YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

In Memory of
W. ROBERT BLUM, JR.
Gift of
MR. AND MRS. W. ROBERT BLUM

RAMBLES

FOOTSTEPS OF DON QUIXOTE.

RAMBLES IN THE

FOOTSTEPS OF DON QUIXOTE.

BY THE LATE

H. D. INGLIS,

AUTHOR OF " SPAIN :  " NEW GIL ELAS, OR FEDRO OF
PENAFLOK ;"  *' THE TVKOL :"  "CHANNEL ISLANDS," ETC. ETC.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY GEORGE CRUIKSHANK.

LONDON:
WHITTAKER AND CO., AVE-MARIA-LANE.

1837.

t d <d^

fV\

31

93

7 J
LONDON :

PBINTKtJ

BY MANNEKC. AND

SMITHSON

IVY

LANK, PATEaNOSTfiR

aow.

PREFACE.

A small portion of this work appeared in the
Englishman's Magazine some years ago, and excited
great and general interest ; when that periodical was
discontinued, Mr. Inglis was earnestly solicited, not
only by his friends, but by those who were acquainted
with him merely through the medium of literature, to
complete a work which promised to illustrate the
most delightful of romances, and also to exhibit the
most characteristic features of Spanish life. Other
avocations compelled him to delay for a season the
accomplishment of this task ; but early in 1835 the
manuscript was prepared for the press, and the forth
coming work announced in the usual channels of
literary intelligence. Before, however, the printing
could be begun, a mortal disease seized upon the
lamented author, and he sunk into the grave univer
sally regretted.
Though the publication of this, his last and favourite
work, may be justly regarded, not only as a tribute,
but as a sacred duty to his memory, every reader of
feeling must be aware how painful it is to gaze upon
b

PREFACE.

the characters traced by a beloved hand— to feel that
the spirit which dictated the glowing thoughts is
parted, and the hand that recorded them cold in the
grave. It was not until the lenient influence of Time
had smoothed away the rough edge of sorrow and
allayed the bitterness of grief, until anguish for his
loss had derived consolation from a "hope full of
immortality," that his widow could summon strength
to arrange these sheets for the press, and bring before
the public the last work of an author so generally
and so deservedly popular. It is now submitted to
the reader, with a confident belief that it wUl be
found worthy of the author's fame, and in nothing
inferior to the works of the same writer, which have
already received such an unusual share of popular
approbation. It cannot be uninteresting to prefix a few parti
culars of the amiable author's life to his posthumous
volume : the following account, written shortly after
his death, by one who knew and loved him, contains
the most accurate summary of his history that has
appeared ; it is brief, but faithful/: more, much more
indeed might be told, but his loss is yet too recent
for memory to bear the torture of recollecting the
examples of tender feeling and powerful talent, " not
lost, but gone before."

PEEPACE.

Henry David Inglis, was the son of a gentleman
of very ancient family, who is mentioned in Nisbet
as coming over at the period of the Conquest. His
father was an advocate at the Scotch bar ; for which
the son also was originally designed. His discursive
fancy, however, soon turned him aside from such
pursuits; and led him, at an early age, to visit
foreign lands, there to lay in, by the contemplation of
nature in all her most picturesque and sublime forms,
the basis of all those matchless descriptions with
which his works every where abound. His grand
mother was daughter of the celebrated Colonel James
Oardiner, who fell so nobly at the battle of Preston-
pans, in 1745, and was herself the authoress of an
heroic poem : and through her he was related to the
noble house of Buchan, and the Erskines. The
venerable Lady Raeburn, was sister to his mother.
His works are twofold : they consist of fiction and
travels ; and in these two walks, as often happens to
literary men, his success was precisely in the inverse
ratio of his merits. It is true, indeed, that whatever
genius the subject admitted of, was thrown into it ;
but books of Travels, however useful, do not, in their
nature, so well admit of any high flights of fancy.
All that can be done, is to give a faithful copy of
nature, and to paint justly, men and things as they

IV PEEPACE.

really exist. Yet the man of true genius, even here
makes his power to be felt; and in reading over the
pages of this new-fled spirit, we are everywhere made
sensible, that in copying nature, by portraying her
in her external forms, he was descending from the
elevation of his towering genius. His work, entitled
^' Spain in 1830," is, beyond aU question, his best
book of this order; and next, his "Ireland in 1834:"
his "Channel Islands" contains many beautiful
descriptions ; as also his " Tyrol," his " Switzerland
and the Pyrenees," and his " Norway."
But it was as a writer of fiction that Inglis was
really great. Indeed, while all the efibrts of the
greatest masters still press on my memory, I doubt
whether even the greatest of them has far excelled
this man in the regions of pure inventive genius.
Shakspeare, it is well known, never once invented
the story of his Plays. Byron owed most of his plots
to D'Herbelot, and the German Kotzebue; and
failed only when he trusted to his own invention;
while, in one novel of Scott, — the Ivanhoe — I detect
no less than three long plagiarisms of incident, direct
from the Decameron of Boccacio. Inglis invented
all his own stories — because it was easier to invent
than to borrow ; and whatever this age may say to
the contrary, I boldly assert that his " New Gil

PREFACE. V
Bias " is one of the noblest and most finished efforts
in the line of pure imaginative writing, that ever fell
from the pen of any one man, either in our own or in
any other age. Yet, will it be believed — this was the
only work, written by our author, that ever fell dead-
born from the press. The world, alarmed at the
name, were one-half of them afraid to read it — and
the other half afraid to judge when they had read it ;
while, of those able to judge, and who felt the power
of this admirable work, not a man was found bold
enough to stand up and hazard the public ordeal, by
making known his opinions to the world. That
work cost the author five years — no other ever cost
him as many months in the composition. ," I lament
to say, (my poor friend used often to exclaim), I
have been compelled to write my Gil Bias for
posterity." He was right, the world will some day
acknowledge it.
His other imaginative work, " Solitary Walks in
many Lands," abounds in beauties of the highest order ;
and approaches in some parts very nearly to per
fection in one of the most capital, but unapproachable
qualities in this species of writing, — I mean in the
fine adaptation of human feeling and sentiment, to
the beauties of the forms of nature without. His
apostrophes to May, and his solemn picture of
62

¦^1 PREFACE.
September, have few parallels in our tongue, whether
for purity of diction or for elevation of thought.
He died on the 20th March, 1835 ; near Regent's
Park, at four in the morning, in the 40th year of his
age — his body prematurely sinking down beneath the
weight of his exalted mind.
It only remains to be said that this work is faith
fully printed from the author's manuscript, which
was completed a short time before his death; it is
now published by his widow, who has felt it a sacred
obligation to preserve every word of " the loved and
the lost," without change or alteration.
London, Oct. 1837.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
PAGE
In which the reader is informed, how the project of
treading in the footsteps of Don Quixote first entered
into the author's head . . _ . . . 2

CHAPTER II.
Wherein the author sets out on his journey, and the
Muleteer tells his story ---.. .._ii

CHAPTER in.
Which brings the author and the reader (if he relish the
journey) to the confines of La Mancha - - - 20

CHAPTER IV.
Which, if the reader please to peruse, will inform him in
what corner of La Mancha lived the Knight, and his
steed Rozinante; and wherein also he will be intro
duced to the representative — perhaps the descendant,
of Barber Nicholas - . . - - . 24

VIU CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V. PAGE
Wherein the author— and through him, the reader— re
ceive some information not unworthy of being known,
and at the conclusion of which, the author is left asleep
in the reputed house of Don Quixote, to the envy, no
doubt, of the reader - - - - . - 30

CHAPTER VI.
Which sees the author fairly in the footsteps of Don
Quixote ; and in which also, the characters of the
knight and his squire are the subject of instructive
dialogue between the author and his companion 36

CHAPTER VII.
In which the author makes small progress in his journey ;
but wherein he endeavours to make amends in other
ways, and prevails on the Barber to tell his story - 42

CHAPTER VIII.
In which the barber makes a beginning of his diverting
story, and obtains the applause of the reader for his
ingenuity --- . .. -.__48

CHAPTER IX.
Wherein the barber makes farther progress in the good
opinion of the reader, who is advised not to read this
chapter unless he considers laughter an agreeable

exercise -

53

CONTENTS. IX
CHAPTER X. PAGE
In which the author continues his journey, and reaches the
site of " the inconceivable adventure of the windmills,"
respecting which, and other matters related by Cer
vantes, he holds the reader for a little in conversation 59

CHAPTER XI.
Shewing the extraordinary popularity of Cervantes in
Spain - ........65

CHAPTER XII.
Which explains and illustrates some things that need
explanation, and proves the necessity of travelling in
the footsteps of Don Quixote; and wherein also the
barber resumes his story - - - 70

CHAPTER XIII.
The subject of which, is Don Quixote's adventure with the
Goat-herds  78

CHAPTER XIV.
In which the barber continues his story, and shows that
a young head is no match for an old one - 83

CHAPTER XV.
Treating of the adventure with the Yanguesian Carriers,
and bringing the reader within sight of the Inn
which Don Quixote mistook for a castle - - -

X CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XVI. PAGE
Which must be read by all who desire to know more
of the inn which Don Quixote mistook for a castle ;
or who are desirious of reading the outset of PoU-
nario's history. -- ..------

92

CHAPTER XVII.
In which Polinario proceeds with his history

- 98

CHAPTER XVIII.
A passage in the life of the renowned Don Jose - 106

CHAPTER XIX.
Wherein the barber upholds the supremacy of Don
Quixote ; and wherein also is related the curious
interview between Polinario and the Bishop of Jaen - 115

CHAPTER XX.
In which the reader is fiirther informed respecting the
inn which Don Quixote mistook for a castle ; and in
which also, the reader is favoured with the barber's
opinions upon many points, as well as with the
author's notices of the achievement of Mambrino's
helmet; and of other famous exploits of the Knight of
La Mancha --.-.-...... 124

CONTENTS. XI
CHAPTER XXI. PAGE
Wliich no one is advised to pass over, excepting such as
do not wish to hear of the adventure of the Fulling-
hammers, or who do not care to read a vindication of
Cervantes' consistency. -- ... 131

CHAPTER XXn.
In which the barber resumes his long interrupted story,
but first digresses to the history of Gines de Passa-
monte, and the famous adventure with the Galley-
slaves __._..._- 142

CHAPTER XXIII.
In which the author and his companion reach the con
fines of the "Brown Mountain;" and in which also,
that ingenious fellow Juanes, relates his diverting
history - ... . --151

CHAPTER XXIV.
Before the conclusion of which, the barber resumes his
story ... ..... . 164

CHAPTER XXV.
In which, to the great regret of the author, the barber
concludes his story -- .... 170

Xll CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXVI. PAGE
Where, in following the footsteps of Don Quixote, the
author conducts the reader into the heart of the
Sierra where Cardenio told his story, and where Don
Quixote did penance - - 182

CHAPTER XXVII.
In which the beautiful episode of Dorothea is considered,
and wherein the barber again takes occasion to
vindicate the genius of Cervantes, and to enlarge on
the episodes which are introduced - 192

CHAPTER XXVIII.
In which the author, having related as much of his
travels in the footsteps of Don Quixote as can be
contained in this volume, is forced to stop for the
present, and to request his readers to inform him
whether they wish him to resume his agreeable task - 199

EECENT RAMBLES
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF DON QUIXOTE.

CHAPTER I.
IN WHICH THE READER IS INFORMED, HOW THE PROJECT OF
TREADING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF DON QUIXOTE, FIRST
ENTERED INTO THE AUTHOR's HEAD.

I had spent six days in that ancient and truly
Spanish city, Toledo, musing among those inte
resting remains that are the witnesses of its former
grandeur, and the proofs of its present decay ; and
when I had sipped my chocolate the seventh
morning, and had looked for a while from the
gallery of the Posada into the marble-paved court,
where nothing was to be seen but two or three
idle fellows sitting with their backs to the wall,
B

2 RECENT RAMBLES.
wrapped up in their tattered brown cloaks, I felt
somewhat at a loss what to do with myself. One
half-hour I employed in executing judgment upon
the mosquitos that had tormented me during the
night; another, in chatting with a dark-eyed
damsel of the inn, who was engaged in preparing
the ingredients of the puchero, and in helping her
to strip the garhanzos, the large peas so indispens
able to a Spanish kitchen; but as it would yet be
many hours before the puchero could be ready, I
took my hat and walked into the street, where, in
a strange town, there is always something fresh to
be seen. I strolled for the twentieth time through
the Plaza Mayor, and wondered, for the twentieth
time, how the blacksmiths of Toledo contrive to
make horse-shoes by hammering cold iron ; I next
found myself in the cathedral, where a man might
spend an hour to advantage every day of his life;
I once more paced the aisles, and measured with
my eye, the vastness of this queen of gothic
temples; and walked into the sacristy; and ad
mired, for the last time, those yeUow and orange-
coloured marbles that eclipse even the marbles of

RECENT RAMBLES. 3
the Escurial : then leaving the cathedral, I saun
tered towards the Alcazar, and seated myself
under the shadow of its huge front, and beside the
colossal statue of the Gothic king, who looks down
upon the provinces that were once subject to him
and his race. The bell of the Dominican Convent
chiming one, interrupted my reverie, and re
minded me that it was time to return to the
Posada. In recrossing the Plaza Mayor, however, and
glancing my eye at the clock which is ?,bove the
gateway, I found I had still half an hour to spare.
I must needs spend it in some way; so I took my
seat upon a stone bench, one end of which was
occupied by two canons, and the centre, by a poor
curate with a bare greasy hat, and a cassoc that
had once been black ; and purchasing at a neigh
bouring stall, four slices of melon, I amused myself
with counting the number of friars and churchmen
who, like myself, were acquiring an appetite for
dinner. As for the poor curate, I fear he crowded
the provocative and the dinner into one.
The puchero proved as worthless, and the wine

RECENT RAMBLES.

as excellent as usual; and being now tired of
sauntering through the streets, I strolled down to
the old Roman bridge over the Tagus.
Loitering upon a bridge, one generally leans for
a while over the parapet on one side, and then
crosses to the opposite parapet, next bending for a
while over it : and so did I on the bridge at
Toledo. I watched, a long time, some scores of
Toledo damsels washing clothes in the river, —
every one conspicuous by her bright yeUow petti
coat, which was left uncovered, the upper garment
being thrown over the head to shelter it from the
sun ; and amused myself with the precocious
gallantry of two young university students, who
endeavoured to attract the attention of these water
nymphs, by throwing pebbles into the stream, and
who were sometimes rewarded by the upward
glance of several pairs of dark eyes : and having
seen all that was to be seen from one parapet,
I crossed to the other, from which nothing was to
be seen at all, excepting the Tagus in its deep
rocky bed, and beyond it, the high brown range
of the Toledo mountains; a scene, not without its

RECENT RAMBLES. 5
charms however, to the lover of the wild, the
desolate, and the picturesque.
When we look upon a lofty mountain range,
fancy generally travels beyond it; and the eye
wanders in imagination over those countries from
which it separates us.
" These are the Toledo mountains," I said to
myself, "and what lies beyond? Is it not La
Mancha, the country of Don Quixote ?" What a
host of vivid and delightful recollections instantly
started into being ! In a few moments I had
lived over again the many happy hours of child
hood, youth, and manhood, spent in the perusal of
that imperishable monument of the genius of
Cervantes; and when I again looked towards the
mountains that separated me from La Mancha,
I saw the tall spare figure of the courteous knight
erect upon his Rozinante, his grave countenance
expressing a consciousness of his high destiny ;
and behind, in comic contrast, the square figure of
Sancho, jogging on his dapple, his wallet open in
his hand, and his mouth filled with bread and
cheese, and onions — the knight and the squire

RECENT RAMBLES.

carrying on the while, one of those dialogues,
which are the most perfect of all comedies. A
hundred other vivid and grotesque images rose
before me, and peopled La Mancha.
But along with these, a thought, a fancy, a
longing, a hope, that had belonged to the years
of boyhood, was revived. What pleasure, I had
once thought, would it be to follow in the footsteps
of Don Quixote — to set out with him from his
village, to sleep in the inn which he mistook for a
castle, to enter the Sierra Morena with him, to
visit Toboso, and to feed the recollection of his
adventures, with the realities of place, and scenery,
and manners ! Little thought I in those early
days, that I should ever have the power of realizing
this wish; but now my mind was made up in a
moment. I had seen all that was curious in
Toledo; I had no wish to return to Madrid; it
was yet too early to encounter the heats of Anda
lusia; and why therefore not indulge the dream of
my boyhood? "I'll cross the mountains to
morrow," I said to myself, " and the day after, I
shall be in La Mancha .-" and so strong a hold had

RECENT RAMBLES.

this wondrous fiction taken of my mind, that in
the moment of forming this resolution, it was
allied with something almost amounting to an
expectation of actually meeting the knight and his
faithful squire. Neither the picturesque outline of
the ancient city, nor the half-robed charms of the
Toledo damsels, had any attraction for me now:
a little while longer, I fixed my eyes on the
mountain range, and then turning hastily away,
made all speed to the Posada, that I might pro
vide myself with an active mule, and an honest
muleteer: and all this was speedily arranged to
my satisfaction.
I was too full of my project to find much enjoy
ment in the Tertulia that evening; the charming
nothings, and lively sallies, that in a running fire
of pure Castilian, animated the lips of the Senoras
and Senoritas, — the witchery of a score of black
eyes, brighter and more piercing than as many
"Toledo blades" — even the legerdemain of half a
score of fans, were ineffectual all. My companions
were the knight and his squire ; and the conver
sation which I listened to, was carried on between

8 RECENT RAMBLES.
Sancho and his wife, about the government of the
island, or the marriage of their daughter, whom
her mother would not let Sancho make a duchess
of; or between the curate and the barber, while
sitting in judgment upon Amadis de Gaul, and
Palmerin, and Bernardo del Carpio.
The Tertulia ended, the glass of agua fresca,
the simple and only refreshment of a Spanish
Tertulia, was handed round; the mantillas enve
loped the heads, but scarcely veiled the eyes of
the Castilians; a hundred civil things were said;
the caballeros bowed and retreated, and bowed
again ; the shake of many fans bade goodnight,
for the fan speaks a universal language, and has
an alphabet of infinite meaning ; and the departing
lanterns made visible the darkness of the narrow
streets. As for me, I groped my way to the Posada,
supped upon my gazpacho, ¦ — that singular, but
refreshing compound of water, oil, vinegar, and
bread, — prepared to encounter the mosquitos and
many other more silent enemies, and slept and
fought by turns, till the voice of the muleteer, and

RECENT RAMBLES. 9
the spicy fragrance of my chocolate, warned me
of the morning, and roused me from my cot :
and in less than half an hour I was mounted,
on my way; past the gates, across the foresaid
Roman bridge ; and my mule's head turned in the
direction of the mountains.
But the words " past the gates" put me in mind
of an occurrence worth relating : if enthusiasm for
the work of Cervantes had not been the motive of
my passing the gates, I should not have been
permitted to pass them at all. This may seem an
enigma; but its explanation is to be found in ^he
pride which every Spaniard feels in Cervantes and
his immortal work. I had no passport to go
beyond Toledo, having intended to return to
Madrid; and when I applied to the dispenser of
passports for permission to cross the mountains to
La Mancha, my request was met by a direct
refusal. "But," said I, "my only object is to
visit a country hallowed by the genius of Cer
vantes; I am going to travel in the footsteps of
Don Quixote." Instantly the man's face relaxed;
he could not resist the compliment paid to his
b3

10 RECENT RAMBLES.
country. " See," said he, turning to his com
panion with a triumphant look, " how these
English venerate our Cervantes !" and my pass
port was instantly made out, and delivered to me
with the air of a man who receives rather than
confers a favour.

RECENT RAMBLES. 11

CHAPTER II.

WHEREIN THE AUTHOR SETS OUT ON HIS JOURNEY, AND THE
MULETEER TELLS HIS STORY.

A more beautiful morning never dawned upon
the hill-tops, than that which broke upon the
Toledo mountains, when, as the early convent
bells were chiming, I passed the bridge, turned
up the bank of the "golden Tagus," and then
striking sharp to the left, followed the mule track.
The sun had newly risen into a cloudless sky; and
looking back from the winding mountain-path
upon the city, it seemed like a range of palaces
floating in the air ; for a sea of light vapour hung
over the plain of the Tagus, and encircled the hill
upon which Toledo stands ; while the towers of its
cathedral, and the massive wall of its Alcazar, and
the numberless spires and minarets of its convents

12 RECENT RAMBLES.
and churches, lifted themselves above the mists,
bathed in the golden light of morning.
I do not recollect to have ever set out on a
journey, with half the buoyancy of spirit I felt that
morning, no not even when at the first dawn of
manhood, I trod the mountain solitudes of Norway,
or the charmed precincts of Ardennes. Even if
Don Quixote had never existed — for does he not
exist in the imaginations of all men, as vividly,
and with as much of a real existence, as the heroes
of antiquity or the madmen of the Crusades, who
all, to us, exist like him, in the imagination — even
I say, if Don Quixote had no such existence, the
scene might well have excused enthusiasm. The
brightness of an early summer's morning, invests
any scene with numberless charms : the Toledo
mountains have not many features either of the
grand, or the picturesque ; but there is a vsdld and
savage loneliness about them, more impressive
perhaps, than either the beautiful or the pic
turesque; and the bright morning sun, fiUing
with light, the deep hollows, and distant clefts, but
revealing no living form, and no human habitation,

RECENT RAMBLES. 13
gave additional energy to the imagination of the
solitary traveller through these remote and un-
visited regions.
While slowly ascending the mountain, I had
leisure, for the first time, to think of making
acquaintance with my guide, and was ready with
a couple of segars to secure his good will ; but he
chanced to be at that moment busily employed,
like a good Catholic, in heaping stones upon a
cross — a record of murder, that stood by the way
side; I can hardly say stood, because it was laid
prostrate by the weight of the stones that were
heaped upon it. Nowhere in Spain, that I
recollect, are these crosses so frequent, as among
the Toledo mountains ; and if one is to be
murdered at all, it is fortunate to be murdered in
the neighbourhood of so devout a city as Toledo ;
for if every prayer that accompanies a stone laid
upon the cross wipes off a year of punishment, as
every good Catholic believes, he must indeed be
a very wicked man who is not speedily prayed
out of purgatory. When my guide had finished
his act of devotion, I entered into conversation

14 RECENT RAMBLES.
with him. He was a s%ht young man, of three
or four and twenty; and it was evident by his
dress, by the profusion of silk cord and gilt buttons
that covered his jacket and waistcoat, and by the
open gaiters and white stockings, and crimson
sash, that he was no native of Toledo, but an
Andalusian. " Si Seiior," said he, in answer to my question,
" I am an Andalusian."
" And how," I continued, " can you Kve else
where than in your own delightful country, with
its delicious fruits and wines ? "
" There are reasons for most things," said he,
expressing this in the words of a Spanish proverb
which I have forgotten.
I was curious to know the reasons of the
muleteer, and so dismounting from my mule, and
giving him a poke with my stick which sent him
trotting on, I walked up the mountain path with
my guide : two segars had already opened his
heart, and two more completed the conquest ; and
as we walked leisurely forward, he gave the follow
ing account of himself.

RECENT RAMBLES. 15
"1 am a native of Malaga; my father was
drowned in the bay, while smuggling some tobacco
on shore, and at seventeen I was left heir to his
brown cloak, and his Guadix knife, the only two
things he had left at home. It is an easy matter
to live in Malaga; a fine melon costs no more
than a quarto, and four quartos will purchase as
much wine as serves to wash down a dinner of
melon; and as for oil, it may be had for the
asking. Things went on well with me for five years, and
then all went wrong. Upon the day of the Feast
of the Virgin of Rosalio I went with the only two
quartos I had, and purchased a candle to carry in
the procession. This I thought was only laying
out my money to interest ; for I had speculated
this way before, and had always been presented
with a few reals by the friars, for increasing the
respectability of their procession. As the pro
cession was crossing the Plaza Real, a small puff
of wind blew out my candle, and I held it to that
of my next neighbour to light it again. This
fellow happened to be a scoundrel who had served

16 RECENT RAMBLES.
me a bad trick before, and whenever I lighted my
candle, he slyly blew it out ; till at last, one of
the friars, thinking I was playing off a jest, told
me I was a good-for-nothing fellow, to get about
my business, and not disgrace the procession of
the Virgin of Rosalio— and aU the while, the rogue
who blew out the candle laughed in my face : but
I put an end to his laughing ; I gave him my
knife." " How," said I, interrupting the muleteer, " did
giving him your knife put an end to his
laughing?" " I see," continued the muleteer, " you do not
understand the Andaluz manner of talking; I stuck
my knife into him."
" What! murdered him for blowing out your
candle?" said I.
" Oh no, I gave him my knife for making a jest
of me. It was a long Guadix blade, but I did not
remain to see what happened ; for I had no money
to bribe the Escrivano, and if the rogue died, I
must have been hanged : whether he died ot not,
is more than I can tell; but to make all sure, I

RECENT RAMBLES. 17
have since paid for twelve masses for his soul, with
some money of which I eased a merchant of
Alicante ; and so got good absolution for whatever
might have happened. The friars were too busy
with the procession, and the crowd was too much
occupied in looking at it, to notice an accident of
this kind ; so I got away unperceived, and con
cealed myself two .days in the ruins of the castle,
till all was forgotten, and then I left Malaga, and
begged my way to Madrid. There I gained a
few reals by sprinkling every one that entered
the church of San Isidro with holy water ; but in
my zeal, I was so lavish of it, that the door
keepers thrust me out, and spoiled my trade ; so
leaving that profession, I doubled my fortune. by
sitting near the Prado, with a bit of lighted rope
for the use of the Caballeros, who wished to light
their segars.
" I had now amassed as many reals as bought
me a basket and a couple of glasses, and I set up
as a crier of agua fresca. This is a good trade ;
the water costs nothing, and I got so many quartos
that I never wanted for bread or grapes, or wine ;

18 RECENT RAMBLES.
and on feast days, I sometimes treated myself with
a. puchero : but this was too good to continue.
"One day, after I had filled my cask, I lay
down under the shade of the wall that surrounds
the fountain in the Puerto del Sol, and fell asleep,
for it was the time of siesta. A great many others
lay about the fountain also, and the one who was
stretched next to me, I knew weU had a grudge
against me, because I wore a crimson sash and an
embroidered jacket ; and suspecting he meditated
some mischief, I was almost as much awake as
asleep. He was a sly rogue, a Biscayan ; but he
did not know he had to do with an Andaluz. I
caught him making a hole in my cask to let the
water out ; and, picaro ! I was not long in giving
him my knife. The Escrivanos in Madrid are not
so easily bribed as in Malaga ; and although I was
not without money, I took advantage of the siesta
to get out of Madrid without any one seeing me,
which was no difficult matter, as everybody was
asleep; and, before night, I reached Toledo.
This mule I picked up by accident. Weeding
some pepper, a few months ago in a garden close

RECENT RAMBLES. 19
by the Tagus, I saw the mule swimming in the
water, which was much swollen by the rains : this
seemed a good opportunity to mend my fortune,
and so by the aid of the Blessed Virgin I helped
him out of the river, and I have made my bread
by him ever since."

20 RECENT RAMBLES.

CHAPTER III.
WHICH BRINGS THE AUTHOR, AND THE READER  (iF HE
RELISH THE JOURNEY)  TO THE CONFINES OF LA MANCHA.

By the time the muleteer had finished his story,
which afforded a true picture of life among the
lower classes, and strikingly exemplified the
irritability of the Andalusian character, we had
reached the highest part of the road, and now
began to descend into the heart of the mountains.
None of the mountains of Spain are wilder than
these ; not even the sierras of Granada, nor is
there any mountain-path so little travelled. In
former times this was different. When Toledo
was a great and flourishing city, there was much
intercourse with the south ; and it will be seen in
Don Quixote, that several of the adventures arose
out of this traffic — among others, that with the six

RECENT RAMBLES. 21
merchants of Toledo who were going to Murcia to
buy silks.
It was a desolate scene that lay in the heart of
the mountains. A few aged trees — ilex, and
round-headed pine, hung upon the defiles ; but the
wider valleys, and broad acclivities were treeless,
being covered only with furze, and the esparto-
rush, mingled with many charming varieties of
heath, and with numberless aromatic plants, filling
the air with a wild and strange fragrance. Among
these I noticed rosemary in flower, sweet mar
joram, lavender, thyme, and various shrubs un
known to me both in name and perfume. From
eleven o'clock until three, when the heat was
excessive, we rested in the dry bed of a mountain
torrent, shaded from the sun by the gnarled
branches of a single cork tree; and here our waUet
became considerably lighter, and our wine-skin
lost something of its rotundity.
The glare of broad day had withdrawn from
the valleys, and a soberer light had descended on
the mountain tops, when we reached the Venta de
la Garganta, a solitary house standing in a cradle

22 RECENT RAMBLES.
of the Sierra of the same name. This Venta was
probably the same a hundred years ago as it is
now: it is equally primitive in its construction,
and in the appearance and manners of its inmates.
I found the old man and the old woman, the
present master and mistress of the venta, their
son and his wife, its future owners, and five
children of various ages, all sitting doing nothing,
upon a circular stone bench that surrounded the
place on the ground where the faint embers of a
rush fire were collected. The old man resigned
his place to me, retiring to a sort of mattress
which was spread upon a stone bench farther back,
then occupied by two large lank dogs ; and after I
had won the heart of both the old and young man
by a present of some tobacco, and quite conciliated
the young woman, by giving a silver real to a
ragged urchin about four years old, I thought it
was time to broach the subject of supper : but the
Venta de la Garganta was not accustomed to
entertain travellers who were so improvident as to
eat up the contents of their wallets before arriving;
and I was forced to be content with a gazpacho.

RECENT RAMBLES. 23
the materials of which are every where to be
found, and with a draught from my wine skin. A
mattress on the floor, already somewhat numerously
tenanted, and without any sheets, was spread for
my repose, the only interruption to which was
occasioned by one of the two large dogs having
selected the lower part of my mattress for his bed ;
and so ominous were his growls when I attempted
to shake him off, that I was forced to put up with
his company till his own inclination rid me of it.
I wUl not detail my journey from this venta to
La Mancha. Next morning we were off before
sunrise, but not before we had done honour to the
well spiced chocolate prepared for us ; for however
miserable the accommodations of a Spanish venta
may be, and however meagre its larder, excellent
chocolate is always to be had, — and leaving the
straight road which leads to Cuidad Real, we struck
to the left, and towards noon, reaching a small
elevation above the river Giguela, the muleteer
stopped, and pointing to the wide plain that
stretched to the east and south, " There," said he
" is La Mancha."

24 RECENT RAMBLES.

CHAPTER IV.
WHICH, IF THE READER PLEASE TO PERUSE, WILL INFORM HIM
IN WHAT CORNER OF LA MANCHA LIVED THE KNIGHT, AND
HIS STEED ROZINANTE : AND WHEREIN ALSO, HE WILL BE
INTRODUCED TO THE REPRESENTATIVE  PERHAPS THE
DESCENDANT, OF BARBER NICHOLAS.

He who may hereafter visit La Mancha, with the
intention of travelling in the footsteps of Don
Quixote, may probably say with me, it is a
thousand pities that Cervantes has not told us the
name of the village in " a certain corner of La
Mancha," where " there lately lived one of those
country gentlemen who adorn their halls with a
rusty lance and a worm-eaten target, and ride
forth on the skeleton of a horse to course with a
starved greyhound." Cervantes has not however
left us altogether in the dark, as to the corner of
La Mancha in which this gentleman lived. El
Toboso, the village of his Dulcinea, lay in its

recent rambles. 25
neighbourhood; and in the course of one day's
ride from his own house, the knight met the
merchants on the road from Toledo to Murcia, and
the Biscayan and the Lady on the road to Seville ;
and the same day that he quitted home, he
encountered the windmills in the neighbourhood of
Puerto Lapiche. The locality of Don Quixote's
viUage is therefore sufficiently pointed out ; and
the villages in this part of La Mancha are not so
thickly sown, but that, with these helps, we may
even hit upon the precise spot that Cervantes had
in his eye, when he tells us that " one morning
before sunrise, unseen by anybody, in the scorch
ing month of July, he buckled on his armour,
mounted Rozinante, braced his target, seized his
lance, and through the back door of his yard
sallied into the field." This viUage could be no
other than Miguel Estevan, situated a league and a
half, or two leagues from El Toboso; within a
day's ride of Puerto Lapiche; and half a day's
journey from the road between Toledo and
Seville. The muleteer who had accompanied me from

26 RECENT RAMBLES.
Toledo, knew little of La Mancha, and less of the
route of Don Quixote : not that any Spaniard is
entirely ignorant of Cervantes, and his work ; but
he was not qualified to lead me in the knight's
footsteps ; and having, soon after mid-day reached
the outposts of the Sierra, from one of the last of
which my guide shewed me at a distance the
church of Miguel Estevan, and the only road that
led to it, I counted into his hand the number of
duros agreed on ; and he, having made them fast
in his girdle, turned his mule's head in the direc
tion of Toledo, — driving the other before him, —
and with the usual salutation, pricked his beast
forward, leaving me to pursue my way to Miguel
Estevan. It was towards the close of the day when,
emerging from a small olive plantation which lay
rather in a hollow, I saw within a quarter of a
league, the little village of Miguel Estevan ; and
in another quarter of an hour, I entered the
straggling street that composes the greater part of
it. Here thought I, as I looked on every side,
and saw hanging over a door the likeness of

RECENT RAMBLES. 27
Mambrino's helmet, here perhaps lived the barber ;
and there, within a few doors of him, might dwell
the licentiate ; and perceiving, a little apart from
the other houses, one that might have suited a
country gentleman, his housekeeper, and his niece,
that house, I resolved in my own mind, must have
been the habitation of no other than the hidalgo
himself! So like reality indeed are the pictures
presented to us by Cervantes, that we scarcely
regard them in the light of fiction, even when we
contemplate them at our fire-sides at home; and
when actually travelling in the country of Don
Quixote, and surrounded by such portraits of
Spanish life and manners, and scenery, as are
interwoven in the relation of his exploits, we
cannot help giving a real existence to persons, and
places, and adventures, instead of being contented
with the belief that the fancy only of Cervantes
selected real spots, as the scenes of his fiction :
and this belief in the reality of the adventures of
Don Quixote, is partaken also by the inhabitants
of La Mancha, as will presently appear.
There was no Posada in the village; and as

28 RECENT RAMBLES.
night was approaching, it seemed probable that I
might be obliged not only to follow in the foot
steps of Don Quixote, but to imitate his example,
by spending the night " under a tuft of trees ;"
and this, without the advantage possessed by him,
who could sweetly employ the solemn hours "in
musing upon his Dulcinea." But happening to
cast my eye towards the bright barber's basin
which I had already passed, and having a high
opinion of the courtesy of barbers in all nations,
I resolved to enter his shop, in the persuasion
that he might assist me in my difficulty; and
besides, like the courtier, who is said by Sterne
to have been unable to distinguish between
Yorick, the king of Denmark's jester, and Yorick
who lived a century later, I confess I could not
divest myself of the idea that this barber was in
reality Master Nicholas, or if not absolutely that
renowned personage, that he was at all events his
direct descendant, and the inheritor of his shrewd
ness and oddities.
Business seemed to be slack with the barber this
afternoon. Clothed in a pair of tight black

RECENT RAMBLES. 29
leather breeches, a long and ample brown cloak,
and a small black cap fitting close to the head, he
sat on the stone step of his door, looking up the
street, and down the street, if perchance an un
shaven peasant might approach ; and as he saw me
make directly towards the spot where he exercised
his vocation, he retreated within the doorway;
and when I reached it, the chair was set, the tin
basin in one hand, ready to fit into the neck of the
customer, and in the other, that weapon which a
Spanish barber knows better than the barber of
any other country, how to vdeld.

30 RECENT RAMBLES.

CHAPTER V.

WHEREIN THE AUTHOR  AND THROUGH HIM, THE READER —
RECEIVE SOME INFORMATION NOT UNWORTHY OF BEING
KNOWN, AND AT THE CONCLUSION OF WHICH, THE AUTHOR
IS LEFT ASLEEP IN THE REPUTED HOUSE OF DON QUIXOTE,
TO THE ENVY, NO DOUBT, OF THE READER.

" Good evening. Master Nicholas," said I, enter
ing, and seating myself; "and how are your
neighbours, the curate and the bachelor Sampson
Curasco, and have you heard any tidings lately of
the hidalgo, who is surnamed Don Quixote ?" The
cunning eye, and expressive smile of the barber,
shewed at once that he understood me.
" And so," said he, " you, who are a foreigner,
have found out the village of Don Quixote, when
travellers from our own towns and provinces go to
Quintana, and Quero, and El Probencio, and
Pedernoso, and every village of La Mancha, but
the right one !"

RECENT RAMBLES. 31
" And this then," said I, " is really the vUlage
from which the Knight of La Mancha set out in
search of adventures ?"
" Certes it is," replied the barber, " what other
viUage should it be than Miguel Estevan ? Quin
tana it could not be, because there is not, and
there never has been any barber's shop in Quin
tana : as little could it be Quero, where there is
not a house good enough for an hidalgo, scarcely
even for a curate or a licentiate : El Probencio it
could not be, because El Probencio is not in La
Mancha; and neither could it be Pedernoso,
because if the knight had gone from Pedernoso to
the place where he encountered the windmills, he
must have passed El Toboso, the viUage of
Dulcinea, which would surely not have been
omitted in the history of his saUy."
I perceived that the barber was a shrewd fellow,
a true enthusiast in the work of Cervantes; and
desirous of trying to what length the confusion
between truth and fiction would carry him, I said,
" But you speak of the house of the hidalgo as if
he had really existed, and of the barber's shop, as

32 RECENT RAMBLES.
if the barber had in reality consulted with the
curate about burning the knight's books, whereas
you know " —
" Oh I know very well," interrupted the barber,
evidently disconcerted ; " but we always speak so
here, and if you will step out with me to the
corner of the street, I '11 shew the identical house."
A curious morsel this, for the metaphysicians — an
admirable illustration of the effect which thought,
constantly directed in a virong channel, may have
in warping the j udgment ; and while I submitted
to the operation of shaving, I reflected upon the
extraordinary genius of Cervantes, in having
drawn fictitious scenes with so much truth, as not
only to beguile the reader into a temporary belief
in their reality, but even to disturb one's settled
convictions of truth and fiction.
Let none but bold men trust themselves into the
hands of a Spanish barber ; his short reign is truly
a " reign of terror ;" the extraordinary celerity of
his motions, and the inconceivable sharpness of his
instrument, suggest every instant the idea of
"hair-breadth 'scapes," and one glances furtively

RECENT RAMBLES. 33
into the tin basin, almost in expectation of seeing
something like the tip of a nose in it.
It was now nearly dark, and I was stiU un
provided with a night's lodging; but as I expected,
the barber set me at ease on this head. He
clapped the little black cap upon his head, which
had been uncovered in honour of so Ulustrious a
customer as myself; and bidding me foUow him,
led the way down the street, and stopped at the
door of a house which seemed rather taller and
duskier than its neighbours. " This," said he,
lifting his cap for a moment from his head, in
reverence no doubt of the genius of Cervantes;
" this is the house, the identical house I spoke of;
'tis the only house in the village fit foi- an liidalgo,
and here lives the widow of the late Alcalde, who
wiU no doubt treat you well," — and so saying, the
barber pushed open the widow's door, and ushered
me Into a small room evidently the sanctum
sanctorum of a devout Catholic, for in one corner,
upon a small marble slab, stood an image of the
Virgin in a glass case, and a small lamp burning
before it. The widow, a portly dame clothed in
c3

34 RECENT RAMBLES.
black, and without veil or mantlUa, soon entered,
with the usual light step, and graceful gait of the
Spanish women; and being informed by the
barber that I was a stranger, visiting this vUlage
because it was the viUage of Don Quixote, the
widow of the Alcalde received me graciously, with
many furlings and unfurlings of her fan, and
assured me that her house was entirely at my
disposal. In short, I was domesticated in a
moment; my respect for her village opened her
heart ; a veneration for the house she lived in, won
her altogether; a stew of mutton, moderately
seasoned with garlic, sausages that would have
shamed Epping, the unfaiUng gazpacho, and an
abundant measure of val de penas, formed the
refresco; a conversation, pleasantly sprinkled with
the gallantry without which all conversation is
vapid in the ear of a Spanish woman, whiled
away an hour ; and the offer of the Alcade's widow
'to give up her own chamber to a stranger of so
much distinction, ^Imost led me to think that I
had carried my gallantry too far.
I am now In bed, in the reputed house of Don

RECENT RAMBLES. 35
Quixote de la Mancha ; and in the chamber once
occupied by the hidalgo, or perhaps by his house
keeper, or his niece : and to-morrow, through
" the back door of his yard," I shaU saUy into the
fields, when " rosy vranged Aurora, stealing from
her husband's jealous couch, through the balconies
and aerial gates of La Mancha, shall stand con
fessed to wondering mortals."

36 RECENT RAMBLES.

CHAPTER VI.

WHICH SEES THE AUTHOR FAIRLY IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF DON
QUIXOTE; AND IN WHICH ALSO THE CHARACTERS OF THE
KNIGHT AND HIS SQUIRE, ARE THE SUBJECT OF INSTRUCTIVE
DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE AUTHOR AND HIS COMPANION.

It is well known to the readers of Don Quixote, —
and who then Is there to whom it is not known ? —
that the vaUant Knight of La Mancha made two
sallies from his own village ; in the first of which
he was knighted. In the Inn which he mistook for a
castle : and that, by the advice of the Innkeeper,
he returned to his vlUage, that he might furnish
himself with a purse, and a change of linen ; but
especially, that he might provide himself with a
squire, as was befitting every true knight-errant.
Now, although I profess to ramble In the footsteps
of Don Quixote, I trust It will not be expected

RECENT RAMBLES. 37
that I should twice journey from the village of
Miguel Esteban ; and as the Knight of La Mancha
chose the daylight for one of his rambles, and the
night for the other, I must claim the privilege of
selection, and avoid darkness, which could scarcely
enable me to fulfil my promise of foUowing in his
footsteps. I bade the reader good-night In the reputed
house of Don Quixote ; and so fatiguing had been
my day's journey, that no dream of knight errantry
disturbed my slumbers. I broke a lance with no
one ; but was awakened from my first sleep about
daybreak, by the entrance of my friend the barber.
" I was thinking," said he, " that your mercy*
cannot do without a squire."
" Not without a squire ?" said I, " How? I am
not going in quest of adventures."
" No," returned the barber, " but how can you
follow In the track of Don Quixote, unless some
one shew you the way? and besides, how can a
caballero of your consideration, carry a wallet and
* This is the phraseology in Spain ; vuestra merced (your
mercy) in place of you.

38 RECENT RAMBLES.
a wine-skin ; for if your mercy be truly In earnest
about following in the footsteps of Don Quixote,
or rather, in the footsteps of Rozinante, I reckon
you 'II find stew-pans and pucheros somewhat
scarce." The barber was In the right ; a guide could not
be dispensed with, and I inquired of him whether
he knew any one fitted for the office ?
" Such people are scarce," said he ; "I know of
only one, and he could walk through La Mancha
blindfolded : ¦ and as for the track of the knight, he
can foUow it with as much certainty as if, like
Sancho's road out of the Brown Mountain, the
knight himself had strewn It with furze."
This was just the man I wanted : I returned the
barber muchas gracias, and told him to send this
Invaluable guide to me forthwith, as I should set
out in less than half an hour.
" He 's not far off," said the barber, with a look
which convinced me this guide was no other than
himself; « trade is not brisk, and, perhaps — "
" I am afraid," said I, " I cannot promise thee
so magnificent a reward for thy services as the

RECENT RAMBLES. 39
government of an Island." But my limited pa
tronage proved no obstacle with the barber ; and
the matter of remuneration was speedily arranged :
he would accept of nothing more than board for
himself and his mule; and In less than half an
hour, we were jogging out of the village, just as
" ruddy Phoebus, o'er this wide and spacious earth,
displayed the golden threads of his refulgent hair."
The barber carried a wallet, well stored with
provisions ; and a wine-skin of most agreeable
rotundity, produced by several quartillos of good
val de penas ; and we jogged on among the scat
tered oUves, and through the saffron fields, though
without the chorus mentioned by the knight,
" from the little painted warblers with their forky
tongues." Such a chorus is indeed nowhere to be
found in La Mancha, which Is nearly destitute of
trees. But this embellishment being contained
in a rhapsody of the knight, must not be charged
against the veracity of Cervantes, who, in all that
he relates as having happened to his hero, adheres
most strictly to nature, such as we find her to be
at this day in the district of La Mancha.

40 RECENT RAMBLES.
Sometimes the path was only wide enough for
one mule ; sometimes it was broader ; and then we
rode side by side, and conversed by the way.
"After all," said the barber, "Sancho Panza
was worthy of the government his master promised
him ; there never lived in La Mancha an honester
man than Sancho."
" Except the knight of La Mancha," said I.
" Not honester," repUed the barber : " honour
for the knight and honesty for the squire; each
had the honesty that befittedhls station."
"True," said I, "and I believe Sancho would
have scorned a dishonest action as much as his
master ; though friend, it must needs be admitted,
that the finding of Cardenio's portmanteau in the
Brown Mountain, sorely tempted, if it did not
actually vanquish the honesty of Sancho, who is
said to have ' rummaged the portmanteau without
leaving a corner, In that, or the piUion, wliich he
did not search, pry Into, and overhaul ; ' and who
stoutly combated the proposal of his master, to
search for the owner, lest he should be forced to
make restitution of the hundred crowns."

RECENT RAMBLES. 41
" And yet," replied the barber, " it is no more
than justice to Sancho, to take into account, that
he looked upon himself to be as truly the squire of
his master, as were ever the squires of Amadis de
Gaul or Palmerin ; and that he considered all that
was beneath the notice of the knight, to be the just
perquisite of the squire, who was as much entitled
to take the purse of a vanquished enemy, as his
master was entitled to take his life."
" There is good reason in what thou say'st,"
returned I ; " Sancho on his dapple following the
Hidalgo, was a different man from Sancho in his
native viUage: and after consenting to desert his
wife and children, on the promise of the knight to
give him the government of an island, there is
little to wonder at that he should have looked upon
the purse as justly his, when his master bade him
' keep the money for his own use.' "

42 RECENT RAMBLES.

CHAPTER VII.

IN WHICH THE AUTHOR MAKES SMALL PROGRESS IN HIS JOUR
NEY ; BUT WHEREIN HE ENDEAVOURS TO MAKE AMENDS IN
OTHER WAYS, AND PREVAILS ON THE BARBER TO TELL HIS
STORY.

Here the path became so narrow that my com
panion was obliged to faU behind, and I was left
awhile to my own reflections, which continued to
flow in the same channel.
To endeavour to assign a motive for the pro
duction of any work, is idle ; for my own part, I
believe that the often repeated motive, that of
throwing ridicule upon books of knight errantry,
was a very secondary consideration with Cer
vantes; and that he, like most other men of
genius, wrote because genius overflowed, and
sought a channel which might conduct it to im
mortality. It is a more interesting question to

RECENT RAMBLES. 43
ask, what is the aim and moral of the work? It
is " aU things to aU men." The gentleman, the
Christian, the master, the servant, may each learn
something from its pages; for the Knight of La
Mancha was a more perfect gentleman, a better
practical Christian, a more excellent master, ay,
and a wiser man too, than probably any one of
those who study his life and conversation. Cer
vantes evidently Intended to personify the intel
lectual and the animal parts of our nature, in the
contrast between the knight and the squire.
High-mlndedness, loftiness of purpose, unbounded
generosity, total disinterestedness, undaunted cou
rage, humility, Christian resignation — these are the
fine attributes of intellectual perfection; while in
the character of the squire, we find all that Is
sensual, worldly, common, and vulgar, united with
only that rough good sense, blunt honesty, good
nature, and kind affections, which are compatible
with an uninformed mind, and a low station.
I was interrupted in my cogitations by my
companion pushing his mule briskly forward, and
telling me It was already mid-day, and therefore

44 RECENT RAMBLES.
time to apply to our waUets and wine-skins, a
proposition to which I not unwUlingly assented;
and aUowIng our mules to pick up a scanty break
fast, we seated ourselves under the imperfect shade
of a few stunted oHves, and opened the wallet.
The olive is almost the only tree found in La
Mancha, and La Mancha is imdoubtedly one of
the ugliest countries under the sun ; let nobody be
deceived by the words of the song, " O remember
the time in La Mancha's shades," for there are no
shades in La Mancha.
The character of La Mancha may be thus
briefly given: wide, uninclosed, and sometimes
swelling plains ; covered with scanty crops of
grain, interspersed with saffron fields. Often the
eye ranges over extensive reaches of sand, bearing
no crop. Olive trees, sometimes planted in line,
sometimes scattered, form the only shade from the
scorching sun, that before the summer has far
advanced, drinks up the scanty waters of every
rivulet, and turns the herbage from green to
brown. The river Guadiana, indeed, traverses La
Mancha, and always flows a respectable river ; but

- ^"^•- CruxKiimit

7 yy ¦.

^ ^^J t//l' -Zc

RECENT RAMBLES. 45
all its tributaries are small ; and in summer, carry
no tribute at all.
Our provisions were not very tempting ; the
barber had been the purveyor, and had suited his
own taste rather than mine. They consisted of
several thick pancakes, interlarded with slices of
bacon; and of cheese, bread, and wine. These
are the provisions usuaUy carried by every mu
leteer in Spain, with the addition sometimes of
salted fish; but the pancake being well-seasoned
with garUc, and the cheese made of sheep's milk,
neither of them was very enticing.
As for the wine of La Mancha, in which,
Sancho Panza found a solace for many of his
hardships, its goodness depends altogether upon
the skin in which it Is carried ; for unless the skin
be old and well-seasoned, the best val de penas
acquires an unpleasant flavour. But it is im
possible that the wine of La Mancha should be
carried otherwise than In skins; the roads are
only fitted for mules, and skins can be more easily
and more safely carried across mules than casks;
but Indeed casks are out of the question In a

46 RECENT RAMBLES.
country In which there is scarcely any wood. It
is no contemptible art, that of drinking out of a
wine-skin without spilling the wine, and drenching
the bosom ; the wine-skin Is held horizontaUy, one
hand supporting Its rotundity, and, by the pressure
of the fingers, the wine Is thrown forward to the
neck, or narrow part of the skin. When, in the
translations of Don Quixote, we meet with the
word bottle, we must of course substitute skin,
otherwise the sentence vvdU sometimes be un
intelligible ; as for example, when, after the
adventure with the wlnd-mUls, we find Sancho
visiting his bottle, and discovering that It was much
more lank than it was the night before.
The sun was now blazing right overhead, so
that It was out of the question to think of journey
ing for some hours ; and as for a siesta, that would
scarcely have been prudent where the shade was
so scanty. WlUing therefore, to pass the time In
some other way, " Mr. Barber," said I, " I feel
weU convinced that you have not been aU your
life a barber In Miguel Esteban ; we have now two
good hours to spare ; the shade of this olive-tree is

RECENT RAMBLES. 47
too scanty to allow a siesta, and how then can we
spend our time better than you in teUing, and I in
listening, to your story."
" In truth," replied the barber, " you have
guessed well in thinking I have not been all my
life a barber in Miguel Esteban. I have been
many trades ; and since as you truly say, there is
no shade for a siesta, and as our wine-skin would
be dried up by the rays of the mid-day sun before
we could get to Lapiche, you shall hear my story,
such as it is :" and the barber accordingly began
as related in the next chapter.

48 RECENT RAMBLES.

CHAPTER VIII.

IN WHICH THE BARBER MAKES A BEGINNING OF HIS DIVERTING
STORY, AND OBTAINS THE APPLAUSE OF THE READER FOR
HIS INGENUITY.

" I was born in the town of Manzanares in La
Mancha. My father was porter to the Dominican
convent there, and my mother was laundress in
the house of the Duque de San Carlos, who owned
then, and for anything that I know to the contrary,
owns to this day, aU the town of Manzanares and
the neighbouring vineyards. As for me, I led the
merriest of lives till I was fourteen years o^ age ;
I was idoHzed both by my father and mother, and
spent my time about equaUy, in the kitchen of the
Duke, and of the Dominicans. In the one, I
tasted the most savory stews, and in the other, the
most delicious fruit In the world ; and nothing was

RECENT RAMBLES. 49
farther from my thoughts than to leave so agree
able a mode of life, when one day my father called
me to him and said, ' Lazaro, it is time that thou
shouldst think of bettering thy fortune, and I have
found thee a road to it'
"For my part, I felt no great inclination
towards bettering my condition, which appeared
to me the most agreeable In the world; and my
mother was also of the same opinion : but the
picture drawn by my father of my future pros
pects, was so flattering, that even I was anxious to
commence my new mode of life. The opening-
was this : a certain stranger, who lat«ly died in the
house of the curate of the parish church of San
Salvador, in Manzanares, had left to the church
money for eight thousand masses to get his soul
out of purgatory ; and the curate, willing to
receive the legacy, without the condition of saying
a mass every day for twenty-two years, resolved to
apply to the Archbishop of Toledo, as the head of
the church, for permission to say eight, in place of
eight thousand masses, — a restriction which would
not affect the condition of the stranger's soul, since
D

50 RECENT RAMBLES.
the archbishop might declare, by his supreme
authority, that eight mases should be as effectual
as eight thousand In praying It out of purgatory.*
The curate applied to the Dominicans to find a
trusty messenger ; they selected my father, and he
delegated the mission to me.
" ' This other letter,' said my father, at the same
time, also, putting into my hand the letter to the
archbishop, ' Is for the Padre Cirillo, curate of the
church of San Pasqual at Toledo ; It recommends
thee to his protection; and there is, therefore, Uttle
doubt but that he wUl take thee into his service,
and who knows but that thou mayest, by and by,
be transferred to the service of the archbishop,
whose stews are no doubt as far superior to those
of the Duque de San Carlos, as the melon you are
eating, Is to a turnip.' My teeth already began
to water for the archbishop's stews ; and I set out
the same day with an honest muleteer, who was
charged with wine for some of the canons. We
did not lag by the way ; on the second evening we
* The curate was mistaken in this opinion ; it is only the
Pope who possesses this power.

RECENT RAMBLES. 51
entered the city of Toledo, which appeared to me
little less than a congregation of palaces, and
scarcely even aUowing myself time to dispatch a
part of the puchero which the muleteer generously
divided with me, I Inquired the nearest way to
the house of the curate Cirillo, so anxious was I to
realize the promises of my father.
" ' Thou shalt enter Into my service,' said the
Cura, when he had read the letter; and when I
heard this piece of good fortune, I already fancied
myself transferred to the service of the archbishop,
and even scented the savour of his kitchen.
" My duties In the service of the Padre Cirillo
were simple; they consisted in sweeping the
church, and cleaning the ornaments used at mass ;
all the rest of my time was at my own disposal.
If my treatment had been agreeable as my duties,
I should have had no reason to complain ; but the
reverend cura, who fed upon dainties every day,
shared them only with his housekeeper ; and far
from finding myself any nearer the archbishop's
stews, I was only permitt d to smell those of the
cura. My allowance wa^ a smaU loaf of bread.

52 RECENT RAMBLES.
and a string of onions every four days, with a
scanty puchero on Sunday; and while I was
half starved, the cura would say, 'Lazaro, you
j^oung rogue, mejor vida tienes que el Papa, thou
livest better than the Pope.'
" But hunger sharpens the wits ; I set my
ingenuity to work, and speedily discovered a
method of bettering my condition. AU my
master's provisions were kept in a closet, and the
door of this closet, hunger devised a means of
opening ; but I resolved that the theft should lie
at another door than mine ; and every night I
made a tolerable meal In my master's store-house,
by nibbling round his bread, and cheese, and
bacon, so that the rats and the mice got all the
blame, and I secured a double portion; for the
cura never failed, after roundly abusing the secret
thieves, to pare off all the nibbled parts, and hand
them to me, saying, ' eat Lazaro, you rogue, que
el raton cosa limpia es, rats are clean things.' "

RECENT RAMBLES. 53

CHAPTER IX.

WHEREIN THE BARBER MAKES FURTHER PROGRESS IN THE
GOOD OPINION OF THE READER, WHO IS ADVISED NOT TO
READ THIS CHAPTER UNLESS HE CONSIDER LAUGHTER AN
AGREEABLE EXERCISE.

" One day, about this time, after I had been
employed in cleaning the ornaments on the major
altar In the church, I stole on tiptoe Into the
sacristy : God forgive me for my Intention, — a
slice of salted cod at breakfast, had made me
thirsty, and the sacramental cup I knew was
brimful. I had scarcely entered the sacristy,
when I heard the footstep of the cura pass through
the church, and I had only time to hide myself
under the petticoats of the virgin of St. Pilar,*
* The images of the virgins and female saints in the
convents and churches, are arrayed in garments so ample
that an excellent shelter might be found where the barber
sought it.

54 RECENT RAMBLES.
when my master entered the sacristy, accompanied
by a stranger dressed as a pilgrim, who, after the
door had been shut, produced from below his
habit, a small wooden box, which he opened, and
put into my master's hand.
" ' You perceive,' said the stranger, ' that It is
as withered as the ear of an antediluvian ass — it
would deceive the very devil.'
" ' Hush,' said the cura, ' recoUect where you
are,' at the same time glancing towards the virgin
of St. Pilar, whose petticoats slightly moved, and
crossing himself, — 'it is not necessary that it
deceive the devil. If It but deceive the Superior of
the Carthusian convent.'
" « How much am I to get for it ?' said the
pretended pilgrim.
" ' That must depend,' said the cura, ' upon the
value put upon It by the superior of the Car
thusians; put up the ass's ear, and we wiU go
together to the convent, — surely an ear of the ass
that made the triumphal entry into Jerusalem
must be worth half the convent treasury ;' and as
my worthy master so delivered himself, he turned

, .1 -.-4'.^i*K">-.''= ¦1:1
ffMl'lfl-"':- r'=jB' fa t'p'V "VP*"' ' ¦

^mJc5)uomi^

j!^ 0/7^0.^^1/ i^,/M€/ Li!.(4d:

RECENT RAMBLES. 55
towards the virgin, as was his usual custom on
leaving the sacristy, made his genuflection, and
crossed himself. Whether It might be the ludi
crous contrast between the sanctified face with
which my master, from habit, paid his respects
to the virgin, and the smile and roguish wink
with which he had received the box from the
pilgrim, that roused my risible faculties, I am not
able to tell ; but I burst into an immoderate fit of"
laughter. At first my master trembled from head
to foot, and crossed himself as fast as ever thumb
could move; but common sense soon came in
place of superstition; for if the virgin of St.
Pilar had thought fit to shew her displeasure by
laughing, the laughter would certainly not have
proceeded from under her . petticoats. In short,
the cura discovered all ; and dragging me from my
hiding place, and telling me to remain in the
sacristy tlU he returned, he went out and locked
the door.
"I expected nothing less when he returned
than an unmerciful beating; and was therefore
greatly and agreeably surprised, when, again

56 RECENT RAMBLES.
entering the sacristy he addressed me thus, ' I
perceive Lazaro, that thou art an ingenious, as
well as a gluttonous youngster ; for thou not only
makest the rats and mice hide thy delinquencies,
but even the petticoats of the virgin of St. Pilar
cover both thee and them ; thou hast heard what
passed betwixt me and the pilgrim ?'
" ' I heard all,' said I, ' and saw ' — ' No matter
what thou sawest,' Interrupted he, ' I may have
occasion for thy services ; be discreet and secret :
henceforth thou shalt dine at my table every day,'
and so saying he walked out of the sacristy.
" This was the most agreeable change in the
world ; the cura's stews, though scarcely equal to
those of the Duque de San Carlos, were delicious to
one who had been obliged to nibble for six months
like a mouse ; my master loaded me with kind
ness ; and one day, when we were in the sacristy
together, he made me his confidant. — ' The monks
of the Carthusian convent,' said he, ' are making a
collection of relics ; the superior, ' tiene mas dinero
que ingeniu,' has more money than brains, — and
we, who are wiser and poorer, diminish his

RECENT RAMBLES. 57
treasury, and stock his relicary. Harkee, Lazaro,'
continued he, 'the fool is not yet satisfied; thou
art not wanting in wit : my Invention Is nigh
exhausted, — the ass's ear was a last effort, and
proved a hit ; but If thou canst think of any thing
new, half the profits shall descend Into thy empty
pockets.' " This was encouragement, and I set my brains
to work forthwith. One day passing through one
of the streets on the outskirts of the city, I saw a
cock standing upon the wall of the Franciscan
convent garden, and I said to myself — ' Que
alegria,' for a happy thought struck me. When
it was dark I stole from my master's house, and
making my way to the garden of the Franciscan
convent, I surprised a cock in the hen-roost ; and
next day finding myself alone with my master, I
produced a cock's tongue, and said, ' what will
hinder you from placing this in the relicary of the
Carthusian convent, as the tongue of the cock that
crew to St Peter ?'
" ' 'T is too fresh and too red,' said the cura.
d3

58 RECENT RAMBLES.
"' Put it In the stewpan,' said I — ''twill frizzle^
as dry as if It had not crowed for a century.'
" ' Thou 'rt a marvel,' cried the cura, ' let me
embrace thee, and so — ' " but just as the barber
had proceeded thus far with his story, chancing to
glance towards the place where we had left our
mules, they were no where to be seen. " We
must go in search of them," said the barber ; " and
besides, the sun gets lower ; and unless we jog on,
we shall scarcely reach Lapiche before dark ; my
story Is a long one, and if you have found any
amusement in it, we'll resume it another time,"
and so tying up our wallets, and taking another
draught from the wine-skin, we rose and went in
search of our mules. They had strayed a long
way ; but at last we discovered them taking their
siesta under the partial shade of a sand bank ; and
mounting our beasts, we continued our journey.

RECENT RAMBLES. 59

CHAPTER X.

IN WHICH THE AUTHOR CONTINUES HIS JOURNEY, AND REACHES
THE SITE OF " THE INCONCEIVABLE ADVENTURE OF THE
WINDMILLS,'' RESPECTING WHICH, AND OTHER MATTERS
RELATED BY CERVANTES, HE HOLDS THE READER FOR A
LITTLE IN CONVERSATION.

As we trotted slowly on, I Inquired of my com
panion to which scene of the knight's adventures
he meant to conduct me first ?
" That," said the barber, "is a natural question;
for although we wish to follow the track of Don
Quixote, yet, as he made two sallies from his
village, and as we make only one. It might be
expected that we should be forced to make choice
of a first scene ; however it so happens that this is
unnecessary ; because no one has ever been able
to discover the Inn which he mistook for a castle,
and In which the ceremony of knighthood was

r.' RECENT RAMBLES.
performed ; and we have, therefore, no choice but
to make for Lapiche, and the windmiUs, which
doubtless furnished the first adventure in the
second sally."
" Is It supposed then," said I, " that the inn
never had any existence, excepting in the imagi
nation of Cervantes?"
" It existed," said the barber, reining in his
mule, and looking at me as if I had uttered some
profanation — "as surely as" — he was going to say
as surely as the knight himself existed ; but after a
moment's hesitation he said, — " as surely as Cer
vantes himself existed."
There is little doubt, however, that the inn in
question is fictitious ; there Is no solitary house on
this track ; and between Miguel Esteban and
Puerto Lapiche there Is no village.
It wanted yet about an hour of sunset, when
upon a small elevation that lay at some little dis
tance to the left, I descried four windmills : at the
same moment the barber laid hold of my bridle,
and pointed to the still existing memorials of " the
inconceivable adventure of the windmills;" and as

RECENT RAMBLES. 61
we rode nearer, and the great sails were seen
moving slowly round, the Knight of La Mancha
seemed to be at my side — I saw him turn towards
his worthy squire, and heard him say, " Look
there, friend Sancho, and behold thirty or forty
outrageous giants with whom I Intend to engage
In battle : fly not, ye base and cowardly mis
creants, for he is but a single knight who now
attacks you."
" There are there," said I, turning to the barber,
" only four windmills ; was it a part of the knight's
delusion that he should perceive thirty or forty ? "
" Partly it might be so," said the barber ; " but
I myself recollect when fourteen. In place of four
windmills were to be seen there; the neighbouring
country was then more a corn country than it is
now, for the cultivation of saffron has supplanted
that of corn, and there is therefore less occasion
for windmills."
It does not appear that the Knight of La
Mancha entered Puerto Lapiche; for after the
adventure with the windmills, he sojourned with
the goat-herds, when the story of the shepherdess

62 RECENT RAMBLES.
Marcella is told; and he then journeyed to the Inn
which he mistook for a castle, — not that in which
he was dubbed a knight, but that in which Sancho
was tossed in a blanket. I did not think it ne
cessary however to follow the footsteps of Don
Quixote so rigidly, as to avoid the town, and make
my bed with the cow-herds, or under a tuft of
trees ; and my friend the barber yet retained as
much of his original propensities, as led him to
prefer the prospect of a savoury stew, to anything
that our wallet could have offered him.
As we entered Puerto Lapiche, I noticed that
all the women of the lower orders, wore the skirts
of their petticoats thrown over their heads ; this is
the universal custom in La Mancha, the mantilla
being used only by the upper classes : and it
explains a passage In Don Quixote which would
otherwise be obscure.
Sancho, when upon one occasion he returns
home, endeavours to persuade his wife Theresa, to
accept with a good grace the honours in store for
her, when he shall have obtained the government
of the island: he tells her how great a lady she

RECENT RAMBLES. 63
will then be, and that she must make up her mind
to the transformation. But Theresa replies,
" neither will I put It in the power of those who
see me dressed like a countess or governor's lady,
to say. Mind Mrs. Pork-feeder, how proud she
looks ! it was but yesterday she toiled hard at the
distaff; and went to mass with the tail of her gown
above her head, instead of a veil." It is worthy of
remark, that nowhere in Don Quixote Is there a
word spoken in praise of the beauty of the women
of La Mancha ; " hale," or " buxom wench," are
the highest expressions that the veracity of Cer
vantes permitted him to use, for to have spoken of
them in other terms, would have been a departure
from truth. " The flower of Castilian maids,"
sounds well in poetry; but a Castilian maid, or a
maid of La Mancha, which is the same thing, is a
coarse, brown. Ill-favoured personage, who in any
other country would retain her maiden distinction
during life.
It was almost dark when we alighted at the
door of the Posada; my companion took charge of
the mules, and I groped my way into the kitchen.

64 RECENT RAMBLES.
the only habitable place In a Posada. How
different is the reception one meets on arriving at
a French or an English inn? At a Spanish
posada, no bustling waiter, with his napkin, bows
you into the house; no smart demoiselle drops a
curtsey, and leads the traveller forward with the
glance of her black eyes. In the Spanish posada,
the traveller is welcomed by nobody; is received
by nobody ; Is never asked his pleasure, or what
are his wants ; he is left to feel his way along a
stone wall, and is at last directed to the kitchen by
a glare of light from the fire, which Is kindled on
the floor. It Is a curious fact too, that the rank of
the traveller makes no difference In his reception.
There is not one kind of welcome for the gen
tleman traveller, another for the coach traveller,
and another for the visitor of low deg-ree. AU
ranks find their level In a Spanish posada; no
separate tables are set; no distinctive honours are
paid; there Is no scale of civility; the caballero,
the merchant, the muleteer, are alike left to shift
for themselves.

RECENT RAMBLES. 65

CHAPTER XI.

SHEWING THE EXTRAORDINARY POPULARITY OF CERVANTES
IN SPAIN.

When I entered the posada, I found eight or ten
muleteers at supper round a table, upon which
stood a huge basin, whose fumes announced a stew
that might not indeed vie In delicacy with those of
either the Duque de San Carlos, or the cura Cirillo,
but which had marveUous attraction to one who
had been Indebted only to his wallet for a day's
living. There was a vacant place ; I seated myself
among the muleteers, and soon began, like the
rest, to fish out of the basin with my clasp-knife,
one huge piece after another. Meanwhile, the
barber, who had been looking after the mules,
made his appearance, and he too contrived to
squeeze himself into a place.

66 RECENT RAMBLES.
Hitherto I had been a person of no importance ;
but the arrival of the barber and his opening
discourse raised me a thousand per cent, in the
estimation of all the company.
" Gentlemen," said he, when there was nothing
left to be fished out of the stew, " the caballero
who does us the honour to sup with us, has
travelled from the remotest corner of the earth, to
see the country of Don Quixote." Immediately
upon this announcement being made, every eye
was turned upon me ; the landlord, who was seated
upon a distant bench smoking, took his Uttle paper
cigar out of his mouth, and approached the table ;
even the girl who' was stirring some mess over the
fire, ceased her stirring and turned round; the
long-spouted crystal gilded bottle was pushed
towards me; and an old man who appeared half
asleep, offered a leaf of Indian corn to roll my
tobacca In. I never was treated with civility In a
Spanish posada before. One of these acts of
civiUty requires a word of explanation for those
who have never been in Spain. Black bottles are
rarely seen there : wine Is either drunk out of the

RECENT RAMBLES. 67
skin, or emptied into a crystal vessel, shaped like
a coffee-pot, with a long spout, In the using of
which, an ingenious talent is displayed. The
Spaniard does not put the spout into his mouth,
but holds the vessel above; and the greater dis
tance from which he can direct the stream with
precision Into his mouth, the greater Is the merit.
The reader must also be informed, that the
Spaniards generally make their cigars at the time
they smoke, by wrapping up some tobacco In thin
paper; but the inner leaf of the Indian corn is
preferred. It is certainly a curious fact, but one well
worthy of being recorded, that of the eight or ten
muleteers with whom I shared the stew in this
posada, not one of the number was ignorant of
Don Quixote and his doings, — nor of the claims
of Cervantes to the veneration of his countrymen.
In a country where book learning is so scantily
diffused, and where so few of the lower orders are
educated, one might imagine that anything like
minute knowledge of the work of Cervantes would
be a miracle. It is true, that there is no English

68 RECENT RAMBLES.
novel so bound up with the manners and scenery
of the country, — none so powerful in genius, —
none of such brilliant invention — so rich In aU that
stamps a work with immortality, as this production
of Cervantes ; and that In all this, no proof can be
offered so strong, as that which arises from the
fact I have stated — the more universal and more
Intimate knowledge of the adventures of Don
Quixote, which is found to pervade all ranks in
Spain, than any similar kind of knowledge existing
among the peasantry of perhaps any other country
in Europe. I never omitted an opportunity, — not
in La Mancha only, but In other parts, remote
from the scene of Don Quixote's exploits, — of
ascertaining the existence of this knowledge ; and
I believe I may safely say, that I never mentioned
Don Quixote to a muleteer, or a peasant of any
condition, without finding myself imderstood; an
ignorant stare was never the answer I received;
and I think I may even go so far as to assert, that
I never found any one unacquainted with the
name of Cervantes. I should certainly say, that
the popularity of any other author, in any other

RECENT RAMBLES. 69
country, Is absolutely nothing, in comparison with
the popularity of Cervantes in Spain.
So much civIUty as I received in this posada,
deserved some return; and a measure or two of
superior val de penas, which the innkeeper pro
duced at my bidding, established me more and
more In the hearts of the company; for be it
known, that although In comparison with other
nations, the Spaniards are a sober people, they are
not insensible to the attractions of a measure of
wine : and here again, we find Cervantes j ust in
his portraiture of tastes and manners ; for Sancho
is represented as shewing much affection for the
wine-skin ; and in the supper with the goatherds,
of which both the knight and the squire partook,
the wine-cup was a vessel of so much Importance,
that it was tlie duty of one individual to hand It
about.

70 RECENT RAMBLES.

CHAPTER XII.

WHICH EXPLAINS AND ILLUSTRATES SOME THINGS THAT NEED
EXPLANATION, AND PROVES THE NECESSITY OF TRAVELLING
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF DON QUIXOTE j AND WHEREIN ALSO,
THE BARBER RESUMES HIS STORY.

Next morning, betimes, the barber called me
from my slumbers. " Rozinante and Dapple are
waiting," cried he, thrusting his comical face over
the door,* "and the squire waits permission to
store his wallet for the journey; 'tis a good day's
journey to the Inn where Sancho was tossed In a
blanket ; and a bad road it is for robbers ; so we
had best be jogging, that we may end our journey
before dark."
I was ready in a trice ; and having swallowed a
* In many of the chambers in the posadas and ventas, the
door is only a half-door, leaving an open space at the top.

RECENT RAMBLES. 71
cup of chocolate, that wafted a fragrance like that
which comes from the Spice Islands,* we mounted
our mules, and rode out of Puerto Lapiche. It
was Sunday morning, and all the inhabitants were
in the streets waiting the summons to repair to
mass ; and a miserably poor population seemed
that of Puerto Lapiche, with the old tattered
brown cloaks, and black caps fitting close to the
head. How different from a holiday turn-out in
France ! But to any one who has travelled
through Connaught and Munster, or who, after
travelling through La Mancha, may visit these
parts of Ireland, the resemblance between the
population of a Milesian, and of a Castilian
country town, wUl appear very striking.
It was a charming morning when we sallied out
of Puerto Lapiche ; and although the country
upon which we entered on leaving it was anything
but beautiful, it was still the country ; and where
* The following is the composition of Spanish chocolate : —
to six pounds of the nut, are added three pounds and a half
of sugar; seven pods of vanillas; one pound and a half of
Indian corn ; half a pound of cinnamon ; six cloves ; one
dram of capsicum ; and a small quantity of musk.

72 RECENT RAMBLES.
is the country that does not smUe beneath the rays
of the new risen sun, and the azure of cloudless
skies, — even the sickly olive looked weU ; and the
lilac flowers of the rosemary loaded the air with
their sharp fragrance.
The abundance of rosemary In these parts,
iUustrates the truth of a passage In Don Quixote.
When the knight abides in the goat-herds' shed,
Sancho speaks of the wound his master has re
ceived from the encounter with the windmills, and
wishes for a balsam to cure it ; and the goat-herds
immediately tell him to be under no uneasiness,
for they possess a cure for it at hand, and they
accordingly make a balsam of the leaves of rose
mary, " which grew plentifully around the shed ; "
and this is true not only to nature, but to Spanish
usage, for the rosemary-leaf bruised, and mixed
with oil, Is used In La Mancha for such injuries as
that which Don Quixote received in his battle with
the windmills.
A knight errant travelling in these days through
La Mancha, would find a lack of adventures, even
if, like Don Quixote, he construed every natural

RECENT RAMBLES. 73
occurrence Into an occasion for the exercise of his
profession. Spain, in the days of Cervantes, was
more a travelled country than it Is now ; not by
foreigners, but by natives ; Toledo was then a
populous and flourishing city, and the cities of the
south were eminent on account of their commerce
with the new world. In approaching Puerto
Lapiche, Don Quixote says, " there we shall have
our hearts' content of adventures," and when he
finds himself on the high-way he says, " we shall
,be up to our elbows in adventure;" but now-a-
days, not a traveller Is to be seen in the neigh
bourhood of Puerto Lapiche, — no BIscayans
travelling in coaches, — nor Toledo merchants on
their way to Murcia to buy silks ; only trains of
mules are met, and country people going out to
labour. So faithful are the pictures of Cervantes,
that when we find any contradiction between his
sketches, and the realities we see around, we feel
inclined to Inquire into the cause, as if the work of
Cervantes were the journal of a traveUer, and not
the creation of a novelist ; but this Is the highest
compliment we can pay to his immortal production.
E

74 RECENT RAMBLES.
This observation arises from seeing no cows or
cattle in La Mancha; whereas Cervantes on one
occasion introduces his hero into the company of
cow-herds. This little difficulty I cannot pretend
to explain; all the husbandry of La Mancha is
performed by mules ; and even if there were cows
in La Mancha, they would have been in their
summer pastures in the sierras, at the time when
Don Quixote perambulated La Mancha, which is
stated to have been the month of July. Flocks of
sheep however are occasIonaUy seen ; and in this
morning's journey, a large flock grazing at the
foot of a hillock could not but remind me of the
celebrated adventure of the Knight of La Mancha,
and his previous address to Sancho. " Seest thou
that cloud of dust before us ? the whole of it is
raised by a vast army composed of various and
innumerable nations that are marching that way."
These words I chanced to repeat aloud ; and the
barber who was then in advance of me, hearing
them, turned about his mule, and said, " I perceive
that I am not the only one who looks upon the
adventure with the flock of sheep, as one of the
most admirable inventions of the author."

RECENT RAMBLES. 75
" It is," repUed I, " one of the most excellent,
for in it Cervantes has carried as far as it was
possible, the delusion of his hero ; and has made
the boldest experiment upon our sympathies."
" And yet in truth," said the barber, turning
round upon his beast, and looking towards the
sheep, which chanced to be then crossing the road,
and were raising a cloiid of dust, " 't was after all
no such great delusion." And sometimes dis
coursing in this manner, and sometimes musing,
we journeyed on at a smaU trot, tiU the sun
getting high, we began to think of shelter; and
soon after, a smaU tuft of trees presenting itself,
we dismounted as we had done the day before, left
our mules to their inclination, untied the wallet,
and took the stopper out of the wine-skin, — and
seating ourselves among the saffron flowers, which
in these parts grew plentifully, tinting all the
fields with a bluish garment, appUed with assiduity
to the agreeable task, which was not despised
even by the self-denying knight of the rueful
countenance, who says to his squire, " see if thou
hast got any thing in thy wallet."

76 RECENT RAMBLES.
" And now, Mr. Barber," said I, when the
wallet began to grow somewhat lighter, and the
wine-skin to get lankish, "suppose you indulge
me with the conclusion of your story ; — for judging
by what I have already heard, I am certain it
must contain many diverting incidents, and I long
to hear how you became a barber in Miguel
Esteban, and so great an admirer of Don
Quixote." " As for my admiration of the invention of
Cervantes," repUed the barber, " I beUeve there is
no one in La Mancha, no one In Castile, scarcely
any one In Spain, who thinks less highly of it, or
more highly of it than myself; and as for the
circumstance that settled me as a barber in Miguel
Esteban, I ought to have told you in the beginning
of my story, that although my father and my
mother lived In Manzanares, my grandfather and
his father and grandfather before him, were
barbers in Miguel Esteban."
" Then," said I, interrupting the barber, " I am
possibly at this moment speaking to the identical
descendant of Master Nicholas !"

RECENT RAMBLES. 77
"'Tis that possibility," repUed the barber,
"that fixed me in Miguel Esteban; for when I
came to know the history of the Knight of La
Mancha, in the manner you shall afterwards learn,
and reflected, that I might be the descendant of
Master Nicholas, and that the line of barbers was
broken, I felt it a duty to step into my grand
father's shoes when he died, at the age of eighty.
In the identical house where you first accosted me ;
but before continuing my story, and returning to
the cura Cirillo, I find I must Indulge myself with
a nap, for I have dined heartily, and feel heavy ;
and by the softness of this wine-skin under my
head. Its contents appear to be well drained; jog
me when I have slept long enough, and you shall
then, since it pleases you, hear the continuation of
my story." And so for the present, the barber
lies sleeping under a tuft of trees ; I will allow
him ialf an hour for his siesta, and then, —

78 RECENT RAMBLES.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE SUBJECT OF WHICH, IS DON QUIXOTE S ADVENTURE WITH
THE GOAT-HERDS.

While the barber lay snoring, I stretched myself
upon the little hillock formed by the roots of one
of the trees ; not to sleep, but as it is said of Don
Quixote, " like a hare," with my eyes open,
ruminating upon the agreeable nature of the
journey I had undertaken, upon the Ught which
such a journey throws on the pages of Cervantes,
and now and then smiling at the recoUection of the
barber's story, and the invention of the cock's
tongue, and anticipating the sequel of the history :
and so the half-hour I had .-promised to aUow the
barber passed away, and another good quarter
added to It. It was now time to awake my

RECENT RAMBLES. 79
sleeping companion, for the half-hour spent in
familiar intercourse with the contents of our bag,
and another half-hour consumed by the siesta, had
left but one half-hour more for the continuation of
the story; and so jogging the barber, as I had
promised, and saying, " Rise, friend Sancho, let
us not waste in unprofitable Idleness, the precious
time that God hath vouchsafed to us," he opened
his eyes, which soon assumed their comical twinkle,
and sat up, a new man, as every Spaniard is who
has enjoyed his siesta.
" Mr. Barber," said I, when I perceived that he
was thoroughly awake, "curiosity has been upon the
rack all the time you have been asleep, to learn the
issue of the experiment upon the cock's tongue, and
I am all impatience to hear if your trick succeeded
with the Carthusian." But the barber, who was
always more occupied with Don Quixote than with
any thing else, without noticing my observation,
looked Inquiringly around him, and particularly at
the clump of trees which sheltered us from the
sun, and said, " so intently have my thoughts been
fixed upon the contents of the bag and the wine-

80 RECENT RAMBLES.
skin, that I have only this moment discovered we
have selected, by mere accident, the identical spot
where Don Quixote was entertained by the goat
herds. You perceive that these are not oUve but
ilex trees, and that one of them is a cork tree."
" I perceive that what you say is true," repUed
I ; " but how does this prove that the cow-herds'
shed stood here ?"
" By the most certain evidence in the world,"
said the barber. " You cannot have forgotten that
after Don Quixote and Sancho had, ' with keen
appetite and Infinite relish, solaced their stomachs'
with goat's flesh, 'the herds spread upon their
skins great quantities of acorns ;' and that it was
upon the display of these, that the Knight ' took
up a handful, and after looking at them atten
tively,' began his famous eulogium upon the
golden agC' — ' Happy age and happy days, to which
the ancients gave the name of golden :' and In the
same place, we read that one of the wine-skins
'was hung upon a cork-tree.' Now," continued
the barber, " it so happens, that throughout aU this
part of La Mancha, here, in this part alone, are

RECENT RAMBLES. 81
ilex trees or cork trees to be found together ; and
here, therefore, Cervantes must have placed the
goat-herds' shed."
The barber was probably right. Scarcely any
where on the plains of La Mancha, have I seen
any other trees than olives; but the reader
requires to be Informed that the acorns spoken of
in the translations of Don Quixote, are not the
acorns of our EngUsh oak, which Is rarely found in
Spain, but the ilex-nut or fruit of the ilex, which
is sometimes called the evergreen oak : and this
name, as well as the similarity in the appearance of
the two fruits, may excuse the translation into the
word acorn. The goat-herds' were not singular in
spreading these acorns upon their table ; wherever
the ilex Is abundant, its fruit forms an article of
sustenance for both man and beast. In all the
markets of Andalusia, as well as of La Mancha,
baskets fuU of Ilex nuts are exposed for sale, and
almost every peasant has a pocket half filled with
them, though indeed, in the date districts, dates
take the place of ilex nuts. Sancho it appears was
not neglectful of the acorns, for while his master
e3

82 RECENT RAMBLES.
delivered his harangue, "he kept his teeth em
ployed upon the acorns."
And now having assented to the proof offered
by the barber, that we were sitting on the spot
where the Knight of La Mancha deUvered his
celebrated harangue; and having mused a few
moments, seeing In imagination the simple goat
herds listening to the extravagant rhapsody of the
knight, while Sancho, heedless of the fine speech,
munched his acorns; and hearing him repeat to
his sheep-skin clothed audience the distich of the
ballad — " For never sure was any knight
So served by damsel or by dame,
As Lancelot, that man of might.
When he at first from Britain came — "
I again expressed my anxiety to be made ac
quainted with the sequel of the barber's story;
and he, without further preface or apology, took
up the thread of his narrative in the foUowing
manner.

RECENT RAMBLES. 83

CHAPTER XIV.

IN WHICH THE BARBER CONTINUES HIS STORY, AND SHEWS
THAT A YOUNG HEAD IS NO MATCH FOR AN OLD ONE.

" I think I broke off my relation just where my
master, the cura, expressed his satisfaction at the
exceUence of my contrivance ; the experiment
succeeded to admiration. The cura found a half-
starved wretch to personate a pilgrim from Judea,
and to carry the reUc to the Carthusian convent ;
and as for me, I was the happiest serving-boy in
Castile. I already counted upon a hundred pis
toles as my share of the adventure; and continually
chinked the quartos that lay in the bottom of my
pocket, fancying them so many ounces of gold.*
AU this day my master treated me as If I had been
* A large gold coin, worth sixteen dollars.

84 RECENT RAMBLES.
a canon; his words slipped out like oil; so savoury
was his stew, that it might have been prepared in
the archbishop's kitchen, and the most deUcate
morsels found their way to my plate.
" ' Lazaro,' said the cura, ' thou art a promising
young feUow; and if thy Ingenuity but hold out,
thou canst not exhaust it without filling thy
pockets. As for thy first essay,' continued he,
' thou art not to blame for the avarice of the
Superior of the Carthusians, who has valued the
relic somewhat less highly than we expected;
next time we '11 make a better bargain. Here Is
thy share, Lazaro,' putting four duros* into my
palm, and closing my fingers fast upon them;
' thou never possessed so much money In all thy
life before.'
" I had sense enough to say nothing, for just at
that moment casting my eye towards the window,
which looked up the Calle de San Pasqual, I per
ceived the messenger who had been sent to the
Carthusian Convent with the relic, hastening
towards our gate, and evidently concealing some-
* A duro is worth rather more than five francs French.

RECENT RAMBLES. 85
thing bulky under his habit. Feigning some
sudden cause for absenting myself, I invented an
excuse to the cura, whose eyes seemed as if they
were already beginning to acknowledge the power
of a surfeit ; and making the best of my way down
the stairs, I arrived at the gate just In time to
receive the pilgrim.
"'Friend,' said I, 'my master, who is now
enjoying his siesta, enjoined me before he dropped
asleep, that if you should return from the Carthu
sian Convent before he awoke, I might receive for
him what you had brought, and give you one
tenth part, as your recompense;' and the pre
tended pUgrim, overjoyed at the hope of receiving
a sum so much larger than he had any reason to
expect, put into my hands a leathern purse, which
he said contained twelve thousand reals In gold ; *
and hastily opening the purse, and counting into
his hand one tenth part of that sum, I addressed
him in these words. ' Friend pilgrim,' said I, ' of
all the money that thou hast given me in this
purse, I do not intend that one peseta shall ever
• 120/. Sterling.

86 RECENT RAMBLES.
find its way Into the pocket of my master, the cura
CirlUo. Now hark 'ee to what I am going to teU
thee ! either thou or I must leave Toledo ; and it
depends upon thyself, whether thou remainest in
Toledo to be hanged, on the strength of thy bad
character, or leavest it with something even added
to the round sum thou hast already got. Thou
art a rogue and a cheat by profession, and too old
to reform; the thing must therefore lie at thy
door : here are four pieces of eight for thee, in
addition to what thou hast abeady gotten. ' Va te
con Dios,' (go in the name of God) ; and so saying,
I shut the convent gate and returned to my
master, whom I found, as I thought, asleep ; and
stealing up to my own garret, I spread out before
me the contents of the leathern purse, and sat
down upon the floor beside my treasure, ringing
one piece against another, and placing them in aU
sorts of positions, to please my avaricious eye.
But while I thus sat contemplating my riches, and
planning a thousand projects for extracting enjoy
ment from them, suddenly the door closed behind
me, and the key was turned in the lock. The

RECENT RAMBLES. 87
vigilance of the cura, my master, had been too
wakeful for my inexperience, and I was thus
imprisoned along with my treasures. And now,"
said the barber, springing to his feet, " we must
no longer delay our journey ; there are four good
leagues yet before us, and my story will be as
good to-morrow as to-day:" and so tying up our
provisions, and taking down our wine-skin from
the cork-tree, where in imitation of Sancho, we
had hung It, we went in quest of our mules, which
had taken a Uking to some sweet marjoram that
grew in an adjoining hoUow; and having mounted
our beasts, we set forward upon our journey.

88 RECENT RAMBLES.

CHAPTER XV.

TREATING OF THE ADVENTURE WITH THE YANGUESIAN CAR
RIERS, AND BRINGING THE READER WITHIN SIGHT OF THE
INN WHICH DON QUIXOTE MISTOOK FOR A CASTLE.

Soon after leaving this spot, we entered upon
extensive oUve grounds, which, when the word
wood occurs In Don Quixote, must be substituted.
A thick wood is scarcely any where to be found In
La Mancha; the olive grounds are either scattered
with trees, extending over a surface of several
leagues, or are laid out In long straight avenues,
at least a mile in length, but are nowhere In La
Mancha, scarcely indeed any where in Spain,
entitled to the appellation of a wood. Our path
over the grass lay through these grounds, and a
little rivulet which had not yet been entirely dried

RECENT RAMBLES. 89
up by the summer heats, wandered through the
herbage ; and as we trotted gently along, side by
side, " it was somewhere In this wood," said the
barber, " that the unlucky adventure with the
Yanguesian carriers took place, when Rozinante
was almost battered to death ; the exact spot
cannot be determined; but it was in 'a delightful
spot, overgrown with verdant grass, and watered
by a cool and pleasant stream,' and as these are
somewhat rare in La Mancha, we cannot greatly
err In laying the scene In this wood."
" That was an unlucky adventure," said I, " for
the Knight and the Squire, as well as for Rozi
nante." " But," said the barber, " Cervantes had his
meaning In It; an unlucky adventure Illustrates
character as well as a more fortunate one. The
affection of Sancho for his master, and of both for
their dumb beasts, is weU exempUfied in it.
Sancho is as faithful to his master, as Don Quixote
is to his mistress; and the only difference between
the benevolence of the Knight and the Squire is,
that the benevolence of the squire is lavished upon

yO RECENT RAMBLES.
his ass, while that of his master spreads itself over
the whole human race."
" Truly, Mr. Barber," said I, " thou art a philo
sopher, and fit to write a commentary upon your
favourite author; but, for my part, much as I
admire the moral and serious excellencies of the
book, I cannot help regarding its humour as its
chief distinction."
" In that opinion," said the barber, " your grace
will find few persons in Spain to agree with you ;
the humour is only Incidental. I am the only
person in Miguel Esteban who possesses a copy;
every Simday night I read it aloud. Do not
doubt that the audience is large, but no one
laughs, though every one admires."
" Then," said I, " Miguel Esteban is a vUlage of
stoics." But I am sensible that the barber spoke
the truth; the Spaniards are not a laughing people:
I have already given some instances of the admi
ration of the Spaniards for Don Quixote, and I
could easily add many more ; but If they perceive
humour in it, they do not look upon it as that kind
of humour which ought to produce laughter. One

RECENT RAMBLES. 91
day, when speaking of Don Quixote to a highly-
gifted and weU-informed man, he said, " the point
of the work consists In the opposition between the
characters of the Knight and the Squire ; and this
opposition arises from the contrast between know
ledge and ignorance : I find much In this con
trast to induce reflection; but little to provoke
laughter." We had now left the olive grounds behind us ;
and passing over some saffron fields, we gained the
high road, in which we continued to travel leisurely
until near sunset, without passing through any
vlUage, or seeing even so much as one house ; for,
between Puerto Lapiche and Manzanares there Is
no town, and only one inn, that which we now
approached, and which Don Quixote mistook for a
castle.

92 RECENT RAMBLES.

CHAPTER XVI.

WHICH MUST EE READ BY ALL WHO DESIRE TO KNOW MORE
OF THE INN WHICH DON QUIXOTE MISTOOK FOR A CASTLE;
OR WHO ARE DESIROUS OF READING THE OUTSET OF
POLINARIo's HISTORY.

In every particular, the Venta de Querada reminds
the traveller of those scenes with which it is asso
ciated in his memory. It was in the " court-yard"
of this inn that Sancho was tossed in a blanket;
and it is still entered by a yard. The yard too
had gates, for " Sancho clapped heels to his ass,
and the inn gate being thrown open, he saUied
forth;" and the yard has gates yet: it was also
surrounded by a low wall ; for we read, that " the
valiant knight, finding the gate shut, rode round
in search of some other entrance, and when he
approached the yard wall, which was not very high.

RECENT RAMBLES. 93
he perceived the disagreeable joke they were prac
tising upon his squire ; " and if at this day, the
same joke were practised in the court-yard of the
venta de Querada, it might still be seen outside of
the wall. With such resemblances and reminis
cences, it Is not then to be wondered at, that when
I rode into the yard, accompanied by the barber,
I readily conjured up the image of the lantern-
jawed knight holding grave parley with the inn
keeper, who demanded payment of his bill, and
caUing him " a saucy publican and a blockhead to
boot," while he was brandishing his pitchfork, and
sallying out of the Inn.
It so happened, too, that my reminiscences of
the scenes in this Inn, were more strongly awa
kened by the circumstance of the serving maid,
who acted as groom, being an Asturian. Every
one recollects Maritomes, whose assignation with
the carrier, was the occasion of Don Quixote's
amorous address to the supposed " beauteous and
high-born lady," when he mistook her for the
daughter of the governor of the castle, and which
mistake led also to the belabouring of the carcases

94 RECENT RAMBLES.
both of the Knight and his Squire. Cervantes
describes this Maritornes as a " servant maid from
the Asturlas, remarkable for her capacious coun
tenance, and somewhat short of seven hands from
head to foot." Far from its being uncommon to
find a servant maid from the Asturias, nothing is
more usual in Castile ; but this only shews, at the
same time, the truth of all Cervantes' pictures, and
the simiUtude between the usages of Spain in his
days and In ours. These Asturian serving-maids
are remarkable for their breadth of countenance,
and their shortness and rotundity of form; and she
into whose care I delivered my mule, was a fit
representative of Maritornes.
The kitchen in this venta was not, as our last
night's quarters had been, crowded with muleteers;
when I entered I saw but one stranger, who stood
with his back to a blazing, crackling fire, smoking
his cigar. He was a magnificent specimen of a
CastiUan peasant; tall, finely limbed, weU pro
portioned, and, although muscular, yet somewhat
slight In his make, and combining, with an
appearance of considerable strength, all the marks

RECENT RAMBLES. 95
of extraordinary activity. I am particular in my
description of this man, because he proved to be
an extraordinary and weU known character, — no
other than the celebrated Polinario, the notorious
brigand; once the terror and the scourge of Spain,
now a reformed character. I never in my Ufe
spent a more agreeable evening than this, which I
did with Polinario and the barber; and while I
listened to his Interesting recitals, I forgot, for the
first time, the chief object of my journey.
But I must endeavour to make the reader a
partaker in the enjoyment of this evening. I soon
perceived, that the barber, my companion, and the
brigand, were not unknown to each other; and
when my companion retired to look after his
mules, I took an opportunity of slipping into the
yard, and of requesting him to try if he could not
prevail with PoUnario, to give us some little
sketch of his life, which he not only promised me
that he would request, but almost promised that
I should be gratified. Accordingly, when the
barber returned to the kitchen, and when we had
all three taken our places on a couple of low

96 RECENT RAMBLES.
benches, with a capacious measure of wine before
us, which was briskly passed from the one to the
other, " Friend," said the barber, " It is curious
enough, that not twenty-four hours have elapsed
since, when conversing with this Caballero, who is
travelling through La Mancha that he may see
with his own eyes, the spots which are im
mortalized by the exploits of Don Quixote, I told
him, that if he should have the good fortune in our
rambles, to fall in with Polinario, he could give us
a history of the most singular exploits that any
man had performed since the days of Don Quixote.
What say'st thou friend? I am all but pledged to
the Caballero for thy compUance."
" Truly," replied the brigand, " 't Is not a thing
I 'm over fond of; past days are past and over
with me: Polinario the robber, and Polinario, paid
by the king to guard his mails against robbers, are
different men; and Polinario that is, would not
unwillingly forget PoUnario that was; for the
charms of the life led by Polinario that was, are
almost strong enough temptation, to induce him
that is, to put his neck again In jeopardy. Never-

RECENT RAMBLES. 97
theless, as we appear to be settled here for the
next three or four hours, I '11 not be niggardly :
the Caballero will no doubt renew the wine
measure ; and before we 've drained it, you '11 have
had more than enough of my exploits;" and so,
having called for another, and more capacious
measure, gave us the following curious recital.

98 RECENT RAMBLES.

CHAPTER XVII.

IN WHICH POLINARIO PROCEEDS WITH HIS HISTORY.

" I have not much to boast of In my pedigree. A
rogue, as likely as an honest man, might spring
from it ; though indeed, the profession followed by
my father, which was no other than that of gaoler
and executioner in the city of SeviUe, Is not a
profession very favourable to the Increase of
rogues. It must be confessed, however, that he
did not bring up the heir of his house In that
strictly moral way which might have been ex
pected from a man, whose sole business it was to
keep down the number of rogues, and rid honest
men of their neighbourhood. I was master of my
own time, and was allowed to do whatever was

RECENT RAMBLES. 99
agreeable to me, so that I early learned to be
wilful, the first evidence of which was seen in my
determination to have no share in my father's
business, which was not by any means to my
liking. " I had scarcely attained my fourteenth birth
day, when one day, my father, who chanced to have
just then a great press of business on his hands,
and who up tUl that period had never concerned
himself In what manner I disposed of my time,
tapping me smartly on the head with the key of
the gaol, from which he had just returned, said,
' Pol boy, I have been thinking, that thou 'rt an
idle rogue, and don't earn so much as thy
gazpacho. Business so Increases upon me, that I
have need of an assistant : three rogues are to be
hanged to-day, and three to-morrow; and I have
just received an order to hang that notorious
brigand Campo, the day after. What with look
ing after the prisoners, and minding my ropes, and
going to mass, I've scarce time to eat my puchero;
and I'm resolved that thou shalt never eat another,
unless thou earnest it.'

100 RECENT RAMBLES.
" I had already sometime resolved upon leaving
SeviUe, and pushing my fortune, for I had to
suffer a good deal of unsavoury jesting in regard
of my father's profession; so that my father's
harangue made no difference in my determination,
excepting only that I resolved not only to go
myself from Seville, but that Campo, who would
otherwise be hanged the day after the next, should
accompany me ; for Campo, who had been some
time in prison, amused and interested me with
relating his exploits, and I determined to enter the
world under the guidance of so experienced a
hand. " To all that my father said, I made answer :
that nothing would be more agreeable to me, than
to take some part of his duties off his hands; and
that although I was not yet able to use his rope
adroitly, ' this key,' said I, ' I am able to turn in
the lock ; and if you will look after your rope, I '11
undertake to look after those for whom It is
intended : so dear father, take your pleasure ; eat
your puchero in peace ; go, to mass, if so be you
are inclined ; never stay at home on a Monday,

RECENT RAMBLES. 101
when all the world 's after the bull-fight ; and I '11
warrant you '11 find all snug when you return home
to your gazpacho.'
" ' I don't doubt it lad,' said my father ; ' there's
a peseta for thee; I'U see the bulls this afternoon,
God wilUng ; and meanwhile look thee weU after
the rogues.'
" ' Trust me for that,' said I ; and when my
father was gone to the bull-fight, I took the key
of the gaol, and went In search of Campo, who was
no way loth to profit by the disguise I brought
him; and we were soon trudging together, at a
round pace In the direction of Cordova.
" ' Youngster,' said Campo, after we had left
some leagues between us and SeviUe, ' though
thou hast saved me from hanging for the present,
I mean that thou shalt earn thy own puchero ; and
I 'U tell thee how to go about it.'
" ' That 's all I want,' said I ; ' I long to eat a
puchero of my own earning.'
" ' Thou need'st not long a great while,' said
Campo; 'judging by the state of my own stomach,
thou would'st not object to sup.'

102 RECENT RAMBLES.
" ' No indeed,' said I, ' I want but to be shewn
the way to the pot.'
" ' An empty pot would furnish an indifferent
supper,' said Campo ; ' what we want is something
to put Into It ; but thou 'rt yet but a simpleton :
did'st thou hear any noise just now In that Uex
wood on the left ?'
"'Nothing but some grunts,' said I, 'and a
squeak or two.^
" ' That 's the noise for us,' said Campo, rub
bing his hands, ' Come my lad, be stirring ;
bring hither a squeaker ; thou hast done a bolder
deed than that this day.'
" As this may be considered my entrance into
the world, I am particular In my relation : I had no
difficulty in capturing the materials of our supper,
and before another half-hour elapsed, we were in a
deep hollow worn by a little brook, lying beside a
blazing fire, and a steam saluting our nostrils that
would have been grateful to a bishop.
" ' This,' said Campo, as he stuffed one huge
piece after another into his mouth, ' this Is better
than hanging : what thinkest thou, little fellow ?'

RECENT RAMBLES. 103
" ' I think,' said I, ' my father's pucheros are
not fit to be eaten.'
""Thou shalt never fare worse,' said Campo;
'only take this Into thy account, that hanging
sometimes turns out to be the dessert; and hark'ee
young one, I would rather not burden my con
science farther; it has near about as much as It can
conveniently carry. I 'm a man of honour, and a
good CathoUc; and would not return evil for good.
Thou hast saved my neck for the present; and I'd
rather not put thee in the way of standing my
substitute. We are not yet six hours' walk from
SevUle ; go back to thy father ; better taste a rope
end, than dangle at the end of a rope ; 't will cost
thee but a beating ; and scarce that ; for he knows
Campo ; and will conclude that I helped myself to
the key, and am indebted to no one but myself.'
" But Campo spoke in vain. I told him I was
resolved to follow him ; and that I would never be
of a profession that forced me to take part against
honest men like him.
" ' Well well,' said Campo, ' if such be thy
determination, here 's my hand ; I '11 make a man

104 RECENT RAMBLES.
of thee ;' and we were soon clear of the wood, and
passing quickly through the meadows that Ue along
the side of the Guadalquivir, Campo striding first,
while I followed at a little trot.
" We had not gone far, when Campo stopped,
and said, ' now youngster, we must cross the river,'
and although I was a bold lad, I glanced with
some uneasiness at the broad river that gUded
smoothly by: but Campo knew what he was
about ; a little boat lay close under the bank, and
we were speedily transported to the other side of
the river, and making all speed towards the Sierra
Morena. " It was yet scarcely sunrise, when, having
turned a defile In the mountains, I saw before me,
in a deep and wide hollow, between thirty and
forty horses saddled and bridled, the saddle-girths
loose, and the bits covered with foam, and beside
them, as many men, who appeared by their gait
and dress to be so many cavaliers of distinction.
No sooner did we emerge from the defile, than in
reply to a signal from Campo, a loud shout of
welcome resounded far and near ; and Campo,

RECENT RAMBLES. 105
advancing, presented me to his comrades, as an
honest youth who had done him a good turn, and
who wished for the society of gaUant men.
" I wiU not detail to you senores, either the
particulars Of my reception, or the life which I led
during aU the time that I was associated with the
company of Don Jose, who took especial notice
of me, and often told me that I should one day be
his successor.
" ' That Don Jose,' said the barber, Interrupting
Polinario In his narrative, ' was a very devil.'
" ' He was not all devil,' said Polinario; ' I 've
known him do many generous and good deeds.'
" ' They 've never reached my ears,' said the
barber. " ' One just now comes to my memory,' said
Polinario, ' and by your leave, I '11 give the
memory of Don Jose the advantage of it.'
" ' By all means,' said the barber.

f3

106 RECENT RAMBLES.

CHAPTER XVIII.

A PASSAGE IN THE LIFE OF THE RENOWNED DON JOSE.

" It was not a very long while before the band of
Don Jose was broken up, that one night, on the
road between Seville and Cordova, we feU In with
a caballero, well mounted, riding with extraor
dinary speed, and attended by three persons,
mounted and armed as well as himself. Drawn up
to the number of eight or ten across the high road,
each of us with his carbine to his shoulder, to pass
us, or to encounter us, were equaUy out of the
question. ' Surrender, seiior, with a good grace,'
said the lieutenant, ' and it will be better for thee ;
we want but thy money; after spending a night
with us, thou shalt pursue thy journey.'

RECENT RAMBLES. 107
" ' For the love of God, in the name of the most
blessed Virgin, and of all the saints,' said the
caballero, ' do not detain me : I am rich ; my
money I wIU wiUingly give ; but what can it serve
thee to detain me on my journey? Do I speak
with the leader?' added he; 'if not, I beseech
thee lead me to him;' and the lieutenant imme
diately conducted the stranger to Don Jose, who
with myself and the rest of the band, had remained
at a Uttle distance.
" ' Seiior,' said the caballero, ' although I
address a bandit chief, I address one who has at
least the reputation of sometimes doing just and
kind deeds.'
" ' And you probably think, seiior,' said Don
Jose, ' that It is neither just nor kind to make free
with this purse, which is none of the lightest.'
" ' The question of justice we shall not debate,'
said the caballero ; ' I do not complain of the loss
of my purse, but of the loss of my time, — in
making free with which, no advantage can accrue
to Don Jose, — for I take it for granted, it Is him
whom I address.'

108 RECENT RAMBLES.
" ' Shew me,' said our leader, ' that time is of
value to you, and I promise not to encroach upon
it.' " ' I have a sister,' said the caballero, ' young
and beautiful, who is beloved by a noble of Anda
lusia, to whom she was once betrothed. My
father disapproved of the marriage, because he
wished her to marry the Captain-General of An
dalusia.' " ' Don Mendizabal de Zativa,' interrupted
Don Jose.
" ' The same,' said the cabaUero.
" ' Better marry the Devil at once,' said Don
Jose ; ' she shall not marry the Captain-General.'
" ' Well, my sister chose the veU in preference ;
and was sent by my father to the convent of
Santa Clara, at  . This day her noviciate
expires ; and to-morrow she wUl be lost to us all.
Yesterday, it was the wUl of God that my father
should die. I am now my sister's legal guardian ;
and If I am able to reach  by sunrise to
morrow, I can assert my right, and with her own
consent, claim her.'

RECENT RAMBLES. 109
" ' She shall marry the caballero yet,' said Don
Jose, ' If he be worthy of her.'
" ' He Is worthy of her,' said the stranger.
"'Does she love him?' again demanded our
chief. " ' She did love him, as he deserved to be loved,'
said the cabaUero ; ' and though, being destined
for the veil, she cannot now avow her affection, I
am sure she loves him still.'
" ' Seiior,' said Don Jose, ' I will not only
permit thee to pursue thy journey, but will even
assist thee In thy object.'
" ' I am grateful for the offer,' said the cabal
lero ; ' but it is unnecessary that I should accept
it. All I ask is, leave to pursue my journey.'
" ' Thou art mistaken, friend,' said Don Jose,
' in Imagining the object in view so easy of accom
plishment. True it is, indeed, that as the brother
of the novice, her father being dead, the right to
claim her is yours ; but the right extends but to
the term of the noviciate. If once the vow be
pronounced, it Is irrevocable. Think ye, that
upon your assertion that her father Is dead, they

no RECENT RAMBLES.
wIU give her up ? they will say, ' prove thy right
first:' from her, all will be concealed; and long
before it be possible for thee to prove thy right ;-r-
nay, my belief is, that thou wUt hardly have left
the convent gate, before thy sister will be com-
peUed to pronounce her vows. I am resolved,'
said Don Jose, in his own impetuous way, ' that
she shaU never take the veil; but come, — 'tis
already past midnight ; mount, young gentleman,
and do not spare the horses; ours wiU keep pace
with them;' and before another five minutes had
elapsed, the caballero and his attendants, foUowed
by Don Jose and all his troop, were on the road to
 , the ground ringing beneath the hoofs of
our horses.
" The sun had some time risen, when we clat
tered through the viUage of  , and came to
a halt before the gate of the Convento de Santa
Clara. " ' Now,' said Don Jose, addressing the cabal
lero, ' try if they will give thee up thy sister.'
" Having knocked at the gate, the caballero was
admitted alone. I have no means of knowing'

RECENT RAMBLES. Ill
what foUowed; but a short time only had elapsed,
when he returned to us.
" ' WeU, se5or,' said Don Jos6, ' what success ?'
" ' As you predicted,' said he ; ' they refuse to
give me my sister, or even so much as to allow me
to see her. 'We have no proof,' say they; 'and
besides, it is with her own consent that she takes
the veil; and without her consent, no one can
claim her.'
" ' There 's no time for anything but acting,'
said Don Jose ; ' I '11 lay a duro or two, the cere
mony's already begun ; and unless we make speed,
we 'U have to restore thy sister shorn of her locks ;
come,' added our chief, addressing me, ' step from
thy saddle on the wall, and open the gate for us ;'
and before the words were well out of his mouth, I
had stepped on the waU, — dropped on the other
side, and was stoutly engaged with two or three
friars, who interposed themselves betwixt me and
the gate ; but in a trice, I was joined by several of
our band, who had foUowed my example ; and In
another minute, the whole troop was drawn up
within the court.

112 RECENT RAMBLES.
" The Abbess, a dignified old woman, now
appeared on the steps that led to the Inner door;
and walking across the court, was beginning to
address our leader, when Don Jose, interrupting
her, said ' Madam, I am Don Jose ; these are my
men ; you have heard of me before ; lead us into
the convent, and conduct hither the sister of this
cabaUero;' but without waiting for her answer,
Don Jose, motioning to me to follow him, walked
past the abbess, and straight into the convent ;
and there, sure enough, we found everything as
Don Jose had predicted. The ceremony had
already begun ; the novice, not yet indeed divested
of her locks, and still wearing her noviciate habit,
stood, ready to pronounce the oath that would
have separated her from the world. The priest
stood ready to administer it. It may easily be
believed, that our entrance changed the face of
affairs. " ' What is thy sister's name ? ' whispered Don
Jose to the caballero.
" ' Inez,' repUed he ; and Don Jose, then walk
ing straight up to the novice, and putting aside

RECENT RAMBLES. 113
the numerous arms that woul(J have intercepted
him, ' Inez,' said he, at the same time beckoning
to the caballero to advance, ' dost thou know this
cabaUero?' " ' My brother, my brother !' cried she ; and
the next moment she was locked In his arms.
" ' Monstrous profanation ! ' exclaimed the
abbess. "'Back!' roared the priest; 'tis with her own
consent that the novice, Inez, assumes the veil;
who dares — !'
" ' Inez,' said the cabaUero, ' Is It with thy
consent that thou takest the veU?' and at the
same moment that he put the question, he led
forward one of those individuals who accompanied
him in the capacity of attendants ; and he, throw
ing back his cloak, displayed the rich dress of a
noble. " Never before was there seen so deep a blush
on the cheek of a novice, as that which overspread
the cheeks of Inez, and she would have fallen to
the ground, had not her brother encircled her with
his arm.

114 RECENT RAMBLES.
" ' Lead the way to the chapel,' said Don Jose,
pushing the priest before him.
" ' O Dios !' said the priest, holding up both his
hands. " Inez, too, modestly and timidly hung back,
when her brother, addressing her, said, ' Inez, my
sister, thy noviciate is ended; God has given to
me the guardianship of my sister ; I restore thee
to the world with thine own consent ; and with
thine own consent entrust thy happiness to one
who knows the value of that which is confided to
him:' and he, leading the now pale, trembling,
and beautiful novice, while Don Jose foUowed the
priest, all stood before the altar.
" It Is not necessary that I should relate what
followed ; you can imagine the sequel ; the novice
became a bride ; and thus the object of our inter
ference was accomplished. This, you wiU allow,
was a good deed ; but it is only one, of a hundred
instances 1 could give, of such actions performed
by the unfortunate Don Jose."

RECENT RAMBLES. 115

CHAPTER XIX.

WHEREIN THE BARBER UPHOLDS THE SUPREMACY OF DON
QUIXOTE; AND WHEREIN ALSO IS RELATED THE CURIOUS
INTERVIEW BETWEEN POLINARIO AND THE BISHOP OF
JAEN.

" In truth. Master Nicholas," said I, turning to
the barber, "this exploit of Don Jose might almost
entitle him to rank as a knight errant, since none
of their duties are so sacred, as that which enjoins
them to succour distressed damsels."
" Ay, but," said the barber, " Don Jose had
thirty to back him ; but the Knight of La Mancha
had but his own single arm."
" And the arm of Sancho," said I.
" Squires are forbidden to meddle in their
master's affairs," said the barber ; " and Don
Quixote shewed that he had no need of anybody's

116 RECENT RAMBLES.
aid. To my mind, his encounter with the Bis
cayan needed more valour than Don Jose's exploit,
in which he had only women and friars to contend
with. In truth, the Knight of La Mancha would
have entrusted the management of that affair to
Sancho, and would have thought it derogatory to
him to meddle in the business."
" I do not liken this exploit of Don Jose," said
Polinario, who evidently knew the barber's way,
"to the exploits of the Knight of La Mancha;
but you '11 admit, friend," added he, addressing the
barber, " that its results were of more value."
The barber would fain have been able to take
up, like the knight himself, the plea of enchant
ment, as an apology for his want of success ; and
not readily finding an answer to the allegation of
Polinario, he said, " the intention is everything ;
the Knight of La Mancha wished to reUeve the
distressed, succour the innocent, make wrong,
right; destroy oppressors, and aid the weak by
the strength of his arm. We are not to
judge by the event only; though the giants
turned out to be windmills, and the contending

RECENT RAMBLES. 117
armies sheep, and those whom he would have
succoured, persons not standing In need of succour,
all the world knows, that he would have assaulted
a giant, as readily as a windmill ; and in truth, I
apprehend, a giant would have been the easier
vanquished of the two; but come, friend," added
he, and relapsing into his good humour, which had
been somewhat ruffled by the supposition of any
comparison between the exploits of Don Jose, and
those of the Knight of La Mancha, " continue the
narrative of thy own life, from which we have been
too long detained by this foolish adventure of Don
Jos^." "Poor Don Jose," resumed Polinario, "ill
fortune overtook him. One by one, the greater
number of his band were slain, or taken, and at
length, in an encounter near Baylen, he himself
was made prisoner ; and was soon after, hanged at
Cordova. I had often observed, that the mis
fortunes which overtook our band, were occasioned
by too many being associated together ; and when
the news reached me at  , where I chanced
then to be on a voyage of discovery, that the band

118 RECENT RAMBLES.
was destroyed, and Don Jose a prisoper, I resolved
thenceforward, to have neither partakers In my
good fortune, nor companions in my reverses ; and
I wiU venture to say, that from that hour, the
name of Polinario, who was never known to be
otherwise than alone, was as terrible throughout
 , as that of Don Jose had ever been,
with his thirty or forty carabines to back him.
Peace to his memory!" said PoUnario, taking a
long draught from the wine-measure : " I suspect
there 's little time left for my own adventures ; in
half an hour, my time will be up ; but if you and
this cabaUero are travelling about La Mancha,
we '11 meet again — and then — "
" Most likely," said the barber, interrupting
Polinario, " we shall fall In with each other again ;
but before separating now, let us at least hear the
account of thy adventure with the Bishop of Jaen,
which led, as all the world knows, to thy change of
life." " That will take but little time in teUing," said
Polinario. " I had been ten years and more at
my trade, before that took place ; and many are

RECENT RAMBLES. 119
the escapes 1 had had, — thanks, sometimes to
luck; and a time or two, to my own courage,
though indeed, I should not boast of that, which
however the world gives me credit for."
" Nobody will doubt thy courage," said the
barber, " but here In La Mancha, we 're difficult
to please on that head; as thou may'st well
believe ; one valorous deed is fairly compared with
another ; and he would be a devil rather than a
man, whose exploits eclipsed those of the Knight
of La Mancha; but I must not interrupt thy
relation, else we '11 be cheated out of thy story."
" I was saying," resumed Polinario, " that I had
been ten years a robber before my encounter with
the Bishop of Jaen. I began to be tired of ex
tremities and escapes; and although I sometimes
think, now that I am clear of all such difficulties,
that I 'd once more like to take my seat on the
little wall on the winding road above the venta de
Cardeiia, with my carabine In my hand, yet I had
then begun to lose conceit of my trade. Well, I
was somewhat low in purse, and threatened on
many sides, when sitting one day in my ac-

120 RECENT RAMBLES.
customed place, I descried a carriage and six
mules just turning the summit of the mountain;
and at the same time, a man weU mounted, passed
by me in advance."
" Holloa friend," said I, "who comes yonder?"
" The Bishop of Jaen," said he, " God preserve
his reverence !"
" WeU," said I to myself, " a bishop's gold 's as
good as another's ; and he can better afford to lose
it : he is reputed a good man ; so he shaU give me
his blessing besides;" and the carriage rapidly
drawing near, I sat down on the waU, as usual,
and presenting my carabine, made a sign to the
muleteers to stop. They knew whom they had to
deal with, and the next minute I was at the coach
door. " The bishop, seeing that his people made no
resistance, did the only thing he could do : he
held out his purse to me, and at the same time
said, 'Ah my son, 'tis an evil trade thou art
engaged in;' but there was something in the
words, and tone, and look of the grey haired
bishop, that softened my heart ; and at the same

^^9ia.Ur S<'di'y'::^Oi^nt-/'-'-f ^ac'/t-:

RECENT RAMBLES. 121
moment that his purse dropped into my hand, I
dropped upon my knees, by the steps of his
coach, and throwing my hat on the ground, said,
' Reverend father, Polinario begs thy blessing.'
" ' Of what value,' said the Bishop, ' were my
blessing, unless approved of by God; and how
could the blessing of God descend upon thee, at
the moment when thou outragest his laws? Be no
longer what thou art, and willingly my blessing
will be given to thee.'
"At this moment, a sudden hope took possession
of me. ' Reverend father,' said I, ' it needs
courage, when a man has health and youth, to
walk voluntarily to the foot of the scaffold. Poli
nario might as well tie the rope round his own
neck, as relinquish his trade.'
" ' May God turn thy heart,' said the bishop.
" ' Stay, reverend father,' said I, still remaining
on my knees; 'I am a robber. It Is true; but I am
guUtless of blood, and where I have sworn an
oath, I have never broken it : your reverence has
interest with the king ; obtain the royal pardon for

122 RECENT RAMBLES.
Polinario, and I swear by the God that made me,
that I will do all thou requirest of me.' "
But just as Polinario had proceeded thus far,
the sound of wheels was heard approaching; and
there was only time to pass round, and drain the
measure, when he was called to his duties.
" I hope," said I, " we may meet this singular
man again; he must have many adventures to
relate worth listening to."
" No doubt," said the barber ; " but what are his
exploits, any more than those of Don Jose, to the
exploits of him whose footsteps we are foUovsdng !"
and It was evident, from the manner In which the
barber expressed himself, that he did not clearly
distinguish between the real exploits of the one,
and the fictitious exploits of the other ; but I fear
these relations of PoUnarlo's, have suffered me to
digress too long from the main purport, and object,
and subject-matters of this book; for to lose sight
of Don Quixote for so long a time, is a liberty
which even Cervantes has not suffered himself to
take. It Is, indeed, one of the peculiar excel
lences of the work, that the interest of the reader

RECENT RAMBLES. 123
shall never be too long estranged from the hero
and his eccentricities. Numerous examples of this
might be given; but to mention only one, — a
story is told in the kitchen of a posada, and the
listeners became interested in it; and Cervantes
suspecting this, and resolved never to keep his
hero too long in the back-ground, suddenly inter
rupts the story by extraordinary and unheard-of
sounds, which are occasioned by Don Quixote
getting up in his sleep and attacking a number of
wine-skins, and by this means the attention of the
reader is recalled to the main purport of the work.

124 RECENT RAMBLES.

CHAPTER XX.

In WHICH THE READER IS FURTHER INFORMED RESPECTING
THE INN WHICH DON QUIXOTE MISTOOK FOR A CASTLE I
AND IN WHICH ALSO, THE READER IS FAVOURED WITH
THE barber's OPINIONS UPON MANY POINTS, AS WELL AS
WITH THE author's NOTICES OF THE ACHIEVEMENT OF
mambrino's HELMET, AND OF OTHER FAMOUS EXPLOITS
OF THE KNIGHT OF LA MANCHA.

For some time after PoUnario departed, I re
mained in the kitchen, with the barber : all in the
Inn had long since retired to rest; a profound
silence reigned throughout the whole house, In
which there was no other light than a lamp stuck
up in the passage, just as it is said to have been
on the night when the Don himself slept there ;
and this "wonderful quiet," which disposed the
knight towards those reflections relating to the

RECENT RAMBLES. 125
events recorded in books of chivalry, and made
him fancy the inn a castle, certainly had the effect
of adding vividness to the fancies which crowded
upon me, sitting here in the inn which the knight
mistook for a castle, and in which such a singular
complication of events are recorded to have taken
place. My associations with the inn were not likely to
be disturbed by the night accommodation which It
afforded. " I verily believe," said the barber,
when the Asturian maid lighted us to the sleeping'!
room, and hung the little lamp upon the cross
beam in the passage, " that your mercy is about to
sleep in the identical bed that received the Knight
of La Mancha;" and so indeed the barber might
well say, for It was Uterally " four rough boards,
supported on two benches of unequal height,
covered by a mattress so thin that It might have
passed for a quilt, and full of knots, so hard, that
they might well have been mistaken for pebble
stones." The barber turned up the mattress, and
examined the boards, remarking that they appeared
some hundreds of years old ; and so wistfully di(i

126 RECENT RAMBLES.
he eye the bed, that seemed scarcely to have been
made since Don Quixote lay in it, that I offered
to resign it for his, which was spread upon the
floor, and was composed of the furniture of the
two mules, as Sancho's is recorded to have been.
No amorous Maritornes disturbed our nightly
slumbers; no jealous carrier bathed our jaws in
blood ; nor did any " trooper of the holy brother
hood," or " enchanted moor," discharge a lamp full
of oil upon the "pate" either of the barber or
myself. I might however have, with great propriety,
addressed Master Nicholas in the words addressed
by Don Quixote to his squire : " Art thou asleep,
friend Sancho? friend Sancho, art thou asleep?"
and he might very weU have repUed, " God's my
life ! how should I be asleep, seeing all the devils
of heU have been upon me the whole night;" for
although the arm of no " monstrous giant" de
scended upon either of our jaws, other torments,
which need not be enlarged upon, proved almost
as great hindrances to repose, as the pummeling
bestowed upon our illustrious predecessors.

RECENT RAMBLES. 127
It was yet but the first blush of day that over
spread the east, when, mounting our mules In the
yard of the inn, we returned the parting salutation
of the landlord, answered the smile of the Asturian
damsel, and pricking our beasts, trotted out at the
gate into the high road.
" It was in this day's journey," said the barber,
after we had proceeded a few hundred yards side
by side, " that the Knight of La Mancha found
his heart's content of adventures, — you see these
hillocks, and the meadows that Ue between them ;
here it was that he made havoc with the flocks of
sheep; a Uttle farther on, the adventure of the
corpse took place, — then foUowed the unheard-of
adventure of the fulUng-hammers ; the acquisition
of Mambrino's helmet succeeds next, — and, lastly,
the adventure of the galley-slaves."
" And are all these adventures connected with
any particular spot?" 1 inquired.
" No," replied the barber ; " the high-road was
the theatre of them all; but, excepting the last,
which took place near the Sierra Morena, of which
the ' Brown Mountain' is a part, they cannot be
referred to any precise spot."

128 RECENT RAMBLES.
" 'T is unfortunate," said I.
" 'T is unfortunate," said the barber.
" I should have Uked of all things," said I,
" to have seen the spot where Don Quixote first
clapped Mambrino's helmet upon his head."
" Now, to my mind," said the barber, checking
his mule, " the adventure of Mambrino's helmet
might have been omitted without great loss to the
book, for 't is out of nature."
I could not agree with the barber in this; but I
did not press my opinion upon him : it was easy to
see why he should think as he did. The barber's
basin was his every-day companion ; and the fancy
of Don Quixote in converting it into a helmet,
was too violent a perversion of fact to obtain his
assent to It. At every step In Spain, the traveller
is reminded of this adventure, for in place of the
barber's pole, a shining brass basin is suspended
at every barber's shop.
" But for my part," said the barber, " though
the exceUent genius of the author is displayed in
the adventures of his hero, these are to be looked
upon only as heads of the discourse, or promi
nences in a landscape, which, although more

RECENT RAMBLES. 12^
striking, are perhaps less valuable than that which
intervenes, — for example," continued the barber,
and stopping his mule upon a slight elevation
which we had attained ; " look before us, or to
the right, or to the left, various eminences are
visible, gilded by the morning sun, and the
country that Ues between them is less visible and
prominent than they are; yet I make no doubt,
that fine olive grounds, and rich vineyards lie
concealed, and must be passed through in ap
proaching them ; and so I think, 'that the conver
sations between Don Quixote and his squire,
which lie before or behind the adventures, are as
worthy of our attention as the adventures them
selves;" — and In such pleasant and instructive
discourse, we went on our journey, at an easy
pace, passing, one by one, the places which
although not absolutely Identified with the knight's
adventures, are yet so little removed from the
scene of them, that something nearly approaching
to a belief In their Identity is created; and, per
haps, the slight uncertainty rather increases
interest than diminishes it ; and the barber did not
G 3

ISO RECENT RAMBLES.
fail to say, " there it most lUiely was, that the
t,ingular delusion of the flock of sheep took place ;
and that, the hillock where Don Quixote posted
himself, and gave Sancho a detaU of the knights
that served in the two armies;" or, "here it
might probably be that the adventure of the fulling-
mills took place, for yonder are two or three
chestnut trees, and a running brook, and some
rocks," as the scene Is described by Cervantes ; or,
" it was doubtless hereabouts, that a man was
discovered by the knight, riding, with something
on his head that glittered like poUshed gold ;" or
" It was without doubt near this place, that as Don
Quixote and his faithful squire jogged along as we
do, the knight delivered his famous discourse upon
knight-errantry."

RECENT RAMBLES. 131

CHAPTER XXI.

WHICH NO ONE IS ADVISED TO PASS OVER, EXCEPTING SUCH
AS DO NOT WISH TO HEAR OF THE ADVENTURE OF THE
EULLING-HAMMERS, OR WHO DO NOT CARE TO READ A
VINDICATION OF CERVANTEs' CONSISTENCY.

We had now left the wearisome plain of La
Mancha, which was lost among the outposts of the
Sierra Morena ; and the country assumed a new,
and charming aspect. The green of the northern
acclivities had resisted the partial Influence of the
sun, and was refreshing to the eye ; the air blew
cooler upon the forehead; now and then hidden
rills trickled by the wayside, and the chirp of little
birds was here and there and everywhere. This is
not a traveUer's record of all he sees and hears, —
else I would speak of the town of Val de Peiias ;
for although we nowhere read in Cervantes that

l;32 RECENT RAMBLES.
his hero passed through it, yet as he traveUed on
the high road, to the Brown Mountain, and as
there is no more than one road, the traveller who
follows in his footsteps must needs pass through
Val de Peiias, whether he halt there or no. But
my business is only with Don Quixote ; and where
nothing can be found to illustrate his progress, I
take the liberty of using my discretion.
We had now entered " a spacious and retired
valley between two hUls," which was therefore the
spot marked out as the scene of the adventure of
the fulUng-hammers.
" That adventure of the fulUng-hammers," said
I, " is not among the most remarkable of those
recorded of our hero."
" And yet," said the barber, " It has its point,
and to my mind, is not less Interesting than some
that are more spoken of;" and the barber was
right. In no one of the adventures is the intrepid
character of the knight better displayed: figure
" the solitude of the place ;" " the dreary whisper
of the trees ;" add the darkness of the night, and
the noise of the water and strokes of the hammers ;

RECENT RAMBLES. 133
and then figure the knight, battered and bruised
as he was, from his adventure with the flock of
sheep, bracing his shield, brandishing his lance,
and saying, " I am he for whom strange perils and
vast adventures are reserved ;" and then how beau-
tifuUy It brings before us, the kind-heartedness of
honest Sancho, who, when his master, preparing
to set out on the terrible adventure, teUs him to
wait three days at farthest, and then to return to
Toboso, and tell Dulcinea, how her captive knight
died, "began to blubber with incredible tender
ness," and shews his plain sense and bluntish
notions of the high honour inseparable from knights
errant in trying to prevail with his master to turn
out of the road; "since," says he, " if nobody sees
us, we run no risk of being accused of cowardice."
And then in its turn, we have displayed the
kindness of the knight, who says, " God who has
put it Into my heart to attempt this dreadful
adventure, will doubtless comfort thee in thy
affliction." While I was thus musing on things
that might naturally enter the thoughts at such a
time, we were almost shut in among the ridges of

134 RECENT RAMBLES.
the Sierra Morena, and the day was drawing to a
close. " I hope," said the barber, " your mercy has
left some Dulcinea in your own country, upon
whose charms you may be able to muse the live
long night ; for I am much deceived if we shall be
able to find any better shelter than a tuft of trees."
" And if such be the case," said I, " I hope thy
bag and wine-skin are weU stored, — the night is
warm, and the sward soft and yielding, and I look
forward to as much entertainment from the conti
nuation of your story, as Don Quixote received
from Sancho's, of the goats that were ferried one
by one over the river Guadiani'a."
" In good truth," said the barber, looking
about, and upward at the tall trees which grew
around, " this is the spot where that same story
was told, while the knight remained mounted on
Rozinante, and Sancho grasped his leg through
terror. Even this singular story, which Cervantes
puts into the mouth of Sancho, cannot be read by
one conversant with Spanish usages without resem
blances being discovered in the usages of those

RECENT RAMBLES. 135
days and ours. Sancho relates in his story how
the shepherdess Torralva in her pilgrimage, carried
with her ' a bit of a looking-glass, a broken comb,
and a wash for her complexion,' and the two
former of these, I have myself seen carried by a
young wOman who had little else to carry."
" As we have just mentioned the adventure of
the fuUing-hammers," said I, " and are even now
near to the spot where it took place, I wiU dis
burden myself of a thought that I have had about
this same adventure ; and if thou can'st help me to
an explanation of my difficulty, I'll be thy debtor."
" Your worship is welcome," said the barber,
" to aU my poor stock, if aught I know or think
can help us In a difficulty."
" It seems to me," said I, " that it is an error in
Cervantes to make his hero conscious of his delu
sion : which, In the adventure of the fuUIng-
hammers, he is; for when the morning dawned,
and they discovered that the sounds which had so
terrified Sancho, and so elevated the chivalrous
hopes of the knight, were occasioned by six
fuUIng-hammers, and when Sancho gives way to

136 RECENT RAMBLES.
laughter, at the expense of his master. Don
Quixote says, ' I wIU not deny that that which has
happened to us, Is ridiculous enough;' now why
In this instance, should the knight be represented
as yielding his senses to the same evidence as that
to which the senses of other men surrender, when
he has not done so, in any of his previous
adventures. When for example, he has been
vanquished by the windmills, and when Sancho,
distressed at the bruised condition in which he
finds him, says, ' did I not assure you that they
were no other than windmiUs ? I believe, nay am
certain, that the sage Freston, who stole my closet
and books, has converted those giants into miUs in
order to rob me of the honour of their overthrow.'
Then again, when after the adventure with the
flock of sheep, when the knight Is in the most
grievous plight, and when Sancho, 'beholding with
amazement' the madness of his master, and coming
to his assistance, says, ' did not I warn you signer
Don Quixote to turn, and assure you that those
whom you went to attack were no armies, but flocks
of innocent sheep ?* ' How strangely,' replies the

RECENT RAMBLES. 137
knight, ' can that miscreant enchanter, who Is my
enemy, transmogrify things to thwart me; the
maUcious wretch who persecutes me, envying the
glory I should have gained in this battle, doubtless
metamorphosed the squadrons of the foe into flocks
of sheep.' Now, in the adventure of the fuUing-
hammers, can'st thou friend give me any reason
why Don Quixote should not in place of admitting
the thing to be ridiculous, and that he had been
deceived, have ascribed what he saw to the
machinations of the enchanter his enemy, and
have asserted, that the fuUing-hammers had been
something else than fulUng-hammers?"
" Your worship," said the barber, " has started
a difficulty that did at one time occur to me also ;
but I think It can be made clear, that nothing can
in this be charged against Cervantes, or the
consistency of the character of the knight, or of
his adventures, one with another. Don Quixote
never refuses at any time, to receive the evidence
of his senses ; and on no occasion does Cervantes
carry his delusion to such a length, that we are
forced to conclude his hero to be insane. His

138 RECENT RAMBLES.
madness is on aU occasions a madness that the
reader has some sympathy with. In the adventure
of the windmiUs, he has just sallied forth, eagerly
looking for adventures, and it must be recoUected
that the adventure of the fuUing-mills differs from
the adventures which your worship has just In
stanced, wherein he did not admit that he had been
deceived; and indeed, the fuUing-mills ought
not to be caUed an adventure at aU. In the
adventures of the windmiUs and the flock of sheep,
the delusion of the knight is carried to the utmost
length to which Cervantes could safely carry It ;
his mental delusion does not vanish with the dis
covery that he has been attacking windmiUs, and
slaying sheep; he yields to the evidence of his
senses Indeed, in admitting them to be windmiUs
and sheep ; but the same delusion that led him to
fancy the windmills giants, and the sheep armies,
suggests to him, that like other knight errants, he
has supernatural enemies, and that the windmUls
and the sheep which he now sees, are the work of
enchantment : but in the adventure, as it is called,
of the fuUing-hammers, the knight has never been

RECENT RAMBLES. 139
under any positive delusion ; he has never asserted
even, what the nature of the adventure is, in
which he is about to be engaged. He and Sancho
are in a thick wood on a dark night, and singular
sounds are heard; and the knight, his head as
usual running on adventures, fancies one to be at
hand ; but he gives no hint of what he expects it
to be, nor ever once explains to Sancho the causes
of the soufids they hear. If, contrary to the
advice of Sancho, Don Quixote had spurred
Rozinante amongst the fuUing-hammers, first
telling him that these sounds were occasioned by
giants, or by any thing else upon which his fancy
chanced to run, then there is no doubt that when
morning dawned upon the discomfited knight, he
would have told Sancho, and would have believed,
that he had encountered giants or enchanters, and
the fuUing-hammers now before them were so by
the power of enchantment ; but after Don Quixote
had remained quietly in the wood during the
whole night, and when the day-light discovered
the occasion of the sounds they had heard, it
would never have done to have made the knight

140 RECENT RAMBLES.
affirm that these had been giants or enchanters;
for in this case, he had never been under any
delusion, and had never acted upon any delusion.
To your worship or myself caught in a thick woodj
on a dark night, the sounds of the fulUng-hammers
would have appeared as singular as they did to
Don Quixote and ^ancho."
" I perceive friend," said I, " thou hast thought
upon this to some purpose ; and thy explanation
has greatly assisted In clearing away my difficulty ;
and besides, as thou hast already told me, the
exploits of the knight are not to be regarded as
the sole purpose and interest of the book. Some
adventures are necessary to bring out the
characters of the knight and his squire, and the
ludicrous contrasts between them. The bravery
of the one, and the cowardice" of the other, are
forcibly displayed while they rest in the dark
wood ; the knight sitting on his steed, desiring his
squire to stisiighten the girth, that he may be
prepared, and the squire fast embracing his master
round the leg, fearful of moving an inch from hi?
stirrup.

RECENT RAMBLES. 141
While this discourse was going on, we had
proceeded farther up the valley, and the dusk
beginning to gather over us, — " It was un
doubtedly as near as may be to this spot," said
the barber, " that the adventure of the gaUey-
slaves is fixed by Cervantes ; there seems to be a
pleasant hollow on the left side of the road, so
deep, that evil disposed persons passing by, will
scarcely discover that it is tenanted ; body of me !
as Sancho used to say, but I would choose better
quarters if I knew where they were to be found ;
my bags are but meagrely provided, and my wine
skin Is almost a skeleton ; but la necesidad carece de
ley ; necessity has no law."
" 'T is a proverb among all nations," said I. —
" You are my guide, Mr. Barber — and .to return
you proverb for proverb, Mas sdbe el necio en su
casa que el cuerdo en la agena ; every man knows
his own business best. And so dismounting from
our mules, and leading them about three hundred
yards from the road, we descended Into the hollow
which the barber had espied.

142 RECENT RAMBLES.

CHAPTER XXII.

'N WHICH THE BARBER RESUMES HIS LONG INTERRUPTED
STORY, BUT FIRST DIGRESSES TO THE HISTORY OF GINES
DE PASSAMONTE, AND THE FAMOUS ADVENTURE WITH THE
GALLEY-SLAVES.

It was a pleasant verdant spot, though without
trees; and making some thongs of the esparto
rush, which grew in the neighbourhood, we
fastened our beasts to some rosemary bushes that
covered the sides of the hoUow, and seated our
selves upon the grass, — untying our bag, and
taking the stopper out of the wine-skin, — and
after the glorious example of the Knight and his
Squire, with hunger for our sauce, we crowded
" dinner, afternoon luncheon, and supper into one
meal," — and although the viands were not over

RECENT RAMBLES. 143
savoury, they marvellously solaced our stomachs.
As for the wine-skin, 't was but the shadow of its
former self, its corpulency had long since departed,
and the merest novice might have put it to his
head without fear of Suffocation.
During our meal, and as long as any thing
remained to be eaten, the conversation was not
much to the purpose ; but no sooner had the
barber made an end of his repast, than he fell
Into his usual train of thinking.
" That Gines de Passamonte," said the barber,
" was a clever rogue ; I would give some pecetas
for the manuscript of his adventures, which he
pawned for two hundred reals."
"'T would doubtlef:„ be weU worthy," said I,
taking no notice of the strange length to which
the fancy of the barber had carried him. "But
this adventure of the galley-slaves is not one of
the happiest."
" 'T is one of the most instructive though," said
the barber ; " for it shews the simiUtude and the
disagreement between the days of Cervantes and
our own."

144 RECENT RAMBLES.
" It proves to be sure," said I, " that there
were galley slaves In those days as weU as in
ours." "And, that confession was extracted by tor
ture ;" said the barber.
" And, that witchcraft was beUeved in," said I,
" and punished by condemnation to the gaUeys."
" And that men were sent to the gaUeys for
increasing population without the priest's per
mission," said the barber.
" It proves all that," said I.
" It proves more still," said the barber ; " it
proves that escrivanos (attorneys) were rogues in
those days as well as in ours."
" How does it prove that ?" said I.
" Thus," said the barber : " Don Quixote offers
the galley-slave twenty ducats, if these will relieve
him from his misfortune, and the galley-slave says,
' that is like offering money to a man dying of
hunger at sea, where food cannot be bought ; for
if I had been a little while ago, master of the
twenty ducats your worship offers me, I would
have anointed the secretary's pen, and quickened

RECENT RAMBLES. 145
my lawyer's invention with them, to so much
purpose, that I should now be standing at liberty
in the square of Zocodover in Toledo, and not
carried like a hound to the gaUeys;' so that In
those days, the escrivano was as useful to the
rogue who had a long purse, as he Is now; when
no man need be hanged, who has a handful of
duros to slip into the fist of the escrivano."
The light had now nearly faded, night had
drawn her mantle round her, and the faint stars
were seen through its folds; the outline of the
dark Sierra was only visible against the sky, and
the only sound was that of the mules cropping the
grass. " Mr. Barber," said I, " I was never better
disposed than I am now, to listen to a story ; we
have satisfied hunger, and it Is too early to sleep :
I left you last. In a very awkward predicament,
and I long to know how you extricated yourself
from it."
" I did not extricate myself," said the barber;
" after the key turned in the lock, I could hear
some one step lightly away; and this person I
h

146 ' RECENT RAMBLES.
knew could be no other than my master. There I
sat on the floor, hour after hour, till It grew dark;
the cura took care to have a more savoury stew
than usual for supper, that the scent of it might
mount into the garret : I would have given half
my gains for the good-will of it, but nobody came
near me, and I at length fell asleep upon the floor,
and dreamt of ragouts and rich sauces.
" It was day-light when I awoke : and nearly
at the same moment, I heard the cura's step
ascending the stair.
" ' Lazaro,' said he, from the other side of the
door. "'Master,' said L
' " Hast thou made up thy mind to die of
hunger?' said Cirillo.
" ' I am not hungry,' said I.
" ' Bien,' said the cura, and I immediately heard
him descend the stair.
" But the stomach bitterly admonished the
tongue for the lie it had told, and every hour
the admonition became more severe.
" It was now the hour of dinner, and my nose

RECENT RAMBLES. 147
was again assailed by the most delicious steams.
1 again heard my master ¦ ascend the stair ; he
stopped at my door, and I heard him pronounce
my name.
" ' Master,' said I.
" ' Listen to me, Lazaro,' said he. ' I 'U starve
thee to death, as sure as thy name Is Lazaro ; no
one can ever hear of thee more ; I '11 have thee
dried when thou 'rt dead, and sell thy carcass to
the Carthusians as a relic : but if thou wilt push
the pieces of money one by one below the door,
and if, when I reckon them, I find that thou hast
fairly accounted to me, thou shalt dine upon the
most savoury stew that ever descended Into thy
stomach.' " The temptation was scarcely to be resisted, but
I was In hopes of a better bargain, and answered
nothing : the cura however saw my hesitation, and
took advantage of it. I heard him leave the door,
and in a few minutes he returned.
" ' Now, Lazaro,' said he, ' I have brought thy
dinner : here is beef, and pork, and a rich gravy,
and garbanzos, and bread. I wiU make this

148 RECENT RAMBLES.
agreement with thee : I will give thee of the stew
In spoonfuls, underneath the door ; * and for each
spoonful thou receivest, thou shalt shove me one
piece :' and at the same instant, I saw the spoon
filled with steaming stew, pushed towards me.
' This first spoonful thou shalt have for nothing,'
said Cirillo, 'but if thou would'st have a second,
it must be paid for.' The temptation was not to
be resisted; one scanty spoonful after another,
descended into my stomach, while an equal
number of pieces descended into the cura's pocket;
and so outrageous was my appetite, and so ex
ceUent the stew, that I was soon eased of the
greater part of my treasure ; but — hist ! " said the
barber, suddenly Interrupting his narrative, " I
hear the trampling of horses on the highway; tiU
it be past, I had best be silent."
The trampling passed, but the barber continued
silent. " Mr. Barber," said I, " please to go on ;"
but the barber had dropped asleep. My imagi
nation was yet too much awake, to permit the
• The doors of common rooms seldom fit so close that a
spoon could not pass underneath.

RECENT RAMBLES. 149
approach of drowsiness, so leaving the barber, I
wandered up and down, as the common expression
is ; sometimes extending my turn as far as the
high road, sometimes visiting our mules, who did
not seem at aU tired of the herbage that grew
at their feet, and sometimes seating myself on the
grass ; and whether occupied In the one way or the
other, enjoying the full luxury of my situation ;
standing at midnight, in the remote — and as
associated in our minds with romance — the almost
fabulous district of La Mancha, and on the
threshold of the Sierra Morena, better known and
more interesting as the scene of Don Quixote's
exploits than as associated with the most brilliant
passages of history, long I lingered about, giving
myself up to the thick-coming fancies that the
place, with which imagination had been recently
fed, and the real recoUections, might naturally
inspire ; and It was not because I was weary of
my thoughts, but because I knew sleep to be
necessary to the enjoyment of what the day might
produce, that I returned to the neighbourhood

150 RECENT RAMBLES.
of my sleeping companion; and adjusting the
furniture of my mule on the slope of the hollow,
lay down, and resigned myself to the deep slumber
that soon overtook me.

RECENT RAMBLES. 151

CHAPTER XXIII.

IN WHICH THE AUTHOR AND HIS COMPANION REACH THE
CONFINES OF THE " BROWN MOUNTAIN;" AND IN WHICH
ALSO, THAT INGENIOUS FELLOW JUANES RELATES HIS
DIVERTING HISTORY.

When I opened my eyes, I found that the barber
had already untied our mules, and saddled them,
and that I had only to throw my leg over my
beast. Grey morning still hung in the defiles of
the Sierra, though the highest peaks were touched
with the earliest sunbeams, when we pricked our
mules up the side of the hollow, and regained the
high road; and as we jogged along side by side,
at a very small trot, for the Inequalities of the
road, now that we had left the plain, prevented us
trying the mettle of our mules, " You perceive,"

152 recent rambles.
said the barber, " that we are about to enter the
Sierra Morena,* and, as near as can be guessed,
at the spot where the Knight of La Mancha
and his faithful Squire entered it."
" I should think," said I, " that in so extensive
a range as the Sierra Morena, it must be indeed
guess-work, whether we hit upon the precise spot
or not."
"Not so much guess-work as you imagine,"
said the barber.
" Cervantes does not, as far as I recoUect," said
I, " give us any indications of the spot at which
his hero entered the Brown Mountain; and
besides, I perceive that we approach a house,
which is nowhere mentioned," — for just then, upon
turning an angle of the rock, I observed a long
low building, situated upon r smaU elevation on
the left side of the road.
The barber, reining in his mule, which was
always his custom when he wished to give pecuUar
* In the translations of Don Quixote, it is said that he
entered the Brown Mountain. This is merely a translation
of Sierra Morena; morena signifying brown.

recent rambles. 153
emphasis to what he was about to say, delivered
himself as foUows : — " I must claim my privilege
in correcting a small error Into which your grace
appears to have fallen. Cervantes did not write
a road-book; he left that to Antonio Ponz. Don
Quixote and his Squire did not fly in a baUoon,
and therefore they must needs have passed
through the towns, and by the Inns, that lay
in their way; but Cervantes did not think it
necessary to notice any other places than those
that are connected with his hero's adventures; 't is
no proof then that the Knight and his Squire did
not enter the Brown Mountain at this point,
because Cervantes makes no mention of the Venta
de Cardena, which we must pass by ;" and having
so expressed himself, the barber struck his heel
against the flank of his mule and trotted on before;
but stopping at the foot of the first acclivity, that
I might come alongside of him, he turned round
upon his beast, and said, " here seiior we must
deviate a Uttle from the footsteps of Don Quixote.
Our wallet last night was but indifferently stored ;
and before journeying into the Sierra, where we
h2

154 recent rambles.
must needs follow the knight, it would not be
amiss to replenish our stores In the venta hard by,
for in the heart of the Sierra we can scarcely
expect to find the pot boiling."
This reasoning being conclusive, I followed the
barber to the door of the venta, which we entered,
after having given our mules in charge to a
serving wench, — for in the southern parts of La
Mancha, women are generally employed in wait
ing upon the mules as weU as the guests. We
had no sooner entered the venta, than the barber
and the Posadero approaching each other suddenly
stopped. " Es posible ?" exclaimed both, at the same
moment. " Lazaro !" said the innkeeper, with an in
credulous stare.
" Juanes !" said the barber, with a look of
almost equal Incredulity, " is It Indeed thee, my
old play-fellow, that I find master of the Venta de
Cardena?" and the recognition being complete,
they embraced each other with every demon
stration of regard.

recent llAMBLES. 155
" Ah," said the barber, " many things have
doubtless befallen thee, since the days when we
played together in the vineyards about Man
zanares." " Many things, truly," returned the innkeeper,
" but they have not made me forget the young
Picaro, who divided with me the stew he got from
the Duke's kitchen : I long to hear thy history,
and how chance has conducted thee to the Venta
de Cardeiia, where thou art heartily welcome, as
well as thy friend, who Is not, I see, from these
parts." " My history," said the barber, " thou shalt
have by and by. Perhaps, in consideration of
this unforeseen meeting, the Caballero whom I
have the honour to accompany, will consent to
spend the remainder of the day in the Venta de
Cardeiia, and in rambling upon the mountain;
and we '11 find time to tell my story, as well as to
hear thine."
I assured the barber that 1 would willingly
remain where I was, if It were for nothing else
than that I might the sooner hear the continuation
of his own adventures.

156 recent rambles.
" Now Juanes," said the barber, " set before us
the best of thy larder, for we have yet tasted
nothing this blessed morning, and If the provision
put me in mind of the Duke's kitchen so much the
better." " 'T will hardly do that," said the innkeeper,
" but we 've some passable mutton, and good pork,
and thou shalt cook for thyself,"' — an arrangement
tliat much pleased the barber; and before half an
hour had passed, a stew smoked on the table,
which, if not equal to those of the Duque de San
Carlos, or even of the cura Cirillo, was an
admirable provocative to the stomachs of those
who had slept In the open air, and supped upon
sheep-milk cheese.
" Friend Juanes," said the barber, when we
had made an end of breakfast, " I marveUously
wonder at thy good fortune ; thy head used to be
as empty of brains as this dish is of stew, and thy
belly was always fuller than thy pocket ; tell us
then how it has fallen out, that with neither wit
nor pesetas, I find thee master of the Venta de
Cardeiia; and as round as a wine-skin in the
archbishop's cellar."

RECENT RAMBLES. 157
" As for pecetas," repUed the Posadero, " I
confess they were scarce with me; but my wit,
such as it was, I economized, and made a small
stock go a great way : but thou shalt hear how I
sUd into this place; my story is not long, it wiU
scarcely last as long as thy segar ; and craving the
indulgence of the Caballero, thou shalt have It
such as it Is."
I assured the innkeeper of my anxiety to hear
his narrative, and he proceeded as follows : —
" When thy father, Lazaro, sent thee away from
Mazanares to Toledo, I was left to my sheep-milk
cheese and onions; and hearing that thou hadst
got service in a canon's house " —
"Not a canon," interrupted the barber, "only
a cura." " WeU," continued the Innkeeper, "I speak as I
heard, some said thou had'st got the place of page
to the archbishop ; others would have it that the
dean had made thee a steward ; but nobody
pretended that thy master was any thing less than
a canon. And so hearing of thy good fortune, I
resolved upon trying my own. I had no Interest

158 RECENT RAMBLES.
like thee, in the kitchen of either the Dominicans
or the Duke; and despairing of being recom
mended by anybody, I left my father's house one
morning, and took the road to Talavera.
" My waUet was but indifferently provided : I
had only a small loaf and a string of garUc to
support me by the way, and as young stomachs
are not over provident, my provisions were ex
hausted long before I reached Talavera, where I
arrived half starved; but a good father of the
Carmelite order took pity upon me as I sat at the
convent gate ; and took me In ; and here I became
servant of all work. I cleaned my patron's dor
mitory, I swept the refectory, and assisted in the
kitchen, and I was besides employed by the good
friar In some small matters that concerned nobody
but ourselves ; I picked up for him odd volumes
of plays and romances ; and so weU did he teach
me to counterfeit his voice, which was naturally
pitched high, that while I read aloud his breviary
in the dormitory, he could safely amuse himself
with his more agreeable studies ; nor was he ever
greatly offended when^ I ventured to smuggle Into

RECENT RAMBLES. 159
the convent, a duck, or a capon, which I obtained
at a distant cook shop ; for this service I was
always sure to be rewarded with the bones, and
the head, after the brain had been taken out. I
was made useful too in another secret service,
which, however, as It might beget doubts as to the
strictness of my patron's morals, I must beg leave
discreetly to pass over.
" Six years I continued to lead this life, and at
the end of that time I had made up a very pretty
store of doblons from the surplus and parings of
secret service money ; but now an event took place
that changed my fortunes. One day, after having
dined in the refectory, my patron retired to his
dormitory, where he^ knew I was waiting his
arrival. I produced a smaU goose, dressed with so
much care, that I believe the Superior himself
could not have kept his teeth from It ; and while I
was busily employed upon one of the drumsticks,
which had that day been unexpectedly added to
my share, I was startled by a sudden noise, and
upon looking round, I perceived that my patron
had died while I was dining; whether from

160 RECENT RAMBLES.
apoplexy, or from a bone that had stuck in his
throat, I did not think It prudent for me to waste
time In determining.
"It was with some difficulty that I extricated
the carcass of the goose from the firm clutch of the
dead friar: luckily, he had reserved some of the
best morsels for the conclusion of his meal, to the
remainder of which I fell heir; and reflecting after
I had picked the bones, that there was now an end
of all other pickings In the convent, I judged It
best to make room in my purse for the contents of
my patron's, which I found In a closet ; and putting
his cross and rosary, and a small image, in my
pocket, and rolling his Carmelite habit under my
arm, I wished him a speedy deUverance from
purgatory, and shutting the door, hastened out of
the convent."
" By St. Anthony," interrupted the barber,
" thou hast more brains than I gave thee credit
for, but go on ; I am impatient to hear what trick
put thee in possession of the Venta de Cardena,"
and the innkeeper proceeded.
" It may easily be believed, that I walked from

Ct^v^C' CruiiCsr'a/nXC — -•

/V^-i^v'/^' iK../^^ U^vd'-e./

RECENT RAMBLES. 161
Talavera as fast as my legs would carry me,
and purposely avoided my native town — thinking
It possible that I might be suspected of having
murdered the friar, and be sought for in that
quarter. I passed towards the Sierra Morena,
intending to cross into Andalusia, where, as I
had been told. In case of being inclined to turn
a rogue, I should find others to bear me company.
It was more than a week's journey from Talavera
to the Sierra Morena; but I not only travelled at
the expense of others, but even added something
to my store ; for, the first night, after leaving
Talavera, I put on the habit of a Carmelite, hung
the rosary and the image about my neck, and
drew the cowl over my head, to disguise the want
of the tonsure, and thus my night's quarters, and a
good puchero, cost me but a blessing; and in
every market place I passed through, a melon or a
bunch of grapes was well repaid by a kiss of the
image which I carried in my hand : and as the
CarmeUtes are not one of the orders sworn to
poverty, some pecetas slipt into my purse, for
prayers and masses in reversion.

162 RECENT RAMBLES.
" It was late in the evening when I arrived at
the door of this venta, and upon pushing it open,
my ears were assailed by the groans of a dying
person. The master of the inn lay on his bed, to
all appearance near his latter end.
" ' Ah,' said he, when he cast his eyes upon my
friar's habit, ' your reverence has come at last, has
my niece returned with thee ? ' From this address
I at once comprehended that the dying man had
sent his niece to the nearest convent, that some
reverend father might hasten to him with the last
offices of religion. ' My son,' said I, ' fears for
your soul gave wings to my speed ; I have a far
way outstripped your niece, and am now ready to
make the step from this world easy; but first,
let me ask how you dispose of your worldly
possessions ?'
" ' This house Is my own,' replied the dying-
man : ' I have one niece, to whom the house will
be a sufficient fortune ; In that closet there is a
bag of dollars, which I leave for masses for my
soul, and to you and your convent I commit it.'
" ' Thou doest wisely,' said I, ' I scarcely think
thou 'It spend an hour in purgatory.'

RECENT RAMBLES. 163
" Fortunately for my conscience, the old man's
niece and the friar just at this time approached the
door, and informing them that having accidentally
passed that way, I had prepared the mind of the
dying man, the friar administered to him the last
offices of religior, and almost at the same moment
his soul went to claim the benefit of them.
" The rest of my story Is soon told. I turned
the old friar out of the house, and took posses
sion ; I threw back my cowl, and disclosing a
face of two-and-twenty, endeavoured to comfort
the old man's niece, who was not absolutely incon
solable. A master as well as a mistress was
needed for the Venta de Cardeiia; the rest may
be easily Imagined; the girl was young, comely,
and knew her business; and so of the two that
I found In the venta, I burled the one and
married the other, and thus became the respectable
character you have found me."

164 RECENT RAMBLES.

CHAPTER XXIV.

BEFORE THE CONCLUSION OF WHICH, THE BARBER RESUMES
HIS STORY.

" And I give thee joy of thy good fortune," said
the barber, "though I cannot apply to thee our
saying, ' la fortuna favorece a los locos,' (fortune
favours fools), for thou hast had wit enough to
take advantage of thy good luck."
When the innkeeper had made an end of his
story it Was near mid-day, and being yet too hot
to set out upon a ramble, I rested under the gate
way, listening to the conversation that passed
between the barber and his friend, who, from what
I could gather, appeared to have made but indif
ferent progress in morals since he came to his
kingdom. The fact is, of all the ventas in Spain,
there is no one so notorious for the frequent

RECENT RAMBLES. 165
robberies that have been committed in it, as the
Venta de Cardeiia; and it has long been well
known, that the master of it understands the
system, and shares the booty of the banditti who
make a convenience of it. Many anecdotes were
related by the Posadero, which he appeared not
over solicitous that I should hear; and my more
honest companion generally followed up every
narrative, by advising his friend to be an honest.
man, and to cut connexion with thieves, — an
advice, however, which I suspect It would be
dangerous for the innkeeper to follow.
Towards evening, when the heat had somewhat
diminished, I threw myself upon my mule, and
urged him up the acclivities of the Sierra Morena,
which, notwithstanding the many historic recollec
tions connected with it, was chiefly interesting in
my eyes as the scene of Don Quixote's wander
ings ; but, as without the assistance of the barber
I could have no assurance that I was foUowing in
his footsteps, I postponed for a time the pleasures
of association and inquiry, and dismissing from my
mind the chief object of my journey, I gave

166 RECENT RAMBLES.
myself up to those vague and deUcious sensations
that arise amid the solitudes of untrodden moun
tains. I lingered until the wide plain of La
Mancha was one dusky expanse ; tUl the shadows,
creeping up the mountain side, and the bright
lines of evening forsaking one eminence after
another, left only the highest summits bathed with
day's dying lustre; and before I regained the
venta, the earliest stars were peering over the
mountain top.
When I returned to the venta, I found that
supper was already concluded : more than two
hours had elapsed since the barber and his friend
had proved the results of their combined skill ; but
the materials of an omelet were easUy procured,
and when this was cooked and dispatched, and
when our segars had been lighted, " Now, my old
friend Lazaro," said the Innkeeper, " I long to
hear some account of thy doings In the world, for
I guess that thou hast had some ups and downs ;
and that in thy life as well as in mine, good
fortune as much as wit, has had some share in
keeping thee from the gaUows."

RECENT RAMBLES. 167
"I am ready to Indulge thee," replied the
barber, " but my story will scarcely be interesting
to the caballero, who already knows the greater
part of It : " but I assured the barber that nothing
would give me greater pleasure than to hear a
repetition of it ; and the barber accordingly, laying
down his segar, began his narrative from the time
that he left his native tovni, and related as circum
stantially as I have already related to the reader,
all that happened after he entered into the service
of the cura CiriUo, not omitting the ass's ear and
the cock's tongue, until the time when, being
locked up in his garret, the cura handed the stew
in spoonfuls underneath the door; and when he
had reached this part of his story, he turned to me
and said, " here. If I mistake not. It was that I
was forced to break off my narrative, when, sitting
In the hollow, we heard the trampling of horses
upon the high road : I think," continued he, " I
had just said, that so tempting was the stew, and
so hungry was Lazaro, that I was soon eased of
the greater part of my treasure."
" It was just at that point," said I, and the
barber went on as foUows :

168 RECENT RAMBLES.
" In fact, so long as a piece remained, there was
a bait ready to tempt It from me ; and when not
one duro was left, ' Mr. Cura,' said I, ' we are
now quits; you have filled my stomach, and I
have filled your pocket, so pray unfasten the door,
for my ribs tell me, that another night on the bare
boards may bring you In for the expense of a
burial; and where will you find another servant
whose wits will coin money as mine have done ?'
" ' Lazaro, my boy,' said the cura, in a softened
tone ; ' I never intended either to Injure or de
fraud thee; I did but keep back a part of thy
share till thou shouldst have attained a riper age ;
but If thou wilt have it now, here are ten duros
for thee, — so let us forget the past, and exercise
our virits at the expense of the Carthusians rather
than of each other;' and at the same time my
master unfastened the door, put the ten pieces
into my hand, and conducted me below, where,
seeing which way his interest lay, he loaded me
with kindness. But I had discovered that I should
never make my fortune under the roof of Cirillo ;
and seeing no reason for doubting, that if my

;:T%?TTTn.

^«T^{ Svt^vlcs Kaulr

^J a!;,/? le/yu/z/H/Te,/ 7// //iij 6^f<z '

RECENT RAMBLES. 169
invention could fill his pocket, it might do the
same good office for my own, I resolved to leave
his service; and as it has ever been my maxim,
that a wise step cannot be taken too soon, I took
advantage of my master's siesta, and carrying
nothing more with me than belonged to me, I
sallied into the street."
Here the innkeeper interrupted his friend in his
narrative, — for perceiving the barber's significant
look, when he said that he took with him no more
than belonged to him, " I perceive my friend,"
said the innkeeper, " that thy honesty would fain
claim the victory over mine, because when I left
the service of the friar, I emptied the contents of
his purse into my own ; but have the goodness to
recollect that a purse is of no use to a dead man ;
and that besides, it is an easier matter to take a
purse from a dead than from a living man."
" True, Juanes," said the barber. " I admit the
distinction,"— and he proceeded with his narrative.

170 RECENT RAMBLES.

CHAPTER XXV.

IN WHICH, TO THE GREAT REGRET OF THE AUTHOR, THE
BARBER CONCLUDES HIS STORY.

" It so happened, that this day chanced to be
the feast of the Immaculate Conception ; and that
when I descended into the street, the procession of
the beast, and the heretic Ann Bolein,* was just
• In the cathedral of Toledo, there is kept a wooden beast,
about the size of a small ox, and somewhat of its shape,
mounted upon wheels; and also an image in wood, about
eighteen inches long, of Ann Bolein, which, however, is not
shewn to the English visitor of the prexiosidades. These
images, a few years back, used to be carried through the
streets on great days ; and the person appointed to carry the
image of Ann Bolein, every now and then popped it into the
mouth of the beast, whose jaws were so contrived as to close
upon it ; thus, to the great delight of the spectators, typifying
the punishment of her by whose means the Church of Rome
received her death-blow in England.

recent RAMBLES. 171
issuing from the cathedral; it chanced also, that
the person who carried the image was so short In
stature, that as he ran alongside of the beast, he
was not able to reach so high as to put the heretic
queen into its mouth, and so the people shouted,
and cried "chico,' (little feUow). I was among the
tallest in the crowd; and a Franciscan who saw
how awkwardly the miracle was managed, snatched
the image of the heretic from the little man who
was standing on his tiptoes, and yet with all his
stretching was unable to touch the spring, and
putting it into my hands told me to shew it no
mercy, and I should be rewarded with a good
supper. So well did I perform my duty to the
heretic, that when the procession was over, the
Franciscan took me to the convent, and after
having given me as much as I could eat, he
carried me to the Superior, telling his reverence
that I was a clever youth, and might be service
able, and might even be made to fill the office
which was at that time vacant.
" ' Please your reverences,' said I, ' what are
the duties, and what is the office for which you

172 RECENT RAMBLES.
design me; for my wit is small, and my know
ledge still smaller.'
" ' The office,' repUed the friar, ' is that of
barber to the convent.'
" ' If the emoluments be considerable,' said I^
' I willingly accept it, for judging by the length of
your reverences' beards, I should take it to be
next thing to a sinecure; and I shaU no doubt
have time to learn the art before I be required to
practise It.'
" ' 'T is not so much of a sinecure,' said the
Superior, ' as it may at present seem to thee ; but
if thou canst be contented to spend all thy days
within the convent, the office Is thine; thou shalt
be well fed, and have sufficient wages besides;
these can be no use to thy body, because thou
shalt have all that it requires within the convent,
and therefore thy wages will be best laid out in
the purchase of masses for thy soul.'
" I had no great inclination to spend aU my Ufe
within a convent, and as for the wages, I saw that
it would be only taking with one hand and giving
with the other: but trusting to my ingenuity to

RECENT RAMBLES. 173
terminate my engagement when I became weary
of it, and knowing that Franciscans keep a good
table, I signified my acceptance of the conditions.
" The friar who had conducted me to the con
vent, now took charge of me, and leading me to
the cloisters, where I walked by his side, ' Now
Lazaro,' said he, ' for such I think thou hast told
me is thy name, I will explain to thee what are
the duties of the office thou hast undertaken : the
beard which thou seest that I wear, is not a real
beard; and neither are those of my brethren.
When we go out of the convent, or Into the
church to celebrate our services, where we may be
seen by the people, we are bearded; but at meals,
and other Inconvenient times, we throw these
Incumbrances aside : twice every week, therefore,
thou shalt have seventy-five real beards to shave,
and seventy-five false beards to put In order: I
understand that thou art unacquainted with these
duties ; but thou shalt begin with the novices, who
can afford to lose some blood, and will be all the
better for it,'— and so I found myself estabUshed
in the office of barber In the Franciscan convent,

174 RECENT RAMBLES.
" Well may I bless the day that led me to the
Franciscan convent ; for had Providence otherwise
disposed of me, I should have remained for ever
Ignorant of the adventures of the renowned Don
Quixote de la Mancha: nor should I otherwise
have ever followed the calling of my ancestors in
the viUage of Miguel Esteban.
" I observed that among all the reverend fathers,
no one was so studious as the friar who had
brought me to the convent. Not content with
the hours that were set aside for devotional exer
cises, a book was never out of his hand. There
was only one occasion upon which he ever inter
mitted his studies; and that was, when his chin
was under my management ; but one day so
deeply engaged was he (as I then thought) with
his devotions, that he placed the book upon his
knee, and with downcast eyes continued to read
whilst I performed my duties; and judge of my
amazement, and I may even say affright, when
just as I was putting the last polish upon his chin,
the friar burst into the most immoderate fit of
laughter that ever was heard within a convent

RECENT RAMBLES. 175
walls ; and so ungovernable was his mirth, that
even the sight of his own blood appeared rather to
increase than to diminish his risibility.
" ' In the name of God, Reverend Father,' said
I, ' what has befaUen thee?'
" 'Canst thou read?' answered the friar, 'for if
thou canst, 'twill save me the trouble of telUng
thee the cause of my laughter.'
" ' Luckily, Sir,' said I, ' I am able to read ;
that accomplishment was taught me by a Do-
min  .'
" ' No matter who taught thee,' interrupted the
friar : ' read there,' said he, lifting from the floor
the book that had dropped upon it, and putting it
into my hand ; ' read there, whUe I attend to the
cure of this woimd, which has not been occasioned
through thy fault.'
" It was this moment that first opened up to me
that treasure of knowledge and delight that is
contained in the work of Cervantes : that moment
will never be forgotten by me. The friar had
intended to open the book at the page where he
had been reading; but ready to drop down with

176 RECENT RAMBLES.
laughing, he could only put the book into my
hand. For my own part, I began at the begin
ning; half the friars went unshaven that day; and
when my patron returned from the refectory, he
found me still deeply engaged with his book.
" ' I perceive, Lazaro,' said he, ' that thou art
worthy of my care,' and so much satisfied was he
with some reflections I made upon what I had
read, that he affectionately embraced me; and
sitting down, explained to me the spirit and object
of the book, and descanted upon its perfections.
One observation I well remember. ' When I
laugh,' said he, ' it is at the contrast between Don
Quixote and his Squire, not at the adventures;
these make me sad; for it is melancholy to see
the noble-minded knight always the dupe of his
own lUusions.' "
Here the barber paused a moment in his nar
rative ; re-lighted his segar, took two or three
whiffs, and then looking at his old friend the
Possadero, with a graver countenance than usual,
" Juanes," said he, " read Don Quixote, not for
the amusement it may give thee, but for the good

RECENT RAMBLES. 177
it may do thee; 't Is better than a hundred masses;
there's that In it wIU turn a hard heart soft as
wool, and change a rogue into an honest man.
There, a proud man wUl be taught humility; a
cruel man will learn to be compassionate; an
avaricious man will learn a lesson of generosity ;
wisdom and piety may be gathered from every
page. Ay ! Juanes, there 's no denying that we
were both of us rogues in our youth ; and a rogue
I should have remained to this day, but for what I
learned in that book."
Juanes looked not quite at his ease, but said
nothing, and the barber continued. — " When the
friar found that I took almost as much pleasure as
he did himself in the history of Don Quixote, he
was never weary of enlarging upon its beauties,
and explaining, wherever explanation was neces-^
sary ; and I, on my part, by a little exercise of
ingenuity, repaid, in some manner, the good
offices of the friar. I had always had a turn for
Jiandioraft of every kind, and perceiving with how
much regret he was obUged to lay down his ' Don
Quixote' and take up his breviary, when he went
i3

178 RECENT RAMBLES.
to join in any of the religious exercises, or even
when he was called to the refectory, or walked in
the convent garden, I took off the white parch
ment In which the breviary was bound, and neatly
inclosed ' Don Quixote' within it, so that the friar
could indulge his passion without intermission, and
his devotion appeared only the more ardent. It
is true. Indeed, that an unlucky dialogue between
the knight and the squire, sometimes provoked a
change of countenance not very reconcUeable with
the study of the breviary; but the piety of the
friar continued unquestioned.
" It was at this time that the war of Indepen
dence broke out ; and it is well known with what
fury the Franciscan convents throughout Spain
were attacked ; none with more than the Francis
can convent of Toledo. We were all in danger
of being massacred; and no distinction appeared
likely to be made between the friars and their
Barber. " ' Reverend Father,' said I to my patron,
' there' s no time to be lost ; throw aside thy friar's
garment, let me unfasten thy artificial beard, clap

RECENT RAMBLES. 179
my hat upon thy tonsure, and, with Don Quixote
under thy arm, no one will question thee. As for
me, I have not much the air of a friar ; — and stay,'
added I, when the friar had obeyed my instruc
tions, and was preparing to go, ' though I would
not rob any man of a quarto, I can see no impiety
in taking that which. In another hour, will be In
the grasp of a French soldier, and something Is
besides due to me for wages,' and so running to
the relicario, I put in my breast a gold crucifix
mounted with emeralds, and joining the friar, we
passed out of the garden Into the street. What
befel the remaining seventy and four friars, I am
unable to tell, but soon after we left the convent, a
shell burst in the gallery, and threw down one
half of the cloisters.*
" ' Now,' said I to my companion, when we got
into the fields, and began to breathe more freely,
' what hinders us from carrying into effect the
project of which we have so often spoken, but
• The Franciscan convent of Toledo was almost destroyed
by the French; but when the writer of this volume visited
Spain in 1830, they were busily employed in re-building it.

180 RECENT RAMBLES.
which till now was impracticable. Let us together
pass over every foot of ground that was traversed
by our favourite. I have here In my bosom ten
times more than the provision we shall require.'
" The friar was overjoyed at my proposal, and
we forthwith put it in execution. First, we
visited my native town, where I found that both
my parents had lately paid tlie debt of nature ; the
inheritance that I fell heir to, consisted of an old
mangle, and a stock of worn-out Unen — for, be it
recollected, that my mother was laundress to the
Duque de San Carlos — and a few cast-off
garments of the Dominicans, which had been the
perquisite of my father, who was porter to the
convent. I discovered, however, from some
papers, that my ancestors had been barbers in the
village of Miguel Esteban, and that the name of
one of them, many generations back, was Nicholas.
Leaving Manzanares, we diligently sought the
footsteps of Don Quixote, as far as Barcelona,
where I disposed of the cross which I had brought
from the Franciscan convent, taking care, how
ever, to provide another of wood, which answered

RECENT RAMBLES. 181
as well all the purposes of devotion. At Miguel
Esteban I had learned that there was an opening
In my trade, and being well assured that this was
the native village of the Knight of La Mancha,
and having strong suspicions that I was myself the
descendant of Barber Nicholas, I felt that Pro
vidence had designed me to take the place of my
forefathers, and to Miguel Esteban I accordingly
returned. The worthy friar who was my com
panion, feeling some qualms of conscience, entered
another convent. The money that still remained
of the sum I had received for the cross, purchased
some fields, which obtain me respect In the neigh
bourhood ; and upon the produce of these, and of
my calling, I have lived happily these fifteen
years ; and now you have the history of my doings
in the world."
When the barber had made an end of his story,
and when some comments had passed upon It,
which need not be repeated here. It was fast
approaching midnight; and as our intention was
to penetrate next day into the heart of the Sierra,
and to be stirring early, we each retired to rest.

182 RECENT RAMBLES.

CHAPTER XXVI.

WHERE, IN FOLLOWING THE FOOTSTEPS OF DON QUIXOTE,
THE AUTHOR CONDUCTS THE READER INTO THE HEART
OF THE SIERRA, WHERE CARDENIO TOLD HIS STORY, AND
WHERE DON QUIXOTE DID PENANCE.

" ' The appearance of Aurora already rejoices the
earth,' said the barber, in words of his favourite
author, when next morning he pushed open the
door of my quarto, and found me asleep ; and not
long after, we were seated upon our mules, and
trotting up the bank that rises from the back of
the venta, furnished with a wallet of unusual size,
and with a corpulent wine-skin, both forced upon
us by the generosity of Juanes, who would accept
of no remuneration. There was no path ; we rode
side by side up the acclivity, among the rosemary

RECENT RAMBLES. 183
bushes and other aromatic plants and shrubs, and
soon entered a defile, that shut out the plains
behind, and appeared to lead Into the bowels of
the mountain. " It is said, in the history of the
Knight's adventures," said the barber, "that the
evening of the same day upon which the adventure
with the galley-slaves took place, Don Quixote
and Sancho ' arrived in the very heart of the
Sierra,' and that 'they took up their lodging
between two rocks. In the midst of a great number
of cork trees.' Now, in the heart of the Sierra,
there are no cork trees, though there are plenty of
rocks ; and here, at the end of this defile are both
rocks and cork trees; and besides, as it was
impossible to travel into the heart of the Sierra In
a few hours, there appears to be a small inaccuracy
here : but there can be no doubt that the spot we
are now approaching is that where the Knight and
his Squire reposed, and where Sancho had his ass
stolen ; see, ' there are two rocks, and all the trees
around them are cork trees.' "
"'Twas a touching lament," said I, "that
which Sancho made, over the loss of his ass.

184 RECENT RAMBLES.
' Born In my house, the play-feUow of my
chUdren, the delight of my spouse, the envy of
my neighbours, and comfort of my cares !' "
" Ay !" said the barber, " there 's an honest
heart there. But come on, the footing is difficult,
and we've a toilsome journey before us." The
barber spoke truly; nothing but a mule could
have picked its steps ; we went round the rocks,
and In and out among the cork trees; and after
having continued this exercise for a couple
of hours, we descended into a narrow valley,
traversed by a small rivulet. Here the barber, who
led the way, stopped untU I rode up to him, and
said, " there are so few streams on this side of the
Sierra Morena (for they almost all flow down the
southern side of the mountain), that we may con
clude this to be the hollow, and the brook that
which watered it. In which the adventurers found
' a dead mule saddled and bridled, and half con's-
sumed by the dogs and the crows ;' and where
they heard the old goatherd's whistle ; and where
Cardenio came and told a part of his story,"
In this wild spot we paused a little, while the

RECENT RAMBLES. 185
whole scene so graphically described by Cervantes
passed before me. Nor was it a difficult task for
the imagination to add to the natural features of
the spot, the other parts of the picture described
by Cervantes; 'twas In me but a sUght exertion
of memory ; for it chanced that shortly before^ In
the Toledo mountains, I had seen the very object
that here arrested the attention of Don Quixote —
a dead mule, half consumed, and even then sur
rounded by the lean dogs and hungry ravens that
were devouring It.
" It was doubtless here," said the barber, when
a Uttle farther on, we came to ' a verdant spot of
grass at the turning of a rock,' "that Cardenio
told his story, and that the Knight of La Mancha
quarreled with him for asserting something in
prejudice of the Queen Madasima;" and having
crossed the brook, and entered another defile, we
gradually penetrated farther into the mountain,
which at every step became wilder, justifying the
description given by Cervantes. But true to
nature as are the descriptions of Cervantes, they
do not of themselves occupy the mind of the

186 RECENT RAMBLES.
traveller who follows In the footsteps of Don
Quixote ; they serve rather to caU to recoUection
those inimitable dialogues between the Knight
and his Squire, in which all that is romantic or
extravagant, is opposed to the common-place
maxims of every-day Ufe ; in which the noble and
inteUectual, is placed In ludicrous contrast with
contented ignorance and vulgar honesty; and in
which the high-flown language of a distempered
fancy, Is overwhelmed in a cloud of proverbs.
Who then, mounted upon his mule, and with one
companion, slowly pursuing his way among the
rude passes of the Sierra Morena, could do other
wise than see in imagination, " the Knight of the
rueful countenance" and his faithful Squire, and
almost fancy that he listened to the deUghtfid
dialogue which on that very spot is recorded to
have been carried on, wherein the Knight, with
his own peculiar union of grave expostulation and
affectionate persuasion, combats the Squire's in
credulity upon certain points.
" Who," says Sancho, " that hears your worship
call a barber's basin the helmet of Mambrino, but

RECENT RAMBLES. 187
wIU believe that he who affirms such nonsense
must be crazed in his understanding? the basin,
which is all bruised and battered, I have put up
in my bag, in order to be mended at home, and
used for the service of my own beard, if ever by
the grace of God I come to see my wife and
family." " Harkee, Sancho," replies the Knight, " thou
hast the most slender understanding that any
Squire did ever possess; what seems a barber's
basin to thee I can easily discern to be the helmet
of Mambrino, and I cannot but admire the pro
vidence of the sage who is my friend, in making
that which is really and truly Mambrino's helmet
appear a basin to the rest of mankind, because it
is of such inestimable value, that if it were known,
the whole world would combine to ravish it from
me :" and pondering upon the excellent invention
and inimitable wit of Cervantes, and the perfect
truth with which the characters of his personages
are sustained, I had not observed that the barber
had a considerable way outstripped me, and that
he had dismounted from his mule, and sat awaiting

188 RECENT RAMBLES.
my approach. " This is the undoubted spot," said
he, " where the Knight did penance, whUe Sancho
was despatched to Toboso with a letter to Dul
cinea ;" and well it agreed with the description
of Cervantes, — for 'a gentle rlU' tinkled in a
hundred windings through ' a narrow meadow, so
green and fertile, that it ravished the spectator's
eye, while the forest trees that grew around, and a
thousand delicious herbs and flowers, conspired to
make the place enchanting.'
" Mr. Barber," said I, " as thou hast spoken of
the penance performed by the Knight, I would
ask of thee If thou hast ever read ' Amadis de
Gaul?'" " I can easily guess," said the barber, " why
your worship puts me that question."
" Art thou not of opinion," said I, " that the
origlnaUty of Cervantes is put somewhat in
jeopardy by what is narrated in that book ?"
" It Is very true," replied the barber, " that the
fancy of doing penance, is not indulged for the
first time, by Don Quixote, and that the stratagem
devised by the licentiate and the barber, with the

RECENT RAMBLES. 189
assistance Dorothea, to entice the knight out of
the Brown Mountain, was resorted to by the
Maid of Denmark, to withdraw Amadis from his
self-imposed rigours : but your mercy will please
to recoUect, that to copy Amadis in this, was
only in correspondence with the character of Don
Quixote, and with the whole object of the work.
Cervantes has asserted that the head of Don
Quixote was stuffed with the contents of books of
knight-errantry, and we find throughout the whole
book, that Don Quixote's model of knight-errantry
was Amadis, whom he considered well worthy of
imitation; so that nothing could be more natural
than that he should bethink himself of following
the example set to him by the paragon of knight-
errantry, in which indeed the consistency of his
character is kept up ; and though the heads of the
licentiate and the barber and Dorothea, were not
like the knight's, running on knight-errantry, it
must be recollected that when all the books of
chivalry were burned by the curate and the barber,
Amadis de Gaul was spared ; so that therefore,
they may be supposed to have recoUected the

190 RECENT RAMBLES.
stratagem practised by the Maid of Denmark, and
therefore resorted to the same stratagem on the
present occasion; but," continued the barber,
"better things await us here than penance and
buffeting ; for I begin to long as eagerly to dive
into the contents of this waUet, as Sancho did to
probe Cardenio's portmanteau, where he found a
hundred gold crowns, and if I mistake not, friend
Juanes has had an eye to our comforts, for, ' body
of me,' as Sancho says, the bag is so crammed,
that I am not able to thrust my hand into it."
WhUe the barber rummaged the wallet, I took
the saddle off my mule, that he as well as his
master might enjoy himself, and giving him a slap
on the hinder parts, such as the worthy knight is
said to have bestowed upon his Rozinante in the
self-same spot, I sent him up among the fragrant
shrubs, and seated myself upon the grass beside
my friend, who had by this time proved the gene
rosity of Juanes, which had indeed been princely;
and seated together in this retired and agreeable
spot, so full of associations, we dispatched the
greater part of a pasty, which although somewhat

RECENT RAMBLES. 191
overlaid with garlic, was sufficiently savoury to be
eaten with infinite relish; and then having satisfied
hunger, we applied with assiduity to the wine-skin,
which was so well filled, that the repeated draughts
which we took from it, did not sensibly lessen the
respectabUity of its appearance.

192 RECENT RAMBLES.

CHAPTER XXVII.

IN WHICH THE BEAUTIFUL EPISODE OF DOROTHEA IS CONSI
DERED, AND WHEREIN THE BARBER AfAIN TAKES OCCA
SION TO VINDICATE THE GENIUS OF CERVANTES, AND TO
ENLARGE ON THE EPISODES WHICH ARE INTRODUCED.

" Mr. Barber," said I, when the meal was
ended, " methlnks that I could almost without thy
assistance, have fixed upon this spot as the scene
of many of the most agreeable of the adventures in
the Brown Mountain ; for here we have not only
the ' rill' and the 'narrow meadow,' but the forest
trees mentioned by Cervantes, and which are not
yet seen in any other part of our journey."
" Ay, truly," said the barber, " these may be
the very rocks on which Sancho cautioned his
master how he ran his head against them, and

RECENT RAMBLES. 193
these the trees on which he is said to have hung
his armour while he did penance, — ^but there are
even more certain proofs of identity than these.
Come hither," said the barber, leading the way on
foot down a narrow valley watered by a purling
-brook, and shaded in a most cool and agreeable
manner by some rocks and trees ; " does your
honour see those few aged ash trees bending over
the brook, and growing, as it would seem, out of
the rock?"
" Ah, Mr. Barber," said I, " prince of guides,
well indeed are all these scenes known to thee ; I
see indeed these old ash trees, — and I think I see
at this moment the image that Cervantes has so
beautifully associated with them — the fair and
forsaken Dorothea, sitting on the rock ' under the
ash tree,' washing her ' delicate feet and fair limbs,
and wiping them with her handkerchief, while her
golden locks feU down upon her shoulders.' "
" I perceive," said the barber, " that your
honour is worthy of being conducted in the foot
steps of Don Quixote ; is not that a beautiful
picture ?" K

194 RECENT RAMBLES.
" 'T Is one of the most beautiful of pictures,"
said I, " and belongs to one of the most touching
of stories."
" And yet," said the barber, " there are those
who have such slender understanding as to say,
and uphold, that the stories which are here and
there interspersed, had better have been omitted,
because in them we hear nothing of our hero ; and
some go so far as to aver that they axe duU and
wearisome. Now," continued the barber, "that
is not my way of thinking. There never was
knight-errant with sword always in his hand; and
though it be true, that when the telling of a love
story comes after a dialogue between the knight
and his squire, or after the narration of some of
the most excellent of the adventures, it does ap
pear somewhat flattish In comparison ; It only sets
them off, and lets us have time to digest one dish
and get hungry again before we fall upon another :
no man can eat savoury stews all the day long; a
puchero to come between, gives them a greater
relish." " And are not the stories Cervantes' invention,
as well as the adventures?"

RECENT RAMBLES. 195
" In truth are they," said the barber; "but for
my part, I 'm puzzled to see why any one makes
a distinction between them. The stories arise
naturally out of the adventures, — they often shew
forth the character and quaUties of the knight and
his squire, which must need have something to
bring them to light. Nothing can be more
natural than that the knight should call upon
Cardenio to teU his story; and if he had not told
it, see what would have been lost ! Don Quixote
could not have taken umbrage at the disrespect
spoken of Queen Madasima by Cardenio; nor
could that excellent dialogue between Sancho and
his master have been Inserted, wherein Sancho
taking advantage of his license to speak his mind,
rates his master for his indiscreet bristling up
about the Queen Madasima, which brought upon
them the wrath of the madman; and which con
cludes with the knight's high-flown defence of
knight-errantry, and Sancho's string of proverbs."
" Thou hast doubtless made out thy case," said
I, " as regards this story at least."
" And as easy 't wiU be," said the barber, " to

196 RECENT RAMBLES.
shew that they have aU their uses ; but indeed, the
story of Cardenio, and in particular, that part of it
which relates to Lucretia, and her appearance in
the Brown Mountain (all of which are just as
much a part of his adventures, as his encounters
with goat-herds, or Yanguesian carriers, or galley-
slaves), were necessary towards the sequel of the
book ; for how, unless Lucretia had appeared
there, could the Licentiate and the Barber have
contrived along with Lucretia, the cunning device
by which he was withdrawn out of the Brown
Mountain, when Dorothea, pretending to be the
Queen MIcomicona, begged a boon of him."
" I perceive now more than ever," said I, " the
folly of endeavouring to separate between the
adventures of the knight, and the stories which are
introduced, and which are indeed essential to the
continuation of the adventures, as weU as to the
exhibition of character."
When the barber had thus agreeably defended
his favourite from the charges which some foolish
people have brought against him, we walked
leisurely about, taking up in the hollow of our

RECENT RAMBLES. 197
hands a mouthful or two of the pure water of the
brook wherein, we are told, that the white feet and
limbs of Lucretia looked like crystal, and at the
same time almost imagining we saw " the beautiful
apparition," as Cervantes calls her, seated there;
and then we returned to the spot where we had
left our mules, and our wallet and wine-skin,
because It was the shadiest spot in all these parts.
Several clumps of Uex trees were scattered up and
down, and an elevated rocky height, said in Cer
vantes to be, as if it had been cut out from the
rest that surrounded it, threw a considerable
shadow on one side of the valley.
" I don't know," said the barber, " how it may
be with your grace, but I find the air of these
parts produce a marvellous effect on my stomach ;
'tis scarce three hours since Juanes' pasty was In
terred ; and yet, ' body of me,' as Sancho says, I
am as keen set, as if nothing but that mouthful of
water had found its way down my throat this
blessed day; and it's my belief, too, seiior,"
added the barber, looking askance at the wine-skin,
" that water does little service to a dry throat.
k3

198 RECENT RAMBLES.
" No doubt, Master Nicholas," said I, " moun
tain air invigorates the appetite, and a dry throat 's
no agreeable companion; as for Juanes' pasty. It
was a miracle in its way, and if thy hand could lay
hold on any thing as savoury, I would not be so
uncivil as to let thee eat alone, though I promise
thee the larger share." And the barber's hand
was presently diving into the waUet, from which it
speedUy extracted a sausage, that smelt Indeed a
little of garUc, but which, if not entirely to my
taste, was every whit suited to that of the barber,
who did such rapid execution on it, that the greater
part was speedily entombed along with the pasty.
" A knowing rogue is that Juanes," said the
barber, as we smacked our lips after a long draught
of racy wine, — he knows a thing or two."
" A thing or two more than is good for him to
know may be," said I.
" Ay, ay," said the barber, " more 's the pity;"
while he again tied up the wallet, and after one
other draught, put the stopper in the wine-sldn.

RECENT RAMBLES. 199

CHAPTER XXVIII.
IN WHICH THE AUTHOR, HAVING RELATED AS MUCH OF HIS
TRAVELS IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF DON QUIXOTE, AS CAN BE
CONTAINED IN THIS VOLUME, IS FORCED TO STOP FOR
THE PRESENT, AND TO REQUEST HIS READERS TO INFORM
MIM WHETHER THEY WISH HIM TO RESUME HIS AGREE
ABLE TASK.

" A pretty hole we have made in the wallet," said
I; "and as for the wine-skin, 'tis scarcely to be
recognised." " I scarcely think," said the barber, pressing it
with both his hands, " it will see out the night ;
and by the by, seiior, is it your pleasure that we
shall give it the trial ?"
" That," said I, "is more than I willingly take
upon me to answer : thou hast undertaken to lead
me In the footsteps of Don Quixote, and I am

200 RECENT RAMBLES,
ready to stay here, or jog on as thou mayest
direct." " Tread you shall in the footsteps of the Knight
of La Mancha," replied the barber, "and glad I
am to tread in them once more; but," continued
he, "if your worship wIU be guided by me, I
would give it as my opinion, that under the roof
of friend Juanes we shall be to the full as comfort
able as underneath these cork trees : this, as I
have already said, is doubtless the spot where the
Knight abode in the Brown Mountain, and from
whence he despatched Sancho with a letter to the
Dulcinea: here it was that he resolved to do
penance, and these are the very rocks of which
the affectionate Squire said, ' for the love of God
Sir, take care how you dash your head against the
rocks, for you may chance to meet with such a
one, as at the first push wIU put a finishing blow
to the whole scheme of penance ; content yourself
with running your skuU against water, or some
soft thing like a cotton bag, and leave it to my
care to tell my lady that your worship went to
loggerheads with the point of a rock a thousand

RECENT RAMBLES. 201
times harder than adamant !' Here too it was,
that the cunning device of the barber Nicholas,
and the Licentiate, and Dorothea, was put into
execution, when the knight forswore adventures
until he had righted the great Queen Micomicona,
and was thus enticed from the Brown Mountain :
but I see no good reason why we, who only follow
in the footsteps of the knight, should follow his
example by abiding three days in the mountain,
where, if I may judge by the altered look of our
wallet, and the emaciated paunch of our wine-skin,
we should be forced before the end of the three
days to imitate Don Quixote in culling plants to
sustain nature, and might become ' wan, meaigre,
and half-famished,' as Sancho found his master
upon his return ; wherefore I propose, that having
noted aU these things, we indulge in a short siesta,
for which I confess that pasty of Juanes and the
little morsel of sausage have somewhat inclined
me, and that we then retrace our footsteps towards
the Venta de Cardena."
The advice of the barber was palatable enough ;
and in less than three minutes after it was given,

202 RECENT RAMBLES.
the yielding wine-skin had received the impression
of his head, while the friendly shadow of ' a great
rock ' interposed between him and the rays of the
noon-day sum As for me, I employed the next
hour or two in that most enviable state, when
between sleeping and waking the mind passively
receives the impressions that are offered to it;
and when, as may easily be believed, in a scene
like this, and on an errand like mine, many
fantastic but strongly pictured Ulusions passed
before. I saw the lank faced Knight, with a
grave countenance, deliver to Sancho the letter to
Dulcinea, and recommend Rozinante to his care,
while the Squire mounting the steed with tears in
his eyes, begged his master's blessing, and set out
upon his journey. I fancied the welcome of the
honest Squire on his return. I heard the
courteous Knight say to the disguised Dorothea,
'rise most beautiful lady, the boon you ask, is
granted,' while Sancho, already feeliug himself
secure in the government of an island, 'took
down the armour which hung upon a tree, and in
a twinkling equipped his master,' who finding

RECENT RAMBLES.

203

himself armed, exclaims 'Let us go in the name
of God, to the assistance of this high-born lady ;'
and with these images in my mind, my eyes
closed, and I dropped asleep : when we awake, I
may possibly continue the narrative of my travels,
and this record of the Barber's excellent sayings.

LONDON:
PRINTED BY MANNING AND SMITHSON,
IVY LANE, PATERNOSTER ROW.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

3 9002 08561 8784

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