第 120 页

Sancho beheld all, "and nothing gave him pain;" so far from that,acting on the proverb he knew so well, "when thou art at Rome do asthou seest," he asked Ricote for his bota and took aim like the restof them, and with not less enjoyment. Four times did the botas bearbeing uplifted, but the fifth it was all in vain, for they weredrier and more sapless than a rush by that time, which made thejollity that had been kept up so far begin to flag.

Every now and then some one of them would grasp Sancho's righthand in his own saying, "Espanoli y Tudesqui tuto uno: bon compano;"and Sancho would answer, "Bon compano, jur a Di!" and then go off intoa fit of laughter that lasted an hour, without a thought for themoment of anything that had befallen him in his government; forcares have very little sway over us while we are eating anddrinking. At length, the wine having come to an end with them,drowsiness began to come over them, and they dropped asleep on theirvery table and tablecloth. Ricote and Sancho alone remained awake, forthey had eaten more and drunk less, and Ricote drawing Sancho aside,they seated themselves at the foot of a beech, leaving the pilgrimsburied in sweet sleep; and without once falling into his own Moriscotongue Ricote spoke as follows in pure Castilian:

"Thou knowest well, neighbour and friend Sancho Panza, how theproclamation or edict his Majesty commanded to be issued against thoseof my nation filled us all with terror and dismay; me at least it did,insomuch that I think before the time granted us for quitting Spainwas out, the full force of the penalty had already fallen upon meand upon my children. I decided, then, and I think wisely (just likeone who knows that at a certain date the house he lives in will betaken from him, and looks out beforehand for another to changeinto), I decided, I say, to leave the town myself, alone and withoutmy family, and go to seek out some place to remove them to comfortablyand not in the hurried way in which the others took their departure;for I saw very plainly, and so did all the older men among us, thatthe proclamations were not mere threats, as some said, but positiveenactments which would be enforced at the appointed time; and whatmade me believe this was what I knew of the base and extravagantdesigns which our people harboured, designs of such a nature that Ithink it was a divine inspiration that moved his Majesty to carryout a resolution so spirited; not that we were all guilty, for somethere were true and steadfast Christians; but they were so few thatthey could make no head against those who were not; and it was notprudent to cherish a viper in the bosom by having enemies in thehouse. In short it was with just cause that we were visited with thepenalty of banishment, a mild and lenient one in the eyes of some, butto us the most terrible that could be inflicted upon us. Wherever weare we weep for Spain; for after all we were born there and it isour natural fatherland. Nowhere do we find the reception our unhappycondition needs; and in Barbary and all the parts of Africa where wecounted upon being received, succoured, and welcomed, it is there theyinsult and ill-treat us most. We knew not our good fortune until welost it; and such is the longing we almost all of us have to return toSpain, that most of those who like myself know the language, and thereare many who do, come back to it and leave their wives and childrenforsaken yonder, so great is their love for it; and now I know byexperience the meaning of the saying, sweet is the love of one'scountry.

"I left our village, as I said, and went to France, but thoughthey gave us a kind reception there I was anxious to see all Icould. I crossed into Italy, and reached Germany, and there itseemed to me we might live with more freedom, as the inhabitants donot pay any attention to trifling points; everyone lives as helikes, for in most parts they enjoy liberty of conscience. I took ahouse in a town near Augsburg, and then joined these pilgrims, who arein the habit of coming to Spain in great numbers every year to visitthe shrines there, which they look upon as their Indies and a sure andcertain source of gain. They travel nearly all over it, and there isno town out of which they do not go full up of meat and drink, asthe saying is, and with a real, at least, in money, and they comeoff at the end of their travels with more than a hundred crowns saved,which, changed into gold, they smuggle out of the kingdom either inthe hollow of their staves or in the patches of their pilgrim's cloaksor by some device of their own, and carry to their own country inspite of the guards at the posts and passes where they are searched.Now my purpose is, Sancho, to carry away the treasure that I leftburied, which, as it is outside the town, I shall be able to dowithout risk, and to write, or cross over from Valencia, to mydaughter and wife, who I know are at Algiers, and find some means ofbringing them to some French port and thence to Germany, there toawait what it may be God's will to do with us; for, after all, Sancho,I know well that Ricota my daughter and Francisca Ricota my wife areCatholic Christians, and though I am not so much so, still I am moreof a Christian than a Moor, and it is always my prayer to God thathe will open the eyes of my understanding and show me how I am toserve him; but what amazes me and I cannot understand is why my wifeand daughter should have gone to Barbary rather than to France,where they could live as Christians."

To this Sancho replied, "Remember, Ricote, that may not have beenopen to them, for Juan Tiopieyo thy wife's brother took them, andbeing a true Moor he went where he could go most easily; and anotherthing I can tell thee, it is my belief thou art going in vain tolook for what thou hast left buried, for we heard they took from thybrother-in-law and thy wife a great quantity of pearls and money ingold which they brought to be passed."

"That may be," said Ricote; "but I know they did not touch my hoard,for I did not tell them where it was, for fear of accidents; and so,if thou wilt come with me, Sancho, and help me to take it away andconceal it, I will give thee two hundred crowns wherewith thoumayest relieve thy necessities, and, as thou knowest, I know theyare many."

"I would do it," said Sancho; "but I am not at all covetous, for Igave up an office this morning in which, if I was, I might have madethe walls of my house of gold and dined off silver plates before sixmonths were over; and so for this reason, and because I feel I wouldbe guilty of treason to my king if I helped his enemies, I would notgo with thee if instead of promising me two hundred crowns thou wertto give me four hundred here in hand."

"And what office is this thou hast given up, Sancho?" asked Ricote.

"I have given up being governor of an island," said Sancho, "andsuch a one, faith, as you won't find the like of easily."

"And where is this island?" said Ricote.

"Where?" said Sancho; "two leagues from here, and it is called theisland of Barataria."

"Nonsense! Sancho," said Ricote; "islands are away out in the sea;there are no islands on the mainland."

"What? No islands!" said Sancho; "I tell thee, friend Ricote, I leftit this morning, and yesterday I was governing there as I pleased likea sagittarius; but for all that I gave it up, for it seemed to me adangerous office, a governor's."

"And what hast thou gained by the government?" asked Ricote.

"I have gained," said Sancho, "the knowledge that I am no good forgoverning, unless it is a drove of cattle, and that the riches thatare to be got by these governments are got at the cost of one's restand sleep, ay and even one's food; for in islands the governors musteat little, especially if they have doctors to look after theirhealth."

"I don't understand thee, Sancho," said Ricote; "but it seems tome all nonsense thou art talking. Who would give thee islands togovern? Is there any scarcity in the world of cleverer men than thouart for governors? Hold thy peace, Sancho, and come back to thysenses, and consider whether thou wilt come with me as I said tohelp me to take away treasure I left buried (for indeed it may becalled a treasure, it is so large), and I will give thee wherewithalto keep thee, as I told thee."

"And I have told thee already, Ricote, that I will not," saidSancho; "let it content thee that by me thou shalt not be betrayed,and go thy way in God's name and let me go mine; for I know thatwell-gotten gain may be lost, but ill-gotten gain is lost, itselfand its owner likewise."

"I will not press thee, Sancho," said Ricote; "but tell me, wertthou in our village when my wife and daughter and brother-in-lawleft it?"

"I was so," said Sancho; "and I can tell thee thy daughter left itlooking so lovely that all the village turned out to see her, andeverybody said she was the fairest creature in the world. She weptas she went, and embraced all her friends and acquaintances andthose who came out to see her, and she begged them all to commendher to God and Our Lady his mother, and this in such a touching waythat it made me weep myself, though I'm not much given to tearscommonly; and, faith, many a one would have liked to hide her, or goout and carry her off on the road; but the fear of going against theking's command kept them back. The one who showed himself most movedwas Don Pedro Gregorio, the rich young heir thou knowest of, andthey say he was deep in love with her; and since she left he has notbeen seen in our village again, and we all suspect he has gone afterher to steal her away, but so far nothing has been heard of it."

"I always had a suspicion that gentleman had a passion for mydaughter," said Ricote; "but as I felt sure of my Ricota's virtue itgave me no uneasiness to know that he loved her; for thou must haveheard it said, Sancho, that the Morisco women seldom or never engagein amours with the old Christians; and my daughter, who I fancythought more of being a Christian than of lovemaking, would nottrouble herself about the attentions of this heir."

"God grant it," said Sancho, "for it would be a bad business forboth of them; but now let me be off, friend Ricote, for I want toreach where my master Don Quixote is to-night."

"God be with thee, brother Sancho," said Ricote; "my comrades arebeginning to stir, and it is time, too, for us to continue ourjourney;" and then they both embraced, and Sancho mounted Dapple,and Ricote leant upon his staff, and so they parted.CHAPTER LV

OF WHAT BEFELL SANCHO ON THE ROAD, AND OTHER THINGS THAT CANNOT BESURPASSED

THE length of time he delayed with Ricote prevented Sancho fromreaching the duke's castle that day, though he was within half aleague of it when night, somewhat dark and cloudy, overtook him. This,however, as it was summer time, did not give him much uneasiness,and he turned aside out of the road intending to wait for morning; buthis ill luck and hard fate so willed it that as he was searching aboutfor a place to make himself as comfortable as possible, he andDapple fell into a deep dark hole that lay among some very oldbuildings. As he fell he commended himself with all his heart toGod, fancying he was not going to stop until he reached the depthsof the bottomless pit; but it did not turn out so, for at littlemore than thrice a man's height Dapple touched bottom, and he foundhimself sitting on him without having received any hurt or damagewhatever. He felt himself all over and held his breath to trywhether he was quite sound or had a hole made in him anywhere, andfinding himself all right and whole and in perfect health he wasprofuse in his thanks to God our Lord for the mercy that had beenshown him, for he made sure he had been broken into a thousand pieces.He also felt along the sides of the pit with his hands to see if itwere possible to get out of it without help, but he found they werequite smooth and afforded no hold anywhere, at which he was greatlydistressed, especially when he heard how pathetically and dolefullyDapple was bemoaning himself, and no wonder he complained, nor wasit from ill-temper, for in truth he was not in a very good case."Alas," said Sancho, "what unexpected accidents happen at every stepto those who live in this miserable world! Who would have said thatone who saw himself yesterday sitting on a throne, governor of anisland, giving orders to his servants and his vassals, would seehimself to-day buried in a pit without a soul to help him, orservant or vassal to come to his relief? Here must we perish withhunger, my ass and myself, if indeed we don't die first, he of hisbruises and injuries, and I of grief and sorrow. At any rate I'llnot be as lucky as my master Don Quixote of La Mancha, when he wentdown into the cave of that enchanted Montesinos, where he found peopleto make more of him than if he had been in his own house; for it seemshe came in for a table laid out and a bed ready made. There he sawfair and pleasant visions, but here I'll see, I imagine, toads andadders. Unlucky wretch that I am, what an end my follies and fancieshave come to! They'll take up my bones out of this, when it isheaven's will that I'm found, picked clean, white and polished, and mygood Dapple's with them, and by that, perhaps, it will be found outwho we are, at least by such as have heard that Sancho Panza neverseparated from his ass, nor his ass from Sancho Panza. Unluckywretches, I say again, that our hard fate should not let us die in ourown country and among our own people, where if there was no help forour misfortune, at any rate there would be some one to grieve for itand to close our eyes as we passed away! O comrade and friend, how illhave I repaid thy faithful services! Forgive me, and entreatFortune, as well as thou canst, to deliver us out of this miserablestrait we are both in; and I promise to put a crown of laurel on thyhead, and make thee look like a poet laureate, and give thee doublefeeds."

In this strain did Sancho bewail himself, and his ass listened tohim, but answered him never a word, such was the distress andanguish the poor beast found himself in. At length, after a nightspent in bitter moanings and lamentations, day came, and by itslight Sancho perceived that it was wholly impossible to escape outof that pit without help, and he fell to bemoaning his fate anduttering loud shouts to find out if there was anyone within hearing;but all his shouting was only crying in the wilderness, for therewas not a soul anywhere in the neighbourhood to hear him, and thenat last he gave himself up for dead. Dapple was lying on his back, andSancho helped him to his feet, which he was scarcely able to keep; andthen taking a piece of bread out of his alforjas which had sharedtheir fortunes in the fall, he gave it to the ass, to whom it wasnot unwelcome, saying to him as if he understood him, "With breadall sorrows are less."