"Well then, miss," said the page, "come and show me where yourmother is, for I bring her a letter and a present from your father."

"That I will with all my heart, senor," said the girl, who seemed tobe about fourteen, more or less; and leaving the clothes she waswashing to one of her companions, and without putting anything onher head or feet, for she was bare-legged and had her hair hangingabout her, away she skipped in front of the page's horse, saying,"Come, your worship, our house is at the entrance of the town, andmy mother is there, sorrowful enough at not having had any news ofmy father this ever so long."

"Well," said the page, "I am bringing her such good news that shewill have reason to thank God."

And then, skipping, running, and capering, the girl reached thetown, but before going into the house she called out at the door,"Come out, mother Teresa, come out, come out; here's a gentlemanwith letters and other things from my good father." At these words hermother Teresa Panza came out spinning a bundle of flax, in a greypetticoat (so short was it one would have fancied "they to her shamehad cut it short"), a grey bodice of the same stuff, and a smock.She was not very old, though plainly past forty, strong, healthy,vigorous, and sun-dried; and seeing her daughter and the page onhorseback, she exclaimed, "What's this, child? What gentleman isthis?"

"A servant of my lady, Dona Teresa Panza," replied the page; andsuiting the action to the word he flung himself off his horse, andwith great humility advanced to kneel before the lady Teresa,saying, "Let me kiss your hand, Senora Dona Teresa, as the lawfuland only wife of Senor Don Sancho Panza, rightful governor of theisland of Barataria."

"Ah, senor, get up, do that," said Teresa; "for I'm not a bit of acourt lady, but only a poor country woman, the daughter of aclodcrusher, and the wife of a squire-errant and not of any governorat all."

"You are," said the page, "the most worthy wife of a mostarch-worthy governor; and as a proof of what I say accept thisletter and this present;" and at the same time he took out of hispocket a string of coral beads with gold clasps, and placed it onher neck, and said, "This letter is from his lordship the governor,and the other as well as these coral beads from my lady the duchess,who sends me to your worship."

Teresa stood lost in astonishment, and her daughter just as much,and the girl said, "May I die but our master Don Quixote's at thebottom of this; he must have given father the government or countyhe so often promised him."

"That is the truth," said the page; "for it is through Senor DonQuixote that Senor Sancho is now governor of the island ofBarataria, as will be seen by this letter."

"Will your worship read it to me, noble sir?" said Teresa; "forthough I can spin I can't read, not a scrap."

"Nor I either," said Sanchica; "but wait a bit, and I'll go andfetch some one who can read it, either the curate himself or thebachelor Samson Carrasco, and they'll come gladly to hear any newsof my father."

"There is no need to fetch anybody," said the page; "for though Ican't spin I can read, and I'll read it;" and so he read it through,but as it has been already given it is not inserted here; and thenhe took out the other one from the duchess, which ran as follows:

Friend Teresa,- Your husband Sancho's good qualities, of heart aswell as of head, induced and compelled me to request my husband theduke to give him the government of one of his many islands. I amtold he governs like a gerfalcon, of which I am very glad, and my lordthe duke, of course, also; and I am very thankful to heaven that Ihave not made a mistake in choosing him for that same government;for I would have Senora Teresa know that a good governor is hard tofind in this world and may God make me as good as Sancho's way ofgoverning. Herewith I send you, my dear, a string of coral beadswith gold clasps; I wish they were Oriental pearls; but "he whogives thee a bone does not wish to see thee dead;" a time will comewhen we shall become acquainted and meet one another, but God knowsthe future. Commend me to your daughter Sanchica, and tell her from meto hold herself in readiness, for I mean to make a high match forher when she least expects it. They tell me there are big acorns inyour village; send me a couple of dozen or so, and I shall valuethem greatly as coming from your hand; and write to me at length toassure me of your health and well-being; and if there be anythingyou stand in need of, it is but to open your mouth, and that shallbe the measure; and so God keep you.

From this place.Your loving friend,THE DUCHESS.

"Ah, what a good, plain, lowly lady!" said Teresa when she heard theletter; "that I may be buried with ladies of that sort, and not thegentlewomen we have in this town, that fancy because they aregentlewomen the wind must not touch them, and go to church with asmuch airs as if they were queens, no less, and seem to think theyare disgraced if they look at a farmer's wife! And see here how thisgood lady, for all she's a duchess, calls me 'friend,' and treats meas if I was her equal- and equal may I see her with the tallestchurch-tower in La Mancha! And as for the acorns, senor, I'll send herladyship a peck and such big ones that one might come to see them as ashow and a wonder. And now, Sanchica, see that the gentleman iscomfortable; put up his horse, and get some eggs out of the stable,and cut plenty of bacon, and let's give him his dinner like aprince; for the good news he has brought, and his own bonny facedeserve it all; and meanwhile I'll run out and give the neighbours thenews of our good luck, and father curate, and Master Nicholas thebarber, who are and always have been such friends of thy father's."

"That I will, mother," said Sanchica; "but mind, you must give mehalf of that string; for I don't think my lady the duchess couldhave been so stupid as to send it all to you."

"It is all for thee, my child," said Teresa; "but let me wear itround my neck for a few days; for verily it seems to make my heartglad."

"You will be glad too," said the page, "when you see the bundlethere is in this portmanteau, for it is a suit of the finest cloth,that the governor only wore one day out hunting and now sends, all forSenora Sanchica."

"May he live a thousand years," said Sanchica, "and the bearer asmany, nay two thousand, if needful."

With this Teresa hurried out of the house with the letters, and withthe string of beads round her neck, and went along thrumming theletters as if they were a tambourine, and by chance coming acrossthe curate and Samson Carrasco she began capering and saying, "None ofus poor now, faith! We've got a little government! Ay, let thefinest fine lady tackle me, and I'll give her a setting down!"

"What's all this, Teresa Panza," said they; "what madness is this,and what papers are those?"

"The madness is only this," said she, "that these are the letters ofduchesses and governors, and these I have on my neck are fine coralbeads, with ave-marias and paternosters of beaten gold, and I am agoverness."

"God help us," said the curate, "we don't understand you, Teresa, orknow what you are talking about."

"There, you may see it yourselves," said Teresa, and she handed themthe letters.

The curate read them out for Samson Carrasco to hear, and Samson andhe regarded one another with looks of astonishment at what they hadread, and the bachelor asked who had brought the letters. Teresa inreply bade them come with her to her house and they would see themessenger, a most elegant youth, who had brought another present whichwas worth as much more. The curate took the coral beads from herneck and examined them again and again, and having satisfied himselfas to their fineness he fell to wondering afresh, and said, "By thegown I wear I don't know what to say or think of these letters andpresents; on the one hand I can see and feel the fineness of thesecoral beads, and on the other I read how a duchess sends to beg fora couple of dozen of acorns."

"Square that if you can," said Carrasco; "well, let's go and see themessenger, and from him we'll learn something about this mysterythat has turned up."

They did so, and Teresa returned with them. They found the pagesifting a little barley for his horse, and Sanchica cutting a rasherof bacon to be paved with eggs for his dinner. His looks and hishandsome apparel pleased them both greatly; and after they had salutedhim courteously, and he them, Samson begged him to give them his news,as well of Don Quixote as of Sancho Panza, for, he said, though theyhad read the letters from Sancho and her ladyship the duchess, theywere still puzzled and could not make out what was meant by Sancho'sgovernment, and above all of an island, when all or most of those inthe Mediterranean belonged to his Majesty.

To this the page replied, "As to Senor Sancho Panza's being agovernor there is no doubt whatever; but whether it is an island ornot that he governs, with that I have nothing to do; suffice it thatit is a town of more than a thousand inhabitants; with regard to theacorns I may tell you my lady the duchess is so unpretending andunassuming that, not to speak of sending to beg for acorns from apeasant woman, she has been known to send to ask for the loan of acomb from one of her neighbours; for I would have your worships knowthat the ladies of Aragon, though they are just as illustrious, arenot so punctilious and haughty as the Castilian ladies; they treatpeople with greater familiarity."

In the middle of this conversation Sanchica came in with her skirtfull of eggs, and said she to the page, "Tell me, senor, does myfather wear trunk-hose since he has been governor?"

"I have not noticed," said the page; "but no doubt he wears them."

"Ah! my God!" said Sanchica, "what a sight it must be to see myfather in tights! Isn't it odd that ever since I was born I have had alonging to see my father in trunk-hose?"

"As things go you will see that if you live," said the page; "by Godhe is in the way to take the road with a sunshade if the governmentonly lasts him two months more."

The curate and the bachelor could see plainly enough that the pagespoke in a waggish vein; but the fineness of the coral beads, andthe hunting suit that Sancho sent (for Teresa had already shown itto them) did away with the impression; and they could not helplaughing at Sanchica's wish, and still more when Teresa said, "Senorcurate, look about if there's anybody here going to Madrid orToledo, to buy me a hooped petticoat, a proper fashionable one ofthe best quality; for indeed and indeed I must do honour to myhusband's government as well as I can; nay, if I am put to it and haveto, I'll go to Court and set a coach like all the world; for she whohas a governor for her husband may very well have one and keep one."

"And why not, mother!" said Sanchica; "would to God it were to-dayinstead of to-morrow, even though they were to say when they saw meseated in the coach with my mother, 'See that rubbish, thatgarlic-stuffed fellow's daughter, how she goes stretched at her easein a coach as if she was a she-pope!' But let them tramp through themud, and let me go in my coach with my feet off the ground. Bad luckto backbiters all over the world; 'let me go warm and the people maylaugh.' Do I say right, mother?"

"To be sure you do, my child," said Teresa; "and all this good luck,and even more, my good Sancho foretold me; and thou wilt see, mydaughter, he won't stop till he has made me a countess; for to makea beginning is everything in luck; and as I have heard thy good fathersay many a time (for besides being thy father he's the father ofproverbs too), 'When they offer thee a heifer, run with a halter; whenthey offer thee a government, take it; when they would give thee acounty, seize it; when they say, "Here, here!" to thee withsomething good, swallow it.' Oh no! go to sleep, and don't answerthe strokes of good fortune and the lucky chances that are knocking atthe door of your house!"

"And what do I care," added Sanchica, "whether anybody says whenhe sees me holding my head up, 'The dog saw himself in hempenbreeches,' and the rest of it?"

Hearing this the curate said, "I do believe that all this familyof the Panzas are born with a sackful of proverbs in their insides,every one of them; I never saw one of them that does not pour them outat all times and on all occasions."

"That is true," said the page, "for Senor Governor Sancho uttersthem at every turn; and though a great many of them are not to thepurpose, still they amuse one, and my lady the duchess and the dukepraise them highly."

"Then you still maintain that all this about Sancho's governmentis true, senor," said the bachelor, "and that there actually is aduchess who sends him presents and writes to him? Because we, althoughwe have handled the present and read the letters, don't believe it andsuspect it to be something in the line of our fellow-townsman DonQuixote, who fancies that everything is done by enchantment; and forthis reason I am almost ready to say that I'd like to touch and feelyour worship to see whether you are a mere ambassador of theimagination or a man of flesh and blood."

"All I know, sirs," replied the page, "is that I am a realambassador, and that Senor Sancho Panza is governor as a matter offact, and that my lord and lady the duke and duchess can give, andhave given him this same government, and that I have heard the saidSancho Panza bears himself very stoutly therein; whether there beany enchantment in all this or not, it is for your worships to settlebetween you; for that's all I know by the oath I swear, and that is bythe life of my parents whom I have still alive, and love dearly."

Title: Don Quixote
Author: Miqeul de Cervantes
Viewed 406120 times

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