in a trifle I shou'd make a Complement to those Honorable Gentlemen whose Liberality has prov'd so substantial an Incouragement to me in this Vndertaking but I must change my note to an Apology for the smallness of the Edition and the best I can make is humbly to beg their Pardon I design'd it a handsom Folio with a fair Letter but there was a necessity of publishing this first Part of the Work immediately being inform'd that while it was supervising with all leisurely Care the Booksellers concerned in the old Translation had got it alter'd with all speed and resolv'd at any Rate to have it come out first I hope my generous Patrons will forgive a Delay which was the effect of my good Fortune I mean the Employment for which with all Thankfulness I am proud to own my self oblig'd to the great Mr. Mountague's Recommendation and the Favor of those noble Patriots Sir Robert Cotton and Sir Thomas Frankland This made the Bookseller think of casting this into four little portable Duodecimos and indeed there is this Reason for 't that the Book being more for Diversion than Study is therefore more proper for the Pocket than the Closet I have nothing more to add but the Names of those noble Encouragers of this Translation which I presume to insert in the Order they subscrib'd for my particular Benefit The Right Honorable Charles Mountague Esq The Honorable Colonel Codrington the Right Honorable the Earl of Dorset the Right Honorable Henry Lord Colerane the Honorable Hugh Hare Esq the Honorable Edward Coke Esq Richard Norton Esq Anthony Henly Esq Mr. John Freeman William Bridgman Esq his Grace the Duke of Devonshire the Right Honorable the Lady Vicountess of Weymouth the Honorable Henry Thynne Esq Sir Robert Worsely Bar. the Honorable H. Heveningham and J. Manners Esquires Sir John Smith Bar. the Right Hon. the Earl of Darwentwater the Hon. Charles Boyle Esq Sir Rich. Blackmore Charles Caesar Esq and Sir Godfrey Kneller THE Author's PREFACE TO THE READER YOU may depend on my bare Word Reader without any farther security that I cou'd wish this Offspring of my Brain were as ingenious sprightly and accomplish'd as your self cou'd desire but the mischief on 't is Nature will have its course Every Production must resemble its Author and my barren and unpolish'd Understanding can produce nothing but what is very dull very impertinent and extravagant beyond imagination You may suppose it the Child of Disturbance ingendred in some dismal Prison in the very seat of Wretchedness and amidst all manner of Inconveniences Rest and Ease a convenient Place pleasant Fields and Groves murmuring Springs and a sweet Repose of Mind are helps that raise the Fancy and impregnat even the most barren Muses with Conceptions that fill the World with Admiration and Delight Some Parents are so blinded by a Fatherl Fondness that they mistake the very Imperfections of their Children for so many Beauties and the Folly and Impertinence of the brave Boy must pass upon their Friends and Acquaintance for Wit and Sense But I who am only a Step-Father disavow the Authority of this modern and prevalent Custom nor will I earnestly beseech you with Tears in my Eyes which is many a poor Author's Case dear Reader to pardon or dissemble my Child's Faults For what Favour can I expect from you who are neither his Friend nor Relation You have a Soul of your own and the privilege of Free-will whoever you be as well as the proudest He that struts in a gaudy Outside You are a King by your own Fire-side as much as any Monarch in his Throne You have Liberty and Property which set you above Favor or Affection and may therefore freely like or dislike this History according to your humor I had a great mind to have expos'd it as naked as it was born without the addition of a Preface or the numberless Trumpery of commendatory Sonnets Epigrams and other Poems that usually usher in the Conceptions of Authors For I dare boldly say that tho I bestow'd some time in writing the Book yet it cost me not half so much labour as this very Preface I very often took up my Pen and as often laid it down and cou'd not for my life think of any thing to the purpose Sitting once in a very studious Posture with my Paper before me my Pen in my Ear my Elbow on the Table and my Cheek on my Hand considering how I should begin a certain Friend of mine an ingenious Gentleman and of a merry Disposition came in and surpriz'd me He ask'd me what I was so very intent and thoughtful upon I was so free with him as not to mince the matter but told him plainly that I had been puzling my Brain for a Preface to Don Quixote and that I had made my self so uneasy about it that I was now resolv'd to trouble my head no further either with Preface or Book but rather not to let the Atchievements of that noble Knight be publish'd For continu'd I why should I expose my self to the Lash of the old Legislator the Vulgar They will say that I have spent my youthful Days very finely to have nothing to recommend my Gray Hairs to the World but a dry insipid Legend not worth a rush wanting good Language as well as Invention barren of Conceits or pointed Wit and without either Quotations on the Margin or Annotations at the end which other Books tho never so fabulous and profane have to set 'em off Other Authors can pass upon the Public by stuffing their Books from Aristotle Plato and the whole Company of antient Philosophers thus amusing their Readers into a great opinion of their prodigious Reading Plutarch and Cicero are slur'd on the Publick for as Orthodox Doctors as St. Thomas or any of the Fathers And then the Method of these Moderns is so wounderfully agreeable and full of variety that they cannot fail to please In one Line they will describe you a whining amorous Coxcomb and the next shall be some dry Scrap of a Homily with such ingenious Turns as cannot chuse but ravish the Reader Now I want all these Embelishments and Graces I have neither marginal Notes nor critical Remarks I do not so much as know what Authors I follow and consequently can have no formal Index as 't is the fashion now methodically strung on the Letters of the Alphabet beginning with Aristotle and ending with Xenophon or Zoâ—lus or Zeuxis which two are commonly cram'd into the same Piece tho one of them was a famous Painter and t'other a saucy Critic I shall want also the pompous Preliminaries of commendatory Verses sent to me by the Right Honourable my Lord such a one by the Honourable the Lady such a one or the most ingenious Mr. such a one tho I know that I might have them at an easy rate from two or three Brothers of the Quill of my acquaintance and better I 'm sure than the best Quality
Places before we presume to go to Court Another Thing makes me more uneasy Suppose we have found out a King and a Princess and I have fill'd the World with the Fame of my unparallell'd Atchievements what hopes can I have of ever being discover'd to be of Royal Blood tho' it were but second Cousin to an Emperor For 't is not to be expected that the King will ever consent that I shall wed his Daughter till I have made this out by Authentick Proofs tho' my Service deserve it never so much And thus for want of a Punctilio I am in danger of losing what my Valour so justly merits 'T is true indeed I am a Gentleman and of a noted ancient Family nay perhaps the learned Historiographer who is to write the History of my Life will so improve and beautify my Genealogy that he will find me to be the fifth or sixth at least in Descent from a King For Sancho there are two sorts of Originals in the World Some who sprung from mighty Kings and Princes by little and little have been so lessen'd and obscur'd that the Estates and Titles of the following Generations have dwindled to nothing and ended in a Point like a Pyramid Others who from mean and low Beginnings still rise and rise till at last they are rais'd to the very Top of Human Greatness So vast the difference is That those who were Something are now Nothing and those that were Nothing are now Something and therefore who knows but that I may be one of those whose Original is so illustrious which being handsomly made out after due Examination ought undoubtedly to satisfy the King my Father-in-Law But even supposing he were still refractory the Princess is to be so desperately in Love with me that she will marry me without his Consent tho' I were the Son of a the meanest Plebeian and if her tender Honour scruples to bless me against her Father's Will then it may not be amiss to put a pleasing Constraint upon her by conveying her by Force out of the Reach of her Father to whose Persecutions either Time or Death will be sure to put a Period Ay quoth Sancho your rakehelly Fellows have a Saying that 's pat to your purpose Ne'er cringe nor creep for what you by force may reap Tho' I think 't were better said The Leap of a Shrub is worth more than good Mens Prayers No more to be said if the King your Father-in-Law won't let you have his Daughter by fair means ne'er stand Shall I Shall I but fairly and squarely run away with her All the Mischief that I fear is only that while you 're making your Peace with him and waiting after a dead Man's Shooes as the Saying is the poor Dog of a Squire is like to go long bare-foot and may go hang himself for any good you 'll be able to do him unless the Damsel Go between who 's to be his Wife run away too with the Princess and he solace himself with her till a better time comes for I don't see but that the Knight may clap up the Match between us without any more ado That 's most certain answer'd Don Quixote Why then quoth Sancho happy be lucky over Shooes over Boots let 's e'en take our Chance and let the World rub May Fortune crown our Wishes cry'd Don Quixote and let him be a Wretch who thinks himself one Amen say I quoth Sancho for I 'm one of your old Christians and that 's enough to have me be an Earl And more than enough said Don Quixote for tho' thou wer 't not so well descended being a King I cou'd bestow Nobility on thee without putting thee to the trouble of buying it or of doing me the least Service and making thee an Earl Men must call thee My Lord tho' it grieve 'em never so much And do you think quoth Sancho I wou'd become not my Equality main well Thou should'st say Quality said Don Quixote and not Equality Ev'n as you will return'd Sancho But as I was saying I should become an Earldom rarely for I was once Beadle to a Brotherhood and the Beadle's Gown did so become me that every Body said I had the Presence of a Warden Then howd you think I 'll look with a Duke's Robes on my Back all bedawb'd with Gold and Pearl like any Foreign Count I believe we shall have Folks come a 100 Leagues to see me Thou wilt look well enough said Don Quixote but then thou must shave that rough bushy Beard of thine at least ev'ry other day or People will read thy Beginning in thy Face as soon as they see thee Why then quoth Sancho 't is but keeping a Barber in my House and if needs be he shall trot after me where-ever I go like a Grandee's Master of the Horse How cam'st thou to know said Don Quixote that Grandees have their Masters of the Horse to ride after ' em I 'll tell you quoth Sancho Some years ago I happen'd to be about a Month among your Court-folks and there I saw a little Dandiprat riding about who they said was a hugeous great Lord there was a Man a Horseback that follow'd him close where-ever he went like a little t'anthony Pig turning and stopping as he did you 'd have thought he had been ty'd to his Horse's Tail With that I ask'd why that hind-man did not â—ide by the other but still come after him thus And they told me he was Master of his Horses and that the Graâ—dees have always such kind of Men at their Tail and I mark'd this so well that I ha'n't forgot it since Thou art in the right said Don Quixote and thou may'st as reasonably have thy Barber attend thee in this manner Customs did not come up all at once but rather started up and were improv'd by Degrees so thou mayst be the first Eaâ— that rode in state with his Barber behind him And this may be said to justifie thy Conduct that 't is an Office of more Trust to shave a Man's Beard than to saddle a Horse Well quoth Sancho leave the Business of the Cut beard to me and do but take Care you be a King and I an Earl Never doubt it reply'd Don Quixote and with that looking about he discover'd what the next Chapter will tell you CHAP. VII How Don Quixote set free many miserable Creatures whom some Men were driving to a certain Place against their Wills CId Hamet Benengeli an Arabian and Manchegan Author relates in this most grave high sounding Minute soft and humorous History that after this Discourse between the renown'd Don Quixote and his Squire Sancho Panca which we have laid down at the end of the Sixth Chapter the Knight lifting up his Eyes saw about twelve Men a Foot trudging in the Road all in a row one behind another like Beads upon a String being link'd together by the Neck to a huge Iron Chain and manacled besides They were guarded by two
Ascendant over his Reason to the endangering of his future Happiness My Lord said I let not a few transitory and imaginary Charms which cou'd never excuse such an excess of Love hurry you to your Ruin Spare your noble Father the Shame and Displeasure of seeing you marry'd to a Person so much below your Birth and do not rashly do a thing of which you may repent and that may make my Life uncomfortable I added several other Reasons to dissuade him from that hasty Match but they were all unregarded Don Ferdinand deaf to every thing but to his Desires engag'd and bound himself like an inconsiderate Lover who sacrifices all things to his Passion or rather like a Cheat who does not value a Breach of Vows When I saw him so obstinate I began to consider what I had to do I am not the first thought I to my self whom Marriage has rais'd to unhop'd for Greatness and whose Beauty alone has supply'd her want of Birth and Merit Thousands besides Don Ferdinand have marry'd meerly for Love without any regard to the inequality of Wealth or Birth The opportunity was fair and tempting and as Fortune is not always favourable I thought it an imprudent thing to let it slip Thought I to my self while she kindly offers me a Husband who assures me of an inviolable Affection why should I by an unreasonable Denial make my self an Enemy of such a Friend And then there was one thing more I apprehended it would be dangerous to drive him to Despair by an ill-tim'd Refusal Nor could I think my self safe alone in his Hands lest he should resolve to satisfy his Passion by Force which done he might think himself free from performing a Promise which I wou'd not accept and then I shou'd be left without either Honour or an Excuse for it wou'd be no easy matter to perswade my Father and the censorious World that this Noble-man was admitted into my Chamber without my Consent All these Reasons which in a Moment offer'd themselves in my Mind shook my former Resolves and Don Ferdinand's Sighs his Tears his Vows and the sacred Witnesses by which he swore together with his graceful Mien his extraordinary Accomplishments and the Love which I fancy'd I read in all his Actions help'd to bring on my Ruin as I believe they would have prevail'd with any one's Heart as free and as well guarded as was mine Then I call'd my Maid to be Witness of Don Ferdinand's Vows and sacred Engagements which he reiterated to me and confirm'd with new Oaths and solemn Promises he call'd again on Heaven and on many particular Saints to witness his Sincerity wishing a thousand Curses might fall on him in case he ever violated his Word Again he sigh'd again he wept and mov'd me more and more with fresh Marks of Affection and the treacherous Maid having left the Room the perfidious Lord presuming on my Weakness compleated his pernicious Design The Day which succeeded that unhappy Night had not yet begun to dawn when Don Ferdinand impatient to be gone made all the haste he cou'd to leave me and told me tho' not with so great a show of Affection nor so warmly as before that I might rely on his Honour and on the sincerity of his Vows and Promises and as a further Pledge he pull'd off a Ring of great Value from his Finger and put it upon mine In short he went away and my Maid who as she confess'd it to me had let him in privately took care to let him out into the Street by Break of Day while I remain'd so strangely concern'd at the thoughts of all these Passages that I cannot well tell whether I was sorry or pleas'd I was in a manner quite distracted and either forgot or had not the Heart to chide my Maid for her Treachery not knowing yet whether she had done me Good or Harm I had told Don Ferdinand before he went that seeing I was now his own he might make use of the same means to come again to see me till he found it convenient to do me the Honour of owning me publickly for his Wife But he came to me only the next Night and from that time I never cou'd see him more neither at Church nor in the Street tho' for a whole Month together I tir'd my self endeavouring to find him out being credibly inform'd he was still near us and went a Hunting almost every Day I leave you to think with what uneasiness I pass'd those tedious Hours when I perceiv'd his Neglect and had reason to suspect his Breach of Faith So unexpected a Slight which I look'd upon as the most sensible Affliction that cou'd befal me had like to have quite overwhelm'd me Then it was that I found my Maid had betray'd me I broke out into severe Complaints of her Presumption which I had smother'd till that time I exclaim'd against Don Ferdinand and exhausted my Sighs and Tears without asswaging my Sorrow What was worse I found my self oblig'd to set a guard upon my very Looks for fear my Father and Mother shou'd inquire into the cause of my Discontent and so occasion my being guilty of shameful Lies and Evasions to conceal my more shameful Disaster But at last I perceiv'd 't was in vain to dissemble and I gave a Loose to my Resentments for I cou'd no longer hold when I heard that Don Ferdinand was marry'd in a neighbouring Town to a young Lady of rich and noble Parentage and extremely handsom whose Name is Lucinda Cardenio hearing Lucinda nam'd felt his former Disorder but by good Fortune it was not so violent as it us'd to be and he only shrugg'd up his Shoulders bit his Lips knit his Brows and a little while after let fall a shower of Tears which did not hinder Dorothea from going on This News continu'd she instead of freezing up my Blood with Grief and Astonishment fill'd me with burning Rage Despair took possession of my Soul and in the transports of my Fury I was ready to run raving thro' the Streets and publish Don Ferdinand's Disloyalty tho' at the expence of my Reputation I don't know whether a remainder of Reason stop'd these violent Motions but I found my self mightily eas'd as soon as I had pitch'd upon a Design that presently came into my Head I discover'd the Cause of my Grief to a young country Fellow that serv'd my Father and desir'd him to lend me a Suit of Man's Apparel and to go along with me to the Town where I heard Don Ferdinand was The Fellow us'd the best Arguments he had to hinder me from so strange an Undertaking but finding I was inflexible in my Resolution he assur'd me he was ready to serve me Thereupon I put on this Habit which you see and taking with me some of my own Clothes together with some Gold and Jewels not knowing but I might have occasion for 'em I set out that very Night attended with that Servant and many