{"id":285,"date":"2019-12-01T16:45:25","date_gmt":"2019-12-01T16:45:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/donquixoteoflamancha\/chapter\/second-part-chapter-xlix-2\/"},"modified":"2020-03-31T19:13:54","modified_gmt":"2020-03-31T19:13:54","slug":"second-part-chapter-xlix","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/donquixoteoflamancha\/chapter\/second-part-chapter-xlix\/","title":{"rendered":"Second Part. Chapter XLIX"},"content":{"raw":"CHAPTER XLIX<\/a>\r\n
\r\n

Regarding what befell Sancho Panza as he patrolled his \u00ednsula<\/span><\/h2>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n

We left the great governor angry and annoyed at the sly painter of a farmer who had been instructed by the steward, and the steward by the duke, to ridicule Sancho; but he stood his ground with all of them even though he was foolish, unpolished, and plump, and he said to those who were with him, and to Dr. Pedro Recio, who had come back into the room once the secret matter of the duke\u2019s letter was concluded:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cNow I can really understand that judges and governors must be, or should be, made of bronze so they won\u2019t feel the demands of petitioners, who at all hours and in every season want them to listen and attend only to their petitions, and to take care of them come what may; and if the <\/a>poor judge doesn\u2019t listen to them and take care of them, either because he can\u2019t or because it isn\u2019t the time set aside for giving audiences, then they curse him and slander him and gnaw at his bones and even have things to say about his family. Foolish, thoughtless petitioner, don\u2019t be in a hurry; wait for the right time and occasion to make your petition; don\u2019t come when it\u2019s time to eat or sleep, for judges are flesh and blood, and they must give to their natures what they naturally demand, except for me; I don\u2019t give mine anything to eat, thanks to our Dr. Pedro Recio Tirteafuera, here present, who wants me to die of hunger, and who claims that this kind of death is life; may God grant the same to him and to all those of his kind: I mean bad doctors; the good ones deserve palms and laurels.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

All who knew Sancho Panza were amazed to hear him speak so elegantly, and they did not know how to account for it except for the fact that serious offices and responsibilities either strengthen the mind or make it torpid. Finally, Dr. Pedro Recio de Ag\u00fcero de Tirteafuera promised to give him supper that night, even if that exceeded all the aphorisms of Hippocrates. This made the governor happy, and he waited very impatiently for night and the supper hour to arrive, and although time, it seemed to him, stood still, not moving from the spot, yet the longed-for moment arrived, and for supper he was served a salpic\u00f3n<\/span> 535<\/a><\/span><\/sup> of beef with onion, and some stewed calves\u2019 feet that were a little past their prime. He gave himself up to all of it with more pleasure than if they had served him partridges from Milan, pheasants from Rome, veal from Sorrento, quail from Mor\u00f3n, or geese from Lavajos, and during his supper he turned to the doctor and said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cLook, Se\u00f1or Doctor, from now on don\u2019t bother about giving me delicate or exquisite things to eat, because that will drive my stomach out of its mind: it\u2019s used to goat, beef, bacon, dried meat, turnips, and onions, and if by some chance it\u2019s given palace dishes, it gets finicky, and sometimes even sick. What the butler can do is bring me what are called ollas podridas,<\/span> 536<\/a><\/span><\/sup> and the more rotten they are, the better they smell, and he can pack them and fill them with anything he likes as long as it\u2019s food, and I\u2019ll thank him for it and repay him someday; but don\u2019t let anybody try to trick me, because we either are or we aren\u2019t: let\u2019s all live and eat in peace and good friendship, because when God sends the dawn, it\u2019s dawn for <\/a>everybody. I\u2019ll govern this \u00ednsula without forsaking the law or taking a bribe, and let everybody keep his eyes open and tend to his own affairs, because I want you to know that the devil makes trouble everywhere, and if you give me a chance, you\u2019ll see marvels. And if you turn into honey, the flies will eat you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cCertainly, Se\u00f1or Governor,\u201d said the butler, \u201cyour grace is correct in everything you have said, and I offer, in the name of all the insulanos of this \u00ednsula, to serve your grace with all promptness, love, and benevolence, because the gentle form of governing that your grace has shown from the very beginning does not allow us to do or think anything that would redound to your grace\u2019s disservice.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cI believe that,\u201d responded Sancho, \u201cand they would be fools if they did or thought anything else. And I say again that care should be taken with my feeding and the feeding of my donkey, which is what matters and is most important in this business; when it\u2019s time we\u2019ll go on patrol, for it\u2019s my intention to clear this \u00ednsula of all kinds of filth, as well as people who are vagrants, idlers, and sluggards, because I want you to know, my friends, that shiftless, lazy people are to the nation what drones are to the hive: they eat the honey that the worker bees produce. I intend to favor those who labor, maintain the privileges of the gentry, reward the virtuous, and, above all, respect religion and the honor of the clergy. What do you think of this, my friends? Have I just said something or am I racking my brains for nothing?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cYour grace has said so much, Se\u00f1or Governor,\u201d said the steward, \u201cthat I\u2019m amazed to see a man as unlettered as your grace, who, I believe, has no letters at all, saying so many things full of wisdom and good counsel, far beyond what was expected of your grace\u2019s intelligence by those who sent us here and by those who came here with you. Every day we see new things in the world: deceptions become the truth, and deceivers find themselves deceived.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Night arrived, and the governor had supper with the permission of Dr. Recio. They prepared to go on patrol, and the governor went out with the steward, the secretary, the butler, the chronicler who was charged with recording his deeds, and so many bailiffs and scribes they could have formed a medium-size squadron. Sancho was in the middle of it, holding his staff, and it was a sight to see, and when they had gone down a few streets they heard sounds of a dispute. They hurried to the spot and found only two men fighting; seeing the law approach, the men stood still, and one of them said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cHere, over here, in the name of God and the king! How can you allow people to be robbed in the middle of town and assaulted in the middle of the street?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cCalm down, my good man,\u201d said Sancho, \u201cand tell me the reason for this fighting, for I am the governor.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

The other man said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cSe\u00f1or Governor, I\u2019ll tell you as briefly as I can. Your grace should know that this gentleman has just won more than a thousand reales<\/span> in the gambling house across the way, God knows how; I happened to be present, and going against the dictates of my conscience, I judged more than one doubtful play in his favor; he left the game with his winnings, and though I expected him to give me at least an escudo<\/span> as a tip, which is usual and customary for important men like me, who determine if things have been done well or badly, and confirm if there has been an injustice, and avoid disputes, he put his money in his pocket and left the house. I came after him, indignant, and with kind and courteous words I asked him to give me even eight reales,<\/span> for he knows I\u2019m an honorable man and have no money and no work because my parents didn\u2019t leave me anything or teach me a trade, and this scoundrel, who\u2019s a bigger thief than Cacus and a bigger cheat than Andradilla,537<\/a><\/span><\/sup>didn\u2019t want to give me more than four reales,<\/span> and now your grace can see, Se\u00f1or Governor, how little shame he has, and how little conscience! By my faith, if your grace hadn\u2019t come by, I would have made him give up his winnings and taught him a good lesson.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWhat do you say to this?\u201d asked Sancho.<\/p>\r\n

And the other man responded that what his adversary said was true: he had not wanted to give him more than four reales<\/span> because he had given him that amount many times, and those who expect a tip have to be well-mannered and take what is given to them with a smile, and not demand explanations from the winners unless they know for certain that they are cheats and their winnings are ill-gotten gains; and as a sign that he was an honest man and not a thief, as the other man said, there was no better proof than his not wanting to give him anything, because cheats always have to pay tribute to the onlookers who know them.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThat\u2019s true,\u201d said the steward. \u201cSe\u00f1or Governor, your grace will have to decide what ought to be done with these men.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWhat ought to be done is this,\u201d responded Sancho. \u201cYou, the win-<\/a>ner, good, bad, or indifferent, must give your opponent a hundred reales,<\/span> and another thirty to the poor men in prison; and you who have no money and no work and are not needed on this \u00ednsula, take the hundred reales<\/span> and leave this \u00ednsula by tomorrow; you\u2019re banished for ten years, and if you come back before then, you\u2019ll finish your sentence in the next life, because I\u2019ll hang you from the gallows, or at least the hangman will, on my orders; and let no one reply or he\u2019ll feel my hand.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

One man paid, the other received, the latter left the \u00ednsula, the former went home, and the governor remained, saying:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cNow, either I\u2019m mistaken or I\u2019m going to close down these gambling houses, because it seems clear to me that they\u2019re very harmful.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cYour grace won\u2019t be able to close down this one, at least,\u201d said a scribe, \u201cbecause it\u2019s owned by a very important person, and what he loses every year at cards is incomparably more than what he wins. Your grace can show your power against other gambling dens of less distinction, which are the ones that do more harm and harbor more outrages; in the houses of highborn gentlemen and nobles, the notorious cheats don\u2019t dare to use their tricks, and since the vice of gambling has become so widespread, it\u2019s better to gamble in distinguished houses than in those of workmen, where they keep a poor wretch for half the night and skin him alive.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cNow, Scribe,\u201d said Sancho, \u201cI know there\u2019s a lot to say about this.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

At that moment a constable came up to them, holding a young man, and he said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cSe\u00f1or Governor, this lad was coming toward us, and as soon as he saw that we were the law, he turned his back and began to run like a deer, a sign that he must be a criminal. I went after him, and if he hadn\u2019t tripped and fallen, I never would have caught him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWhy were you running away?\u201d asked Sancho.<\/p>\r\n

To which the young man responded:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cSe\u00f1or, to avoid answering all the questions that constables ask.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s your trade?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cA weaver.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cAnd what do you weave?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThe iron tips of lances, with your grace\u2019s kind permission.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cAre you being funny with me? Are you proud of being a joker? Fine! Where were you going now?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cSe\u00f1or, to take the air.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cAnd where do you take the air on this \u00ednsula?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWherever it blows.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cGood: your answers are right to the point! You\u2019re clever, boy, but you should know that I\u2019m the air, and I\u2019m blowing at your back and sending you to prison. You there, seize him and take him away, and I\u2019ll make him sleep without any air tonight!\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cBy God!\u201d said the young man. \u201cYour grace will make me sleep in prison when you make me king!\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cAnd why can\u2019t I make you sleep in prison?\u201d responded Sancho. \u201cDon\u2019t I have the power to arrest you and let you go whenever I want to?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cNo matter how much power your grace has,\u201d said the young man, \u201cit won\u2019t be enough to make me sleep in prison.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cYou think so?\u201d replied Sancho. \u201cTake him right now to the place where he\u2019ll see the truth with his own eyes, no matter how much the warden tries to use self-interested generosity with him; I\u2019ll fine the warden two thousand ducados<\/span> if he lets you take one step out of prison.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cAll this is laughable,\u201d responded the young man. \u201cThe fact is that every man alive today won\u2019t make me sleep in prison.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cTell me, you demon,\u201d said Sancho, \u201cdo you have an angel who\u2019ll take you out and remove the irons that I plan to put on you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cNow, Se\u00f1or Governor,\u201d the young man responded with great charm, \u201clet\u2019s use our reason and come to the point. Suppose, your grace, that you order me taken to prison, and there I\u2019m put in irons and chains, and placed in a cell, and the warden will suffer great penalties if he lets me out, and he obeys every order you give him; even so, if I don\u2019t want to sleep, and stay awake the whole night without closing my eyes, is all your grace\u2019s power enough to make me sleep if I don\u2019t want to?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cNo, of course not,\u201d said the secretary, \u201cand the man has proven his point.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWhich means,\u201d said Sancho, \u201cthat you wouldn\u2019t sleep simply because it\u2019s your will not to, not because you want to go against mine.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cNo, Se\u00f1or,\u201d said the young man, \u201cI wouldn\u2019t dream of that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWell then,\u201d said Sancho, \u201cgo with God back to your house to sleep, and may God give you a sound sleep, for I don\u2019t want to rob you of that, but I do advise that from now on you don\u2019t mock the law because you may come across a constable who\u2019ll take the joke out of your hide.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

The young man left, and the governor continued on his patrol, and in a little while two constables came along holding a man, and they said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cSe\u00f1or Governor, this person who looks like a man isn\u2019t one, she\u2019s a woman, and not an ugly one, and she\u2019s dressed in men\u2019s clothes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

They raised two or three lanterns up to her eyes, and in their light they saw the face of a woman who seemed to be sixteen years old, or perhaps a little older, with her hair caught up in a net of gold-and-green silk, and as beautiful as a thousand pearls. They looked at her from head to toe and saw that she was wearing stockings of scarlet silk, with garters of white taffeta edged in gold and seed pearls; her breeches were green, made of cloth of gold, as was her jacket or loose coat, under which she wore a doublet of a very fine gold-and-white cloth, and her men\u2019s shoes were white. On her belt she did not wear a sword but a richly decorated dagger, and on her fingers there were many precious rings. In short, everyone thought the girl was lovely, and no one recognized her, and the residents of the village said they could not think who she might be, and those who were privy to the tricks that were to be played on Sancho were the ones who were most bewildered, because they had not arranged this incident and discovery, and so they were in doubt, waiting to see how the matter would turn out.<\/p>\r\n

Sancho was amazed at the girl\u2019s beauty, and he asked her who she was, where she was going, and what had moved her to dress in those clothes. She, her eyes lowered in modesty and shame, responded:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cI cannot, Se\u00f1or, say publicly what it has been so important for me to keep secret, but I want one thing understood: I am not a thief or a wicked person, but an unfortunate maiden forced by the power of jealousy to break with the decorum owed to modesty.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Hearing this, the steward said to Sancho:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cSe\u00f1or Governor, have these other people move away so the lady can say whatever she wishes with less embarrassment.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

The governor so ordered, and everyone moved away except the steward, the butler, and the secretary. When they were alone, the maiden continued, saying:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cSe\u00f1ores, I am the daughter of Pedro P\u00e9rez Mazorca, the tax collector for wool in this village, who often comes to my father\u2019s house.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThis doesn\u2019t make sense, Se\u00f1ora,\u201d said the steward, \u201cbecause I know Pedro P\u00e9rez very well, and I know he has no children, male or female, and besides, you say he\u2019s your father and then you add that he often comes to your father\u2019s house.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cI noticed that, too,\u201d said Sancho.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cNow, Se\u00f1ores, I\u2019m very upset, and I don\u2019t know what I\u2019m saying,\u201d responded the maiden, \u201cbut the truth is that I\u2019m the daughter of Diego de la Llana, whom all of your graces must know.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cNow that makes sense,\u201d responded the steward, \u201cfor I know Diego de la Llana, and I know he\u2019s a distinguished gentleman, and very rich, and that he has a son and a daughter, and since he was widowed there\u2019s no one in the entire village who can say he\u2019s seen the face of his daughter, for he keeps her so secluded not even the sun can see her; and, even so, the rumor is that she\u2019s extremely beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThat is true,\u201d responded the maiden, \u201cand I\u2019m that daughter, and you, Se\u00f1ores, can say now if the rumor about my beauty is false or not, for you have seen me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

And then she began to weep most piteously; seeing this, the secretary leaned toward the butler\u2019s ear and said very quietly:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThere can be no doubt that something important has happened to this poor maiden, because in these clothes, and at this hour, and being a gentlewoman, she\u2019s not in her house.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cNo doubt about it,\u201d responded the butler, \u201cand her tears confirm your suspicion.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Sancho consoled her with the best words he knew and asked her to have no fear and tell them what had happened to her, and all of them would attempt very earnestly to remedy it in every way possible.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThe fact is, Se\u00f1ores,\u201d she responded, \u201cthat my father has kept me secluded for ten years, the same amount of time my mother has been in the ground. At home Mass is said in a magnificent oratory, and in all this time I have not seen more than the sun in the sky during the day, and the moon and stars at night, and I don\u2019t know what streets or squares or temples or even men look like, except for my father and a brother of mine, and Pedro P\u00e9rez, the tax collector, and because he normally comes to my house, I had the idea of saying he was my father in order not to reveal who mine really is. This seclusion, and my father\u2019s refusal to allow me to leave the house, not even to go to church, have made me very unhappy for many long days and months; I would like to see the world, or, at least, the village where I was born, and it seemed to me that this desire did not go against the decorum that wellborn maidens ought to observe. When I heard that people had bullfights and cane fights538<\/a><\/span><\/sup> and put on plays, I asked my brother, who is a year younger than I am, to tell me what those things were, as well as many other things I had not seen; he told me in the best way he could, but this only inflamed my desire to see them. Finally, to shorten the tale of my perdition, I\u2019ll say that I begged <\/a>and pleaded with my brother, and I wish I never had begged and pleaded for anything\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

And she began to cry again. The steward said to her:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cYour grace should continue, Se\u00f1ora, and finish telling us what has happened, for your words and your tears have us all in suspense.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cI have few words left to say,\u201d responded the maiden, \u201cbut many tears to weep, because badly placed desires cannot bring any reduction,539<\/a><\/span><\/sup> only more of the same.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

The maiden\u2019s beauty had left its mark in the butler\u2019s soul, and once more he raised his lantern in order to see her again, and it seemed to him she was shedding not tears but seed pearls or the dew on the meadows, and he exalted them even higher and compared them to Oriental pearls, and he hoped her misfortune was not as great as her tears and sighs seemed to indicate. The governor was becoming impatient at the length of time it took the girl to tell her history, and he told her not to keep them in suspense any longer, for it was late and they still had a good part of the town to patrol. She, between interrupted sobs and broken sighs, said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cMy misfortune and my misery are simply that I asked my brother to let me dress as a man in some of his clothes, and to take me out one night to see the village while our father was sleeping; he, besieged by my pleas, agreed, and he gave me these clothes, and dressed himself in some of mine, which suited him as if he had been born to them because he doesn\u2019t have a beard yet and looks exactly like a very beautiful maiden; and tonight, about an hour ago, more or less, we left the house, and guided by our young and foolish thoughts we walked all around the village; when we wanted to return home we saw a great crowd of people coming toward us, and my brother said to me: \u2018Sister, this must be the patrol: put wings on your feet and run with me so they won\u2019t recognize us, for that will not be in our favor.\u2019 And saying this, he turned, and I won\u2019t say he began to run, but to fly; before I had taken six steps I fell, I was so frightened, and then the officer of the law came and brought me before your graces, where, because I am wicked and capricious, I find myself shamed before so many people.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cAnd so, Se\u00f1ora,\u201d said Sancho, \u201cno other misfortune has happened to you, not even the jealousy you mentioned at the beginning of your story, to bring you out of your house?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cNothing has happened to me, and jealousy didn\u2019t bring me out, but only my desire to see the world, which didn\u2019t go beyond seeing the streets of this town.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

And the truth of what the maiden had said was confirmed by the arrival of constables holding her brother, whom one of them had overtaken when he ran from his sister. He wore a rich skirt and a shawl of blue damask with fine gold passementerie, and no headdress or any other adornment on his head except for his hair, which was so blond and curly it looked like rings of gold. The governor, the steward, and the butler moved to one side with him, and not letting his sister hear what they were saying, they asked him why he was wearing those clothes, and he, with no less shame and embarrassment, told the same story that his sister had told, which brought great joy to the enamored butler. But the governor said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cCertainly, Se\u00f1ores, this has been a childish prank, and to tell about this foolishness and daring, there was no need for so many long tears and sighs; just saying, \u2018We\u2019re so-and-so and such-and-such, and we left our father\u2019s house in disguise to enjoy ourselves, just out of curiosity, for no other reason,\u2019 would have been the end of the story without all that sobbing and weeping and carrying on.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThat\u2019s true,\u201d responded the maiden, \u201cbut your graces should know I was so upset I could not be as brief as I should have been.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cNothing\u2019s been lost,\u201d responded Sancho. \u201cLet\u2019s go, and we\u2019ll leave your graces at your father\u2019s house; maybe he hasn\u2019t missed you. And from now on don\u2019t be so childish, or so eager to see the world; an honorable maiden and a broken leg stay in the house; and a woman and a hen are soon lost when they wander; and a woman who wants to see also wants to be seen. That\u2019s all I\u2019ll say.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

The boy thanked the governor for his kindness in taking them to their house, and so they set out, for it was not very far. When they arrived, the brother tossed a pebble at a jalousied window, and a maid who had been waiting for them came down immediately and opened the door, and they went in, leaving everyone amazed by their gentility and beauty, and by their desire to see the world, at night, and without leaving the village; but they attributed it all to their youth.<\/p>\r\n

The butler\u2019s heart had been pierced, and he resolved to go the next day and ask her father for her hand, certain he would not be denied since he was a servant to the duke; and even Sancho had a desire and a wish to marry the boy to his daughter, Sanchica, and he decided to do so when <\/a>the time came, believing that no husband could be denied the daughter of a governor.<\/p>\r\n

With this the night\u2019s patrol ended, and two days later the governorship and with it all his plans were wiped out and destroyed, as we shall see later.<\/p>\r\n","rendered":"

CHAPTER XLIX<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Regarding what befell Sancho Panza as he patrolled his \u00ednsula<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

\"image\"<\/p>\n

We left the great governor angry and annoyed at the sly painter of a farmer who had been instructed by the steward, and the steward by the duke, to ridicule Sancho; but he stood his ground with all of them even though he was foolish, unpolished, and plump, and he said to those who were with him, and to Dr. Pedro Recio, who had come back into the room once the secret matter of the duke\u2019s letter was concluded:<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I can really understand that judges and governors must be, or should be, made of bronze so they won\u2019t feel the demands of petitioners, who at all hours and in every season want them to listen and attend only to their petitions, and to take care of them come what may; and if the <\/a>poor judge doesn\u2019t listen to them and take care of them, either because he can\u2019t or because it isn\u2019t the time set aside for giving audiences, then they curse him and slander him and gnaw at his bones and even have things to say about his family. Foolish, thoughtless petitioner, don\u2019t be in a hurry; wait for the right time and occasion to make your petition; don\u2019t come when it\u2019s time to eat or sleep, for judges are flesh and blood, and they must give to their natures what they naturally demand, except for me; I don\u2019t give mine anything to eat, thanks to our Dr. Pedro Recio Tirteafuera, here present, who wants me to die of hunger, and who claims that this kind of death is life; may God grant the same to him and to all those of his kind: I mean bad doctors; the good ones deserve palms and laurels.\u201d<\/p>\n

All who knew Sancho Panza were amazed to hear him speak so elegantly, and they did not know how to account for it except for the fact that serious offices and responsibilities either strengthen the mind or make it torpid. Finally, Dr. Pedro Recio de Ag\u00fcero de Tirteafuera promised to give him supper that night, even if that exceeded all the aphorisms of Hippocrates. This made the governor happy, and he waited very impatiently for night and the supper hour to arrive, and although time, it seemed to him, stood still, not moving from the spot, yet the longed-for moment arrived, and for supper he was served a salpic\u00f3n<\/span> 535<\/a><\/span><\/sup> of beef with onion, and some stewed calves\u2019 feet that were a little past their prime. He gave himself up to all of it with more pleasure than if they had served him partridges from Milan, pheasants from Rome, veal from Sorrento, quail from Mor\u00f3n, or geese from Lavajos, and during his supper he turned to the doctor and said:<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, Se\u00f1or Doctor, from now on don\u2019t bother about giving me delicate or exquisite things to eat, because that will drive my stomach out of its mind: it\u2019s used to goat, beef, bacon, dried meat, turnips, and onions, and if by some chance it\u2019s given palace dishes, it gets finicky, and sometimes even sick. What the butler can do is bring me what are called ollas podridas,<\/span> 536<\/a><\/span><\/sup> and the more rotten they are, the better they smell, and he can pack them and fill them with anything he likes as long as it\u2019s food, and I\u2019ll thank him for it and repay him someday; but don\u2019t let anybody try to trick me, because we either are or we aren\u2019t: let\u2019s all live and eat in peace and good friendship, because when God sends the dawn, it\u2019s dawn for <\/a>everybody. I\u2019ll govern this \u00ednsula without forsaking the law or taking a bribe, and let everybody keep his eyes open and tend to his own affairs, because I want you to know that the devil makes trouble everywhere, and if you give me a chance, you\u2019ll see marvels. And if you turn into honey, the flies will eat you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly, Se\u00f1or Governor,\u201d said the butler, \u201cyour grace is correct in everything you have said, and I offer, in the name of all the insulanos of this \u00ednsula, to serve your grace with all promptness, love, and benevolence, because the gentle form of governing that your grace has shown from the very beginning does not allow us to do or think anything that would redound to your grace\u2019s disservice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that,\u201d responded Sancho, \u201cand they would be fools if they did or thought anything else. And I say again that care should be taken with my feeding and the feeding of my donkey, which is what matters and is most important in this business; when it\u2019s time we\u2019ll go on patrol, for it\u2019s my intention to clear this \u00ednsula of all kinds of filth, as well as people who are vagrants, idlers, and sluggards, because I want you to know, my friends, that shiftless, lazy people are to the nation what drones are to the hive: they eat the honey that the worker bees produce. I intend to favor those who labor, maintain the privileges of the gentry, reward the virtuous, and, above all, respect religion and the honor of the clergy. What do you think of this, my friends? Have I just said something or am I racking my brains for nothing?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour grace has said so much, Se\u00f1or Governor,\u201d said the steward, \u201cthat I\u2019m amazed to see a man as unlettered as your grace, who, I believe, has no letters at all, saying so many things full of wisdom and good counsel, far beyond what was expected of your grace\u2019s intelligence by those who sent us here and by those who came here with you. Every day we see new things in the world: deceptions become the truth, and deceivers find themselves deceived.\u201d<\/p>\n

Night arrived, and the governor had supper with the permission of Dr. Recio. They prepared to go on patrol, and the governor went out with the steward, the secretary, the butler, the chronicler who was charged with recording his deeds, and so many bailiffs and scribes they could have formed a medium-size squadron. Sancho was in the middle of it, holding his staff, and it was a sight to see, and when they had gone down a few streets they heard sounds of a dispute. They hurried to the spot and found only two men fighting; seeing the law approach, the men stood still, and one of them said:<\/p>\n

\u201cHere, over here, in the name of God and the king! How can you allow people to be robbed in the middle of town and assaulted in the middle of the street?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCalm down, my good man,\u201d said Sancho, \u201cand tell me the reason for this fighting, for I am the governor.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other man said:<\/p>\n

\u201cSe\u00f1or Governor, I\u2019ll tell you as briefly as I can. Your grace should know that this gentleman has just won more than a thousand reales<\/span> in the gambling house across the way, God knows how; I happened to be present, and going against the dictates of my conscience, I judged more than one doubtful play in his favor; he left the game with his winnings, and though I expected him to give me at least an escudo<\/span> as a tip, which is usual and customary for important men like me, who determine if things have been done well or badly, and confirm if there has been an injustice, and avoid disputes, he put his money in his pocket and left the house. I came after him, indignant, and with kind and courteous words I asked him to give me even eight reales,<\/span> for he knows I\u2019m an honorable man and have no money and no work because my parents didn\u2019t leave me anything or teach me a trade, and this scoundrel, who\u2019s a bigger thief than Cacus and a bigger cheat than Andradilla,537<\/a><\/span><\/sup>didn\u2019t want to give me more than four reales,<\/span> and now your grace can see, Se\u00f1or Governor, how little shame he has, and how little conscience! By my faith, if your grace hadn\u2019t come by, I would have made him give up his winnings and taught him a good lesson.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you say to this?\u201d asked Sancho.<\/p>\n

And the other man responded that what his adversary said was true: he had not wanted to give him more than four reales<\/span> because he had given him that amount many times, and those who expect a tip have to be well-mannered and take what is given to them with a smile, and not demand explanations from the winners unless they know for certain that they are cheats and their winnings are ill-gotten gains; and as a sign that he was an honest man and not a thief, as the other man said, there was no better proof than his not wanting to give him anything, because cheats always have to pay tribute to the onlookers who know them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s true,\u201d said the steward. \u201cSe\u00f1or Governor, your grace will have to decide what ought to be done with these men.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat ought to be done is this,\u201d responded Sancho. \u201cYou, the win-<\/a>ner, good, bad, or indifferent, must give your opponent a hundred reales,<\/span> and another thirty to the poor men in prison; and you who have no money and no work and are not needed on this \u00ednsula, take the hundred reales<\/span> and leave this \u00ednsula by tomorrow; you\u2019re banished for ten years, and if you come back before then, you\u2019ll finish your sentence in the next life, because I\u2019ll hang you from the gallows, or at least the hangman will, on my orders; and let no one reply or he\u2019ll feel my hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

One man paid, the other received, the latter left the \u00ednsula, the former went home, and the governor remained, saying:<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, either I\u2019m mistaken or I\u2019m going to close down these gambling houses, because it seems clear to me that they\u2019re very harmful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour grace won\u2019t be able to close down this one, at least,\u201d said a scribe, \u201cbecause it\u2019s owned by a very important person, and what he loses every year at cards is incomparably more than what he wins. Your grace can show your power against other gambling dens of less distinction, which are the ones that do more harm and harbor more outrages; in the houses of highborn gentlemen and nobles, the notorious cheats don\u2019t dare to use their tricks, and since the vice of gambling has become so widespread, it\u2019s better to gamble in distinguished houses than in those of workmen, where they keep a poor wretch for half the night and skin him alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, Scribe,\u201d said Sancho, \u201cI know there\u2019s a lot to say about this.\u201d<\/p>\n

At that moment a constable came up to them, holding a young man, and he said:<\/p>\n

\u201cSe\u00f1or Governor, this lad was coming toward us, and as soon as he saw that we were the law, he turned his back and began to run like a deer, a sign that he must be a criminal. I went after him, and if he hadn\u2019t tripped and fallen, I never would have caught him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy were you running away?\u201d asked Sancho.<\/p>\n

To which the young man responded:<\/p>\n

\u201cSe\u00f1or, to avoid answering all the questions that constables ask.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s your trade?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA weaver.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd what do you weave?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe iron tips of lances, with your grace\u2019s kind permission.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you being funny with me? Are you proud of being a joker? Fine! Where were you going now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSe\u00f1or, to take the air.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd where do you take the air on this \u00ednsula?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWherever it blows.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood: your answers are right to the point! You\u2019re clever, boy, but you should know that I\u2019m the air, and I\u2019m blowing at your back and sending you to prison. You there, seize him and take him away, and I\u2019ll make him sleep without any air tonight!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBy God!\u201d said the young man. \u201cYour grace will make me sleep in prison when you make me king!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd why can\u2019t I make you sleep in prison?\u201d responded Sancho. \u201cDon\u2019t I have the power to arrest you and let you go whenever I want to?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter how much power your grace has,\u201d said the young man, \u201cit won\u2019t be enough to make me sleep in prison.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think so?\u201d replied Sancho. \u201cTake him right now to the place where he\u2019ll see the truth with his own eyes, no matter how much the warden tries to use self-interested generosity with him; I\u2019ll fine the warden two thousand ducados<\/span> if he lets you take one step out of prison.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll this is laughable,\u201d responded the young man. \u201cThe fact is that every man alive today won\u2019t make me sleep in prison.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTell me, you demon,\u201d said Sancho, \u201cdo you have an angel who\u2019ll take you out and remove the irons that I plan to put on you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, Se\u00f1or Governor,\u201d the young man responded with great charm, \u201clet\u2019s use our reason and come to the point. Suppose, your grace, that you order me taken to prison, and there I\u2019m put in irons and chains, and placed in a cell, and the warden will suffer great penalties if he lets me out, and he obeys every order you give him; even so, if I don\u2019t want to sleep, and stay awake the whole night without closing my eyes, is all your grace\u2019s power enough to make me sleep if I don\u2019t want to?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, of course not,\u201d said the secretary, \u201cand the man has proven his point.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich means,\u201d said Sancho, \u201cthat you wouldn\u2019t sleep simply because it\u2019s your will not to, not because you want to go against mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Se\u00f1or,\u201d said the young man, \u201cI wouldn\u2019t dream of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell then,\u201d said Sancho, \u201cgo with God back to your house to sleep, and may God give you a sound sleep, for I don\u2019t want to rob you of that, but I do advise that from now on you don\u2019t mock the law because you may come across a constable who\u2019ll take the joke out of your hide.\u201d<\/p>\n

The young man left, and the governor continued on his patrol, and in a little while two constables came along holding a man, and they said:<\/p>\n

\u201cSe\u00f1or Governor, this person who looks like a man isn\u2019t one, she\u2019s a woman, and not an ugly one, and she\u2019s dressed in men\u2019s clothes.\u201d<\/p>\n

They raised two or three lanterns up to her eyes, and in their light they saw the face of a woman who seemed to be sixteen years old, or perhaps a little older, with her hair caught up in a net of gold-and-green silk, and as beautiful as a thousand pearls. They looked at her from head to toe and saw that she was wearing stockings of scarlet silk, with garters of white taffeta edged in gold and seed pearls; her breeches were green, made of cloth of gold, as was her jacket or loose coat, under which she wore a doublet of a very fine gold-and-white cloth, and her men\u2019s shoes were white. On her belt she did not wear a sword but a richly decorated dagger, and on her fingers there were many precious rings. In short, everyone thought the girl was lovely, and no one recognized her, and the residents of the village said they could not think who she might be, and those who were privy to the tricks that were to be played on Sancho were the ones who were most bewildered, because they had not arranged this incident and discovery, and so they were in doubt, waiting to see how the matter would turn out.<\/p>\n

Sancho was amazed at the girl\u2019s beauty, and he asked her who she was, where she was going, and what had moved her to dress in those clothes. She, her eyes lowered in modesty and shame, responded:<\/p>\n

\u201cI cannot, Se\u00f1or, say publicly what it has been so important for me to keep secret, but I want one thing understood: I am not a thief or a wicked person, but an unfortunate maiden forced by the power of jealousy to break with the decorum owed to modesty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hearing this, the steward said to Sancho:<\/p>\n

\u201cSe\u00f1or Governor, have these other people move away so the lady can say whatever she wishes with less embarrassment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The governor so ordered, and everyone moved away except the steward, the butler, and the secretary. When they were alone, the maiden continued, saying:<\/p>\n

\u201cSe\u00f1ores, I am the daughter of Pedro P\u00e9rez Mazorca, the tax collector for wool in this village, who often comes to my father\u2019s house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis doesn\u2019t make sense, Se\u00f1ora,\u201d said the steward, \u201cbecause I know Pedro P\u00e9rez very well, and I know he has no children, male or female, and besides, you say he\u2019s your father and then you add that he often comes to your father\u2019s house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI noticed that, too,\u201d said Sancho.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, Se\u00f1ores, I\u2019m very upset, and I don\u2019t know what I\u2019m saying,\u201d responded the maiden, \u201cbut the truth is that I\u2019m the daughter of Diego de la Llana, whom all of your graces must know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that makes sense,\u201d responded the steward, \u201cfor I know Diego de la Llana, and I know he\u2019s a distinguished gentleman, and very rich, and that he has a son and a daughter, and since he was widowed there\u2019s no one in the entire village who can say he\u2019s seen the face of his daughter, for he keeps her so secluded not even the sun can see her; and, even so, the rumor is that she\u2019s extremely beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is true,\u201d responded the maiden, \u201cand I\u2019m that daughter, and you, Se\u00f1ores, can say now if the rumor about my beauty is false or not, for you have seen me.\u201d<\/p>\n

And then she began to weep most piteously; seeing this, the secretary leaned toward the butler\u2019s ear and said very quietly:<\/p>\n

\u201cThere can be no doubt that something important has happened to this poor maiden, because in these clothes, and at this hour, and being a gentlewoman, she\u2019s not in her house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo doubt about it,\u201d responded the butler, \u201cand her tears confirm your suspicion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sancho consoled her with the best words he knew and asked her to have no fear and tell them what had happened to her, and all of them would attempt very earnestly to remedy it in every way possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact is, Se\u00f1ores,\u201d she responded, \u201cthat my father has kept me secluded for ten years, the same amount of time my mother has been in the ground. At home Mass is said in a magnificent oratory, and in all this time I have not seen more than the sun in the sky during the day, and the moon and stars at night, and I don\u2019t know what streets or squares or temples or even men look like, except for my father and a brother of mine, and Pedro P\u00e9rez, the tax collector, and because he normally comes to my house, I had the idea of saying he was my father in order not to reveal who mine really is. This seclusion, and my father\u2019s refusal to allow me to leave the house, not even to go to church, have made me very unhappy for many long days and months; I would like to see the world, or, at least, the village where I was born, and it seemed to me that this desire did not go against the decorum that wellborn maidens ought to observe. When I heard that people had bullfights and cane fights538<\/a><\/span><\/sup> and put on plays, I asked my brother, who is a year younger than I am, to tell me what those things were, as well as many other things I had not seen; he told me in the best way he could, but this only inflamed my desire to see them. Finally, to shorten the tale of my perdition, I\u2019ll say that I begged <\/a>and pleaded with my brother, and I wish I never had begged and pleaded for anything\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

And she began to cry again. The steward said to her:<\/p>\n

\u201cYour grace should continue, Se\u00f1ora, and finish telling us what has happened, for your words and your tears have us all in suspense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have few words left to say,\u201d responded the maiden, \u201cbut many tears to weep, because badly placed desires cannot bring any reduction,539<\/a><\/span><\/sup> only more of the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

The maiden\u2019s beauty had left its mark in the butler\u2019s soul, and once more he raised his lantern in order to see her again, and it seemed to him she was shedding not tears but seed pearls or the dew on the meadows, and he exalted them even higher and compared them to Oriental pearls, and he hoped her misfortune was not as great as her tears and sighs seemed to indicate. The governor was becoming impatient at the length of time it took the girl to tell her history, and he told her not to keep them in suspense any longer, for it was late and they still had a good part of the town to patrol. She, between interrupted sobs and broken sighs, said:<\/p>\n

\u201cMy misfortune and my misery are simply that I asked my brother to let me dress as a man in some of his clothes, and to take me out one night to see the village while our father was sleeping; he, besieged by my pleas, agreed, and he gave me these clothes, and dressed himself in some of mine, which suited him as if he had been born to them because he doesn\u2019t have a beard yet and looks exactly like a very beautiful maiden; and tonight, about an hour ago, more or less, we left the house, and guided by our young and foolish thoughts we walked all around the village; when we wanted to return home we saw a great crowd of people coming toward us, and my brother said to me: \u2018Sister, this must be the patrol: put wings on your feet and run with me so they won\u2019t recognize us, for that will not be in our favor.\u2019 And saying this, he turned, and I won\u2019t say he began to run, but to fly; before I had taken six steps I fell, I was so frightened, and then the officer of the law came and brought me before your graces, where, because I am wicked and capricious, I find myself shamed before so many people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so, Se\u00f1ora,\u201d said Sancho, \u201cno other misfortune has happened to you, not even the jealousy you mentioned at the beginning of your story, to bring you out of your house?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing has happened to me, and jealousy didn\u2019t bring me out, but only my desire to see the world, which didn\u2019t go beyond seeing the streets of this town.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the truth of what the maiden had said was confirmed by the arrival of constables holding her brother, whom one of them had overtaken when he ran from his sister. He wore a rich skirt and a shawl of blue damask with fine gold passementerie, and no headdress or any other adornment on his head except for his hair, which was so blond and curly it looked like rings of gold. The governor, the steward, and the butler moved to one side with him, and not letting his sister hear what they were saying, they asked him why he was wearing those clothes, and he, with no less shame and embarrassment, told the same story that his sister had told, which brought great joy to the enamored butler. But the governor said:<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly, Se\u00f1ores, this has been a childish prank, and to tell about this foolishness and daring, there was no need for so many long tears and sighs; just saying, \u2018We\u2019re so-and-so and such-and-such, and we left our father\u2019s house in disguise to enjoy ourselves, just out of curiosity, for no other reason,\u2019 would have been the end of the story without all that sobbing and weeping and carrying on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s true,\u201d responded the maiden, \u201cbut your graces should know I was so upset I could not be as brief as I should have been.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing\u2019s been lost,\u201d responded Sancho. \u201cLet\u2019s go, and we\u2019ll leave your graces at your father\u2019s house; maybe he hasn\u2019t missed you. And from now on don\u2019t be so childish, or so eager to see the world; an honorable maiden and a broken leg stay in the house; and a woman and a hen are soon lost when they wander; and a woman who wants to see also wants to be seen. That\u2019s all I\u2019ll say.\u201d<\/p>\n

The boy thanked the governor for his kindness in taking them to their house, and so they set out, for it was not very far. When they arrived, the brother tossed a pebble at a jalousied window, and a maid who had been waiting for them came down immediately and opened the door, and they went in, leaving everyone amazed by their gentility and beauty, and by their desire to see the world, at night, and without leaving the village; but they attributed it all to their youth.<\/p>\n

The butler\u2019s heart had been pierced, and he resolved to go the next day and ask her father for her hand, certain he would not be denied since he was a servant to the duke; and even Sancho had a desire and a wish to marry the boy to his daughter, Sanchica, and he decided to do so when <\/a>the time came, believing that no husband could be denied the daughter of a governor.<\/p>\n

With this the night\u2019s patrol ended, and two days later the governorship and with it all his plans were wiped out and destroyed, as we shall see later.<\/p>\n

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