous persons, rolls about and gets
between the feet of passers-by. Towards the close of the Work itself
Cervantes thus explains his reason for selecting this title. “I call
this little book _Buscapié_,” he says, “to show to those who _seek_ the
_foot_ with which the ingenious Knight of La Mancha limps, that he does
not limp with either, but that he goes firmly and steadily on both, and
is ready to challenge the grumbling critics who buzz about like wasps.”
Everyone acquainted with Spanish literature has regretted the
disappearance and supposed total loss of this little Work, which was
known to have been written by Cervantes after the publication of the
First Part of _Don Quixote_. Whether or not this production ever was
submitted to the press by its author is exceedingly doubtful; but, be
that as it may, no printed copy of it has been extant for the space
of two centuries. Though manuscript copies were supposed to exist
among the hidden treasures of the Biblioteca Real in Madrid, or in the
unexplored recesses of Simancas, yet the _Buscapié_ has always been
alluded to by writers on Spanish literature as a thing inaccessible
and known only by tradition. Great interest was consequently excited
a short time ago, by the announcement that a copy of the _Buscapié_
had been discovered in Cádiz. It was found among some old books and
manuscripts, sold by auction, previously to which they had been the
property of an advocate named Don Pascual de Gándara, who resided
in the neighbouring town of San Fernando. Some writers on Spanish
literature have hazarded the conjecture that the _Buscapié_ was a
sort of key to _Don Quixote_, and that in it were indicated, if not
named, the persons whom Cervantes is supposed to have satirized in his
celebrated romance.[1] But such is not the fact. The _Buscapié_ is a
vindication of _Don Quixote_ against the unjust critical censure with
which that Work was assailed on the appearance of its First Part, which
was published in 1604. In the same year there is reason to believe
that Cervantes wrote the _Buscapié_. The manuscript copy of this little
Work, recently discovered in Cádiz, is in the scriptory character
commonly in use about the end of the sixteenth and beginning of the
seventeenth centuries. On the title page it is styled:--
“El muy donoso Librillo llamado
Buscapié
Donde, demas de su mucho y excellente
Dotrina, van declaradas
Todas Aquellas Cosas Escondidas y no
Declaradas en el Ingenioso Hidalgo
Don Quijote de la Mancha
Que compuso
un tal de Cervantes Saavedra.”[2]
Lower down, and in the same handwriting, are these words:--
“Copióse de otra copia el año de 1606 en Madrid 27 de Ebrero año
dicho. Para el Señor Agustin de Argota, hijo del muy noble señor
(que sancta gloria haya) Gonzalo Zatieco de Molina, un caballero de
Sevilla.”[3]
Next are written the following words in the Portuguese language, and in
characters, the apparent date of which may be assigned to the beginning
of the eighteenth century:--
“Da Livraria do Senhor Duque de Lafões.”[4]
How this manuscript found its way to Portugal, and came back to Spain,
there is no evidence to show. It was, however, purchased in Cádiz, (at
the sale of the books and manuscripts of the Advocate Gándara), by its
present possessor, Don Adolfo de Castro, to whom literature is now
indebted for its appearance in a printed form, accompanied by some
valuable and interesting bibliographic notes.
In the following English version of the _Buscapié_, care has been taken
to adhere with all possible fidelity to the spirit of the original;
some occasional redundancy of expression has been compressed, and here
and there passages have been abridged, which, if literally rendered,
would in our language appear prolix and tedious.
With the highly curious bibliographical notes of Don Adolfo de
Castro, (appended to the Volume), the translator has used the freedom
of embodying additional illustrative matter, derived from sources
furnished by her own acquaintance with Spanish literature. In notes
affixed to the text, she has supplied information on some points,
with which the Spanish reader, being presumed to be acquainted, were
very naturally passed over unnoticed by Don Adolfo de Castro. It is,
however, hoped that these notes may not appear superfluous to the
English reader.
It has been thought desirable that the publication of this curious
Work should be accompanied by some account of the author. The universal
celebrity of Cervantes, and the biographical sketches prefixed to the
various English editions of _Don Quixote_, have long since made the
reader acquainted with some particulars of the life of that great
writer. Nevertheless, it has been deemed advisable to attempt a new
narrative of his life. That prefixed to the present Volume has been
carefully compiled from the most authentic sources. The writer has
drawn largely from the Spanish lives of Navarrete, Pellicer and De los
Ríos: she has also attentively perused several German works of high
authority; and by carefully comparing and collating the facts recorded
by various writers, she has endeavoured to produce a more complete
account of the great Spanish writer than has hitherto been offered to
the English public.
A more skilful pen would, doubtless, have invested the narrative
with that graceful colouring which its subject so well deserves;
but, whilst fully conscious of her own deficiencies, the writer of
the following Life feels that she may claim the merit of having
industriously put together a number of curious and well authenticated
facts relative to Cervantes;--facts the more interesting, inasmuch as
they have hitherto been only very partially known.
_London,
December 1, 1848._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] It has been conjectured, though without any satisfactory ground,
that Cervantes wrote his _Don Quixote_ as a satire upon the Emperor
Charles V. and the Duke de Lerma, the favourite of Philip III.
[2] “The very pleasant little book called _Buscapié_, in which, besides
its excellent doctrine, are unfolded all those things which are hidden,
and not declared in the History of the ingenious Knight, Don Quixote de
la Mancha, written by one De Cervantes Saavedra.”
[3] “This was copied from another copy in the year 1606, in Madrid,
27th of February of the same year, by the Señor Agustin de Argota, son
of the most noble Señor, (now in glory) Gonzalo Zatieco de Molina, a
gentleman of Seville.”
[4] “From the library of the Duke de Lafôes.”
LIFE OF CERVANTES.
The History of Literature records numberless instances in which genius,
regarded with indifference in its own time, has received only from
after generations the tribute of just appreciation. Of this sort of
contemporary neglect, and posthumous honour, Cervantes is a remarkable
example; for even the popularity of Don Quixote which, on its first
appearance, met with unparalleled success, did not materially better
the circumstances or elevate the position of its author.
It is not very easy to reconcile this literary success with the poverty
with which Cervantes struggled even to the latest period of his life,
and of which he oftener than once complains in his writings; for it
is a well-known fact that though Don Quixote, in the lifetime of its
author, attracted an extraordinary share of public attention, yet
Cervantes remained poor and neglected. Whilst the book was universally
read and admired, the author would appear to have been a person of so
little note, that his early biographers did not even think it worth
while to put on record the name of his birth-place.
As if anxious to escape from the reproach of knowing little or nothing
of the man who shed such lustre over their literature, the Spaniards
of the last century entered upon diligent researches, with the view
of elucidating every fact connected with the life of Cervantes. These
investigations resulted in the collection of a mass of interesting
and curious information, which De los Ríos, Pellicer, and Navarrete
have severally embodied in their lives of the great writer. The warm
discussions which have at various times arisen out of the doubtful
question of Cervantes’ place of nativity have been likened to the
disputes of the seven Greek cities, when contending for the honour of
having given birth to Homer. Madrid, Seville, Valladolid and Esquivias
by turns claimed Cervantes as their own, until the question was finally
set at rest by his latest and most trustworthy biographers. On the
authority of indisputable evidence it appears that Miguel de Cervantes
Saavedra was born at Alcalá de Henares, in the year 1547. The day
of his birth is not known; but it has been ascertained that he was
baptized on the 9th of October.
The family of Cervantes was of noble descent, Father Sarmiento[5]
states, that its earliest members were settled in Gallicia, and that
their place of residence was within the Bishoprick of Lugo. Their rank
was that of Ricoshombres, (grandees). Subsequently, a branch of the
family removed to Castile, and, in the Spanish annals of the beginning
of the thirteenth century, the names Cervates and Cervantes are
frequently mentioned with honourable distinction. Gonzalo de Cervantes,
the founder of the branch whence the great writer was descended, fought
gallantly at the storming of Seville, under Ferdinand III., and was
endowed with some estates on the partition of the territories wrested
from the Moors. A descendant of Gonzalo de Cervantes married a daughter
of the house of Saavedra, from which circumstance some members of the
Cervantes family added the name Saavedra to their own. On the invasion
of South America by the Spaniards, the name of Cervantes was carried to
the New World by the emigration of several members of the family.
In the beginning of the sixteenth century we find a Juan de Cervantes
filling the post of Corregidor in the town of Ossuna. He had a son
named Rodrigo, who, in the year 1540, married Doña Leonora de Cortinas,
the daughter of a noble family residing in Barajas.[6] Four children
were the issue of this marriage. The eldest was a son named Rodrigo;
the second and third, two daughters, named Andrea and Luisa; and
the fourth and youngest child was Miguel, who subsequently became
illustrious in the annals of literature.
Miguel de Cervantes received from nature a combination of mental
endowments such as rarely falls to the share of one individual. To
a lively fancy, and great power of inventive genius, he united an
extraordinary amount of sound and discriminating judgment. Such was
his inherent fondness for reading, that in his very earliest boyhood he
was accustomed to pick up all the little scraps of paper he might find
in the streets, and to employ himself in perusing whatever happened
to be written on them. His gay and humorous disposition was tempered
by refined taste; and, to quote the remark of his biographer, Antonio
Pellicer, the character of his mind altogether resembled that ascribed
by Horace to Lucilius.
Of the boyhood of Cervantes little is known, beyond the few particulars
here and there scattered through his writings. Alluding to his early
taste for poetry, he says, in the _Journey to Parnassus_:--“Even from
my earliest years, I loved the sweet art of graceful poesy.”[7] In
another of his works he tells us how, when a boy, he was taken to a
theatre, where he saw Lope de Rueda act. That the performance of that
celebrated comedian and dramatist made a powerful impression on his
mind is evidently shewn in his maturer years: it is not impossible that
his taste for dramatic literature received its first impulse from the
acting of Lope de Rueda.
It would seem that Cervantes was destined for one of the learned
professions, and on attaining a suitable age, he was sent by his
parents to the University of Salamanca, where he remained for the space
of two years. Some of the lights and shades of his student life are
interwoven in the _Novelas exemplares_,[8] and also in the second part
of _Don Quixote_. The comic interlude, called _La Cueva de Salamanca_,
seems also to have been suggested by some of the author’s college
adventures.
The first person who observed and fostered the dawning talent of
Cervantes in poetic composition, was Juan López de Hoyos, who had been
his tutor before he entered the University. It happened that Hoyos was
commissioned to compose a funeral poem on the occasion of the death of
Queen Isabel de Valois, the Consort of Philip II.; and he transferred
some portions of this task to his pupils.
Hoyos wrote a narrative of the death and funeral of the Queen,[9]
and in that narrative are inserted an elegy, a sonnet, and some
redondillas, by Miguel de Cervantes, who is styled by his old tutor,
“_mi claro y amado discipulo_,”--(my clever and beloved pupil). At this
time Cervantes was twenty-one years of age; and the praise bestowed
on the first effusions of his muse encouraged him to take a loftier
poetic flight. There is reason to believe that about this period of
his life he produced _Filena_, a pastoral romance, in the style of
Montemayor and Gil Polo; but this, together with most of his early
productions, are now lost; a few only being preserved in the _Romancero
General_.
The time soon arrived when the young poet felt the necessity of
directing his talents and energies to the means of obtaining a
livelihood; for his father, though in circumstances which enabled him
to pay for his education, was not sufficiently rich to maintain him. An
opportunity which placed it in his power to gain some little emolument
occurred in the year 1568, when Cardinal Julio Acquaviva visited the
Court of Castile in the quality of Legate from Pope Pius V. Cervantes
entered the service of the Cardinal, and in the same year accompanied
him to Rome. He filled the situation of Camarero, which may be presumed
to have been an office partaking somewhat of a domestic character;
but it is a well-known fact that even young Spanish nobles did not, at
that period, disdain to accept similar appointments in the households
of popes and cardinals. The desire of seeing the world, or the prospect
of gaining a powerful patron and a good ecclesiastical appointment were
inducements for filling situations which otherwise might have been
considered degrading. The vivid impressions produced by this first
great journey on the mind of Cervantes are obvious even in the works
of his later life. In _Persiles y Sigismunda_ he makes two pilgrims
wend their course through Valencia, Catalonia, and Provence to Italy,
the route by which there is reason to infer he himself travelled to
Rome. The descriptions of scenery in the production just named, bear
the stamp of personal recollections. That he was particularly charmed
with Catalonia, is evident from the interesting sketches of scenery
and manners of that part of Spain, interspersed through the _Galatea_,
as well as from those in the novel of _Las dos Doncellas_ and _Don
Quixote_.
The residence of Cervantes in Rome, though not long in duration, was
permanent in his remembrance. In his novel of the _Licenciado Vidriera_
he apostrophises Rome as the “sovereign of the world and the queen of
cities.” “As the claws of the lion,” he adds, “denote the animal’s bulk
and strength, so may the magnitude and power of Rome be judged by her
fragments of marble, her ruined arches, her baths and her colonnades,
her colossal amphitheatres, and her river--that river which is rendered
sacred by the many relics and martyrs buried beneath its waves.”
After the lapse of a short time, Cervantes exchanged the tranquil
occupations he pursued in the service of his spiritual patron for the
more stirring duties of a soldier’s life. That he always cherished
a peculiar predilection for military adventure is evident from many
observations scattered through his writings. Like many of his
countrymen in that age, his taste seems to have disposed him to the
profession of arms no less than to that of letters. Cervantes was of
opinion that military courage and literary talent are more nearly
allied than is generally supposed. In _Persiles_ he says,--“There are
no better soldiers than those who have been transplanted from the field
of study to the field of war. There never has been an instance in which
students have taken up arms, that they have not proved themselves to be
the bravest and best of soldiers, for when courage is joined to genius,
and genius is allied to courage, thereby is formed a combination of
qualities in which Mars rejoices.”[10]
Cervantes entered the army as a private soldier, and he served in one
of the numerous Spanish regiments then in Italy.[11] It would appear
that he was quartered either in Naples or its vicinity. In 1571 the
threatened incursions of the Turks and the depredations of the African
corsairs disturbed the tranquillity of the southern states of Europe,
and once more raised up a league of the Cross against the Crescent.
Pope Pius V. conjointly with Phillip II. and the Republic of Venice,
entered into a coalition, and fitted out a combined fleet of galleys
for the subjugation of the common enemy of Christendom. Marco Antonio
Colonna had the command of the Pope’s galleys; those of King Phillip
were commanded by Giovanni Andrea Doria, and those of the Republic by
Sebastian Veniero. Don John of Austria, son of the Emperor Charles V.
was appointed commander of the whole combined squadrons.
Cervantes, with many other young Spaniards, left Naples and proceeded
to Messina, then the mustering place of the combined fleets. He
enlisted in the corps of Diego de Urbina, which sailed in Colonna’s
galleys to the Gulf of Lepanto, and he took part in the celebrated
battle fought there on the 7th of October, 1571. During the voyage he
had suffered from a fever, and he had not recovered when the action
commenced. His commander as well as his comrades recommended him to
remain quietly in his cabin; but this he refused to do, declaring his
wish to die in the service of God and his King rather than to save his
life by ingloriously keeping aloof from danger. He entreated that one
of the most exposed posts might be assigned to him. His urgent desire
was complied with; and it is stated that he fought with more resolute
courage than any man on board the vessel. By the fire of that galley
alone it is said more than five hundred Turks were killed. Cervantes,
who exposed himself to the fiercest assault of the enemy, received
three wounds from arquebus balls, two entered his breast, and the
other so dreadfully shattered his left hand that he subsequently had
it amputated. But so far from regretting this mutilation, he prided
himself on it, and regarded it as an insignia of honour. In his preface
to the second part of _Don Quixote_, he declares that he views his
maimed hand as “a memorial of one of the most glorious events that past
or present ages have seen, or that the future can hope to see;[12]
and,” he adds, “could an impossibility be rendered practicable, and
could the same opportunity be recalled, I would rather be again present
in that prodigious action than whole and sound without sharing in the
glory of it.”
The memorable 7th of October, 1571, was to Cervantes like a ray of
light beaming through the clouds of his past recollections. Even in the
_Journey to Parnassus_, which he wrote in his latter years, he says,
alluding to the battle of Lepanto, “My eye wandered over the smooth
surface of the sea, which recalled to my memory the heroic exploit of
the heroic Don John; when aided by courage, and by a heart throbbing
for military glory, I had a share (humble though it was) in the
victory.”[13]
Cervantes was four and twenty years of age when the Battle of Lepanto
was fought. The signal courage he displayed on that occasion obtained
for him the complimentary notice of Don John of Austria. On the
day after the battle that Prince reviewed the combined fleet, and
visited the wounded, presenting to each soldier who had particularly
distinguished himself, a sum of money over and above the amount of
his pay. Cervantes received from the hand of the prince one of these
honourable gratuities.
The victory of Lepanto, though for a time fatal to the Turks, was not
succeeded by any permanent advantage to the coalesced powers. Sultan
Selim speedily found a strong ally in the dissentient spirit which
prevailed among the Christian rulers. By command of Philip II. Don
John returned to Messina, where the victorious fleet was received with
public rejoicings. Cervantes, not yet recovered from his wounds, was
consigned to the hospital, and he remained in Messina whilst most
of the troops were dispersed about in the interior of Sicily. In the
following year, his military ardour being unabated, he joined another
expedition fitted out by the Chiefs of the League, and sailed this time
to the Archipelago. He was present at the storming of Navarino; but
the expedition having failed in its object, he once more returned to
Messina.
The following winter was spent in preparations for a new armament; but
owing to the secession of the Republic of Venice from the league, the
Spanish and Papal forces alone were found insufficient for attacking
the Turks; and in consequence King Philip determined to fit out an
expedition against Tunis. The object of the king was merely the
dethronement of Aluch Ali in favour of Muley Mahomet; but John of
Austria, to whom was entrusted the command of the expedition, hoped
to found for himself an independent sovereignty in Africa; and in
furtherance of this object, the pope promised his aid. No sooner did
the fleet appear within sight of Goletta than the garrison retired from
the fort and the inhabitants of Tunis took to flight. A single regiment
then sufficed to take possession of the fortress and the city; and
there is good reason to conjecture that Cervantes was in the ranks of
that regiment. Don John having erected a new fort took possession of
Biserta, and leaving behind him a portion of his force he returned once
more to Sicily.
Cervantes, with the regiment to which he belonged, proceeded to
Sardinia, where he remained during the winter of 1573 to 1574. He was
afterwards sent to Genoa, which was then agitated by insurrectionary
movements. To quell those outbreaks, Don John was on the point of
leaving Lombardy, when he learned that the Turks were actively
assembling their forces with the view of regaining possession of Tunis
and Goletta. Without delay the prince embarked at Spezzia, with a
division of his troops, in which was Cervantes. He proceeded first to
Naples and Messina, and then sailed for the African coast. But the
little armada had not advanced far on the voyage, when a violent storm
which threatened destruction to the galleys drove them back to the
Sicilian shore. Meanwhile Goletta and Tunis, after a gallant defence,
were retaken by the Turks, an event which at once crushed the hopes of
Don John of Austria.
Cervantes, with his regiment remained for a time in Sicily, under the
command of the Duke de Sesa. It would appear that he was afterwards
removed to Naples, for he says in the _Journey to Parnassus_, “that he
paced the streets of that city for upwards of a year.”[14] There is,
however, good reason for believing that his time was not spent in idly
pacing the streets, but that during his stay in Naples, he employed
his intervals of respite from military duty, in studying the Italian
language and reading the works of the best Italian writers; for it is
well known that he possessed an erudite knowledge of the literature of
Italy.
Urged by an irresistible desire to revisit his native country, and
probably dissatisfied with the scanty recompense awarded to his
military services, Cervantes solicited leave to return to Spain. His
request was granted in a manner highly gratifying to him, in the year
1575, when Don John and the Duke de Sesa furnished him with letters,
recommending him to the notice of King Phillip, as a man whose courage
had gained the respect of his officers as well as of his comrades.
With a joyful heart Cervantes embarked in the galley _El Sol_,
accompanied by his brother, Rodrigo, who had joined him in Naples. From
that port they both sailed on their return to Spain. But the wished
for happiness of revisiting his native land was more remote than was
anticipated. On the 26th of September, 1575, the Sol was attacked by
an Algerine Corsair. After a brave resistance the galley was captured,
and all on board were conveyed to Algiers. In the distribution of the
prisoners Cervantes fell to the share of Dali-Mami, a Greek renegade,
who, by reason of his lameness, was surnamed “the cripple.” The
letters addressed to Phillip II., which Cervantes carried with him,
led Dali-Mami to believe that his slave was a Christian knight of
distinguished rank; and he treated him with the utmost rigour in the
hope of extorting a large sum of money for his ransom. But with the
fortitude which marked his character Cervantes patiently endured his
misery, whilst his thoughts were occupied by schemes for effecting his
own liberation and that of his companions. Having devised a plan of
escape to Oran, he prevailed on his friends to join him in carrying it
into effect. The fugitives succeeded so far as actually to get away
from Algiers, when they were betrayed by a Moor who had undertaken to
be their guide. They were conveyed back to their prison and confined
with more rigour than before. Cervantes as the ringleader was treated
with so much severity, that as he afterwards observed, “he learned in
that school of suffering to have patience under misfortune.”[15]
Two descriptions of labour were assigned to the Christian captives
in Algiers. Some were employed in rowing the galleys and chebeques,
others, and these shared the hardest lot, were kept within the city,
in places called the bagnios or baths, which were in reality prisons,
and which received their names from the numerous baths they contained.
Most of the captives in the bagnios were the slaves of the dey or king,
but private persons were occasionally permitted to send their slaves
thither, especially those who were expected to be ransomed; the bagnios
being considered the most secure places of confinement. The slaves
whose ransoms were looked for, were not sent out to labour like the
rest: but they wore a chain and, moreover, were wretchedly fed and
clothed. Of this number was Cervantes, whose condition as a Spanish
Hidalgo, gave his master reason to hope that a large sum would be
offered for his liberation.[16]
A Spaniard who had passed some years of slavery in Algiers, and who
was ransomed in the year 1639, by the monks of the Order of the
Santissima Trinidad, drew up, after his return to Spain a narrative
of his captivity. He gives a curious description of the treatment of
the Christian slaves in Algiers, together with details respecting
the manners and customs of the Moors. This narrative has never been
printed; but from a manuscript copy of it in the Biblioteca Real at
Madrid, the following extracts have been obtained.
“The Christians in Algiers,” says the writer, “have four churches,
in which mass is performed. In my time there were twelve priests who
officiated daily. In the principal church, which is situated within
the King’s Bagnio, and dedicated to the Santissima Trinidad, there are
five priests and a Provisor, appointed by his Holiness. There are seven
brotherhoods (cofradías), and in each mass is performed daily. Every
day alms are begged from the captives for the purchase of wax tapers
and altar decorations. Each priest receives out of these alms one real
and a half; this with the money paid for masses is all the priests have
to subsist on. In the churches the religious service is very properly
performed, and sermons are always preached. The Christians are very
ill-treated, especially the priests, who are frequently pelted with
stones and dirt by the boys as they pass through the streets. At this
present time, 10th of March, 1639, Algiers contains 20,000 Christian
slaves, 10,000 soldiers, and 1000 counsellors-of-war. These counsellors
act as judges in all trials relating to matters connected with the army
or navy; and they never take longer than two days to deliberate on any
question. The inhabitants of Algiers, both men and women, live very
miserably. Their principal food consists of rice and wheat boiled, with
a very small portion of salted meat. Even the richest individuals do
not live much better. The daily food of the captives consists only of a
small loaf of bread. They are treated very cruelly, especially by the
Tagarinos, the descendants of the Moors, expelled from Spain. To force
them to press their friends for ransom, their daily tasks of labour
are augmented, and they are put in chains--the strongest being sent
to the galleys. In every part of the city there are mosques, which the
women are not suffered to enter: some of these mosques have a tower or
minaret, on which a flag is hoisted at noon, lowered at one o’clock,
and then hoisted again at dusk. From these minarets the Moors call the
people to prayers. The most profound silence prevails during worship
in the mosques; no one dares to speak or even to cough. The prayers
are short; and whilst they are repeated, the people are squatted
cross-legged on the ground, at intervals rising up and then bowing down
to the earth. The mosques are hung with great numbers of glass lamps;
but they have no other ornaments. The floors are covered with mats, and
the walls and ceilings are arched. Within the mosques there are orange
trees, and alcoves for the Morabites, who are held in high veneration;
they receive presents from the women, whose husbands, strange to say,
do not disapprove of this practice. There is a religious festival on
Friday in every week. At their meals the Moors place their food on
the ground, without spreading any cloth under the dishes, which are
of copper, tinned over; even the richer class do not use utensils of
silver. The out-door dress of the women consists of long trousers,
reaching to the feet, and fastened round the ankles by rings of gold or
silver; their outward garment consists of a large cloak enveloping them
from head to foot, and leaving only their eyes uncovered. Their dress
is decorous, though their manners are not so. Within doors they wear a
long tunic, reaching to the ankle, and made of rich damask, satin or
silk; they wear many rich jewels, consisting of bracelets, necklaces,
and earrings. Many of these Moorish women are very beautiful; but they
indulge much in the habit of smoking.”
It happened that a Spaniard, who had been for some time one of the
fellow-captives of Cervantes, having been ransomed, was suffered to
return to his native country. On his arrival in Spain, he lost no time
in conveying to the father of Cervantes intelligence of the unhappy
condition of his two sons Rodrigo and Miguel. The old man, without
hesitation mortgaged his little property, though by so doing he reduced
himself and the other members of his family to a condition bordering
on want, and having raised a considerable sum of money he transmitted
it to Algiers. The two brothers were thus placed in a condition to
treat for their liberation. But Dali-Mami demanded so high a ransom
for Miguel de Cervantes, that the latter generously resigned his share
of the money sent from Spain, in favour of his brother Rodrigo, who
obtained his deliverance in August, 1577. On his departure, Rodrigo
promised to spare no exertions for making known the condition of the
captives to persons of influence in Spain, so that some effectual
measure might be adopted for their liberation. It was proposed that
a ship, despatched from Valencia or from the Balearic Islands, should
cruise along the African coast, keeping watch so as to be in readiness
to receive the captives whenever they might have an opportunity of
effecting their escape. Rodrigo Cervantes carried with him, on his
departure from Algiers, a letter from one of the prisoners, a Spanish
nobleman, related to the house of Alba;--this letter, it was hoped,
would have great weight in furthering the execution of the enterprise.
Cervantes had concocted the scheme for the escape of himself and his
friends, and every preparation had been made for enabling them to carry
it into effect.
A little to the west of Algiers, there was a garden, close to the
sea shore. It was attached to a villa belonging to Aga Hassan, then
Dey of Algiers. Hassan, who was a Venetian by birth, had originally
been the slave of the celebrated Uchali. He turned Mahometan, and his
apostacy helped him to rise to wealth and distinction in the Ottoman
Empire. At the time of the Battle of Lepanto, Aga Hassan filled
the high post of Captain-General of the Turkish fleet, and he was
afterwards elected Dey of Algiers. This turbulent and cruel man ruled
his temporary sovereignty with a rod of iron. His tyranny and barbarity
were exercised alike on Moors and Christians; for, as Cervantes makes
the captive in _Don Quixote_ remark, “he was the homicide of the whole
human race.” _Era homocida de todo el género humano._
Aga Hassan’s garden was under the care and superintendence of a
gardener, who was a Christian slave and a native of Navarre. Cervantes
having made himself acquainted with this man, induced him to make
an excavation under the garden in the form of a cave. As early
as February, 1577, some months prior to the departure of Rodrigo
Cervantes, this excavation was in progress, and several Christian
slaves, who had escaped from bondage had taken refuge in it. The
number of the fugitives gradually augmented, and in September of the
same year Cervantes himself succeeded in eluding the watchful eye of
his master, and joining his friends in their subterraneous retreat.
He had accurately calculated the time when the expected ship would
near the African coast. It did so on the 28th of September; but stood
off during the day, so as to keep out of sight, and at night standing
close in shore, the vessel gave the signal to the captives. This being
unluckily observed by some Moorish slaves, who happened to be on the
spot, they gave the alarm. The vessel immediately put back, but shortly
afterwards made a second attempt to near the shore, which ended in
failure, and she was captured.
But this disaster, discouraging as it was, did not subdue the hopes of
Cervantes and his companions, who determined to remain in their hiding
place to await another opportunity for attempting their escape. But
their schemes were frustrated by the treachery of a slave, who had
been a renegade from Islamism to Christianity, and whom the fugitives
had incautiously admitted to their confidence. This slave, who was
surnamed _El Dorador_, again turned renegade, and by renouncing
Christianity entitled himself to the reward of his twofold apostacy
and treachery. The Dey, who claimed all runaway slaves as his own,
dispatched a troop of soldiers to the garden. The cave was searched and
the fugitives captured.
The details of this event are related by Father Diego de Haedo, a
Spanish ecclesiastic, who was contemporary with Cervantes, and who
wrote a history of Algiers. Alluding to the seizure of the fugitives
in the cave, Haedo says, “The Dey’s emissaries took especial care to
secure Miguel de Cervantes, a Hidalgo of Alcalá de Henares, who was
the contriver of the whole scheme.”[17] He then adds, “It was a most
marvellous thing that these Christians remained hidden in the cave,
without seeing the light of day, some for five or six, and others
for so long as seven months;--sustained all that time by Miguel de
Cervantes; and this too at the peril of his own life, for several
times he was on the point of being hanged, empaled, or burnt alive,
for the bold adventures by which he attempted to restore his comrades
to freedom. Had his good fortune been equal to his courage, enterprise
and skill, Algiers would at this day have been under Christian rule;
for to no less an object did his designs aspire. The gardener, who
was a native of Navarre, was hanged by the feet. He was a very good
Christian. Of the incidents which occurred in that cave, during the
seven months that those Christians remained within it--and of the bold
enterprises hazarded by Miguel de Cervantes--a particular history might
be composed.”[18]
Finding that himself and his friends were in the power of their
captors, and that it was fruitless to attempt resistance, Cervantes at
once declared himself the sole contriver of the scheme, and begged
that, as he alone was guilty, the whole punishment might devolve on
him. This avowal caused him to be put in chains, and amidst the scoffs
and insults of the populace, he was conducted to the presence of Aga
Hassan. With fearful threats the tyrant sought to intimidate him into
a confession that he had accomplices, and to denounce them; for his
object was to make it appear that Father Jorge Olivar, the _Redentor_,
or Slave Ransomer, of the crown of Aragón, was implicated in the
affair. But Cervantes persisted in affirming that no one could be
accused but himself.
Nevertheless, the barbarous Hassan forthwith condemned all the
fugitives to death. The unfortunate gardener was hanged, and Cervantes
and his friends would doubtless have shared the same fate, but that,
luckily for them, Hassan’s cupidity triumphed over his cruelty. The
prospect of ransom money saved the lives of the prisoners; but they
were thrown into one of the most loathsome prisons in Algiers, and
subjected to all sorts of privation and misery.
But in spite of their bitter sufferings, the captives, most of whom
were Spaniards, did not yield to despondency. Each one cheered himself
and his companions, by pleasant stories and recollections of their dear
native land. The song and the dance, diversions ardently loved by every
Spaniard, were not wanting to enliven the gloom of their prison-house.
By turns they recited or sang their old national romances, and the
heroic deeds of their ancestors inspired them with courage. Their
religious festivals, too, were celebrated with all the ceremony which
circumstances admitted of, and the prisoners even succeeded in getting
up some dramatic representations.[19]
In those palmy days of the Spanish drama, the passion for histrionic
performance had taken firm root in the public mind. So popular and
universally admired were the comedies of Lope de Rueda, that Spaniards,
who had been for years out of their native country, could recollect and
repeat by heart favourite passages and scenes from them.
It is well known that Cervantes drew from his captivity in Algiers
the subjects of two plays which he wrote at a subsequent period of
his life, and in which he depicts the sufferings of the Christian
slaves. In one, _Los Baños de Argel_, a pastoral dialogue, (Coloquio
Pastoril) is introduced. It is stated to be from one of Lope de Rueda’s
comedies, and is curious from the fact of its being in verse, whilst
all the dramas, or as they are called, _comedias_, of Lope de Rueda,
now extant, are in prose. The other play by Cervantes, founded on the
subject of Algerine captivity, is entitled _La Gran Sultana_. The
heroine is a Spanish lady, Doña Catalina de Oviedo, supposed to have
been captured by corsairs.
Undaunted by failure, Cervantes determined on the first favourable
opportunity to renew his efforts to obtain his own deliverance and
that of his companions. Increasing difficulties had no other effect
than that of strengthening his resolution to surmount them. He felt an
irresistible longing for that freedom, which, to quote his own words,
is “the dearest gift which Heaven has bestowed on man. For freedom,”
he adds, “as well as for honour, it is our duty to sacrifice life.
Captivity, on the other hand, is the greatest misfortune which man can
be doomed to bear.” He gained over to his interests a Moorish slave,
whom he persuaded to convey a letter from him to the Spanish governor
of Oran. The object of this communication was to facilitate a plan
for the liberation of himself and three of his fellow-prisoners. The
letter was however intercepted, and the messenger, by order of Hassan,
was immediately shot. Cervantes, as the writer of the missive, was
sentenced to receive two thousand stripes; and only by the urgent
and repeated intercession of the Christians in Algiers, was the noble
slave saved from the infliction of that barbarous punishment. The
three Spaniards who were comprehended in the projected plan of escape
were put to death; and the extension of Hassan’s mercy to Cervantes
may be attributed in a great measure to the influence which an exalted
character exercises even on the most uncivilized of mankind.
Another, and to all appearance, a more practicable plan of escape,
contrived in 1579, was foiled by the treachery of a Dominican monk.
Hassan, to whom the design was disclosed, affected at first to have
no suspicion of it; hoping by that means to ensure its detection. The
Christians, however, soon learned that their project was discovered.
A native of Valencia, settled as a merchant in Algiers, had promised
to aid the escape of the prisoners. This man spared no endeavours
to prevail on Cervantes to slip away furtively and unknown to his
companions. He even undertook to convey him safely on board a vessel
about to sail for Spain; for knowing that the Moors would resort to
every extremity to extort a confession, the merchant feared that his
own life and property might be endangered. Cervantes had by this
time broken from prison, and was concealed in the house of a friend;
consequently he might with perfect ease and safety have effected his
escape on board the ship in the manner proposed. But he would not
listen to the suggestion of deserting his companions, and he quieted
the apprehensions of the merchant by the most solemn assurance, that
neither the fear of torture or death would wring from him a word
of avowal that could in any degree compromise a friend. Meanwhile,
an order of the Dey was proclaimed through the streets of Algiers,
commanding the Slave Cervantes to deliver himself up, and warning those
who might harbour him, that they would incur the punishment of death.
The fugitive, anxious to screen his friends from all risk, surrendered
himself. Aga Hassan, without a moment’s hesitation, ordered him to be
hanged. After his hands were tied behind his back, and the rope put
round his neck, he was informed that he might yet save his own life by
the disclosure of his accomplices. But, faithful to that generosity
of feeling, which was one of the most prominent traits in his
character, Cervantes persisted in declaring that he alone had wished
to escape; but to avoid being further pressed by questions, he named
as the accomplices of his design, four Spaniards who had, some time
previously, obtained their liberation by the payment of ransom-money.
The intercession of an influential renegade, who was an attached friend
of Cervantes, induced the Dey once more to spare his life; but he was
thrown into a dungeon of the Bagnio, heavily fettered, and watched
with the strictest vigilance.
The next project conceived by Cervantes, exceeded in boldness all
that he had previously concerted. It was of so wild and romantic a
character, that its reality might naturally warrant disbelief, were it
not authenticated by trustworthy evidence. This scheme was nothing less
than the excitement of an insurrection among the Christian slaves in
Algiers, who were to make themselves masters of the city, and transfer
it to the dominion of Phillip II. Notwithstanding the rigorous nature
of his imprisonment, he contrived to take some steps towards the
execution of this bold enterprise. Whether the project was thwarted
by discovery, or to what other cause its frustration was assignable
does not clearly appear. Certain it is, however, that the Dey of
Algiers regarded Cervantes as the boldest and most ingenious of all his
Christian slaves. Father Diego de Haedo relates, that so greatly did
Aga Hassan fear Cervantes, that he used to say, “he should consider
his slaves, his barks, and the whole city of Algiers perfectly safe,
_could he but get rid of that one-handed Spaniard_!”
At length, the freedom so ardently sighed for, and for the attainment
of which so many fruitless efforts had been made, was recovered, at a
time when even Cervantes himself, sanguine as he was, had well nigh
relinquished all hope of ever again being restored to his country.
In the year 1580, Juan Gil and Antonio de la Bella, two monks of the
order of the Santissima Trinidad, were sent from Spain to Algiers; the
former as _Redentor_, or slave ransomer, for the Province of Castile,
and the latter in the same capacity for the Province of Andalusia.
The father of Cervantes was by this time dead, and the family were
left in rather straitened circumstances;--nevertheless they
succeeded, by dint of great exertion, in raising some money to assist
in ransoming their relative. Doña Leonora de Cortinas, the mother
of Cervantes, contributed two hundred and fifty ducats;--and Doña
Andrea de Cervantes, his sister, gave fifty.[20] The family naturally
hoped that the high testimonials of courage and merit, furnished in
favour of Cervantes by his former military comrades, together with the
letter of recommendation from the Duke de Sesa to the king, would gain
the interest of the Court in his behalf. But the appeals addressed
to that high quarter were responded to with only lukewarm interest,
and accordingly the Monks departed with a sum very inadequate to the
accomplishment of the object of their mission, which was to obtain the
release of some of the principal captives. Doña Leonora de Cortinas
furnished the Redentores with a description of her son, setting forth
that he was a native of Alcalá, and the slave of Dali-Mami, the
captain of the Dey’s barks,[21] that he was thirty-three years of age
and had lost his left hand. A description of himself given by Cervantes
to the authorities in Algiers is as follows--“A native of Alcalá de
Henares, aged thirty-one, of middle height, having a thick beard
(_bien barbado_), disabled of the use of the left arm and wanting the
left hand; captured on board the galley _El Sol_, when on his passage
from Spain to Naples, where he had been long in the service of His
Majesty.”[22]
The Redentores arrived in Algiers on the 29th of May, 1580. At that
very time the Dey was on the eve of resigning his authority in favour
of another Pacha, who was elected to the government of Algiers. Hassan,
who had been recalled by the Sultan to Constantinople, was preparing
to return thither. Cervantes, being one of the captives he intended to
take with him, was actually on board a galley, and ready to sail for
the Turkish capital, when the slave ransomers arrived in Algiers. There
was no time to be lost, and negotiations for the ransom were set on
foot without a moment’s delay. The amount demanded was more than double
the sum which the Redentores were authorised to pay. However, Father
Juan Gil made up the deficiency by devoting to the release of Cervantes
a portion of the money advanced by the friends of other captives, who
being then absent from Algiers, their ransom could not be effected.
The Redentores pledged themselves to refund the money on their return
to Spain, and by these arrangements, together with some abatement in
the demand of Aga Hassan, Cervantes obtained his release on the 19th of
September, 1580.
But joyfully as he hailed the prospect of returning to his native land,
he nevertheless resolved, ere he should quit Algiers, to controvert
certain calumnies circulated against him, which he conceived were
calculated to impugn his honour. The Dominican Monk, who had betrayed
the last plan formed by the Spanish captives for their escape, and
who had thereby incurred the hatred of all the Christians in Algiers,
sought in revenge to cast on Cervantes the odium of having caused
the failure of the enterprise. Cervantes, whose nice sense of honour
urged him to free himself from even the slightest trace of suspicion,
appealed to the testimony of twelve of his fellow captives, all of
them men of high character and members of noble Spanish families.
Their evidence refuted in the most complete and satisfactory way the
calumnious charges of the Benedictine monk. They unanimously declared
that though there were many noble Spanish cavaliers in Algiers, not
one was more distinguished for honourable and generous sentiment
than Miguel de Cervantes; and that he had invariably manifested the
sincerest interest and sympathy for his countrymen and fellow-captives,
all of whom regarded him in the light of a brother.
On the 22nd of October, 1580, after five years of detention in Algiers,
Cervantes embarked for Spain. He had now before him the cheering
prospect of that happiness which he himself has declared to be “one of
the greatest that can be enjoyed in this life;--the return to one’s
native country after prolonged captivity.” “There is,” he adds, “no
happiness like the recovery of lost freedom.”[23]
On his return to Spain, about the end of the year 1580, he repaired
straight to Madrid, where his mother and sister were then residing.
The reduced circumstances in which he found his family determined him
once more to try his fortune as a soldier. At this time, Philip II. was
intent on completing his conquest of Portugal by the acquisition of the
rich colonial dependencies of that kingdom. It had been determined to
maintain a Castilian army in Portugal, for the purpose of preserving
public tranquillity, enforcing obedience to the authorities of King
Philip, and preparing the reduction of the Azores or Terceras Islands.
Rodrigo Cervantes, who on his return from Algiers, had resumed military
service, was now in the army of occupation in Portugal, and he was
speedily joined there by his brother Miguel.
In the spring of 1581, both the brothers sailed from Lisbon in one of
the ships of an armament commanded by General Don Lope de Figueroa.
This armament was sent to the aid of Don Pedro Valdez, who had been
commissioned to reduce the Azores Islands to the authority of the
Spanish crown. A misunderstanding arose between Figueroa and Valdez, on
the subject of an attempted landing at Tercera, and not being able to
come to an agreement they carried on their operations separately, and
after a short time both returned to Portugal.
The Spanish Government found reason to suspect that the pretensions
of Don Antonio, Prior of Ocrato,[24] were secretly favoured by France
and England, and that the ships of those powers, and especially those
of France kept up the spirit of rebellion in the Azores. Phillip
II., determined to repress these proceedings, and to take measures
for the protection of the Spanish Galeones employed in transporting
the treasures of the colonies to the mother country. He accordingly
ordered several armaments which had been for some time in preparation
in the maritime provinces of Spain, to assemble in the Tagus. It was
understood that a French squadron had already put to sea with hostile
designs on the Portuguese dependencies; and Phillip on receipt of
this intelligence gave the command of the Spanish naval force to the
celebrated Admiral Don Álvaro de Bazán, Marques de Santa Cruz. The
fleet, having on board several regiments of infantry, sailed from
the Tagus on the 10th of July, 1582, and the Spaniards soon fell in
with the French squadron. The result was an engagement in which the
French ships were dispersed or destroyed. Cervantes states that he was
himself engaged in this action, together with his brother Rodrigo,
but he enters into no particulars respecting it. Both the brothers
likewise served in the expedition which sailed from Lisbon in the
following year, 1583, under the command of the Marques de Santa Cruz.
The Spaniards effected a landing at Tercera, on the 23rd of June, and
the result was the surrender of that island. The submission of the rest
of the Azores speedily followed, and the partizans of Don Antonio were
finally put down. The campaign being thus gloriously ended, Don Álvaro
de Bazán returned to Spain, and on the 15th of September, he entered
Cádiz greeted by signal demonstrations of popular triumph.
On the Atlantic, as well as in the Levant, Cervantes had been an
eye-witness of the gallant achievements of the great naval hero
of Spain. As a soldier he had served under his authority, as a
philosopher, he had contemplated his virtues; and he rendered to his
glory a poetic tribute of admiration and gratitude. He wrote a sonnet
on Don Álvaro de Bazán, which was published by the Licentiate Cristobal
Mosquera de Figueroa, in the _Comentarios de la jornada de las Islas
Azores_. In _Don Quixote_, he also pays an emphatic and well merited
compliment to the courage of the celebrated admiral, in that passage
where the captive describing the storming of Navarino, says:--“In this
campaign, the galley called the Prize, whose commander was a son of the
famous corsair Barbarossa, was taken by the captain galley, of Naples,
called the She-Wolf, commanded by that thunderbolt of war, that father
of the soldiers,--that fortunate and invincible Captain Don Álvaro de
Bazán, Marques de Santa Cruz.”
During the time he remained with his regiment in Portugal, Cervantes
mingled freely in society, and made himself familiarly acquainted
with the language as well as with the manners and customs of the
people of the country. His society was sought, and wherever he went
he was kindly and hospitably received. That his sojourn in Portugal
impressed him with pleasing and grateful recollections, is evident,
from the observations here and there scattered through several of
his works, especially _Persiles_. Contrary to the prevailing taste
of his countrymen, (for the Spaniards usually entertain no great
partiality for the Portuguese language,) Cervantes was charmed with
it; pronouncing it to be “a sweet and pleasing tongue,” (_lengua dulce
y agradable_). The people he characterizes as agreeable, courteous,
and generous. Speaking of the women, he says, their beauty inspires
admiration and love, (_la hermosura de las mujeres admira y enamora_).
Lisbon, he calls a great and famous city, and he declares that
Portugal may altogether be regarded as the land of promise (_tierra de
promisión_). With such strong predilections in favour of the country
and everything belonging to it, it can scarcely be matter of surprise
that Cervantes should have become enamoured of a Portuguese lady,
and that the attachment should have been reciprocal. His biographers
are silent respecting the connections of this lady, nor do they even
mention her name; but all concur in stating that the fruit of this
attachment was a daughter, who was known by the name of Doña Isabel
de Saavedra. This daughter was the companion of Cervantes through all
the vicissitudes of his subsequent life, and after his marriage she
constantly resided under the same roof with him and his wife.
On his return to Spain after the successful issue of the Azores
expedition, Cervantes’ pecuniary condition would seem to have been very
similar to that of Horace after the battle of Philippi.[25] He found
himself utterly destitute, and had no means of subsistence save such
as he could procure by writing verses. Heretofore his life had been
pretty equally divided between war and literature, “now taking up the
sword and now the pen,”[26]--like many other eminent Spaniards of that
age, who were distinguished equally as soldiers and writers. Even in
the dungeons of Algiers, and amidst the most stirring events of war,
Cervantes never wholly relinquished his love of literary composition;
and many of his sonnets, and other little fugitive poems, bear evidence
that, in seasons of trial and suffering, he courted the solace of the
Muse. It has been conjectured, and with much appearance of probability,
that many of the sonnets, canzonets, and ballads introduced in the
_Galatea_, were composed amidst the active duties of the author’s
military career, and during the weary hours of his captivity.
The _Galatea_ was the first work which Cervantes submitted to the
press, and it was published in 1584. It is a pastoral romance, partly
in prose, and partly in verse, in the style of the Diana of Montemayor;
but exhibiting still greater resemblance to Gil Polo’s continuation
of Montemayor’s poem. Very little ingenuity is shewn in the invention
of the fable; it is merely an insipid story of pastoral life, in the
affected and unnatural style so much in fashion in the sixteenth
century.
In this frame-work the author has grouped together a rich collection
of metrical compositions, in all the various styles of versification
practised by the old Spanish and Italian poets. “The story,” observes
Bouterwek, “is merely the thread which holds the beautiful garland
together; for the poems are the portions of the work most particularly
deserving of attention. They are as numerous as they are various, and
should the title of Cervantes to rank among the most eminent poets,
or his originality in versified composition be called in question, an
attentive perusal of the romance of _Galatea_, must banish every doubt
upon these points.”[27]
Lope de Vega, and other contemporary writers, have affirmed that
the shepherdess, who is the heroine of the romance, was not a mere
imaginary character; but that under the name of _Galatea_ Cervantes
pourtrayed the lady to whom he was subsequently married. According to
the same authorities, Cervantes represented himself in the character
of Ercilio, “_pastor en riberas del Tajo_,”[28] who is enamoured of
_Galatea_, “_pastora nacida en las orillas de aquel río_.”[29] It is
also believed that the pastoral names of Thyrsis, Damon, &c., are
merely fictitious denominations for several of the most celebrated
poets of his own time.[30]
On the 12th of December, 1584, Cervantes was united in marriage to
Doña Catalina de Salazar, a lady connected with a distinguished Spanish
family. She was the daughter of Don Fernando de Salazar y Vozmediano,
and of Doña Catalina de Palacios. Doña Catalina brought her husband
some little fortune, upon which the newly married couple lived as long
as it lasted. After his marriage, Cervantes definitively left the army,
and for a time fixed his abode at Esquivias, in which town his wife’s
family resided.
The proximity of Esquivias to Madrid, enabled him to make frequent
visits to the capital. There he formed acquaintance with most of the
distinguished Spanish writers of the day, and he became a member of
one of those numerous literary academies which in the reign of Charles
V. were established in Spain in imitation of those of Italy. About
this time Cervantes began to apply himself zealously to dramatic
composition. The taste for theatrical amusements, then so popular in
Spain, rendered play writing a ready mode of turning literary talent
to profitable account. But there is reason to infer that inclination
no less than the prospect of pecuniary gain, prompted Cervantes to
write for the stage; and the complacency with which, at a subsequent
period of his life, he looked back to his early comedies proves that he
thought himself entitled to no little distinction as a dramatic author.
That he should so far have mistaken the true bent of his genius, is
one of those unaccountable fallacies of judgment, from which even
the shrewdest minds are not always exempt. Those of his plays which
in the opinion of Cervantes himself possessed peculiar merit, are of
that class which was so popular among the Spaniards of the sixteenth
century, and called _Comedias de capa y espada_.[31] In his _Viaje
del Parnaso_, alluding to these plays, the author says--“If they were
not my own I should declare that they merit all the praise they have
obtained.” One of them, _la Confusa_, he declares to be “a good one
among the best.”[32] _La Confusa_ is one of the many dramatic works of
Cervantes, which there is reason to fear are totally lost.
Bouterwek, whilst admitting the general failure of Cervantes as a
writer for the stage, nevertheless declares that the high merits of
the tragedy of _Numancia_ might well pardon the self-deception under
which the author laboured in respect to the limits of his talent
in dramatic literature. “With all its imperfections,” observes the
celebrated German critic, “the tragedy of _Numancia_ is a noble
production, and, like _Don Quixote_, it is unparalleled in the class
of literature to which it belongs. It proves that under different
circumstances the author of _Don Quixote_ might have been the Æschylus
of Spain. The conception is stamped by the deepest pathos and the
execution, at least taken as a whole, is vigorous and dignified.”[33]
The tragedy of _Numancia_ and the comedy of _El Trato de Argel_ (life
in Algiers), were accidentally discovered in manuscript about the end
of the last century; after having been supposed to be irretrievably
lost.
During the interval of his alternate residence in Esquivias and Madrid,
it is computed that Cervantes must have written between twenty and
thirty dramatic pieces. Among those successfully performed at the
theatres of Madrid were _Los Tratos de Argel_, _La Numancia_ and _La
Batalla naval_. In these pieces the author ventured to depart from the
forms of the old Spanish drama; and these changes, together with other
innovations he introduced, were very favourably received by the public.
But in spite of this partial success, the scanty emolument he acquired
by writing for the stage, was inadequate to the maintenance of his
family; the more especially as his two sisters were wholly dependent
on him for support; for his brother Rodrigo, who was still in the
army, was engaged in the wars in Flanders. At this time the position
of Cervantes was peculiarly unfortunate and discouraging. He was now
upwards of forty years of age and deprived of the use of one arm; and
neither his military services nor his literary labours had obtained for
him any adequate reward. These considerations determined him to enter
upon some other career of occupation less precarious than that which he
had pursued since his retirement from the army; and he thought himself
exceedingly lucky when an opportunity occurred, which enabled him to
escape from the literary drudgery to which he had for some years been
doomed. To quote his own words, he joyfully “laid aside the pen and
relinquished play writing.” (_Abandonó la pluma y las Comedias._)
Antonio de Guevara had just then been appointed Commissary-General,
(_Proveedor-General_), for provisioning the Spanish armadas fitted out
for South America. This post was one of considerable importance, and
its extensive and various duties required the aid of four assistant
commissaries. Through the influence of Guevara, Cervantes was appointed
to one of the last-mentioned posts, and in April, 1589, he removed to
Seville to enter upon the duties of his office.
It is probable that this change of residence was not less agreeable
to him than the change of his occupation; for several members of
the respective families of Cervantes and Saavedra were settled in
Seville, then the most populous and opulent city in Spain. It is a
fact worthy of mention, that two of these relatives of Cervantes were
distinguished for their literary talent. The author of _Don Quixote_
himself renders an eulogistic tribute to Gonzalo Cervantes de Saavedra,
a famous soldier and poet;[34] and Nicholas Antonio mentions another
Cervantes de Saavedra, who distinguished himself as a writer. Both were
Sevillians.
The subordinate post of assistant-commissary in Seville would appear
to have been accepted by Cervantes, only as the stepping-stone to
something better; and he probably counted on advancement through
the patronage of Guevara, and the influence of his own relatives,
who were persons of some consideration in Seville. Accordingly, we
find him, in May, 1590, petitioning the king for one of several posts
then vacant in South America. The petitioner, without venturing to
express a preference for any particular appointment, declares he shall
be satisfied with any one of which he may be considered worthy; his
only desire being to serve his king, as he had in the earlier years
of his life, and as his ancestors had before him. That Cervantes,
at this time, found no great cause to rejoice in the prosperity of
his worldly affairs, is obvious in the whole tone of the petition,
which he concludes with the declaration of his readiness to “embrace
the course of which many unfortunate men in that city (Seville) have
availed themselves; namely, to proceed to South America, that last
refuge and asylum of despairing Spaniards.”[35] The application for
the South American appointment not having been attended with success,
he continued in his post at Seville.
In the year 1595 Pope Clement VIII. canonized St. Hyacinthus, in
compliance with the solicitation of the King of Poland. The event
was celebrated with great solemnity by the Monks of the Dominican
convent in Saragossa, and certain poetical prize competitions were
proposed on the occasion. The subjects for these competitions having
been determined, they were published in all the principal towns of
Spain. Cervantes was a successful candidate for one of these prizes,
which, from its nature, might have been a more fitting reward for
domestic merit than for poetic talent: it consisted of _three silver
spoons_. The umpires, in awarding this prize, styled the winner a son
of Seville, which circumstance, together with the long residence of
Cervantes in that city, may explain how it came to be regarded as his
native place.
Other events occasionally called forth poetic tributes from the author
of _Don Quixote_ during his abode in Seville. In the year 1596, the
Earl of Essex made a descent on the Spanish coast, took possession of
Cádiz and sacked the city. The gentlemen of Seville formed themselves
into a sort of Urban guard and marched to the assistance of the
neighbouring city. Whether Cervantes enrolled himself in these martial
ranks does not appear; but the event inspired his muse with several
poetic effusions, one of which is a sonnet preserved in manuscript in
the Real Biblioteca at Madrid. This expedition of the English to Cádiz
furnished the subject of _La Española Inglesa_, one of the Novelas
which were written at a subsequent period. On the death of Philip II.,
in 1598, Cervantes was still in Seville, and he composed a sonnet on
the occasion which he himself mentions favourably in the _Viaje del
Parnaso_.
Cervantes must have resided in Seville for the space of ten years
uninterruptedly, with the exception of little intervals spent in
excursions to neighbouring places in Andalusia, and in one visit
he made to Madrid. In addition to his official occupations, he
occasionally transacted business of other kinds, and was sometimes
employed as a mercantile agent (_agente de negocios_.) Though it may
be fairly inferred that these pursuits were not the most congenial to
his taste, and though they were of a nature to repress rather than to
encourage the excursiveness of a poetic imagination, yet the genius of
Cervantes turned to fruitful account even the plodding interval of his
existence which was spent in business in Seville. That noble city, then
the emporium of the wealth of Spanish America, offered in the active
life and busy pursuits of its inhabitants a rich field for the study
of human nature. That no object of interest, no trait of character or
manners peculiar to this part of Spain, escaped the keen perception
of Cervantes is shewn in his novel of _Riconete y Cortadillo_, and
in that entitled, _El Zeloso Extremeño_. Those animated pictures of
Andalusian manners could only have been drawn from actual observation.
The peculiar tone which pervades the writings of the author’s latter
years, and which distinguishes them in a marked manner from his early
productions;--the graceful humour and delicate irony of which he had so
masterly a command, may possibly be in a great degree assignable to his
residence in the province of Andalusia, and his intercourse with its
intelligent and lively inhabitants.
An unfounded accusation, of which he was the object, during his abode
in Seville, caused him no little annoyance. He had placed in the hands
of a Sevillian merchant, a sum of money, which he had received in the
course of some transactions connected with his official duties. The
merchant had undertaken to lodge this sum in the national treasury; but
instead of so doing, he appropriated the money to himself and fled.
Poor Cervantes, who was unable to make good the sum from his own means,
was arrested and thrown into a jail on the charge of embezzlement; and
he was only liberated on obtaining security for the repayment of the
lost money.
After the close of 1598, we find, during an interval of four years,
no clear intelligence respecting the life of Cervantes. His early
biographers state, that about that period he made a visit to La Mancha,
and there wrote the first part of his _Don Quixote_,[36] that work
indeed bears such unquestionable traces of familiar acquaintance with
the localities of La Mancha, and with traditions, still preserved
there, that it cannot be doubted the author at some period of his life
must have made a lengthened sojourn in that province. But though the
time and circumstances of his visit to La Mancha may he hypothetical,
there is every reason to infer that in the interval during which his
biographers partially lose sight of him, Cervantes planned and partly
wrote his _Don Quixote_, that bright gem in the literature of Spain.
After the death of Philip II., the Court removed from Madrid to
Valladolid, and in 1603 Cervantes became a resident of the latter city.
His removal thither appears to have been influenced by two strong
motives; one was to facilitate the means of refuting certain calumnious
charges brought against him in Seville and now renewed; and the other
was to urge on the attention of the government his claim to reward
for long public service. In the first object he succeeded, but in the
second he failed; and consequently he was doomed to continue in penury.
The first part of _Don Quixote_ was published in the year 1604,[37]
and we have the authority of Cervantes himself for the fact that it
was the first book he had written since he “laid aside his pen,” on
being installed in his appointment at Seville. The eager interest with
which the work was immediately perused by all classes of readers well
warranted the remark of the Duchess; “that it came forth to the world
amidst the approbation of the public.”[38] The original idea which
forms the fundamental principle of the whole work has frequently been
the subject of critical controversy; but it appears to have been more
accurately understood and defined by Bouterwek than by any other
critic. “It has often been said,” remarks the Historian of Spanish
literature, “though the opinion has not, perhaps, been duly weighed,
that the worthy Knight of La Mancha is the immortal representative of
all men of exalted imagination, who carry the noblest enthusiasm to a
pitch of folly. This sort of exaggerated feeling may be accounted for
by the fact that with understandings in other respects sound, they
are unable to resist the fascinating power of a self-deception by
which they are led to regard themselves as beings of a superior order.
None but an experienced observer of mankind, endowed with profound
judgment,--and a genius to whose penetrating glance one of the most
interesting recesses of the human heart had been newly disclosed, could
have seized the idea of such a romance with energetic precision. No one
but a poet, and a man of wit, could have thrown so much interest into
the execution of that idea, and no one but an author who had at his
disposal all the richness and variety of one of the finest languages in
the world, could have invested such a work with that classic perfection
of style which gives the stamp of excellence to the whole.”[39]
That the _Ingenioso Hidalgo_ made his way to court, and even attracted
the notice of the monarch, is shown by an anecdote which, though
often related, may be repeated here, since it bears evidence to the
general popularity which attended the publication of the great work of
Cervantes. The anecdote is as follows: “King Philip III. standing one
day in the balcony of his palace in Madrid, observed on the opposite
bank of the Manzanares, a student who was earnestly engaged in reading
a book. At intervals the reader raised his eyes from the volume, and
striking his forehead with his hand, burst into fits of laughter, and
made other movements indicative of extreme pleasure and mirth. ‘That
student,’ observed the King, ‘is either crazy, or he is reading the
history of _Don Quixote_.’ The King’s conjecture proved to be correct,
for some of the courtiers ascertained on enquiry that it was the
masterpiece of Cervantes that occasioned the student’s merriment.”[40]
The first part of _Don Quixote_ was dedicated to Don Alonso López
de Zuñiga y Sotomayor, Duke de Bexar, a literary nobleman who was
ambitious to be thought the Mecænas of his age and who patronised
Cervantes, though without extending to the poor author the generosity
which his wealth gave him the means of exercising. It is related that
the duke was at first reluctant to receive the homage of dedication
offered by Cervantes. Under the mistaken impression that the book was
merely one of those romances of chivalry then so much in fashion, he
was unwilling to lend the sanction of his name to a work which he
supposed to be of that class. Cervantes requested permission to read a
chapter of the book to his patron. The request was granted, and with
this specimen of the work the duke was so delighted that he readily
consented to accept a dedication, which has transmitted his name to
posterity.
The misapprehension of the Duke de Bexar respecting the nature of the
work prevailed for a time among a portion of the public; and some
individuals of the educated class refrained from reading it, under the
supposition that it was merely a narrative of romantic chivalrous
adventure. Others again, and these were the unlearned, perused the
book, and were pleased with it, though without perceiving the delicate
vein of satire which constitutes its very essence and spirit. Finding
that his book was read by persons who did not understand it, and not
read by some who were capable of fully comprehending it, Cervantes
devised a plan for explaining its real nature and purpose; and for
rendering it an object of interest to those who had regarded it with
indifference. This plan he carried out in a very effective manner in
the manuscript opuscule which forms the principal subject of this
volume. Alluding to _El Buscapié_, Navarrete, the author’s able Spanish
biographer, styles it _una obra anonima, pero ingeniosa y discreta_.
Cervantes was fifty-seven years of age when he completed the first
part of _Don Quixote_; and it is a fact worthy to be mentioned, that
several of our eminent English novelists have produced their best
works in the latter part of their lives. Fielding was between forty and
fifty when he wrote _Tom Jones_. Richardson was somewhere about sixty
when he produced _Clarissa_; and Scott was upwards of forty when he
commenced _Waverley_. These facts fully verify the observation of an
able literary critic, who says--“The world, the school of the novelist,
cannot be run through like the terms of a university, and the knowledge
of its manifold varieties must be the result of long and diligent
training.”
The gleam of sunshine which dawned upon Cervantes, through the
popularity of his _Don Quixote_, was partially overclouded by the
malignity of his literary rivals. Success arrayed against him a host
of enemies, whose attacks annoyed him and disturbed his peace. Many of
these assailants were men of no literary distinction, and their censure
was characterized merely by that petty envy which finds pleasure in
depreciating superiority of every kind;--others, though actuated by
unbecoming jealousy, were nevertheless men of talent. Several of them
ranked among the most distinguished poets of the time, for example,
Góngora, Christoval, Suárez de Figueroa, and Estevan Manuel de Villegas.
The freedom of Cervantes’ literary criticisms doubtless went far to
draw upon him the vengeance of a host of poets whose vanity he had
offended. It has frequently been alleged that Lope de Vega arrayed
himself among the enemies of Cervantes; and that eminent writer is
accused of being the author of a sonnet which predicted that the works
of his great rival would speedily find their way into the kennel. But
there is every reason to doubt the justice of this imputation; Lope
de Vega renders due homage to his illustrious contemporary in several
passages of his works.
But these literary contests were not the only troubles in which
Cervantes was involved during his abode in Valladolid: an affair of
a very serious nature, in which he innocently became implicated,
must have caused him more annoyance than the assaults of his poetic
adversaries. This new misfortune was nothing less than his apprehension
on the charge of being concerned in a homicide, committed by some
unknown person in a street affray.
The particulars of this affair, extracted from the magisterial records
of Valladolid, are given at great length by the Spanish biographers
of Cervantes. They are too curious to be passed over in silence, but
without wearying the reader with the details, the following brief
recapitulation of the principal facts may be given:--
Don Gaspar de Ezpelete, a young gentleman of Navarre, and a Knight of
the Order of Santiago, was in Valladolid in the year 1605. He was a
young man much devoted to pleasure, and, according to a phrase then in
fashionable use in Spain as well as in our own country, “he followed
the Court.” He had probably been attracted to Valladolid merely by
the festivities which had a short time previously taken place there,
in honour of the birth of the young Infante, afterwards Phillip IV. On
the night of the 27th of June, 1605, Don Gaspar was proceeding through
the streets of Valladolid, after having supped with his friend, the
Marquis de Falces, when he encountered a man who accosted him rudely,
and in consequence a quarrel ensued. Both drew their swords, and after
interchanging a few passes, Don Gaspar received a severe wound, and
cried out for help.
This occurrence took place near the foot of a wooden bridge,
(_Puentecilla_), which at that period crossed the river Esgueva, and in
near proximity to the house in which Cervantes and his family resided.
This house, which was let in separate suites of apartments, must have
been of considerable size, judging from the number of its occupants,
whose names appear in the records of the judicial proceedings, now
about to be referred to. Among the fellow-lodgers of Cervantes was Doña
Luisa de Montoya, the widow of the celebrated chronicler, Esteban de
Garabay; and her two sons resided with her. On hearing the outcries
in the street, one of this lady’s sons, Don Luis de Garabay ran down
stairs, with the intention of going out to ascertain the cause of
the disturbance. Before he could reach the street, he met Don Gaspar
de Ezpelete staggering into the portal or porch of the house. He was
bleeding profusely, and holding his unsheathed sword in his hand. Don
Luis called Cervantes to assist him, and they carried the wounded
gentleman to the apartments of Doña Luisa. It was found that he had
received a severe thrust in the side. A surgeon immediately attended,
and the wound was dressed; but though every effort was made to save
him, Don Gaspar died in the course of a few days.
This affair caused much sensation in Valladolid, where it immediately
became the subject of magisterial investigation. The first evidence
submitted to the Alcalde, was the deposition of Miguel de Cervantes. It
was as follows:--
“The undersigned, Miguel de Cervantes, having been sworn in due form,
testifies that he is upwards of fifty years of age,[41] and that he
lives in one of the new houses near the _Rastro_, that he knew by sight
a Knight of the Order of Santiago, whose name, he understood was Don
Gaspar. That on the night of the 27th of June, about eleven o’clock,
the witness, being then in bed, was disturbed by a great noise in the
street; that presently he heard Don Luis de Garabay calling to him,
and begging he would come to his assistance; that on going out the
witness saw a wounded gentleman, whom he recognized to be Don Gaspar.
He was helped up stairs, and, shortly after there entered a surgeon
(_barbero_) who dressed the wound; the gentleman could not answer any
questions being scarcely able to utter a word. All this I declare to be
true, on my oath, and I hereby sign this deposition.
“MIGUEL DE CERVANTES.”[42]
No evidence of any greater importance was obtained from the testimony
of the other deponents, one of whom was Maria de Cevallos, the
maid-servant of Cervantes’ family, now consisting of himself, his wife
and daughter, with the addition of his two sisters and a niece.
In course of the investigation some circumstances transpired which, it
would seem, led to the inference that Don Gaspar, on the night when he
received his fatal wound, was on his way to visit either the daughter
or the niece of Cervantes, or some other lady residing in the same
house with them. The ground of this suspicion is not very clearly made
out in the depositions, but it was deemed a sufficient reason for
putting under arrest a considerable number of persons, among whom was
Cervantes, his daughter, his niece, and one of his sisters. They were
imprisoned for a short time, but after some further examination, they
were set at liberty and the Alcalde’s declaration honorably acquitted
them of any knowledge of the circumstances which had led to the death
of Don Gaspar de Espelete.
On being liberated from his brief but vexatious incarceration,
Cervantes formally lodged in the hands of the Alcalde, the effects
of the deceased gentleman, which had been placed in his care. They
consisted of his clothes, a little money and some jewels which he wore
on his person. These articles are curiously described in an inventory
taken by one of the Alguazils. The dress, which is stated to be the
_hábito de noche_ (evening costume) of a fashionable cavalier of the
time, was composed of an under vest of satin laced with gold, to which
was fastened the badge of the Order of Santiago, a doublet also of
satin with sleeves of taffety, black hose ornamented with embroidery,
and a cloak of a kind of mixed cloth called _mezcla_. In the pockets
of the deceased were found seventy-two reals, three small keys and
two little bags, (_bolsillos_), the one filled with relics and the
other containing a flint, a steel, and some tinder (probably used in
smoking). On his fingers were two gold rings, one set with diamonds
forming an _Ave Maria_, the other set with emeralds; suspended from his
neck was a rosary of ebony.
The court removed from Valladolid to Madrid in 1606, and shortly after
that time we find Cervantes with his family settled in the capital.
The poor author’s worldly affairs were in no respect improved, yet
nevertheless he continued to maintain his two sisters and his niece,
who had now became entirely dependent on him: of his brother Rodrigo
nothing is known subsequently to the time when he left Spain to join
the army in Flanders. Between Cervantes and his elder sister, Doña
Andrea, the most cordial affection always prevailed. That lady had
appropriated her little dowry to the pious purpose of aiding the ransom
of her two brothers from Algiers, and when in her widowhood, she fell
into straitened circumstances, Cervantes gave her and her daughter
an asylum in his home. They, together with the younger sister of
Cervantes, Doña Luisa, had lived with him and his family in Seville and
Valladolid and they accompanied him in his removal to Madrid.
With old age advancing upon him, Cervantes now tranquilly resigned
himself to the penury which fate seemed to have irrevocably assigned
as his lot. In conformity with a custom very common at that time, he
enrolled himself among the members of a religious fraternity, that
of the Franciscans of the third class; and he sought in literary
retirement to forget the world’s ingratitude. He began to prepare
for the press some of the works, which at previous periods had
occasionally occupied his pen. The _Novelas Exemplares_, (Moral or
Instructive Tales), several of which had been written during the
author’s residence in Seville were published in 1612. These _Novelas_,
which have gained for Cervantes the title of the Boccacio of Spain,
are romances in miniature, some serious, some comic, and all written
in a light conversational style. No compositions of a similar kind had
previously existed in Spanish literature; and the author, to use his
own expression, opened a path (_abierto camino_) for other writers to
pursue.
Cervantes, who was prone to comment on his own works, makes the
following remarks in alluding to the _Novelas Exemplares_. “I was
the first to write novels in the Spanish language; for though many
novels have been printed in Spanish, they have all been translated
from foreign languages. These are my own: I have neither copied nor
stolen them. They were engendered in my fancy, brought forth by my
pen; and they will grow in the fostering arms of the press.”[43] The
_Novelas Exemplares_ were speedily followed by the publication of the
_Viaje del Parnaso_ (Journey to Parnassus), a work which is regarded
as one of the most extraordinary productions of its author. It is a
satirical poem directed against the false pretenders to the honours of
the Spanish Parnassus. In a prose Appendix (_Adjunta_) to this poem,
Cervantes directs attention to some of his early dramatic writings.
He complains of the ingratitude of actors and of the misjudgment of
audiences, and he mentions in commendatory terms some of the plays he
had written at a recent period. He was evidently desirous once more
to try his fortune as a dramatic author; and above all to have his
plays successfully performed in the theatres of the capital. But the
managers positively declined to bring his dramas upon the stage; and
in the hope of turning them to some little profit, he offered a few to
the bookseller Villaroel for publication. Villaroel at first hesitated,
but at length offered a trifle for the manuscripts, and the result
was the publication of the _Ocho Comedias y Entremeses_,[44] with the
celebrated Preface.
About this time the appearance of an extraordinary literary production
created a great sensation throughout Spain. This was a pretended
continuation of _Don Quixote_, by a writer who assumed the name of
Avellaneda. This production though not absolutely devoid of talent
has received from some critics more approbation than it deserves. One
marked difference may be noticed as existing between the great work
of Cervantes and the spurious production of his imitator; it is that
the wild fancies of _Don Quixote_ are prepared by circumstances likely
to lead to them, in a mind subject to such aberrations as that of the
Knight of La Mancha; whereas Avellaneda’s hero plunges into all sorts
of extravagance without any sufficient cause. It is merely a narrative
of marvellous incidents, of a nature calculated to gratify puerile
taste; but the ingenuity requisite to please the intelligent reader
is totally wanting. The work was translated into French by Le Sage,
who, as Mr. Prescott justly observes “has given a substantial value to
gems of little price in Castilian literature, by the brilliancy of his
setting.”[45] The real name of the author of this literary imposture,
was never discovered. He was supposed to be an Arragonian priest.
Instead of indulging in idle complaint or bitter invective, Cervantes
nobly resented this injury by producing the second part of his _Don
Quixote_. This second part, which was published in 1615, obtained even
a greater share of public approbation than that which had greeted the
first part. The proceeds derived from the sale, could not have been
inconsiderable, and must have proved an acceptable addition to the
author’s pecuniary resources. It is also ascertained that at this
period his income was augmented by the liberality of the Count de Lemos
and the Archbishop of Toledo, whose friendship Cervantes, amidst all
his misfortunes, had secured; and there appears reason to hope that his
latter years were in some degree exempt from the struggles which at
various times embittered the earlier periods of his life.
The leisure which his improved circumstances afforded was employed in
completing some of his unfinished works, and in writing those which he
had previously only sketched in outline. He gave the finishing touch
to his _Galatea_, and he produced several poetic works, of which the
romance of _Persiles y Sigismunda_ is the only one preserved. This
poem, an avowed imitation of the style of _Heliodorus_, was preferred
by the author himself to any of his other works; a preference at
variance with the unanimous judgment of literary criticism. But with
all its faults, its paramount beauties must be admitted;--and the
writer, who at the age of sixty-eight could produce so glowing a
creation of poetic fancy, may, to borrow Calderón’s simile, be likened
to a volcano, in which, beneath a cap of snow, flow streams of fire.
Cervantes dedicated _Persiles_ to his patron, the Count de Lemos, in
a _prólogo_ or preface, which is one of the most graceful pieces of
writing its author ever produced.
This poem was finished in the spring of 1616, at which time the
declining health of Cervantes began to excite the alarm of his friends.
Hoping to derive benefit from change of air, he occasionally made
visits to Esquivias, where his wife’s family still resided. He went
on one of those excursions only a few days prior to his death; and
he himself related that whilst returning home to Madrid, in company
with some friends, they were overtaken by a student, who joined in
their conversation, and they all rode on together. This student, on
recognising Cervantes, greeted him with the titles of, “Pleasant
writer! the favourite of the Muses!” (_¡Escritor alegre! ¡el regocijo
de las Musas!_). In the course of conversation, Cervantes acquainted
the student that he was suffering from dropsy, and that he feared
the disorder would speedily reach a fatal crisis, adding, as it were
prophetically, he thought he should not live beyond the following
Sunday.
The malady speedily assumed so formidable an aspect as to preclude
all hope of recovery. On the 18th of April, 1616, Cervantes received
extreme unction, and on the day following he finished the dedicatory
preface to _Persiles_. When about to depart on the long journey of
death, his memory reverted to some old Spanish coplas, which commence
with the words, “_Puesto ya el pie en el estribo_,” (with one foot
already in the stirrup). To these quaint old lines, he playfully
alludes in the dedication of his last work, where, addressing the Count
de Lemos, he observes:--“These old coplas, so popular in their day,
may perhaps come opportunely into this epistle, which I might commence
almost in the same words, saying--
Puesto ya el pie en el estribo,
Con las ansias de la muerte,
Gran Señor, ésta te escribo.[46]
“Yesterday they gave me the extreme unction, and to-day I write this.”
After an illness of seven months’ duration, Cervantes expired on the
23rd of April, 1616, in his sixty-ninth year. It is a curious fact, and
one that will not escape the observation of the English reader, that
Cervantes and Shakespeare, two writers whose genius exhibits more than
one trait of resemblance, both died on the same day.[47]
In conformity with his own desire, Cervantes was interred in the
Convent of the Trinitarias, situated in the Calle del León, in Madrid,
in which street he himself resided at the period of his death. The
quiet and unostentatious style of his funeral corresponded with his
humble circumstances, and no monument or even inscription of any kind
marks the spot where the ashes of Cervantes repose.
FOOTNOTES:
[5] That learned Benedictine wrote an essay entitled _Noticias de
la Verdadera patria de Cervantes; y conjectura sobre la insula
Barataria_. (Observations relative to the native place of Cervantes,
and conjectures respecting the Island of Barataria). It has never been
printed, and is very scarce, but the writer of this memoir has recently
had the opportunity of perusing an old MS. copy.
[6] There is some reason to conjecture that this lady was a relative
of Isabel de Urbina, the first wife of Lope de Vega. It is pleasing to
indulge the belief that such was really the fact, and that the two most
eminent writers Spain has produced were allied by family ties, as well
as by kindred genius.
[7]
“Desde mis tiernos años amé el arte
Dulce de la agradable Poesía.”
_Viaje del Parnaso.--Cap. IV._
[8] In _El Licenciado Vidriera_, and in _La Tía fingida_.
[9] “Relacion de la muerte y exequias de la Reyna Doña Isabel de
Valois,”--(Published in Madrid in 1569). It is worthy of notice that
the first poetic essays of Cervantes were dedicated to the memory of
a princess, whose marriage with Phillip II., after having been the
affianced bride of his son, forms a romantic episode in history, and is
the subject of Schiller’s tragedy of _Don Carlos_.
[10] “No había mejores soldados, que los que se transplantaban de la
tierra de los estudios en los campos de la guerra, y ninguno salió de
estudiante para soldado, que no lo fuese por estremo; porque quando se
avienen y se juntan las fuerzas con el ingenio, y el ingenio con las
fuerzas, hacen un compuesto milagroso en quien Marte se alegre.”
[11] At the period here alluded to, the rank of a private soldier was
far from being considered degrading. Young men of birth and fortune, on
entering the army, frequently served for some time as private soldiers,
before they attained a rank which invested them with any authority or
importance.
[12] Cervantes does not here overrate the importance of the Battle of
Lepanto, the consequences of which were for a time very fatal to the
Turks, and threatened to shake to its foundation the throne of Selim
II. When Pope Pius V. heard of the victory, he held up his hands and
exclaimed in Ecstasy,--“There was a man sent from God, and his name was
John,”--alluding to Don John of Austria.
[13]
Arrojóse mi vista a la campaña
Rasa del mar, que trujo a mi memoria
Del heroica Don Juan, la heroica hazaña
Donde con alta de saldados gloria.
I con proprio valor, I curado pecho
Tuve (aunque humilde) parte en la Victoria.
_Viaje del Parnaso, Cap. I._
[14] Piso sus rúas más de un año.
[15] _Prólogo_ to the Novelas Exemplares.
[16] It has been commonly conjectured that Cervantes narrated his own
adventures in the history of the “Captive,” in Don Quixote. With that
story he has doubtless interwoven some of the incidents of his own
life, for example, the particulars relating to the Battle of Lepanto.
As to Captain Viedma’s captivity in Algiers and his elopement with the
Moorish lady Zorayda, if those events are really founded on fact, the
hero of them was probably one of the Spaniards who suffered captivity
in company with Cervantes.
[17] In the year 1581, there was published in Grenada, a _Narrative of
the captivity of 185 Christians in Algiers_, by the Fathers
Juan Gil, and Antonio la Bella. This work is very scarce, but a copy
exists in the Real Biblioteca at Madrid. The narrative contains a list
of captives ransomed; and in this list appears the following entry:
“Miguel de Cervantes, aged thirty, a native of Alcalá de Henares.” This
fact was unknown, until the latter part of the last century, when the
narrative above-mentioned happened to be perused by Don Juan de Yriate,
Librarian to the King of Spain, who announced the fact, and therefore
to him is assigned the honour of having been the discoverer of the
birth place of Cervantes.
[18] In the story of the “Captive,” in _Don Quixote_, there is one
passage in which Cervantes alludes, in a direct manner, to himself. It
occurs in the description given by Captain Viedma of the imprisonment
of himself and his companions in the Bagnios of Algiers, and is as
follows:--“One Spanish soldier only, whose name was something or other
(_un tal_) de Saavedra, Aga Hassan treated with greater consideration
than the rest. This soldier did things which will remain in the memory
of the Algerines for many years to come; all for the sake of recovering
his liberty, and that of his companions. For the least of many things
that he did, we all feared that he would be empaled alive--and he
feared it himself oftener than once.”
[19] Lope de Vega, in his _Cautivos de Argel_, alludes to the plays
acted by the captives in Algiers, and the old Spanish romances which
were sung in those plays.
[20] This sister, who was older than Miguel, was at this time married
to Sanctes Ambrosio or Ambrosi, a native of Florence.
[21] It will be recollected that he was originally the slave of
Dali-Mami; but was forfeited to Aga Hassan, after his capture in the
cave.
[22] The discrepancy observable in the statements of the mother and
son, relative to the age, might be merely the effect of lapse of
memory; or possibly the mother may have reckoned as completed the year
which was only commenced, whilst the son may have counted his age by
the number of years he had actually completed. This latter supposition
would at least account for the difference of one year in the reckoning.
[23] Uno de los mayores contentos, que en esta vida se puede tener,
cual es, llegar despues de luengo cautiverio, salvo y sano à su patria:
porque no hay en la tierra contento que se iguale à alcanzar la
libertad perdida.
[24] Don Antonio, a natural son of the Infante Don Luis, was one of the
claimants of the Crown of Portugal, after the death of Cardinal Henry.
[25]
Inopemque paterni
Et laris et fundi; paupertas impulit audax
Ut versus facerem.--Epist. lib. ii.
[26] Tomando ya la espada, ya la pluma. Lope de Vega’s _Laurel de
Apolo_.
[27] Bouterwek’s “_History of Spanish Literature_.”
[28] A shepherd of the banks of the Tagus.
[29] A shepherdess, born on the margin of that river.
[30] Pellicer is of opinion that Cervantes intended the _Galatea_ as
an homage to the lady of his affections; a sort of literary courtship,
not uncommon among the writers of that age. “Catalina, the name of
the lady in question,” he observes, “might by a slight change, and
the transposition of the letters, be converted into _Galatea_. In
like manner,” he adds, “the fictitious names given to the shepherds
in the romance, bear some resemblance to the real ones of the persons
to whom they are supposed to apply; viz.--_Meliso_ for _Mendoza_ (the
celebrated Don Diego de Mendoza), _Lauso_ for _Luis_ (Luis Barabona de
Soto being the individual referred to).”
[31] Literally _Comedies of the cloak and the sword_. Their subjects
were taken from the sphere of Spanish fashionable life, and they
were pictures of the manners of the age. They were performed in the
prevailing costume of the time, to which circumstance they owe their
specific classification as plays of the _cloak and sword_.
[32] These observations occur in the Adjunta or Appendix to the _Viaje
del Parnaso_, in an imaginary conversation between Cervantes and one
Don Pancrasio de Roncesvalles, who describes himself to be a poet
“by the grace of Apollo.” Don Pancrasio enquires whether Cervantes
has written any plays; to which question our author returns the
following answer--“Si, muchas, i a no ser mias me parecieran dignas
de alabanza, como lo fueron _los tratos de Argel_, _la Numancia_, _la
gran Turquesea_, _la Batalla naval_, _la Gerusalem_, _la Amaranta_, _el
Bosque amoroso_, _la Unica i la Vizarra Arsinda_, i otras muchas de
que no me acuerdo. Mas la que yo más estimo i de la que más me precio,
fué, i es de una llamado _la Confusa_, la qual, con paz sea dicho, de
quantas comedias de capa i espada hasta hoi se han representado, bien
puede tener lugar señalado por buena entre las mejoras.”
[33] Bouterwek’s _History of Spanish Literature_.
[34] Canto de Caliope.
[35] Se acogía al remedio à que otros muchos perdidos en aquella ciudad
(Sevilla) se acogen, que es el al pasarse a las Indias, refugio y
amparo de los desesperados de España.
[36] Some accounts state that whilst in La Mancha, Cervantes got
involved in a street quarrel in the town of Argamasilla, and that in
consequence of that affair he once more became the inmate of a jail.
This, coupled with a hint, though a very vague one, thrown out by
Cervantes himself, in the preface to the second part of _Don Quixote_
has given rise to the conjecture that the first part was written in a
prison.
[37] According to some accounts it was not published till 1605. But
1604 is the date recorded by Don Antonio de Pellicer.
[38] “Salió a la luz del mundo con general aplauso de las
gentes.”--_Don Quixote_, part II.
[39] Everyone who has read _Don Quixote_ in Spanish must be sensible
of the peculiar charm of the diction of Cervantes. On this subject,
the critic above quoted observes, “It is the style of the old romances
of chivalry improved and applied in a totally original way; and only
in the dialogue passages is each person found to speak as he might
be expected really to do, in his own character.” The speech of the
shepherdess Marcella is, by the same high authority, pronounced to be,
“in the true prose style of Cicero, and altogether a composition which
has seldom been equalled in any modern language.”
[40] Mayans y Siscar and Pellicer quote this anecdote on the authority
of Baltasar Porreño, who wrote a work entitled _Sayings and Doings
(Dichos y Hechos) of Philip III_. As the incident, recorded in the
anecdote, is stated to have taken place in Madrid, it must have
occurred after the year 1606, when the Court removed from Valladolid to
the capital.
[41] Cervantes was at this time fifty-seven. The deposition vaguely
says, _más de cincuenta años_ (more than fifty years).
[42] The fac-simile engraved with the portrait which illustrates this
volume, is from the signature affixed to this document.
[43] Yo soy el primero que he novelado en la lengua castellana; las
muchas novelas que en ella andan impresas todas son traducidas de
lenguas extrangeras; y estas son mias propias, no imitadas ni hurtadas:
mi ingenio las engendró, y las parió mi pluma, y van creciendo en los
brazos de la estampa.--_Viaje del Parnaso._
[44] Eight Plays and Interludes.
[45] Biographical and Critical Miscellanies, by W. H. Prescott, Esq.
[46] With one foot already in the stirrup, and in the anguish of death,
noble Señor I write to you.
[47] It must, however, be borne in mind that the Gregorian Calendar had
not at that period been introduced in England.
EL BUSCAPIÉ.
_Wherein is related what befel the author when he travelled to
Toledo, in company with a student whom he met on the road._
It happened, once on a time, that being on my way to Toledo, just
as I was approaching the Toledana Bridge, I descried advancing
towards me a student mounted on a most villainous-looking nag. The
poor animal was blind of one eye, and not much better than blind of
the other; neither was he very sound in the legs, if I might judge
from the numerous reverences he made as he wearily moved onward. The
student gravely saluted me, and I with all due courtesy returned his
greeting. He spurred his poor nag with the intention of advancing more
expeditiously, but the miserable animal was so worn out by old age and
hard usage, that it was piteous even to behold him.
The rider whipped his horse, but the horse, heedless of the blows,
showed no disposition to quicken his pace. He turned a deaf ear to all
the commands of his master, who, in truth, might as well have shouted
down into the depths of the well of Airon, or up to the summit of Mount
Cabra.
This contest between horse and rider had proceeded for some time, to
my no small diversion, when, at length, the descendant of Babieca,[48]
as though suddenly roused by the severe treatment to which he was
subjected, seemed determined not to proceed another foot. In proportion
as he was urged to advance, he appeared resolved to stand stock still,
or, rather, he shewed more disposition to go backward than forward.
Thereupon the rider flew into a furious rage, and began belabouring
the unfortunate horse without mercy, though, as it proved this time,
not without effect. Anticipating a smart stroke of the whip, which the
upraised arm of his master was preparing to inflict, the animal began
to kick and plunge, and after two or three curvets, both horse and
rider came to the ground.
I, seeing this mishap, pressed forward my mule, which, by the bye,
was anything but swift footed. Having reached the spot where the
unlucky student lay rolling in the dust, and uttering a torrent of
imprecations, I quickly dismounted, saying--“Compose yourself, señor,
and let me assist you to rise. These accidents must be expected by
persons who journey on the backs of such crazy animals.”
“Crazy animals!” said he, “your’s appears crazy enough; but I have only
to thank the high spirit and mettle of mine for bringing me to this
strait!”
Restraining my laughter as I best could, and with as grave a face as
I was able to put on, I helped the fallen horseman to rise, which was
no easy matter, for he appeared to be much hurt. Having got him upon
his feet, I beheld before me the strangest figure in the world. He was
short of stature, and on his shoulders there was a graceful hump, which
might be likened to an _estrambote_,[49] tacked to a sonnet, and which
brought to my recollection the stanzas in praise of hunch-backs indited
by the ingenious Licentiate Tamuriz.[A] His legs were curved like two
slices of melon, and his feet were encased in shoes, twelve inches
long; and perhaps, without incurring any mistake, I might assign to
them even greater magnitude.
The student raised his hands to his head, as if to assure himself that
his pericranium had sustained no fracture. Feeling the effects of his
fall, he turned to me, and, in a faint and languid tone of voice, said,
that since I was a doctor (which he must have conjectured from seeing
that I rode on a mule),[50] he begged I would tell him of some remedy
to cure his aching bones.
I returned for answer, that I was not a doctor, but that even if I were
as well skilled in the knowledge of medicine as Juan de Villalobos,[B]
of the bygone time, or as Nicolo Monardes, of the time present,[C] I
could prescribe for him no better physic than rest and sleep; and I
added, that as noontide was advancing, the best cure for his aching
bones would be to recline for a while beneath the shade of some trees
which grew by the road side. There I proposed we should seek shelter
against Apollo’s scorching rays, until, less oppressed by heat and
weariness, we might each pursue our course.
“This is strange,” resumed the student in the same doleful tone in
which he had before spoken. “Who could have imagined that by reason of
the vicious temper of that unruly beast, the whole body of a bachelor
of Salamanca should be thus bruised from head to foot! Mark me! I say
of Salamanca, not of Alcalá, where none but poor miserable fellows
graduate; but by so doing they lose all the privileges and immunities
enjoyed by Spanish hidalgos at Salamanca. Alas! what a disaster has
befallen me. They told me at the inn that I should find this horse
restive and unruly. Nevertheless, he is a fine animal. His smooth sleek
skin denotes his high breeding. How finely shaped are his limbs, how
black and well rounded his hoofs, and so hollow and dry underneath! His
pasterns are short; neither too high nor too low; thereby indicating
strength. His fore-legs are sinewy, and his shins short and well
formed; the knees firm, smooth, and large. How full and fleshy are his
hind quarters, and how round and expanded his chest. His nostrils are
so wide and distended, that one can discern the ruddy tint within them.
His mouth is large, and the dilated veins are visible in every part of
his fine head.”[51]
Perceiving that my friend the bachelor was preparing to extend still
further the catalogue of excellent qualities which were neither
possessed by his horse, nor by any of his horse’s race, I cut the
matter short by saying, very composedly, “Pardon me, señor, if I
cannot descry in your horse any of the beauties and merits which are
so apparent to you. The limbs which you admire, appear to me very ill
formed; the sleek skin you extol to the skies, is covered with marks
and cuts; and as to his full black eyes, I wish I may lose my own eyes
if I see anything in them but the overflowing of the vicious humours
inherent in the nature of the miserable beast.”
To these remarks, which were taken in no ill part, my interlocutor
rejoined with an air of doubt and misgiving,--“Well, probably it
may be as you say, señor, and not as I have fancied; but still you
must admit, that though I may be under a mistake, I have advanced
nothing at variance with reason; and if I think I perceive what you
cannot discern, my error may be occasioned by short-sightedness, a
complaint from which I have suffered from my childhood, and which,
being increased by much reading and no little writing, now afflicts me
severely. You must know, señor, that on my departure from the inn, I
had with me a very handsome pair of spectacles, but this mischievous
animal, instigated, no doubt, by some demon that possesses him, made
five or six capers (I will not be certain about the precise number),
but by one of them I was thrown into the river, from whence I escaped
with a good ducking and the loss of my spectacles.”
So saying, the poor fellow heaved a sigh, which seemed to come from his
inmost soul; then, after a brief pause, he said,--“But without further
delay, let us withdraw from the burning sunshine, to the cool shade of
those broad spreading trees. There I may at least find a truce to the
miseries which have this day beset me. We will tie the horse and mule
to the trunks of the trees, and let them for a while feast on the
grass which, in these parts, affords plentiful pasture for flocks and
herds.”
“Be it so,” said I, “and since fate ordains that I am to have the
happiness of enjoying your company, here we will tarry until the ardour
of Phœbus shall be tempered by the cool breezes of the coming evening.”
“I have,” pursued the bachelor, “brought with me a couple of books
wherewith to divert the weary hours of travelling. Both of them contain
pleasant entertainment. The one consists of spiritual poetry, better
than that of Cepeda.[52] The other is a book of plain prose; and is
written with no great judgment or skill. Now had it so happened that
instead of going from Madrid to Toledo, we had been journeying from
Toledo to Madrid, I could have shewn you two excellent books, which
have been sent to me as a present from Señor Arcediano. These books
are so full of knowledge, and they treat of so many things that are
and may be in the world, that with their help, a man may, without much
trouble, become wonderfully wise.”[D]
Having reached the umbrageous spot, where we proposed to rest, we
tied up the horse and mule, and seated ourselves on mother-earth.
My companion then opened a leathern bag, which contained the books
he had spoken of. The first he drew forth had for its title _Versos
espirituales para la conversión del pecador y para el menosprecio del
mundo_.[53]
“This is very sweet poetry,” observed I, “and it is embued with a truly
Christian spirit. I knew the author of this book--he was a friar of
the order of Santo Domingo de Predicadores, at Huete, and his name was
Pedro de Ezinas.[E] He was a man of genius, and of much knowledge;
qualities manifested in this little work, and in many of his other
writings, which are circulated in manuscript, and are much esteemed by
the learned.”
“Nevertheless,” said the bachelor, “if I may candidly give my opinion,
there is one thing which much offends me in this book. I dislike
to see the graceful and pious language befitting to the Christian
muse, mingled with the profane phraseology of heathenism. Who can be
otherwise than displeased to find the names of God, of the Holy Virgin,
and of the Prophets, in conjunction with those of Apollo and Daphne,
Pan and Syrinx, Jupiter and Europa, Vulcan, Cupid, Venus and Mars?” He
next proceeded to tell me that Father Ezinas, the author of the _Versos
Espirituales_, was himself very fastidious about matters much less
objectionable; and he related how annoyed he was, whilst performing
mass, by an old woman, who, whenever the Padre repeated the words
_Dominus vobiscum_, devoutly muttered in a croaking voice, _Alabado
sea Dios_.[54] Father Ezinas bore with this patiently, during several
days, but at length finding that the venerable Celestina persisted in
her devout contumacy, he turned to her angrily, saying:--‘Truly, my
good woman, you have spent your long life to little purpose, since you
know not how to respond to a _Dominus vobiscum_, except by an _Alabado
sea Dios_. Now do recollect that though these are very good and very
holy words, yet they are unsuitable where you apply them.’
“You are quite right, friend bachelor, in your remarks on the _Versos
Espirituales_ of Ezinas. The fault you have pointed out is very
objectionable; but with the exception of that fault, the work is one of
the best ever written in Castilian verse, and for elevation of style,
it may fairly compete with the most esteemed writings of the poets of
Italy.”
“Well,” resumed the bachelor, “greatly as you admire the verses of
Ezinas, I must confess that they are not so pleasing to me, nor do they
sound so harmoniously to my ear, as the poetry of Aldana, or as that
of an Aragonian writer, named Alonzo de la Sierra.[F] The latter is a
most admirable poet, and his verses seem as if dictated by Apollo and
the Nine. But,” pursued he, closing the volume of Ezinas, and drawing
forth the other book from his leathern bag,--“here now is a work which,
in my judgment, is not worth two _ardites_.[55] It is full of fooleries
and absurdities;--a tissue of extravagant improbabilities:--in short,
one of those works which have an injurious effect on the public taste.”
So saying, he turned over a few leaves of the book, and I, glancing
my eye upon it, spied on one of the pages, the words:--_el ingenioso
hidalgo_. For a moment I felt astounded, and like one, who, by a
sudden surprise, is deprived of the power of utterance; but, soon
recovering my presence of mind, I said:--
“Pardon me, señor, this book which you declare to be full of absurdity
and nonsense, is really very diverting; and instead of being injurious
in its tendency, is perfectly harmless. It is a pleasant relation of
some very amusing adventures, and its author deserves to be commended,
for having hit upon such a device for banishing from the republic of
letters, the absurd books of knight-errantry, with their affected
sentiment and bombastic phraseology. Moreover, the author of this book
is bowed down by misfortunes more than by years; and though he looks
forward with hope to the reward that may possibly hereafter crown
his labours, yet he is nevertheless disheartened to see the world so
pleased with folly and falsehood, and to witness the annoyances and
hindrances thrown in the way of talent. In courts and in palaces,
and among the great and the high-born, it has become the fashion
to disesteem men who follow the noble profession of letters; and no
arguments that can be advanced against this misjudgment, are strong
enough to remove it. The consequence is, that when by chance an author
of talent gains any influence by his writings, he is speedily cried
down, and his life becomes a course of vexation and disappointment.”
“All persons,” said the bachelor, “do not regard books of chivalry as
fictions and impostures, and their authors as inventors of falsehood
and foolery. Such books, though not approved by sages, are nevertheless
admired and accredited by the mass of people. There are even men of
wisdom and good understanding who put faith in the reality of the
valorous achievements of those knights-errant, who used to sally
from their homes in quest of adventures; each devoutly repeating the
name of the lady of his thoughts, and invoking her succour in the
perils he was about to encounter,--perils voluntarily sought by men
who could not behold a grievance without endeavouring to redress it,
or a wrong without attempting to right it. Would to heaven! (and
these words he uttered with a sorrowful look), that I could meet
with some knight-errant who would undertake to right my wrong,--I
mean my hump, which is a grievance I should like to see redressed.
But for that, and these unshapely limbs, my shortness of stature, a
superfluous length of nose, a peculiar stare in my eyes, and too great
an expansion of mouth,--but for these trifles, I should be one of the
most gallant-looking gentlemen in the world: none would be more admired
by the ladies, or more envied by the men. My mother’s neighbours used
to tell her when I was a little child that I was the living likeness
of my father, who was a brave soldier in the army of the invincible
emperor. He served in the war in Flanders, fighting in all the hottest
battles and skirmishes; always the last to engage in the attack, and
the first to commence the retreat. It happened one day that Captain
Luis Quijada, who held a command in the Lombardy forces, perceiving
my father partly concealed behind a tree, thought he was a spy, and
ordered him to be seized. But my father excused himself, saying that he
was watching the movements of the enemy’s infantry, for he had learned
from a wounded Flemish soldier (one of the heretics), that the enemy
proposed, after a feigned retreat, to make a sudden assault on our
camp at its weakest point. With this, and on the intercession of some
soldiers, who knew my father to be a man of courage and honour, Captain
Luis Quijada pardoned him, on condition that at daybreak--”
“Stay--stay! Señor Licentiate,” said I, “whither are you straying?
You were speaking of the ingenious hidalgo, Don Quixote de la Mancha,
and, after fluttering like a butterfly from flower to flower, you
have wandered to the heroic deeds of your father in the Flanders war.
Between the one subject and the other, there is as much affinity as
that existing between Mingo Rebulgo and Calaynos.”[56]
To this the bachelor replied--“Such as I am, God has made me.
Aristotle, you know, condemns taciturn people, and the old proverb
says:--‘against the silent man be on your guard.’ Therefore I think it
is well to be talkative.”
“But, señor,” I presumed, “if you will do me the favour to listen (this
I said, observing his loquacious disposition,) I would remind you of
another of our old Spanish proverbs, which is _al buen callar llaman
sago_.[G] And there is another old saying, _que dice el pandero no es
todo vero_.”[57]
“Right,” answered the bachelor, “and no doubt you have heard the
proverb _andando gana la aceña que no estándose queda_.[58] Therefore,
sir, with your good leave, I will relate to you how my father came to
be made a Captain.
“It happened one day during a violent onset with the Flemish troops,
that he was going about the camp, seeking a convenient place wherein
he might take refuge (this, you must know, was before I was born or
even begotten), for he thought it would be well to preserve himself for
greater deeds. Therefore, he was looking about for a place of safety,
where, alike unobserved by the troops of the Spanish camp and by those
of the League, he might save his life and person, as I have said, for
greater things.”
“Rather say for smaller things,” interrupted I, “since he saved himself
to become your father. Now, seeing that you are so very little, and
that your father saved himself to beget you, how can it be said that he
saved himself for greater things?”
To this my companion replied, that though he knew himself to be very
little, yet that he was not so diminutive as some persons affected to
think him.
“But,” added he, pursuing his story, “you must know that my father was
going about the camp in the way I have described, and seeing that the
two wings of the Imperial army were hotly engaged with the enemy, he
felt impelled to lay his hand on his sword; a trusty weapon, which,
though it had been unsheathed, and had seen daylight on several
occasions of urgent necessity, yet, on all those occasions, it had
modestly shrunk back into the scabbard unstained with hostile blood. To
tell all my father’s valorous deeds in the battle, would be a long and
tedious tale; but the sum of his prowess is well known to fame in my
native place, Villar del Olmo, and its environs. Laden with upwards of
thirty heads of the heretics whom he had slain, he presented himself,
after the victory, to the illustrious emperor, who was at that moment
engaged in dictating to his _maestre de campo_, Alonzo Vivas, the three
notable words of Julius Cæsar, which he repeated in Spanish, altering
the third, as became a Christian prince, in this wise,--‘_Vine, vi y
Dios venció_.’[H] The emperor, elated with his victory, and thinking
it a fitting time to distribute rewards, conferred on my father the
rank of captain. And though there were not wanting malicious tongues to
declare that my father had cut off the heads from dead bodies, as they
lay on the field of battle, yet nevertheless he was made a captain,
in spite of the murmurs of envious slanderers, who are at all times
ready to disturb the peace of the community; and in truth, whether my
father’s merits were great or small, he did not think it advisable to
make them a matter of dispute.”
“Now,” said I, “since you have at length brought your story to an end
we will again turn to this book called ‘_Don Quixote_.’ You say it
is full of absurdities and nonsense, but I do assure you that some
who have read it, pronounce it to be as entertaining as any work ever
written in Spain, and they affirm that it is full of humour and truth.
True, it is sailing with no very fair wind over the stormy ocean of
criticism; which is only one of the many misfortunes that assail its
author; but the tardiness of the learned to approve this work, may
possibly redound to its future fame and glory.”
“This book,” pursued my companion, “which you say is so diverting,
and written with so reasonable and praiseworthy an object, appears to
me exceedingly silly and irrational. Can anything be more absurd than
the idea of curing the taste for reading books of chivalry, (which are
objected to because of their falsehood and extravagance) by the perusal
of another book still more false and extravagant? Who can imagine a man
so infatuated as to put faith in the stories related in such books,
and at length becoming so crazy as to sally from his home in quest of
adventures, fancying himself to be out and out a knight-errant; and not
even the many cudgellings he receives can drive the insane notions from
his head. When did the luckless author ever see such lunatics wandering
at large through the world?”
Hereupon the bachelor ran into a string of questions worthy of that
most indefatigable of questioners the lately defunct Almirante,[I]
and he wound up his interrogatories by saying, “Can any one persuade
himself into the belief that Palmerius of England, Florindos and
Floriandos are to be seen going about armed cap-à-pie, like the figures
in old tapestry on tavern walls?[J] I would advise this author,”
pursued he, “to cultivate for better objects the talent he undoubtedly
possesses, and to write no more such stupid books as this _Don
Quixote_, which will never out-root from the popular mind the vitiated
taste for books of chivalry. I would tell him all this and much more,
for I am not at a loss for words, neither am I wanting in memory or
information; and I feel a desire to correct and castigate the faults of
others, though unluckily I cannot mend my own. Moreover, you must know,
that I am a philosopher, and that I have studied in the new school of
Doña Oliva,[K] the knowledge of myself; and whosoever acquires self
knowledge, may be said to possess no trivial attainment. Let me tell
you, moreover, that the doctrine of Doña Oliva is not to be despised
because it comes from a woman; for there have been many women in the
world whose learning has entitled them to respect and admiration.
Without looking back to remoter times, I may mention the recently
deceased Countess de Tendilla, the mother of the three Mendozas, whose
names will be proclaimed to remote ages by the voice of Fame.[L] Then
there was Madama Passier, whose rare genius and eloquence have been
swept away by death, like the vine by the keen wind of October. In
honour of her literary attainments that lady was buried with pompous
funeral rites, and many learned men have written elegies to her memory.
There is a book of letters by Madama Passier, full of erudition and
sound morality, which I would recommend to the attention of the author
of _Don Quixote_.”[M]
“How, friend bachelor,” exclaimed I, “do you deny that knights-errant
are existing in the world in this our age of iron? And does your
memory so far fail that you forget how many persons implicitly believe
all the extravagant stories related in books of chivalry,--stories
which every one, down to the most ignorant of the common people,
know by heart? Need I call to your recollection the mad exploits of
that famous knight, Don Suero de Quiñones, who, with nine gentlemen,
his companions, demanded leave of the most high and puissant King of
Castile, John II. to rescue his liberty, (held captive by a lady)
by breaking three hundred lances in the space of thirty days, with
certain knights and gentlemen who might enter the lists against
him. And surely you must remember how the said knight, Don Suero de
Quiñones defended the Honroso Paso, near the bridge of Orbigo; and
how he was there disburthened of the iron collar which he wore every
Thursday round his neck in token of servitude and captivity. And with
him fought in defence of the pass, Lope de Estuñiga, Diego de Bazán,
Pedro de Nava, and other hidalgos, to the number of nine, all of them
devoted knights-errant. They shivered lances with more than seventy
adventurers, who went thither to prove their skill and prowess.
Surely these were knights-errant of real flesh and blood, and not
mere puppets. The conflict of the Paso Honroso is narrated in a book
written by a friar named Pineda, who abridged it from an old manuscript
work.[N] Moreover, friend bachelor, have you not heard of the adventure
of the Canon Almela, who was at the conquest of Grenada, with two
horsemen and seven followers on foot? Such was his veneration for
knight-errantry and everything connected with it, that he collected and
preserved all sorts of old and worthless objects, because he believed
they had belonged to certain renowned heroes of the days of chivalry.
He wore girded at his side a sword which he affirmed had belonged
to the Cid Ruy Díaz.[O] This he said he knew from certain letters
inscribed on the sword, though, in fact, those letters were perfectly
illegible, and neither he nor any one else could decipher them.”
“All that you say is perfectly true, Señor Soldado,” replied the
bachelor; “and I have only to observe that the events to which you
allude are all of old date. Without going quite so far back, let us
see what happened in the time of the Emperor Charles V., who directed
a certain Bishop of Bordeaux, (and he would have cared as little for
saying the same to Archbishop Turpin) to inform the King of France
that he had acted with rudeness and discourtesy. Whereupon a messenger
was shortly after despatched from the said King of France, and another
from King Henry of England, summoning the emperor to meet them in the
lists conformably with the laws of chivalry. Now, I recollect having
been told by my father, (who was a man well versed in these points of
honour, though he did not himself act upon them, for certain reasons of
his own,) that the great emperor finding himself challenged with all
the solemnity of the laws of the duelo, took counsel of his cousin,
Don Diego, Duke del Infantado, as to the course he ought to pursue.[P]
Don Diego advised him by no means to accept the challenge; for seeing
that the King of France owed his majesty a large debt, the consequence
would be that all debts, known and acknowledged would be settled by
recourse to arms, a thing at variance with reason and justice. Rest
assured that such absurd encounters have no existence save in silly
books of chivalry, and in plays which in our time have been taken from
them, but which in the time of Lope de Rueda, Gil Vicente, and Alonso
de Cisneros would not have been tolerated on the stage.”[Q]
“Nevertheless,” pursued my loquacious companion, after a brief pause,
“methinks I should like to see a return of the good old days of
knight-errantry. How I should enjoy setting forth some fine morning
to the chase, with hounds and huntsmen, dressed in the _cuero_,[59]
lined with squirrel skin, such as used to be worn by great lords when
they went a-hunting, and with a horn slung round my neck. And when in
the thickets of the forest, suppose a storm should come on, the wind
blowing and the rain pouring, and in midst of the darkness, suppose
I should lose my way in an intricate place, where no one can venture
to penetrate for fear of the wild beasts that infest it. And there,
perchance, I meet a courteous prince, comely and valiant, who like
myself has lost his way. The young prince may have left his court and
wandered unattended in quest of adventures. He may be named the Knight
of the Griffin, or the Knight of the Red Scarf. He is courteous and
fair of speech, and seeing in me a knight of noble comportment, he
kindly offers me consolation in my trouble. And lo! all on a sudden
there appears an ugly little dwarf, who says, ‘Prepare, Knight of the
Griffin, or of the Red Scarf, (or whatsoever surname he may bear,)
prepare for the most marvellous adventure that ever knight-errant
encountered. Know that the Princess Bacalambruna, who by the death
of her father, Borborifon, (he of the wry nose,) has become mistress
of the fair castle whose white walls rise in yonder plain, is deeply
enamoured of you, whom she regards as the model of perfection in
chivalry. When night draws her dark mantle over the earth, wend your
way to the castle, whose gates will be open to receive you; there the
beauteous princess awaits your coming.’
“With these words the hideous little dwarf vanishes. Then let us
suppose that the Knight of the Griffin, addressing himself to me,
declares that he cannot go to the enchanted castle to visit the
princess, because he is in love with the beauteous Arsinda, the
daughter of King Trapobana Quinquirlimpuz. Hearing this I determine
to go in his stead, and to present myself to the lovely Princess
Bacalambruna. Mounting my fiery steed I gallop off, and speedily reach
the gates of the enchanted castle. I enter without any one attempting
to stop me, and, what is still more strange, without any one coming out
to greet me, a thing quite at variance with the laws of courtesy. We
will suppose that night has now set in, and I find in the court-yard of
the castle a torch ready lighted. Straightway it places itself before
my eyes, and moves onward to light me. The torch leading the way, and I
following, I soon find myself in a splendid palace, all glittering with
gold, silver, and precious stones. I enter a sumptuous chamber, covered
with a carpet of silk, embroidered with gold, where I behold the
Princess Bacalambruna anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Knight of
the Griffin. She is surprised and alarmed on beholding me, and enraged
at the disappointment, she rushes from the chamber to give orders for
my death. With this, I appeal for succour to a malignant old enchanter,
who shews his malice by pretending not to hear me. But my lucky star
ordains that a lady, on whom I never bestowed a thought, though, on
her part, she is deeply enamoured of me, and who is one of the noblest
ladies in all the realm of Transylvania, (Mari Hernández or Juana
Pérez, by name,) at that moment enters the apartment. Taking me by the
hand, she conducts me to the great hall of the castle, where several
fierce-looking men are waiting in readiness to dispatch me. They are
about to draw their swords, but good fortune once more befriends me,
and Doña Mari Hernández addresses them, saying,--
“‘Hold, Señores! this is not the knight whom the princess has ordered
you to put to death. This is only a squire who is going to travel
across the seas. When the knight comes out kill him.’
“With this the lady conducts me to the castle-gate, where I mount my
horse. The lady heaves a deep sigh, and I promise to wed her when I
return to the castle, which, however, in consideration of the danger I
have so narrowly escaped, I resolved never to do.
“Suppose that once more I set out to seek my fortune, and that after
journeying for a time I arrive in a town where the lists are prepared
for a grand tournament. There I behold the emperor and his daughter.
The princess is arrayed in rich brocade, and seated in a chair of state
adorned with jewels. She is frightfully ugly, but in spite of that she
has come to preside at the tournament, flattering herself that some
adventurous knight will enter the lists to compete for the possession
of her superlative charms. Seeing that no one is in a hurry to offer,
I propose to try my fortune. But at sight of me the spectators
immediately begin to shout scoffingly,--‘Here comes the Knight of the
Hump--the flower of chivalry!’
“Undismayed, I spur my horse and gallop into the lists, where I shiver
a lance in the presence of the emperor and his daughter. Thereupon the
princess falls in love with me, and entreats her father’s leave to
bestow upon me her hand. The emperor consents, and calling me to the
platform, he rewards my gallantry with the hand of the princess, who
has for her dower a kingdom, and for her subjects a nation of dwarfs.
Thus, from a bachelor of Salamanca (and not of Alcalá), I become
nothing less than a king.”[60]
“Friend bachelor,” observed I, “for the life of me I cannot comprehend
how the just and reasonable reply of the Duke del Infantado to the
invincible emperor, can warrant the inference that knights-errant were
at that period banished from the world. On the contrary, we know that
Micer Oliver de la Marcha was then living, though in a very advanced
old age. He was a knight of the court of the Duke of Burgundy, Philip
the Good, and he afterwards figured in the court of the duke’s
daughter, Doña María, the consort of the Emperor Maximilian, and mother
of Philip the Fair. This same Oliver de la Marcha married Doña Juana,
a daughter of the King of Castile, and he wrote a book entitled _El
Caballero Determinado_, which like many of the romances of chivalry
then circulated, was very ingenious, though full of extravagances. _El
Caballero Determinado_ was written in French, from which language it
was translated by Don Hernando de Acuña, who transferred it into very
graceful Castilian verse.[R]
“Moreover you must also recollect what is related of Mario de Abenante,
a Neapolitan knight, who challenged another knight, Don Francisco
Pandon, also of Naples. Both entered the lists furiously defying each
other. Don Francisco made a thrust at Mario’s horse, and wounded the
animal, so that he was well-nigh falling. Mario was unconscious of his
danger until his uncle, who was within the lists, beckoned him to
dismount, which he did, and then, with great alertness, he inflicted
a wound on the horse of his adversary. The animal became restive, and
began to kick and plunge in such a manner that Don Francisco found
himself constrained to surrender. Mario’s conduct on this occasion
called forth severe censure from all who witnessed it, and he was
declared to be a coward and a traitor. Neither can you have forgotten
other feats of knight-errantry which have taken place in these present
times; as for example, that passage of arms when a knight named Leres
challenged another named Martín López. Both met in single combat in
Rome, armed with lances and cuirasses. In the midst of the conflict
it happened that the horse of Martín López stumbled and fell. López
was stunned by the fall, and Leres, thinking it cowardly to strike his
adversary as he lay on the ground, was preparing to dismount; but in so
doing he also stumbled and fell. Seeing this accident, Martín López,
with an effort, raised himself up, and fearing lest fortune should not
grant him such another opportunity, he turned upon Leres, and in that
cowardly manner subdued him. Setting aside all these events, you cannot
but recollect the happy journey of King Don Philip II. (now in glory),
who, when he was Infante, travelled from Spain into his territories in
Flanders and Brabant. The whole history is in print, as related by Juan
Calvete de Estrella.”[S]
“I know the book you speak of,” eagerly interrupted the bachelor. “It
is one of the most entertaining that ever appeared since the world
has been the world, or at least since the art of printing has been
known. It contains nothing but truth, and that cannot be said of the
writings of all historians, some of whom give currency to falsehood
by narrating events which never took place.[T] My father was in the
suite of the Infante in that journey to Flanders; but in consequence
of an adventure with a lady in which he became entangled, he was
forced to return in all haste to Spain. On his road, he encountered
more adventures than ever befel that Monster of Fortune,[61] Antonio
Pérez.[V] Finally, he was returning home angry and fretful, like one
stung by an asp----.”
Here I cut him short, for I was fearful that he was preparing to enter
upon one of his tedious and inapt tales. So imitating the serpent,
which, with curious perversity, closes her ears when she wishes not to
hear the enchanter’s voice, I pretended not to hear what he was saying,
and I thus proceeded,
“In Binche, as you probably know, sundry knights who were in that
town appeared in the presence of the emperor _Semper Augusto_, and
the prince his son. They stated that a certain enchanter, a foe to
virtue and knight-errantry, and one whom all accounts describe to
have been more malignant than Arcalaus,[U] and a greater heretic than
Constantino,[W] had taken refuge in Gallia Belgica, and somewhere near
to the town of Binche.”
“Do you not recollect the name of that enchanter?” eagerly interrupted
the bachelor.
“No, on my faith, I do not,” replied I; “but I doubt not he had a very
hideous name; like all those evil spirits whose mischievous doings are
narrated in books of chivalry. I have heard of a certain author who,
during the space of several days, puzzled himself sorely to fix on
a name for an enchanter whom he introduced into one of his stories.
His object was to find a pompous, high-sounding name, which would
be expressive of the enchanter’s character. The author in question
happened one day to be visiting the house of a friend where he and
others were playing at cards. During the game, the master of the
house calling to one of the servants, said,--‘_Hola Cœlio! trae aquí
cantos!_’--(Hola Cœlio! bring hither some stones!)[62] These words
fell with such sonorous emphasis on the ear of our author, that he
immediately rose from the card-table, and, without taking leave of his
friends, he straightway hurried home, where he wrote down the name
_Traquicantos_, with which he baptized his enchanter....
“But to return to the magician of Binche, of whom I was just now
speaking. By his fiendish arts he spread dismay among the inhabitants
of the neighbouring country, doing all sorts of mischief, and
threatening still greater harm. The knights ascertained that the said
enchanter dwelt in a palace which, being continually enveloped in a
hazy cloud, was invisible even to those who had the courage to seek to
discover it.[X] But it happened that a virtuous princess, deeply versed
in the occult sciences of foresight and foreknowledge, seeing the
mischief wrought by the enchanter, declared that within a certain lofty
mountain-peak there was hidden a sword possessing singular power, as
was denoted by the following lines inscribed on it:--
“_‘Whosoever shall draw forth this sword from the stone within which it
is hidden, will terminate these evils, and dispel these enchantments;
and will restore to freedom the prisoners now languishing in cruel
captivity. Finally, he will hurl to destruction the enchanter’s gloomy
castle, and he will, moreover, achieve many other good deeds which,
though not here declared, are, nevertheless, promised and predestined.’_
“The knights implored the emperor’s permission to undertake this
mighty adventure. The permission was accorded, and the knights passed
two whole days in performing, in the presence of the emperor and the
prince, certain crazy exploits similar to those we read of in books of
chivalry--those mischevous creations of idle imagination. Now, I leave
you to weigh and consider (with the sound judgment which must dwell
in the mind of a Señor Bachelor of Laws)[63] the fact that the said
knights actually performed these feats, or rather these fooleries, and
that they were approved by the emperor and the prince Don Philip, who
derived therefrom much entertainment. And will it be said that there
are not other madmen in the world besides the ingenious knight of La
Mancha, when such as these find favour in the eyes of emperors and
kings?[Y] But the fools so thickly scattered through this Christian
realm cannot endure that the reading of this said book _Don Quixote_
should have the effect of convincing the unlettered common people that
romances of chivalry are filled with improbabilities alike adverse
to reason and common sense. Therefore it is that they attack the
book with such determined fury and perversity, picking faults in
it, and seeking to prove that there are no persons in the world so
mad as to put faith in the reality of the stories related in books
of chivalry. But the courts of kings, to say nothing of more humble
places, are full of such madmen, for courts are the birthplaces of
madness of every kind. These people say and do all sorts of crazy
things: they enter upon insane enterprises to their own injury, and
there is no possibility of convincing them of their errors. And these,
forsooth, are the persons who find fault with the illustrious knight
_Don Quixote_, the mirror not only of all crazy La Manchians, but
of all crack-brained Spaniards; indeed, it may be said, that he is
the clear reflection of all madmen throughout the world. For these
reasons, instead of being depreciated, the work deserves to be prized
and esteemed by all right-judging persons, inasmuch as it is the
only one of all the many stories of chivalry that has been written
with an honest and useful purpose. After all, the delusions of _Don
Quixote_ are less absurd than many things related in those romances:
and from time immemorial there have been numberless lunatics in the
world who have not, in the general opinion, been accounted mad. The
laudable intention of the author was to banish the false order of
knight-errantry, by the highly-seasoned dish of diversion presented in
his true history.”
Just as I uttered these words, the bachelor’s unlucky nag, by a sudden
leap, snapped the reins by which he was fastened up; he had taken a
fancy to sport with the mule who, tied to the trunk of an old oak,
was quietly reposing on the grass. The mule, however, with becoming
dignity, evinced her dislike of such familiarity by several smart
kicks. One of them, aimed at the one eye of the poor horse which still
retained some little power of vision, rendered it as blind as the
other. In another instant a severe kick laid him prostrate on the
earth, to all appearance bringing to an end the miseries of the horse,
and the falls of his rider.
At this unexpected disaster, and naturally expecting that the poor
animal, which lay struggling and gasping, was about to draw his last
breath, the bachelor vented his grief in a torrent of lamentations, at
the same time bitterly reproaching himself for the little caution he
had observed in securing the safety of the precious jewel which he had
probably hired from the stables of Colmenares.[64] He began to curse
the hour when he had set out on his luckless journey.
I, to console him, said, “After all, Señor Bachelor, this misfortune
has happened not inopportunely. But a minute ago you were observing
that the book called _Don Quixote_ is full of absurd extravagances.
Now, a truce with your lamentations, and recall to your memory that
famous adventure of the Knight of La Mancha when he encountered the
most disastrous of all his misfortunes--I mean when he met with the
Yangueses on his departure from Chrysostom’s funeral, on which occasion
Rosinante had a narrow escape with his life.”
“_Lléveme el Diablo!_” exclaimed the bachelor in a rage. “Truly I wish
you and your _Don Quixote_ were a hundred leagues off. Since the moment
when I first set eyes on you, as many disasters have beset me as though
I were under the ban of excommunication.” So saying, he made an effort,
though a vain one, to raise up his horse, which was sorely hurt, and
now quite blind; at every tug of the reins he slowly thrust forward one
or the other of his feet, with languid movements indicative of expiring
life.
Seeing that the disaster was past all remedy, and that the sun, already
receding over the mountain-tops, was about to set in his ocean-bed,
I took a courteous leave of my luckless companion. But he, wholly
engrossed by his great, albeit useless, efforts to raise up his horse,
neither heard my farewell, nor saw my departure. There I left him,
venting imprecations and uttering complaints against his evil star.
I can even fancy that I hear him now. What afterwards became of him
I know not, nor did I inquire. Mounting my trusty mule, I forthwith
pursued my way to Toledo, and evening had set in when I entered the
city gates.
I rode straightway to the house of one of my friends, where I for a
time took up my abode. Turning over in my mind what had occurred, I
resolved to write this my adventure, hoping thereby to undeceive the
many persons who fancy they see in the ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote,
that which the ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote is not. Therefore I give
to this little book[65] the name of _Buscapié_, hoping that they who
seek to discover the foot with which the Knight of La Mancha limps,
may find (God be praised) that he is not lame with either; but that
he stands stoutly and firmly on both, and ready to enter into single
combat with the stupid and grumbling critics, who, like wasps, buzz
about to the injury of society.
And now, Friend Reader, if I have given you some entertainment, or if
any of the observations I have made be worthy your remembrance, I shall
be much gratified, and may God have you in his holy keeping.
FOOTNOTES:
[48] Babieca was the name of the Cid’s favourite horse.
[49] The old Spanish poets occasionally lengthened their sonnets by
affixing to them a few additional lines. The lines so added were called
the _estrambote_.
[50] In the time of Cervantes the Spanish doctors used always to ride
on mules when they went to visit their patients.
[51] The delusion of the student, in respect to the merits of his
horse, would seem intended to have some reference to the hallucinations
and mistakes of the Knight of La Mancha. It may be mentioned, that
minute descriptions of animals, such as that here given above, are of
frequent occurrence in the works of Spanish writers, especially the
poets. Lope de Vega, in one of his comedies, describes in detail a
fish caught in the net of a fisherman on the bank of the Guadalquivir.
Another beautiful specimen of this kind of animal painting is given by
Antonio Mira Amescua, in his _Acteon i Diana_: the subject is a pack of
hounds, weary with the chase. Villaviciosa, in his _Mosquea_, pourtrays
with eloquent poetic colouring the death of a fly; and there is a
celebrated description of a horse by Pablo de Céspedes.
[52] Cervantes here alludes to a little work entitled:--_Conserva
Espiritual_, by Joaquín Romero de Cepeda.
[53] Spiritual verses for the conversion of the Sinner, and for shewing
the worthlessness of the world.
[54] “Praised be God.”
[55] The ardite is a small Spanish coin, of about the value of a
farthing.
[56] Mingo Rebulgo is an old Spanish eclogue written to satirise the
court of King John II. Its supposed author is Rodrigo de Cota, who
flourished in the commencement of the fifteenth century. It is written
in couplets, and is entitled “_Las coplas de Mingo Rebulgo_.” The
romance of the Moor Calaynos is one of the oldest compositions of its
class, and is supposed to have been written in the fourteenth century.
It is also in _coplas_, or couplets. In the course of time, and when
the forms of Spanish poetry began to improve, the old fashioned
commonplace language of the romance of Calaynos began to appear vulgar
and trivial, it gave birth to the proverb, “_este no vale las coplas
de Calaynos_.” (This is not worth the couplets of Calaynos.) A saying
which is employed to mark great depreciation of any object. In alluding
to the little affinity between Mingo Rebulgo and Calaynos, Cervantes
means to draw a very broad contrast between two things not merely
dissimilar, but differing very much in worth.
[57] “The talk of the prattler is not all truth.”
[58] “The mill gains in going, that which it loses in standing still.”
[59] A sort of hunting-jacket made of leather, formerly worn in Spain.
[60] This excursive flight into the region of romance would appear to
have been interpolated by Cervantes after the Buscapié was written,--it
has no direct bearing on the question under discussion between the two
interlocutors.
[61] _Monstruo de Fortuna_ is a designation frequently applied by old
Spanish writers to the celebrated Antonio Pérez. The term _Monster_ in
the sense of _prodigy_ is applied to Lope de Vega by Cervantes, who
styles his celebrated contemporary _Monstruo de Naturaleza_ (Monster of
Nature).
[62] It was formerly the custom in Spain to use small pebble stones for
counters in playing at cards.
[63] This is a stroke of satire aimed at the Spanish lawyers of that
period. In the time of Cervantes, the _Abogados_ (advocates) were
remarkable only for their ignorance and pedantry.
[64] At the end of the sixteenth and beginning of the seventeenth
century, there lived in Burgos a tavern-keeper named Colmenares,
celebrated alike for his wealth, his social humour, and his witty
sayings. Many of his jests are collected and published in a volume
entitled “_Diálogos de apacible entretenimiento, por Gaspar Lucas,
Hidalgo_.” The inn in Madrid known in the time of Cervantes by the
appellation of the _Mesón de Colmenares_, was probably kept by the
witty _tavernero_ of Burgos, or some of his relations.
[65] Cervantes here uses the term _librillo_, the Spanish diminutive
for _libro_ (book). Were it allowable to make an English word for the
purpose of translating this Spanish term, _booklet_ might be suggested
as an appropriate synonym.
NOTES.
(A).
“Which brought to my recollection the stanzas in praise of hunch-backs,
written by the ingenious Licentiate Tamuriz.” (Page 102).
Tamariz, who lived in the latter part of the sixteenth century,
is noticed in terms of encomium by Don Argote de Molina, in his
_Discourse on Castilian Poetry_, which he published with an edition
of the old poem of the _Conde Lucanor_. Don Adolfo de Castro mentions
having seen several works of Tamariz in manuscript, and among them
were several novels; but of the stanzas alluded to in the text, he
states he has no knowledge.
(B).
“Even if I were as well skilled in the knowledge of medicine as Juan de
Villalobos of the bygone time.” (Page 103).
The name of this celebrated physician was Francisco, and not Juan, as
Cervantes styles him, apparently by mistake. Villalobos was a native
of Toledo, and one of the most distinguished men of his age. He was a
learned and skilful physician, a profound philosopher, and an elegant
poet. He was physician to King Ferdinand the Catholic, and afterwards
to the Emperor Charles V., in whose palace he resided until the death
of the Empress Isabel, in the year 1539. The cause of the empress’s
death is, by some authorities, alleged to have been a malignant
fever, whilst others state that she died in childbirth. But, be
that as it may, the event was a source of deep grief to Villalobos,
who reproached himself for not having succeeded in saving her life.
Having become very dejected in spirits, he solicited and obtained the
emperor’s permission to remove from court.
In his retirement Villalobos employed himself in writing several
works on medical and philosophic subjects. He conceived that
the services he had rendered to the Imperial family, were but
inadequately requited, and on this subject he gave vent to his
dissatisfaction both in verse and prose. In one of his writings he
makes the following reflections in allusion to the neglect with
which he felt himself treated: “Having served the court till the
age of seventy, I may say that my period of service has extended to
my death; for my remaining span of existence can scarcely be called
life, being merely the endurance of the pains and miseries of old
age. I have studied and exerted my faculties, not to enable poor
labourers to wear old men’s shoes, but to secure the blessings of
health to the greatest and best princes in the world. And to this
object I directed all my thoughts and efforts, often passing anxious
nights without sleep, and many times only resting my poor bones on
the floor. Their Majesties though knowing these facts which they
witnessed with their own eyes, neither afforded me the opportunity
of making my fortune nor of securing a subsistence for my son, which
might easily have been done. This neglect must be attributed to one
or two causes, or to both those causes conjointly. Either I have not
merited the reward to which I imagine myself entitled, or those by
whose advice and information their Majesties were guided, forgot me,
remembering others more near to them but whom perchance I preceded
both in priority of service as well as of age.”
Villalobos was the author of some notes and commentaries on _Pliny’s
Natural History_, which were published, but many other works which he
wrote in Latin were never submitted to the press. In noticing these
works, he himself says:--“Spanish printers will not print Latin books
unless the author himself defrays the expense from his own pocket.
And as I am not a bookseller, I hold it to be a hardship to study
and labour in the production of the work, and then to spend my money
for the advantage of those who after all will shew me but little
gratitude.”
In addition to his learning and scientific attainments, Villalobos
was distinguished for his humorous and satirical disposition, a
quality which is conspicuous in his spirited translation of the
_Amphytrion_ of Plautus. Moratin observes, that no other translator
has so happily transferred to the Spanish language the jests and
humorous sallies of the great comic dramatist of antiquity.
(C).
“Or a Nicolao Monardes of the present time.” (Page 103).
Monardes was a native of Seville, and an eminent physician in the
time of Cervantes. He was the author of several works on medicine and
natural history which enjoy well deserved celebrity. The following
are the titles of a few of his most celebrated writings:--
“_Primera Segunda i tercera partes de la Historia Medicinal de las
cosas que se traen de nuestras Indias Occidentales que serven en
Medicina._” (First, second, and third parts of the medical history of
those objects, the growth of our Western Indies, which are made use
of in medicine.)
“_Tratado de la piedra Bezoar, i de la yerba escuerzonera._”
(Treatise on bezoar stone, and on the poison of the toad.)
“_Diálogo de las grandezas del hierro, i de sus virtudes
medicinales._” (Treatise on the importance of iron and its medicinal
properties.)
“_Tratado de la nieve, i del beber frío._” (Treatise on snow and on
cold drinks.)
The _Historia Medicinal_, rendered Monardes celebrated throughout
Europe. It was translated into Italian by Anibal Briganti di Chieti,
an eminent physician of the time, and the translation was published
in Venice, in the year 1576. Carlo Clusio transferred it to the Latin
tongue, and published it at Antwerp, in 1574. An English translation
by Mr. Frampton, appeared in 1577, and a French one by Antonio
Collin, in 1619.
In the preface Monardes makes the following observations: “From
the new regions, new kingdoms, and new provinces, which Spaniards
have discovered, they have brought home with them new medicines and
new remedies for the cure of many diseases, which if neglected,
would prove incurable. These things, though some few persons are
acquainted with them, are not known to every one; for which reason I
propose to treat in this work of those substances, the products of
our Western Indies,[66] which are employed in medicine as remedies
against the diseases and infirmities to which the human frame is
liable. By this means I may render no small service and benefit to
my contemporaries, as well as to future generations, and my labours
will serve as a groundwork for those who may follow me, and who may
add their increased knowledge and experience to mine. This city of
Seville, being the port for vessels coming from the Western Indies,
the products of those regions are brought hither before they reach
other parts of Spain, so that we obtain here the earliest knowledge
and experience of them. In addition to my own experience in the use
of those articles in the forty years during which I have practised
medicine in this city, I have carefully collected information from
those who have brought them to Spain, and I have with great assiduity
and attention observed their effects on many and various individuals.”
Though the works whose titles are quoted, are the most celebrated
writings of Monardes, yet he is the author of many others on the
subject of Medicine. In the _Biblioteca Hispana_, the learned Nicolás
Antonio, gives a list of his writings.
In the Museum of Gonzalo Argote de Molina, at Seville, there is a
portrait of Monardes; and under a drawing of an Armadillo, in the
same collection, Monardes himself wrote some lines of which the
following is a translation:--“This drawing is from an animal in the
Museum of Gonzalo de Molina of this city; which museum contains a
great number of books on various subjects, together with many kinds
of animals, birds, &c., from Eastern and Western India and other
parts of the world: also a great quantity of coins, antique stones,
and different kinds of arms which have been collected together by
dint of much curious research and liberal expense.”
The Museum of Argote de Molina, at Seville, was one of the first
institutions of its kind in Europe, and at that time probably the
only one existing in Spain.
(D).
“Now, had it so happened that instead of going from Madrid to Toledo,
we had been journeying from Toledo to Madrid, I could have shewn you
two excellent books, which have been sent to me as a present from
Señor Arcediano. These books are so full of knowledge, and they treat
of so many things that are or may be in this world, &c. (Page 109).”
Don Adolpho de Castro supposes that allusion is here made to two
curious old books, respecting which he furnishes the following
bibliographical particulars:--
One of the first books printed in Spain was entitled _De
Proprietatibus Rerum_, originally written in Latin, by Father Vicente
de Burgos, and afterwards translated into Castilian by the author,
under the title of _Libro de las Propiedades de las Cosas_. It is
described as a “Natural History, which treats of the properties
of all things--a Catholic and very useful work, containing much
theological doctrine in reference to God; and much moral and natural
philosophy in reference to his creatures--accompanied by great
secrets relating to astrology, medicine, surgery, geometry, music and
cosmography, together with other sciences, the whole in twenty books,
as here subjoined:--
“I. Of God and his essence. II. Of the angels, good and bad. III. Of
the soul. IV. Of matter and element. V. Of man and the parts of the
human body. VI. Of ages. VII. Of diseases. VIII. Of heaven, earth,
and the planets. IX. Of time. X. Of substance and form. XI. Of the
air and its impressions. XII. Of birds. XIII. Of water. XIV. Of
the earth and mountains. XV. Of the divisions of the world. XVI.
Of stones and metals. XVII. Of trees, plants, and herbs. XVIII.
Of minerals. XIX. Of colours, smells and tastes. XX. Of numbers,
measures, weights, instruments and sounds.”
At the end of the work is the following note:--
“Printed in the noble city of Toulouse, by Henry Meyer of Germany,
for the honour of God, and of our Lord, and for the benefit of many
ignorant persons. Finished in the year of our Lord, one thousand four
hundred and forty-nine, and the nineteenth day of September.”
This curious Encyclopædia was reprinted some years afterwards. At the
end of this second edition are the following words:--
“Thus ends the Catholic and very useful book of the properties of
all things, translated from the Latin into the Romance (Castilian)
language, by the Reverend Father Vicente de Burgos, and now newly
edited and reprinted in the city of Toledo, by Gaspar de Ávila,
printer of books, at the cost and expense of the most noble Juan
Tomás Fabio Milanés, of Segovia. Finished on the tenth day of July,
in the year one thousand, five hundred and twenty.”
Hence there is no doubt that the _Libro de las Propiedades de las
Cosas_ was originally written in the Latin tongue, by Father Vicente
de Burgos, and after being translated into Castilian by the author,
it was a second time submitted to the press, with the view of
rendering it more accessible to the mass of readers.
The dates of the Latin edition, and of the first Castilian edition,
were unknown to Nicolás Antonio, who was also ignorant of the name of
the author of this work, to which, in the _Biblioteca Hispana_, he
affixes the word _Anonimus_.
Indeed, some of the most learned Spanish Bibliographers appear to
have known very little about it. It is mentioned by the celebrated
Ambrosio Morales, in his narrative of the journey he undertook in
the year 1572, by command of King Don Philip II.,[67] when speaking
of the MS. works he examined in the monastery of the Order of San
Geronimo de la Mejorada, near Olmeda, says:--“_De proprietatibus
rerum_ in Latin, and the same in Castilian; very ancient and rare
books.”
Father Vicente de Burgos concludes his work with the following
observations:--
“I here protest, as I affirmed at the beginning of this work, that
the facts mentioned and contained in it, are not inferred by me,
but that I have cited the sayings and opinions of learned saints
and philosophers, who are allowed to have been profoundly versed in
the subjects of which they treat. I have done this, to the end that
persons who, by reason of their indigence, cannot obtain sight of
many books, may be made acquainted with the properties of things
mentioned in Holy Writ, by having them all brought together in this
one book.”
Don Tomás Fabio Milanés, at whose cost the _Libro de las propiedades
de las cosas_ was printed in 1529, in his dedication to Don Diego de
Ribera, Bishop of Segovia, says:--
“No little honour is due to the author by whom this book was
compiled, for though it does not contain much new information
proceeding from himself; yet he has, on every subject, given the best
intelligence supplied by ancient authors, and he has served up the
whole so free from errors and prejudiced opinions, that it is at once
savory to the taste, and wholesome to the understanding.”
The other book supposed to be alluded to by the bachelor in
that passage of the text to which the present note refers, is
entitled _Suma de todas las cronicas del mundo_. According to some
authorities, its author was Frai Diego de Bérgano, and according
to others, Filipo Jacobo Bérgano. A translation from Latin into
Castilian, by Narcis Viñoles, was printed in Valencia in the year
1510.
To these two old works, the one a sort of Enciclopœdia, and the other
a History of the World from the time of the Creation, there is reason
to believe that Cervantes alludes in that part of the _Buscapié_ in
which the student mentions the two excellent books sent to him “as a
present from Señor Arcediana.”
(E).
“Pedro de Ezinas.” (Page 109).
Father Pedro de Ezinas, a monk of the order of the Predicadores, in
the Convent of St. Domingo at Huete, was preparing to submit several
of his poems to the press when he suddenly died. Some monks of his
order, determined on carrying out the intention of the writer, and
the poems were accordingly printed under the following title, Versos
espirituales que tratan de la convercion del pecador, menosprecio del
mundo, y vida de Nuestro Señor, con unas sucintas declaraciones sobre
algunos pasos del libro, compuestos por el Reverende Padre, Fray
Pedro de Ezinas de la orden de Santo Domingo. En Cuenca en casa de
Miguel Serrano de Vargas, año de, 1597.
(F).
“Greatly as you admire the verses of Ezinas, I must confess that they
are not so pleasing to me, nor do they sound so harmoniously to my ear
as the poetry of Aldana, or that of an Aragonian writer named Alonzo de
la Sierra.” (Page 112).
Francisco de Aldana, the writer here alluded to was honoured by his
contemporaries with the surname of the Divine. He had, however, but
little claim to that distinction, for his versification is frequently
inharmonious and his language harsh. A collection of his poems was
published at Milan, in the year 1589, under the following title, _La
primera parte de las obras que hasta agora se han podido hallar del
Capitan Francisco de Aldana, Alcaide de San Sebastian, el qual murio
peleando en la jornada de Africa. Agora nuevamente puestas en luz por
su hermano Cosme de Aldana gentil hombre del Rey Don Felipe nuestro
Señor, &c._ The first part of the works (hitherto found) of Captain
Francisco de Aldana, Alcalde of San Sebastian, who died in battle in
Africa. Now published by his brother, Cosme de Aldana, Gentleman in
the service of King Don Philip, our Lord, &c.
(G).
“Al buen callar llaman Sago.” (Page 118).
The meaning of this proverb is that it is wise to know when to hold
one’s tongue. As _sabio_, not _sago_, is the Spanish adjective
meaning _wise_, it has been conjectured that _sago_ is a corruption
of some other word. This appears the more probable, as the proverb,
both in speaking and writing is frequently quoted thus, “Al buen
callar llaman _Sancho_,” which literally construed is, _he who knows
when to hold his tongue is called Sancho_, possibly in allusion to
King Don Sancho of Navarre, surnamed _The Wise_. But be this as it
may, the proverb occurs in the poem of the Conde Lucanor, and in
other old Spanish writings with the word _Sago_, as it is given by
Cervantes in the _Buscapié_.
A shrewd French writer has observed that proverbs are the wisdom of a
nation, and with equal truth it may be said that no people possess so
large a share of this sort of national wisdom as the Spaniards. There
is scarcely one of their countless stock of every day proverbs that
is not a wise maxim founded on experience and truth. Two classes
of proverbs with which the Spanish language abounds, viz.: those
embodying philosophic and medical maxims, have furnished materials
for two curious old treatises, the one entitled _La Filosofía
vulgar_, by Juan de Mal Lara, published at Salamanca in 1568, the
other, _La Medecina española contenida en proverbios vulgares de
nuestra lengua_[68] by Doctor Juan Sorapan de Rieros, Granada, 1616.
In the preface to this last mentioned work, the author states that
he has opened a new road, previously unknown to any author, ancient
or modern, Greek, Latin, or Spanish. For though it is true that
many have collected proverbs and made comments on them, yet no
one has written a word on the proverbs of the class to which this
work refers: no one has collected the Spanish proverbs relating to
medicine and formed upon them a system for preserving human health.
“I have,” he says, “been the first to enter upon this new path, in
which, short and crooked though it be, the reader will find all the
essential knowledge transmitted to us by the Arab and Greek masters
of rational medicine; the superfluous knowledge being left to those
who are disposed to travel by the broad and even path which learning
has opened.”
“Inasmuch as it has been my wish to exempt mankind from the
prescription of the physician, the spatula of the apothecary, and
the tape of the barber, I have deemed it expedient to write this
book in my mother tongue, to render it more useful to my nation,
in which though there are many latinists, yet there are many more
romancistas;[69] and there is no reason why the latter should not
enjoy the benefit of those old Spanish aphorisms on which I have
commented. These maxims coming as they do from our forefathers ought
to be venerated instead of being despised; and to show that this
book is derived therefrom, I have given it the title of _Medecina
Española_. If among my readers there should be any who despise their
genuine native language, they will find on the margin in Latin, the
substance of what is written in the text, together with references to
the works of learned authors who have written on the subject.”
(H).
“He presented himself after the victory to the illustrious emperor,
who was at that moment engaged in dictating to his _Maestre de Campo_,
Alonzo Vivas, the three notable words of Julius Cæsar, altering the
third as became a Christian prince, &c.” (Page 120).
In the commentary on the war in Flanders, by Luis de Ávila y
Zuñiga,[70] the following passage occurs:--
“This great victory (which terminated the battle fought on the river
Albis, on the 24th of August, 1547), his Majesty attributed to God,
as a thing wrought by God’s hand, and therefore he repeated those
three words of Cæsar, changing the third as became a Christian
prince, acknowledging the favour which God conferred on him, _Vine,
vi y Dios venció_.”
This and other allusions to Charles V., would seem to have given rise
to the idea that the _Buscapié_ contained the avowal of Cervantes
that his principal object in writing _Don Quixote_, had been to
satirize certain acts of the renowned emperor, no less extravagant
than those which are recorded of the knights-errant of old. This
idea, though wholly unfounded, received some degree of confirmation
from a letter of Don Antonio Ruidiaz, published by Vicente de los
Ríos, in his Life of Cervantes. In that letter Ruidiaz mentions
having had an opportunity of perusing a copy of the Buscapié,[71] and
that it appeared to him to be merely a satire on several celebrated
individuals, among whom were the Emperor Charles V., and the Duke de
Lerma. Cervantes, doubtless means to censure the taste cherished by
those personages for chivalrous entertainments, when, in allusion to
the famous festivities at Binche, he says in the _Buscapié_:--“The
knights actually performed these feats or rather these fooleries,
and they were approved by the Emperor and the Prince Don Philip, who
derived therefrom much entertainment. And will it be said that there
are not other madmen in the world besides the ingenious Knight of La
Mancha, when such madness finds favour in the eyes of emperors and
kings?”
But because Cervantes has here censured Charles V.’s taste for
chivalrous diversions, by what process of reasoning is it to be
inferred that he intended _Don Quixote_ as a satire on that monarch?
It may also be asked what acts in the life of Charles V. bear any
resemblance to the achievements of the Knight of La Mancha? Certainly
none! yet, nevertheless, some able critics have racked their
ingenuity in endeavouring to discover allusions where none exist.
On the other hand, it must be admitted that in _Don Quixote_ there
is no lack of ridicule and censure on many customs and abuses
which prevailed in the time of Cervantes. An amusing satire on
the Inquisition occurs in vol. iv., where Don Quixote and Sancho
are overtaken and made prisoners by the duke’s servants, who ever
and anon address them thus:--“Go on, ye Troglodytes! peace, ye
barbarians! pay, ye Anthropophagi! complain not, ye Scythians! open
not your eyes, ye muttering Polyphemuses! ye carnivorous lions!”
&c. Thereby imitating the language which the ministers of the holy
tribunal were wont to address to criminals, or presumed criminals.
Then follows the description of the _auto de fe_ which takes place
when Don Quixote and Sancho are conducted to the court-yard of the
castle, “around which about a hundred torches were placed in sockets,
and in the galleries of the court there were more than five hundred
lights, insomuch that in spite of the night, which was somewhat dark,
there seemed to be no want of the day.”
The arrangement of the place is minutely described, and the seats
allotted to the different personages present at the _auto_ are
specified thus: “On one side of the court a sort of stage or platform
was erected, and on it were two chairs. On these chairs were seated
two personages (Minos and Rhadamanthus, the presiding judges in
Pandemonium), whose crowns on their heads and sceptres in their
hands denoted them to be kings, either real or feigned. And now, two
great persons ascended the platform with a numerous attendance whom
Don Quixote presently knew to be the Duke and Duchess whose guest
he had been:”--The following passage is intended as a parody on the
cruel threats which the inquisitors held out to criminals. “At this
juncture an officer crossed the place, and coming to Sancho, threw
over him a robe of black buckram, all painted over with flames, and
taking off his cap, put on his head a pasteboard mitre three feet
high, like those used by penitents, and whispering in his ear bade
him not to open his lips because if he did they would put a gag in
his mouth or kill him.” A little further on is depicted the refinement
of cruelty with which the Inquisition excited the merriment as well as
the terror of the populace, by showing the criminals dressed up in
masquerade, and covered with fantastic emblems and devices. “Sancho
viewed himself from top to toe, and saw himself all covered with
flames, but finding that they did not burn him he cared not two
_ardites_. He took off his mitre and saw it all painted over with
devils; he then put it on again saying within himself, well these
flames do not burn me, nor do these demons carry me away. Don Quixote
also surveyed him, and though dismay suspended his senses, he could
not but smile to behold Sancho’s figure.” And in the conclusion of
the chapter, the scene descriptive of the resurrection of Altisidora,
Cervantes evidently ridicules the fatuity of the inquisitorial
judges, who after having tormented a prisoner into the confession
of a crime of which he was innocent, would gravely congratulate
themselves on having effected a conversion.
Those who wish to verify the truthfulness of the satire dealt out
by Cervantes on the _Autos de fe_, may be referred to a work by
a learned Spanish writer, better known to foreigners than to the
author’s own countrymen. It is entitled _La Inquisicion sin Mascara_,
by the late Don Antonio Puigblanch, published at Cádiz, in the year
1811; the author screening himself under the fictitious name of
Natanael Jomtob.[72]
Clemencin doubts whether, in painting the burlesque scene in the
duke’s court-yard, Cervantes had any intention of ridiculing the
Inquisition; but his doubt is grounded merely on the fact that
Cervantes, in several of his other works, eulogizes this barbarous
tribunal. However, in the chapter of _Don Quixote_, above commented
on, Cervantes pays himself the compliment of saying that all the
arrangements for the pretended resurrection of Altisidora were made
“so to the life, that there was but little difference between them
and reality.” His avowed aim was to exhibit the inquisitors in no
less ridiculous a light than Don Quixote and Sancho, for he makes the
grave historian, Cid Hamet Benengeli, observe, that “to his thinking
the mockers were as mad as the mocked.”--(_Afirmando que tiene para
si ser tan locos los burladores como los burlados._)
(I).
“Hereupon the bachelor ran into a string of questions worthy of that
most indefatigable questioner, the lately defunct Almirante.” (Page
122).
Our author no doubt here alludes to the questions addressed by Don
Fadrique Enríquez, who filled the high post of Admiral of Castile, to
Luis de Escobar, a Franciscan Monk. Escobar published, at Saragossa,
in the year 1543, the first volume of a work, entitled _Preguntas
del Almirante_, (Queries of the Admiral.) The favour with which this
volume was received by some of the most learned men of the age,
encouraged the author to submit to the press a second part, which
terminates with a curious paragraph, of which the following is a
translation:--
“To the honour and glory of Our Lord and Saviour, and of his blessed
Mother Our Lady, here ends the second part of the four hundred
replies to the Admiral of Castile, Don Fadrique Enriques, and other
persons answered but not named by the author. To these are added two
hundred answers, which, with the four hundred of the first part, and
the four hundred of this second part, complete one thousand. This
work was printed in the most noble city of Valladolid (anciently
called Pincia.) Finished on the second of January of this present
year, MDLII.”
This work is a collection of replies, some in verse, some in prose,
written in answer to questions addressed to the Padre Escobar by
various individuals. One of the principal interrogators is Dr.
Céspedes, who is distinguished by the titles of _medico famoso,
clérigo i catedrátigo in Valladolid_. The names of several monks
and Spanish grandees are attached to many of the queries, of which,
however, the majority emanates from the Almirante de Castilla, and
for that reason the book is called, _Preguntas del Almirante_. These
questions relate chiefly to points of religion and history, and
some refer to matters connected with medicine and the phenomena of
nature. The task of replying to many of them must have put Escobar’s
ingenuity and learning to a severe test.
(J).
“Can any one persuade himself into the belief that Palmerius of
England, Florindos, and Floriandos are to be seen going about armed
_cap-à-pie_, like the figures in old tapestry on tavern walls?” (Page
123).
The “History of Palmerin of England” is one of the curious old books
of chivalry once popular in Spain. It is entitled, _Libro del muy
esforzado caballero Palmerin de Inglaterra, hijo del Rey Don Duardos,
y de sus grandes provezas; y de Floriano del Desierto su hermano;
con algunos del Príncipe Florendos hijo de Primaleon. Toledo, año de
MDXLVII_.[73]
In the year following, a second part, entitled, _Libro segundo de
Palmerin de Inglaterra; en el cual se prosiguen y han fin los muy
dulces amores que tuvo con la Infanta Polinarda, dando cima à muchas
aventuras y ganando immortal con sus muchos fechos, y de Floriano del
Desierto, con algunos del Príncipe Florendos. Toledo, MDXLVIII_.[74]
Nicolás Antonio makes no mention of this edition of _Palmerin
of England_. After a time the two publications above-mentioned
became scarce, and a Portuguese translation of the work, also
published in the sixteenth century, got into general circulation.
This circumstance caused the authorship of _Palmerin_ to be by
some assigned to Don John II., King of Portugal, and by others to
the Infante Don Luis, who claimed the right of succession to the
Portuguese crown in opposition to King Philip II.
Neither Pellicer nor Clemencin, in their Commentaries on _Don
Quixote_, mention or allude to the above-cited editions of _Palmerin
de Inglaterra_, which were the first that were printed. Neither do
one or the other mention the name of Ferrer, the presumed author of
that celebrated book of knight-errantry. Cervantes, when speaking
of _Palmerin de Inglaterra_, says:--“This palm of England should
be kept and preserved as a thing unique. A case should be made
expressly to contain it, like that which Alexander found among the
spoil of Darius, and which the latter monarch had appropriated to the
preservation of the works of the poet Homer.”
(K).
“Moreover, you must know that I am a philosopher, and that I have
studied in the new school of Doña Oliva.” (Page 123).
The Doña Oliva, here alluded to, was a woman of extraordinary talent
and learning. Her name was Doña Oliva de Nantes Sabuca Barrera, and
she was a native of the town of Alcaraz. This extraordinary woman
wrote a curious work, entitled, _Nueva filosofía de la naturaleza del
hombre, no conocida ni alcanzada de los grandes filósofos antiguos,
la cual mejora la vida y salud humana_.[75]
“This book,” says Doña Oliva, in her dedicatory epistle to King
Philip II. was “wanting in the world, though of many others there
are more than enough. The facts contained in this book, are not
touched upon by Galen, Plato or Hippocrates in their treatises
on human nature;--nor by Aristotle when he treats of the soul and
of life and death. Neither are they mentioned by Pliny, Ælian, or
other naturalists of antiquity. It is as clear and as obvious as the
light of the sun that the old system of medicine is erroneous in its
fundamental principles, inasmuch as the philosophers and physicians
of ancient times did not comprehend the nature of the human frame,
on the right understanding of which medicine is founded and has its
origin. My petition is that my system be tried only for the space
of one year: those of Hippocrates and Galen have been tried for two
thousand years, and they have proved ineffectual and uncertain in
their results. This is evident every day in cases of catarrh, fever,
small pox, plague and divers other diseases, against which the old
system furnishes no remedies; for out of a thousand individuals who
come into the world, not more than three go out of it by natural
death. The rest die prematurely, being carried off by diseases, for
which medicine, as practised on the old system, supplies no remedies.”
Notwithstanding the bombastic and conceited tone in which the _Nueva
Filosofía_ is written, the work contains much useful information,
and medical science is indebted to the authoress for some anatomical
discoveries, especially in relation to the nervous fluid.
(L).
“Without looking back to remoter times, I may mention the recently
deceased Countess de Tendillo, the mother of the three Mendozas.” (Page
124).
Cervantes here refers to the three celebrated brothers Mendoza--Don
Diego, Don Antonio, and Don Bernardino.
The name of Diego de Mendoza is one of the most illustrious in
Spanish literature. Bouterwek pronounces him to be the third classic
poet and the first prose writer of Spain. Diego Hurtado de Mendoza
was a native of Granada, and was born about the beginning of the
sixteenth century. He was descended from one of the most ancient
families in Spain. His parents destined him for the clerical
profession, and with that object he studied at the University of
Salamanca. Besides the classical languages of antiquity, he made
himself master of Hebrew and Arabic, and he became well versed in
scholastic philosophy, theology and ecclesiastical law. Whilst a
student at Salamanca, he wrote his celebrated romance of Lazarillo
de Tormes. The Emperor Charles V., perceiving that his talents might
be advantageously employed in public business, drew him from his
university studies and appointed him imperial envoy to Venice. Whilst
filling this high post, Mendoza cultivated acquaintance with the
learned Italians of the age, and acquired an extensive knowledge of
Italian literature. But greatly as he admired the Italian poets, he
preferred the ancients, and his especial favourite was Horace.
Few poets have divided themselves between literature and politics
with so much ability and success as Diego de Mendoza. Charles V.
selected him as the fittest person he could make choice of to go to
the Council of Trent. This commission Mendoza executed in a manner
perfectly satisfactory to the Emperor. In the year 1547, Mendoza
appeared at the Papal Court as Imperial Ambassador, and he was at
the same time appointed Captain-General and Governor of Sienna
and other strong places in Tuscany. The repeated insurrections in
that part of Italy called for severe measures of repression. These
measures Mendoza adopted, and consequently the Italians, who were not
reconciled to the introduction of Spanish garrisons, regarded him as
a tyrant, and repeated attempts were made to assassinate him. But his
intrepidity continued unshaken, and he steadily governed Italy for
the space of six years, occupying himself, at intervals, with his
literary labours. At length, the complaints raised against Mendoza
induced the Emperor to recall him to Spain, whither he returned in
1554. He died at Valladolid, in the year 1575.
Some very curious particulars, relating to Diego de Mendoza, have
been collected by Don Adolfo de Castro from unpublished documents
in his possession. These documents throw considerable light on the
conduct and policy pursued by that extraordinary man in the discharge
of his important functions in Italy.
It is well known how zealously Mendoza exerted himself in the
early sittings of the Council of Trent. The Emperor Charles V.
had solicited the Pope to assemble that Council with the view of
effecting certain reforms in the Church, and thereby preventing
the dissatisfaction of many of the Princes of Germany, who, with
their subjects, were beginning to dissent from the Catholics on
some points of faith. Whilst, on the one hand, Charles waged a war
of fire and sword against the rebels of the empire, he exerted, on
the other hand, his most strenuous efforts to prevail on the Pope
to allow the Church to meet in Council. But so little inclination
was manifested by the Court of Rome to entertain the question of
reform, that the Council was not assembled till the year 1545, and
even then not without great reluctance on the part of the Papal
Government. After a time the sittings of the Council were transferred
from Trent to Bologna; the alleged reasons for this removal being
that the plague was reported to have broken out in Trent, and that
by reason of the war in Germany the Council could assemble with
greater security in Bologna. But Mendoza, who by this time filled the
post of Ambassador from Spain to the See of Rome, acted with great
sagacity and firmness. Before entering on his appointment he shewed
that he knew perfectly well how to deal with the churchmen of that
age. In a conversation between him and his friend, Juan de Vega,
(his predecessor in the ambassadorial post) de Vega said--“I warn
your Excellency that you must not expect to find truth where you are
going; for the principal personages in that Court abjure it.” “Then,”
replied Mendoza, “they will meet with their match, and for every
falsehood they tell me I will pay them back with two dozen.”
Many were the discussions and arguments maintained between Mendoza
and Paul III.; for that Prelate was not on friendly terms with
the Emperor, Charles V., and he sought by all possible means to
interrupt the meetings of the Council. Diego de Mendoza incessantly
remonstrated against this mode of proceeding, and importuned his
Holiness to desist from it.
One day, when he was more than usually emphatic in his arguments, and
unreserved in his language, the Pope felt offended at the freedom
and boldness of his manner. Fancying that sufficient respect was
not rendered to his presence, the Holy Father petulantly observed
to Mendoza,--“You forget where you are, you speak as if you were
at home in your own house!” To this rebuke the Spanish Ambassador
returned for answer, “that he was a Knight, and that his father had
been one before him, and as such he felt himself entitled to repeat
literally what his sovereign had commanded him to say without fear of
His Holiness, though always desirous of observing the reverence due
to the Vicar of Christ; but that, as the Emperor’s minister, he felt
himself at home and in safety wheresoever he chose to go.”
About this time the Pope had several interviews with the Emperor,
and though it was currently reported that these interviews had for
their object to bring about peace between the King of France (Francis
I.) and Charles V., yet it was well understood that the sole object
Paul had in view was that of gratifying his desire of purchasing the
State of Milan. The Emperor urged immediate payment of the money,
which however the Holy Father would not venture to disburse for fear
of being cheated. Charles, moreover, wished to retain possession of
the fortresses of Milan and Cremona, but the Pope insisted that the
purchase should include both fortresses and territories. However,
the negotiations having proceeded very far, and the Pope’s money
coming very opportunely to aid the Emperor in his difficulties, it
was found desirable to bring the matter to a close, and the bargain
was on the point of being ratified. But Diego de Mendoza, who had
the Emperor’s real interests at heart, and who was adverse to this
bargain, addressed to Charles V. an eloquent letter, full of forcible
reasoning against the sale of Milan, and in consequence, Charles was
induced to break off the negotiations.
This letter, which is quoted by Sandoval, in his History of Charles
V., bears evidence of Mendoza’s thorough acquaintance with the Papal
Court, and his accurate perception of the character of Paul III. The
following extract will afford a good specimen of the style of this
curious epistle:--
“What prince, or man,” says Mendoza, “ever offered greater offence to
your Majesty? Certainly none:--for a little reflection on past events
will enable even the blind to see that all the injury that you have
sustained from the French was through his (the Pope’s) instigation
and scheming; and that all the mischief you may expect from the Turks
will have its origin in the same source. And finally, what good
service did he ever render you willingly, and not on compulsion,
or for his own interest? Your Majesty may rest assured that if the
King of France has three _fleurs de lis_ in his ’scutcheon, the Pope
has six in his--and, what is more, he has six thousand in his heart.
Besides, he will never see a safe opportunity of gratifying his
enmity, but that he will take advantage of it. Much more reasonably
may your Majesty trust to the King of France in these affairs; for
he was born a Prince, and he will act like a Prince, but the other
is a man of low origin, and though raised to the greatness which he
now holds, he will never cease to be what he is. Does your Majesty
require proof of this? Behold his insolent effrontery; for after
having offended you as he has done, he is not ashamed to appear in
your presence--and he even moreover makes demands, which he would
have no right to make, if he had ransomed your Majesty from the Turk.
The cowardly fear which possesses him on seeing you approach with an
army, does not diminish his evil and perverse feeling, or change his
mischievous designs. But he fears and suspects every one; and since
your Majesty has him thus far in your power, I once more implore you
not to let the opportunity slip. Pay little attention to him. Treat
him as a man whose safety and greatness depend on your will.”
Mendoza seized every opportunity that presented itself to endeavour
to open the eyes of the Emperor to the schemes of Paul III. In the
year 1547, Peter Lewis Farnesio, Duke of Placentia, was assassinated
by some noblemen who had joined a conspiracy which his tyranny
provoked. Farnesio was a natural son of Paul III., who conferred
on him the dignities of Duke of Parma and Placentia, Marquess of
Novarra, Captain-General, and Standard-Bearer to the Church. On the
occasion of Farnesio’s death, Mendoza wrote a clever little work,
entitled, _Diálogo entre Caronte y el ánima de Pedro Luis Farnesio,
hijo del Papa Paulo III_.[76] Fenelon and Fontenelle were not
therefore, as is generally supposed, the first who wrote dialogues of
the dead in one of the modern languages.
The two brothers of Diego de Mendoza, were both eminent statesmen and
writers. Don Antonio succeeded Hernán Cortés, and the Licentiate Luis
Ponce in the Government of Mexico; and he was the first Governor
who had the titles of Viceroy and Captain-General of New Spain. From
Mexico he proceeded to Peru, where he also exercised the vice-regal
authority. Antonio de Mendoza is the author of a work entitled, _De
las cosas maravillosas de Nueva España_. (On the Wonders of New
Spain.)
Don Bernardino de Mendoza was at once a soldier, a statesman, and a
poet. He also wrote a history of the Spanish campaigns in Flanders.
(_Historia de las guerras de Flandes._)
(M).
“There is a book of letters by Madama Passier, full of erudition and
sound morality, which I would recommend to the attention of the author
of _Don Quixote_.” (Page 124).
The volume here alluded to is entitled: _Cartas Morales del Señor
Narveza traducidas de lengua francesa en la española por Madama
Francisca de Passier, dirigidas al excelentísimo Señor Don Pedro
Enríquez de Acevedo, Conde de Fuentes_.[77]
The name of Francisca de Passier, is not recorded as it deserves
to be in the annals of Spanish literature. The celebrated Nicolás
Antonio, makes no mention of her in the _Biblioteca hispana nova_.
Some few particulars of her life are given by Doctor Francisco Garci
López, who published an edition of the _Cartas Morales_. She was a
native of Savoy, in which country her father, a man distinguished
for his literary attainments, filled a government appointment. She
was a great linguist, and she spoke and wrote several languages
with perfect fluency and correctness. “She spoke Castilian,” says
her biographer, Dr. López, “so correctly and with such purity of
accent, that to hear her no one could have imagined she had been born
among the snowy mountains of Savoy, but rather would have supposed
her to have been a native of Spain, and all her life accustomed to
the courteous conversation of noble ladies and knights in royal
palaces.” She died before she had completed her nineteenth year. Her
husband, who was a Counsellor of State to the Prince of Savoy, was
inconsolable for her loss, and a singular manifestation of his grief
was shown in the destruction, instead of the preservation, of his
wife’s papers, most of which, after her death, he consigned to the
flames. At the urgent solicitation of Dr. Garci López, he was however
induced to spare the manuscript of the _Cartas Morales_. The funeral
obsequies of Madama Passier which are alluded to in the _Buscapié_,
lasted nine days. Several eloquent orations in Latin and French were
delivered at her interment, and many elegies to her memory were
composed in Latin, French, and Spanish.
(N).
“The Battle of the Paso Honroso is narrated in a book written by a
Friar, named Pineda, who abridged it from an old manuscript work.”
(Page 126.)
In Salamanca, in the year 1588, was published, a curious old book
of Knight-errantry, entitled _El Libro del Paso Honroso, defendido
por el excelente caballero Suero de Quiñones, copilado de un libro
antiguo de mano, por fray Juan de Pineda, religioso del orden de San
Francisco_.[78]
The petition addressed by Suero de Quiñones to King John of Castile
ran thus--“It is just and reasonable that prisoners and bondsmen
should wish to recover their liberty. Even so it is with me, your
Majesty’s vassal and subject, who have long been the captive of a
lady, in token of which captivity I wear every Thursday round my neck
a collar of iron. This fact is notorious in your Majesty’s court and
throughout all this kingdom, as well as in foreign parts, where my
heralds have proclaimed it. But now, most powerful Prince, I have
in the name of the Apostle St. James, devised a plan for effecting
my deliverance, in this present year, of which this is the first
day. My proposal is to break three hundred lances, with such knights
and gentlemen as may accept my challenge--breaking three with
every and each knight or gentleman who enters the lists;--the first
blood drawn to be counted as one lance broken. The combats to be
maintained during fifteen days prior to the festival of the Apostle
St. James, (the guide and defender of your Majesty’s subjects) and
during fifteen days after the said festival, unless my ransom be
accomplished before the expiration of that period. The lists to be
planted on the high road, along which most persons pass on their
way to the city wherein is the Saint’s sacred sepulchre,[79] and
that it be certified to all the foreign knights and gentlemen who
may there assemble that they will find at the place of encounter,
armour, horses, and above all lances with points of such good Milan
steel, that it will require no light stroke to shiver them. And I
pray that it be notified to every virtuous lady of rank, who may
be in the vicinity of the scene of combat, that she must summon a
knight to perform a passage of arms in her behalf, under pain of
forfeiting her right hand glove. All these propositions I pray may be
agreed to;--saving two conditions, which are--that neither your Royal
Majesty nor the most noble Señor Constable, Don Álvaro de Luna, take
part in these encounters.”
The petition having been assented to by the King, Suero de Quiñones,
accompanied by nine knights his followers, set out on his romantic
enterprise. He proclaimed himself the defender of the Honroso Paso
of the Bridge of Orbigo. Sixty-eight adventurers, and not seventy
as stated in the _Buscapié_, combated for the conquest of the
Honroso Paso, and Suero, on being declared the victor, presented to
the Umpires of the Field a petition, which was responded to in the
following manner:--
“Virtuous Knight and Señor, we have heard your proposition and
appeal, and it appears to us to be just. Considering that we ought no
longer to delay pronouncing our judgment, we hereby declare that your
arms have been triumphant and that your deliverance has been bravely
purchased. And moreover, we hereby notify to you, as well as to all
others here present, that of the three hundred lances specified in
your petition to the king there remain only a few unbroken, and that
there would not be even those few, but that on several days there
could not be any passage of arms by reason of no knights having
presented themselves to oppose the challenger. We accordingly decree
that you be released from the iron collar, which we forthwith order
the King-at-Arms, and the Herald to remove from your neck; and we
declare that you have duly accomplished your emprise, and that you
are henceforth delivered from bondage.”
In obedience to the command of the Umpires, the King-at-Arms and
the Heralds descended from the platform and before the eyes of all
present, took from the neck of Suero de Quiñones the iron ring which
he wore as the sign and token of his bondage.
The records of Spanish chivalry mention numerous adventures, no less
whimsical and extravagant than that of the doughty knight who was
the hero of the Honroso Paso.--Several instances of the same kind
are narrated by Hernán Pérez del Pulgar in his _Claros Varones de
Castilla_. (Illustrious men of Castile).
(O).
“Have you not heard of the adventure of the Canon Almela who was at the
conquest of Grenada, with two horsemen and seven followers on foot. He
wore girded at his side a sword which he affirmed had belonged to the
Cid Ruy Díaz.” (Page 126).
The individual referred to in the above passage is Diego Rodríguez
de Almela, who ultimately attained the ecclesiastical dignity of
Arcipreste (Archpriest). He was a native of the city of Murcia,
and the author of some learned historical works, one of which
is entitled: _El Valerio de las estorias escolásticas é de
España_.--(The Valerius of the Scholastic History and of Spain). The
first edition of this work is exceedingly rare, and at its close
appears the following note.
“To the glory and honour of our Blessed Savior and Redeemer,
the printing of this book, called _El Valerio de las estorias
escolásticas é de España_ was finished in the noble city of Murcia,
by maestre Lope de la Roca, a German and a printer of books, on
Thursday the sixth day of November, in the year one thousand four
hundred and eighty-seven.”
In the certificate of the King-at-Arms attached to the royal letters
patent conferring the rank of nobility on Don Francisco Xavier de
Almela i Peñafiel, there is a paragraph relating to the lineage of
the Almela family. It is there set forth that “Diego Rodríguez de
Almela, Canon of the Holy Cathedral Church of Carthegena, Chaplain
to the Catholic Queen, and Her Majesty’s Chronicler, who served
personally with two esquires and six men on foot at the conquest of
Grenada, presented to the Catholic King[80] the sword of the Cid Ruy
Díaz.”
(P).
“The Great Emperor finding himself challenged with all the solemnity of
the laws of the duelo, took counsel of his cousin, Don Diego, Duke del
Infantado, as to the course he ought to pursue.” (Page 128).
The letter addressed on this occasion by the Emperor to the Duke del
Infantado, and the Duke’s reply to it, are mentioned but not given by
Sandoval, in his History of Charles V. These two letters are printed
in an exceedingly scarce work, entitled, _Diálogos de contención
entre la milicia y la ciencia_.[81] by Francisco Núñez de Velasco.
The following extract from the Duke’s letter, precisely verifies that
passage of the _Buscapié_ to which this note has reference.
“Truly, Señor, it would be a fine example, if the great debt which
all the world knows is due to you from the King of France, were to be
paid by a challenge to your imperial person. Such a proceeding, if
sanctioned by your Majesty, would go far to establish throughout your
dominions a law to the effect that all debts may be paid by recourse
to arms; which would tend more to the shedding of blood than to the
vindication of justice and mercy. All this I write to your Majesty
that you may deliberate on my opinion, and I beg you will be assured
that if, on more mature reflection I see reason to alter my opinion,
I will forthwith advise your Majesty thereof, with all the fidelity
I owe you. For this is a matter which concerns my honour, together
with that of all the grandees of these realms.”
(Q).
“Such absurd encounters have no existence save in silly books of
chivalry and in plays which in our time have been taken from them; but
which in the time of Lope de Rueda, Gil Vicente and Alonzo de Cisneros,
would not have been tolerated on the stage.” (Page 128).
Cervantes highly appreciated the genius of Lope de Rueda, who was
a celebrated actor as well as a dramatic writer. He styles him _el
gran Lope de Rueda, insigne varón, &c._ Some curious particulars
respecting Lope de Rueda and the state of the Spanish stage in his
time are related by Cervantes in the _Prólogo_ or Preface to his
_Ocho comedias y ocho entremeses nunca representadas_,[82] from
which the following extract is translated--
“A short time ago, when I was in company with some friends, our
conversation turned on play-writing, acting, and other matters
connected with dramatic representation. These subjects were so ably
discussed and criticised that in my opinion it would have been
difficult to meet with more clever remarks. One of the questions
under consideration was to ascertain who first stripped Spanish
comedy of its swaddling clothes, dressed it up, and arrayed it with
ornament. I, who was the oldest person in the company, observed that
I had a perfect recollection of having seen Lope de Rueda act, and
that that extraordinary man was remarkable not only for his talent
as a writer, but also for his power as an actor. He was a native
of Seville, and was by trade a gold-beater, that is to say, his
employment was making gold leaf for gilding. He was an admirable
writer of pastoral poetry, and in that style of composition no one
either before his time, or unto the present day, has surpassed him.
When I knew him, I was a mere boy, and therefore I could form no
well grounded judgment respecting the merit of his writing; yet in
my present mature age, when I reflect on some of his verses which my
memory retains, I think the opinion I have expressed is correct. Were
it not for the fear of going beyond the limits of this preface, I
would cite some of Lope de Rueda’s verses in support of my opinion.
“In the time of that celebrated man, all the apparatus of a
theatrical manager could be packed up in a sack. It consisted of
four shepherd’s dresses of white skin trimmed with gilt leather,
four beards and wigs, and four shepherd’s staffs. The comedies
were composed of dialogues (after the manner of eclogues), between
two or three shepherds and a shepherdess. The entertainment was
augmented, or rather spun out, by two or three interludes in which
sometimes a negro, sometimes a _rufián_,[83] a fool, or a Biscayan
were introduced. All these four characters, and many others, Lope de
Rueda, acted in most excellent style, and with the utmost truth to
nature. At that period there was no such thing as stage machinery; no
combats between Moors and Christians either on foot or on horseback,
no figures rising up from trap doors, and seeming as though they rose
from the bowels of the earth; no descending clouds in which spirits
and angels came down from Heaven. The stage was constructed of four
benches ranged square-wise, and over them were laid a few planks, by
which means the stage was raised about four spans above the ground.
There were no scenes, but an old curtain was hung across the back
part of the stage, and was drawn by two cords from one side to the
other. A space behind the curtain served as a dressing-room for the
actors. The musicians also stood there. They sang old romances, but
without guitar accompaniment. Lope de Rueda died at Cordova, and out
of respect for his excellent character and great talent he was buried
in the cathedral of that city, between the two choirs.”
Further particulars of the life of Lope de Rueda may be found in
Moratin’s _Orígenes del Teatro Español_, and in _El Teatro Español
Anterior a Lope de Vega_, by Nicolás Böhl de Faber.
Of the life of Gil Vicente, the Hispano-Portuguese dramatist and
comedian, who has not inaptly been styled the Portuguese Plautus,
but little is known. No biographical accounts of him furnish any
authentic record either of the date or the place of his birth. Some
describe him to have been a native of Guimaräes, others assign
Barcellos, and others Lisbon, as his birth-place. Don Adolfo
de Castro, notices a fact which would appear to have escaped
the observation of Gil Vicente’s biographers, both Spanish and
Portuguese, viz.: that he himself mentions his birth-place in one of
his Portuguese autos.[84] In that piece, one of the characters steps
forward and delivers a sort of address commencing thus:--
Gil Vicente o autor
Me fez seu embaixador.[85]
Then follows a description of the condition and calling of the
author’s grandfather and parents, and Alemtejo is mentioned as the
place of his nativity.
Bouterwek, who furnishes some particulars relating to the life of
this celebrated man, says:--“There is reason to suppose that Gil
Vicente was born within twenty years of the close of the fifteenth
century. He first studied the law, but speedily relinquished it,
and devoted himself wholly to the dramatic art. It is not recorded
whether he was a regularly pensioned writer for the Court, but he was
most indefatigable in furnishing the royal family and the public with
entertainments suited to the taste of the age. He constantly resided
at Court, where his poetic talents were held in permanent requisition
for the celebration of spiritual as well as of temporal festivals,
and no dramatic writer in Europe was more admired and esteemed than
Gil Vicente. His early productions were performed with approbation
at court in the reign of Emmanuel the Great, but his reputation rose
higher in the reign of John III., and that monarch did not, in his
youthful years, scruple to perform characters in the dramas of this
favourite author. We are not informed whether Vicente was himself
an actor, but he was the tutor of the most celebrated actress of his
age, viz.: his daughter Paula.”[86]
Gil Vicente wrote the following epitaph on his wife, to whom he was
most affectionately attached, and who was interred in the Franciscan
monastery at Evora.
Aqui jaez a muy prudente
Senhora Branca Becerra,
Mulher de Gil Vicente,
Feita terra.
Which may be thus literally construed:--
Here lies the most discreet,
Senhora Branca Becerra,
Wife of Gil Vicente,
Turned to clay.
Gil Vicente died in the year 1577, at Evora, and his remains were
interred beside those of his wife, in the Franciscan monastery. He
wrote for his own tomb the following epitaph:--
O gran juizo esperando
Jazo aqui nesta morada,
Desta vida tao cauçado
Descançando.
(The great Judgment-day awaiting
Here, in this narrow dwelling-place,
After life’s weary course,
I am reposing.)
In an old collection of Gil Vicente’s works, this epitaph is given
with the addition of the following lines:--
Preguntas-me quem fui eu?
Atenta bem pera ti,
Porque tal fui com’ a ti
E tal has de ser com’ eu.
E pois tudo a isto vem,
O lector de meu conselho,
Tomame por teu espelho:--
Olhame e olhate bem.
(Thou askest what I was,
Attend, lend ear to me;
That which thou art, I was,
What I am, thou wilt be.
Since all to this must come,
Reader, then counselled be,
As the mirror of thy doom,
Look! and look well on me!)
Alonso de Cisneros, a native of Toledo, a famous actor of the
sixteenth century, is less known by his proper name than by the
appellation of _el Tamborillo_. He received this nickname because it
was a part of his theatrical duty to beat a drum, which, according
to the old Spanish custom, was sounded in the street, to announce
that the performances were about to commence, and that the public
might assemble in the theatre. It happened that this drum disturbed
the siestas of Cardinal Espinosa, who was then officiating as
President of Castile, and who stood high in the favour of Phillip II.
The Cardinal, irritated by the annoyance, and determined to get rid
of it, devised some unfounded pretext for ordering Cisneros to quit
Madrid.
This circumstance came to the ears of the Infante Don Carlos, who
used to be much diverted by the comedian’s humour and drollery; for
at that time the Prince had withdrawn from the court circle, on
account of the mortification he suffered from the favour shewn by his
father to Rui Gómez de Silva and Cardinal Espinosa.
On hearing of the banishment of Cisneros, and its cause, Carlos
resolved on revenge. He ordered the Captain of his Guard to beat
four drums daily, from two till five in the afternoon, in front of
the Cardinal’s residence. One day when the Prelate went to pay a
visit to the palace, his unlucky star brought him face to face with
the Prince, who seizing him by his rocket, and shaking him angrily,
exclaimed, “How now, priest!--do you dare to face me, after having
sent away Cisneros? By the life of my father, I have a great mind
to kill you!” Espinosa would doubtless have been roughly handled,
but that, luckily for him, Philip II. at that moment entered the
apartment.
(R).
“Micer Oliver de la Marcha was then living, though in a very advanced
old age. He wrote a book entitled, _El Caballero Determinado, &c._”
(Page 135).
_El Caballero Determinado, traducido de lengua francesa en
castellana, par Don Hernando de Acuña, y dirigido al emperador D.
Carlos Quinto, Maximo, Rey de España nuestro Señor.--En Anvers, en
casa de Juan Steelsio.--Año de MDLIII._[87]
“Cervantes,” observed Don Adolfo de Castro, “has committed an
anachronism in that passage of the _Buscapié_, in which it is
affirmed that Oliver de la Marcha was living at the period when
Charles V. was challenged by the King of France. He appears to have
confounded the author of the _Caballero Determinado_, who lived in
the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, with the translator of the work,
Hernando de Acuña, who was contemporary with the Emperor, Charles V.
But similar errors are of frequent occurrence in the printed works of
Cervantes, as well as in the manuscript of _El Buscapié_.”
(S).
“The whole history is in print as related by Juan Calvete de Estrella.”
(Page 137.)
The following is the title of the work here alluded to--
_El felicissimo viage del muy alto y muy poderoso Príncipe don
Felipe, hijo del Emperador don Carlos Quinto Maximo, desde España
à sus tierras de la baja Alemaña, con la descripcion de todos los
estados de Brabante y Flandes, escripto en quatro libros por Juan
Calvete de Estrella. En Anvers en casa de Martín Nucio, 1552._
(The happy journey of the most high and powerful Prince Philip, son
of the Emperor Charles V., from Spain to his territories in lower
Germany;--together with a description of all the states of Brabant
and Flanders. Written in four books, by Juan Calvete de Estrella.
Published at Antwerp by Martín Nucio, 1552.)
(T).
“I know the book you speak of----. It contains nothing but truth, and
that cannot be said of the writings of all historians, some of whom
give currency to falsehood by narrating events which never took place.”
(Page 137.)
To the above passage, Don Adolfo de Castro appends the subjoined
note, which, though bearing no direct reference to anything
mentioned in the _Buscapié_, is nevertheless sufficiently curious to
claim a place here.
“It cannot be doubted that many unfounded statements, by dint
of being frequently repeated, come to be regarded as authentic
historical facts. An example of this kind which may be here adduced
had its origin in the Marques de San Felipe’s _Comentarios de la
guerra de España, e historia de Su Rey Felipe V. el animoso_.[88]
In that work we find the following passage--‘On the 24th of August,
1702, the combined English and Austrian fleet appeared before
Cádiz. The vessels formed a line along the coast; some anchoring
in the sands, and others slowly plying to windward. The Prince of
Armstad, with five hundred English, landed at Rota, and the Governor
of that town, after surrendering the place without opposition,
went over to the enemy. His treachery was rewarded by the title of
Marques, conferred on him by the Emperor of Austria. As soon as the
Spaniards regained possession of Rota, the Governor was arrested.
He was condemned to death and hanged by order of the Marquis de
Villadarias, Captain-General of Andalusia.’
“Such is the Marquis de San Felipe’s account of the taking of Rota,
by the English; and it was repeated by Fray Nicolás de Jesús Belando
in his history of the Spanish civil war of that period.
“Don Tomás de Yriarte, in his lessons on the History of Spain
(_Lecciones instructivas de la Historia de España_) relates the event
in the same manner as the two writers above-named, adding that the
Governor _was hanged as a traitor, rather than as a coward_.
“Don Antonio Alcalá Galiano, in his recently published History of
Spain conforms, in his account of the taking of Rota, with the
statements of the writers just noticed.
“And, lastly, to speak of myself,” pursues Don Adolfo de Castro, “in
the history of my native city Cádiz, which I published in the year
1845, I adopted the accounts of the writers who had preceded me,
presuming them to be correct. But it appears that all have been led
into error by the original misstatement of the Marquis de San Felipe.
The following is the true account of the affair.
“The Governor and Military Commandant of Rota was Don Francisco Díaz
Cano Carillo de los Ríos, who filled that post from the year 1690 to
1708, when he was appointed Corregidor and Commandant of the City
of Arcos. The English did not land at Rota, but between Rota and
the Cañuelos. So far from taking part with the enemy, the Governor
of Rota was desirous of putting the city in a state of defence, for
which object he applied for arms and ammunition to the City of Cádiz
and to the Marquis de Villadarias, Governor of Andalusia. But the
required assistance not being forthcoming, it was declared impossible
to defend Rota, and the Marquis de Villadarias then ordered the
Governor, with the few troops he had, to withdraw from the town and
proceed to Sanlucar. This order he executed in a manner perfectly
satisfactory, and after the enemy had left our shores he returned
to Rota, where he discharged the functions of governor until the
year 1708, when he was appointed corregidor of Arcos. Such are the
real facts of the case, founded on documents of unquestionable
authenticity, which have been collected by the Governor’s son, and
published at Madrid in a volume entitled, _Díaz Cana Vindicado_. Of
this publication two copies exist in Cádiz; the one belongs to Señor
Don Joaquim Rubio, and the other is in my possession.”
(V).
“On the road he encountered more adventures than ever fell to the lot
of that Monster of Fortune, Antonio Pérez” (Page 138).
Antonio Pérez, Secretary of King Philip II., fell into disgrace by
engaging in an intrigue with one of the King’s mistresses, and after
a series of misfortunes he was obliged to fly to France. He was the
author of many able works, historical and political, several of which
have never been published.
“That remarkable man,” says Don Adolfo de Castro, “who during his
life was so luckless as a statesman, has been, since his death, no
less unfortunate as an author, for those of his works which have
been printed in foreign countries are full of errors. I have in my
possession MS. copies of the following works of Antonio Pérez:”--
1. _Relaciones i cartas._ (“Narratives and Letters.”) This manuscript
is in 434 folios, and was written some time in the beginning of the
seventeenth century.
2. _Monstruosa vida del rey don Pedro de Costilla, llamado comunmente
el Cruel._[89] No notice is taken of this history by the learned
Nicolás Antonio, nor by any writer, Spanish or foreign, who has
commented on the _Life of Antonio Pérez_.
3. _El conocimento de las naciones de Antonio Pérez, Secretario de
estado que fué del Señor Rey D. Felipe II., discurso político fundado
en materia y razón de estado y gobierno, al Rey N. S. D. Felipe III.
de el estado que tenian sus reinos y señorios, y los de sus amigos
y enemigos con algunas advertencias sobre el modo de proceder y
gobernarse con los unos y con los otros._[90]
This work was written in the month of October, 1598, and Antonio
Pérez addressed it to Philip III. in the hope of conciliating the
favour of that monarch and obtaining permission to return to Spain.
It is one of the ablest political essays of which the Spanish
language can boast, and it is to be regretted that it has never been
published.
4. _Máximas de Antonio Pérez, Secretario del Rey D. Felipe II. al Rey
Enrique IV. de Francia._[91]
Neither Nicolás Antonio nor any other writer notices this work of the
astute politician. In these state maxims, which were written in May,
1600, Pérez betrays the vexation he experienced on finding Philip II.
disinclined to permit his return to Spain. In his _Conocimento
de las naciones_, Pérez intimates to King Philip the designs of the
King of France, and the best mode of defeating them, and in his
maxims, addressed to Henry IV., he recommends to that monarch various
enterprises hostile to the King of Spain.
5. _Breve compendio y elogio de la vida del Señor Rey D. Felipe
II._[92] Nicolás Antonio and other writers state that Antonio Pérez
was the author of this work. It is not an original production but a
translation by that eminent man, and is extracted from a _History of
Henry IV. of France_, written in the French language by Pedro Mateo.
(U).
“More malignant than Arcalaus.” (Page 139).
Proper names terminating in _us_, as _Arcalaus_, _Arcus_, and others,
met with in books of chivalry are not in accordance with the true
spirit of the Spanish language. In adopting Latin words having the
terminations _us_ and _um_, the Spaniards have transferred them to
their own language through the medium of the ablative or dative case;
thus from _tetricus_ they derive _tétrico_, from _templum_, _templo_,
&c. Don Adolfo de Castro observes that he recollects only one proper
name in which the termination _us_ is retained, namely, _Nicodemus_;
but the _us_ is changed to _os_ in the following names;--_Carlos_ for
_Carolus_; _Marcos_ for _Marcus_; _Longinos_ for _Longinus_, and some
others.
Not only in proper names do we find the terminations _us_ and _um_
converted into _o_, the same change is observable in compound
words; thus _cumsecum_ is converted into _consigo_; _cumtecum_ into
_contigo_, &c.
The Latin termination has been preserved in the word _vade-mecum_;
and modern writers have attempted to introduce several other words of
similar formation, such as _album_, _consideratum_, _ultimatum_, and
_desideratum_, but these terminations are quite at variance with the
genius of the Castilian language.
(W).
“A greater Heretic than Constantino.” (Page 139).
Cervantes here alludes to a Spanish Lutheran, named Constantino Ponce
de la Fuente. This martyr to sincere religious faith is frequently
mentioned by the old Spanish historians, and it may be presumed the
few scattered notices of his life here collected cannot fail to
interest the English reader.
In the beginning of the sixteenth century great alarm was created
in Spain by the rapidly increasing number of Protestants. In all
the principal cities of the kingdom the Jesuits zealously exerted
themselves for the discovery of heretics as the Protestants were
commonly termed. The crafty brotherhood hoped by this means to
recommend themselves to the common people, and also to induce the
clergy to regard them as the strongest phalanx on which the Romish
Church could rely for upholding the Catholic religion. In Seville,
the doctrines of Luther were secretly adopted by many individuals
distinguished for their rank and intelligence, and he who laboured
most actively and earnestly for their propagation was Dr. Constantino
Ponce de la Fuente. This celebrated man was a native of the city
of San Clemente de la Mancha, in the Bishoprick of Cuenca, and he
studied in the University of Alcalá de Henares, with his friend Dr.
Juan Gil de Egidio. After quitting the University, both took up their
abode in Seville where they commenced propounding the doctrines of
Luther, Calvin, and other reformers, but with such well concerted
secrecy that so far from being suspected of heresy they were regarded
as most orthodox and exemplary Catholics. The fame of Constantino’s
learning and talents induced several prelates to invite him to reside
in their respective dioceses. The Bishop of Cuenca, was desirous
of appointing him magistral canon of his cathedral, and he wrote
several letters urging him to accept a dignity for which he was so
well fitted. But Constantino declined the proffered honour founding
his refusal on reasons more or less plausible; the real one however
being that his partiality for Lutheran doctrines made him reluctant.
Shortly after this, the Emperor Charles V., appointed Constantino his
Chaplain of Honour, the duties of which post compelled him to proceed
to the Netherlands, where he resided for a considerable time.
Immediately after his return to Spain he was elected Magistral
Canon of the Cathedral of Seville where he commenced preaching.
His orations, in which Lutheran principles were artfully veiled,
and ingeniously interwoven with Catholic doctrines, drew crowds
of listeners to the Cathedral. About this time, the Jesuit Father
Francisco de Borja, happening to be in Seville, he went to the
Cathedral to hear from the lips of Constantino one of those eloquent
sermons, the fame of which was resounding throughout Spain. The Padre
was startled on hearing certain propositions, which in his opinion,
were anything but orthodox, and turning to some persons near him, he
repeated the line: _Aut aliquis latet error, equo ne credite Teucri_.
Alarmed at Constantino’s popularity Borja recommended Father Juan
Suárez (then Rector in Salamanca), to repair to Seville without
delay, and there to establish a House of the Brotherhood of Jesus,
for the purpose of checking as far as possible the progress of
Lutheran opinions. Borja and other learned Jesuits urged the
Dominican Friars to attend in the Cathedral whenever Constantino
preached for the purpose of noting any observations of heretical
tendency in his sermons, and reporting thereon to the Inquisition.
Fully aware that he was an object of suspicion, Constantino felt the
necessity of holding himself on his guard. On one occasion whilst
descanting in the pulpit on some disputed point of belief, he
began to fear that he was too freely unveiling his opinions, and
suddenly checking himself in the midst of his discourse he said:
_Me robaban la voz aquellas capillas_. As he uttered these words he
pointed to the vaulted roofs of the lateral Chapels pretending to
the Catholic portion of the congregation that an echo or some other
cause prevented him from rendering himself audible, but in reality
alluding to the Dominican monks, whose presence he wished his friends
to understand, obliged him to be cautious and reserved.[93]
Shortly after this Constantino took a step which naturally excited
great astonishment among the Jesuits. He made a formal application
to be admitted as a member of the College which the brotherhood had
established in Seville. Whether he took this step with the view of
evading the danger of rapidly increasing suspicion; or whether he
had conceived the design of attempting to convert the Jesuits to
Protestantism, it is impossible to determine, but it can scarcely be
imagined he was sincere in his wish to join the fraternity. Father
Santibañez, in his _Historia de la Compañïa de Jesús_, furnishes the
following particulars relating to Constantino’s application and its
result.
“Constantino came to our college and discoursed with Padre Bartolomé
de Bustamante, then exercising the functions of Provincial. He
declared that his mind was beginning to be disabused of the world and
its vanities; at the same time he feigned the utmost contempt for
all mundane concerns, and expressed his wish to retire wholly from
them. He declared his resolution to devote himself to religion, to do
penance for his sins, and to correct the vanity and presumption of
his sermons, by which he said he had gained more applause to himself
than souls to God.--Several days elapsed, during which the Fathers
discussed together Constantino’s proposition, but without coming
to any agreement on the question. In the meanwhile Constantino’s
frequent visits to our college were observed, and it began to be
reported about that some secret scheme was in agitation. These
reports reached the ears of the Inquisitor Carpio, and he desired
to make himself acquainted with the facts of the case. He thought
it best to address himself privately to Father Juan Suárez, with
whom he was on friendly terms. Accordingly he invited Suárez to
dinner, and during the repast he turned the conversation on matters
concerning the Jesuits. He asked several questions respecting some of
the probationers; which questions Suárez answered; and thereupon the
Inquisitor said--
“‘I have heard that Doctor Constantino proposes to join the society.’
“‘He has,’ replied the Padre; ‘but what of that, señor, though his
proposition has been listened to and entertained, yet we have come to
no decision upon it.’
“‘He is,’ resumed the Inquisitor, ‘a person of weight and influence,
and much looked up to by reason of his great learning;--yet I doubt
whether a man at his age, and one who has always been accustomed
to think and act according to his own will and pleasure, could
easily submit to the restraints of a noviciate, and to the rigour
of monastic rules. Instead of conforming to the regulations of your
society he will, on the plea of his own superior merit, lay claim
to, and possibly obtain some of those dispensations so odious in
religious communities, whose high character can be maintained only
by the perfect equality of duties and privileges. Believe me, when
Constantino has fairly entered your college, he will give much to get
out of it, and to bid you all farewell. To permit him to remain there
with exemptions, would be a dangerous relaxation of the religious
discipline so inviolably maintained by your society. It is by this
sort of relaxation that monastic laws lose their force, and thereby
many congregations suffer in the integrity of their principles.
I assure you,’ pursued the Inquisitor, ‘that it gives me pain to
communicate these doubts; but if the affair concerned me as it does
you, I would decline Constantino’s proposition.’
“These words made a deep impression on Father Juan Suárez, and
they excited in his mind suspicions which however he very artfully
concealed, and he calmly replied to Carpio--
“‘Your observations are perfectly just, most reverend señor; the
affair demands serious counsel and deliberation. I shall think well
on what you have said.’
“Suárez then took leave of the Inquisitor, and on his return to
the College he related to the Father Provincial (Bustamente) what
had taken place. The next time that Constantino came to visit the
College, Father Bustamente gave a decided denial to his application
for admittance, and to check any unpleasant rumours that might be
spread by those who either knew or suspected his object, the Father
Provincial begged that he would come to our college as seldom as
possible. Constantino departed much disappointed and mortified, and
shortly after he was arrested by order of the Inquisition.”
Such are the details of this affair as given by Father Santibañez,
in his History of the Jesuits; but he furnishes no clue whereby we
may arrive at any satisfactory conclusion respecting the real object
which Constantino had in view. It still remains questionable whether,
by joining the Jesuits, he hoped to conciliate the friendship of
those bitterest persecutors of the Lutherans; or whether, finding
his own doom sealed, he was desirous of bringing discredit on the
College, which, after his reception might have been regarded by the
Inquisition as a cradle of Protestantism.
Some time after his arrest, and before the investigation of his
case had brought about any result, an accidental circumstance
occurred, which clearly convicted Constantino of being a Lutheran.
A widow named Isabel Martínez was declared guilty of heresy, and
the Inquisition, according to custom, issued an order for the
sequestration of her property. Through the evidence of a treacherous
servant, it was ascertained that many of her valuables were concealed
in sundry coffers in the possession of her son, Francisco Beltran.
Accordingly Luis Soltelo, an alguazil in the service of the Holy
Inquisition, was directed to proceed to the house occupied by
Beltran, and there to search for the hidden goods. No sooner had the
alguazil entered the house, than Beltran, without waiting till a
question was addressed to him, said, “Señor, there appears to be some
mistake here! You have doubtless been directed to search my mother’s
house, where some things are concealed, and if you will promise
that no harm shall befal me for not having revealed this matter
sooner, I will show you where the articles are hidden.” Without a
moment’s delay, Beltran conducted Soltelo to the house of his mother,
Isabel Martínez, and taking a hammer, he forced open a trap door,
communicating with a cellar. In this cellar were found hidden a great
number of printed books and manuscripts; the books were the works of
Luther, Calvin and other Reformers, and the manuscripts were in the
handwriting of Constantino Ponce de la Fuente. When denounced by the
Inquisition, Constantino knowing that his books and papers would go
far to convict him, had bethought himself of this means of preventing
them from falling into the hands of his persecutors. With this
view he consigned them to the care of his friend Isabel Martínez,
a woman of virtuous and honourable character and a Protestant. But
through the indiscretion of her son, both she and Constantino were
sacrificed. Soltelo, not a little surprised at the booty he had
unexpectedly discovered, took possession of the books and papers, at
the same time telling Beltran that the objects he had been sent to
search for, were his mother’s jewels and money. Beltran was dismayed
by this information, and he then saw, when too late, the unfortunate
result of his precipitancy. Fearing lest he might expose himself
to danger by any further attempt to conceal these valuables, he
surrendered them all into the hands of the alguazil Soltelo.
Constantino’s books and papers having been conveyed to the
Inquisition and examined, it was found that the manuscripts were
full of the most decided Lutheran doctrines; treating of the true
Church, its spirit and character, and declaring that nothing could
be more remote from it than the Church of Rome. Some of these papers
contained discussions on the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, and
the Sacrifice of the Mass;--others treated of justification, of
pontifical bulls and decrees; of indulgences; of rewards of grace and
glory; of auricular confession, and various other subjects respecting
which Catholics and Protestants are widely at variance. To sum up
all, Constantino called purgatory, _Una cabeza de lobo inventada por
los frailes para tener que comer_.[94]
Constantino was now removed from the place in which he had heretofore
been confined, and he was incarcerated in one of the secret dungeons
of the Inquisition. The manuscripts were shown to him, and he
acknowledged them to be in his handwriting, adding that he fervently
believed all that they contained. The Inquisitors urgently pressed
him to disclose who had been his coadjutors in disseminating his
doctrines in Seville; but all their endeavours were vain. Constantino
firmly refused to betray his Protestant friends and associates.
After a lingering confinement in a damp subterraneous cell, this
noble-minded man was seized with dysentery, which disease speedily
terminated his life. Mortified at finding their victim thus wrested
from their grasp, the Inquisitors circulated among the public a
report that Constantino had terminated his own existence, in order to
evade the just punishment which he knew awaited him.[95]
(X).
“The knights ascertained that the said enchanter dwelt in a palace,
which, being continually enveloped in a hazy cloud, was invisible even
to those who had the courage to seek to discover it.” (Page 140.)
In writing this passage Cervantes would seem to have had in his
thoughts the extravagantly fantastic description of an enchanted
palace, which occurs in a romance called _La Genealogía de la
Toledana discreta_. Like the invisible abode of the Magician of
Binche, this palace is represented as inaccessible. Its huge columns
were of transparent crystal with capitals and bases of purest silver;
and on the highest point of its towering arches was a lofty portal
which none could enter save he who knew the secret.[96] The First
Part of the _Toledana Discreta_ was published in the year 1604, but
prior to the appearance of _Don Quixote_. The Second Part was never
published, and possibly never written; for the satire dealt out by
Cervantes on books of chivalry might well have deterred the author
from the completion of his task. Almost all the commentators on _Don
Quixote_ state that the last book of chivalry published in Spain,
was _La Crónica del Príncipe Don Policisne de Boecia_. But this is
a mistake; for the _Genealogía de la Toledana discreta_ appeared in
1604. The name of its author is Eugenio Martínez, and it is one of
the most extravagant of the Spanish _libros caballerescos_.
(Y).
“And will it be said that there are not other madmen in the world
besides the ingenious Knight of La Mancha, when such as these find
favour in the eyes of emperors and kings.” (Page 142).
A narrative of a visit made to the Netherlands, by Philip II., (when
Infante) in company with his father, the Emperor Charles V., was
written by Don Calvate de Estrella. This curious work contains an
account of the festivities at Binche alluded to by Cervantes in
_El Buscapié_. During those entertainments many of the jousts and
tournaments described in books of chivalry were represented, and
great attention was bestowed on the accuracy of the costumes, &c.
The reader will find the title of Estrella’s curious work quoted, at
length, in Note S, page 213.
THE END.
FOOTNOTES:
[66] The Spaniards were accustomed to call their South American
possessions _Indias Occidentales_.
[67] This narrative was published in Madrid in the year 1763, by
Father Henrique Florez, under the title of _Viaje de Ambrosio Morales,
por orden del Rey Don Felipe II., a los reinos de León y Galicia,
y principado de Asturias, para reconocer las reliquias de santos
&c._--(Journey made by Ambrosio Morales, by command of King Phillip
II., to the Kingdoms of León and Galicia, and the Principality of
Asturias, to discover the reliques of saints).
[68] “Spanish Medicine comprised in the common proverbs of our
language.”
[69] Meaning persons who speak and understand the Castilian language,
which was called the Romance.
[70] El primer comentario del muy ilustre señor, Don Luis de Ávila y
Zuñiga, en la guerra de Alemania en el año de MDXLVI, y MDXLVII. Venice
1550, Antwerp 1552, Venice 1553.
[71] This copy of the _Buscapié_, Ruidiaz says he read many years prior
to the date of his letter to Vicente de los Ríos. He states that it
belonged to the late Conde de Saceda.
[72] An English translation of this work was published in London, in
1816, under the following title, “The Inquisition Unmasked”; by Don
Antonio Puigblanch. Translated from the author’s enlarged edition, by
William Walton, Esq.
[73] “The history of the very valiant knight, Palmerin of England, son
of King Edward, and of his great prowess; and the history of Floriano
of the Desert, his brother; with some account of Prince Florendos, son
of Primaleon.”
[74] “Second Book of the History of Palmerin of England, in which
is continued and brought to an end the story of his love for the
Infanta Polinarda, shewing how he achieved many adventures and gained
immortality by his great deeds.” Also the History of Floriano of the
Desert, with some account of Prince Florendos.
[75] “A new system of philosophy, concerning the nature of the
human frame, not known or touched upon by the great philosophers of
antiquity, whereby human life may be prolonged and health improved.”
Don Adolfo de Castro states that he does not know the date of the
first edition of this work, but that the second edition was printed in
Madrid, in the year 1588.
[76] Dialogue between Charon and the shade of Peter Lewis Farnesio, son
of Pope Paul III.
[77] Moral Letters by M. Narveza, translated from the French language
into Spanish, by Madama Francisca de Passier, dedicated to Don Pedro
Enríquez de Acevedo, Count de Fuentes. Printed in 1605.
[78] The book of the Paso Honroso which was defended by the excellent
Knight Suero de Quiñones; compiled from an old manuscript book by Juan
de Pineda, a monk of the order of San Francisco.
[79] In the early ages of Christianity the Spaniards claimed St.
James as their Apostle, and alleged that his remains were interred in
Galicia, contrary to the generally received tradition which assigns
Jerusalem as his burial-place. Under the appellation of Santiago, St.
James is the tutelary saint of the Spaniards.
[80] Ferdinand and Isabella are the Catholic King and Queen here
referred to.
[81] Polemic Dialogues between War and Learning.
[82] Eight Plays and Eight Interludes never performed.
[83] The term _rufián_ is still in use in the Spanish language, though
it now bears a signification widely different from that attached to
it by the dramatic writers of the 16th and 17th centuries. Quevedo’s
“Gran Tacaña,” the “Rufián dichoso,” of Cervantes, and the “Rufián
Castrucho,” of Lope de Vega, sufficiently show to what class of
characters the term was applied, viz., a compound of the thief and the
bravo. In short, the meaning attached to the term in the old Spanish
dramas seems to correspond precisely with the English word _ruffian_.
[84] That which bears the title of _Auto Chamada da Lusitania_. (The
Auto called Lusitania).
[85]
Gil Vicente the author
Makes me his ambassador.
[86] _History of Portuguese Literature_, by Frederick Von Bouterwek.
[87] The Resolute Knight, translated from the French language into
the Castilian, by Don Hernando de Acuña; and dedicated to the Emperor
Charles V., King of Spain, &c. (Published at Antwerp in the year, 1553.)
[88] “Commentaries on the Spanish war,” and “History of King Philip
V.,” surnamed _el animoso_.
[89] “Extraordinary Life of King Don Pedro of Castile, commonly called
the Cruel.”
[90] “The Knowledge of Nations; by Antonio Pérez, formerly Secretary of
State to King Philip II.: A political discourse founded on reasons of
state and government, and addressed to the King our Lord, Don Philip
III., concerning the condition of his realms and dependencies, and
those of his friends and his enemies, together with some hints on the
mode of procedure and government to be adopted towards both.”
[91] “Maxims of Antonio Pérez, Secretary to King Don Philip II.,
addressed to King Henry IV. of France.”
[92] “Brief Notice and Eulogium of the Life of King Philip II.”
[93] It may not be unnecessary to explain, for the information of the
English reader, that the Spanish word _capilla_, chapel, signifies
also a monk’s cowl or hood. This double meaning is implied in the
observation attributed to Constantino. The words, _Me robaban la voz
estas capillas_ might be interpreted two ways, viz: _These chapels
drown my voice_, or _these monks cowls prevent me from speaking out_.
T. R.
[94] A wolf’s head, invented by the monks in order to obtain food for
their own rapacity.
[95] The impeachment of Constantino by the Inquisition spread the
utmost dismay throughout Spain. When the event reached the ears of
the Emperor Charles V., in his retirement in the monastery at Yuste,
he observed:--“If Constantino be a Heretic, he is indeed a _great_
Heretic.” (_Si Constantino es hereje, es grande hereje._)
[96] The original passage may be transcribed here, as it affords a good
specimen of the Spanish _octava rima_.
“Sobre gruesas columnas levantadas
De cristal más que el vidrio transparente,
Basas y capiteles de apurada
Plata, que siempre está resplandeciente
Sobre todos los arcos fabricada
Estaba una alta puerta y eminente,
Por donde ningún hombre entrar podía
Sino quien los secretos entendia.”
The _Toledana Discreta_ is written throughout in the _octava
rima_, a form of Spanish verse which originated with Boscan, who first
introduced the Italian style into Castilian poetry.
ERRATA.
Page
3 (Note) line 2 for Notic_s_a read Notic_i_a.
12 " 10 " instance_s_ " instance.
16 " 23 " Parna_d_o " Parna_s_o.
46 " 7 " barbad_a_ " barbad_o_.
63 " 12 " _Œ_schylus " _Æ_schylus.
68 (Note) " 2 " ci_ri_dad " ci_u_dad
91 (Note) " 1 " len_en_gua " lengua.
96 " 8 " Es_e_ritor " Es_c_ritor.
109 (Note) " 1 " conver_c_ion " conver_s_ion.
116 " 17 " you _are_ " you _were_
121 " 11 " nonsen_c_e " nonsen_s_e.
132 " 5 " Hernande_x_ " Hernande_z_
141 " 22 " misch_e_v_i_ous " misch_ie_vous.
144 " 7 " be " be_en_.
161 (Note) " 3 " Ambros_t_o " Ambro_s_io
165 " 16 " po_a_ " po_r_
167 " 8 " nueutra " nue_s_tra.
167 " 21 " I have " “I have,” _he says_.
173 " 14 " A little on " A little _further_ on.
178 " 3 " esforzdo " esforz_a_do.
178 " 12 " much_o_s " much_a_s
180 " 1 " Morever " More_o_ver.
186 " 20 " petul_e_ntly " petul_a_ntly.
191 " 19 " tra_sl_ucidas " tra_d_ucidas
205 " 22 " se_n_ " se_u_
213 " 9 " Espaa " Espa_ñ_a.
217 " 15 " Felipe II. " Felipe II_I_.
217 " 17 " pr_a_ceder " pr_o_ceder.
233 (Note) " 3 " c_a_lumnas " c_o_lumnas.
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "El Buscapié" ***
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