* *'' ' -.--.i* -':" 
 flK.^ 
 
 V WWk/n* 
 
 
 
 
 vV " 
 
 
>> 
 
 
 ^ 
 
UCSB LIBKAKY. 
 
LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 MIGUEL DE CERVANTES. 
 

 
 
 
' / / 
 
 // 
 
THE 
 
 MIGUEL DE CERVANTES 
 SAAVEDliA. 
 
 WITH 
 
 iLiterarg anti fBststoriral IIustrations 
 
 AUTHENTIC DOCUMENTS SUPPLIED BY SPANISH BIOGRAPHERS 
 AND OTHER EDITORS OF HIS WORKS. 
 
 BY THOMAS ROSCOE, ESQ. 
 
 LONDON: 
 PRINTED FOR THOMAS TEGG, 73, CHEAPSIDE. 
 
 BCCCXXXIX. 
 
LONDON : 
 
 BRADBURY AND F.VANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PACK 
 
 Ancient and noble family of Cervantes Its origin Mili- 
 tary services Birth and baptism of Cervantes Want of 
 dates Neglect of his con temporaries His education Early 
 poetic taste His preceptors Anecdotes Fondness for the 
 drama Early opinions of him Juvenile essays Studies at 
 Sdrauutea Dramatic representations at Alcala and Madrid 
 Introduction to Cardinal Aquaviva Accompanies him to 
 Rome Description of his tour Residence in Rome Enters 
 the Spanish army Sails with the fleet Battle of Lepanto 
 His heroic conduct Receives three wounds Is taken to 
 Medina Eulogised by Don John of Austria Recovers 
 and rejoins the army In the regiment of Figueroa Goes 
 upon new expeditions His naval service described by him- 
 self I 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Sails with the expedition from Palermo Attack of Tunis 
 Flight of the Moors Gallant conduct of Cervantes Re- 
 turn of Don John to Italy Cervantes winters with his regi- 
 ment at Cerdena Sails with Marcello Doria to Genoa 
 Proceeds with his regiment to Sicily Visits the principal 
 cities of Italy Descriptions in his writings Studies the 
 Italian poets The use he made of them His delicate 
 satire Envied and depreciated Gains the esteem of his 
 commanders Distinguishes himself Obtains leave to re- 
 turn to Spain Sets sail with his brother Rodrigo Attacked 
 and captured by an Algerine squadron Brave defence 
 Carried to Algiers Cruel treatment Forms a plan to 
 
vi CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 escape Abandoned by his guide Is re-cnptured His 
 second attempt Adventures and sufferings Takes the re- 
 sponsibility upon himself Threatened by the Dey Curious 
 anecdotes A Spanish renegade Conduct of Cervantes 
 Renews his attempt to escape . . . .If! 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Cervantes communicates his design to other captives His plan 
 is matured Betrayed to the Dey Blanco de Paz Mag- 
 nanimous conduct of Cervantes Refuses to abandon his 
 fellow-captives Is brought before the Dey Threatened 
 with death Refuses to name his coadjutors Treated with 
 extreme rigour His plotting genius dreaded by the Dey 
 Sufferings of the captives Dearth in Algiers The Duke 
 de Sesa interests himself for Cervantes Solicitude and 
 efforts of his relatives Petition to Philip II. It is granted 
 Renewed attempts to obtain the amount of his ransom 
 Society of the Redemption Father Gill Cervantes placed 
 on board a vessel bound for Constantinople Is ransomed 
 And set at liberty Compassion for his fellow-captives 
 Noble example Religious duties And resignation His 
 numerous frieuds Documents and certificates of witnesses 
 Interesting depositions Cervantes sails for Spain . 37 
 
 CHAPTKR IV. 
 
 .Cervantes returns to the army Supposed to re-enter his old 
 "regiment Campaign of Portugal Sails from Lisbon Ex- 
 pedition toTerceira Junction of the Spanish fleets Battle 
 and victory off Terceira Serves with his brother Rodrigo 
 in the new attack Gallant exploit Conquest of the neigh- 
 bouring islands; Addresses complimentary lines to the 
 famous Santa Cruz Long services of Cervantes under his 
 flag Reception in Portugal His interesting descriptions of 
 the country Liaison with a Portuguese lady His natural 
 daughter Residence in Mostagan^Sent with letters from 
 the Governor to King Philip Garrison duty Composition 
 of his Galatea Description of the heroine Taken from 
 real life Critical opinions Analysis of it Anecdotes 
 Marriage of Cervantes Resides at Esquivias Literary 
 occupations Compositions Formation of Academies Be- 
 cc.nics a member Residence at the Court . 52 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PAGF 
 
 Dramatic compositions of Cervantes Introduces moral and 
 allegorical personages Number of his plays Reform of the 
 Spanish Theatre Prepares the way for Lope cle Vega His 
 embarrassing situation Is made a Commissioner of the 
 Commissariat Department Removes to Seville His inade- 
 quate income Sends a memorial to the King Favourably 
 entertained Singular allusion to his blighted prospects His 
 great exertions and perseverance Frequent journeys In- 
 teresting incidents His satiric vein Applied to moral uses 
 Origin of his amusing Episode in Don Quixote Diffi- 
 culties encountered in his enjoyment Solemn festival 
 Monks of Saragossa Literary contest Enters the lists 
 Gains the first prize Returns to Seville. . . .67 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Early dramatic efforts Opinions of Cervantes Progress of 
 the art in Spain Curious retrospect Lope de Rueda His 
 dramatic equipments A travelling stage Spanish authors 
 and actors A canon of Toledo A censorship Ideas of 
 Cervantes Strictures of M. Sismondi Extracts Speci- 
 mens translated His dramatic genius How to be esti- 
 mated His dramas The Numantia Description and 
 analysis Specimens Peculiar characteristics Elevated 
 character Grand sentiment Eloquent and powerful ap- 
 peals Its progress, development, and final struggles 
 Devoted patriotism Genius and conduct of Scipio Re- 
 duces the city by famine Its destruction by the inhabitants 
 Self-sacrifices Its fall Effects on a Spanish audience 
 Its classical character Old Greek spirit Concentred in- 
 terest and unity . . . . .81 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Other dramatic works Life in Algiers Circumstances in 
 which it originated Los Banos de Argel Various adven- 
 tures Allegorical personages Analysis Specimens and 
 translations The slave-market Pathetic and startling' 
 scenes Society of the Redemption The drama Opinions 
 of Cervantes His judgment Extensive reading Famili- 
 
" CONTENTS. 
 
 PACK 
 
 arity with and imitation of the Ancients Noble qualities 
 of the drama as conceived by Cervantes Freedom from 
 affectation and conventional gallantry Unable to establish 
 a reform Prevailing taste of the day Triumphant Lope 
 de Vega and Cervantes both yield toil . .104 
 
 CUAPTER VIII. 
 
 Attack of Cadiz by the English Calls forth the satirical genius 
 of Cervantes His happy irony Story of the Espanola 
 Inylesa New difficulties, owing to the treachery of an 
 acquaintance Compromised with the agents of government 
 Called to Madrid Residence there Death of Philip 
 II. Grand solemnities Strange commotion, and battle of 
 the priests Celebrated by Cervantes in a burlesque sonnet 
 Idiom of the country people Residence in Seville 
 Agent to people of rank Familiar acquaintance with the 
 customs and manners of the people Origin of his novels 
 Their character and object Andalusian tone of his wit and 
 satire Mixing with the people Foundation of his Don 
 Quixote His commission in La Mancha Doubts enter- 
 tained Visit to Valladolid Supposed imprisonment Tra- 
 dition, anecdotes, and reflections Composition of Don 
 Quixote Its reception Criticisms and discussions Models 
 His ideas of romance on new principles . .115 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Transitory effects of the death of Philip II. Reflections upon 
 arbitrary government Its fatal influence on the fortunes of 
 Cervantes The victim of evil times and circumstance 
 ' of a despotic court Don Quixote Its cool recpetion 
 Gradual progress Rapid sale and universal fame Opinions 
 of M. Sismondi Requisites for its perusal Object of the 
 work Its spirit, plot, characters Ancient and modern 
 models Mixed nature Real views of Cervantes To en- 
 tertain, reform, and instruct Specimens Anedotes Ori- 
 ginal idea Power of imagination Its vivid representations 
 Lasting impressions Vigour of description Vast know- 
 ledge and learning Variety of the episodes Their charm 
 and pathos Powerful contrasts Dignity ,riclincss Beauty 
 and exquisite polish of style . . . . 1 39 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Astonishing success of his new work Envy and malignity of 
 his contemporaries Lope de Vega Attempts made to excite 
 enmity between them Calumnies and falsehoods employed 
 Birth of Philip IV. Count de Lerma's embassy to Eng- 
 land Splendid banquets Singular fatality Depositions 
 of Cervantes and his family relative to the affair Informa- 
 tion of his residence and family thus obtained Anecdotes 
 The -works of Hurtado de Mendoza Academical meetings 
 His connexions and friendships Ungrateful return 
 Heartlessness of men of rank Academy of the Selvage 
 Its members Poems composed by Cervantes. . .156 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Cervantes devotes himself to literary compositions Corrects 
 his former productions, and prepares them for the press 
 HJB novels and tales Interwoven with his great work 
 Boccaccio How far imitated by Cervantes Why entitled 
 Exemplares Noble objects he had in view Tales of 
 witchcraft, and diablerie Dangerous test of merit Curi- 
 ous instance of hallucination Various characters of the 
 novels How natural and well-supported Examination of 
 their merits Accused of not being the author of them 
 Forms a new era in the popular fiction of Spain Imitated 
 by Lope de Vega Richness and beauty of the language . 173 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Continuation of the Novelas Exemplares Opinions Ana- 
 lysis Specimens and translations La Gitanilla Charac- 
 ters Peculiarities of the Gitanos Sketches Peculiarities 
 of climate El Amante Liberal Characters and adven- 
 tures Historical allusions Power of the Corsairs Singu- 
 lar historic incidents Story of Rinconete and Cortadillo 
 Characteristics of vagabond life Religion of thieves Regu- 
 lar establishment Singular priesthood The Spanish-Eng- 
 lish lady Admirable pictures of the country Customs and 
 manners of the people . . . . . 1 87 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 PACK 
 
 Characteristics of novel writing Its former and present pecu- 
 liarities The test of time Increased popularity of Cer- 
 vantes High opinion expressed by his rivals Tacit admis- 
 sion of Cervantes' merit by Lope de Vega Opposed to a 
 vicious popularity, or vulgar fame Extended the same high 
 sentiment to the drama His views of the drama State of 
 the Spanish stage Its extravagance Bad taste And de- 
 pravity Example -Base proceedings of the Licentiate 
 Avellaneda Violent party spirit excited Moderation and 
 magnanimity of Cervantes Extreme bitterness and enmity 
 of his rival Mystery in which it is enveloped Silence of 
 his contemporaries on the subject Improvement of the 
 Spanish language by Cervantes . . . .198 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Literary productions The Viaye al Parnaso Complains 
 of the neglect of his friends of men of rank the court 
 the country for M-hich he bled The Adjunta al Parnaso 
 Fresh disappointments Injustice of the Spanish theatre 
 He composes new plays Maligned and persecuted Re- 
 vises his comedies Dedicates them to the Count de Lemos 
 Their cold reception Characteristics of the drama of that 
 period Examination of the various subjects treated by Cer- 
 vantes His contemporary, Lope de Vega " Justus Poeti- 
 cas " Second part of Don Quixote Humorous picture of 
 his rival Pleasant dialogue Delicate feeling of Cervantes 
 Contrasted with his rival His style Charged with 
 Italianisms by his enemies His purity and harmony of style 
 His works translated and published in other countries . 212 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Popularity of Don Quixote Neglect of men of letters 
 Curious anecdote Compliment to Cervantes Numerous 
 editions of Don Quixote Fame of the author Ariosto 
 Tasso Critical remarks Violence and injustice of other 
 writers Monsieur Sorel A bold English critic El Escu- 
 dero Obregon Character of its author His crafty and 
 cavilling spirit towards Cervantes Want of consistency and 
 merit in hs own work . 231 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 New romance of Cervantes Unpublished during his life 
 His own estimate of it By native critics By foreigners 
 Bold and imaginative character Strange ideas of the North 
 Wonderful adventures The marvellous Grand extra- 
 vagances Humorous incidents New method of travelling 
 Specimens of diablerie Numerous episodes Ironical 
 treatment of his own story Effect of age, and influence of 
 Catholic priests Superstitious feelings productive of into- 
 lerance Injustice towards the Moriscoes Bad effects of 
 their banishment Touching lament Adventures of the 
 hero and heroine Odd notions of heroic morality . 243 
 
 CHAPTER XV11. 
 
 Envy and ingratitude of Figueroa Unjust and unprovoked 
 attacks upon Cervantes Strange conduct of the Argeu- 
 solas Try to poison the minds of his patrons Noble cha- 
 racter of the Count de Lemos Of Sandoval y Rojas Their 
 m uniticence Protect Cervantes Interesting facts Parti- 
 culars relating to the second part of Don Quixote Analysis 
 Episodes The hero Character of Sancho Dedication 
 to the Count Persiles and Sigismunda Observations and 
 analysis Illness of Cervantes Tries a change of air 
 Amusing ad ventures Becomes worse Fondness for litera- 
 ture to the last Corrects his works Writes to his patron 
 His noble expressions His death Summary of his 
 character and merits . . . .254 
 
 APPENDIX . . . . .275 
 
THE 
 
 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 OK 
 
 MIGUEL DE CERVANTES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Ancient and noble family of Cervanles Its origin Military ser- 
 vices Birth and baptism of Cervantes Want of dates Neglect 
 of his contemporaries His education Early poetic taste His 
 preceptors Anecdotes Fondness for the drama Early opinions 
 of him Juvenile essays Studies at Salamanca Dramatic re- 
 presentations at Alcala and Madrid Introduction to Cardinal 
 Aquaviva Accompanies him to Rome Descriptions of his tour 
 Residence in Rome Enters the Spanish army Sails with the 
 fleet Battle of Lepanto His heroic conduct Receives three 
 wounds Is taken to Messina Eulogised by Don John of 
 Austria Recovers and rejoins the army In the regiment of 
 Figueroa Goes upon new expeditions His naval service de- 
 scribed by himself. 
 
 THE noble family of the Cervantes was, it appears, 
 first settled in Galicia, from whence it removed to 
 Castile, spreading through that province its numer- 
 ous branches. Its origin was adorned by the most 
 memorable actions and signal victories for which it 
 received the distinguished approbation of its sove- 
 reigns ; and it figures in the pages of Spanish history 
 for more than five centuries with such splendour, that 
 
2 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 if we may believe the learned marquess of Mondejar, 
 it has no occasion to envy the most august houses 
 of Europe. 
 
 Some descendants of this numerous race accom- 
 panied the King Don Fernando in his conquest of 
 Baeza and Seville, and shared in the spoils of that 
 expedition ; and others of the name, who emulated 
 the actions of their ancestors, were amongst the con- 
 querors of the new world, where they established 
 themselves and flourished. Another kindred branch 
 are descended from Juan de Cervantes, a man of dis- 
 tinction and corregidor of Ossuna, where he acquired 
 by his noble qualities the respect of the natives of 
 that place. He had a son, Rodrigo de Cervantes, 
 who intermarried in the year 1540 with Donna Leo- 
 nora de Cortinos, a lady 'of noble birth, and a native, 
 as it appears, of the town of Barrajos. The issue of 
 this marriage were Donna Andrea and Donna Ltmisu 
 Roderigo and Miguel. Miguel de Cervantes, who was 
 the younger son of this noble but reduced family, 
 was born in Alcala de Henares, 1 and baptised in the 
 parish church of Santa Maria la Mayor on the ninth 
 day of October, 1547 ; a fact which is now most 
 satisfactorily established, and which consequently for 
 ever destroys the pretensions of Madrid, Seville, Lu- 
 cena, Toledo, Esquerios, Alcazar de San Juan and 
 Consuegra, which cities had long contended for the 
 honour of giving birth to so illustrious a person. But 
 there is still, unfortunately, room for them to contest 
 the honour of possessing his tomb ; the traveller and 
 the pilgrim of the world know not yet where to 
 pay their devotions to the relics of Cervantes more 
 sacred for the nobleness and greatness of his character. 
 One of the virtuous few who season human kind, 
 and redeem humanity in our eyes, he showed us that 
 
OF CERVANTES. 3 
 
 the life of an author is not necessarily confined to the 
 influence of his works ; that his actions are not 
 bounded l>y his writings, though these have been 
 thought to constitute the most valuable of his actions ; 
 and that the man ought never to be lost sight of 
 in the author or the artist. It is that which adorns 
 through all time the names of Da Vinci, of Michael 
 Angelo, of Camoens, of Dante, 3Iilton, and Cervantes, 
 which gives them clearness, distinctness, and identity 
 through the mists of time, stamping upon them that 
 true- nobility of imperishable mind, which must pre- 
 serve them fresh and immortal in the memory of 
 posterity. Cervantes was illustrious as a man, before 
 he was known as a writer ; he was signalised by his 
 courage, his virtues, and his trials, long before he 
 wrote his best book. His own life was a series of 
 adventures sufficient to interest us without his fame ; 
 possessing the same charm, the same moral force, 
 which surprises and delights us in his works. It was 
 impossible for contemporary biography to describe a 
 man whose high qualities were not appreciated, whose 
 character was not understood ; and it is for this reason 
 that we have to lament the want of those full and 
 rich materials which the writers of Spain were then 
 so industriously engaged in collecting to illustrate the 
 lives of their kings, and the annals of their inquisitions. 
 It seems most probable, however, that Cervantes 
 received the first rudiments of his education in his 
 native place, and amongst his own kindred; more 
 particularly as at this time Alcalu was celebrated for 
 its cultivation of science and literature, and was also 
 the resort of many distinguished men. 2 Neverthe- 
 less, nothing can with certainty be averred on this 
 point ; and all that we know is, that from his most 
 tender years Cervantes manifested a decided iuelina- 
 
 B2 
 
4 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 tion to poetry and to works of invention and imitation, 
 and a lively curiosity which led him to read the 
 idle ballads of the streets. He discovered, too, an 
 affection for the theatre, where he attended the re- 
 presentations of the pieces of the celebrated poet and 
 noted performer Lope de Rueda, although his tender 
 years did not then permit him fully to appreciate the 
 quality of his verses. He however retained them in 
 his memory to a more mature age, when he bestowed 
 on them their due meed of praise. 
 
 Some authors, as D. Nicolas Antonio, believe that 
 Cervantes joined in the representation of these pieces 
 in Seville, of which city Lope de Rueda was a native, 
 and have even inferred that he was himself born in 
 that city: 3 but allowing that this eminent performer 
 was present with his company in Segovia in 1558, 
 on occasion of the solemn festival which was held 
 there on the removal of divine worship from the old 
 to the new cathedral, where the resort of persons was 
 the greatest ever known in Castile, all Spain assist- 
 ing at it, as Colmenares assures us ; and knowing 
 equally well that during three years Lope and his 
 company continued their performances at Madrid and 
 other cities of Castile (where he saw the famous 
 Antonio Perez before he became secretary to Philip 
 II.), it seems most natural to conclude that Cer- 
 vantes, though only eleven years of age, might be 
 present at these plays in Segovia, or Madrid, or in 
 the neighbouring town of Alcala, where Rueda per- 
 formed on occcasion of other festivities and solem- 
 nities until the year 1567, in which he died. 
 
 We know with greater certainty that Cervantes 
 studied grammar and the belles-lettres with the learned 
 Juan Lopez de Hoyos, a respectable ecclesiastic, and 
 a native of Madrid. This person being charged with 
 
OF CERVANTES. 5 
 
 the arrangement of the histories, allegories, emblems 
 and inscriptions, which were directed to be placed in 
 the church of the Descalzas Reales in celebration of 
 the magnificent obsequies of the Queen Donna Isabel 
 de Valois in that town, on the 24th day of October 
 1568, employed his scholars in these compositions. 
 Some of these were in Latin and others in Castilian. 
 Amongst these scholars Cervantes was one of the 
 most distinguished, as is recorded by the same Juan 
 Lopez, in the account he published of the last illness, 
 death, and funeral of the princess, speaking of him 
 repeatedly as " his most favourite and much loved 
 scholar," and inserting with especial mention of his 
 name a sonnet and four redondillos, in which in 
 striking language he apostrophises the deceased queen 
 in a Castilian couplet, describing the suddenness with 
 which she was snatched away by death, and an elegy 
 in tercetos, finely conceived and composed in an ele- 
 gant style (in the opinion of his master), and dedi- 
 cated to the cardinal D. Diego de Espinosa, president 
 of the council and inquisitor-general. * 
 
 The common opinion has been, that it was at Ma- 
 drid that Cervantes prosecuted his studies with Juan 
 Lopez ; but considering that Lopez did not obtain the 
 chair of grammar and belles-lettres in that city until 
 the 29th of January, 1568, when Cervantes was 
 already more than twenty years of age, it is most 
 natural to conclude that his instructions were ante- 
 rior to this period, and that either as a private master, 
 or out of Madrid, he had taught his celebrated scho- 
 lar, so far as to call him with propriety his disciple, 
 after he had been only eight months presiding in the 
 before-mentioned chair a conjecture that admits of 
 entire confirmation, it being certain that Cervantes, 
 as he has himself informed us, studied two years 
 
6 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 in Salamanca and matriculated in that university, 
 and resided in the Calle de los Moros. 5 
 
 From this arose the accuracy with which he painted 
 the customs and peculiar manners of that city ; as is 
 particularly evident from the Second Part of Don 
 Quixote, and in the Tale of the Licenciado Vidriera, 
 and the Tla Fingida. At all events the singular 
 expressions of his master Lopez, and the fact of his 
 having selected Cervantes from amongst his other 
 scholars to write the above-mentioned elegy, prove 
 how much he surpassed all his contemporaries in 
 genius. 6 
 
 The applause which attended these first essays, the 
 example of the poets of the day, and his frequenting 
 the theatre, tended to confirm his passion for the 
 drama (which became remodelled in his hands), and 
 excited him to the composition of his Fileria, a sort 
 of pastoral poem, and of some sonnets, rhymes, and 
 romances, which he mentions in his Viage al Par- 
 nasso. These productions placed him in the first rank 
 of the poets of Spain, before the period of his cap- 
 tivity in Algiers. 7 
 
 The death of the queen occurred on the third of 
 October, 1568. When her obsequies were cele- 
 brated at the end of that month, Cervantes was in 
 Madrid. At that time there came from Rome Julio 
 Aquaviva of Aragon, son of the duke of Atri, sent 
 by Pope Pius V. to condole with Philip II. on the 
 death of the Prince Don Carlos, who died on the 
 24th July preceding ; and probably to require some 
 apology to the ecclesiastics, to whom it is believed 
 lii< ministers at Milan had given some offence. Both 
 these commissions must have been far from agree- 
 able, if not offensive, to the king at this conjuncture. 
 The mysterious cause of the imprisonment of the 
 
OF CERVANTES. 7 
 
 prince, the severity of his father in refusing to lend 
 an ear to the many applications made in his favour 
 by several cities and by sovereign princes, the prohi- 
 bition that no one should express condolement to 
 him upon this event, as was announced to the nuncio 
 of the pope, the premature death of the prince in 
 prison, and the recent and melancholy decease of the 
 queen ; were appalling events, which excited public 
 curiosity, and led to much discussion amongst the 
 people, always prone to suspicion and to question the 
 actions of their rulers. 
 
 All these circumstances rendered the first commis- 
 sion of the legate odious and ill-timed. The second 
 commission was no less so, from the king obstinately 
 defending what he deemed his rights, against the 
 pretensions of the Roman court to the Spanish domi- 
 nions in Italy. In confirmation of this displeasure 
 a passport was expedited to the legate of his holiness, 
 from Aranjuez, on the 2nd day of December of the 
 same year, 1568, to return to Italy by Aragon and 
 Valencia before the expiration of sixty days. 
 
 In consequence of this proceeding he was doubtless 
 created cardinal in Rome on the 17th of May, 1570. 
 On the occasion of the ambassador of Spain at that 
 court, D. Juan de Zuniga, annoxmcing to Philip II. 
 the arrival of Aquaviva, 8 he stated among ether 
 matters, that that prelate was highly esteemed for 
 his love of letters ; and Mateo Alcman doubtless refers 
 to him, when he says he lived in the palace of a 
 certain dignitary of the Church, sent by Pius V. to 
 negotiate with Philip on affairs of the Church, adding 
 that this legate was greatly attached to men of learn- 
 ing, and extended his friendship to them, entertaining 
 them familiarly at his table, carrying them in his 
 carriage when he went into public, honouring them 
 
LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 in every possible way, and delighting to discuss with 
 them questions of politics, science, and letters. 
 
 As Cervantes informs us that he served in Rome 
 as a chamberlain, it may be presumed, when we 
 consider the character of Aquaviva as a patron of 
 letters, that finding himself in Madrid when the funeral 
 of the queen took place, and at the time that Cer- 
 vantes dedicated his elegy to the Cardinal Espinosa, 
 this nobleman might be struck by his genius and 
 penetration ; and probably compassionating his 
 narrow fortune, admitted him into his family, and 
 invited him to accompany him to Italy, a journey 
 which the young Spanish nobility frequently took at 
 that time with a view of embracing the service of the 
 pope and the cardinals, as was the case with Don 
 Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, Don Francisco Pacheco, 
 and others, 9 They thus prosecuted their studies in 
 Rome, and occasionally obtained through this chan- 
 nel the most wealthy and elevated dignities in the 
 Church. Sometimes, too, they might have been in- 
 stigated by a desire to see the world, and to try their 
 fortune in arms, a path which if less strewed with 
 riches, was still the road to fame and renown at this 
 palmy epoch of the Spanish empire. 10 
 
 Such might be the motives which influenced Cer- 
 vantes to leave his native country for a time. We 
 henceforth find him describing in the countries through 
 which he travelled not only the varied and enchant- 
 ing varieties of scenery, but also the peculiar customs 
 of the inhabitants. He beheld with admiration the 
 rich and beautiful city of Valencia, its delightful sub- 
 urbs, the charms and engaging manners of its women, 
 and its graceful language, with which the Portu- 
 guese alone can compete for sweetness and agreeable- 
 ness. On the principality of Catalonia he made more 
 
OF CERVANTES. 
 
 extensive and particular observations, as appears from 
 many of his notes, describing and justly censuring 
 the levies and bands of soldiers which the principal 
 gentry employed in the gratification of their private 
 revenge, remarking the severity of punishments, 
 and noticing the most distinguished families of the 
 country, their party, their influence, and manners ; 
 now describing the well-known road of Barcelona so 
 dangerous for shipping, and the city, as the school of 
 chivalry, the queen of all beautiful cities, the pride 
 of Spain, the dread of her neighbouring enemies, the 
 paragon of loyalty, the protectress of strangers, and 
 faithful in her friendships ; and finally summing up 
 the character of the Catalonians by saying, that they 
 are passionate and warlike, peaceful and agreeable, 
 and in bravery and honour exceeded by no people 
 in the universe. With equal felicity he describes the 
 route to Italy, through the southern provinces of 
 France, affording grounds for surmise that he had 
 made that journey on this occasion with Monsignor 
 Aquaviva ; for as we find some of these descriptions 
 in the Galatea, which was the first work he pub- 
 lished after his captivity and his service in Portugal 
 and the Terceira islands, we may infer that it could 
 be only at that time he had an opportunity of ac- 
 quiring an accurate knowledge of the geography, 
 history, and manners of the principality and of those 
 countries, which he displays in his works at a more 
 advanced period of life. 
 
 Cervantes must have remained only a short time 
 in this domestic service, as he enrolled himself in the 
 following year as a common soldier in the Spanish 
 army 11 then stationed in Italy; embracing thence- 
 forth a nobler profession, and one more consonant 
 to his birth and connexions ; since the exercise of 
 
10 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 arms (to use his own expression), although it raises 
 all persons, yet more particularly becomes those that 
 are noble-minded and well born. It was not long 
 before he found a theatre on which he might display 
 his martial spirit. The Grand Turk, Selim II., 
 breaking the treaty which he had formed with the 
 republic of Venice, suddenly invaded, at a time of 
 profound peace, the island of Cyprus. The Vene- 
 tians on this event implored assistance from the 
 various princes of Christendom, particularly from the 
 Pontiff, Pius V. That pontiff, with the greatest 
 alacrity, placed his galleys under the command of 
 Marc Antonio Colonna, duke of Paliano, and uniting 
 w r ith those of Spain and Venice, they assembled in 
 the winter of 1570 in the Levant, to check the pro- 
 gress of the enemy ; but in consequence of the dis- 
 sensions and indecision of the confederate commanders, 
 the Turks were enabled to take Nicosia by assault, 
 and extend their conquests ; and the combined fleet 
 allowing the favourable season to escape for the suc- 
 couring of Cyprus, was diminished by tempests, and 
 compelled to retire to their respective ports. Among 
 the forty-nine galleys, which tinder the command of 
 Juan Andrea Doria assembled at Otranto with 
 Colonna, agreeably to the orders of Philip II., were 
 included twenty of the squadron of Naples, sent by 
 the marquess of Santa Cruz, and the whole had 
 been reinforced by five thousand Spanish soldiers and 
 two thousand Italians. 
 
 Among these troops was the company of the 
 famous Captain Diego de Urbina, a native of Gua- 
 dalajara, which belonged to the regiment of Don 
 Miguel de Moncada, and in this company it was that 
 Miguel de Cervantes volunteered as a common sol- 
 dier. 12 In this station he made the campaign of the 
 
OF CERVANTi:-. 11 
 
 summer Tinder the orders of Colonna, embarking pro- 
 bably in one of the galleys of the squadron from Na- 
 ples, in which city, on its return, he spent the winter, 
 whilst the armament was repairing and refitting for 
 the service of the following year. 
 
 The Roman court, far from being dismayed by 
 its late misfortunes, now formed with nndiminished 
 zeal a confederacy of the principal powers of Europe 
 against the Turks, concluding on the 20th day of 
 May, 1571, the famotis league between his holiness 
 the pope, the King of Spain, and the republic of 
 Venice, and naming as generalissimo of the united 
 force by land and sea, Don Juan of Austria, natural 
 son of Charles V. The enlistment of troops, the 
 supplies of ammunition and provisions, and the 
 means of war, were forwarded by religious zeal ; 
 and the spirit of military glory which displayed 
 itself, was further excited by the presence of a 
 numerous army, and its illustrious commanders. 
 
 Don Juan of Austria had scarcely received his ap- 
 pointment of generalissimo, when he proceeded with 
 the utmost despatch to Madrid, and uniting in Bar- 
 celona the distinguished regiments of Don Lope de 
 Figueroa and of Don Miguel de Moncada, which had 
 given signal proofs of their valour and military skill 
 in the war of Granada, he set sail with them from 
 that part for Italy, and arrived at Genoa on the 26th 
 day of June with forty-seven galleys. Moncada was 
 commissioned to rouse the Venetians to co-operate 
 with spirit in an enterprise which they had them- 
 selves provoked ; encouraging them with the pro- 
 spect of a happy result, which the dissensions of the 
 former year had prevented. During this time those 
 two regiments were completed at Naples by soldiers 
 who were serving in the fleet ; and it was then that 
 
12 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 the company of Urbina, in which Cervantes served, 
 was united to the regiment to which it belonged. 
 The united land and sea forces of the allied powers 
 then assembled at Messina, and diligently prepared 
 themselves for the campaign ; and the troops were 
 distributed in the several ships of war, placing in the 
 galleys of Juan Andrea Doria, then in the service of 
 Spain, two old companies, two others of the regiment 
 of Moncada, that of Urbina and that of Rodrigo de 
 Mora, each composed of two hundred men. 
 
 By this arrangement Cervantes, with his captain 
 and company, were allotted to the galley the Marquesa 
 de Juau Andrea, commanded by Francisco Sancto 
 Pietro ; and as on going to sea on the 15th of Sep- 
 tember, with the intention of engaging the Ottoman 
 fleet, the combined force was formed into three 
 divisions, the Marquesa was assigned to the third 
 squadron, which formed the left wing of the battle, 
 the command of which was given to Augustin Barba- 
 ligo, purveyor-general of Venice. After succouring 
 Corfu, and seeking the fleet of the enemy, they dis- 
 covered it on the morning of the 7th of October, 
 towards the entrance of Lepanto. Being compelled 
 from his situation to engage immediately, Barbarigo 
 began the attack a little after mid-day; and the battle 
 soon becoming general and obstinate, terminated at 
 night with the most glorious victory that the Christian 
 arms everachieved. 13 Cervantes being at this moment 
 sick of the ague, his captain and comrades endea- 
 voured to dissuade him from taking a part in the 
 approaching action, and advised him to remain in 
 quiet in the cabin of his ship, but, warmed with 
 military ardour, he indignantly asked, What would be 
 thought of him, if he should desert his post at such 
 a time ? and declared that he should prefer death 
 
OF CERVANTES. 13 
 
 bravely fighting for God and his King, to preserving 
 life on such ignoble terms. He then earnestly en- 
 treated his captain to place him in the hottest part of 
 the battle ; and the captain indulging him, gave him 
 a post in his vessel, with twelve soldiers, where they 
 fought with such heroism, that the Christians in 
 his galley killed five hundred Turks, slew the gover- 
 nor of Alexandria, and captured the royal standard of 
 Egypt. 
 
 In this fierce contest Cervantes received three 
 arquebuss wounds, two in the breast, and the other 
 in the left hand, which remained maimed and lame 
 ever afterwards. By his bravery and valour, how- 
 ever, he contributed to the glory of that day, the 
 7th of October, 1571, a day for ever memorable for 
 the signal victory gained by the Christian powers 
 over the Turks. Of his share in this action he made 
 honourable boast during the rest of his life, showing 
 in proof of his distinguished bravery the scars of his 
 wounds received in " the most memorable of all 
 occasions past, present, and to come" " wounds that 
 show like stars, lighting us on our way to heaven and 
 to fame." He thus chose rather to share the dangers 
 and glories of this day with loss of limb, than to 
 excuse himself from illness, " since it is better for a 
 soldier to be found dead on the field of battle, than to 
 save his life by an abandonment of duty." 
 
 On the night which succeeded to this glorious day, 
 the victorious fleet retired to the port of Pi'tela, to 
 attend to the repair of the ships, and to minister to 
 the wants and comforts of the men. The bad state 
 of Cervantes' health at this time retarded the healing 
 of his wounds, but he had the honourable satisfaction 
 of being visited on the following day by Don Juan of 
 Austria, who came to thank the soldiers for their 
 
14 LIFE AXD WRITINGS 
 
 valour, succouring the wounded, and bestowing on 
 such as had distinguished themselves three escudos 
 each, above their ordinary pay. This prince was 
 desirous of improving the advantages of his victory 
 by blocking up the Turks fn the Dardanelles, and 
 possessing himself of the castles of Lepanto and Santa 
 31 aria, wintering for this object in Corfu with the 
 Venetians ; but the very advanced season of the year, 
 the want of victuals, and also of men, the number of 
 sick and wounded, and the commands of his brother, 
 compelled him to return to Messina, where he arrived 
 on the 31st of October, and was received with every 
 demonstration of joy so glorious a triumph deserved, 
 as were soon afterwards Marc Antonio Colonna in 
 Rome, and the marquis of Santa Cruz at Naples. 
 A hospital was prepared in Messina for the reception 
 of the wounded, where Cervantes disembarked with 
 his comrades. The condition of these meritorious 
 men immediately attracted the attention of Don Juan 
 of Austria, who not only generously gave thirty 
 thousand ducats for their relief, but frequently 
 visited them himself, and reiterated his thanks to 
 those who had distinguished themselves in the late 
 action. He moreover directed Gregorio Lopez, 
 the surgeon-general of the army, and the king's 
 physician (who had been physician to Charles V.), 
 to attend personally to the cure of the wounded ; 
 and these brave men, so worthy of their general's 
 regard, were thus treated with the most tender care. 
 The greater part of them were soon restored to health, 
 and were able to take a share in the public and 
 solemn rejoicings with which the city of Messina 
 celebrated this memorable victory, making its grate- 
 ful acknowledgments to the young champion who 
 had achieved it. 
 
OF CERVANTES. 15 
 
 The prince remained in Sicily agreeably to the 
 wishes of his brother; and, to provide for the better 
 order of the fleet, he sent a portion of it to various 
 parts of Italy for the winter ; he also despatched 
 some foreign ships and troops, and assigned a station 
 to the Spaniards in Naples and Sicily, ordering to 
 the southern part of that island the regiment of 
 Moncada. It seems certain that Cervantes remained 
 at Messina for the healing of his wounds, for Don 
 Juan of Austria sent to succour him there on the 1 5th 
 and 24th of January, and on the 9th and 17th of 
 March, 1572, remitting him money for the pay of the 
 fleet, and for secret and extraordinary expenses, in 
 consideration of his services, and to complete the 
 cure of his wounds. His health being re-established, 
 Cervantes received three additional escudos monthly, 
 in the regiment of Don Lope de Figueroa, and in 
 the company which had signalised itself, which was 
 doubtless that of Ponce de Leon. It was in- 
 tended to complete the regiment of Moncada with 
 four thousand men from the garrison of Naples ; but 
 although Don Juan of Austria proposed this, and 
 gave Moncada leave tp go to Spain, it seems certain 
 that the object was given up, and that the general 
 continued his services in the following year. 
 
 This signal success animated the confederate powers 
 for fresh enterprise, and the court of Rome occupied 
 itself forthwith in making arrangements with the 
 other powers for another campaign, and by fervent 
 exhortations of its legates induced the Christian 
 powers to enter into a new confederacy. Selim, on 
 his part, increased his fleet, and engaged the king of 
 France to divert the attention of Philip II., by 
 attack in g his dominions in Flanders and Italy, and 
 he also succeeded in separating the Venetians from 
 
16 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 the league. Don Juan of Austria was now ordered to 
 assist the allies with his forces, and to remain in Sicily 
 to protect the coasts of that island. The operations 
 for the spring of 1572 were impeded, amongst other 
 things, by differences between the courts of Rome 
 and Florence, and the death of Pius V. 
 
 At length Colonna departed for the Levant on 
 the 6th day of June, and Don Juan of Austria 
 rendered him effectual assistance by his ships loaded 
 with victuals and ammunition, and with the thirty- 
 six galleys of the marquis of Santa Cruz, which 
 transported a large body of troops to Corfu. Among 
 these was the Spanish infantry regiment of Moncada, 
 and two companies of that of Don Lope de Figueroa, 
 which were embarked from the southern side of Sicily. 
 At this island the Roman commander assembled and 
 reviewed all the forces under his command. He then 
 embarked them, and pursued the Turkish fleet, 
 which avoided a general action, and availed itself 
 of every opportunity of escaping into port. The 
 apprehensions of Philip were now allayed by the 
 success of his arms in Flanders, and paying less 
 attention to the views of the French court, and 
 satisfied of the friendly intentions of the new pon- 
 tiff, he ordered his brother to the Levant, leaving 
 John Andrea Doria in Sicily with forty galleys, and 
 a correspondent number of troops. 
 
 In order to unite the fleet of the allies, the gene- 
 ralissimo directed his course on the 9th of August 
 to Corfu, where he found neither Colonna, nor any 
 tidings of him. Displeased with this event, which 
 deprived him of the best part of the season, he desired 
 him to make all haste, and join him on the last day 
 of the month. He then prepared his ships, and took 
 to sea on the 8th day of September, with the in- 
 
OF CERVANTES. 17 
 
 tention of advantageously 1 attacking the Turks, whose 
 force was divided between Xavarino and Modon. 
 lie would have surprised them in this situation on 
 the morning of the 16th, if a mistake of the pilot in 
 the roadstead had not given them time to avoid the 
 danger, and unite their force in the latter port, where 
 they fortified themselves. Don John of Austria here 
 wished to attack them, but was prevented by the 
 counsels and opposition of his generals, and con- 
 sented at last to join the Venetians in their attack 
 on Xavarino, though it was an enterprise from which 
 much was not to be expected. He was not deceived 
 in this surmise, for although under the command of 
 Alessandro Farnese, they were compelled to abandon 
 the enterprise after the lapse of some days, and to 
 embark the troops and artillery under favour of the 
 uight, and under the protection of the fleet. 
 
 Spite of these disappointments, Don John was de- 
 sirous of attacking the enemy in harbour, as they 
 refused to give him battle in the open sea ; but, 
 surrendering his own opinion to that of others, and 
 seeing the season so far advanced, he decided on the 
 allies retiring to their several homes, and he himself en- 
 tered Messina with the Spanish fleet at the beginning 
 of November. They took measures for passing the 
 winter here, and disembarked the Spanish regiments 
 of Naples and Sicily. They appointed quarters to 
 the regiment of Don Lope de Figueroa, which was 
 in the pay of the fleet, and then filling up that of 
 Moneada, they re-formed and completed it with the 
 soldiers of the former regiment. We may conclude 
 from this narrative, that whilst Moneada wintered in 
 the southern part of Sicily, Cervantes remained in 
 Messina for the cure of his wounds, until the end of 
 April, 1572, when he passed into the regiment of 
 
18 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 Don Lope de Figueroa, which was at Corfu on board 
 the galleys of the Marquis of Santa Cruz, and that he 
 was in the battle of the Levant when Colonna com- 
 manded, and in the enterprise of Navarino, since 
 he afterwards joined the prince generalissimo. This 
 he states in his memorial, and several circumstances 
 strengthen the supposition ; and to this may be added 
 the minute description, in his tale of the Cautivo, of 
 the events of this battle, and the well-founded 
 assertion, in his dedication of the Galatea, that he 
 had followed for several years the standard of Marc 
 Antonio Colonna. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Sails with the expedition from Palermo Attnck of Tunis 
 Flight of the Moors Gallant conduct of Cervantes Return 
 of Don John to Italy Cervantes winters with his regiment 
 at Cerdefia Sails with Marcello Doria to OJenon Proceeds 
 with his regiment to Sicily Visits the principal cities of Italy 
 Descriptions in his writings Studies the Italian poets The 
 use he made of them Hi* delicate satire Envied and depre- 
 ciated Gains the esteem of his commanders Distinguishes 
 himself Obtains leave to return to Spain Sets sail with his 
 brother Rodrigo Attacked and captured by an Algcrine squad- 
 ron Brave defence Carried to Algiers Cruel treatment 
 Forms a plan to escape Abandoned by his guide Is re-captured 
 His second attempt Adventures and sufferings Takes the 
 responsibility on himself Threatened by the Dey Curious 
 anecdotes A Spanish renegade Conduct of Cervantes Re- 
 news his attempt to escape. 
 
 THE winter was passed in making active prepa- 
 rations. In the spring of 1572, at which time Philip 
 II. intended to repair to Corfu with three hundred 
 galleys of his own, the Venetians, for the purpose 
 of dissimulation, prepared at the same time a large 
 
OP CERVANTES. 19 
 
 force of foot soldiers for their ships, as they were 
 secretly negotiating a peace with Constantinople 
 through the French ambassador. This treaty was 
 finally concluded at the end of March, and they 
 then separated themselves from the league. This 
 so far disgusted the confederates, that they deter- 
 mined to abandon the Levant, and turn their forces 
 against Algiers, and the Prince Don John decided 
 upon sailing against Tunis, an enterprise which 
 Philip II. adopted, though for causes very different 
 to those of his brother. Philip flattered himself 
 with obtaining the sovereignty of Algiers, agreeably 
 to the promise of the Pope and the wishes of his 
 own court ; whilst Don John's object was to de- 
 throne Aluch-Ali, to restore Muley Mahomet, and 
 to dismantle the fortresses : thus getting rid of the 
 Christian tribute, and depriving the corsairs of this 
 their favourite stronghold. 
 
 The whole spring passed away in these prepa- 
 rations, and it was now the 24th of September when 
 the expedition, with twenty thousand soldiers, set sail 
 from Palermo, and with these the regiment in which 
 Cervantes served. The whole force disembarked at 
 the Goleta, on the 8th and 9th of October ; and as the 
 Turks in the garrison and the Moors in Tunis hastily 
 abandoned the city and the fortress, Don John of 
 Austria ordered the Marquis of Santa Cruz to take 
 possession of them with the prudence and caution 
 which circumstances dictated. For this purpose he 
 removed from the garrison of the Goleta two thou- 
 sand five hundred veteran troops, which he replaced 
 by as many new soldiers, among which were four 
 companies of the regiment of Figueroa, who, to use 
 the expression of Vanderhamen, " made the earth 
 tremble with their muskets ;" and as all were well 
 c2 
 
20 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 acquainted with the country, and commanded by a 
 brave and experienced captain, they disembarked 
 with amazing despatch and success. 
 
 Instead of demolishing the fortifications, agreeably 
 to the orders of the King, and the advice of the Duke 
 de Sesa and Marcello Doria, Don John endeavoured 
 to assure his conquest, constructing in the Estaho a 
 fort capable of containing eight thousand men in 
 garrison, and occupying Yiserta, which surrendered 
 of its own accord. This being sufficiently matured, 
 he left a considerable number of troops for the defence 
 of these places, returned to Sicily at the beginning 
 of November, and made his arrangements for the 
 winter season, giving orders for the refreshment of his 
 men and the repair of the fleet. He then sent to 
 Cerdena the four companies commanded by Figueroa, 
 that they might at the same time attend to the de- 
 fence of that island, and extend their aid to the other 
 garrisons in Africa when requisite. Cervantes not 
 only states in his memorial that he was in the expe- 
 dition to Tunis, a fact confirmed by several of his 
 fellow-soldiers, who asserted that they had seen him 
 serving there, and commended his bravery, but that 
 he was also one of the division who sallied forth with 
 the Marquis de Santa Cruz from the garrison of the 
 Goleta to take possession of Tunis and its castle. 
 Cervantes himself, and his father, have left us a 
 notice of his services on both these occasions ; and this 
 is confirmed by the extreme accuracy with which, in 
 the before-mentioned novel, he has related the success- 
 ful events of this day. 
 
 Don John of Austria had received permission to 
 return to Spain, and he solicited in Rome, by means 
 of his secretary, Juan de Escovedo, the mediation of 
 the Pope to obtain from the King the sovereignty of 
 
OF CERVANTES. 21 
 
 Tunis. But on his journey he found at Gaeta fresh 
 orders to pass into Lombardy, and there to await the 
 pacification of the troubles which had broken out at 
 Genoa. Directing his course to the port of Especia at 
 the close of April, 1574, he there found Doria, who 
 with fourteen galleys had brought from Cerdena the 
 Spanish infantry of Figueroa, which he conducted to 
 the coast of Genoa to await the immediate orders of 
 that prince. 
 
 The latter complained of the delay which had 
 occurred in his absence with regard to the armaments 
 in Naples and Sicily, when he learnt that in the 
 month of July the Turks had arrived with numerous 
 forces to reconquer Tunis and the Goleta. To 
 prevent this misfortune he despatched succour to the 
 viceroys of these states, under the command of Don 
 Juan de Cardona and Don Bernardino de Velasco, 
 with which, and the abandonment of Viserta, they 
 managed to preserve their fortresses for some time, 
 though attacked by a powerful army. Don John 
 was now aware of the error of not dismantling these 
 places in the previous year ; and believing he could, 
 notwithstanding, remedy the evils he apprehended, he 
 embarked at Especia with the infantry of Don Garcia 
 de Mendoza, that of Figueroa, and some Italian 
 troops, and sailed for Naples and Messina, where he 
 put in order some vessels that had been there repaired. 
 
 Impatient of the delay which this misfortune had 
 occasioned, he resolved to embark and conduct in per- 
 son the requisite assistance, and for this purpose he 
 reinforced his ships with the best soldiers from the 
 regiments of Don Pedro de Padillar and Don Lope 
 de Figueroa. He then put to sea, resolved to succour 
 thebesiegedat all risks ; but the storms and hurricanes 
 rendered his efforts fruitless, having been nigh perish- 
 
22 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 ing, and obliged to save himself by taking refuge in 
 the ports of Sicily. 
 
 In the meanwhile the Goleta, which had been 
 hitherto considered impregnable, was taken by assault 
 after a long siege, and a well-sustained and vigorous 
 defence, as was also Tunis after twenty days, the 
 victors entering over the ruins of the ramparts, which 
 were thrown down by the violence of the mines, and 
 the fortress oftheEstaho was in consequence reduced 
 to capitulation. This unfortunate intelligence reached 
 Don John when he had repaired his ships, and was 
 persisting in his intentions, and about to set sail 
 from Trepana. Extremely chagrined to see his 
 exertions fruitless, his hopes destroyed, and his 
 reputation compromised, he returned to Naples on 
 the 29th of September, leaving at Palermo, in the 
 charge of the Duke of Sesa, the care of the armada, 
 and the regiment of Figueroa, with the intention not 
 only of protecting the coast of that kingdom, but also 
 to recruit the losses he had sustained in his troops. 
 For this purpose the Duke judged it best to fix his 
 abode at the maritime towns, and to strengthen the 
 army of Sicily. 
 
 This division was in the interim commanded by 
 Don Martin de Argote, Don Lope de Figueroa 
 having obtained leave to go to Spain for the re- 
 establishment of his health. He prosecuted hia 
 journey at the same time as Don John of Austria, 
 who solicited of his brother on this occasion the 
 appointment of Lieutenant of all Italy, with the 
 treatment of an infante of Castile ; but Philip II., 
 suspicious of his views, and jealous of his own repu- 
 tation, always endeavoured to limit or thwart his 
 pretensions, and thus conceded the first request, but 
 delayed the other to a future period. The prince then 
 
OF CERVANTES. 23 
 
 returned to Naples in June, 1575, to occupy himself 
 in the preparations of the fleet at Genoa, it having 
 been reported that the Turks were this summer 
 intending to visit the Mediterranean with a large 
 force. 
 
 From the course of these events we may conclude 
 that from the end of 1573 to the beginning of May of 
 the following year, Cervantes was with his regiment 
 in garrison, and passed the winter in the island of 
 Cerdena, and that from thence he sailed to Genoa in 
 theships of Marcello Doria, to await in Lombardy the 
 orders of Don John of Austria, who, at the beginning 
 of August, when he sailed from Spain, took with him 
 that regiment to Naples and Majorca, and reinforced 
 with his best soldiers the ships with which he had 
 intended to succour the Goleta ; that after that oc- 
 currence Cervantes waited with the same regiment in 
 Sicily the orders of the Duke of Sesa, when he incor- 
 porated his regiment with the forces of that country 
 in the absence of his master of the camp ; and that 
 the prince Don John, on his return to Naples on the 
 18th of June, 1575, gave leave a little time afterwards 
 to Cervantes to return to his native country, after so 
 long an absence, and so long continued meritorious 
 services. 
 
 In the course of these various campaigns Cervantes 
 had an opportunity of visiting most of the magnifi- 
 cent and delightful cities of Italy and Sicily, as Genoa, 
 Lucca, Florence, Rome, Naples, Palermo, Messina, 
 Ancona, Venice, Ferrara, Parma, Piacenza and Milan, 
 of which he has left us such enchanting descriptions 
 in his writings. Italy had now been for more than 
 a century the centre of the arts, and of that literature, 
 the inestimable remains of which had been saved by 
 the Greeks who had fled from the East on the taking 
 
24 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 of Constantinople. The Spaniards, who were then 
 in possession of many of the states of Italy, either 
 from the union of the sovereign houses of Arragon 
 and Castile, or from the memorable conquests of the 
 " grand captain" and other illustrious commanders, 
 maintained a frequent communication with the 
 Italians ; and the natives of Spain frequently visited 
 Rome, in the prospect of obtaining benefices or 
 ecclesiastical dignities, or in order to receive their 
 education in the University of Bologna, founded 
 exclusively for the Spaniards by the illustrious 
 cardinal Albornoz. Some were on service with the 
 military that formed the garrisons in various places, 
 or with the armies employed there on service ; some 
 followed the career of jurisprudence, or political life, 
 and repaired to seek office or employment under the 
 patronage of the viceroys. On the other hand, many 
 Italians, anxious to visit the Spanish coast, and to pay 
 their respects to their sovereign, or in the pursuit of 
 wealth and prosecution of their commercial pursuits, 
 were made denizens of Spain ; and in this way the 
 beneficial influence of Italy was felt. 
 
 It was thus that Christobal de Mesa, having for 
 his tutor during six years the famous Torquato Tasso, 
 finished with him the education he had commenced 
 in Spain under Pacheco, Medina, and Brocense ; and 
 thus Francisco de Figueroa, Andrez Rey de Artieda, 
 called Artemidoro, and Christobal de Viruez, who 
 served in the country, acquired that refinement of 
 taste, that elegance and amenity, peculiar to the 
 schools of Dante and Petrarca. It was hence that 
 Bartolomeo de Argensola, the Dr. Mira de Amescua, 
 and Suavez de Figueroa, learned to adorn their native 
 tongue with new graces ; and it was hence that Cer- 
 vantes, applying himself to the study of the Italian 
 
OF CERVANTES. . 25 
 
 poets and writers, and devoting himself to an inter- 
 course with them for more than six years, acquired 
 that store of learning and erudition, of which he has 
 availed himself so lavishly in his writings. 
 
 It must be confessed that his language is some- 
 times redolent of the climate of Italy, but we may at 
 the same time observe that many of the most classical 
 authors of Spain, at this time, enriched the Castilian 
 tongue from the same quarter, and that many passages 
 which were taken by the poets from Ariosto, were 
 introduced with all the grace and beauty of original 
 compositions ; but he did not on this account lose 
 sight of the classical writers of antiquity, whose 
 works he constantly studied, as the models and 
 examples of true taste in literature, as may be seen in 
 the imitations he has left us of Apuleius, Heliodorus, 
 and of Horace and Virgil, without too servilely 
 following their footsteps. On the contrary he boldly 
 emulates their flight, striking out new paths in the 
 world of imagination, and discovering mines of the 
 richest genius. These he seized on for his own fame 
 and the instruction and delight of mankind, possess- 
 ing an elevation of mind and energy of character 
 which he derived rather from his intercourse with 
 learned men, and an intimate knowledge of the world, 
 more than from the barren perusal of books, or the 
 abstract and subtle studies of the schools. 
 
 But these eminent qualities were viewed with in- 
 difference at a time when, for persons who made any 
 claim to distinction, it was requisite to obtain the 
 honours of a university, or to pass through the studies 
 which were denominated the higher faculties. Such 
 an education, with many abuses inherent in these 
 studies, as well as the contention for literary rank and 
 emolument, could not escape the delicate satire of 
 
26 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 Cervantes and other eminent writers of that age. 
 Many of his rivals, too, vain of their pompous titles, 
 gained at so little cost, looked down on him with 
 affected contempt, and depreciated him as deficient 
 in such qualifications, applying to him the epithet of 
 " a dull genius," as mentioned by the historian Don 
 Tomas Tamayo de Vargas ; having before bestowed 
 it on the Marquis of Santillana, on Don Inigo Lopez 
 de Mendoza, on Philip de Comines, on Don Antonio 
 Hurtado de Mendoza, onRodrigo Mendez de Silva, 
 and others who did not stand in need of university 
 distinctions, to be mentioned with commendation by 
 one of the most eminent authors of Spain, as Don 
 Alonso Nunez de Castro. 
 
 Such was the eventful life of Cervantes " whilst 
 fighting," to use his own language, " under the con- 
 quering banners of that thunderbolt of war, Charleg 
 V." But finding that his distinguished services met 
 with no corresponding remuneration, and suffering 
 from the effects of his wounds and fatigues, he ob- 
 tained leave of Don John of Austria to go to Spain 
 to solicit the recompense he so justly merited. For 
 this purpose the Prince gave him the warmest letters 
 of recommendation to the King, entreating his ma- 
 jesty to confer on him a company in the regiments 
 then raising in Spain for service in Italy, as a reward 
 for his bravery, his signal and acknowledged services. 
 Don Carlos de Aragon, Duke of Sesa and Terranova, 
 and Viceroy of Sicily, also wrote to the King and to 
 his ministers in the strongest language, in favour of 
 a soldier as unfortunate as meritorious, who had ob- 
 tained by his gallantry and pleasing manners the 
 esteem of his commanders and fellow-soldiers. 
 
 Having thus prepared for his departure, and with hopes 
 so flattering and well-founded, Cervantes embarked at 
 
OP CERVANTES. 27 
 
 Naples in a Spanish galley called " el Sol" in com- 
 pany with his brother Rodrigo de Cervantes, who 
 had also served in the past campaigns, with Pero Diez 
 Carillo de Quesada, governor of the Golcta, and 
 afterwards general of artillery, and also with several 
 officers of high rank and distinction, at that time 
 returning to their native country. 
 
 But whilst at sea on the 26th day of September, 
 1575, they were met by a squadron from Algiers, 
 under the command of Arnauti Mami, and the Span- 
 ish galley was immediately attacked by three of the 
 corsair ships, particularly by one of twenty-two oars 
 commanded by the captain Dali Mami, a Greek 
 renegade, who was named El Cojo. After sustaining 
 a combat, as obstinate as unequal, in which Cervantes 
 distinguished himself by his valour, they were com- 
 pelled to surrender to a superior force, and were car- 
 ried to Algiers in triumph, all being made slaves that 
 were found in the vessel. Cervantes himself fell to the 
 share of the captain Dali Mami, who gained a valu- 
 able prize in his captive. It is highly probable that 
 he alludes to this event in the fifth book of the 
 Galatea, when he describes the combat sustained by 
 the ship which carried Timbrio to Spain from Italy 
 with the same Arnauti Mami, who was the com- 
 mander of the squadron which captured him. '* 
 
 When Dali Mami, the master of Cervantes, disco- 
 vered the letters of recommendation which he carried 
 from Don John of Austria and the Duke of Sesa, 
 he imagined him to be one of the principal noblemen 
 of Spain, and a person of the first quality and dis- 
 tinction, and hoping to realize a large sum of money 
 by his ransom, 15 for his greater security he loaded 
 him with irons, and placed a guard over him, and by 
 a course of severe and cruel treatment endeavoured 
 
28 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 to compel him to interest bis relatives and friends in 
 his redemption. 
 
 Such was the custom of these barbarians, and such 
 the artifices which their avarice and covetousness sug- 
 gested to tbem to augment the ransom, and to induce 
 their wretched captives to solicit their friends and 
 country for their release ; or to force them by their 
 sufferings to abandon their faith, and enter upon a 
 dissolute course of life : for tbose who turned rene- 
 gados were invested with commands and dignities, 
 and were even raised above the natives of the country, 
 on whom they wreaked their revenge and private 
 resentments, 
 
 But Cervantes rejected all their offers with disdain, 
 and, inspired with a generous ardour, nobly resolved 
 to attempt his own liberation and that of many of 
 his fellow-sufferers, particularly Don Francisco de 
 Menescs, who was captain in the Goleta, Don Bel- 
 tran del Salto y de Castilla, taken prisoner in that 
 fortress, the ensigns Rios and Gabriel de Castaiieda, 
 the sergeant Navarrete, a gentleman of the name 
 of Osorio, and many more. With this object he 
 took a Moor into his confidence, to serve them as a 
 guide, and to conduct them by land to Oran, not aware 
 that before this he had betrayed some Spanish cap- 
 tives. On commencing their journey they were on 
 the first day abandoned by the Moor, and were com- 
 pelled to retrace their steps to Algiers. Here they 
 were subjected afresh to the cruel usage of their masters 
 and owners ; in particular Cervantes, who for this 
 attempt at escape was loaded with heavier chains, 
 and consigned to a more severe confinement. Besides 
 the two attempts which he made, and which liaedo 
 relates in his history, Cervantes makes mention of two 
 others in his play of the " Trato dc Argel," in which 
 
OF CERVANTES. 29 
 
 he has doubtless copied from life some of the events 
 and accidents of this first and unfortunate attempt 
 to escape from captivity. 
 
 About this time in the year 1576 some friends of 
 Cervantes, his fellow-captives, obtained their free- 
 dom, and amongst others the ensign Gabriel de Cas- 
 taheda, by whom he wrote to his relations represent- 
 ing his own deplorable situation, and that of his 
 brother. This was more than sufficient to excite the 
 compassion and paternal regard of a father, in en- 
 deavouring to procure the means of liberation for his 
 unfortunate sons, both gallant soldiers ; and Rodrigo de 
 Cervantes for this purpose mortgaged the whole patri- 
 mony of his family, his own estate, and the marriage 
 portions of his two daughters, thus reducing himself 
 almost to a state of destitution. 
 
 When Cervantes received this supply, he endea- 
 voured to negotiate his redemption -with Dali Mami, 
 but this man had formed so high an opinion of the 
 consequence of Cervantes that his avarice became 
 insatiable ; and the sum offered appeared in his eyes 
 contemptible, 16 and he refused therefore to enter into 
 fresh negotiations. All prospect of his own release 
 having thus vanished, Cervantes treated for and 
 effected the liberation of his brother Rodrigo, in Au- 
 gust 1577, enjoining him as soon as he reached Spain 
 to despatch from Valencia, or from Majorca or Ivica, 
 an armed vessel, which might approach the coast of 
 Algiers upon an appointed signal, and thus liberate 
 and convey Cervantes himself and the other Christian 
 captives to Spain. In order to enter on this plan 
 with more security and confidence, Don Antonio de 
 Toledo, of the house of the dukes of Alba, and Fran- 
 cisco de Valencia, a native of Zamora, both knights 
 of the order of S. Juan, and at this time captives in 
 
30 LIFE AMD WRITINGS 
 
 Algiers, gave letters to the viceroys of that province 
 and those islands, intreating them to assist in de- 
 spatching the vessel, and to aid in every way this 
 daring enterprise. 
 
 Cervantes had now for some time meditated on the 
 plan of escape, and the means of bringing it to a 
 favourable result. To the east of Algiers, about 
 three miles distant from the sea, the Alcalde Azan, 
 a Greek renegado, possessed a garden, which wag 
 cultivated by a Christian slave called Juan, a native 
 of Navarre. This man, at the request of Cervantes, 
 had concealed in a cave in the most retired part of 
 the garden several Christian captives ; in February, 
 1577, others were added to them ; so that at the time 
 Rodrigo Cervantes departed to Spain there were 
 fourteen or fifteen captives concealed in this place, 
 all gentlemen of rank, the chief part Spaniards, and 
 three from Majorca. One cannot imagine how Cer- 
 vantes, without being detected by his master, could 
 establish this little subterranean republic, providing 
 for the subsistence of the inmates, and securing them 
 against discovery; but the truth of the incidents, and 
 the long time during which he supported his friends, 
 are proofs of his great sagacity and judgment. By 
 the hopes of sharing in their liberation, he engaged 
 the same gardener to serve as a sentinel and guard, 
 so that no one could approach the garden unknown 
 to them, and he also secured the services of another 
 captive called El Dorador (the gilder), a native of 
 Melilla, who when young had abandoned his faith, 
 but to which he was now restored. Cervantes cm- 
 ployed this man to purchase victuals, and to convey 
 them secretly to the cave, from which no one ever ven- 
 tured out, except under cover of the night. Cervantes, 
 having now assembled all the Christian captives 
 
OF CERVANTES. 31 
 
 whose delivery he was attempting, in order to 
 be nearer the place of their embarkation, fled from 
 the house of his master. lie took leave of his friend 
 and confidant D. Antonio de Sosa, entreating him to 
 follow, which he was not able to do from his infirmi- 
 ties, and then took refuge in the same cave with his 
 friends, on the 20th of September of this year. 
 
 A brigantine was now with all possible haste de- 
 spatched from the coast of Valencia, or, as P. Haedo 
 relates, from Majorca, under the command of one 
 Viana, who had himself escaped from slavery, and 
 who was a brave and active sailor, and well ac- 
 quainted with the coast of Barbary. He set sail at 
 the latter end of September, and arrived at Algiers 
 on the 28th day of the same month ; keeping at a 
 distance from the shore for fear of a discovery. He 
 lay-to at night at the nearest point of land to the 
 garden, and despatched a messenger to inform the 
 Christian captives of his arrival. At this moment 
 some Moors happened to be near in a fishing-boat, 
 or in the road, and descried the Christian bark in 
 the twilight, and gave the alarm with so much noise 
 and tumult, that the persons who had come in the 
 boat threw themselves into the sea ; and although a 
 little time afterwards they again attempted to ap- 
 proach the coast, they were not less frustrated, and they 
 unfortunately fell into the hands of the Moors. The 
 enterprise thus became entirely disconcerted. 17 
 
 Cervantes, meanwhile, and his companions, had 
 borne with resignation the privations and sufferings 
 arising from the dampness and darkness of their 
 abode ; consoling one another with the pleasing pro-, 
 spect of regaining their liberty, which, as one of the 
 most precious gifts of Heaven, could alone recompense 
 them for so many sufferings ; " and for which, as for 
 
32 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 our honour," said Cervantes, " we ought to risk life 
 itself, slavery being the greatest evil that can fall to 
 the lot of man." 
 
 But fortune, who counteracted all their plans, at 
 last deprived them of any further hope, in a manner 
 the most extraordinary and unlocked for. The 
 Spaniard, El Dorador, to whom Cervantes had en- 
 trusted the completion of his enterprise, proved a 
 consummate hypocrite, and now resolved to abjure 
 the Christian faith ; and with this design he presented 
 himself on the last day of September before the Dey, 
 Azan, manifesting his vile intention, and in order to 
 ingratiate himself he communicated the secret of the 
 concealment of the captives, the situation of the cave, 
 and the ingenuity Cervantes had displayed in the 
 whole affair. The Dey, overjoyed at this informa- 
 tion, and seeing a most favourable opportunity of 
 gratifying his avarice by " appropriating these slaves 
 to himself," agreeably to the custom of Algiers, imme- 
 diately directed the commander of his guard to take 
 with him eight or ten Turks on horseback, and 
 twenty-four foot soldiers with their firelocks and 
 cutlasses, and some with lances, and to repair to the 
 garden of the Alcalde Azan, the infonner serving 
 them as a guide, and there to secure the Christian 
 captives in the garden. This armed troop instantly 
 departed, and soon afterwards entered the garden and 
 surrounded the cave. In midst of the consternation 
 caused by this event, Cervantes had onlytimeto entreat 
 his companions in adversity to throw all the blamo 
 of the attempt on him, hoping by this generous pro- 
 ceeding to save his friends. 
 
 Whilst the Turks and Moorish soldiers were secur- 
 ing the captives whom they there found concealed, 
 Cervantes, commanding the attention of the troops, 
 
OF CERVANTES. 33 
 
 declared with the utmost coolness that none of those 
 unhappy men were to blame in the affair, for that he 
 himself had persuaded them to fly and conceal them- 
 selves ; and then he narrated his whole plan. The 
 Turks, surprised at this noble and chivalrous confes- 
 sion, by which he might risk his life, or subject him- 
 self to the most cruel treatment, despatched a mes- 
 senger on horseback, to inform the Dey of \vhat had 
 passed, and what Cervantes had represented. The 
 Dey returned for answer that all the captives except 
 Cervantes should be incarcerated in the Bath, and 
 that Cervantes should be conducted to the presence 
 of the Dey. They then manacled him, and con- 
 ducted him on foot, while in the course of his march 
 he suffered from the soldiers and mob of Algiers every 
 possible insult and indignity. 
 
 He was then carried before Azan, the Dey, before 
 whom he underwent a rigid examination. The Dey 
 at first used every degree of flattery and cunning 
 which his interest suggested, and afterwards the 
 most dreadful threats of torments and death that 
 cruelty could invent, in order to induce him to dis- 
 cover who were the real contrivers of this affair. 
 The Dey was strongly persuaded that one of the 
 principal was the R. P. Fr. Jorze Olivar, commen- 
 dador of Valencia, of the order of Merced, and agent 
 for the crown of Aragon for the redemption of slaves 
 in Algiers, either because the Dorador had asserted 
 that he had favoured the escape of the captives, or 
 because his avarice sought for the pretext of an oc- 
 casion to criminate this ecclesiastic, and force from 
 him a considerable sum of money. 18 The Padre 
 Olivar the same day informed Don Antonio de Sosa, 
 an ecclesiastic of gr<?at reputation for piety and learn- 
 ing, that he was made prisoner, and thrown into 
 D 
 
34 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 chains, and that he had sent him the vestments and 
 ornaments, sacred vessels and other things for the 
 service of the Church, fearing that the Turks might 
 seize and profane them. But Cervantes, unterrined 
 by all their threats, and deaf to all seductions and 
 flattery, persisted in his asseveration that he alone 
 was culpable, without compromising directly or indi- 
 rectly any of his associates. The Dey, wearied by 
 his constancy and unable to elicit further information, 
 was contented with appropriating to himself all the 
 captives, among others Cervantes, whom he ordered 
 to be confined in his bath, loading him with chains 
 and fetters with the intention of punishing him. 
 
 The Dorador being apprehensive that the infamy 
 of the discovery might be imputed to him, repaired 
 to the house of the Alcalde Mahomet in order to see 
 Don Antonio de Sosa, and with many feigned and 
 plausible statements attempted to excuse himself lest 
 his reputation should suffer among the Christians, 
 but neither Don Sosa nor any one else could exculpate 
 him, when he had so openly betrayed the captives 
 in the cave. He soon afterwards relapsed into Ma- 
 hometism, and under the name of Mauri lived in 
 Algiers until the 30th of September, 1 580, on which 
 day he died in a wretched condition ; just completing 
 three years from the time in which he perpetrated his 
 execrable treachery. The Alcalde Azan, on his part, 
 as soon as he heard of the affair of the cave, re- 
 paired instantly to the Dey, and earnestly entreated 
 him to surrender the fugitives into the hands of justice, 
 and to place the gardener at his disposal. The latter 
 request was granted, and he cruelly put him to death 
 with his own hands on the third of October of that 
 year. The same fate would have awaited Cervantes 
 and his companions, if avarice in the heart of the 
 
OP CERVANTES. 35 
 
 Dey had not resisted his sanguinary intentions, as he 
 hoped himself to obtain the benefit of the ransom of 
 these captives, as in their character of criminals he 
 considered himself entitled to their persons ; some of 
 them however he returned to their former master.-, 
 and if Cervantes was one of these, as the P. Haedo 
 relates, he could have remained only a very short 
 time in the hands of Dali Mami, since the Dey. 
 either fearing his plots, or expecting to obtain a great 
 ransom from him, bought him from his master for 
 five hundred escudos. 
 
 Azan Basha was suspicious and malignant, and so 
 cruel a tyrant to his slaves that his treatment of them 
 was that of a demon. We are horror-struck at the 
 history of his life and atrocities, given by P. Haedo ; 
 and Cervantes himself, in speaking of the sufferings 
 which the captives of Azan, who were about two 
 thousand, endured in his rigorous custody, savs 
 " Although we were almost constantly suffering from 
 hunger and nakedness, nothing gave us so much pain 
 as to witness, at every moment, the unheard of cruel- 
 tics which our master inflicted on the Christians. 
 He was every day hanging one, impaling another, 
 mutilating a third, and this frequently without the 
 slightest provocation, so that the Turks confessed 
 that his object seemed to be to establish his character 
 as a butcher of the human race." Considering Cer- 
 vantes now as his own individual property, he kept 
 him confined with the greatest rigour in his dungeon 
 from the end of 1577. But Cervantes, always plot- 
 ting to escape from this miserable situation, contrived 
 to despatch a Moor with letters addressed to the 
 governor of Oran, Don Martin de Cordova, and other 
 persons of influence resident there, entreating them 
 to send some confidential persons as spies, with wkoih 
 'it -2 
 
36 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 he and three other gentlemen captives might contrive 
 a plan for escaping from the hands of the Dey. The 
 Moor departed on his mission, but on entering Oran 
 he had the misfortune to fall into the hands of some 
 other Moors, who intercepted the letters he carried, 
 and conducted him back to Algiers. 19 The Dey, 
 on recognizing the seal and name of Cervantes, com- 
 manded the poor Moor to be impaled alive, who died 
 without making any further discovery. He at the 
 same time ordered Cervantes to receive two thousand 
 strokes of the bastinado, but this sentence was re- 
 mitted at the urgent request of some persons who 
 interested themselves for him : a singular mark of 
 condescension and favour in the barbarian, for at the 
 same moment he caused three Spanish captives, who 
 on various occasions had attempted to escape to Oran, 
 and who had been apprehended by the natives of the 
 country, to be impaled alive in his presence. 
 
 These repeated misfortunes, and the chance of even 
 suffering a cruel death, could not abate the courage 
 of Cervantes, nor repress his ardent endeavours to 
 procure liberty for himself and his fellow-sufferers, 
 in whose fate he took so strong an interest. There 
 happened to be at Algiers in the month of September, 
 1679, a renegado Spaniard, who was known in Gra- 
 nada, of which city he was a native, as the licentiate 
 Giron. On his conversion to Mahometism he had 
 assumed the name of Abderrama. Cervantes was 
 given to understand that this unhappy man had re- 
 pented of his crime, and was desirous of being re- 
 stored to his religion and his country. He assured 
 himself of his character and his sincerity through 
 some captives, his countrymen, and he implored him 
 to return to the bosom of the Catholic Church, offering 
 to assist him in his design. Through this man he 
 
OF CERVANTES. 37 
 
 negotiated with two Valentian merchants, called 
 Onofrio Exarque and Baltasar de Torres, resident in 
 Algiers, for a sum of money for the purchase of 
 an' armed vessel; and Exarque having supplied 1500 
 dollars, Giron completed in his name the purchase of 
 a brigantine of twelve oars, and prepared her for 
 sea, all under the secret orders of Cervantes himself. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Cervantes communicates his design to other captives His plan is 
 matured Betrayed to the Dey Blanco de Paz Magnanimous 
 conduct of Cervantes Refuses to abandon his fellow- captives 
 Is brought before the Dev Threatened with death Refuges 
 to name his coadjutors Treated with extreme rigour His plot- 
 ting genius dreaded by the Dey Sufferings of the captives 
 Dearth in Algiers The Duke de Sesa interests himself for Cer- 
 vantes Solicitude and efforts of his relatives Petition to Philip 
 II It is granted Renewed attempts to obtain the amount of 
 bis ransom Society of the Redemption Father Gil Cervantes 
 placed on board a vessel bound for Constantinople Is ransomed 
 And set at liberty Compassion for his fellow-captives Xoble 
 example Religious duties And resignation His numerous 
 friends Documents and certificates of witnesses Interesting 
 depositions Cervantes sails for Spain. 
 
 CERVANTES had, in the mean time, communicated 
 his secret to sixty of the principal captives, and 
 enjoined them to hold themselves in readiness to 
 embark for Spain ; and the moment of departure was 
 just at hand when an ill-affected person discovered 
 the whole plan to the Dey Azan, and thus frus- 
 trated the attempt. In fact, Don Juan Blanco de 
 Paz, native of the city of Montemolin, near Lerena, 
 forgetting his religious profession of the order of 
 St. Domingo, in Santesteban de Salamanca, through 
 displeasure or envy of Cervantes and some of his 
 
38 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 companions, betrayed to the Dey this project of 
 flight and embarkation, receiving a base and paltry 
 reward for his detestable perfidy. 20 
 
 The Dey chose on this occasion to dissemble his 
 knowledge of the attempt, thinking it better to take 
 the captives in the fact, in order that he might punish 
 them with more show of reason and justice ; but the 
 captives suspecting that the Dey was acquainted 
 with their designs, were struck with apprehension, 
 particularly Onofrio Exarque, who was afraid of 
 losing his property, his liberty, and his life, fearing 
 that Cervantes might be forced by torture to dis- 
 cover the whole affair, and his accomplices in it. 
 To avoid this, he entreated Cervantes most earnestly 
 to embark for Spain in a ship then about to sail, and 
 engaged to satisfy the amount of his ransom ; but 
 Cervantes, who saw through his alarm and distrust, 
 and how disgraceful it would be to flee from present 
 danger, and abandon his companions to their fate, 
 not only refused the offer, but with his characteristic 
 magnanimity tranquillised the fears of the merchant, 
 declaring that no tortures, nor even death itself, 
 should force him to criminate any of his companions, 
 but that he would rather accuse himself to save 
 them ; and that he wished to acquaint them with 
 this determination, that they might divest themselves 
 of all apprehension. 
 
 Cervantes, after having fled from his master, had 
 placed himself tinder the protection of a former friend, 
 Diego Castellano, until it was known in what way 
 the Dey might proceed. In the course of a few 
 days public proclamation was made for the discovery 
 of Cervantes, and prohibiting any one concealing him 
 under pain of death.* 1 Fearing now to compromise 
 the safety of his friend, he resolved of his own free- 
 
OP CERVANTES. 39 
 
 will to surrender himself, confiding for this purpose 
 in a renegado, a native of Murcia, called Morato 
 Raez Maltrapillo, an intimate friend of the Dey, 
 through whose means and intercession he hoped to 
 surmount this fresh affliction. 
 
 Azan Aga, as soon as he appeared in his presence, 
 ln-gan to inquire into the particulars of the late at- 
 tempt of himself and his companions ; and to terrify 
 him the more he ordered a halter to be placed round 
 his neck and his hands to be tied behind his back, 
 as if it were intended to hang him forthwith. Cer- 
 vantes, notwithstanding, behaved with the greatest 
 composure, and not only did not accuse any one, but 
 openly confessed that he alone had concerted the 
 whole affair with four gentlemen who had since 
 escaped, but of the remainder, that none of them 
 knew anything of the scheme till the moment of its 
 attempted execution. His replies to the interroga- 
 tories of the Dey were so ingenious and discreet, 
 that if they did not wholly justify him, they at any 
 rate tempered the anger of Azan Aga, who satisfied 
 himself with banishing the renegado Giron to the 
 kingdom of Fez, and with ordering Cervantes to be 
 incarcerated in the prison of the Moors, in his own 
 palace, where he lay five months in chains, strictly 
 guarded, and treated with the utmost rigour ; at the 
 -nine time that, for his noble conduct (to us^the 
 expression of the ensign Luis de Pedrora, one of the 
 witnesses.) he acquired fame, and honour, and glory 
 among all Christians. 
 
 In fact, the perseverance and sagacity, with which 
 Cervantes had concerted and conducted these various 
 enterprises, and the courage and constancy with 
 which he had several times run the risk of his life 
 by a cruel death from torture or from fire, had gained 
 
40 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 him such a character, and made him so much dreaded 
 in the eyes of the Algerines, that Azan Aga himself 
 began to fear lest he should attempt to possess him- 
 self of Algiers. And indeed the previous example 
 of the valiant Spaniards who had before attempted 
 this enterprise, and the formidable number of twenty- 
 five thousand captives who might be united in the 
 execution of such a plan, strengthened Cervantes in 
 the idea of possessing himself of that city, with the 
 intention of delivering it up to his sovereign, Philip 
 II., making it a part of the Spanish monarchy, well 
 persuaded of its importance, and remembering the 
 many unsuccessful attempts that had been made to 
 reduce it by the bravest Spanish captains of that age ; 
 and from the manner in which he had conceived this 
 great enterprise, it is highly probable he would have 
 succeeded, if the base ingratitude and malevolence of 
 some of the conspirators had not entirely frustrated 
 his plans, and exposed him again as a victim to their 
 atrocious perfidy. 
 
 The designs of Cervantes were for a long period 
 the subject of conversation among the Algerines, and 
 P. Haedo says they are deserving of a particular 
 history. The close custody, therefore, in which Cer- 
 vantes was held by the Dey, was not merely pecu- 
 liar to his situation, but was a wise precaution for 
 his vn safety, and that of the state ; and on this 
 account he was accustomed to say, that as long as the 
 " lame Spaniard" was well watched, he considered 
 his city, his slaves, and his ships all safe. 
 
 Cervantes himself states that Azan Aga treated 
 him with a degree of moderation and temper which 
 he never extended to his other captives. When 
 speaking of the cruelties that he exercised on the 
 Christian slaves, he says "There was only one whom 
 
OP CERVANTES. 41 
 
 he treated well, and this was a Spanish soldier, one 
 Saavedra, whose many plots for obtaining his liberty 
 will long live in the memory of those people. This 
 man he never struck or ordered to be punished, nor 
 gave him a bad word ; and yet for many things which 
 he did, we all feared that lie would have been impaled 
 alive, and he many times thought so himself." 28 
 
 Towards the latter part of his captivity, Cervantes, 
 in addition to his own sufferings, had to witness the 
 general dearth that afflicted the city of Algiers. The 
 cruel remorseless despotism of Azan Aga from his 
 first entering on the government, had enforced a 
 monopoly of all com and provisions, and the price 
 of all things was regulated only by his unbounded 
 avarice, the result of which was a scarcity and famine; 
 while pestilence was spread abroad and filled the 
 streets of this unhappy city with the dead and dying ; 
 and although the captives were preserved alive by 
 the care of their friends, yet they were not exempt 
 from the privations attendant upon a scarcity in a 
 city with so large a population, and so wretchedly 
 governed as Algiers. At this moment, too, the for- 
 midable preparations which Philip II. was making 
 with so much secrecy and activity for the conquest of 
 Portugal, struck the people of Algiers with a sudden 
 panic, for they imagined this force was intended to be 
 directed against that city. 
 
 They in consequence laboured incessantly to repair 
 and strengthen the fortifications, employing the un- 
 fortunate captives day and night in this service, from 
 whom they carefully concealed their apprehensions, 
 and loaded them with fresh cruelties in proportion to 
 the dread of their own imagined danger, till the en- 
 trance of the Spanish army into Portugal discovered 
 to them the true object of the expedition. 
 
42 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 Whilst Cervantes was exercising his ingenuity in 
 these various attempts for his escape from captivity, 
 his liberation was endeavoured to be effected at 
 Madrid by his parents, through the ordinary mode of 
 ransom. The requisite amount was, however, want- 
 ing, as their little property had been exhausted in 
 redeeming their eldest son in 1577. This son, Rod- 
 rigo de Cervantes, as soon as he arrived in Spain, 
 presented to an alcalde of the court a judicial state- 
 ment, not only of the rank, circumstances and services 
 of his son Miguel, but also of his own poverty, and 
 absolute inability to ransom him. 
 
 He likewise presented, on the 17th of March 
 1578, a petition of six heads, and at the same time 
 four witnesses, who having known his son during his 
 military service, and also in his captivity, could add 
 their testimony in support of his petition. These 
 were the ensigns Mateo de Santesteban, a native of 
 Tudela, in Navarre, and Gabriel de Castaiieda, of the 
 town of Salaya in the mountains of Santander, the 
 serjeant Antonio Godinez de Monsalve, a native of 
 and living near Madrid, and Don Beltran de Salto y 
 de Castilla, residing in that court. These persons 
 attested the truth of the statements in the petition, 
 and deposed to Cervantes being the legitimate son of 
 Rodrigo de Cervantes, and of Donna Leonora de Cor- 
 tinas ; o"f the age of thirty, more or less, to judge 
 from his appearance ; that he had been captured by 
 Dali Mami, though he was then in the hands of Azan 
 Aga ; and that his father was a gentleman by birth, 
 but had sold all his property in order to redeem his 
 eldest son. 
 
 The Duke de Sesa, who had been viceroy in Sicily, 
 happening at this time to reside in Madrid, the re- 
 lations of Cervantes applied in his name for a certifi- 
 
OF CERVANTES. 43 
 
 cate of his meritorious services in Italy, and in 
 various expeditions, as he had lost his letters of re- 
 commendation to the king, on the occasion of his 
 being made captive. The duke, well satisfied of the 
 truth of this statement, immediately granted him a 
 still stronger certificate, under his seal, and signed by 
 his secretary, with the date of the 25th of July of the 
 same year, in which he narrated the services of Cer- 
 vantes, and concluded that he was deserving of the 
 king's favour and regard. The anxious solicitude of 
 his parents and friends had now procured the 
 requisite testimonials, but Rodrigo de Cervantes, the 
 father, about this time died, without having the con- 
 solation of seeing his son restored to his arms, and 
 some delay also occurred in transmitting the papers. At 
 this juncture there were despatched as ambassadors to 
 Algiers, for the redemption of captives, by Philip II. 
 and his council, and the superiors of the order of the 
 Must Holy Trinity, the R. P. Fr. Juan Gil, procura- 
 tor-general of that order, and brother of redemption 
 for the crown of Castile, and the P. Fr. Antonio de la 
 Bella, minister of the house of Baeza, to w r hom, on 
 the 31st of July, 1579, Dona Leonor de Cortinas, 
 now a widow, and Donna Andrea de Cervantes, her 
 daughter, inhabitants of Alcala, and then residing at 
 Madrid, presented themselves, and placed in their 
 hands three hundred ducats, two hundred and fifty 
 from the former, and fifty from the latter, to aid in 
 redeeming their son and brother. 
 
 Donna Leonor de Cortinas, in order to increase 
 this sum, renewed the application which had been 
 begiin by her husband, and presented to the king a 
 petition, supported by the judicial information and 
 certificate from the Duke de Sesa, praying that his 
 majesty, in consideration of the meritorious services 
 
44 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 of her son, and in compassion to their impoverished 
 circumstances, would grant an aid for his ransom. 
 The king listened graciously to this petition, and, on 
 the 17th of January, 1580, granted Donna Leonor 
 permission to export from the kingdom of Valencia 
 merchandise not prohibited, to the amount of ten 
 thousand ducats, the profits to be derived from which 
 might be sent for the ransom of her son ; but such 
 was the ill-fortune of the family that this favour was 
 of no avail, the profits not realising more than sixty 
 ducats. In the meanwhile the fathers of redemption 
 had proceeded on their voyage to Algiers, where they 
 arrived on the 29th of May, 1580, the day of the 
 Most Holy Trinity, and began to treat immediately 
 for the redemption of the captives. The difficulty 
 which they experienced in ransoming Cervantes de- 
 layed them some time, for the Dey insisted on 
 receiving for him a thousand pieces, thus doubling 
 the price of his purchase ; and threatening that if they 
 should not advance this sum, he would carry him 
 with him to Constantinople. For Azan's term of go- 
 vernment.having now expired, and Jafer Basha being 
 appointed his successor by the Grand Turk, he was 
 now on the eve of departing for that capital with four 
 barks belonging to himself and his chaya or major- 
 domo, armed with his own slaves and renegadoes, 
 and carrying with them a convoy of seven other 
 vessels on their return to Turkey. Cervantes was 
 already on board, loaded with chains and fetters, 
 when the Padre Gil, compassionating his situation, 
 and fearing that he might lose for ever the opportu- 
 nity of recovering his liberty, did not rest until he 
 succeeded in redeeming him for five hundred pieces 
 of gold of Spain, raising this amount from the mer- 
 chants, and applying towards it a sum from the 
 
OF CERVANTES. 45 
 
 redemption fund and particular charities, to make up 
 the requisite payment. The bargain being concluded, 
 and the officers of the galley being gratified by nine 
 dollars for their fees, Cervantes was disembarked on 
 the 19th of September, at the very moment that 
 Azan Aga set sail for Constantinople. 
 
 On his restoration to liberty, it was the first object 
 of Cervantes to justify his conduct and place his re- 
 putation beyond the reach of calumny and malignity, 
 previous to his presenting himself in Spain. It was 
 highly desirable, in order to support his pretensions 
 towards some remuneration for his services and long 
 sufferings, to confirm and substantiate the proofs of 
 the many bold attempts he had made to obtain his 
 freedom. With this view he appeared before the 
 Padre Gil on the 10th day of October, 1580, suppli- 
 cating him, as there was no person in Algiers 
 authorised to administer justice among the Christians, 
 and as he there represented his majesty as apostolic 
 delegate of the supreme pontiff, that he would receive 
 the declaration of witnesses before the notary Pedro 
 de Ribera, in the way of interrogations. This favour 
 was conceded, and eleven of the principal and best 
 qualified Christians to be found were examined as to 
 the truth of twenty-four clauses, which comprehended 
 not only all the events and occurrences of the past 
 years, as has been narrated, but a justification of the 
 conduct, public and private, of Cervantes, and an 
 account of the artifices of his enemies during that 
 period to discredit and injure his character. 
 
 Ever since Juan Blanco de Paz had betrayed to 
 the Dey the project of the armed brigantine chartered 
 in the name of the renegade Giron, he was so abhorred 
 by the captives, that he would have been assassinated 
 by them, except for the interference of Don Antonio 
 
46 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 de Sosa. This infamous traitor, thus stung and 
 irritated, directed his enmity and resentment against 
 the merchants Exarque and Torres, and Cervantes, 
 openly denying his correspondence with the latter. 
 He carried his malevolence to such an extreme, that 
 in order to discredit Cervantes, and destroy his future 
 prospects, he attempted to raise some criminal accu- 
 sations against him, engaging*witnesses by bribes and 
 promises of their enfranchisement, and terrifying 
 others from the truth of their statements by threats. 
 
 With this malevolent intention, he gave out that 
 he was appointed a commissary of the Holy Office, 
 with a commission from the king for the exercise of 
 all its functions, and he even pretended to require the 
 fathers of redemption of Spain and Portugal, Don 
 Sosa and other ecclesiastics, to yield him obedience; 
 but on their requiring him to exhibit his commission, 
 his not being able to produce it, was an additional 
 reason for convincing them of his duplicity, and they 
 reprehended him strongly for his infamous conduct. 
 Under these circumstances Cervantes saw the absolute 
 necessity of placing his character in such a light before 
 the king and his council, as to defeat the calumnious 
 misrepresentations of his enemies. This was easily 
 aceomplished, for the investigation made before the 
 Padre Gil afforded the most entire justification ; and, 
 as in a picture the lights acquire additional lustre 
 from the darkness of the shadows, so the noble con- 
 duct of Cervantes shone with more brilliancy amidst 
 the cowardly machinations of his detractors. 
 
 Tl\e attention of Cervantes at all times to the alle- 
 viation of the sufferings of his fellow-captives was 
 uniform and persevering. Themasters of the Christian 
 slaves, after they had finished their domestic duties, 
 compelled them to labour at the public works in the 
 
OF CEKVANTES. 47 
 
 city, ill order that they might possess themselves of 
 their wa^es, and snatch from them their wretched 
 pittance. They often treated them with such cruelty 
 that they became totally incapacitated for work, and 
 were compelled to support themselves by asking 
 charity from door to door. Cervantes, moved with 
 compassion at the unhappy lot of these persons, bent 
 all his energies to their relief, contributing to their 
 support, and endeavouring to emancipate them from 
 the tyranny and cruel treatment of their owner!?. 
 This was the testimony afforded by some of the wit- 
 nesses in Algiers, who praised his benevolent and 
 Christian attempts, and his generosity in distributing 
 amongst them the little means he possessed to alle- 
 viate their distress, and to pay their wages ; and in 
 this way satisfy the cruel avarice of their tyrants. 23 
 
 It appears, moreover, from most unquestionable 
 testimony, that Cervantes was during this period 
 most punctual and exact in all the religious duties of 
 a catholic Christian, and that the fervour of his zeal, 
 and his knowledge of the grounds of his faith, assisted 
 many times in defending his religion at the risk of 
 his life ; and in imparting the same spirit to the timid 
 and the disheartened, he prevented them from aban- 
 doning their faith. His magnanimity of mind, his 
 pleasing manners, his frank address, his fine genius, 
 and his discretion, gained him numerous friends, who 
 all acknowledged his good qualities, while his benefi- 
 cence and kindness rendered him an equal favourite 
 with the many. It was thus that during his 
 captivity he retained all the respect due to his merits, 
 and maintained a friendly intercourse with persons of 
 the highest station and condition; and the fathers of 
 redemption, duly appreciating his talents and good 
 conduct, not only treated him with great respect, but 
 
48 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 frequently consulted with him on affairs of the first 
 importance. 
 
 Among the many testimonials given as above 
 mentioned, that of Don Diego de Benavides, a native 
 of Baeza, is the most remarkable. Having arriA^ed 
 as a captive from Constantinople at Algiers, he peti- 
 tioned some of the most influential Christians there, 
 naming among the first of these Cervantes, an upright, 
 noble and valiant cavalier, of cultivated manners, and 
 extremely attached to his friends. He sought his 
 acquaintance, and, fortunately succeeding, found in 
 him a father and mother, and being arrived in that 
 
 * O 
 
 country, and having no one to apply to, Cervantes, 
 who had then been recently ransomed, not only gene- 
 rously furnished him with clothes and money, but 
 carried him to his house, lodged him there, and 
 placed him at his table, and bestowed on him every 
 degree of hospitality and kindness until their de- 
 parture together for Spain. The ensign Louis de 
 Pedrosa, a native of Ossuna, declared that though 
 there might be in Algiers cavaliers as noble as 
 Cervantes, yet there were none that manifested such 
 kindness to the captives as he had done, and that he 
 gained universal esteem by his affability and goodness. 
 The Carmelite Frate Feliciano Enriquez, a native 
 Of Ypres, relates that having vindicated thereputation 
 of Cervantes from a calumny, he became his attached 
 friend, as were all the other captives, who admired 
 his Christian and eminent virtues. The same P. Fr. 
 Juan Gil, after confirming the circumstantial evi- 
 dence of the witnesses, says that he considered Cer- 
 vantes highly honourable, that he had served the 
 king for many years, and that, more particularly 
 for his conduct in his captivity, he was richly de- 
 serving of his majesty's regard ; intimating at the 
 
OF CERVANTES. 49 
 
 same time, that he had given him his confidence 
 and esteem, which he should not have done if he had 
 not possessed the many virtues which common report 
 awarded him. Don Antonio de Sosa, who from 
 his close confinement could not join in the petition, 
 when the papers were shown to him wrote with his 
 own hand, on the 24th of the same month of October, 
 a narrative, in which, after confirming and amplify- 
 ing with much judgment the facts it contained, and 
 mentioning, amongst other matters, that he had for 
 the space of four years maintained the strictest 
 friendship with Cervantes, that he had always con- 
 sulted him in his affairs, and even on the verse he 
 had composed, and that he had never observed in him 
 any vice or folly, and that if such had been the case, 
 he should not have formed an intimacy with him, as 
 he says " It is well known that persons of my 
 rank and profession hold intercourse only with vir- 
 tuous and honourable men." 
 
 AVhat a contrast this portrait of Cervantes offers 
 to that of his enemy, Juan Blanco de Paz ! Neg- 
 lecting his religious duties, he neither assisted at the 
 services of the church, nor at its prayers and orations, 
 nor visited the sick captives in the hospital ; in- 
 triguing and quarrelsome, he induced many by 
 false promises to inform against the Christians, 
 particularly Cervantes ; and he had the audacity to 
 maltreat with his own sacrilegious hands two priests. 
 He betrayed the project of the frigate, and attempted 
 to fix the infamy of the crime on Don Domingo Be- 
 cerra, a captive of the Dey, who repelled the charge, 
 and proved this calumniator to have been the only 
 person concerned in that infamous affair. But let us 
 avert our eyes from crimes to which our unbridled 
 E 
 
50 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 passions lead us, when we abandon the strict paths 
 of truth and of virtue ! 
 
 When we reflect on these circumstances, it is not 
 surprising that Cervantes during the whole of his 
 life attached so much importance to the numerous 
 attempts at escape which he had made at Algiers, 
 and to the privations and persecutions he suffered 
 from that cause, having frequently mentioned such 
 events, and having alluded to them in almost all his 
 works, events which until the present time have 
 never been fully elucidated for want of documents ; 
 nor ought it to surprise us that he felt such a lively 
 gratitude to the Fathers of Redemption, and to that 
 sacred and charitable institution, on which he passes 
 a deserving eulogium in his ^tale of the " Espanola 
 Inglesa." 
 
 Haedo asserts that the imprisonment of Cervantes 
 was one of the most severe that ever occurred in 
 Algiers; and he himself says, many years after- 
 wards, " that in this school he learnt to bear 
 adversity with submission." But no reverse of 
 fortune could damp the flame of .genius in the heart 
 of Cervantes, nor extinguish his passion for letters. 
 It appears that he composed at that time some verses 
 addressed to the sacred objects of his devotion ; and it 
 i.s highly probable that he wrote at that period some 
 of \\isCcmedias, since we know that on certain festivals 
 the Christian captives amused themselves in repre- 
 senting various dramas, and reciting favourite passages 
 from the Spanish poets. Cervantes himself states this 
 fact in the Baftos de Argel, (the Prison of Algiers), 
 where he inserts a fragment in verse from one of the 
 pastorals of Lope de Rueda, which it is believed was 
 represented by the captives. But, above all, an inti- 
 
OF CERVANTES. 51 
 
 mate knowledge of the customs and manners of the 
 Moors could not escape his observing and inquisitive 
 mind, and it was this that enabled him to portray 
 that country with such a delicate pencil, and with so 
 much truth in many of his delightful compositions. 
 As soon as Cervantes had concluded this business 
 entirely to his own satisfaction, he had his papers 
 authenticated by Pedro de Ribera, the apostolic 
 notary, and certified by Padre Gil on the 12th of 
 October, with the intention, in case of necessity, of 
 presenting them to the council of his majesty, and to 
 solicit the king's favour ; and he took his departure 
 from Spain with some others of his companions who 
 obtained their freedom at the end of the same year, 
 1580, u in the anticipation," to use his own words, 
 " of one of the greatest pleasures in life the arriving 
 safe and well in one's native land, after a long and 
 cruel captivity." " For," as he says on another 
 occasion, " there is on earth no transport equal to that 
 of recovering liberty long lost."- 5 
 
52 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Cervantes returns to the army Supposed to re-enter his old regi- 
 ment Campaign of Portugal Sails from Lisbon Expedition to 
 Terceira Junction of the Spanish fleets Battle and victory off 
 Terceira Serves with his brother Rndiigo in the new attack 
 Gallant exploit Conquest of the neighbouring islands Ad- 
 dresses complimentary lines to the famous Santa Cruz Long 
 seivices of Cervantes under his flag Rcceptieu in Portugal 
 His interesting descriptions of the country Liaison with a Por- 
 tuguese lady His natural daughter Residence in Mostagan 
 Sent with letters from the Governor to King Philip Garrison 
 duty Composition of his Galatea Description of the heroine 
 Taken from real life Critical opinions Analysis of it Anec- 
 dotes Marriage of Cervantes Resides at Esquivias Literary 
 occupations Compositions Formation of academies Becomes 
 a member Residence at the court. 
 
 AT the time Cervantes arrived in Spain, Philip II. 
 was in Badajos, slowly recovering from a severe 
 illness, and the affliction consequent on the loss of 
 his queen, Anne of Austria, and occupied with the 
 conquest of Portugal ; and the way. being prepared 
 for him by the great duke of Alva, and his brave 
 captain, Sancho Davila, he entered the city of Tomar 
 on the 5th day of December, and there assembled 
 the cortes in the middle of April of the following 
 year. The Castilian army remained in that kingdom 
 for the purpose of preserving the public tranquillity, 
 for repressing partial disturbances, and to estab- 
 lish the authority of the king, and prepare for the 
 reduction of the island of Terceira. Rodrigo Cer- 
 vantes, continuing his military career, was now 
 serving in this army, and Cervantes himself, when 
 lie arrived from Algiers, found that no more likely 
 
OF CERVANTES. 53 
 
 means presented themselves of forwarding his views 
 at court, than engaging to serve with the army in 
 Portugal. It may therefore be presumed with great 
 probability, that he there attached himself to his old 
 regiment, still under the command of the master of 
 the camp, Don Lope de Figueroa. This regiment 
 was composed of veterans, who had distinguished 
 themselves in the wars of the Levant and Flanders, 
 and were long accustomed to conquest. We thus find 
 (Yrvantes embarking, in the summer of 1581, on 
 board the fleet in which his old commander sailed 
 from Lisbon with his regiment to aid Don Pedro 
 Valdes, who had been sent with a squadron to 
 attempt the reduction of the island of Terceira, and 
 to protect the ships trading with the Indies. Don 
 Lope de Figueroa, on going to sea, fell in with the 
 ships of Portugal returning from the East Indies, 
 and furnishing them with supplies, directed them 
 to Lisbon, where they arrived in safety. He then 
 met with general Valdes, smarting under the failure 
 of an attempt to land at Terceira, and the two com- 
 manders, not being able to agree in opinion, separated, 
 and returned at the same time to Portugal. It was 
 there that Philip II. ordered to be assembled in the 
 following year the various squadrons which were pre- 
 paring in the other maritime provinces, for the purpose 
 of thwarting the intrigues of the courts of France and 
 England, which secretly and insidiously supported the 
 pretensions of Don Antonio, prior of Ocrato, to the 
 crown of Portugal, incited disaffection in the Terceira 
 isles, and attempted to intercept the treasures which 
 the galleons were bringing home from the Spanish 
 colonies. A French fleet had already set sail with 
 this object, and Philip II. having appointed to the 
 command of the Spanish fleet the most distinguished 
 
54 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 seaman of his age, Don Alvaro de Bazan, marquis 
 of Santa Cruz, ordered him to set sail, after 
 embarking a large military force, composed in part 
 of the veteran regiments of infantry under the charge 
 of the masters of the camp, Don Lope de Figueroa, 
 and Don Francisco de Bobadilla, the whole of 
 which force the king passed in review in the vicinity 
 of Lisbon, on the 29th of June, 1582. 
 
 The fleet sailed from thence on the 10th of tho 
 following month; on the 21st they discovered the 
 island of San Miguel, and on the 25th they saw the 
 enemy to leeward, near the island of Terceira. A 
 partial engagement immediately occurred, which soon 
 became general, and \vas continued until the next 
 day with the utmost obstinacy, as the French, from 
 the superiority of their force, felt confident of success. 
 The galleon San Mateo, the admiral's ship, in which 
 Don Lope de Figueroa had embarked, and, it is most 
 probable, Cervantes with him, distinguished herself in 
 this action, for she was attacked at the same time by 
 several French ships, and defended herself valorously 
 for two hours, boarding some, charging others with 
 the pike, spite of being set on fire five different times 
 during the action. Her situation was so critical that 
 the marquis de Santa Cruz was obliged to bring tho 
 whole squadron to her assistance. By this man- 
 oeuvre, the ships in the rear were enabled to enter into 
 the contest, having at the head of the line the valiant 
 commander, Yillavicion, Miguel de Oquesado, and 
 others, who aided by their commander, not only suc- 
 ceeded in liberating the galleon San Mateo, but 
 destroyed or captured the greater part of the enemy's 
 ships, put the remainder to flight, and obtained with 
 a force so inferior, one of those splendid victories 
 which give renown to nations, and confer immortality 
 
OP CERVANTES. 55 
 
 on the names of the commanders. The Spanish fleet, 
 after having remained some days at the island of San 
 Miguel, to repair its losses, and reconnoitering Ter- 
 ceira, arrived at Lisbon on the 10th of September. 
 Cervantes informs us of his having joined in this ex- 
 pedition with his brother Rodrigo, but does not go 
 into a narrative of events. 
 
 Both brothers served, as well, in the attack on Ter- 
 ceira of the following year, which was a consequence 
 of the former one, for the support which the partisans 
 of Don Antonio reckoned on in the islands having 
 failed, the reduction of Terceira was rendered more 
 practicable. With this view, Philip II., when he re- 
 turned to Castile on the 4th of February, 1583, left 
 another fleet ready in Lisbon, under the same Don 
 Alvaro de Bazan. Among the numerous and choice 
 infantry on board were twenty companies of the 
 regiment of Figucroa, consisting of three thousand 
 seven hundred veteran soldiers. The marquis set sail 
 from Lisbon on the 23rd of June, and disembarked 
 his forces at Terceira ; the men displaying the greatest 
 valour and courage, though the surf at this time of the 
 year was running very high. The ensign, Francisco 
 de la Rua, distinguished himself in this action ; for 
 the vessel in which he was on board being driven 
 on shore, he intrepidly threw himself with his com- 
 pany into the sea, and was followed by the captain, 
 Luis de Guevara and Rodrigo de Cervantes, for 
 which noble action he was afterwards rewarded by 
 the marquis of Santa Cruz. This heroic example so 
 encouraged the other soldiers that they all swam to 
 the shore, and collecting together in the highest 
 spirits, without scaling ladders or opening trenches, 
 they gallantly planted the standard of Castile upon 
 the walls. They engaged and defeated the Portu- 
 
56 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 guese troops and their auxiliaries with the same suc- 
 cess, took all the forts and castles, and compelled 
 the French force to capitulate. In this manner, not 
 only Terceira, but the other islands in its neighbour- 
 hood, though of inferior importance, were conquered . 
 With this signal success the marquis of Santa Cruz 
 terminated his expedition, and returned to Cadiz. 
 which he entered on the 15th of September, in the 
 midst of the applause and acclamations of his coun- 
 trymen. 
 
 Cervantes, who had been an eye-witness in the 
 Levant, as well as in other quarters, of the memorable 
 actions of this heroic commander of the Spanish fleet, 
 obeying his orders as a soldier, and admiring his 
 noble qualities as a man, could not refuse to his glory 
 the praises which were dictated by his admiration 
 and his gratitude. A sonnet which he composed on 
 this occasion, was published some years afterwards by 
 the licentiate Cristobel Mosquera de Figueroa, in his 
 relation of the battle of the Azores. AVc also find 
 in the first part of Don Quixote some remarkable 
 allusions, when speaking of the capture of the galley 
 which was commanded by a son of Barbarossa, he 
 concludes by saying, " She was taken by the ad- 
 miral's ship, la Loba, commanded by that man of 
 war, that father of his soldiers, the valorous and in- 
 vincible captain, Don Alonso de Bazan, marquis of 
 Santa Cruz," a just and sincere eulogium, and due 
 to the memory of that great commander as a tribute 
 of gratitude and respect from a veteran soldier who 
 had served so many years under his flag. 
 
 The circumstances of Cervantes which detained him 
 in Portugal for the prosecution of his claims, led him 
 also to a more intimate acquaintance with the coimtry, 
 and the manners and customs of the inhabitants, by 
 
OF CERVANTES. 57 
 
 whom he was hospitably received, and appreciated 
 in a way worthy of his distinguished merits. His 
 mien, which still retained all the buoyancy and 
 vigour of youth, his generous and susceptible heart, 
 ami his lively ami warm imagination, led him to cul- 
 tivate the softer passion, and to describe its many joys 
 and sufferings in his poetry and writings. He tells 
 U9 that all the inhabitants of Lisbon are agreeable, 
 courteous, and liberal ; are willing worshippers at 
 the shrine of beauty ; and that the loveliness of the 
 women enchants all beholders; he pronounces the 
 Portuguese tongue to be soft and agreeable, and calls 
 Lisbon a noble and renowned city, and the country 
 itself " another land of promise." 
 
 It was probably at this period that he formed an 
 intimacy with a Portuguese lady (we must here 
 allow for the times in which he lived), who bore him 
 a natural daughter called Donna Isabel de Saavedra, 
 who shared the fortunes of her father, and resided 
 with him and his wife when they were established 
 in Valladolid, during the residence there of the court 
 of Philip III. Cervantes retained, through life, a 
 lively remembrance of the warm reception and gene- 
 rous hospitality of the people of Portugal, and often 
 eulogised the manners of that nation, and the noble 
 qualities it manifested ; as appears from many of his 
 writings, particularly from the third book of his 
 Persiles, where his commendation is accompanied by 
 a generous expression of gratitude. He derived 
 similar advantages from the other countries through 
 which he travelled, or which he visited in his military 
 capacity ; for he introduced himself to their most 
 eminent literary characters, examined with impar- 
 tiality their political state, estimated their virtues 
 and their vices, their merits, and demerits ; and ac- 
 
58 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 quired that fund of knowledge, that pure and correct 
 judgment, with that amenity and grace of style, which 
 characterise, his works. Above all, he there attained 
 that truth of description, which derived from nature 
 herself, or drawn from his own adventures, arrests 
 the attention of his readers, and forces involuntary 
 smiles or tears, so commanding is his imaginative 
 genius. At all times shunning inactivity, he ap- 
 plied himself during his service at sea to acquiring 
 a knowledge of maritime affairs, and to this we are 
 indebted for the variety of interesting adventures of 
 this kind, which we meet with in his works, and for 
 the accurate and appropriate language of his maritime 
 characters, which adding fresh truth to the eloquence 
 of his narrative, gives him so great a superiority, in 
 this respect, over all other Spanish writers. 
 
 At this period Cervantes was residing in Mostagan, 
 from whence he was despatched with letters from 
 the governor of that place, to Philip II., who gave 
 him orders to repair to Oran, no doubt in order to 
 join the regiment or company, then in garrison there, 
 in which he had at all times served. As Cer- 
 vantes gives us no further particulars, it is impossible 
 to fix with certainty the date of this event, as the 
 passing affairs of a garrison can never possess suffi- 
 cient interest to be commemorated in history, nor is 
 the life of a simple soldier in the discharge of his daily 
 duty, likely to arrest the attention of men of letters. 
 
 In the course of this long period he composed and 
 finished in 1583, his Galatea, which appeared the fol- 
 lowing year. This was the first work he is known to 
 have published. It is a pastoral romance accommodated 
 to the taste of the age, and characteristic of the youth 
 of Cervantes, and in which indulging his inclination 
 for poetry, and the cultivation of his native tongue, 
 
OP CERVANTES. 59 
 
 he endeavoured to exhibit the fertility of his genius. 
 He relates some of his own adventures, and awards 
 the meed of praise to the several poets of his day. 
 He offers to a lady, the object of his passion, a deli- 
 cate and appropriate compliment, for at this day the 
 scene of love was transferred to the fields and plains, 
 and adorned with the modesty and innocence of their 
 inhabitants. Of this singular work it will be the 
 more necessary to give a brief analysis, as after his 
 /'i/i-na, and his early poetical essays, it is his first 
 regular production, written partly in imitation of the 
 Diana of Montemayor. It was published in 1584, 
 and next to his Don Quixote, perhaps, is the most 
 popular of any of his works, at least among foreigners. 
 The translation, or rather the imitation of it by Florian, 
 has rendered it popular in France. The Italians had 
 already shown a great taste for pastoral poetry ; they 
 did not, like the ancients, content themselves with writ- 
 ing eclogues, in which a single sentiment was developed 
 in a dialogue between a few shepherds, without action, 
 plot, or catastrophe. To the sweetness, the spirit, and 
 the elegance which belong to pastoral productions, 
 the Italians added romantic situations and powerful 
 passions. They had composed several pastoral 
 dramas, some of which had been early presented to 
 the notice of their admirers in the different languages 
 of Europe. The Spaniards had been still more 
 deeply captivated by these pastoral fancies, which, by 
 recalling to the mind the feelings of childhood, accord 
 admirably with the yielding indolence of southern 
 feelings. Their drama, in its origin, was entirely 
 pastoral. Incited by the same taste, they produced 
 many long works, which were in fact nothing more 
 than tedious eclogues. The six books of the Galatea, 
 form two octavo volumes, and yet these constituted 
 
60 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 only the first portion of the work, which was never 
 finished. Florian soon perceived that a tale of this 
 length would not be agreeable to the taste of his 
 countrymen ; and he therefore worked up the inci- 
 dents while he abridged the romance, and while he 
 retrenched the poetical portions, added to the general 
 interest of the whole. Cervantes has been blamed for 
 having mingled too many episodes with the principal 
 tale. It is said that he has attempted too many 
 characters, and that he has by the quantity of inci- 
 dents and names confounded the imagination of the 
 reader, who is unable to follow him. lie is also 
 blamed for having, in the earliest of his works, when 
 he was yet comparatively ignorant of what consti- 
 tutes purity and elegance of style, employed an in- 
 volved construction, which gives his work an ap- 
 pearance of affectation. "We should be also inclined 
 to impute it to him as a fault, though this accusation 
 more properly falls xipon the class than upon this 
 individual work, that he is almost cloying in the 
 sweetness and languor of his love scenes. When we 
 read these pastoral romances, we may almost imagine 
 ourselves bathing in milk and honey. 
 
 Notwithstanding these observations, the purity of 
 its morals, the interest of its situations, the richness 
 of invention, and the poetical charms which it dis- 
 plays, must ensure to the Galatea an honourable 
 place in the list of Spanish classics.* 
 
 Cervantes himself intimates in the prologue to this 
 work, that many of the shepherds in this romance 
 were under disguise ; and the example of Rodrigo de 
 Cota, author of the Celestina, and of his contempora- 
 ries Jorge de Montemayor, Luis Galves de Montalvo, 
 
 Literature of the South of Europe, Vol. III., pp. 419-21. 
 
OF CERVANTES. 61 
 
 and above all the testimony of Lope de Vega, confirm 
 the supposition that Galatea was not merely an ideal 
 person, and that Cervantes concealing himself, under 
 the name of Elicio, " a shepherd dwelling on the 
 banks of the Tagns," relates his loves with Galatea, 
 " a shepherdess, born on the margin of the same 
 river ;" and as at the time that Cervantes published 
 these adventures, he was paying his addresses to a 
 lady of rank in the town of Esquivias, called Donna 
 Catalina de Palacios Salazar y Yozmediano, -with 
 whom he soon afterwards contracted marriage, it 
 cannot be doubted that she was the true Galatea ; 
 nor can we hesitate to assert that under the names 
 of Tirsi, Damon, Meliso, Siralvo, Lauso Larsileo, and 
 Artidoro, he introduced in this fable Francisco de 
 Figueroa, Pedro Lainez, D. Diego Hurtado de Men- 
 doza, Luis Galvez de Montalvo, Luis Barahona de 
 Soto, D. Alonso de Ercilla, and Micer Andres Key 
 de Artieda, all amongst the number of his friends, 
 and the most celebrated poets of the age. 
 
 As early as the 1st of February, 1584, we find 
 that Lucas Gracian Dantisco, by order of the royal 
 council, had examined and approved this work, de- 
 scribing it as agreeable, the story well-imagined, and 
 the style and language pure and correct ; to which 
 opinion were added the commendations of Luis Gal- 
 vez de Montalvo, D. Luis de Vargas Manrique, and 
 Lopez Maldonado, and which were corroborated by 
 the reception it met with in Spain, and in foreign 
 eountries. But this general applause, and vague and 
 indefinite praise, must not bias our judgment, when 
 criticism, enlightened by taste, directs and governs 
 our decision. "When we examine the Galatea on cor- 
 rect principles, and consider it as a pastoral romance, 
 or eclogue (as the author calls it), we shall find that 
 
62 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 if on the one hand we admire the beautiful descrip- 
 tions of nature, the delicacy and liveliness of senti- 
 ment, the variety and contrast of the passions, the 
 incidents managed with so much felicity and grace, 
 the purity and appropriateness of the language, and 
 the fertility of invention ; we are on the other hand 
 introduced to erudite and philosophical shepherds, 
 and meet with a prodigality of episodes, which throw 
 the principal action into shade and diminish the in- 
 terest, while they confound the personages of the first 
 part of the picture with others of inferior order, 
 without regarding the due connection of accessory 
 incidents, with the principal action, nor the manner 
 in which they should contribute to the denouement. 
 
 We may infer from these peculiarities that Cer- 
 vantes was more disposed to draw upon the richness 
 of his invention, than to appear moderate in the dis- 
 position of his plot, consequently preferring abun- 
 dance and even superfluity, to a wise and prudent 
 economy : for there cannot be a doubt that he was 
 himself aware of these defects, and deprecated the 
 condemnation of them in his prologue, when he begs 
 for indulgence until the second part should make its 
 appearance. This he never published, though it was 
 found nearly completed at the time of his death. lie 
 informs us that he took the idea from the Canto do 
 Caliopa, which under the name of Turia, Gaspar Gil 
 Polo had published some years before in his Diana 
 JSnamorada, to celebrate the poets and wits of Va- 
 lencia. 
 
 This work, which was so anxiously looked for, was 
 not published until the latter end of this year, as we 
 may conclude from Cervantes having addressed the 
 dedication in August, to Ascanio Colonna, the abbot 
 of Santa Sofia ; for he there makes mention of Antonio 
 
OF CERVANTES. 63 
 
 Colonna, his father, " as having followed for several 
 years the invincible banners of that gallant soldier, 
 whom Heaven yesterday removed from our eyes, bnt 
 not from the memory of those who are acquainted 
 with his magnanimous actions." He unquestionably 
 alludes by these expressions to Colonna's death, 
 which happened at eleven at night, on Wednesday 
 the first of August, at Medinaceli, on his way from 
 Italy to the court of Philip II., who had sent, for 
 him. This proves how little they had examined this 
 point, who assert that Cervantes published his Gala- 
 tea at the beginning of the year 1 584, and that the 
 death of Marc Antonio Colonna occurred in 1585. 
 
 Immediately on the publication of this romance, 
 Cervantes espoused atEsquivias, on the twelfth day of 
 December of the same year, 1584, Donna Catalina de 
 Palacios Salazar y Yozmediano, daughter of Fernando 
 de Salazar y Vozmediano and of Catalina de Palacios, 
 both descended from honourable families of that place. 
 When this marriage was solemnised, the father of 
 the bride appears to have been some time dead, which 
 renders it probable that she owed her education to 
 her uncle, D. Francisco de Salazar, who afterwards 
 left her a legacy in his will. Her uncle, too, having 
 promised her mother, at the time of the marriage 
 agreement, a reasonable portion, he fulfilled his pro- 
 mise two years afterwards, granting Cervantes and 
 his wife an assurance in writing, and presenting his 
 wife with one hundred ducats, which, according 
 to some, was the tenth part of his fortune. This 
 appears from the marriage paper, verified by both 
 the new-married persons on the 9th of August, 1586, 
 before Alonzo de Aguiler, a notary of Esquivias, 
 of which place Cervantes became a denizen, as ap- 
 pears from the same document. But as his property 
 
64 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 was not sufficient to answer his increased expenses, 
 and his frank and social manners were not in unison 
 with a country life, the proximity of Madrid led him 
 to reside occasionally at that court, either from the 
 affection which he bore to his own relations, or the 
 wish of enjoying the society of his friends, or from 
 the desire he always felt, of making himself better 
 known to the world by his poetry and his dramatic- 
 writings. 
 
 This is confirmed by the account we have retained 
 of his having commenced or renewed at this epoch a 
 friendly intercourse with Juan Rufo, Pedro de Padilla, 
 Lopez Maldonado^ Juan de Barros, Vicenti Espinul, 
 and other eminent writers, whose works he celebrated 
 in sonnets, and other verses, which, if not of first-rato 
 merit, still serve to testify the goodness of his heart, 
 and remain a pleasing tribute to genius and friend- 
 ship. Rufo, who had now been engaged on his 
 Anstriada for the space of seven years, finished that 
 poem in 1578; and it was approved by Lainez in 
 1582, but not published until two years afterwards, 
 at the time Cervantes was residing in Madrid, where 
 he composed in praise of the author a sonnet which, 
 with others, stands at the commencement of the book. 
 At the same time Padilla printed his Jardin Espirit- 
 ual, which first appeared in the following year, 1585. 
 lie not only included in it some redondillas and 
 stanzas which Cervantes had formerly composed in 
 his praise, but placed in the same work various 
 poems which, at the request of the author, some of 
 the most celebrated Castilian writers had composed in 
 praise of St. Francisco, and he inserted among others 
 a sonnet of Cervantes, which is not devoid of merit. 
 He composed another sonnet in praise of the work of 
 the samo Padilla, on the Grandmas y e-xcelencias 
 
OF CERVANTES. 6 > 
 
 '/ 1 1 Virgen nucstra seiiora, which was published in 
 1587. At the beginning of the previous year, 1586, 
 Lopez Maldonado published his Cancionero, and 
 amongst many other classical poets who honoured 
 that work with their encomiums, we may include 
 Cervantes, who extolled it in a sonnet and some quin- 
 tillas, which are to be found in the first pages. He 
 also honoured with another sonnet the Filosofia Cor- 
 tesana Moralhada, of his friend Alonso de Bahos, 
 which was also commended by Ercilla, and published 
 in 1587. Vicente de Espinel had already written 
 his Casu de la Memoria, although it was not printed 
 until 1591. 
 
 In this work a place among the most celebrated 
 poets is allotted to Cervantes, whom he praises for 
 his constancy in adversity, and alludes to his suf- 
 ferings in captivity, which could not abate the fervour 
 and vigour of his genius. Espinel had made honour- 
 able mention of Cervantes in his Canto <l> C'aliope, and 
 from that time the foundations weiv laid for that solid 
 and lasting friendship which ever afterwards united 
 them, and of which Cervantes makes mention in the 
 last year of his life. This growing taste for litera- 
 ture, particularly in the cultivation of poetry, at this 
 period, led to the formation of academies in many of 
 the principal cities of Italy. These were established 
 and encouraged by many noble and distinguished 
 persons, among whom we may name the marquis of 
 Pcscara, the founder of the academy at Pavia. This 
 example was followed in Spain, in the reign of 
 Charles V., and amongst the most celebrated acade- 
 mies that added a lustre to that splendid court 
 was the one which Herman Cortes held in his house. 
 This was frequentedby men of the highest cultivation 
 and genius, of whose meetings and discussions some 
 F 
 
66 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 valuable memorials remain. But these assemblies in 
 Spain were not of long continuance, and disappeared 
 with their founders, whilst in Italy their numbers 
 increased with the cultivation of letters, to which 
 indeed they themselves contributed. This success 
 stimulated a man of rank at court, of a fine genius 
 and attached to poetry, to found in the year 1585, an 
 academy in imitation of those in Italy, to which the 
 most distinguished poets and men of letters in Madrid 
 might resort, and whom he received at his house with 
 the utmost liberality and courtesy. The ministers 
 of the king and the nobility honoured it with their 
 presence, attended the discussions, and applauded the 
 poetical compositions which were there recited. By 
 one of their statutes the members of this academy 
 were bound to drop their own names and adopt some 
 other appellation as their choice ; and with this view, 
 Lupercio Leonardo de Argensola, in the buoyancy of 
 youth, adopted that of Barbara, in allusion to Donna 
 Mariana Barbara de Albion, whose hand he at that 
 time sought in marriage, as he made known in the 
 pleasant reply he gave to the academy, when they en- 
 quired the reason of his assuming so singular a name. 
 It is highly probable that Cervantes was one of 
 the members of this academy, as well from his merit 
 and reputation, now revived by the publication of 
 his Galatea, as from his friendship with the other 
 academicians, and his experience of the utility of 
 similar societies in Italy, and from having especially 
 mentioned the Academy Imitatoria of Madrid, in one 
 of his novels. From these circumstances we may 
 conclude that Cervantes' general abode was at tho 
 court, and that he did not reside at Esquivias, except 
 probably at such times as he was called thither by 
 the exigencies of his household affairs. 
 
OP CERVANTES. 67 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Dramatic compositions of Cervantes Introduces moral and allego- 
 rical personages Number of his plays Reform of the Spanish 
 Theatre Prepares the \vay for Lope de Vega His embarrassing 
 situation Is made a Commissioner of the Commissariat De- 
 partment Removes to Seville His inadequate income Sends 
 a memorial to the King Favourably entertained Singular al- 
 lusion to his blighted prospects His great exertions and perse- 
 verance Frequent journeys Interesting incidents His satiric 
 vein Applied to moral uses Origin of his amusing Episode in 
 Don Quixote Difficulties encountered in his employment So- 
 lemn festival Monks of Saragossa Literary contest Enters 
 the lists Gains the first prize Returns to Seville. 
 
 IT was at this time that Cervantes introduced, with 
 general applause, at the theatre of the court, the Tra- 
 tos de Argel, the Numancia, the Batalla Naval, and 
 other dramas of his composition ; in which he ven- 
 tured, as he says, to attempt some improvements 
 that were well received, but which we must pre- 
 sently examine with impartiality. The Spanish stage 
 until this time had only witnessed the compositions 
 of the players themselves, written with entire sim- 
 plicity, without plot or interest, and performed 
 without any theatrical decoration, in the manner of 
 eclogues, dialogues, or colloquies, as some of them 
 were called. But a new and improved era awaited 
 the drama, from the hands of M. Fervara Perez de Oli- 
 va, Geronimo Bermudez, and particularly Juan de la 
 Cueva,Christol>al de Virvez, JuandeMalara, and some 
 other celebrated dramatic poets. Cervantes, whose 
 passion for poetry, and especially for the drama, dis- 
 played itself from his infancy, and whose own singu- 
 lar adventures supplied so many materials of interest, 
 
 F2 
 
68 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 now presented his plays to the public. These were 
 highly applauded for the variety and novelty of the 
 plot, and a style more popular and agreeable than 
 that of Cueva or Virves, and attracted a greater 
 number of partisans : particularly as those authors, 
 not having published their plays, were better known 
 in Seville and Valencia, where they resided, than 
 at Madrid. Cervantes boasts of having been the first 
 to introduce on the stage moral or allegorical per- 
 sonages, as he mentions in his Trato de Argel, in his 
 Numancia, and in his Casa de los Zelos, and also as 
 being the first to reduce the drama to three acts from 
 five, of which they before consisted, as is seen in his 
 Batalla Naval. Even when we accord to these im- 
 provements all the merit which the author claims, 
 We cannot consider them as entirely original, because 
 there is no doubt that the moral drama was already 
 known in the fifteenth century, when it was intro- 
 duced by the celebrated Don Enrique de Aragon, 
 marquis of Villena ; and Alonso de Vega afterwards 
 repeated it in his play of the Duquesa de la Rosa, pub- 
 lished in 1560, besides Juan de Malara, who, accord- 
 ing to Rodrigo Caro, was also the first who in Spain 
 composed a play all in verse for the stage. As to 
 the shortening of the acts, which has been adopted 
 by all the dramatic wTiters, some ascribe it to Chria- 
 tobal de Virves, others to Micer Andres Rey de Ar- 
 tieda, and some persons at that time attributed it to 
 Juan de la Cueva, as he himself mentions in his Arte 
 Poetica. 
 
 But Cervantes may with justice boast of having 
 composed at this period twenty or thirty plays, 
 which were all performed with success, particularly 
 La Gran Turquesca, La Batalla Nar'al, La Jeru- 
 salem, La Amaranta o la del Mayo, El Basque 
 
OF CEUVANTl.s. 69 
 
 Amorow, La Unica y la Bizarra Ars'nula ; but the 
 one which drew the greatest applause was the play 
 called La CoHfttm, which, it is said, was admirably 
 adapted for representation, and deserves a place among 
 the best comedies that had at that time appeared. 
 
 This popularity, however, was not very durable, 
 for the stage has its times and seasons, and now the 
 wonder of his age, the great Lope de Vega, suddenly 
 appeared to rule the stage like a despotic sovereign. 
 He soon subjected to his sway all the dramatic- 
 writers of his country, crowding the stage with his own 
 successful and well-planned dramas, and, according 
 to the expression of Cervantes himself, he eclipsed 
 not only those whom he had seen attain a just cele- 
 brity, but all other authors that had preceded him. 
 
 From this period they lost their old estimation in 
 the opinion of the players and audience, and arc con- 
 sidered only by literary men as precursors of therestora- 
 tion of the Spanish theatre. and as preparing the way 
 for Lopede Vega. Cervantes acknowledged and in- 
 genuously confessed this at the close of his life, when 
 his plays were no longer called for, nor any found to 
 applaud them ; attributing this change to the 
 improvement the drama had experienced from the 
 number of new and more accomplished writers. It 
 was not only his attachment to the muse, and the 
 love of fame, the meed of popular applause, which 
 induced Cervantes at this time to compose his dramas, 
 and entertain the public with his plays ; he had 
 another and a stronger inducement, the supplying 
 his own necessities, and providing for the support of 
 his family. His situation became daily more em- 
 barrassing ; he now saw himself surrounded with the 
 cares which matrimony brings along with it, and 
 with the maintenance of his sisters and daughter ; 
 
70 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 he saw his merits and services disregarded without 
 the probability of any recompense, now found him- 
 self at upwards of forty years of age, maimed 
 in his left hand, and little qualified under such cir- 
 cumstances to attempt any fresh career, or aspire to 
 an employment that might afford him a suitable 
 competence. 
 
 In the hopes, however, of a more certain occupa- 
 tion, he abandoned his pen and the stage early in 
 1588, and removed to Seville on the occasion of 
 Antonio de Guevara being appointed commissary- 
 general of the armadas and fleets of the Indies, with 
 great privileges and prerogatives. Among these was 
 the right of appointing four commissioners to aid 
 him in the discharge of this vast business, the apply- 
 ing with care and economy the treasures of the king 
 in the purchase of provisions and other necessaries 
 from various persons in the provinces. One of the 
 commissioners whom Guevara named on this occasion 
 was Cervantes, who immediately offered as his 
 sureties, before the notary Pedro Gomez, the licen- 
 tiate Juan de Nava Cabeza de Vaca, and Luis Mar- 
 molejo, both residing near Seville. lie immediately 
 entered on the duties of his new office, for under the 
 date of the fifteenth, the commissary -general for- 
 warded him his appointment, which he retained until 
 the 2nd of April, 1589, purchasing in Ecija large 
 quantities of oil and corn, for which he disbursed 
 two thousand nine hundred ducats. Such was the 
 cause of the removal of Cervantes to Andalusia, 
 whilst his brother Rodrigo was still serving as ensign 
 in the armies of Flanders. 
 
 Other circumstances, too, might have induced 
 Cervantes to remove to Seville. The illustrious 
 family of the Cervantes y Saavedras, which had pro- 
 
OF CERVANTES. 7 1 
 
 duccd men alike eminent in letters and in arms, and 
 from which he derived his descent, and with whom 
 he had maintained a friendly intercourse, was resident 
 there. In addition to which, Seville was at that time 
 the most opulent and populous city of Spain, and the 
 emporium of the riches and commerce of the new world. 
 She was also distinguished for the cultivation of 
 science, and the encouragement of the fine arts ; and 
 w r as with justice, to use the words of Cervantes, con- 
 sidered the protectress of the poor, and refuge of the 
 unfortunate, beneath whose kindly shade he might 
 expect to meet with that independence and comfort 
 which he sought for in vain amidst the dissipation 
 and bustle of a court, and the empty flattery of 
 nobles and courtiers. 
 
 Cervantes was thus compelled by his poverty to 
 embrace this precarioiis and subaltern occupation, 
 regarding it, doubtless, as a stepping-stone to some 
 better appointment, or as well adapted to promote 
 his views with regard to any vacant employment in 
 the Indies, and in order to prosecute his claims with 
 more support and advantage. 
 
 "With this view, in May, 1590, he addressed to 
 the king a memorial, in which, after reciting his 
 unrequited services for a period of twenty-two years, 
 he supplicated his majesty to bestow on him some 
 one or other of the three vacant appointments in the 
 Indies, as the auditorship of the kingdom of Granada, 
 that of the galleys of Carthagena, the government of 
 the province Soconusco, in Guatemala, and a magis- 
 tracy in the city de la Paz, with any of which he 
 should be satisfied ; and so continue so serve his 
 majesty, as was his desire, to the close of bis life, as 
 his ancestors had done before him. The adoption of 
 this course plainly proves the situation of Cervantes 
 
72 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 when, to use his own words, he had recourse to that 
 which all the wretched in that city (Seville) applied 
 themselves to transport themselves to the Indies, 
 the last harbour and refuge of those who despair of 
 their fortunes in Spain. 
 
 The king, on the 21st of the same month, referred 
 this petition to the president of the council of the 
 Indies ; and by a decree dated at Madrid, on the 
 6th of June, and confirmed by Dr. Nunez Mor- 
 quecho, it was ordered that the petition of Cervantes 
 should be taken into consideration. He would 
 doubtless, on this, leave no means untried to avail 
 himself of the favourable disposition manifested 
 towards him ; and we may still further presume, 
 agreeably to what he himself hints at, in a general 
 manner, in his Viagc al Parnasso (alluding, no doubt, 
 to his latter employments), that he could not mature 
 his plans, and obtain a place suitable to his station 
 in life, in consequence of the persecutions occasioned 
 by some imprudence or other, which blighted the 
 opening prospect which his relenting fortune seemed 
 to present. In the hope of bettering his condition, 
 he continued in the employ of the purveyor, Pedro 
 de Isunza, during the years 1591 and 1592, purchas- 
 ing provisions for the galleys of Spain, in the towns 
 of Teba, Ardales, Martos, Linares, Aguilar, Mon- 
 turque, Arjona, Porcuna, Marmalejo, Estepa, Ped- 
 rera, Lopera, Arjonilla, Las Navas, Yillanueva del 
 Arzobispo, Begijar, Alcandete, and Alora. His 
 accounts, and those of his assistants, Nicolas Benito, 
 Antonio Caballero, and Diego Lopez Delgadillo, were 
 certified and presented in Seville on the 28th of 
 April, 1598, with the greatest regularity, and an 
 acquittance granted, and an order for his salary of 
 one hundred and two thousand maravedis, corre- 
 
OF CERVANTES. 73 
 
 spending to three thousand reales vcllon , or about 100. 
 In the discharge of these and similar commissions he 
 became intimately acquainted with the people of 
 Andalusia, whose modes of life, manners, and the 
 most interesting particulars, he describes as an eye- 
 witness ; availing himself at the same time of many 
 objects and incidents that afforded materials for the 
 exercise of his fine satirical humour and wit, and 
 deducing from these a just and rational moral, 
 directed to the improvement, the cultivation, and 
 civilisation of man. 
 
 W<> may trace this feature particularly in his 
 description of the mode of life of the vagabond race 
 that assembled at the tunny fisheries, in Zahara ; 
 of the gypsies and Moors dwelling in Granada and 
 its neighbourhood ; of the fables and talcs related in 
 Montilla, respecting the incantations and transform- 
 ations of the witch Camacha, and her crew, and in 
 similar passages. 
 
 "NVe may here too, with propriety, allude to an 
 event which occurred at this time and caused a con- 
 siderable sensation in that province, and which, inge- 
 niously disguised in Don Quixote, afforded Cervantes 
 materials and colouring for an amusing adventure. 
 About the close of the year 1591 there died in the 
 convent of Ubeda, of a contagious fever, S. Juan de 
 la Cruz. The extreme attachment which Donna 
 Anna de Mercado and her brother D. Luis de Mercado, 
 of the royal council, then residing in Madrid, felt for 
 the convent of Segovia, which was founded by them, 
 induced them to remove thither, at every risk, the re- 
 mains of this saint, without reflecting on the opposition 
 which the city of Ubeda might make to such ameasure. 
 
 They procured, for this purpose, the permission 
 of the vicar-general of the Carmelites, and ordered a 
 
74 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 person in their confidence, under the title of alguazil 
 of the court, to appear before the prior of the' con- 
 vent of Ubeda, and obtain the disintcrincnt of the 
 body, and remove it to Segovia with the greatest 
 secrecy and despatch. The person thus employed 
 entered the city in the night, and delivered his de- 
 spatches to the prelate, who proceeded to open tho 
 sepulchre whilst the monks were asleep. It was 
 now nine months since his interment, and they found 
 the body so incorrupt, fresh, and entire, and indued 
 with such a surprising fragrance, that they suspended 
 at that time its translation, covering it with chalk 
 and earth that they might more easily recognise it. 
 
 After a lapse of eight or nine months, and towards 
 the middle of 1593, the alguazil returned to Madrid 
 upon the same mission ; and now finding the body 
 more dry, though still retaining its fragrant odour, he 
 placed it in his portmanteau in order to avoid detec- 
 tion, and departed from the convent to the city with his 
 guards and companions w r hile all was wrapt in sleep. 
 
 To avoid discovery they forsook the great road to 
 Madrid, and pursued their journey through the most 
 unfrequented paths and heaths in the darkness and 
 silence of night. 
 
 The story tells, that when this pious theft was 
 being accomplished, a monk of the convent was 
 roused from his sleep by a loud voice saying " Arise 
 forthwith, for plunderers are carrying off the body of 
 your saint, Fr. Juan de la Cruz," that the monk 
 immediately arose and repaired to the church, and 
 there found the door guarded by the prior, who com- 
 manded him to observe silence. Just before the 
 alguazil arrived at the town of Martos, it is said 
 there suddenly appeared on a little hill at the road 
 side, the figure of a man, who called out with a loud 
 
OF CERVANTES. 75 
 
 voice " Whither are you carrying off the body of 
 the saint ? Restore it to the tomb," which struck 
 such terror and affright into the alguazil and his 
 companions, that their hair stood on end. 
 
 Afterwards?, as they were crossing a wild heath, 
 the figure of a man suddenly stood before them, and 
 asked what they were conveying ; they informed him 
 they must not divulge their business ; but he per- 
 sisted so pertinaciously in his curiosity, that they were 
 determined to offer him money to get rid of him 
 when he suddenly vanished from their eyes. They 
 now continued their journey without further interrup- 
 tion to Madrid and Segovia ; and the conductor after- 
 wards deposed that a brilliant light was seen to accom- 
 pany the portmanteau, that contained the relics of the 
 saint, a great part of the way. Th6 terror of the per- 
 sons employed in this singular and pious robbery, with 
 the apparition and extraordinary events attending it, 
 supplied an ample theme of wonder and gossip to the 
 Andalusians, being so well suited to their inquisitive 
 character, which was increased by the contest which 
 now arose between the cities of Ubeda and Segovia, 
 from the abstraction of such an inestimable treasure. 
 
 Scarcely had the theft transpired in Ubeda, when 
 its town council resolved to apply to the pope, 
 demanding the restitution of the body of the saint, 
 and for this purpose appealed to Clement VIII., 
 against the city of Segovia. The city entered on its 
 defence through the medium of D. Luis de Mercado 
 and his sister. His holiness having heard the several 
 parties, ordered the body to be restored to Ubeda, 
 and commissioned the execution of this order by a 
 brief of the 15th Sept. 1596, addressed to the bishop 
 of Jaen, D. Bernardo de Rojas, and to Dr. Lope de 
 Molina, treasurer of the college of Ubeda. But when 
 
76 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 the issue of this singular and expensive litigation was 
 made known in Spain, some persons of high rank 
 who were zealous friends of the Church, fearing dis- 
 agreeable consequences might attend it, interposed 
 their good offices, and effected an amicable arrange- 
 ment, by which one half of the body of the saint was 
 left to the city of Ubeda, thus satisfying the devout 
 scruples of both the contending parties. This cir- 
 cumstance, in all probability, is the original of the 
 adventure of the " Cuerpo muerto" which Cervantes 
 relates in the nineteenth chapter of the first part of 
 Don Quixote. He happened to be about this time 
 in Andalusia, where he would hear those events 
 narrated with all the wit and humour peculiar to the 
 natives of that province. It was of course requisite 1 
 for him to adapt the narrative to the circumstances 
 of his story. The course of the journey through 
 bye- ways, and under the cover of night, the lights 
 which the surpliced bearers observed attending the 
 body, the translation to Segovia from Baeza (which 
 is now Ubeda, and where the saint for some time 
 resided), his death from pestilence, the appearance of 
 the ghosts to Sancho, and some "bad spirits of the 
 lower world," to Don Quixote, the terror and con- 
 sternation which this vision threw them into, the 
 squire trembling like quicksilver, and his master's 
 hair standing on end on his head, the detention of the 
 whole retinue, by a loud voice enquiring who they 
 were, whence they came, and whither they were 
 going, and what they were conveying on that bier 
 or litter ; his describing this adventure as a true 
 occurrence, and, above all, Don Quixote thinking 
 himself excommunicated for having meddled with 
 the affairs of the Church, when he did not think he 
 was dealing with priests or the Church, but ghosts 
 
OF CERVANTES. 77 
 
 and evil spirits of the other world, and recollecting 
 in his justification the adventure of the Cid when in 
 the church of St. Peter, he overturned and broke to 
 pieces the chair of the king of France, not enduring 
 that he should possess a higher place than the king 
 of Castile, for which action he was excommunicated 
 by the pope, although he pardoned him on promise 
 of his being more moderate in future. According 
 to the ancient romances, all these are circumstances 
 so analogous and conformable to the event which 
 occurred on the removal of the remains of this favourite 
 saint, that there is little doubt, Cervantes took from 
 hence, with little variation, the colours to adorn the 
 picture, in which he directed his fine genius, his keen 
 and delicate satire, and his pleasant and well-timed 
 irony, against the bewildered imaginations of the 
 heroes of chivalry. 
 
 It is very probable that Cervantes became acquainted 
 with this and similar romantic events, in the exer- 
 cise of his commissions amongst the people of the 
 kingdom of Granada, particularly in that in which 
 Philip II. entrusted him with, to collect the customs 
 and duties owing to his revenue. For the purpose 
 of giving an account of his commission he repaired to 
 Madrid, where, on the 1st July 1594, he presented to 
 the licentiate Diego de Tamayo, the acting corregidor, 
 a report which commences " I, Miguel de Cervantes 
 Saavedra, an inhabitant of the town oFEsquivias, and 
 a resident at this court, declare that I am bound for 
 the due collection of the amount assigned to me by 
 the auditors of his majesty's exchequer, having 
 2,459,989 maravcdi* which are owing on the customs 
 and duties in the kingdom of Granada, and on other 
 alVairs of his majesty, am bound" and so forth ; and 
 concludes by proposing D. Francisco Suarez Gasco, 
 
78 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 a native of Tarancon, as a surety for the faithful dis- 
 charge of the trust confided to him ; and having pro- 
 duced as vouchers, Augustin de Cetina, collector to 
 his majesty, D. Gabriel Suarez Gasco, brother of D. 
 Francisco, and of the same vicinage, and Juan de 
 Valera, a native of Belinchon, all resident at the 
 court, the same declared on oath on the following day, 
 that the above Francisco was possessed of much more 
 than the 4000 ducats for which he became surety 
 for Cervantes. 
 
 Although the council of auditorship approved of 
 these sureties, the collector, Enrique de Araiz, insisted 
 on larger ones ; but Cervantes presented a memorial 
 praying that those he then offered might be held 
 sufficient, and that he might be despatched. The 
 tribunal acceded to his prayer on the 21st of August 
 under the bond of the 4000 ducats, binding also 
 Cervantes and bis wife for the greater security. 
 Indeed, by a writing dated in Madrid on the same 
 day, the 21st, both husband and wife became bound 
 in person and property for the good and sufficient 
 accounting of all sums to be received under the com- 
 mission. 
 
 After giving these sureties, Cervantes had to apply 
 for the royal chart or order which had passed on the 
 13th of the then month of August, though accom- 
 panied with the date of the 23rd, and which autho- 
 rised him to depart with full powers to collect the 
 public money owing in the several towns of the 
 kingdom of Granada, agreeably to particulars, and 
 amounting in the whole to 2,557,029 maravedis. 
 
 On the ninth day of September following, he exhi- 
 bited in Baza the royal schedule in presence of the 
 alcalde mayor, and the accountant, Cristobal Mingues, 
 with the assistance of the collector of revenue : 
 
OF CERVANTES. 79 
 
 and proceeding as commanded, he took an account 
 from the treasury of the receipt of the rates and cus- 
 toms, corresponding to that year, which with the 
 taxes for the town of Zujar, and the salary of Cer- 
 vantes for six days, amounted to sixteen reales vellon 
 for each person. From thence he proceeded to Gra- 
 nada, agreeably to the other royal order of the 29th 
 of November, which begins " A vos Miguel de Cer- 
 Vantes," &c. From thence he went to Velez-malaga, 
 where he immediately produced his commission, when 
 the collector of customs, Francisco Lopez de Vitoria, 
 engaged to pay a certain part in Seville, and the rest 
 in hand ; and giving a letter of exchange for 4000 
 reales on Malaga, on the 2 1 st of the same month of 
 November, in which city Cervantes remained some 
 days, having written from thence to the king under 
 date of the 17th, stating what he had mentioned 
 
 7 O 
 
 in another letter (doubtless that of the 8th October), 
 that he could not receive the moneys of Granada, 
 Motril, Salobnna, and Almunecar ; and adding, 
 among other things, that from the collector in Baza, 
 Guadix, Agiiela de Granada, and Loja, he would 
 remit good bills to Madrid, and that there only re- 
 mained to collect the proportion of Honda ; but in 
 order to finish his commission, and to remit the rest of 
 the money to its destination, he required an extension 
 of twenty days to communicate with the city of 
 Malaga. 
 
 His letter of the 17th November, directed to his 
 majesty, through the hands of Juan de Velasco, 
 secretary of the council of land-revenue, was received 
 in Madrid on the 28th, and it is to be inferred that it 
 hastened the despatch of the royal order, already cited, 
 of the 29th, in which, allowing for the delay, he was 
 ordered to collect immediately what was due. Ho 
 
80 LIFE AXD WRITINGS 
 
 had scarcely received this answer when he had to re- 
 pair to Honda, where, on the 9th of December, he 
 received from the collector of duties, Juan Rodriguez 
 Cerero, 429,848 maravedis, agreeable to the account 
 given on that day by the collector of rents, Sebastian 
 de Montalvan ; and on the 1 5th of the same month 
 he was already in Seville, from whence, under that 
 date, he rendered an account of the amount received 
 from Malaga by Francisco Lopez de Vitoria. It was 
 at this time that the pope, Clement Till., at the 
 solicitation of the king of Poland, consented to the 
 canonization of St. Jacinto; on which memorable 
 occasion the Dominican monks of Saragossa held a 
 solemn festival for somedays,and proclaimed aliterary 
 contest throughout the whole kingdom of .Aragon, 
 which was also communicated to the principal cities 
 of the Peninsula, and in particular to the universities 
 of Salamanca and Alcala. In the second contest a 
 redondilla was proposed in praise of the saint, with 
 prizes of three spoons of silver for the best poem, for 
 the next best two yards of dark coloured taffeta silk, 
 and for the third a gold time-piece. 
 
 The productions which were intended to aspire to 
 these and other rewards, were ordered to be entered 
 before the 29th day of April, 1595, for on the next 
 day the solemnities ended. The judges being already 
 appointed for the examination of the verses, which 
 were to be read publicly in the church of the same 
 convent, Cervantes entered the lists for the second 
 contest ; and on the second day of May, immediately 
 after vespers, the poems delivered in jvere recited, 
 and amongst others that of Cervantes, to which the 
 first prize was assigned; which, without flattering 
 him, evinced the wretched productions of his com- 
 petitors. When the judges pronounced in verse the 
 
OF CERVANTES. 81 
 
 sentence on Sunday the 7th of the same month, they 
 directed that the poet, like another Apollo or son of 
 Latona, should repair to his maternal Delos in Seville, 
 to receive the crown of merit, commending his subtle 
 and refined genius, which had already drawn upon 
 him the applause of an admiring world. A narra- 
 tive of these solemnities, compiled by Geronimo 
 Mart el, a citizen of Saragossa, afterwards historian 
 of the city of Aragon, was published in that city by 
 Lorenzo Robles, in the year 1595. 
 
 Like another Apollo, then, the hero of the day 
 having carried off the prize from lists rather less dan- 
 gerous than Lepanto or Tunis, returned to enjoy his 
 famous triumphs in the bosom of his maternal Delos; 
 in short he hastened back to his agency business in 
 Seville. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Early diamatic efforts Opinions of Cervantes Progress of Ihe 
 an in Spain Curious retrospect Lope tie Rueda His dramatic 
 equipments A. travelling stage Spanish authors and actors A 
 canon of Toledo A censorship Ideas of Cervantes Strictures 
 of M.Sismondi Extracts Specimens translated His dramatic 
 genius IIo\v to be estimated His dramas The Numantiu 
 Description am) analysis Specimens Peculiar characteristics 
 Elevated character Grand sentiment Eloquent and powerful 
 appeals Its progress, development, and final struggles De- 
 voted patriotism Genius and conduct of Scipio Reduces the 
 city by famine Its destruction by the inhabitants Self-sacri- 
 fices Its fall Effects upon a Spanish audience Its classical 
 character Old Greek spirit Concentred interest and unitv. 
 
 THE comic powers which Cervantes afterwards 
 manifested in his Don Quixote, seemed eminently 
 to qualify him for dramatic attempts. We have 
 
82 LIFE AND WHITINGS 
 
 already seen that his first literary compositions 
 were of this class, but although he had considerable 
 success in this career, he likewise experienced no few 
 mortifications. He did not at that time conceive that 
 his dramatic talent was proportioned to the superi- 
 ority which heafterwards manifested in other branches. 
 Thus, when compared with Lope de Vega, his dramas 
 are but few in number. This might, perhaps, have 
 afforded a reason for commencing our notice of the 
 Spanish theatre, by examining the works of Lope 
 before those of Cervantes, had we not wished to 
 present to the reader, from the mouth of Cervantes 
 himself, a history of the early progress of the dra- 
 matic art in Spain. The following extract is taken 
 from the preface to his comedies : 
 
 " I must entreat your pardon, dear reader, if you 
 should see me in this prologue a little overstepping 
 accustomed modesty. Some time since, I happened 
 to find myself in company with a few friends who 
 were discoursing about comedies, and other matters 
 relating thereto ; and they treated this subject with 
 so much subtlety and refinement, that they appeared 
 to me almost to approach perfection. They spoke 
 of the man who was the first in Spain to free the 
 drama from its swathing bands, and to clothe it with 
 pomp and magnificence. As the oldest of the com- 
 pany, I remarked that I had frequently heard the 
 great Lope de Rueda recite, a poet equally celebrated 
 as a man and as a scholar. Pie was born at Seville, 
 and was by trade a gold-beater. As a pastoral poet 
 he had great merit, and in that species of composition 
 no one before or since his time has surpassed him. 
 Although I could not judge of the excellence of his 
 poems, for I was then but a child, yet some of them 
 still remain in my memory, and recalling these at a 
 
OP CERVANTES. 83 
 
 riper age, they appear to me to be worthy of their 
 reputation. In the time of this celebrated Spaniard, 
 all the apparatus of a dramatist and a manager was 
 contained in a bag, and consisted of four white cloaks 
 bordered with gilt leather, for shepherds, four beards 
 and wigs, and four crooks, more or less. The drama- 
 were mere dialogues, or eclogues, between two or 
 three shepherds and a shepherdess ; and these con- 
 versations were enlivened and prolonged by two or 
 three interludes, in which negresses were introduced 
 as confederates, or go-betweens; and occasionally 
 some clowns and Biscayans madetheirappearance. At 
 this time there was no scenery, there were no combat- 
 between Moors and Christians, on horseback and on 
 foot; no trap-doors by which figures might appear to 
 rise out of the earth. The stage was merely com- 
 posed of four square blocks of wood, upon which 
 rested five or six planks, so as to elevate the actors a 
 foot or two above the ground. No angels or spirits 
 descended in clouds from heaven. The sole ornament 
 of the theatre was an old curtain, supported at both 
 ends by strings, which separated the dressing-room 
 from the audience. At the back were placed the 
 musicians, who sung, without any guitar, some 
 ancient ballad. 
 
 " Lope de Rueda at last died, and on account of 
 his celebrity and excellence, was buried between the 
 two choirs in the great church of Cordova, where he 1 ies 
 in the same plaee where that renowned madman. Luis 
 Lopez, is interred. Xaharro, a native of Toledo, 
 succeeded Lope de Rueda. He attained a great 
 celebrity, more especially in his representations of a 
 busy, meddling poltroon. Naharro added something 
 to the scenic decorations, and changed the bag in 
 which the wardrobe was contained, for trunks and 
 
 G2 
 
84 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 portmanteaus. He introduced the music upon the 
 stage, which had formerly been placed in the back- 
 ground ; and he took away the actors' beards ; for, 
 until his time, no actor dared to appear without a 
 false beard. He, on the contrary, wished alibis actors 
 to appear undisguised, with the exception of those 
 who represented old men, or changed their charac- 
 ters, lie was a great inventor ; he invented scenes, 
 clouds, thunder, lightning, challenges and combats, 
 but nothing of this kind was carried to the perfection 
 which at this day we behold, (and it is here that I 
 must trespass upon my modesty,) until the time when 
 the theatre of Madrid exhibited the Captives of 
 Algiers, which is my own composition, Numantia 
 and the Naval Engagement. It was then that I 
 made an attempt to reduce the comedies of five acts 
 into three, and I was the first to represent the phan- 
 toms of the imagination, and the hidden thoughts of 
 the soul, by introducing figures of them upon the 
 stage, with the universal applause of the spectators. 
 I composed during this period from twenty to thirty 
 dramas, all of which were represented without a single 
 cucumber, or orange, or any other missile usually 
 aimed' at bad comedians, being flung at the actors' 
 heads. They proceeded through their parts without 
 hisses, without confusion, and without clamour. I 
 was at length occupied with other matters, and I laid 
 down my pen and forsook the drama. In the mean- 
 time appeared that prodigy, Lope de Vega, who 
 immediately assumed the dramatic crown. He 
 reduced under his dominion all the farce writers, and 
 filled the world with excellent and well combined 
 comedies, of which he wrote so many, that they 
 could not be comprised in ten thousand pages. AVhat 
 is no less surprising, he himself saw them all repre- 
 
OP CERVANTES. 85 
 
 sented, or was credibly assured that they had been 
 so. All his rivals together have not written a moiety 
 of what lie himself achieved alone. Notwithstanding 
 this, as God grants not all things to every one, the 
 labours of Dr. Ramon, who was the most laborious 
 writer after the great Lope, have been much esteemed. 
 
 "The ingenious plots of the licentiate Miguel San- 
 chez, and the gravity of Dr. Mira de Amescua, have 
 likewise met with applause, which has also been 
 granted to the wisdom and prodigious power of 
 invention of the canon Tarraga, to the sweetness of 
 Guillen de Castro, to the refinement of Aguilar, to 
 the sonorous pomp and grandeur of the comedies of 
 Luis Yelez de Guevara, to the polished wit of Don 
 Antonio de Galarza, whose dramas are written in a 
 provincial dialect ; and lastly, to the love plots of 
 Gaspard de Avila ; for these, as well as some others, 
 assisted the great Lope in the creation of the Spanish 
 drama." 
 
 Such, then, was the first age of the Spanish drama ; 
 and, if we may believe Schlegel and Boutterwtk, 
 dramatic poetry never assumed in Spain more 
 than two different characters. They consider the 
 first age, that of Cervantes and Lope de Vega, as 
 one of barbarian grandeur ; the second, that of Cal- 
 deron, as the perfection of romance. They scarcely 
 concede the title of poets to those writers who, in the 
 last century, abandoned the example of their prede- 
 cessors, to become subject to the theatrical laws of 
 the French. "We do not share in the admiration 
 which the German writers profess for the romantic 
 theatre of Spain ; while on the other hand, we are 
 not inclined to despise a branch of literature to which 
 we owe productions like those of the great Corneille. 
 But as it is our object to enable the reader to judge 
 for himself, we shall present a few specimens of 
 
86 LIFE AND "WRITINGS 
 
 the dramatic power of Cervantes, such as may afford 
 some idea of his peculiar merits and defects. 
 
 The foregoing extract from the preface to his 
 comedies, as we have seen, represents the Spanish 
 drama as still in a state of uncultivated barbarism, 
 even after the middle of the sixteenth century. If we 
 compare these pastoral dialogues, diversified with 
 indecent interludes, with the comedies of Ariosto and 
 Machiavclli, or with the tragedies of Trissino and 
 Itucellai, it must be acknowledged that the Italians 
 were at least half a century before the Spaniards in 
 all the mechanical parts of the dramatic art. In 
 Italy, indeed, it must be remembered that men of the 
 highest genius, seconded by the munificence of their 
 princes, attempted to revive the dramatic representa- 
 tions of the ancients; whilst in Spain the art, still in 
 a rude state, could boast mere adventurers and pre- 
 tenders, who recited their own dramas, frequently 
 without committing them to writing, and without 
 any other object than that of amusing the populace, 
 and rendering the representation a source of profit to 
 themselves. It would seem as if Cervantes himself 
 was not quite sure whether he had written twenty or 
 thirty comedies. Those published by him in his old 
 age, are not the same which were represented upon 
 the stage, and which, with the exception of a very few, 
 have been lost. This very dissimilar origin has im- 
 pressed an indelible character on the dramas of the 
 two countries. The Italian dramatists wrote to 
 please the learned, the Spanish to please the people. 
 The former, influenced by an imitation of the 
 ancients, while they possessed more method, refine- 
 ment, and taste, manifested something of a pedantic 
 spirit, and servilely adopted the rules of composition by 
 which the ancients were governed. The latter, on 
 
OF CERVANTES. <^7 
 
 the contrary, recognised no rule but that of conform- 
 ing themselves to the spirit of the nation, and to the 
 taste of the populace. Their dramas, therefore, ex- 
 hibited more vigour and more nature, and were more 
 in harmony with the spirit of the people for whom 
 they were composed, than the productions of the 
 Italian dramatists. By their absolute neglect, how- 
 ever, of the ancients, these writers deprived them- 
 selves of all the advantages of experience, and the 
 dramatic art amongst them was, consequently, as 
 inferior to that of the Greeks, as the population of 
 Madrid and Seville, from whom the laws of the drama 
 emanated, were inferior in point of intelligence, taste, 
 and polish, to the people of Athens, where every 
 citizen received some degree of education. 
 
 The conclusion of the sixteenth, and the com- 
 mencement of the seventeenth century, was a very 
 learned epoch. The Spanish scholars of this period 
 becoming disciples of the classical authors, upheld, 
 witli as much fervour as La Harpe and Marmontel, 
 among the French, the poetical system of Aristotle, 
 and the rules of the three unities. The dramatic 
 writers, while they recognised the authority of these 
 rules, neglected to act upon them, for they were com- 
 pelled to follow the taste of the public. None of 
 them were acquainted with the nature of -the inde- 
 pendence which they possessed, or of that system of 
 romantic poetry which has been only in our own days 
 developed by the Germans. On the contrary, the 
 Spanish dramatists confessed, in a curious manner, 
 the superiority of the laws which they neglected. 
 Lope de Vega, in some verses addressed to the 
 academy of poetry at Madrid, exculpates himself 
 from this charge in the following 'manner : 
 
 " I write a play ! Then, ere I pen a line, 
 Under six locks and keys let me confine 
 
88 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 All rules of art. Next, Plautus, 'tis thy doom, 
 And Terence then, to quit forthwith the room, 
 Lest ye upbraid me. Books can speak, though dumb, 
 And tell unwelcome truths. By other laws 
 I write, laid down by those who seek applause 
 From vulgar mouths : what then ? the vulgar pay ; 
 They love a fool, and let them have their way."* 
 
 Cervantes, in the first part of his Don Quixote, 
 introduces a canon of Toledo, who, after blaming the 
 Spaniards with some asperity, for having perpetually 
 violated the laws of the dramatic art, regrets that 
 the government has not established a censor for the 
 drama, who might have power to prevent the repre- 
 sentation of pieces, not only when they are injurious 
 to morals, but likewise when they offend against 
 the laws of classical poetry. The censor would be 
 sufficiently ridiculous, who shoxilcl maintain upon 
 the stage the three unities of Aristotle ; and those 
 authors have a strange idea of authority, who 
 imagine that a censor must possess a more just and 
 correct taste than the public, and that a king can 
 bestow upon his favourite the power of discriminating 
 between the good and the bad in literature, while 
 the academies of the learned, and the assemblies of 
 the ignorant, have not yet been able to agree on the 
 subject of abstract beauty and excellence ;t if, how- 
 ever, the magistrate thus proposed by Cervantes had 
 been instituted, and had he been, though it be a 
 most improbable supposition, inaccessible to intrigue, 
 to favour, and to prejudice, he would in all proba- 
 bility have forbidden the representation of the 
 dramas of Cervantes, since they are by no means 
 constructed upon those classical mles, the neglect of 
 which the poet so deeply regrets. The tragedy of 
 
 * Arte nucvo de hr.cer coir.eilias en cstc tievnpp. Lope de Vega. 
 f Literature of the South of Europe, by M. cle Sismondi. 
 
OF CERVANTES. 89 
 
 Numantia, and the comedy of Life in Algiers, are 
 the only two which have been preserved out of 
 twenty or thirty dramas written in 1582, soon after 
 the author's release from captivity. Those which 
 he published in 1615, were never represented, and 
 therefore merit less attention ; though it is from the 
 preface to the latter that we have drawn the history 
 of the dramatic art already presented to the reader. 
 When Cervantes speaks of this work in his old age, 
 his simplicity and gaiety have in them something 
 touching ; for it is evident that he was suffering 
 inward mortification more severe in proportion as 
 his circumstances rendered success so desirable to 
 him. 
 
 " Some years since," he observes, " I returned to 
 the ancient occupation of my leisure hours ; and 
 imagining that the age had not passed away in 
 which I used to hear the sound of praise, I again 
 began to write comedies. The birds, however, had 
 flown from their nest. I could find no manager to 
 ask for my plays, though they knew that I had 
 written them. I threw them, therefore, into the corner 
 of a trunk, and condemned them to eternal obscurity. 
 A bookseller then told me that he would have 
 bought them from me, had he not been told by a 
 celebrated author that much dependence might be 
 placed upon my prose, but none upon my poetry. 
 To say the truth, this information mortified me 
 much. I said to myself, Cervantes, I am certainly 
 either changed, or the world, contrary to its custom, 
 has become much wiser, for in past time I used to 
 meet with praise. I read my comedies anew, together 
 with some interludes which I had placed with them. 
 I found that they were not so bad, but that they 
 might pass from what this author called darkness, 
 
90 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 into what others might perhaps term noon -day. I 
 was angry, and sold them to the bookseller who has 
 now printed them. They have paid me tolerably ; 
 and I have pocketed my money with pleasure, and 
 without troubling myself about the opinions of the 
 actors ; I was willing to make them as excellent as I 
 could, and if, dear reader, thou findest any thing in 
 them good, I pray thee when thou meetest any other 
 calumniator, to tell him to amend his manners, and 
 not to judge so severely, since, after all, the plays 
 contain not any incongruities, or striking faults." 
 
 These are reasons why we should ask the same 
 kind of indulgence towards the dramas of Cervantes, 
 which the author himself entreats from his readers. 
 In order to be just towards him, we must commence 
 by rejecting all our theatrical prepossessions, remem- 
 bering that he wrote before any of those authors 
 whom we regard as the legislators of the drama, 
 upon a different system, and with another object in 
 view. Let us consider his dramas as a series of 
 pictures, all connected by the chain of historical in- 
 terest, though varying in subject. In some he has 
 endeavoured to excite the noblest sentiments of the 
 heart : in his Ntimantia, patriotism ; in his Life in 
 Algiers, zeal for the redemption of captives. Such 
 are the only unities for which we must seek in his 
 dramas. Let us abandon ourselves to his eloquence, 
 without endeavouring to resist the feelings of terror, 
 or of pity, which he so powerfully awakens ; and let 
 us forget, as far as possible, those rules which our 
 own dramatists obey, but which to him are entirely 
 inapplicable. When we analyse even the models of 
 antiquity, we do not apply to all of them rules 
 equally severe. We do not forget that ^Eschylus, 
 like Cervantes, was in the van of his art. Perhaps, 
 
OF CERVANTES. 91 
 
 if we compared the Xtunantia with the Persians, or 
 with the Prometheus, many points of resemblance 
 between these two celebrated authors would strike us. 
 "NVc should probably find that in the grandeur of the 
 incidents, in the depth of feeling, in the nature and 
 language of the allegorical personages introduced 
 upon the stag.;-, and lastly, in the patriotic sentiments 
 of the compositions, the oldest of the Spanish dra- 
 matists has approached nearer to the most ancient of 
 the Greek tragedians, than any voluntary imitation 
 could have accomplished. 
 
 There is a strong feeling of patriotism manifested by 
 Cervantes in his Nnmantla. He has taken as the 
 subject of his tragedy the destruction of a city which 
 valiantly opposed the Romans, and whose inhabit- 
 ants, rather than surrender themselves to the enemy, 
 preferred perishing beneath the ruins of their bonus, 
 slaughtering one another, and precipitating themselves 
 into the flames. This terrible subject is not one 
 which would be considered at the present day as 
 suitable to the purposes of the drama. It is too 
 extensive, too public, too little adapted to the display 
 of individual passions, and of those motives which 
 operate upon persons, and not upon nations. A cer- 
 tain degree of admiration, however, cannot be refused 
 to this poetical attempt of Cervantes, which seems 
 like an expiatory sacrifice offered up to the manes of 
 a great city. 
 
 The tragedy opens with a dialogue between Scipio 
 and Jugxirtha. This scene, like the greatest part of 
 the drama, is composed in the ottave rime of the 
 heroic Italian verse. In a few scenes only, in which 
 the dialogue is more lively, is the Spanish redondilla 
 of four trochees, rhymed in quatrains, employed. 
 Cervantes has never made use of the assonants which 
 
92 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 by later writers were almost constantly adopted for 
 the dialogues. 
 
 Scipio declares to Jugnrtha tlie repugnance which 
 he feels to continue a war which has already cost the 
 Roman people so much hlood, and in which he has 
 at the same time to contend against the obstinate 
 valour of the enemy, and the want of discipline which 
 his own army betrays. He then gives orders for all 
 the troops to be assembled, that by haranguing them 
 he may recall them to a sense of their duty. The 
 novelty of these dramatic representations is curiously 
 manifested in the stage directions, which Cervantes 
 has added to his dramas. Thus, in one scene it is 
 said : " Here enter as many soldiers as the stage will 
 hold, and Caius Marius with them ; tliey must be 
 armed in the ancient fashion, without muskets. Scipio, 
 ascending a little rock upon the stage, gazes on the 
 soldiery before he addresses them." The harangue, 
 however, is too long to be given entire, and indeed 
 too long for representation. It is, however, full of 
 elevated feeling and martial eloquence. He thus re- 
 minds them of the contrast between themselves and 
 the hardy, plain -clad veterans of the old school : 
 
 Well, by your pride of feature, noble friends, 
 
 And splendour of your martial decorations, 
 
 I recognise in you the sons of Rome ; 
 
 Yea, brave and valiant sons ! But, by your hands, 
 
 Fair and effeminate, by the glossy show 
 
 Of your smooth faces, rather should I deem you 
 
 Of Britain born, or Belgium. You yourselves, 
 
 By your neglect, your reckless disregard 
 
 Of all your duties, you yourselves have raised 
 
 Your foe, already vanquished, from the ground, 
 
 And wronged at once your valour and your fame. 
 
 Behold these walls that yet unshaken st'ind 
 
 Firm as tie rocks on which thry rest ! these walls 
 
 Bear shameful witness to your weak attempts, 
 
OF CERVANTES. 93 
 
 That boast of nothing Roman, but the name. 
 
 What ! when the whole world trembles and bows down 
 
 Before the name of Rome, will you alone 
 
 Betray her claims to empire, and eclipse 
 
 Her universal glories here in Spain ?" 
 
 Scipio then directs various reforms. He orders 
 the "women to be removed, and that nothing shall be 
 introduced into the army which can be productive of 
 luxury and effeminacy ; and he then expresses his 
 confidence that, as soon as discipline is re-established 
 within the camp, it will be an easy task to vanquish 
 the handful of Spaniards who have shut themselves 
 up within the walls of Xumantia. Caius Marius 
 answers in the name of the rest, and promises that 
 the soldiers shall show themselves true Romans, and 
 submit cheerfully to the most rigorous discipline. 
 
 Two Xumantian ambassadors now present them- 
 selves before the general and the army. They declare 
 that it was to the severity, avarice, and injustice, of 
 the generals who had hitherto commanded in Spain, 
 the revolt of Xumantia was to be attributed ; that 
 the arrival of Scipio, with whose virtues they are 
 acquainted and in whom they place the fullest con- 
 fidence, had induced them to sue, as they now did, as 
 ardently for peace as they had before courageously 
 sustained the war. Scipio, however, demands a 
 higher satisfaction for the insults offered to the 
 majesty of the Roman people. He refuses all over- 
 tures for peace, and dismisses the ambassadors with 
 an exhortation to look well to their defence. He 
 then informs his brother that instead of exposing his 
 army in fresh engagements and moistening the soil 
 of Spain with Roman blood, he has determined to 
 siirround Xumantia with a deep fosse and to reduce 
 the place by famine. He therefore orders the army 
 to commence the circumvallations. 
 
94 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 In the second scene (and between each scene some 
 time is supposed to have elapsed) Spain is introduced 
 in the figure of a woman crowned with towers, and 
 bearing in her hand a castle, as a symbol of those 
 castles from which are derived the name and arms of 
 Castile. She invokes the mercy and favour of Heaven, 
 and complains bitterly of her state of perpetual 
 bondage. She has seen her riches alternately the 
 prey of the Phoenician and of the Greek ; and her 
 most valiant sons divided amongst themselves, coin- 
 bating with one another, when they should have 
 united their arms against the common enemy : 
 
 Numantia only, careless of her blood, 
 Has dared to draw her shining sword and strike 
 For that old liberty she long has cherished. 
 But now, oh grief! her time of doom is near ; 
 Her fatal hour approaches, and her life 
 Is waning to its close; but her bright fame 
 Shall still survive, and, like the Phoenix, burst 
 More glorious from her ashes. 
 
 The circumvallation being now accomplished, the 
 Numantians have to contend against hunger, without 
 any opportunity of engaging with the enemy. One 
 side of the city is washed by the Douro ; and the 
 Spaniards, therefore, address themselves to that river, 
 beseeching him to favour the people of Xumantia, and 
 to swell his waters so as to prevent the Romans from 
 erecting towers and machines on its banks. The 
 Douro, followed by three tributary streams, advances 
 upon the stage, and declares that he has made the 
 greatest efforts to remove the Romans from the walls 
 of Numantia, but in vain ; that the fatal hour has 
 arrived, and that the only consolation he has left is 
 derived from Proteus, who has revealed to him the 
 future glories reserved for the Spaniards, and the 
 humiliations to which the Romans are destined. lie 
 
OF CERVANTKs. 95 
 
 predicts tlie victories of Attila, and tlie conquests of 
 the Goths, which are to renovate Spain ; the title of 
 Most Catholic," which will be bestowed upon her 
 kings ; and lastly, the glory of Philip II., who will 
 unite the territories of Portugal to the two kingdoms 
 of Spain. 
 
 In the second act the Xumantians are seen assem- 
 bled in council. Theogenes inquires of his coun- 
 trymen by what means they can escape from the 
 cruel vengeance of their enemies, who, without daring 
 to combat with them, have reduced them to perish 
 by hunger. Corabino proposes that an offer shall be 
 made to the Romans to decide the fate of the two 
 nations by single combat ; and that if this is refused, 
 they should try the effect of a sortie through the 
 fosse, and attempt to open a passage through the 
 enemy. Others present support this proposition, and 
 at the same time describe their despair and the suf- 
 ferings which they endure from famine. They like- 
 wise propose sacrifices to appease the gods and 
 auguries to ascertain their wishes. 
 
 The scenes in the dramas of Cervantes are as dis- 
 tinct as the acts. They seem intended in the ^V- 
 mantia to exhibit the sentiments and ideas of a whole 
 people, under the various aspects of public affairs. 
 To accomplish this design, we are sometimes intro- 
 duced into the assemblies of the nobles ; at others, 
 simple citizens appear upon the stage, and, occa- 
 sionally, allegorical personages come forward. The 
 second scene of this act is between two Xumantian 
 soldiers, Morandro and Leoneio ; the former, the lover 
 of Lira, a young maiden of Xumantia, was on the 
 eve of marriage when the nuptials were deferred on 
 account of the war and the public misfortunes. 
 Leoneio accuses him of forgetting, in his passion for 
 
96 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 his mistress, the dangers of his country. Leoncio 
 thus replies to his companion : 
 
 Never did love teach lover cowardice ! 
 Have I e'er been a truant from my post 
 To visit her I love ? Have I e'er closed 
 My eyes in slumber when my captain watched ? 
 Have I e'er failed when duty called on me 
 Because my heart was filled with her sweet image ? 
 If, then, these things be not objected to me, 
 Why will you blame me for my passionate love ? 
 
 The dialogue is interrupted by the arrival of the 
 people and the priests, with the victim and the incense 
 for the sacrifice to Jupiter. As the priests proceed 
 with the sacrificial ceremonies, the most terrible pre- 
 sages present themselves. The torches will not light ; 
 the smoke curls towards the west, and the invoca- 
 tions are answered with thunder. It is curious to 
 remark the expedients by which the author proposes 
 to imitate thunder, and which, like Gibber, who was 
 so proud of his receipt for making it, he might fairly 
 claim for his own. " Here," says he, " a noise must 
 be made -by rolling a barrel full of stones, and fire- 
 works must be let off." In the air, eagles are seen 
 pouncing upon vultures and tearing them in their 
 talons. At last the victim is carried away by an 
 infernal spirit, at the moment when it is about to be 
 slain. Marquino, a magician, then endeavours in 
 his turn to discover the will of Heaven by enchant- 
 ment. He approaches a tomb where, three hours 
 previously, a young Nuinantian had been buried who 
 had died of hunger, and he invokes his spirit from 
 the infernal regions. His address to the spirits of 
 darkness is singularly poetical. He speaks in that 
 commanding style, and at the same time with that 
 contempt and anger, with which the poets have gifted 
 those magicians who have not allowed themselves to 
 
OF CERVANTES. 97 
 
 become the slaves of Lucifer. The tomb opens ; the 
 dead rises, but moves not. Marquino, by fresh 
 enchantment, bestows animation and compels the 
 body to speak. The corpse announces that ^wiman- 
 tia will neither be the conqueror nor the conquered ; 
 but that her citizens shall destroy one another. The 
 corpse then sinks again into the tomb, and Marquino 
 in despair stabs himself and falls into the same grave. 
 
 The third act again brings us into the Roman camp; 
 Scipio congratulates himself on having reduced Nu- 
 mantia to the last extremities, without finding it 
 necessary to expose his soldiers. In the meantime a 
 solitary trumpet is heard from within the Avails. 
 Corabino then appears with a white flag in his hands. 
 lie proposes to terminate the quarrel by single com- 
 bat, on condition that if the Numantian champion is 
 vanquished, the gates of the city shall be opened ; if 
 on the contrary, the Roman combatant is overcome, 
 that the siege shall be raised. At the same time he 
 flatters the Romans, by assuring them that from the 
 valour of their champions they may count upon a 
 victory. Seipio rejects with ridicule a proposal which 
 would place him on equal terms with the enemy, at 
 a time when he is assured of the conquest. 
 
 Corabino, left alone on the walls, overwhelms the 
 Romans with vituperation. They, however, hear 
 him not, and he retires. The next scene represents 
 the interior of Numantia. The council of war is 
 assembled, and Theogencs, having given an account 
 of the failure of the sacrifices of the enchantment, 
 and of the challenge, proposes again to make a 
 sally. The warriors dread the opposition of their 
 wives, whom they will be compelled to abandon. 
 The women, informed of the proposed sortie, crowd 
 around the council-chamber with their infants in 
 
 H 
 
98 LIFE AND 
 
 their amis, and each, in eloquent language, demands 
 to share the fortunes of her husband : 
 
 What is it that you wish, brave warriors ! 
 
 Have, then, your sorrowful fancies worked on you 
 
 To fly us and forsake us ? Do ye think 
 
 To leave the virgins of Numantia 
 
 A spoil to arrogant Romans, and your sons, 
 
 Your free-horn sons, in bondage to the foe ? 
 
 Were it not better that your own right hand 
 
 At once should take the life which ye have given ? 
 
 Would you then feed the Roman avarice ? 
 
 Would you then suffer them in unjust pride 
 
 To triumph over us, while with foreign hands 
 
 They pillage all our mansions ? 
 
 * * * * 
 
 If you are well-resolved to attempt the sortie, 
 Then take us with you. It will be life to us 
 To perish by your sides. Nor will ye thus 
 Shorten our way to death, for famine ever 
 Threatens to cut the thread of life in twain. 
 
 Another woman then presents herself and her 
 children before the senators of Numantia, and thus 
 speaks : 
 
 Oh, children of most desolate mothers, why, 
 Why speak ye not, and why with moving tears 
 Do ye not supplicate your cruel sires 
 Not to desert you ? Doth it not suffice 
 That terrible famine should oppress your lives 
 But must you also prove the bitterness 
 Of Roman rigour. Tell them that ye were 
 Begotten free, free born, and that your mothers, 
 Your wretched mothers, nursed you still in freedom. 
 And tell them if our fate so adverse is, 
 They who have given you life should take it back. 
 Oh walls ! if ye can speak, exclaim aloud, 
 A thousand times repeat Numantians ! 
 Numantians ! liberty ! 
 
 After several of the women have spoken, Theo- 
 genes answers their complaints with great tenderness. 
 
OP CERVANTES. 99 
 
 lie swears that they shall not be abandoned by their 
 husbands, but that, living or dying, they shall still 
 be protected. Lastly, he endeavours to persuade 
 the Numantians to adopt a still more desperate 
 course, and not to leave within the walls of Xuman- 
 tia a single relic of their persons or their property to 
 adorn the triumphs of their enemies. He proposes 
 that in the middle of the great square of the city a 
 pile should be raised, upon which the citizens should 
 themselves cast all their riches, and that to mitigate 
 for a few hours at least the hunger which consumes 
 them, the Roman prisoners should be slain and eaten 
 by the soldiery. The people immediately adopt 
 this frightful resolution, and separate in order to put 
 it into execution. Mbrandro and Lira remain upon 
 the stage, and a terrific scene, of love struggling 
 with famine, succeeds. Lira, to the passionate ex- 
 clamations of her lover, only answers that her brother 
 had died of hunger the preceding day ; that on that 
 very day her mother had perished, and that she her- 
 self is on the verge of death. Morandro determines 
 to penetrate into the Roman camp in search of food 
 to prolong the life of his mistress. Leoncio, his 
 friend, notwithstanding his remonstrances, resolves to 
 accompany him, and the two friends impatiently 
 expect the friendly shades of night that will afford 
 them an opportunity to make their attempt. 
 
 Two of the citizens now announce that the pile is 
 on fire, and that the inhabitants are eagerly heaping 
 upon it all the remains of their property. Men, 
 loaded with burthens of rich and precious articles, 
 are seen passing over the stage towards the pile. 
 One of the Numantians then declares, that as soon 
 as their riches are consumed, the women, the chil- 
 dren, and the old men will be massacred by the 
 ii 2 
 
100 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 soldiers to save them from the bands of the con- 
 querors. A Xumantian mother is then introduced, 
 leading by. the hand her little son, who bears a va- 
 luable packet. She holds an infant to her breast : 
 
 Mother. Oh life, most cruel and most hard to bear ! 
 Oh agony most deep and terrible ! 
 
 Boy. Mother ! will no one give a little morsel 
 Of bread for all these riches ! 
 
 Mother. No, my son, 
 
 No bread, nor aught to nourish thee, my child. 
 
 Boy. Must I then die of hunger ? Mother, mother, 
 I ask one morsel only, nothing more. 
 
 Mother. My child, what pain thou givest me ! 
 
 Boy. Do you not 
 
 Wish for it then ! 
 
 Motker. I wish for it, but know not 
 
 Where I may seek it. 
 
 Boy. Why not buy it, mother ? 
 
 If not, I'll buy it for myself, and give 
 To the first man I meet, even all these riches 
 Aye, for one single morsel of dry bread, 
 My hunger pains me so. 
 
 Mother (to her infant). And thou, poor creature, 
 Why cling'st thou to my breast ? Dost thou not know 
 That in my aching breast despair has changed 
 The milky stream to blood ? Tear off my flesh, 
 And so content their hunger, for my arms 
 Are weak, aud can no longer clasp thee to me. 
 Son of my soul, with what can I sustain thee ? 
 Even of my wasted flesh, there scarce remains 
 Enough to satisfy thy craving hunger. 
 Oh hunger, hunger ! terrible and fierce, 
 With what most cruel pangs thou tak'st my life ! 
 Oh war, what death dost thou prepare for me ? 
 
 Boy. My mother 1 let us hasten to the place 
 We seek, for walking seems to make me worse. 
 
 Mother. My child, the house is near us, where at length 
 Upon the burning pile thou may'st lay down 
 The burthen that thou bearest. 
 
 "Were it not for its stern truth, and sterner reality 
 too widely spread, we might almost repent of hav- 
 
OF CERVANTES, 101 
 
 ing introduced a scene so fiercely terrible, and so 
 full of cruel suffering. It is the dungeon of Ugolino 
 opened to the public, and rendered tenfold more 
 appalling by its far-extended desolation. The cala- 
 mity, with its baneful wings overspreading a whole 
 rity, exhibits famine contending with every species 
 of the most gentle as well as the most passionate 
 feelings. It is because sufferings like these have 
 really existed, because the very name of war recalls 
 them to our minds, that such scenes ought not, per- 
 haps, to be brought before the eye. The misfortunes 
 of CEdipus have passed away ; the feast of Thyestes 
 will never again be celebrated ; but who can say 
 that in some city exposed to the horrors of a siege, 
 some nameless mother may not, like the Numantian 
 matron, be nourishing her infant with blood instead 
 of milk, struggling against the excess of suffering 
 which human nature was not formed to support ? If, 
 indeed, we could succour or save her, it would be 
 weakness to fear the shock which so frightful a pic- 
 ture produces ; but if eloquence or poetry be em- 
 ployed without object to give effect to such descrip- 
 tions, how can we experience any pleasure in emotions 
 which border on so dreadful a reality ? 
 
 At the commencement of the fourth act the alarm 
 is sounded in the Roman camp, and Scipio demands 
 the cause of the tumult ? He learns that two 
 Xumantians have broken through the barriers, and, 
 after killing several soldiers, have carried off some 
 biscuit from a cart ; that one of them again passed 
 the wall and gained the city, but that the other had 
 been slain. In the following scene we find Morandro 
 again entering Xumantia wounded and bleeding. He 
 is weeping over his friend's fate, and the bread which 
 he is carrying to Lira is moistened with his tears. 
 
102 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 lie lays before her this last offering of his affection, 
 and expires at her feet. Lira refuses to touch the 
 sustenance which has been so dearly bought ; while 
 her little brother seeks refuge in her arms, and dies. 
 A soldier now appears upon the stage pursuing a 
 woman, whom he is endeavouring to kill, for an 
 order has been issued from the senate of Numantia 
 that all the women should be put to the sword. He, 
 however, refuses to slay Lira, and bears along with 
 him to the funeral pile the two bodies which lay 
 before her. 
 
 War, famine, and pestilence now appear, and dis- 
 pute for the ruins of Nunlantia. This description 
 of the calamities which the city has suffered is cold, 
 when compared with the preceding frightful scenes. 
 Theogenes then passes over the scene with his wife, 
 his two sons, and his daughter, conducting them to 
 the pile where they are to die. He informs them 
 that they are to perish by his own hand, and his 
 children submit to their fate. Two youths, Yeria- 
 tus and Servius, flying before the soldiers, cross the 
 stage ; the first endeavours to reach a tower which 
 will afford him a refuge, but the latter, being over- 
 come by famine, can proceed no farther. Theogenes, 
 who has despatched his wife and children, returns 
 and beseeches a citizen to put him to death ; the two, 
 however, determine to fight near the pile upon which 
 the survivor is to cast himself. The Romans, havino- 
 remarked the stillness which reigns in Numantia, 
 Caitis Marius mounts upon the wall by a ladder, and 
 is shocked to see the city one lake of blood, and 
 the streets filled with the dead. Scipio fears that 
 this universal massacre will deprive him of all the 
 honour of a triumph. If a single Numantian cap- 
 tive could be found alive to be chained to his car, 
 
OF CERVANTES. 103 
 
 that honour would be his ; but Caius Marius and 
 JiiLiurtha, wlio have traversed all the streets, have 
 met with nothing but gore and corpses. At last, 
 however, they discover Yiriatus, the young man who 
 has taken refuge at the top of the tower. Scipio 
 addresses him. and iuvites him, with kind words and 
 promises, to deliver himself up. Viriatus rejects 
 these offers with indignation. He is unwilling to 
 survive his country ; and, after heaping curses upon 
 the Romans, he throws himself headlong from the 
 tower, and falls lifeless at the feet of Seipio. Re- 
 nown, with a trumpet in her hand, terminates the 
 tragedy, by promising eternal glory to the Xuman- 
 tian-. 
 
 77'f Xumantiti was represented several times in 
 the earlier part of the life of Cervantes, whilst the 
 nation was still warm with the enthusiasm which the 
 victories of Charles V. had produced ; and whilst 
 the reverses, which they began to experience under 
 Philip II. made them doubly resolute not to stain 
 their ancient glories. We may imagine the effect 
 which the S>d)i<ivti<t must have produced, if it was 
 represented in Saragossa, as it has been asserted, 
 during the siege of that city : we may conceive how 
 deeply the Spaniards must have felt the sentiments 
 of national glory and independence which breathe 
 throughout the drama, and with what animation 
 they must have prepared for new dangers and new 
 sacrifices. AVe thus see that the theatre, which we 
 have denominated barbarous, did in fact approach 
 much nearer, than what are termed the classic dramas 
 of France and Italy, to that of the old Greeks, in the 
 energetic influence which it exerted over the people, 
 and in the empire with which the poet ruled his 
 audience. We cannot, at the same time, avoid being 
 
104 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 struck in the Numantia with the spirit of fatality, 
 and the ferocity which reigns throughout the whole 
 drama. The appalling resolution of. the Xuman- 
 tians, the details of their situation, the progress of the 
 plot, and the catastrophe, are all terrific. The tra- 
 'gecly does not draw tears, but the shuddering horror 
 which it induces, becomes almost a punishment to the 
 spectator. It is one symptom of the change which 
 Philip II. and the Autos-da-fe had wrought in the 
 character of the Castilians ; and we shall soon have 
 occasion to notice others. When the soldiers of fana- 
 ticism had acquired these ferocious qualities, litera- 
 ture itself did not wholly escape the infection.* 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Other dramatic works. Life in Algiers. Circumstances in which 
 it originated. Los Banos do Argcl. Various adventures. 
 Allegorical personages. Analysis. Specimens and translations. 
 The slave-market.- Pathetic and startling scenes. Society of 
 the Redemption. The drama. Opinions of Cervantes. His 
 judgment. Extensive reading. Familiarity with and imitation 
 of the Ancients. Noble qualities of the drama as conceived by 
 Cervantes. Freedom from affectation and conventional gal- 
 lantry. Unable to establish a reform.- Prevailing taste of the 
 day. Triumphant. Lope de Vega and Cervantes both yield to it. 
 
 THERE is still remaining for analysis another drama 
 by Cervantes Life in Algiers El Trato de Argel, 
 which has been alled a comedy ; but neither that 
 title, nor the name of Cervantes himself, lead us to 
 expect in this piece the same humour which reigns 
 throughout Don Quixote. To the gloomy picture 
 which is represented in this drama, no relief is 
 
 * Literature of the South, &.c ., by M. Sismondi, iii. pp. 355. 77. 
 
OF CERVANTF.-. 105 
 
 aftorded either by liveliness of plot, or by amusing 
 delineation of character. Cervantes did indeed, in 
 his interludes, condescend to excite laughter ; but the 
 object, both of his comedies and of his tragedies, was 
 to awaken terror and pity. All his compositions 
 were adapted to excite popular feeling, on the topics 
 of politics or religion ; to strengthen the pride, the 
 independence, or the fanaticism of the Spaniards. 
 His dramas were distinguished into tragedies and 
 comedies, according to the rank of the characters, 
 and the dignity of the action, and not from any re- 
 ference to the liveliness or the gravity of their subject. 
 
 Cervantes, as we have already stated, had been 
 detained for upwards of five years a captive at Al- 
 giers ; and his own sufferings, and those of his com- 
 panions, had made a deep impression upon his mind. 
 He returned to Spain with feelings of undisguised 
 animosity against the Moors, and with an ardent de- 
 sire to contribute towards the redemption of those 
 prisoners who had fallen into the hands of the Mus- 
 sulmans. Thus his comedy of El Trato </< Aryel ; 
 another drama which he published towards the close 
 of his life, entitled Los Baho* </<' Aiy<'l ; his tale of 
 the captive in Don Quixote, and that of the Generous 
 Lover, were not mere literary works, but charitable 
 endeavours to serve his brother captives, and to ex- 
 cite public opinion in their favour. His object was 
 to rouse the nation, and the king himself, against the 
 Mussulmans, and to preach a kind of crusade for the 
 deliverance of all Christian capti\ 
 
 To accomplish this end, he proposed merely to 
 give to the public a sketch of the life of the captives 
 in Algiers, and a description of the interior of their 
 habitations. He, therefore, employed no dramatic 
 action, no plot, and no catastrophe ; nor did he pay 
 
106 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 the least regard to the laws of the unities. He only 
 collected into one point of view the various sufferings, 
 pains, and humiliations, which were consequent upon 
 slavery amongst the Moors. The truth of the pic- 
 ture, the proximity of the scene, and the immediate 
 interest of the spectators, supplied the want of art 
 which is visible in this drama, and exerted, it may 
 be believed, a more powerful influence over the 
 audience. 
 
 Life in Algiers contains various adventures un- 
 connected with one another, except in the community 
 of suffering. The principal characters arc Aurelio 
 and Sylvia, an affectionate pair, who are exposed to 
 the solicitations of their mistress and master. The 
 religion and conjugal fidelity of Aurelio having in- 
 duced him to repress all the advances of his mistress, 
 Zara, he is at last tempted with enchantments ; but 
 the demons soon perceive that they possess no power 
 over a true Christian. He is then exposed to the 
 seductive influence of Occasion and Necessity, who 
 are personified by the dramatist, and who make 
 various proposals to the captive, which he at last 
 succeeds in rejecting and expelling from his mind. 
 At the conclusion of the piece, both Aurelio and 
 Sylvia are sent home by the Dey, on the promise of 
 a large ransom. 
 
 Another captive, of the name of Sebastian, relates 
 with extreme indignation, a spectacle of which IK; 
 had been a witness the reprisals exercised upon the 
 Christians by the Moors. The conduct, however, 
 at which the captive expresses such horror, appears 
 only to have been a jus retaliation. A Moor, 
 who had been forced to sutbmit to the ceremony of 
 baptism, at Valencia, being afterwards exiled with 
 his countrymen, had taken up arms against the 
 
OF CERVANTES. 107 
 
 Christians. I'eing made prisoner in an engagement, 
 he was recognised as having been baptised, and was 
 delivered over to the Inquisition, who condemned 
 him to be burnt as a relapsed infidel. His relations 
 and friends, eager to avenge him, bought a Valencian 
 captive, of the same class of inquisitors from amongst 
 whom his judges had been appointed, and inflicted 
 upon their captive a similar death. If the rigour 
 of such reprisals could have suspended the frightful 
 proceedings of the Inquisition, this attempt to terrify 
 the Spaniards with the consequences of their own 
 barbarity would have been grounded upon good 
 rea-on. The retaliation in this case did not inflict 
 the punishment of the guilty upon the innocent, for 
 every inquisitor was bound to participate in the 
 same crime. The anecdote is founded on fact, and 
 the inquisitor burnt by the Algerines was the monk 
 Miguel de Aranda. 
 
 ( hie of the most affecting scenes in the drama is 
 the slave-market. The public crier offers for sale a 
 father and mother and their two children, who are 
 to be sold in separate lots. The resignation of the 
 father, who in this dreadful calamity does not forget 
 to confide in the goodness of God, the tears of the 
 mother, and the childish conviction of the younger 
 captives, that no power upon earth can dispose of 
 them contrary to the will of their parents, altogether 
 form a frightful picture ; the truth of which is the 
 more impressive, from the circumstances that the 
 characters are anonymous, and that, in the present 
 age, such scenes may happen daily at Algiers, or in 
 our colonies. The merchant, who is about to 
 buy one of the children, makes him open his mouth, 
 in order that- he may see whether he is in good 
 health. The unhappy child, unconscious that it is 
 
108 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 impossible for him to suffer greater grief than those 
 which he has already experienced, imagines that the 
 merchant is going to extract a decayed tooth, and, 
 assuring him that it does not ache, begs him not to 
 pull it out. These little incidents more forcibly de- 
 scribe the horrors of slavery, than the most laboured 
 eloquence could do. In the child is exhibited a 
 touching ignorance of the destiny which awaits him; 
 in the merchant a cold and calculating interest, con- 
 trasted with a sensibility which he beholds without 
 any emotion. We suffer, in common with the whole 
 human race, which we here see degraded to the con- 
 dition of brutes. The merchant, who is in other 
 respects a worthy man, after giving 130 piastres for 
 the youngest of the children, thus addresses him : 
 
 Merchant. Come hither, child ; 'tis time to go to rest. 
 
 Juan. Signor, I will not leave my mother here 
 To go with any one. 
 
 Mother. Alas ! my child, thou art no longer mine, 
 But his who bought thee. 
 
 Juan. What ! then have you, mother, 
 Forsaken me ? 
 
 Mother. Oh, heavens ! how cruel are ye ! 
 
 Merchant. Come, hasten, boy. 
 
 Juan. Will you go with me, brother ? 
 
 Francisco. I cannot, Juan, 'tis not in my power. 
 May heaven protect you, Juan ! 
 
 Mother. Oh ! my child, 
 My joy and my delight, God won't forget thee ! 
 
 Juan. O father ! mother ! whither will they bear me 
 Away from you ? 
 
 Mother. Permit me, worthy signor, 
 To speak a moment in my infant's ear. 
 Grant me this small contentment ; very soon 
 I shall know nought but grief. 
 
 Merchant. What would you say ? 
 Say now ; to-night is the last time. 
 
 Mother. To-night 
 Is the first time my heart e'er felt such grief. 
 
OF CERVANTES. 109 
 
 Juan. Pray keep me with you, mother ; for I know not 
 \Vhither he'd carry me. 
 
 Mother. Alas, poor child ! 
 Fortune forsook thee even at thy birth ; 
 The heavens are overcast, the elements 
 Are turhid, and the very sea and winds 
 Are all combined against me. Thou, my child, 
 Knowest not the dark misfortunes into which 
 Thou art so early plunged, but happily 
 Lackest the power to comprehend thy fate. 
 What 1 would crave of thee, my life, since I 
 Must never more be blest with seeing thee, 
 Is that thou never, never wilt forget 
 To say, as thou wert wont, thy A ve Mary ! 
 For that bright queen of goodness, grace, and virtue 
 Can loosen all thy bonds and give thee freedom. 
 
 Aydnr. Behold the wicked Christian, how she counsels 
 Her innocent child. You wish, then, that your child 
 Should like yourself, continue still in error. 
 
 Juan. Oh mother, mother, may I not remain ? 
 And must these Moors then carry me away ? 
 
 Mother. With thee, my child, they rob me of my treasure. 
 
 Juan. Oh, I am much afraid. 
 
 Mother. 'Tis I, my child, 
 
 "Who ought to fear at seeing thee depart. 
 Thou wilt forget thy God, me, and thyself : 
 What else can I expect from thee, abandoned 
 At such a tender age, amongst a people 
 Full of deceit and all iniquity ? 
 
 Crier. Silence, you villanous woraan, if you would not 
 Have your head pay for what your tongue has done. 
 
 In the fifth act Juan is introduced as a renegade. 
 He has been seduced by the dainties and rich cloth- 
 ini: which his master has given him. He is proud 
 of his turban, and disdains the other captives, saying 
 that it is a sin in a Mussulman to be seen in conver- 
 sation with Christians. Cervantes has inserted a 
 scene between Juan and his mother, who is in despair 
 at his apostacy. The mother, however, does not 
 again appear ; her grief must have been too poig- 
 nant for representation. 
 
110 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 The escape of Pedro Alvarez, one of the cap- 
 tives, who, being unable any longer to bear the 
 horrors of slavery, resolves to cross the desert and 
 endeavour to reach Oran by following the line of 
 the coast, forms another independent plot. He pre- 
 pares ten pounds of biscuit, made of eggs, flour, and 
 honey ; and with this stock of provisions, and three 
 pair of shoes, he enters upon a journey of sixty 
 leagues, through an unknown country, and over a 
 burning desert infested with wild beasts. In one 
 scene the captive is introduced consulting with 
 Saavedra, under which name, in all probability, the 
 dramatist intended to represent himself. In another 
 we find him in the midst of the desert, where he is 
 wandering after he has lost his way ; his provisions 
 are exhausted, his clothes are in tatters, his shoes 
 are worn out, and he is tormented with hunger, and 
 reduced to such an extreme of weakness, that he can 
 with difficulty walk. In this state of distress he 
 invokes the Virgin of Montserrat, and presently a 
 lion appearing crouches at his feet. The captive 
 finds his strength restored ; the lion becomes his 
 guide; he recommences his journey, and when he 
 appears upon the stage the third time, he has nearly 
 arrived at Oran. 
 
 Towards the conclusion of the fifth act, the ar- 
 rival of a monk of the order of the Trinity is an- 
 nounced, bearing with him a sum of money for the 
 redemption of the captives. The prisoners throw 
 themselves on their knees in prayer, and the curtain 
 falls, leaving the spectators to conclude that they are 
 all redeemed. 
 
 Such are the two dramas which alone remain of 
 the twenty or thirty which were composed by Cer- 
 vantes in his youth. They are curious specimens of 
 
OF CERVANTES. Ill 
 
 the character which that great genius gave to the 
 national drama of Spain, at a period when it was in 
 his power to model it according to his will. The 
 theatre of the ancients was not unknown to Cer- 
 vantes, for in addition to the opportunities he had 
 enjoyed of becoming acquainted with it in the learned 
 languages, he was very familiar with the Italian, and 
 consequently with the efforts which had been made 
 at the court of Leo X. to revive the scenic representa- 
 tions of Greece and Rome. In Spain, indeed, during 
 the reign of Charles V., Perez de Oliva had trans- 
 lated the Klectra of Sophocles, and the Hecuba of 
 Euripides ; Terence also had been rendered into 
 Spanish by Pedro Simon de Abril, and Plautus had 
 appeared in a Castilian dress. Cervantes, however, 
 thought that the moderns ought to possess a drama 
 which should represent their own manners, opinions, 
 and character, and not those of antiquity. He 
 formed, indeed, his idea of tragedy upon the models 
 of the ancients ; but that which he beheld was 
 not what we discover in their dramas. The dra- 
 matic art appeared to him to be the art of trans- 
 porting the audience into the midst of events, calcu- 
 lated, from their political or religions interest, to 
 make the most impression upon the mind ; tragedy, 
 the art of making the spectators sharers in the most 
 brilliant historical incidents ; and comedy, of intro- 
 ducing them into the houses of individuals, and of 
 laying bare their vices or their virtues. He attached 
 little importance to that which has become a matter 
 of such consequence in our eyes, the space of time 
 which is supposed to elapse between each scene, and 
 the power of transferring the actors from place to 
 place. He paid the greatest attention, on the con- 
 trary, to that which we have considered as a defect 
 
112 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 in the ancient drama, the political and religious or 
 lyrical portion, which amongst the Greeks was the 
 province of the chorus, and which Cervantes wished 
 to re-produce by the aid of allegorical personages. 
 
 The ancients, who made religious spectacles of their 
 tragedies, always aimed at representing the course of 
 Providence or Fate as linked with human actions. 
 The choruses, which, during the progress of the 
 drama, shock our ideas of propriety, appeared to 
 them to be necessary for the purpose of interpreting 
 the will of the Divinity, of recalling the thoughts 
 from terrestrial to higher objects, and of re-establish- 
 ing the tranquillity of the soul by the delights of 
 lyrical poetry, after the passionate excitement of 
 theatrical eloquence. Such, likewise, was the end 
 which Cervantes proposed for himself in the creation 
 of the allegorical personages. He did not allow them 
 to mingle in the action like supernatural beings, nor 
 did he make any of the incidents depend upon their 
 agency. Indeed, like the choruses of the ancients, 
 they might be rejected from his dramas altogether, 
 without any void being perceived. His aim was to 
 give us an idea, through their means, of the corre- 
 sponding progress of the universe, and of the designs 
 of Providence. He wished to enable us to behold in 
 bis dramas the things invisible, as though they were 
 material. He wished to transport his drama from 
 the real world into the realm of poetry, and he en- 
 deavoured to accomplish this object by the assistance 
 of the most elevated language, which he could put 
 into the mouths of these unearthly beings, by the 
 magic of lyrical poetry, and by the employment of 
 the boldest figures. These objects, which were alto- 
 gether excluded from the modern drama, but which 
 were much considered by the ancients, have been but 
 
OF CERVANTES. 113 
 
 imperfectly attained by Cervantes. Perhaps he did 
 not possess in a high degree the lyrical talent. If 
 there are any sublime passages in his plays, they are 
 to be found in the dialogues, and not in the rhapso- 
 dies of his allegorical personages. Moreover the 
 introduction of allegorical characters upon the stage, 
 appears to be directly contrary to the essence of 
 the drama, which, as it appeals as well to the eye as 
 to the ear, ought not to admit of objects which never 
 can have a visible existence. When the Famine or 
 Pestilence appears in the Numantia^ and Occasion or 
 Necessity in the Life of Algiers, the action of the 
 drama is arrested. There metaphysical abstractions 
 destroy at once the illusion, the vivacity, and the in- 
 terest of the drama, and the attention is confused by 
 these varying appeals to the intellect and to the 
 senses. 
 
 In the Numantia, Cervantes has scrupulously ob- 
 served the unity of action, the unity of interest, and 
 the unity of passion. No episode is mingled with 
 the terrible plot. The whole people are animated 
 with one idea, and partake of the same suffering. 
 Individual wretchedness is swallowed up in the 
 general calamity, which it only serves to render more 
 striking. The story of Morandro and Lira presents 
 us with a picture of what even- lover in Numantia 
 must have suffered ; and, instead of detracting from 
 the interest, serves to concentrate it. There are 
 no traces either in this play or in the Life f m 
 Alffiert, of that insipid spirit of gallantry which 
 has infested the French theatre from its birth, and 
 which has been erroneously attributed to the Spanish. 
 In Cervantes, and generally in the Spanish dramas, 
 we never see a hero in love but when he ought to be 
 so ; and their language, figurative and hyperbolical 
 
114 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 as it is, according to the bad taste of the nation, is 
 still passionate and not gallant. The unity which 
 was so rigorously observed in the Numantia, was 
 completely abandoned by Cervantes in his Life in 
 Algiers. It is strange that he did not perceive that 
 it is this quality alone which is the basis of har- 
 mony ; which preserves the relation of the various 
 parts which distinguishes the productions of genius 
 from real life, and the dialogue of the drama from 
 the conversations of society. Life in Algiers is, con- 
 sequently, a tiresome play, and loses its interest as 
 we advance in it, notwithstanding it possesses some 
 beautiful scenes. 
 
 Hitherto we have only animadverted tipon the 
 eiTors of the art ; in other points of view we may 
 perceive that it was in its infancy. Thus Cervantes 
 has formed a false idea of the patience of his audi- 
 ence. Supposing that a fine speech must produce 
 the same effect upon the stage as before an academi- 
 cal assembly, he has frequently made his characters 
 trespass beyond every boundary, both of natural 
 dialogue and the reader's patience. He who in his 
 narrative style was so excellent, who in his romances 
 and novels so completely possessed the power of 
 exciting and of sustaining interest, of saying pre- 
 cisely what was proper, and of stopping exactly 
 where he should, yet knew not how much the pub- 
 lic would be willing to hear from the mouth of an 
 actor. Many of the Spanish dramatists appear to 
 have been equally ignorant upon this point. 
 
 The two dramas of Cervantes occupy an insulated 
 situation in the literature of Spain. We discover 
 not after this great and original writer any instance 
 of that terrible majesty which reigns throughout the 
 Nnmcintia ; of that simplicity of action, that natural 
 
OP CERVANTES. 115 
 
 dialogue, and that truth of sentiment. Lope do 
 Vi -a introduced new plays upon the stage, and the 
 puhlic, captivated by the pleasure of pursuing an 
 intrigue through its thousand windings, became dis- 
 gusted with the representation of powerful and deep 
 emotions, which produced not the effect of surprise. 
 Cervantes himself gave way to the national taste, 
 without satisfying it, in the eight plays which he 
 published in his declining years ; and the Castilian 
 vKschylus may be said to have left us only one real 
 specimen of his dramatic genius.""' 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Attack of Cadiz by the English Calls forth the satirical genius of 
 Cervantes His happy irony Story of the Espanola Inglesa 
 
 New difficulties, owing to the treachery of an acquaintance 
 Compromised with the agents of government Called to Madrid 
 Residence there Death of Philip II. Grand solemnities 
 Strange commotion, and battle of the priests Celebrated by 
 Cervantes in a burlesque sonnet Idiom of the country people 
 
 Residence in Seville Agent to people of rank Familiar 
 acquaintance with the customs and manners of the people Origin 
 of his novels Their character and object Andalusian tone of 
 his wit and satire Mixing with the people Foundation of his 
 Don Quixote His commission in La Mancha Doubts enter- 
 tained Visit to Valladolid Supposed imprisonment Tradition, 
 anecdotes, and reflections Composition of Don Quixote Its 
 reception Critic-isms and discussions Models His ideas of 
 romance on new principles. 
 
 CERVANTES continued his residence in Seville 
 during the following year of 1596. In that year, on 
 the first day of July, an English fleet of one hundred 
 
 * Literature of the South of Europe, &c., by M. Sismond;, 
 iii., pp. 377. 392. 
 
 i 2 
 
116 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 and fifty sail, commanded by Charles Howard, 
 lord high admiral of the kingdom, with an army of 
 twenty-three thousand men, under the orders of the 
 Earl of Essex, the celebrated favourite of Queen Eli- 
 zabeth, suddenly appeared before Cadiz. The Spanish 
 ships lying in the bay, taken by surprise, were soon 
 thrown into disorder, and retired under the batteries 
 for shelter ; which circumstance augmented the con- 
 sternation and alarm in the city, as there was no 
 military man there of sufficient experience to under- 
 take its defence. This gave courage to the English, 
 who disembarked their troops and entered the city 
 after a feeble resistance. The town was given up to 
 pillage, and the English, loaded with a rich booty, 
 after setting the city on fire, abandoned it on the 
 twenty-fourth day after their entry, re-embarking 
 their forces, and setting sail with the intention of com- 
 mencing similar hostilities in other parts of Spain. 
 
 The other maritime towns of the kingdom, as was 
 natural, took the alarm at this unforeseen and suc- 
 cessful enterprise, and made great exertions to pre- 
 pare for their defence. At Seville the asistente or- 
 dered a battalion to be formed of twenty-four com- 
 panies of infantry from the immediate neighbourhood, 
 having as officers a number of the first gentlemen of 
 the place. This body, on holidays, was trained to 
 the use of arms, in military evolutions in the plain 
 of Tablada, for which purpose the duke of Medina 
 had sent the captain Becerra to that city. The gal- 
 lantry and martial spirit of the young men enrolled in 
 this new militia, and the promptitude with which they 
 answered to the call of arms, formed a striking con- 
 trast to the inactivity and cowardice of the inhabit- 
 ants of Cadiz, and the want of energy which they 
 had shown, in not daring to attack the enemy during 
 
OP CERVANTES. 1 1 7 
 
 so many days, hut allowing them to sack the city 
 and retire with impunity. The ostentatious entry 
 of the duke into the city after so lamentable an event, 
 as if he had come to solemnise the most signal vic- 
 tory, could not fail to become the subject of public 
 censure and ridicule, and provoked Cervantes to the 
 composition of a sonnet in which these occurrences 
 formed a theme for the pleasantry and native irony 
 of his genius. On this expedition of the English to 
 Cadiz he some years after founded his tale entitled 
 la Espanola Inglesa. 
 
 In order to save the expense of conveying to the 
 court some moneys collected under his commission, 
 Cervantes prepared to remit the amount in letters of 
 exchange from Seville to Madrid : a sum of 7400 
 reales, arising from his collection in Yelezmalaga and 
 the neighbourhood, he consigned to a merchant, Simon 
 Freire de Lima, who engaged to pay it in Madrid. 
 Cervantes, on repairing soon afterwards to that city, 
 not finding Simon Freire there, wrote to him at 
 Seville, and he then directed Gabriel Rodriguez, a 
 Portuguese, to pay the amount to Cervantes ; but this 
 was not done, and in the meantime Freire himself 
 failed and absconded from Spain. This event obliged 
 Cervantes to return to Seville to procure the recovery 
 of this sum ; when he found, on his arrival, the whole 
 property of Freire seized on by his other creditors. 
 Cervantes represented this to the government, who 
 on the 7th of August 1595, sent a mandate to Dr. 
 Bernardo de Olmedilla, in Seville, to raise from the 
 property which Freire had left in that city, the pay- 
 ment of the amount claimed by Cervantes, the receipt 
 of which was verified and remitted to the treasurer- 
 general, D. Pedro Mesia de Tobar, by a letter of the 
 22ud of November 1596. 
 
118 LIFE AND WRIT1N 
 
 These circumstances, and others which created some 
 apprehensions on the part of the government as to the 
 conduct of the principal surety, was the cause of him and 
 the other sureties being compelled in the following year, 
 1597, to make a return of the sums Cervantes had re- 
 oeiyedinthe execution of his commission. They replied 
 that they could nol furnish them in consequence of 
 Cervantes being in Seville, and having in his posses- 
 sion the papers and documents on which their accounts 
 were founded. At their instance a royal mandate of 
 the sixth of September of this year was forwarded to 
 the licentiate Gaspar de Vallejo, jxulge of the auditor- 
 ship of the said city, to require sureties from Cer- 
 vantes that within the space of twenty days he would 
 present himself at Madrid to give an account and 
 pay the balance remaining diie ; and on his not com- 
 plying, to arrest him and place him in the custody of 
 the court at the disposal of the tribunal of the chief 
 treasurer ; a measure which was commonly taken 
 with other agents, imprisoning some of them in 
 Seville for the space of five, six, or eight years, after 
 the expiration of their respective commissions. 
 
 The exigencies of the treasury resulting from the 
 enormous expenses attending the conquest of Portu- 
 gal, and the Terceira Islands, and the cost of the 
 unfortunate armada directed against England, called 
 " the invincible ;" the continued changes in the con- 
 stitution of the revenue and its tribunals ; the new 
 duties and taxes which were laid, and the want of a 
 well-regulated system, contributed to embarrass the 
 finance department, and to introduce distrust, com- 
 pulsion, sequestration, arrests, and other judicial pro- 
 ceedings among the persons employed in the different 
 branches of collection. Cervantes represented the 
 impossibility of giving sureties whilst at Seville and 
 
OF CERVANTES. 119 
 
 absent from homo ; for which reason and on account 
 of the smallness of his debt, he demanded that his 
 account might be passed for what he appeared to 
 owe, and that he might be discharged from prison 
 in order to repair to Madrid and complete the settle- 
 ment of his accounts. 
 
 AVc are ignorant of the result of these proceeding ; 
 but it is certain that Cervantes remained at Madrid 
 at least until the next year, 1598. Philip II. died 
 on the thirteenth of September of this year ; and for 
 the due solemnisation of his funeral, the city of Madrid 
 directed a catafalque to be raised on so magnificent a 
 scale, that one of the historians who mentions it de- 
 scribes it as the most astonishing monument human 
 B had ever beheld. 
 
 It was adorned with elegant Latin inscriptions, 
 and ornamented with numerous statues of Juan Mar- 
 tinez Montanes, and Gaspar Nunez Delgado, and 
 also with the finest pictures of Francisco Pacheco, 
 Alonso Yasques Perea, and Juan de Salcedo ; all 
 among the first artists of Seville. 
 
 On the twenty-fourth day of November, the exe- 
 quies were commenced, with the assistance of the 
 city, the audicncia, and the tribunal of the inquisition. 
 On the following day appointed for mass and the 
 services of the Church, there unfortunately arose so 
 violent a quarrel in the same church between the 
 inqxiisitors and the andicncia, in consequence of the 
 jij; a'nli'-nt having covered his seat with black cloth, 
 that without regard to the place or the solemnity of 
 the service, the inquisitors were excommunicated. 
 The priest retired to finish the mass in the sacristy, 
 and the preacher descended from his pulpit, where 
 he stood prepared to pronounce the funeral oration, 
 leaving the tribunal of the inquisition in their places 
 
120 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 until five in the evening, in the act of protesting and 
 remonstrating ; but through the mediation of the 
 marquis of Algaba, the dissentions were allayed, and 
 the inquisition absolved from the censures of the 
 Church, both parties submitting to the king and the 
 royal council the settlement of this important dispute. 
 The decision did not arrive until the end of 
 December, and on the thirtieth and thirty-first, the 
 funeral honours were renewed, the catafalque having 
 remained erected with the other preparations of the 
 funeral. The sumptuous preparations for this cere- 
 mony, and the long time it lasted, attracted an infi- 
 nite number of persons from all parts to see it, and 
 excited such extreme admiration and hyperbolical 
 language in the people of Seville as to induce the 
 festive muse of Cervantes to compose a sonnet, in 
 which he describes the ostentation and splendour of 
 the ceremony, and burlesques its absurd and long 
 duration, in the peculiar idiom of the country people. 
 This sonnet was so much to his taste, that he did not 
 hesitate in his Viage al Parna*o to place it among his 
 best productions. 
 
 These facts indisputably prove that Cervantes 
 resided at that time at Seville, where he was engaged 
 in agencies for various persons of rank and distinc- 
 tion, and among others, D. Hernando de Toledo, 
 Senor de Cigales, with whom he contracted an inti- 
 mate friendship. From his prolonged residence in 
 Seville an opinion prevailed, even among some of his 
 c> iiitemporaries, that it was the place of his birth. 
 And the intimate knowledge which he shows of the 
 streets, alleys, and suburbs of that town ; of the 
 manners and mode of life of the Sevillians, their 
 foibles, and the gossiping tales most prevalent among 
 its credulous populace, prove that he must have re- 
 
OF CERVANTES. 121 
 
 sided there for a considerable tiino. It was hence, 
 too. he derived the subjects for some of his tales, as 
 he found there the noted robbers Rincontt? y Cor- 
 todWo, whose adventures occurred in the year 1569 ; 
 f>r it was about this time, agreeably to the testimony 
 of D. Luis Zapota, that there existed a brotherhood 
 or society of the most desperate and daring character 
 in Spain, who had formed a regular ainl established 
 system of robbery, attended with great risk to per- 
 sonal security, and setting justice and public autho- 
 rity at defiance, as is shown by Cervantes. In his 
 tale of the Ztloto Extrcmeno, he exemplifies the bad 
 effects of severity in a husband, the evil consequences 
 of licentiousness and indolence in t!. the 
 
 selfish artifices of a crafty and jealous duenna. 
 
 The two tales, the one La Tia Fingida*, which has 
 remained unpublished to our own times, and ti. 
 the Curiofo Impertinent*, and perhaps some .it hers, 
 were written during his resident- B J.le. when 
 they were read in manuscript and highly appreciated 
 by the lovers, of letters ; and through this channel 
 the three first were placed in the hands of the licen- 
 D. Francisco Porras de la Camara, prebendary 
 of that church, who included them in a collection 
 which he formed, in the year 1606, of various 
 works of his own and others, for the entertainment 
 of the Archbishop D. Fernando Nino de Guevara, 
 who beguiled with them his summer siestas in Um- 
 brete. 
 
 But this mode of life, which enabled Cervantes to 
 form such an intimate knowledge of the idle and 
 giddy population of Seville, did not prevent his cul- 
 tivating the friendship and enjoying the company 
 of the most illustrious m.-n of genius, who had their 
 residence there at that time. One of these was 
 
122 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 Francisco Pacbeco, the celebrated painter and poet, 
 whose studio was the common resort of .strangers and 
 the most celebrated persons of Seville, and whose 
 great love for letters indxiced him to paint the por- 
 traits of one hundred and seventy persons, among 
 whom are found one hundred of the highest eminence. 
 It is known that Cervantes was one of these, and that 
 he was also painted by D. Juan de Jauregui, also a 
 famous painter and poet of Seville ; and there are 
 substantial grounds for believing that that writer was 
 on an intimate and friendly footing with Pacheco, 
 and that he was one of those who frequented his 
 academy. The same may be presumed with regard 
 to the accomplished and celebrated poet Fernando de 
 Herrera, who died about this time, and whose memory 
 Cervantes honoured with a sonnet, which has been 
 preserved but not published. 
 
 Whoever examines the works of Cervantes with a 
 critical eye, bearing in mind his peculiar character 
 and the events of his life, will be easily convinced 
 that his intimate connexion with the Andalusians, 
 their keen and appropriate wit, their jests, and ludi- 
 crous national customs, were so consonant to his 
 genius, and ministered so much to his fertile imagi- 
 nation, that we may be assured that it was here that 
 he formed the picture and the colours which afterwards 
 rendered his pencil immortal, and so remarkable in 
 that native grace, that delicate satire, that unrivalled 
 humour, which secures an ever new delight to his 
 works which were written subsequently to his re- 
 sidence in Andalusia. 
 
 An opinion has generally prevailed that Cervantes 
 departed from Seville for La Mancha, with a com- 
 mission that occasioned him great perplexity and 
 persecution, and which ended in his being thrown 
 
OF CERVANTES. 123 
 
 into jail, where it is supposed he wrote the first part 
 of his Don Quixote ; but allowing its full value to 
 the ground on whieh this tradition is founded and 
 yet retained in this province, we may be allowed to 
 investigate the matter more thoroughly. 
 
 At the time of rendering his accounts, at the be- 
 ginning of 1603, to the proper tribunal, the collector 
 of Baza, Gaspar Osorio de Tejeda, presented for his 
 discharge a paper of payment, which Cervantes gave 
 him, when in 1594 he was commissioned to collect 
 the arrears of revenue owing in that city and the 
 neighbourhood. At the sight of this document the 
 tribunal, on the fourteenth day of January, 1603, in- 
 quired from the auditors of accounts whether or not 
 Cervantes had rendered an account of his commission, 
 and discharged the balance due upon it. The audi- 
 tors in their reply, given in Valladolid, imder the 
 date of the 24th of the same month, replied, that 
 although the money remitted by him to the general 
 treasury agreed with the balance due, viz., 2600 
 reals, agreeably to the amount in the royal schedule 
 of the 13th of August, 1594, yet he had rendered no 
 account of the specific sum collected in each depart- 
 ment; and in order to effect this, directions were sent 
 to P. Bernabe de Pedroso, purveyor-general of the 
 fleet, to release Cervantes from his prison in Seville, 
 upon his giving sureties to appear within a certain 
 time, and that up to that period he had not appeared. 
 
 A few days after this information Cervantes must 
 have arrived at Valladolid, where he was on the 8th 
 of February, with his family, since it appears that 
 his sister, Dona Andrea, was occupied in the service 
 of his Excellency D. Pedro de Toledo Osorio, the 
 fifth marquis of Villa Franca, who was just returned 
 from his expedition to Algiers, and among his 
 
124 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 accounts are some papers in the handwriting of 
 Cervantes. It was now intimated to him that he 
 might remain at liberty, his debt being so small ; 
 and this he afterwards satisfied, residing in the court 
 the remainder of his life, in the presence of the tri- 
 bunal which had so much harassed him. 
 
 What most contributes to this belief is, the tran- 
 quillity of mind which Cervantes always exhibited, 
 supported as he was by a consciousness of his inno- 
 cence and upright conduct. Don Gregorio Mayans 
 sagaciously remarks, that when Cervantes makes ex- 
 press mention of his being confined in prison, and of 
 his having in that situation planned his Don Quixote, 
 his offence could not have been of an ignominious 
 nature, and this conjecture is confirmed by the silence 
 his rivals and enemies have observed on this occasion, 
 not even mentioning the circumstance or attaching 
 any calumny to it. 
 
 These misfortunes in the life of Cervantes are very 
 similar to those that befell the celebrated poet Luis 
 Camoens,whom in addition to his calamities some peo- 
 ple, in a spirit of malevolence, accuse of malversation 
 in the public moneys while he presided over the 
 collection of the revenue at Macao, stating that he 
 was prosecuted and imprisoned on that account ; but 
 his integrity was vindicated, and the calumny of his 
 enemies overthrown, and he was about to quit his 
 prison, when a gentleman from Goa detained him 
 for a debt of two hundred cruzados ; the viceroy, 
 however, generously tendered his protection to 
 Camoens, who was thus enabled to live unmolested 
 during the remainder of his sojourn in that country. 
 Cervantes, although he lived thenceforth in freedom, 
 was still subject to persecution. He owed his tran- 
 quillity of mind to the conscious feeling of an hon- 
 
OF CERVANTES. 125 
 
 ourable integrity, and his subsistence to the fruits of 
 his industry and his genius, and to the kind consi- 
 deration which some of his friends and some persons 
 of rank showed to his merit and his misfortunes. 
 
 From the end of the year 1598 the documents we 
 possess afford no matter for the next four years in the 
 life of Cervantes. In this period we may perhaps 
 place the occurrences in La 31 ancha, as such a tradition is 
 still prevalent there, and it being certain that he pos- 
 sessed tiesof kindred and relationship with many distin- 
 guished families in that province. Some affirm, that 
 being commissioned to collect the arrears of duties in 
 theneighbourhoodof Argamasilla, which were owingto 
 the grand prior of St. Juan, he was assaulted and thrown 
 into prison. Others suppose that this imprisonment 
 arose from a commission that had been entrusted 
 to him relative to the manufacture of saltpetre and 
 gunpowder, in the same town, the preparation of 
 which was injurious to the waters of the Guadiana, 
 which the neighbouring people used for the purpose 
 of irrigation. 
 
 There also exists another tradition that this 
 incarceration happened in Toboso, in consequence of 
 a severe jest on a female, which gave offence to her 
 relations and friends. But the most remarkable fact 
 is, that in Argamasilla there has been regularly trans- 
 mitted down from father to son a story, that in a 
 house in that city, called De Medrano, was the prison 
 in which Cervantes was confined for a long time ; 
 when he was so ill-treated, and in such a destitute 
 condition, that he was obliged to have recourse to his 
 uncle, Don Juan Bernabe de Saavedra, then living at 
 Alcazar de S. Juan, and to solicit his succour and sup- 
 port. In the commencement of his letter he describes 
 himself as being in a most wretched condition " I am 
 
126 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 worn out," he says, "by long day sand miserable nights 
 of confinement in this dungeon of a prison." But this 
 document, which is said to have been preserved to 
 our own days, has disappeared in such a way that 
 the most anxious inquiry and research to trace it 
 have been vain and ineffectual. 
 
 If we were to give credit to this tradition, we 
 might conjecture that Cervantes being at liberty to 
 proceed to Madrid, left Seville in 1599, or soon after- 
 wards, and stopt at La Mancha, under the protection 
 of his friends ; and that the long silence of his judges, 
 and the suspension of judicial proceedings, gave room 
 to believe that he was discharged from his employ- 
 ments, and that proceedings against him had ceased. 
 To this belief other contemporary events contributed, 
 as the change of government, since the death of Philip 
 II., the removal of the court to Valladolid, the 
 confused state of the accounts of the revenue from 
 tribunals being created by the ordinances of Pardo, 
 in 1593, until the necessity of simplifying the system 
 of administration reduced them to one, by the orders 
 of Lerma, on the 26th day of October, 1602, the 
 result of which was the removal of proceedings 
 against all from whom any balance was due. 
 
 . The promptitude with which Cervantes presented 
 himself at Valladolid, agreeably to the order of the 
 auditor of accounts, issued on the 24th of January, 
 1603, leads us to suppose that he resided within a 
 few days' journey of that place, as he could not have 
 arrived in so short a time, if he had been then living 
 in Andalusia ; and all this leads to a probability that 
 he remained in La Mancha, since we cannot doubt 
 that he resided there for a long period, especially in 
 Argamasilla, which he makes the native land of his 
 " ingenioso hidalgo" taking an opportunity of ridi- 
 
OP CERVANTES. 127 
 
 culing in it the empty pretensions of its inhabitants 
 to titles of nobility and gentility, when the requisite 
 means to support such title were wanting ; a passion 
 that occasioned amongst them disastrous quarrels, and 
 scandalous brawls, and the decay of the population, 
 as several writers of that period have mentioned. 
 And, as a last reason, we may adduce his accuracy in 
 the topographical description of La Mancha, his 
 knowledge of its antiquities, its customs, and mari- 
 ners. 
 
 The particulars, too, which he relates of the lakes 
 of Ruidera, the course of the Guadiana, the cave of 
 Montesinos, the situation of the fulling-mills, Puerto- 
 Lapice, and other parts of the country, included in 
 the itineracy of Don Quixote, afford us strong evi- 
 dence of his residence in La Mancha, although we are 
 ignorant of the time and motives that have induced 
 him to fix on that country as the native soil of his 
 chivalrous hero, and the scene of most of his adven- 
 tures. 
 
 When Cervantes removed to Valladolid, the court 
 had been established there for two years, and the 
 change of persons and influence had dissipated the 
 memory of the services of the veteran soldiers. 
 
 His recent persecution, and the alteration at this 
 time in the system of the royal revenue, and the tri- 
 bunal of general auditorship, had an unfavourable 
 influence also on the claims of Cervantes, whose 
 absence for so many years had reduced the number 
 of his acquaintance, deprived him of his friends, and 
 obliterated the esteem which he merited. The duke 
 of Lerma, "the Atlas of the monarchy," as one 
 author calls him, was the ruler of the will of the 
 sovereign, was the arbitrary disposer of all places, 
 and held the fortunes of all Spaniards in his hands : 
 
128 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 a favourite without knowledge or'experience, flatter- 
 ing and effeminate, of uncultivated mind, as Quevedo 
 remarks, imperious with others, and domineering 
 through the craftiness and subtlety of his servants ; 
 fond of show and splendour, but of indiscreet pro- 
 fusion and reprehensible prodigality ; whose selection 
 of servants to the state was governed by political 
 faction, or the undue influence of friendship or 
 relationship. Hence it happened that merit and 
 talent, and virtue, were neglected, not without the 
 regret and censure of the good. 
 
 The Padre Sepulveda, who wrote at that time an 
 account of occurrences in the Escurial, laments with 
 patriotic zeal and just indignation the manner in 
 which so many famous captains and brave soldiers 
 were doomed to obscurity and neglect ; men who had 
 devoted their whole lives to the service of the king, 
 who had shared in the most celebrated actions, 
 exposing themselves a thousand times to death for 
 their country, and bearing the marks of honourable 
 wounds, not only remained neglected without any 
 recompense, but beheld at the same time men with- 
 out either merit or service loaded with honours, 
 solely through theinfluence they accidentally obtained 
 with ministers, or courtiers. Equally remarkable 
 was the contempt and neglect with which letters, 
 and those who cultivated them with so much glory 
 and utility to the nation, were treated, forgotten and 
 deprived of patronage ; as we learn from the severe re- 
 marks of Juan de Mariana, and of Bartolomeo Leonardo 
 de Argensola, Christobal de Mesa, and Cervantes 
 himself, and the regrets of other eminent writers. 
 Cervantes, we may presume, afterwards found it 
 necessary to present himself to this powerful minister, 
 to make known his services, his merits, and his misfor- 
 
OF CERVANTES. 129 
 
 tunes, imploring his protection to enable him to obtain 
 some means of alleviating the anxieties of age in the 
 bosom of his family. But the duke of Lerrna, 
 ignorant of his eminent qualities as a soldier and a 
 man of letters, and with an imperfect knowledge 
 of the persecutions he had suffered, received him 
 with disregard and disdain, as some writers of that 
 age have assured us. 
 
 Thus bitterly undeceived, Cervantes found the 
 gates barred against his hopes, and, abandoning all 
 further thoughts of prosecuting his claims, he turned 
 to other quarters to seek his subsistence ; at one time 
 employing himself in various agencies and commis- 
 sions, at another planning or composing some new 
 work, or polishing those already written, and pre- 
 paring them for the public eye. Neglected with so 
 much ingratitude by the country he had so long 
 served, or sharing the small degree of favour he could 
 obtain, through his pieces, from some few who more 
 justly appreciated his merits, Cervantes passed the 
 rest of his life comparatively poor and slighted, in 
 the midst of the splendour of the great, remarkable 
 for the patient wisdom and resignation which dis- 
 tinguished his conduct in this last period, though he 
 sometimes imparted to the bosom of friendship his 
 complaints of the Duke's treatment. 
 
 If, sometimes, from the impulse of his genius, he 
 mingled in his writings some satirical allusions, in 
 revenge for the injustice and insensibility with which 
 he was treated, his prudence, and the delicate manner 
 in which these allusions were veiled, saved him from 
 the resentment of a powerful and despotic individual, 
 of whom, on the other hand, he always spoke in his 
 works with that respect and consideration which 
 prudence dictated as due to those who enjoyed the 
 
130 LIFE AM) WRITINGS 
 
 confidence of their sovereign, and who held in their 
 hands the welfare of millions, and the happiness or 
 misery of many generations. 
 
 The unfortunate state in which Cervantes was 
 placed by the disappointment of all his expectations, 
 made him anxious to accelerate the publication of his 
 Don Quixote, in the hopes that judicious and impar- 
 tial readers, by a perusal of this work, might satisfy 
 themselves of the elevation and amenity of his genius, 
 and recalling to mind, by the Tale of the Captive, 
 the sufferings of his earlier days, might view his fate 
 with compassion, and at the same time excite in the 
 public mind feelings of just indignation against the 
 injustice and indifference with which he had been 
 treated. In addition to this, the perusal of books of 
 chivalry was not so peculiar to the lower orders, as 
 not to be equally shared by persons of loftier rank, 
 as the courtiers and nobility. Among these, too, 
 were to be found some who wrote and published the 
 most absurd romances, as the history of the prince 
 Don Policisce de Boncia, composed by Don Juan de 
 Silva y Toledo, senor de Canada Hermosa, and pub- 
 lished in the year 1602. 
 
 Thus it was not surprising that Cervantes, fearing 
 that themaliceorscrutinyof hisreaders might discover 
 pome allusions which might be applied to persons of 
 elevated character, or who were respected for their 
 influence and authority, should endeavour to avoid 
 the consequence of such resentment, by previously 
 enlightening the reader, in the prudent verses of Ur- 
 ganda la desconocida, that it w T as wise not to meddle 
 with such particulars, nor to attack the conduct of 
 others by dangerous and untimely jests, especially of 
 persons whose houses are of glass, and who seek for 
 protection and interest. 
 
OP CERVANTES. 131 
 
 With a view to the same object he endeavoured to 
 find a patron of noble birth, of high character, and a 
 love of letters, whose favour might accord to his 
 romance of Don Quixote a greater degree of con- 
 sideration and attention. The individual he thought 
 most deserving of this compliment, and the mo~t 
 likely to aid his views, was Don Alonso Lopez de 
 Zuiiiga y Sotomayor, seventh Duke of Bejar, not only 
 for the strong attachment he showed to literature, 
 but also for his encouragement of the fine arts, as 
 well as for his illustrious descent from the house of 
 Navarre, and his generous reception of men of letters. 
 The favours he had conferred on these, determined 
 Cervantes to dedicate to him this felicitous and 
 traiiscendant effort of his genius. He had applied 
 for the royal license on the 26th of September, 1604, 
 and having obtained this about the middle of De- 
 cember, lie proceeded to its publication at the 
 beginning of the following year. 
 
 If the tradition be true which Don Vicente de 
 los Rios relates, the object of Cervantes, in this choice 
 of a patron, was not merely to obtain the means of 
 printing and publishing his work. He feared lest 
 persons of cultivated minds might disregard a title- 
 page announcing the adventures of a knight-errant, 
 and that general readers might not properly appreciate 
 it, when they did not meet with the striking inci- 
 dents to which they were accustomed in books of 
 chivalry, and might not thus penetrate the refined 
 and delicate satire which it contained. This objec- 
 tion he thought would be obviated, if his work 
 bore on its front the recommendation of the illus- 
 trious name of a person, who, according to a con- 
 temporary, deserved to have been born a Maecenas 
 in the age of Augustus. 
 
 K2 
 
132 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 The same tradition informs us, that when the Duke 
 was made acquainted with the real design of the romance 
 of Don Quixote, he refused to accept the dedication, 
 and that Cervantes humbly bowed to his decision, 
 but earnestly entreated him to hear a chapter of it 
 read. This stratagem, it is said, succeeded to its 
 fullest extent ; for such was the unexpected enter- 
 tainment and delight it awoke in the hearers, that 
 they insisted on the whole of it being read, and loaded 
 it with unqualified approbation and praise. The 
 Duke, on this, relaxed in the repugnancehehad shown, 
 and cheerfully accepted the dedication which he had 
 before treated with contumely. But it would still 
 seem that this general applause could not soften the 
 asperity of an ecclesiastic, who ruled in the house of 
 the Duke, as he not only attempted to depreciate the 
 work and discredit its aiithor, but instigated the 
 Duke to withdraw the kind reception with which he 
 had honoured him, and in so far, that he ultimately 
 treated him with neglect. 
 
 It was doubtless owing to this circumstance, that 
 Cervantes never afterwards dedicated to him any of 
 his future works. The conduct of this ecclesiastic is 
 probably alluded to in the second part of Don 
 Quixote, in the person of the chaplain whom he 
 describes in the house of the nobleman who enter- 
 tained Don Quixote. 
 
 It is said that the public at first received the 
 romance of Don Quixote with extreme indifference, 
 as it was from its title the object of the derision and 
 contempt of the half learned. Cervantes, perceiving 
 that his work was read only by those who did not 
 understand it, and that those who were capable of 
 appreciating its merits, disregarded it, endeavoured 
 to excite the attention of the world at large by pub- 
 
OF CERVAXTES. 133 
 
 lishing tlic Bn.<cai>l\ an anonymous, but talented 
 production, in which he criticises Don Quixote, and 
 a.->erts that it is written in the spirit of satire, abound- 
 ing with instruction and entertainment, and composed 
 with the laudable design of banishing the pernicious 
 reading of books of chivalry ; and that the personages 
 introduced, though of pure invention, were not after 
 all so imaginary, but that they might claim a degree 
 of relationship with the character and actions of 
 Charles the Fifth, and the paladins of his court, as 
 well as other persons who held some of the highest 
 dignities under the monarchy. The persons who 
 were thus induced, through curiosity, to peruse Don 
 Quixote, could not but acknowledge its singular 
 merits, and perceive the charm of its festive and 
 graceful style ; and by this means Cervantes gave to 
 his design all the effect he had designed, or wished 
 for. 24 
 
 But whatever degree of credibility may be attached 
 to these circumstances founded on a tradition which 
 has been attempted to be refuted by Pellicer, it is 
 beyond a doubt that Cervantes himself, convinced of 
 the just severity with which the chivalrous romances 
 had been written against by many accomplished and 
 learned Spaniards, as Luis Yives, Melchior Cano, 
 Alejo Yenegas, Pedro Mexia, Alonso de Ulloa, Luis 
 de Granada, Benito Arias Montano, Pedro Malon de 
 Chaide, author of the dialogue on languages, and 
 many others, was led to satirize these books 
 with the intention of destroying the authority and 
 influence they everywhere possessed over the minds 
 of the vulgar. The purport of the prologue of Cer- 
 vantes, seemed, in the opinion of Pellicer, to obviate 
 the necessity of making known the object of the 
 work ; but on the other hand we cannot doubt of its 
 
134 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 having appeared; a person so well known for sincerity 
 and truth as Don Antonio Rnidiaz, having, as he 
 assures us, himself seen it. 
 
 We must conclude therefore that Cervantes did 
 not intend merely to manifest, by this little work, the 
 principal object of his romance, which indeed he had 
 already declared without reserve in his prologue, but 
 to raise the veil of some allusion to recent events and 
 well-known persons, and to excite the curiosity of 
 his readers and lead them to the admiration of his 
 genius without compromising the author. Under 
 this persuasion Ave may believe he published this 
 little piece anonymously, and confined it to a small 
 impression, as was the case with other contemporary 
 writings whose authors wished to speak the truth, 
 but without making their names known. 
 
 As we are ignorant whether the Buscajne ap- 
 peared at the same time as Don Quixote or came out 
 some time afterwards, we cannot decide on the influ- 
 ence it might have in contributing to that general 
 applause which the author mentions in the second 
 part. So great, however, was the popularity of this 
 romance, that at least four editions appeared in 1605, 
 the year in which it was first published ; and it soon 
 spread through France, Italy, Portugal, and Flanders. 
 It is very possible that the readers of that day, catch- 
 ing the many delicate and satirical allusions scat- 
 tered through this work, to recent events and well- 
 known personages, might derive greater pleasure from 
 the perusal than we can at the present time, when 
 the revolutions of time have enveloped in obscurity 
 many incidents and events, to which we cannot now 
 apply the satire and irony, nor appreciate so exactly 
 their true merit, not being acquainted with the facts 
 on which they are founded. However certain and 
 
OF CERVANTES. 135 
 
 positive these reflections may be, they cannot, how- 
 ever, authorise or support the extravagant opinion 
 widely spread in Spain and other countries, that 
 Cervantes intended to portray in his Don Quixote 
 the emperor, Charles the Fifth, and his minister the 
 Duke of Lerma; much less that lie made his work 
 the channel of a satire on his own country in order 
 to ridicule the Spanish nobility, who he imagined 
 were carried away by an absurd spirit of chivalry. 
 From this imputation, in many respects injurious to 
 Cervantes, he was vindicated by Don Vicente de los 
 liios, who proved, with singular erudition and admi- 
 rable acuteness, that the spirit of chivalry was com- 
 mon to all Europe, and not peculiar to .Spain alone, 
 of which Cervantes could not be ignorant, nor was 
 it his intention to depreciate the genius of his country ; 
 and the opinion of Lope de Vega is correct, that in 
 this description of writing the Spaniards have always 
 held a high station, as, in point of invention, no other 
 nation of the world has excelled them. 
 
 But with regard to the persons whom Cervantes 
 is supposed to have held up to ridicule, the simple 
 perusal of Don Quixote is sufficient to show us that 
 the character and manners of his hero, and the nature 
 and quality of his adventures and exploits, are all 
 adopted from chivalrous romances which he proposed 
 as subjects of ridicule ; for, as Pellicer judiciously 
 observes, Don Quixote de la Mancha i.s a true Amadis 
 de Gaul, painted in burlesque ; to which we may 
 subjoin, with Don Diego de Torres, ' that in the 
 range of the humorous epic it is impossible to find 
 anything to equal the charm of this romance, nor 
 could a more bitter satire be produced against the 
 absurdities of knight-errantry. Cervantes, too, like 
 a great master, has added to his picture many strokes 
 
136 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 and incidents -related of other kniohts-errant, real 
 and feigned, in order to render the portrait of his 
 hero more perfect and appropriate, and the traits of 
 his madness and extravagance more .probable." 
 
 But as at the same time the variety and proba- 
 bility of the adventures, episodes, and incidents of 
 this romance afford an ample field for censuring the 
 views and prejudices of society, he endeavoured to 
 effect this object with a commendable zeal and a 
 direct pleasantry, with allusion to real events and 
 personages. The curiosity and interest becoming 
 thus greater, the remedy was more efficacious and the 
 cure more prompt, without, however, openly wound- 
 ing the self-love of those who imagined themselves 
 reprimanded, by the graceful tone and chivalrous air 
 with which the reproof was tempered. 
 
 From this ingenious mode of censure adopted by 
 Cervantes arose the expression of <f</'/<//.-W/m-. which 
 his contemporary Manuel de Faria y Sousa applied 
 to Cervantes, adding, in reference to Don Quixote, 
 that he scarcely ever introduced an incident without 
 deducing a useful moral from it, either openly or 
 figuratively : as he has demonstrated in analysing the 
 government of Sancho, and as Pellicer and Bowles 
 have shown in various parts of their annotations. 
 
 From hence we may see how ill-founded was 
 the opinion of Voltaire, when he asserted that Cer- 
 vantes found the type of Don Quixote in the Orlando 
 of Ariosto, and how idle and absurd the attempt of 
 Itios to prove that Cervantes, in his ' iiwcnioso hi- 
 nahio" proposed to himself an imitation of Homer in 
 his Iliad ; or that of Pellicer, who, in endeavour!? 
 invalidate this opinion, pretends to have found many 
 points of resemblance between the Spanish romance 
 and the Golden Ass of Apuleius ; giving occasion by 
 
OF CEHVAN, 137 
 
 th - paradoxes to some Spanish literati resident in 
 Italy, as Don Antonio E.vimeuo, and an anonymous 
 writer, under the pretext, first of defending Cervantes, 
 and afterwards of criticising him, to amuse them- 
 selves with comparing the arms brought by Thetis 
 to Achilles to the helmet of Mambrino, the wedding 
 of Camacho with the funeral games of Patroclus and 
 Anchises ; the apparition of the winged steed, with 
 the Trojan horse ; the disenchantment of Dulcinea, 
 announced by Merlin, with the enchanted forest of 
 Tasso ; and many other such comparisons. 
 
 Without adopting the extravagant opinions of the 
 one, or the perhaps idle conjectures of the other, we 
 are persuaded that Cervantes had read and studied 
 with advantage those celebrated authors, and has at 
 times adopted and imitated some of these sentiments 
 and incidents, as Faria himself informs us he has 
 taken some from Petronius and Camoens ; but with 
 that air, ease, and lightness, with that grace and 
 appropriate elegance, with which great writers know 
 how to appropriate and infuse the thoughts of others, 
 and without impairing in any degree the inimitable 
 originality of his work. Cervantes, in adopting the 
 air of the old romance with its adventures and heroes, 
 opened a middle path between this and the old epic, 
 touching neither extremes, although it retains the 
 qualities of both; as its plan, action, and episodes, 
 and moreover the modes of expression, the passions, 
 the characters and event*, resemble the writers of 
 chivalry, while in probability, in plot and develop- 
 ment, it is nearer the regular epic. But he may claim 
 as his own the piquant irony, the native grace, and 
 comic wit, which at that time had had no precursor, 
 and has since had no imitators. 
 
 " If all works of romance had been -written in the 
 
138 LIFE AXD WRITINGS 
 
 manner that Cervantes described and proposed, they 
 would not have merited the reprehension and con- 
 tempt of reasoning and well-judging men, nor have 
 provoked the satire and burlesque with which they 
 have been so happily ridiculed in Dun Quixote. 
 Ample matter and argument are not wanting to a 
 refined genius where lit; might display all the trea- 
 sures of the imagination and of philosophy, in agree- 
 able and magnificent description, in the delineation of 
 character, in the expression of the affections and pas- 
 sions, in the riches and pomp of eloquence, and in 
 the correctness and propriety of langu; 
 
 " In this manner, and with such art and rules, a 
 romance might be written, that should render its 
 author as celebrated in prose as the two great poets 
 of Greece and Rome are in verse enriching our 
 language witli a treasury of eloquence, while the 
 absurd and neglected romances would vanish before 
 the light of new works, producing as unexception- 
 able entertainment, not only for the idle but the 
 learned." These are the words of Cervantes, at a 
 time when he Avas writing a burlesque imitation and 
 a pleasant satire on those works, and thought himself 
 capable of executing the plan he proposed. Estab- 
 lishing in this manner, not only his perpetual cele- 
 brity, like Homer and Virgil in their epics, but also, 
 by ridiculing all the absurd books of chivalry, he 
 banished them from the republic of letters as useless 
 and prejudicial, and substituted for their absurd style, 
 another full of grace and urbanity, of erudition and 
 instruction, of learning and morality ; uniting useful- 
 ness with pleasure, in the prudent combination of 
 which consists the perfection of works of genius, 
 agreeably to the precepts of Horace. 
 
 " We may here remark with P. Sannicnto, that 
 
OF CERVANTES. 139 
 
 whilst Cervantes was waging war in this manner, 
 and with such signal success, against the false and 
 absurd hooks of chivalry, there now began to appear 
 in every shape tlie idle tales and traditions of false 
 chronicles, to the injury of the integrity and purity 
 of our history. Such is the wretched condition of 
 mankind to be ever pursuing phantoms instead of 
 realities, and such the shameful abuse of talent in 
 those who lead others astray from the paths of know- 
 ledge and truth." 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Transitory effects of the death of Philip II. Reflections upon arbi- 
 trary government Its fatal influence on the fortunes of 
 Cervantes The victim of evil times and circumstances of a 
 despotic court Don Quixote Its cool reception Gradual 
 progress rapid sale and universal fame Opinions of M. Sis- 
 mondi Requisites for its perusal Ol.ject of the work Its 
 spirit, plot, characters Ancient and modern models Mixed 
 nature Real views of Cervantes To entertain, reform, and 
 instruct Specimens Anecdotes Original idea Power of ima- 
 gination Its vivid representations Lasting impressions Vigour 
 of description Vast knowledge and learning Variety of the 
 episodes Their charm and pathos Powerful contrasts Dignity, 
 richness Beauty and exquibite polish of style. 
 
 AFTKU the death of that gloomy and bigoted 
 monarch, Philip II., in 1598, genius, freedom, science, 
 and the arts, appeared to revive from the deadening 
 influence, which extending to the very thoughts and 
 minds of men, produced a general torpor ; a silence 
 of religious and political despotism which few were 
 daring enough to break. We have seen Cervantes 
 returning to his country and to his family, maimed, 
 
140 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 ruined, and neglected; without prospects or resources, 
 yet with a vigour of mind, a gaiety of disposition, 
 and brilliant talent, which under happier circum- 
 stances would soon have raised him to that rank and 
 fortune the least noble, though the just and natural 
 heritage of pre-eminent mind. As it was, that sphere 
 of ardent mind was restricted within the least pos- 
 sible limits ; liberty of speech, discussion of all the 
 great questions connected with the religious or poli- 
 tical welfare of man, were under the same ban as 
 the liberty of the press itself; and the .freedom of 
 the human energies and intellect thus shut out cut 
 off as it were at the fountain head could not exert 
 a proper influence upon the glory of letters, upon the 
 drama, the fine arts, or indeed on any of the intellec- 
 tual productions of the times. Under other institu- 
 tions, Cervantes would never, as a common soldier, 
 have embraced the profession of arms, continued in 
 it long after he had lost the use of a limb, with a 
 constitution impaired by extreme sufferings and cap- 
 tivity ; would never have been compelled to solicit 
 mean employments uncongenial with his habits, or 
 to be sent in a subordinate capacity from the coun- 
 try for which he had fought and bled into a distant 
 colony. Nor would he, with fire of imagination and 
 energy of spirit, such as are rarely possessed, have 
 suffered above twenty years to elapse under the dead 
 calm of a dreaded tyrant, and more ungrateful master, 
 without the publication of a single work, or giving 
 to the world the first part of Don Q.uixote before 
 the year 1605. Thus, in addition to his other dis- 
 appointments, debarred on one side from a career 
 of honour by the ingratitude of a court which refused 
 either to promote or to reward him, his mind and 
 genius, like his fortune, may truly be said to have 
 
OF CERVANTES. 141 
 
 been condemned during that oppressive reign to a 
 kind of solitary imprisonment, worse almost in one 
 sense than the Baths of Algiers ; while a despicable 
 court, and men of rank, affected in their ignorance 
 to despise even his Don Quixote. 
 
 When Spain began to breathe from the weight of 
 successive wars and oppression at home, and peace 
 and the useful arts for a brief interval seemed likely 
 to re-appear, the change, though not more favourable 
 to the fortunes of Cervantes, was shown in the rapid 
 progress and extension of his fame. The success of 
 his new work (at first received with coolness), even 
 at that period, and notwithstanding the envious at- 
 tacks of his contemporaries, was wonderful ; for more 
 than thirty thousand copies are known to have been 
 struck off during the author's lifetime. It was trans- 
 lated into all languages, was applauded by all classes 
 of readers, and yet this was as nothing to the vast 
 circulation and the far ampler honours preparing for 
 it by the future. To Don Quixote Cervantes owes 
 his immortality. No work in any language ever 
 exhibited a more delicate or a more lively satire, 
 combined with a richer vein of invention, and wrought 
 with happier success. Of this, every one who has 
 really read this inimitable work, is pleasantly enough 
 aware ; and also that it is one which cannot be read 
 in fragments, or analysed according to rule. To 
 become acquainted with the knight of La Mancha we 
 must have a full-length view of him ; watch him 
 poring over his books of chivalry, hear him holding 
 parley with paladins and enchanters ; and see him 
 soaring beyond the little confines of reason in his 
 fantastic and glorious moods. They who have read 
 the histories of Amadis and Orlando, in which he 
 took so much delight, know best how to estimate his 
 
142 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 qualities when lie mounts his lean and ancient steed, 
 braces on his rusty armour, and traverses plains and 
 mountains in quest of adventures worthy of his sword. 
 They can see how every object is transformed by his 
 vivid imagination, from windmills, countiy girls, 
 and clowns, into giants, paladins, Dulcineas, and 
 enchanters ; and why all his vexations and reverses 
 are insufficient to open his eyes. To them the ex- 
 ploits of the Don, with his faithful Rosinante, and 
 his comic squire, Sancho, appear in their true colours, 
 and with all the dignity which gives so rich a zest 
 to their exploits. To value these and their genuine 
 characters at their worth, we ought to enter into the 
 circumstances of the previous histories supposed to 
 have formed them, and into the views which acttiated 
 the author in commemorating their heroic deeds ; into 
 the essential anil deep-seated satire of his entire work, 
 and which, without the buoyant and merry spirit 
 that animated him, would have been a serious labour, 
 a disquisition upon the errors and follies of human 
 nature and of his times. His pleasantry, on the other 
 hand, induces us to think, and to make companions 
 of wisdom and reflection by the way-side ; and we 
 laugh while we are taught. Even the most divert- 
 ing adventures, told in the most humorous spirit, 
 bear a moral with them at which the author never 
 fails to point. If we wish to take as it was meant, 
 the humour afforded by the singular heroism of the 
 knight, contrasted with the terror of the squire, when, 
 in the dead hour of night, they hear the sound of a 
 fulling-mill, we enjoy the humour doubly from our 
 knowledge of the peril of night adventures and attacks, 
 and we unconsciously compare their situation with 
 that of Homer's and Virgil's heroes, when plotting 
 to surprise the enemy in their camps. To form a 
 
OP CERVANTES. 143 
 
 just opinion, the work must be understood and read 
 \<> extracts could convey an idea of 
 the adventures at the inn which Don Quixote ima- 
 gined was an enchanted castle, and where Sancho 
 was thrown in a blanket. It is only in the work 
 itself that we can enjoy the wit of the fine contrast 
 between the gravity, the measured language, and the 
 manner of Don Quixote, and the ignorance and vul- 
 garity of Sauclio. It must be left to the power of 
 the narrative its -If, to the interest and charm of the 
 whole, blending the liveliness of imagination which 
 results from variety of adventures, -with the liveliness 
 of wit which displays itself in the delineation of cha- 
 racter, to rivet the attention of the reader to such a 
 book. This is shown by the indifference of those 
 who have perused and relished it, to the best extracts 
 which could be taken from it, and much is also lost 
 without some acquaintance with the language, and 
 witli the cu>toms and manners of the hero's country. 
 Another, and not the least striking feature in the 
 composition of Don Quixote, is the continual contrast 
 preserved between what has been called the poetical 
 and the prosaic spirit. The imagination, the emo- 
 tions, all the most generous qualities and impulses, 
 tend to elevate Don Quixote in our eyes. Men of 
 noble minds, we know, both before and since the age 
 of the hero, made it the object of their lives to defend 
 the weak, to aid the oppressed, to be the champions 
 of justice and innocence. Like Don Quixote, too, 
 they everywhere discovered the image of those vir- 
 tues which they worshipped. They believed that 
 disinterestedness, nobility, courage, and chivalry, 
 were still in existence. Without calculating upon 
 their own powers, they still exerted themsel-ves for 
 the welfare of the ungrateful, aud sacrificed them- 
 
144 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 selves to laws and principles, by many considered 
 altogether illusory. The devotion of heroism, indeed, 
 and the trials of virtue, are among the noblest and 
 most exemplary themes in the history of man.* 
 They present the best subjects for the highest species 
 of poetry, which is for the most part little more than 
 the representation of grand and disinterested feelings. 
 The same character, however, which excites our 
 admiration when beheld from an elevated situation, 
 becomes almost ridiculous when viewed from the level 
 of the earth. We know that there is no more fertile 
 source of entertainment than error, in other words, 
 blunders and mistakes. These, which abound in 
 the adventures of the hero, by producing the most 
 comic juxta-positions, and what may be truly termed 
 witty incidents, which speak for themselves, abound 
 throughout the narration ; for a man w r ho sees nothing 
 around him but what is heroic or chivalrous, must 
 assuredly give frequent occasion for the play of 
 strange combinations, odd situations, and novel 
 events. Next to such pleasant mistakes are those 
 contrasts still more productive, perhaps, of risible 
 effects, for nothing can be more singularly contrasted 
 than the poetry and the prose of life ; the romance of 
 the imagination, and the petty details of everyday 
 occurrence ; the valour and the great appetite of the 
 hero ; the palace of Armida and an inn j the en- 
 chanted princesses and Maritorna. 
 
 It is from these considerations that some persons, 
 in the opinion of M. Sismondi, have thought Don 
 Quixote one of the most melancholy books that was 
 ever written, and it is so far true, that the ground- 
 work and moral of the romance are, in point of fact, 
 
 * M. Sismondi, " Literature of the South of Europe," vol. 
 iii., pp. 325,345,350. 
 
OF CERVANTI.s. 145 
 
 of a mournful character. In the unlucky adventures 
 of his hero, Cervantes lias, in some measure, exhibited 
 the variety of noble feelings, and the illusions of an 
 heroic mind. In Don Quixote we behold a perfectly 
 gentlemanly and accomplished man, who is, notwith- 
 standing, the object of continual ridicule, a man 
 brave beyond all that history could boast of, who 
 confronts the most terrific, not only of mortal, but of 
 supernatural terrors ; whose high sense of honour 
 will not permit him to hesitate a single moment in 
 performing his smallest promise's, or to deviate in the 
 slightest degree from strict truth. Disinterested also 
 as brave, he combats only for virtue ; and when he 
 is anxious to possess a kingdom, it is for the purpose 
 of conferring it upon his faithful squire. He is at once 
 the most faithful and most respectful of lovers, the 
 most humane of warriors, the kindest master, the 
 most redoubtable and perfect of cavaliers : with a 
 taste as refined as his intellect is richly stored and 
 cultivated, he must be allowed to surpass in good- 
 ness, in loyalty, and in valour, all the Amadises, 
 and the Orlandos, whom he had proposed for his 
 model. His most generous enterprises, however, are 
 rewarded only with hard knocks and tumbles ; while 
 his love of glory brings everybody around him into 
 some serious scrape. The giants with whom he 
 combats so manfully, turn out to be windmills ; the 
 ladies whom he frees from the power of enchanters, 
 are simple women, going upon their own affairs, and 
 whom he almost frightens to death. The men. in 
 particular, he treats very cavalierly, and, in the idea 
 of redressing their wrongs and injuries, generally 
 leaves behind him some impressive mark of his 
 favour. It is on this account that the bachelor Lopez 
 remarks with proper feeling : " I do not precisely 
 
146 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 comprehend your method of redressing people's 
 wrongs ; for, in my own case, you have made me 
 crooked when I was straight enough before ; you 
 have broken my leg, and it will never be set right all 
 the days of my life ; nor, for the life of me, can I 
 understand how you can repair injuries, for that 
 which I have received from you will never be re- 
 paired by you. It was the most unlucky adventure 
 that ever befell me, when I fell in with you in search 
 of your adventures."* 
 
 The conclusion, therefore, to which we must come, 
 after a perusal of Don Quixote, is the one no doubt 
 feelingly entertained by the bachelor, that a high 
 degree of enthusiasm is prejudicial, not only to the 
 individual who is actuated by it, and who is deter- 
 mined, without asking leave, to sacrifice himself to 
 the good of others ; but it is equally dangerous to 
 society, the rules of which it infringes, puts people 
 at variance with its spirit and its institutions, and 
 produces strange and often ludicrous results. 
 
 Although a work, as it has been before observed, 
 which treated this subject seriously and logically, 
 would be as melancholy as degrading to humanity, 
 yet a satire, written without bitterness, may still be 
 a gay and sprightly production, because it is clear 
 that not only the aiithor of the ridicule, but those 
 against whom it is levelled, are themselves suscep- 
 tible of high and generous feelings. It is, indeed, 
 amongst such personages that we frequently trace 
 strong resemblances to the knight of La Mancha, a 
 truth more honourable, perhaps, to their hearts than 
 to their judgment ; but that it is a fact, the frequent 
 occasions upon which we apply, and hear the knight's 
 name applied, to numerous designs and undertakings, 
 
 * Book ill., c. ix. 
 
OF CERVANTES. 147 
 
 private as well as public, is a convincing proof that 
 there is at least nothing improbable, or unnatural, in 
 such a character. It has been even remarked* that 
 there was a sort of knight-errantry in that of Cer- 
 vantes himself, and indisputablv so in the spirit of 
 his actions and adventures while a captive. It was 
 the love of honour and fame which in part drove him 
 to abandon his quiet studies, and the calm enjoy- 
 ments of home, to fight against the enemies of his 
 country ; which impelled him to volunteer again and 
 again into the ranks, though his previous services 
 had remained unrequited ; though he had lost the 
 use of an arm, and in his own person presented a 
 memorial of the noblest military achievement, which 
 arrested the increasing power of the Crescent, when 
 it threatened all Europe. It was the same which 
 excited the dauntless bravery and persevering efforts 
 of the captive at Algiers, which extorted the respect 
 of the Moors, which, after he had received extreme 
 unction, with the certainty that he could not survive 
 beyond the next Sunday, enabled him to behold death 
 with that gay and tranquil mind which dictated the 
 noble words in his last preface ; and in his letter to 
 the Count de Lemos, and in some of his latter 
 writings, traces of resemblance are to be perceived 
 between himself and the undeceived hero, who 
 becomes conscious of the vanity of glory, and the 
 illusion of that career of ambition which was always 
 impeded by misfortune, t If it be true, moreover, 
 that u to ridicule one's self implies the highest effort of 
 good taste," we think we see much in Cervantes to 
 display the ridicule which might attach even to his 
 
 M. Sisniomli. 
 t See The Labours of 1'ersiles am! Sig'sinunda. 
 
148 LIKE AM) WRITINGS 
 
 most generous efforts. Every enthusiastic mind, 
 like his, readily joins in pleasantry which does not 
 spare the individual himself, nor that which he most 
 loves and respects, if, at the same time, it docs not 
 degrade him. 
 
 This original idea in the Don Quixote, this contrast 
 between the heroic and the vulgar world, and this 
 happy raillery of enthusiasm, were not, however, the 
 only objects which Cervantes had in view. There is 
 one more particularly apparent, and of more direct 
 application, but which, at this time of day. appears 
 to be wholly lost sight of. We must always recol- 
 lect that the literature of Spain, at the moment when 
 Don Quixote first appeared, was overrun with books 
 of chivalry, for the most part wretched compositions; 
 ajid such was their influence, that not only was the 
 national taste perverted, but its spirit was mis- 
 applied. Doubtless, this chivalric mythology con- 
 tributed to impress upon the imagination ideas of 
 morality and honour, and in so far to produce a bene- 
 ficial effect on the character of modern nations. Love 
 was purified by this spirit of romance ; and it is pro- 
 bably to the authors of Lancelot, of Amadis, and of 
 Orlando, that we owe that high feeling and gallantry 
 which distinguish modern European nations from the 
 people of antiquity, as well as that homage towards 
 women, and that respect, bordering upon adoration, 
 with which the Greeks were perfectly unacquainted. 
 Briseis, Andromache, and Penelope, humbly and 
 timidly resign themselves to the arms of their con- 
 querors, at once their mistresses and their slaves. 
 Good faith, in modern times, became the handmaid 
 of force, and dishonour was then, for the first time, 
 attached to falsehood, which, though looked upon as 
 immoral by the ancients, was never considered to be 
 
OF CERVAXIT-. 149 
 
 shameful. The sentiment of honour was connected 
 with our very existence ; disgrace was rendered 
 worse than death ; and, to conclude, courage, was 
 made a necessary quality, not only to the soldier, but 
 to man in every rank of society. 
 
 But if the genuine romances of chivalry had so 
 happy an influence on national manners, the imita- 
 tions of them were no less fatal to the public taste. 
 The imagination, when it has no foundation of realitv 
 upon which to rest, and no reference to the congruity 
 of things, is a quality not only frequent, but even 
 vulgar. There have been, it is true, a few nations or 
 a few ages to which it has been denied, but when it 
 do 's exist, it is endemic throughout a whole nation. 
 The Spaniards, the Prove^als, and the Arabians, 
 have all their own peculiar cast of imagination, which 
 is distinguishable in every individual, from the poet 
 to the peasant. If this imagination is not confided 
 to the direction of rules, it is astonishing to observe 
 the number and variety of the extravagances into 
 which writers are hurried. 
 
 In the examination, for instance, of Don Quixote's 
 library by the curate and the barber, they cite the 
 names of hundreds of the old romances of chivalry, 
 which Cervantes condemns to the flames. It does 
 not appear that the fault, even of the worst, was that 
 they were destitute of imagination. There was 
 imagination in Esplaudian, in the continuation of 
 Amadis of Gaul, in the Amadis of Greece, and hi- 
 de -d in all the Amadises. There wa.s imagination in 
 Florismart of Hircania, in Palmerin d'Oliva, and in 
 Palmerin of England ; for all these books were rich 
 iw enchantments, and giants, and battles, in extraor- 
 dinary amours and marvellous adventures. In the 
 field through which the romance writers might 
 
150 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 wander without encountering a single object, it was 
 always in their power to tread a new path. Many 
 of them, however, did not submit to be guided by 
 nature, who ought to be our mistress even in works 
 of fiction. The consequence is, that we continually 
 meet with causes disproportioned to the effects, cha- 
 racters without unity, incidents without connexion, 
 and a spirit of exaggeration which, at a first view, 
 seems to be the result of the imagination, but which 
 in fact chills it, and by its absurdity disgusts the 
 reader. There is thus no probability in these com- 
 positions ; not only not the probability of nature, 
 which we do not look for, but not even the probabi- 
 lity of fiction. Even in prodigies and fairy tales, a 
 certain truth, consistency, and probability, must be 
 preserved, without which miracles cease to be extra- 
 ordinary, and impossibilities themselves to keep us 
 awake. 
 
 The facility of inventing these productions, and the 
 certainty of such strange adventures becoming popu- 
 lar, opened the field of literature to a crowd of inferior 
 writers, unacquainted with all that an author ought 
 to know, and more especially with everything which 
 tends to form a graceful style. The Spaniards, al- 
 ready addicted to far-fetched and antithetical expres- 
 sions, and imitating in this the taste of the Africans 
 and of the Arabians, passionately devoted themselves 
 to a puerile play upon words, and to that tortured 
 and inflated style which seems to be the result of a 
 diseased imagination, and which, where it is con- 
 sidered to be a perfection, is in the power of the 
 meanest intellect. This is the style which Cervantes 
 touches upon in his Feliciano de Sylvia : " The rea- 
 son of the unreasonableness which you impute to my 
 reason, so weakens my reason, that it is with reason 
 
OF CERVAN'ii:-. 151 
 
 that I complain of your beauty ;" and again, " Tlie 
 high heavens which divinely fortify your divinity by 
 their stars, and which make you merit the mercy 
 which your greatness merits." 
 
 Whilst the fashionable writers thus overthrew all 
 the rules of probability, of taste, and of composition, 
 the multiplicity of the books of chivalry had the 
 worst influence on the feelings and judgment of the 
 readers. The Spaniards began, both in conversation 
 and in action, to esteem nothing so fine as bombast 
 and inflation. They devoted themselves, almost en- 
 tirely, to the perusal of those empty authors who 
 excited the imagination without engaging the other 
 faculties or feelings of the mind. History, when 
 compared with these extravagant fictions of the brain, 
 was considered dull and tiresome. They lost all re- 
 lish for truth, and that lively sense of it by which it 
 is distinguished wherever it is found. They became 
 anxious that their historians should mingle in their 
 gravest narratives, and even in the annals of their 
 own country, circumstances only worthy of figuring 
 in old women's tales. Of this the General Chronicle 
 of Spain, by Francis de Guevara, bishop of Monte- 
 nedo, affords sufficient evidence. The romances of 
 chivalry were, it is true, the inventions of men of an 
 elevated character, and they inspired a taste for noble 
 sentiments ; but of all books, these are the last to 
 afford real entertainment or instruction. Strangers 
 as the authors were to the world, it is impossible to 
 apply any of the matter which we there meet with 
 to the concerns of real life ; or if we do so, it is at the 
 risk of violating all propriety and correctness of feel- 
 ing and opinion. 
 
 It was, therefore, a useful and patriotic design in 
 Cervantes, to exhibit, as he has done in Don Quixote, 
 
152 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 the abuse of the books of chivalry, and to overwhelm 
 those romances, the creations of a diseased imagin- 
 ation, which delight in portraying characters and 
 describing actions which could never have existed. 
 In this attempt Cervantes was completely successful; 
 and the old romances fell before the lance of Don 
 Quixote. It was in vain for subsequent writers to 
 contend against so witty and ingenious a satire, and 
 to expose themselves to the chance of finding that 
 they had been caricatured before they made their 
 appearance. It would be very desirable if, in every 
 style of composition, after we have once secured the 
 masterpieces, we could thus place a barrier against 
 the crowd of succeeding imitators. 
 
 O 
 
 The vigorous talents which Cervantes possessed 
 are powerfully manifested in his comic productions, 
 in which we never find him trespassing, as he him- 
 self declares, against religion, law, or morals. The 
 character of Sancho Panza offers an admirable con- 
 trast to that of his master. The one is full of poetry, 
 the other of prose. In Sancho are displayed all the 
 qualities of common life, under the influence of a 
 corrupt priesthood, and a more vicious government ; 
 a combination of sensuality, gluttony, idleness, cow- 
 ardice, vain boasting, egotism, and cunning all of 
 these mingled with some degree of native worth, 
 fidelity, and even shrewd sense and good-nature. 
 Cervantes was fully sensible that he could not bring 
 into the foreground any odious character, mor 
 pecially in a comic romance. In spite of all his hits 
 at them, it is evident that he wishes both Don 
 Quixote and his squire to be on good terms with the 
 reader; and though he has invariably placed the two 
 characters in contrast, he has not given virtuous qua- 
 lities only to the one, and vice to the other. Whilst 
 
OF CERVANTES. 153 
 
 the amusing madness of Don Quixote consists in 
 pursuing too far that lofty philosophy which is the 
 offspring of exalted mind!-;, Sancho errs no less in 
 taking for his guide that practical and calculating 
 philosophy, on which the proverbs of all nations are 
 founded. Both poetry and prose are thus turned into 
 derision ; and if enthusiasm suffers in the person 
 of the knight, egotism does not escape in that of the 
 squire. 
 
 The general plot of the Don Quixote, and the chain 
 of incidents which it contains, may truly be con- 
 sidered prodigal of wit and imagination. The pro- 
 vince of the imagination is to create. If it were 
 admissible to make a profane application of the words 
 of the Evangelist, the imagination represents the 
 things which are not, as the things which are ; and 
 indeed the objects which have been once presented to 
 us by a powerful imagination, remain impressed upon 
 the memory as though they possessed an actual exist- 
 ence. Their form, their qualities, their habitudes, 
 are so marked out and determined ; they have been 
 so clearly exhibited to the eye of the mind, they have 
 so palpably assumed their place in the creation, and 
 they form so distinct a link in the general chain of 
 being, that we could with greater facility deny ex- 
 istence to real objects, than to these creatures of our 
 imagination. Thus Don Quixote and Sancho, the 
 Governante, and the Curate, have become indelibly 
 imprinted upon our memory and our fancy, and their 
 distinct and perfect pictures can never be removed. 
 In the same way we are made familiar with La 
 Mancha and the solitudes of the Sierra Morena. 
 Spain lies stretched, as it were, before our eyes. The 
 manners, customs, and spirit of its inhabitants, are 
 painted in this faithful mirror. "NVe derive a more 
 
154 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 accurate knowledge of this singular nation from the 
 pages of Don Quixote, than from the narratives and 
 observations of the most inquisitive traveller. 
 
 Cervantes, however, did not devote his mind to 
 gaiety and wit alone. If his principal hero was not 
 calculated to excite dramatic interest, he has yet 
 proved, by the episodes which he has introduced into 
 his romance, that he was able to excite a livelier in- 
 terest by the exhibition of tender and passionate sen- 
 timents, and the ingenious disposition of romantic 
 incidents. The different stories of the shepherdess 
 Marcella, of Cardenio, of the Captive, and of the 
 Curious Impertinent, form almost half the work. 
 These episodes are infinitely varied, both in the na- 
 ture of the incidents, in character, and in language. 
 They may, perhaps, be blamed for some degree of 
 tediousness at the commencement, and for an occa- 
 sional pedantry in the opening narrative and the dia- 
 logue. As soon, however, as the situation of the 
 characters becomes animated, they immediately rise 
 and develop themselves, and the language becomes 
 proportionally pathetic. The tale of the Curious Im- 
 pertinent, which is, perhaps, more faulty than any of 
 the others, terminates in the most touching manner. 
 
 The style of Cervantes, in his Don Quixote, pos- 
 sesses an inimitable beauty which no translation can 
 approach. It exhibits the nobleness, the candour, and 
 the simplicity of the ancient romances of chivalry, 
 together with a liveliness of colouring, a precision of 
 expression, and a harmony in its periods, which have 
 never been equalled by any other Spanish writer. 
 The few passages in which Don Quixote harangues 
 his auditors, have gained great celebrity by their 
 oratorical beauty. Such, for example, are his obser- 
 vations on the marvels of the age of gold, which he 
 
OF CERVANTES. 155 
 
 addresses to the shepherds who are offering him 
 nuts. In this happy dialogue the language of Don 
 Quixote is lofty and sustained : it has all the gran- 
 deur and the grace of antiquity. His words, like his 
 person, seem always surrounded with cuirass and 
 morion ; and this style becomes more amusing when 
 contrasted with the plebeian language of Sancho 
 Panza. He promises the latter the government of 
 an island, which he always denominates, according 
 to the ancient language of the romance writers, 
 in>t>i?'i, and not Isla. Sancho, who repeats the word 
 with much emphasis, does not exactly comprehend 
 its meaning ; and the mysterious language which his 
 master employs raises his expectation in propor- 
 tion to his ignorance. 
 
 The most extensive learning, and an intellect at 
 once various and refined, are exhibited in the Don 
 Quixote. It was the casket which Cervantes 
 delighted to store with all his most ingenious 
 thoughts. The art of criticism appears to have 
 occupied a great share of his attention. This obser- 
 vation will apply to many authors; and, indeed, the 
 art of composition is a subject to which every writer 
 ought to devote the most mature reflection. The 
 examination of the library of Don Quixote by the 
 Curate, furnishes us with a little treatise on Spanish 
 literature, full of refinement and correct judgment ; 
 but this is not the only occasion on which the sub- 
 ject is introduced. The prologue, and many of the 
 discourses of Don Quixote, or of the other characters 
 introduced, abound in critical remarks, sometimes 
 serious, sometimes playful, but always correct, novel, 
 and interesting. It was, doubtless, in order to 
 obtain pardon for the severity with which he had 
 treated others, that he was by no means sparing 
 
156 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 upon himself. In the library of Don Quixote the 
 Curate asks the Barber, " What is the book placed 
 side by side with the Cancionero Maldonado ?" " It 
 is the Galatea of Miguel de Cervantes," replied the, 
 Barber. " This Cervantes has loner been my friend," 
 rejoined the Curate, " and I know he has much more 
 to do with misfortunes than with poetry. His book 
 does indeed display a little power of invention ; it 
 aims at something, but it reaches nothing. We must 
 wait for the second part which he promises ; who 
 knows whether, when it is corrected, the author may 
 not obtain the mercy which we are now compelled to 
 refuse him ?"* 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Astonishing success of his new work Envy and malignity of his 
 contemporaries Lope de Vega Attempts made to excite enmity 
 between them Calumnies and falsehoods employed Birth of 
 Philip IV Count de Leriua's embassy to England Splendid 
 banquets Singular fatality Depositions of Cervantes and his 
 family relative to the affair Information of his residence and 
 family thus obtained Anecdotes The works of Hiirtado do 
 Mendoza Academical meetings His connexions and friend- 
 ships Ungrateful return Hearilessm-ss of men of rank 
 Academy of the Selvage Its members Poems composed by 
 Cervantes. 
 
 THE universal applause with which Don Quixote 
 was received, was followed by the persecution of the 
 author, from the malevolence and envy of some writers 
 who thought themselves included in the censures and 
 reprehensions of that work. The authors of chival- 
 rous romances and their idle swarm of readers saw 
 
 * Literature of the South pf Europe, by M. Sismondi, iii., pp. 
 326-34R. 
 
OF CF.RVANTES. 157 
 
 themselves the subjects of its graceful irony ; several 
 poets, too, found themselves anathematized in the 
 humorous scrutiny of the library of Don Quixote, 
 and several dramatic writers reprehended inihe judi- 
 cious colloquy of the canon of Toledo. 
 
 At this time, too, the passionate admirers of Lope 
 de ^"ega, astonished at the prodigious fertility of his 
 genius, and loading him with insensate applause, 
 abandoned the patli of reason and nature, openly 
 setting at defiance the rules and precepts dictated by 
 the great masters of antiquity, Aristotle and Horace. 
 From these sources arose the numberless criticisms 
 and attacks on the romance of Don Quixote, as well 
 as on its author ; and of this class was the malicious 
 and spiritless sonnet, possessing neither point nor 
 talent, which appeared in a paper at Valladolid, and 
 of which mention is made in the ,1 tljun fa al Parn<i*n. 
 Two other sonnets have been inconsiderately pub- 
 lished in our own times, attributed to Cervantes 
 and Lope de Vega, to whom they certainly do not 
 belong. The first sonnet directed against the writ- 
 ings of Lope is indubitably by Don Luis de Gon- 
 gora, for it possesses his peculiar mordacity and 
 satire, (as is expressed in the two manuscripts of the 
 Royal Library, in which they are preserved) ; but 
 the author wished to conceal his name ; he used short 
 syllables in the termination, of which Cervantes was 
 the inventor, though immediately adopted by others, 
 and particularly by the author of la Picara Jutl'ina. 
 
 From this circumstance, some court rivals took 
 occasion to attribute to him a criticism so opposite to 
 his character, and so contrary to the high esteem 
 which he always entertained for the person, the 
 genius, and the works of Lope, even when reproving 
 his extravagance of style. 
 
158 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 Avellaneda, under a pretence of defending Lope, 
 discharges against Cervantes all the gall of his bitter 
 and cutting malevolence on this occasion. It is truly 
 melancholy that credit should be given in our own 
 days to a contest of mean and private passion that 
 certainly never existed ; and the belief of this enmity 
 subsisting between the two greatest names in Spanish 
 literature, has provoked the rancour of their respec- 
 tive favourers and proselytes, when it is well known 
 that the public praises which they have reciprocally 
 bestowed on each other's writings, afford the most 
 convincing proof of their judgment, impartiality, and 
 regard. 
 
 At this time many authors and men of letters 
 were induced, by the removal of the court to Yalla- 
 dolid, to fix their residence there, some of whom 
 were the friends and others the rivals of Cervantes. 
 Among the chief of these we may notice the cele- 
 brated Pedro Lainez, the Damon of the Galatea, of 
 whom we shall shortly speak more fully ; Vincento 
 Kspinel, who presided at the festivities which were 
 held at the birth of Philip IV., and who has left 
 us a circumstantial notice of them in his J']x<-il<'ru 
 Marcos de Obregon ; the secretary, Tomas Gracian 
 Dantisco, to whose genius the city was indebted for 
 the design of the triumphal car which was used at 
 the festival ; the Dr. Bartolome Leonardo de Ar- 
 gensola, who also removed to Valladolid, attracted 
 thither by the friendship he entertained for the Duke 
 of Lerma, as soon as the Empress Donna Maria of 
 Austria died at Madrid, on the 22d of February, 
 1603, to whom he was chaplain while she lived, 
 retired in the convent of the Descalzas Koalcs ; the 
 Benedictine, F. Diego de Haedo, abbot of Fromista, 
 who, having finished his History of Algiers in 1604, 
 
OP CERVANTES. 159 
 
 was at that time soliciting a license for its publica- 
 tion ; and as he had related in it many incidents of 
 Cervantes' captivity, and Cervantes himself was at 
 that time preparing a narrative of his own in his 
 tale of The Captive, it is probable that they mutu- 
 ally sought an interview, to inspect and compare the 
 respective relations, in order to give them more sup 
 port and recommendation. 
 
 AVe feel convinced of this from the conformity of 
 style and sentiment ; and P. Sarmiento is of the same 
 opinion, who, in proof of this conjecture, adds, that 
 he had heard from a monk of his order, when he 
 had .scarcely held his habit three years, a tradition 
 which had been preserved, of a Benedictine having 
 assisted Cervantes in the composition of Don Quixote, 
 a report which may have owed its origin to his 
 acquaintance, friendship, and conferences with Ilaedo. 
 
 Lastly, among the second we might include D. 
 Luis de Gongora, whose writings all bear the mark of 
 his caustic pen ; and the Dr. Cristobal Suarez de 
 Figueroa, a native of A'alladolid, who, having returned 
 to his native country in 1604, after a long absence, 
 found it so altered, from the usual changes of time, 
 and the residence of a dissipated court, that he 
 felt himself a greater stranger there than in 
 Ethiopia. AVhen these two men directed against 
 Cervantes their gross and malignant satire, they ma- 
 nifestly proved that their efforts, so far from tending 
 to correct and inform mankind, were only the incite- 
 ments of vanity and self love, and a jealous feeling 
 with which they regarded the fame of others. About 
 this time occurred the birth of Philip the Fourth ; 
 having taken place in A'alladolid, on Good Friday, 
 the eighth day of April, 1G05 ; an event most grate- 
 ful to the .Spanish nation, whose wishes wtre now 
 
160 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 | 
 
 realized for a successor to so vast a monarchy. The 
 desire, and indeed the necessity of a peace with Eng- 
 land, had obliged the court, the year before, to send 
 with those views Don Juan Fernando de Velasco, 
 Constable of Castile, to London. lie was received 
 and treated with the greatest pomp and magnificence 
 in that capital ; and the English court, in order to 
 ratify the treaty, sent to Spain Sir Charles Howard, 
 Lord-High- Admiral, who, accompanied by six hun- 
 dred English gentlemen, landed at Corunna and 
 proceeded to Valladolid, which city he entered on 
 ihe 26th day of May, being welcomed with much 
 affability and respect by Philip III. The English 
 Ambassador was present at the baptism of the 
 Prince, solemnized in the convent of St. Paul, on the 
 eighteenth of the same month, and also when the 
 Queen made her appearance at mass on the thirty- 
 first, at the church of St. Llorente, with the utmost 
 elegance and splendour. 
 
 To add greater lustre to an event so acceptable; 
 and beneficial to the Spanish nation, in addition to 
 the pompous services of the church, the most magni- 
 ficent festivals were given by the court, consisting of 
 bull-fights, triumphal cars, splendid masques and 
 dances in the palace, reviews, and military exercises, 
 and jousts of the canes, in which the king himself 
 took a part, and other entertainments equally novel 
 and gratifying, "which manifested the power and 
 wealth of the Spanish monarchy," according to 
 Vicente Espinel, and excited the admiration of the 
 ambassadors and the world at large. 
 
 Amongst other marks of attention to the English 
 Admiral on the ratification of peace, the most splen- 
 did banquets were given to him by the Constable of 
 Castile and the Duke of Lerma, when to the rich 
 
OF CERVANTES. 161 
 
 and tasteful display of vessels of gold was added an 
 endless variety of viands. It will suffice to say, that 
 at the table of the Constable alone they served up 
 twelve hundred covers of fish and flesh, without 
 counting the dessert. The Spanish court, having 
 thus exercised its hospitality, and the Admiral hav- 
 ing concluded his commission, he took his leave of 
 the King and Queen on the seventeenth day of June, 
 when they manifested towards him the greatest affa- 
 bility and kindness, and he took the road to Santan- 
 dcr, on his return to his own country. 
 
 With the view of perpetuating the memory of 
 this happy event, the duke of Lenna or the count 
 of Miranda, the president of the Council, ordered a 
 narrative to be drawn up, which was printed at 
 Valladolid in that year ; and although published 
 anonymously, yet the celebrated poet, Don Luis de 
 Gongora. has left us data sufficient to prove that 
 Cervantes was the author of it ; for ^Gongora being 
 present on this occasion, composed a burlesque son- 
 net, in which, after reviewing the festivities, he repre- 
 hends the luxury, the wasteful profusion and exces- 
 sive cost so expended, and considers himself bound 
 to communicate such a glorious event to Don Quixote 
 and his squire, and Dapple, with caustic and ironical 
 allusions to the author of the work which had re- 
 cently appeared, and was invariably well received. 
 Scarcely were these public rejoicings concluded, 
 when a melancholy event occurred to interrupt the 
 peace of Cervantes and his family. There happened 
 to be about the court at this time a Navarrese gen- 
 tleman of the name of , Don Gaspar de Ezpeleta, who, 
 according to the fashion of the times, was addicted to 
 jousts, tournaments, and gallantry. This gentleman, 
 on the night of the twenty-seventh of June, 1605, 
 
 M 
 
162 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 in crossing the wooden bridge on the river Esgueva, 
 happened to fall in with an armed man, who desired 
 him to leave that neighbourhood, and angry words 
 arising between them, they had recourse to their 
 swords, and, after exchanging some thrusts, Don 
 Gaspar remained mortally wounded. He called out 
 for assistance, and took refuge in one of the nearest 
 houses. 
 
 Fortunately there resided in one of the principal 
 stories Donna Luisa de Montoya, a widow of the cele- 
 brated historian Esteban de Garibay, with her two 
 sons, and in the other resided Cervantes with his 
 numerous family. On Don Gaspar calling out for 
 help, one of the sons of Garibay hastened to his 
 assistance, and, seeing him entering the house covered 
 with blood and with a naked sword in his hand, 
 called out to Cervantes. Between them they sup- 
 ported him to the apartments of Donna Luisa de 
 Montoya, where he received every assistance until 
 the morning of the twenty-ninth, when he expired. 
 
 A judicial inquiry was immediately instituted re- 
 specting this event, by the licentiate Christobal Vil- 
 laroel, the alcalde of the place and court. The first 
 witness examined was Cervantes, in whose hands the 
 clothes of the wounded man were deposited, and he 
 deposed that he saw on that night the wounds of 
 Don Gaspar de Ezpeleta, but was wholly ignorant 
 how he received them, or who the offender might be. 
 No satisfactory information, however, could be ob- 
 tained, though many witnesses were examined. From 
 these inquiries, and from the evidence of a servant- 
 maid of Cervantes, Maria de Cevallos, we are ena- 
 bled to ascertain that Cervantes' family at that time 
 consisted of his wife, Donna Catalina de Palacios 
 Salazar, his natural daughter, Donna Isabel de 
 
OF CERVANTES. 163 
 
 Saavedra, unmarried, of the age of twenty and up- 
 wards, Donna Andrea Cervantes, his sister, a widow 
 with an unmarried daughter, called Donna Constan/a 
 de Ovando, aged 28 years, and Donna Magdalena 
 Sotomayor, who is also called his sister, and a sister 
 of charity, and more than fifty years of age. 
 
 There existed some suspicion that Don Caspar 
 had met his death in an aftair of gallantry in which 
 he had directed his attentions to a daughter or cousin 
 of Cervantes, or to some of the females who inhabited 
 the other floors of the house. In consequence of this 
 several persons were placed in confinement, and 
 amongst others Cervantes, his daughter, his cousin, 
 and his widowed sister, and their examination was 
 taken on the twentieth of the same month. D. 
 Hernando de Toledo, Sehor de Cigales, and Simon 
 Mendez, a Portuguese, being questioned respecting 
 their frequenting the house of Cervantes, the first 
 stated that he visited Cervantes in consequence of 
 an intimacy form cd with him at Seville; the other, 
 that he came on business ; and Donna Andrea added, 
 that manv persons visited her brother as a person 
 who wrote and transacted business, and that Mendez 
 had requested him to go to Toledo, to collect rents 
 due there. 
 
 From hence it may be inferred that Cervantes was 
 employed in agencies during his residence in Seville, 
 and that he continued them in Valladolid, as a means 
 of supporting his family. 
 
 Soon after the examinations were concluded, Cer- 
 vantes, with his daughter, his sister, and cousin, 
 were liberated from prison under bail, with orders to 
 remain in their own house. But this prohibition 
 was soon removed, on the appeal of Cervantes, as no 
 trace of culpability could be found against them ; 
 M 2 
 
164 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 and on the 9th day of July, Cervantes delivered up 
 the clothes of Don Gaspar, which had been deposited 
 with him. 
 
 It is worthy of remark that in the same house, 
 which stood in the parish of St. Ildefonso, of which 
 Juan de Navas was owner, there lived on the princi- 
 pal floor, as before mentioned, the widow of Esteban 
 de Garibay y Zamalloa, historian and chamberlain of 
 the king, and her two sons, and Cervantes and his 
 family ; and in one of the second, Donna Juana 
 Gaitan, widow of the accomplished poet, and par- 
 ticular friend of the author, Pedro Lainez, who in 
 his office of Treasurer followed the court to Valla- 
 dolid, where he died the same year, 1605, leaving in 
 manuscript two volumes of his works, dedicated to 
 the duke of Pastrana. 
 
 In the succeeding year, 1606, the court returned to 
 Madrid, where Cervantes followed it, fixing his 
 residence in that city, not only for the purpose of con- 
 tinuing his agencies, and seeking for other means of 
 subsistence, but also to be nearer Esquivias and 
 Alcala, where his relations resided. This is proved 
 by some memorials which have been preserved ; from 
 which it appears that about the middle of I 608 he 
 published, for a second time, under his own eye, the 
 first part of Don Quixote, in which he remedied some 
 imperfections and errors, suppressing some passages, 
 and adding others, by which he considerably im- 
 proved this edition, and which, in consequence, is 
 the most highly esteemed by men of letters and 
 bibliographers that soon after he removed to another 
 house at the back of the college of our Lady of Lo- 
 retto that in June, 1610, he dwelt in the street of 
 Leon, the house number 9, lodge 226 that in 16 14 he 
 resided in the street de las Huertas. He also resided 
 
OP CEKVANTES. 165 
 
 in the street of Duque de Alba, next the corner of 
 the Estudio de San Isidro, from which he removed 
 after a dispute at law; and lastly, in 1616, he was 
 living again in the street of Leon, at the corner of 
 Francos, No. 20, lodge 228. 
 
 Cervantes was now advanced in years, and sur- 
 rounded by a large family, without the adequate 
 means of supporting them. Persecuted by his rivals, 
 his long services and his talents alike neglected, and 
 weighed down by disappointments of the world, and 
 the court, and its flatterers, he embraced from this 
 period a retired and philosophical life, as most agree- 
 able to his situation. " Seeking refuge," as he himself 
 expresses it, " once more in his ancient leisure," he 
 devoted himself entirely to the service of the muses, 
 in order to present to the world some fresh and more 
 mature fruits of his genius, allowing, at the same 
 time, full scope for the exercise of those noble vir- 
 tues, theresult of his strong conviction of Christianity, 
 which he had maintained in his youth with such 
 heroic courage amidst infidels and barbarians, and 
 which shone more bright in the evening of his days, 
 to the confusion of his jealous rivals and calumni- 
 ators. 
 
 These devotional feelings led him to join some 
 associations of pious persons at that time ^established 
 out of zeal to the common faith, particularly that 
 of the oratory of Olivaror of Canizares. Philip 
 III., a devout prince, honoured it with his favour 
 and support, and his example was followed by the 
 duke of Lerma, the archbishop of Toledo, and all the 
 magnates of the court, the principal ministers, and 
 the most distinguished men of letters and artists, who 
 tall hastened to enroll their names in this society. 
 One of the first of these was Cervantes, whose intro- 
 
166 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 duction bears the date of the 17th of April, 1609. 
 He was followed in succession by Alonzo Geronimo 
 de Salas Barbadillo, M. Vicente Espincl, D. Fran- 
 cisco de Quevedo, Lope de Vega, M. Josef de Valdi- 
 vieso, D. Josef Pellicer y Tobar, D. Juan de Castillo 
 y Sotomayor, Miguel de Silveira, Vincencio Carducho, 
 D. Jusepe Gonzalez de Salas, the prince d' Esqui- 
 lache, D. Juan de Solorzano Pereira, and others. 
 Other pious establishments, however, were soon af- 
 terwards dissolved, either from public censure, or 
 because their numbers and abuses prejudiced them in 
 the eyes of the government, or because the presumptu- 
 ous levity of some young men brought the institution 
 into disrepute. It is believed that after this event 
 Cervantes, and also Lope de Vega, entered the con- 
 gregation of the oratory of the Caballero de Gracia, 
 whilst his wife and his sister, Donna Andrea, dedi- 
 cated themselves to similar deeds of piety, in the 
 venerable order of St. Francisco, whose habit they 
 received on the 8th day of June of the same year. 
 
 There subsisted at all times a strong and reciprocal 
 affection between Cervantes and his sister, Donna 
 Andrea. This sister, who was older than her 
 brothers, had formerly appropriated a part of her 
 dowry to their ransom from captivity, and that not 
 sufficing, had afterwards, by a repetition of her 
 generosity for the same purpose, lessened her own 
 means of subsistence. She was three times married, 
 the first to Nicolas de Orando, the second to Sanctes 
 Ambrosi, a native of Florence, and the third time to 
 the General Alvaro Mendano ; and having surviA r ed 
 them all, and being left with a daughter, Constanza, of 
 the first marriage, Cervantes received them both with 
 much pleasure into his own family, and they accom- 
 panied him to Seville, Valladolid and Madrid ; con- 
 
OP CERVANTES. 167 
 
 tributing by their labour and industry to their com- 
 mon means of .subsistence. This noble conduct justi- 
 fied the esteem and regard which Cervantes at all 
 times manifested towards Donna Andrea until her 
 death, which happened in his house, on the 9th day 
 of October, 1609, at the age of sixty-five years. She 
 was interred in the parish of St. Sebastian, at the 
 charge of her brother. 
 
 Just at this time Frey Juan Diaz Hidalgo, of the 
 order of St. Juan, had collected together the various 
 poetical works of Don Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, 
 who, for his elevated rank, for the important employs 
 he had held, and above all, for his erudition and 
 fiue taste in literature, had acquired the highest 
 esteem and respect of all men of letters of his age. 
 Cervantes himself had honoured his memory by some 
 beautiful verses and discourses, which he placed 
 in the mouth of the principal personages in his 
 (}<il,it<-<i ; and on the republication of the poetos of 
 Mendoza, he thought it a fit opportunity to offer 
 some fresh compliment to his memory, which he did 
 in a sonnet devoted to the commendation of so 
 esteemed a writer, and calculated to add to his 
 deserved celebrity. The count de Lemos, Don Pedro 
 Fernandez de Castro, had also gained at this time a 
 distinguished reputation as a patron of letters, which 
 lie himself cultivated with great ardour, and extended 
 to them his favour and protection. He was ap- 
 pointed viceroy of Naples in 1610, and soon after 
 that event, Juan Ramirez de Arellano, his secretary, 
 died. The count wrote on the day of his death to 
 the two Argensolas, who were then residing at Zara- 
 goza, and with whom he always maintained a strict 
 friendship, offering to Lupercio the secretaryship of 
 state and of war of the viceroyalty, with a particular 
 
168 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 injunction that he should bring with him his brother, 
 the rector of Villahermosa. The two brothers ac- 
 cepted this flattering offer, and repaired to Madrid, 
 where they received orders to provide themselves 
 with proper assistants in the secretaryship. 
 
 Being anxious to fulfil the commission faithfully, 
 and desirous of gratifying the well known partiality 
 of the Viceroy for men of letters, they selected from 
 a number of poets and authors those whom they 
 judged most fit for the despatch of business, and who 
 were at the same time most able to support with 
 credit the academical meetings which the Count con- 
 templated establishing in his palace. 
 
 With these intentions, not uninfluenced altogether 
 by the partiality of friendship, they attached to their 
 company Dr. Don Antonio Mira de Amescua, arch- 
 deacon of the cathedral of Guadix, his native place, 
 a distinguished comic and lyric poet ; Gabriel de 
 Barrionuevo, celebrated for his humorous interludes ; 
 Don Francisco de Ortigoza, an eccentric and unfortunate 
 man of genitis ; Ambrosio de Laredo y Coronel, a poet 
 of the most happy vein of wit ; the son of Lupercio, 
 called Don Gabriel Leonardo y Albion ; Fr. Diego de 
 Arce, a Franciscan, native of Cuenca, and bishop 
 elect of Tuy, confessor of the.Count, a learned writer, 
 and a diligent collector of the rarest books in Spanish 
 literature ; and other persons of equal name and 
 reputation, although they were unable to satisfy the 
 wishes of all who made interest to accompany the 
 new Viceroy to Italy, in the hopes of sharing his 
 patronage and generous protection. The poet Chris- 
 tobal de Mesa had hitherto experienced the favour 
 of the count de Lemos, through his secretary ; and 
 on the first rumour of that nobleman's appointment to 
 the viceroyalty, Mesa earnestly entreated him, in a 
 
OF CERVANTES. 169 
 
 letter be wrote, to be allowed to accompany him ; but 
 he did not succeed in his wishes, either through the 
 negligence of his favourer and friend, Arellano, or some 
 fresh appointments in the service of the Viceroy, or 
 from having omitted during the last five months his 
 usual visits to his house, in consequence of indisposi- 
 tion, and to submit his compositions, in verse and 
 prose, as he had been accustomed to do. He felt this 
 disappointment very deeply, attributing it to the in- 
 fidelity of his friends, and the envy of the troop of 
 new comers, who surrounded the Count, and who 
 endeavoured to exclude all others from a share of their 
 patron's favour ; complaints which, as we shall here- 
 after see, were also made by Don Christobal Suarez 
 de Figueroa. 
 
 But Mesa did not conceal his disappointment from 
 the Viceroy, but wrote a second letter, in which he 
 says that some of the Spanish poets, who were held 
 in such high estimation, had no just claims to a seat 
 in Parnassus, as would be found on their reaching 
 Italy, where poetry and good taste were better under- 
 stood ; for that some who were considered the first- 
 rate poets in Spain, as Francisco Pacheco, Hernando 
 de Herrera, Francisco de Medina, Luis de Soto, and 
 the celebrated scholar Francisco Sanchez de las Bro- 
 zas, after a residence of some years in Italy, and 
 studying the works of Tasso, had wholly changed 
 their style and composition. 
 
 In the same letter he made a promise to the Vice- 
 roy to dedicate to him the translation of the ^Eneid, 
 on which he was then occupied ; but there was either 
 some cause of subsequent displeasure, or he wholly 
 forgot his promise, for it was not fulfilled when he 
 gave this work to the world in the year 1615. 
 
 Cervantes, who was on familiar terms of friendship 
 
170 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 with the two Argensolas, and to whom he had given 
 the strongest proofs of his consideration and esteem, 
 not being able, on account of his advanced age and 
 his numerous family, to remove from Spain, in order 
 to better his fortune in Italy, under the wing of his 
 patron, was desirous of availing himself of their 
 friendship, in recommending him to the favour and 
 munificence of the Count. 
 
 On their leaving Madrid both the brothers made 
 him the most magnificent promises, and Cervantes 
 confiding in them, hoped at last to find some change 
 in his unfortunate destiny ; but these flattering hopes 
 soon vanished, for the Argensolas never performed 
 the kind offices they had undertaken, nor once remem- 
 bered Cervantes, giving him almost cause to appre- 
 hend that they had even indisposed his patron against 
 him. Happily, however, these suspicions vanished, 
 and his mind was tranquillised on experiencing again 
 the liberality of his patron, and he remained appa- 
 rently satisfied with the conduct and proceedings of 
 his friends. At the same time his candour and inge- 
 nuousness would not allow him to conceal his feel- 
 ings, though expressed in language so considerate and 
 delicate, that it looks more like a testimony of respect 
 to the Viceroy, and a panegyric on those celebrated 
 poets, than a censure on the abandonment of his 
 friendship and intimacy. 
 
 Supposing, in fact, that the Argensolas were not 
 conducted by Mercury in the Voyage to Parnassus, 
 because they were employed in the service of the 
 count de Lemos; yet it appears, that Apollo not only 
 highly extolled their talents and poetical productions, 
 but availed himself of their services in the battle 
 waged against the bad poets, distinguishing them in 
 the distribution of prizes, and giving Mercury the 
 
OP CERVANTES. 171 
 
 charge of nine crowns with which he orders him to 
 reward the most deserving, and to carry with him to 
 Naples three of the largest, douhtless to encircle the 
 brows of the Viceroy and those of the two illustrious 
 Aragonese. 
 
 These latter persons perfectly understood this allu- 
 sion, and secured to Cervantes the favour and pro- 
 tection of that learned and generous nobleman ; but 
 Don Estcban Manuel de Tillegas, less considerate 
 and more precipitate, and believing his master, the 
 rector of Yillahermosa, to have good cause of offence, 
 undertook to vindicate their conduct, depreciating 
 the merit of Cervantes, whom he designates as 
 " mal poeta y quijotista" without reflecting that that 
 which he considered a satire, was a delicate and 
 appropriate eulogiiun, and that the taunting word 
 with which he endeavoured to injure his reputation 
 was as just and honourable a title to fame as had 
 ever been won in the world of letters ; undoubted 
 proofs these of that arrogant and haughty character 
 which led him to satirise Lope de Vega and Gongora, 
 flattering himself that he had eclipsed the merit of 
 their works and those of other Castilian poets, by 
 the brilliant style of his jEroticas, " as the rising sun 
 dispels the clouds of the earth, and overpowers the 
 light of the other stars," as he gives us to understand 
 in the allegory and inscription on the gate, and as 
 Lope de Vega remarks in his Laurel de Apollo. 
 Cervantes, who had distinguished himself by his 
 poems in his younger days, had now a stronger claim 
 to renown in his old age as the author of Don Quixote, 
 for which, indeed, his name has been inscribed in 
 letters of gold in the temple of immortality. If this 
 consideration might govern our conjectures, we may 
 conclude that Cervantes was one of those individuals 
 
172 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 who composed the academy which went hy the name 
 of the Selvage** established in Madrid in the year 
 1612, in imitation of the one which was formed 
 twenty-one years before in Valencia under the name 
 of the Nocturnos ; for, supposing that it was fre- 
 quented by the most eminent men of letters that at that 
 time surrounded the court, no one can with greater 
 justice be included in that number. The meetings 
 were established in the private mansion of D. Fran- 
 cisco de Silva, of the house of the dukes of Pastrana, 
 and a favourite of the muses, on whom Cervantes 
 bestows warm commendation in his Viage al Par- 
 naso, and who in fact, enjoyed a considerable repu- 
 tation among the poets of the day. Among other 
 members of the academy we may include Lope de 
 Vega and Pedro Soto de Rojas, who styles himself 
 el ardiente, and who has preserved to us their notices 
 in his Desengano de Amor. Those persons employed 
 themselves in writing poems on various subjects ; and 
 particularly in commending or criticising those works 
 which were submitted to them previous to publica- 
 tion; and thus it is, that in 1612, Cervantes wrote 
 some verses in praise of the secretary, Gabriel Perez 
 del Barrio Angulo, author of the work entitled Secre- 
 tario de Scnores, and at the beginning of which they 
 were printed, in conjunction with various composi- 
 tions by Lope and Soto de Rojas, and of M. Vicente 
 Espinel, Miguel de Silveira, Don Antonio Hurtado 
 de Mendoza, and other friends and admirers of the 
 author. 
 
OP CERVANTES. 173 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Cervantes devotes himself to literary compositions Corrects his 
 former productions, and prepares them for the press His novels, 
 and Uiks Interwoven with his great work Boccaccio How 
 far imitated by Cervantes Why entitled Efemjilares Noble 
 objects he had in view Tales of witchcraft, and diablerie 
 Dangerous test of merit Curious instance of hallucination 
 Various characters of the novels How natural and well-sup- 
 ported Examination of their merits Accused of not being the 
 author of them Forms a new era in the popular fiction of Spain 
 Imitated by Lope de Vega Richness and beauty of the 
 language, 
 
 CERVANTES, in the meantime, employed himself 
 in correcting some of his works, with a view to their 
 publication. The principal of them was a collection of 
 twelve tales which he selected from all that he had 
 written at various times and places ; and as they were 
 the first of that kind that had appeared in Spain, and 
 had been well received by the public, he was anxious 
 to preserve them in a more correct and complete form. 
 He had interwoven some of them with the first part 
 of his Don Quixote, as the tales of the Curioso 
 Impertinente and the Capitan Cautico, although in 
 no manner connected with the action and plot of that 
 romance. Hence he feared that the reader, fixing 
 his attention on the adventures of the principal hero, 
 might bestow little regard on the tales, and might 
 heedlessly pass them over, without perceiving the 
 interesting adventures they contain, which was proved 
 upon their appearing in a separate form. With the 
 same object he changed the titles of some others, 
 
174 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 endeavouring to bespeak the attention and curiosity of 
 the public. His wishes were gratified to the utmost, 
 when he found' that they had not only been well 
 received in Spain, but that in 1608, Cesar Oudin 
 reprinted the tale of the Curioso 1-mjn'rtinente, at the 
 end of the Silva Curiosa of Julian de Medrano, and 
 published it also at the same time separately, trans- 
 lated into French for the instruction of his scholars. 
 
 This circumstance, and the pleasure of seeing new 
 editions of them, though not very correct, fully ap- 
 preciated by the learned, induced him to give them 
 the last polish, as he did about the middle of the 
 year 1612, and published them about the end of 
 August in the following year, dedicating them to the 
 count de Lemos, in a letter deserving of the highest 
 praise, from the urbanity, and sentiments of gratitude 
 which it contains. 
 
 Cervantes had remarked the applause with which 
 writings of this class had been received in Italy, par- 
 ticularly those of Boccaccio : but these, he thought, 
 though possessed of such charm of style, and an 
 elegance, purity, and singular grace of language 
 which made them so highly appreciated, were yet, 
 on the other hand, prejudicial to morals, from the 
 freedom and licentiousness of their subjects and 
 language. He resolved, therefore, to correct this 
 abuse, and to adopt such narratives only as, without 
 offending delicacy, might still be characteristic of his 
 nation, and might afford materials for the correction 
 of those vices of society which arise from the want 
 of education, or the empire which prejudice holds 
 over the vulgar, and which had struck him most in 
 the course of his various travels, and adventures. 
 On these grounds he resolved to call his tales Exem- 
 plares ; because, as he says in his preface, if any 
 
OF CERVANTES. 175 
 
 one will examine them, there is not one from which 
 some useful moral may not be drawn, for even the 
 love tales are so well conducted, and with such a 
 deference to morals, that neither in the busy nor in 
 the idle can they excite any other than the best feel- 
 ings. His wish was that every one should be enter- 
 tained by their perusal without injury to their body 
 or mind, " for honest and agreeable amusements 
 rather do good than harm." 
 
 It is remarkable that Don Gregorio Mayans, ad- 
 hering to the opinion of Lope de Vega, and to the 
 criticisms of the licentiate Avellaneda, and the Dr. 
 Figueroa, both rivals of Cervantes, should express 
 any doubt as to the propriety of intitling these tales 
 EaeemplarM ; when their author was so convinced and 
 satisfied of the propriety of it, that he assures us in 
 his prologues, that if he suspected that the reading 
 of these could excite an improper thought or desire 
 in any person, he would rather cut off his right hand 
 with which he wrote them, than give them to the 
 world. 
 
 At the same time he says to his patron, " I entreat 
 your Excellency to receive, without any preface, 
 these twelve tales, which, if they had not proceeded 
 from my own pen, I mihgt say deserve to be placed 
 among the most perfect of their kind." An enlight- 
 ened public formed the same idea of them ; and 
 many encomiums were passed on them, which, while 
 they conferred honour on the Castilian tongue, served 
 to show that the delightful genius of the author was 
 not less manifested in these tales, than in those he 
 had before given to the world. That humorous 
 and prolific writer, too, Alonso Geronimo de Salas 
 Barbadillo, declared that in this publication Cervantes 
 confirmed the opinion which was entertained in Spain 
 
176 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 and abroad of his fine genius, and that wonderful 
 imagination and fluency of language with which he 
 interests and charms us ; thus silencing by the happy 
 fertility of his language those who, being envious of 
 the Spanish tongue, have accused it of want of 
 expression, and denied its copiousness. It was for 
 this reason that in the license for printing he desig- 
 nated this work, " the most delightful entertainment, 
 wherein the loftiness and abundance of the Castilian 
 tongue is fully exhibited." And Lope de Vega him- 
 self, who professed to follow the footsteps of Cer- 
 vantes, confessed that these tales were not wanting 
 in grace or composition ; and although a commen- 
 dation so faint, in which he does not mention the 
 most essential qualities of these talcs, as their in- 
 vention, their ingenious plots, and the propriety of 
 character, does not reflect any great honour on 
 Cervantes, yet it was still further enhanced when 
 the Tales of Lope, written in imitation of those of 
 Cervantes, proved so very much inferior to their 
 models ; an indubitable proof how difficult it is, even 
 to men of the highest genius, to compete with their 
 originals, when, clipping the wings of their own ima- 
 gination, they servilely tread the path that others 
 have opened and prosecuted with full success. 
 
 Tirso de Molina highly commends these Tales, 
 and calls Cervantes the Boccaccio of Spain ; but 
 he ought to have added, that he excels him in 
 the morality and good example of his writings. 
 Lastly, many of the principal dramatic writers have 
 shown the value they set on their invention and 
 merit, selecting them as subjects for many of their 
 own comedies; as has been done with success Jby 
 Lope de Vega, D. Augustin Moreto, Don Diego de 
 Figueroa y Cordoba, and Don Antonio Solis. This 
 
OF CEHV ANTES. 177 
 
 merit will be more manifest if we analyse each Tale 
 by itself. We may hence learn the time and place 
 where Cervantes wrote them, and the source whence 
 many of them were derived, and shall beeome more 
 sensible to his inimitable grace of style. But reserv- 
 ing this examination for another place, we shall con- 
 fine ourselves to such circumstances as may tend to 
 illustrate the life and the opinions of their author. 
 He appears to have taken the subject of the Ctn-io*<> 
 I nijH'rfnti'ni,' from Ariosto, where, in his Orlando 
 Furioso, he tells us of a knight who had espoused a 
 lady of honour, beauty, and discretion, with whom 
 he lived in happiness for several years. As he was 
 desirous to prove the virtue of his consort, the witch 
 Mclisa advised him to leave her to the free enjoy- 
 ment of her own will, and that then by his drinking 
 out of a vessel of gold, adorned with precious stones, 
 and filled with generous wine, he could ascertain 
 whether or not she had been faithful to him; for if 
 she had been so, he would be able to drink the whole 
 wine without shedding a particle ; but if not, the 
 liquor would all be spilled without a drop entering 
 his mouth. The knight's impatient curiosity led 
 him to adopt the advice of the sorceress; and on 
 applying his lips to the cup he met with the punish- 
 ment due to his jealousy, all the wine being spilled 
 on his breast ; for which reason Rinaldo refused to 
 expose himself to so fearful a trial, when the same 
 knight proposed it to him at a feast, contenting him- 
 > li with the good opinion he already entertained of 
 his wife. 
 
 It is highly probable that Cervantes, who was a 
 passionate admirer of Ariosto, adopted from this 
 fiction the idea of his tale, so perfect in its plot, its 
 language, and description of the passions ; and the 
 
178 LIFK AND WHITINGS 
 
 moral lesson, conveyed in the punishment which falls 
 on Camilla, is a warning to shun temptation, and to 
 resist the first movements of a violent and disho- 
 nourable passion. 
 
 AVe have already made mention of the Tales he 
 wrote in Seville that of Rinconete y Cortadillo, 
 famous thieves of that city, whose adventures hap- 
 pened in the year 1569 ; and that of the Z<'l<i*<> /,'.. 
 meno, the story of which is founded in fact, and is 
 supposed to have happened about the year 1570. 
 The tale of the Tin FhtyiJa is, according to Cer- 
 vantes, also a true story, which occurred in Sala- 
 manca in the year 1575 ; and although composed 
 with the air of lightness, and the graceful and comic 
 humour so characteristic of Cervantes, and with the 
 design of showing the unfortunate fate of women, 
 who, listening to their passions when young, apply 
 themselves in their old age to corrupt youth by their 
 counsels and services, he determined not to publish 
 it among the rest, either through delicacy, as he 
 said, or because his final object was to inculcate good 
 morals. It does not appear from the incidents of the 
 story so exemplary as the others, the judgment which 
 Cervantes passed on the Cel'xtina being applicable to 
 this tale, that it was an excellent work, in his 
 opinion, if it had less earthly alloy. From the tenor 
 of this tale, and that of the Licenciado Vulricra, and 
 some passages in others of the series, we learn that 
 Cervantes resided and studied at Salamanca for a 
 considerable space of time. 
 
 There are not wanting judicious critics, who assure 
 us that Cervantes intended to ridicule the madness 
 and extravagance of the noted Gaspar Barthio, who 
 was born in Austria, in the year 1587, and manifested 
 from his infancy an extraordinary precocity, and a 
 
OP CERVANTES. 179 
 
 wonderful memory. lie studied and distinguished 
 himself in various academics and universities of 
 Germany, and travelled through England, Holland, 
 France, Italy, and Spain, acquiring a perfect know- 
 ledge of the living languages, and deriving informa- 
 tion from his intercourse with the learned, wherever 
 he met with them. On his return to Germany he 
 fixed his residence at Leipsic, renouncing every 
 employment, in order to devote himself more entirely 
 to his studies. His predilection for the Spanish 
 language, and the high opinion he entertained of its 
 works of genius and amusement, induced him to 
 translate into Latin the tragi-comedy of Ceh'stina, 
 which he calls a divine work ; the J liana Enamorada 
 of Gil Polo ; and in mentioning a translation of the 
 Porno J)i(1ascal<> of Pietro Aretino, he assures us he 
 preferred the Castilian version to the original. 
 
 This extreme application and devotion to the 
 reading of Spanish novels, at last turned the head of 
 Barthio, and he lived for ten years under the hallu- 
 cination that he was made of glass. The facility 
 with which, in the midst of his passion for these 
 amatory and even licentious works, he turned to 
 translate and comment upon many ascetic and theo- 
 logical authors, especially those of the middle ages, 
 and the contradictions and absurdities of his opinions 
 upon some of the Latin classics, as Statins. Claudian, 
 and Silius Italicns, prove the perversion of his judg- 
 ment, at the same time that they afford a proof 
 of his immense erudition and extensive reading. It 
 is highly probable that, when in Spain, he formed an 
 intimacy with Cervantes ; and, in fact, the rare 
 genius, the wonderful abilities, and great acquire- 
 ments of the licentiate Vidriera, when only a few 
 years old; his journeys through Italy, Flanders, and 
 
180 LIFE AND -WRITINGS 
 
 other countries ; his retired and abstracted habits, 
 attending more to his books than to any other amuse- 
 ment ; and lastly, his madness and extravagance, 
 undoubtedly prove the learned and crazy Ger- 
 man to have been the original whence IVrvamvs 
 dr.'\v hi* picture with such truth and success in 
 this tale. It was written after the court had removed 
 to Valladolid, and he exercised his discretion and 
 judgment in mingling with its incidents a general 
 censure on the vices and abuses then prevalent in the 
 government of the country. 
 
 Of equal learning and utility was the />/"/ 
 between the dogs Cipion and Berganza, which is, in 
 reality, an excellent apologue, and a severe invective 
 against all the superstitions and prejudices of the low 
 educated then prevalent in Spain, though mingled 
 with the more elevated political and moral maxims. 
 " A satire," says Mayans, " in which, imitating Lu- 
 cilius and Horace, he chastises persons with a severe 
 though refined severity." " An .admirable criticism," 
 adds Florian, ' ; full of truth and grace ; where 
 Spanish customs are painted to the life, with all the 
 genius of Cervantes: from which circumstance it ob- 
 tained the approbation of Huet, one of the most 
 learned men that France has produced." Cervantes 
 wrote this tale only a little time before its publication. 
 In it he gives an exact picture of the life and habits of 
 the Moors, and the injury caused to Spain by their 
 remaining in that country, and recommends their ex- 
 pulsion as the only remedy ; a measure which was, in 
 fact, afterwards enforced in the year 1609 and 1614. 
 The story of the alchymist, who was shut up in the 
 hospital of Valladolid, and pretended to extract silver 
 and gold from the baser metals, and even from stones, 
 was derived from athcn recent incident. There appeared 
 
OP CERVANTES. 181 
 
 in Madrid, in the year 1609, one Lorenzo Ferrer 
 Maldonado, who gave himself the title of captain, 
 and announced, among other wonders, that he had 
 possessed himself of some of the greatest secrets of 
 nature, such as deciphering Solomon's seal, by which 
 he was enabled to discover, and bring to perfection, 
 the true stone, sought for in vain by the alchymists 
 through a long course of ages, and promising to con- 
 vert into gold the basest metals. Some simple and 
 covetous persons, led astray by these magnificent pro- 
 mises, assisted him with a sufficient capital, and a 
 house to commence his labours in ; but after holding 
 them in play for more than two years, and continu- 
 ally announcing the moment of success, though, as 
 he stated, a long time was required for the transmu- 
 tation of the metals, he siuldenly disappeared from 
 Madrid, thus repaying by his flight those who had 
 encouraged and promoted his scheme. Some time 
 afterwards, he was apprehended and examined before 
 the chancery of Granada, on a charge of having 
 forged some seals and public documents. 
 
 The mathematician, also, his companion in the 
 hospital, who was employed twenty-two years in 
 seeking for i\\ejixed point, found his prototype at 
 this time. The high reward offered by the Spanish 
 government for the discovery of the longitude, 
 attracted the cupidity of numerous adventurers and 
 projectors, and amongst others, Dr. Juan Arias de 
 Loyola, in 1603, and Luis de Fonseca Contino, in 
 1605, pretended to have made the discovery; but 
 the claims of the latter were preferred to those of 
 Arias, no doubt through the influence of his coun- 
 tryman, Juan Bautiste Labana, and six thousand 
 ducats of perpetual rent were offered to him, if the trial 
 answered to the truth and accuracy of his statement. 
 
182 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 After many delays and arrangements, they com- 
 menced in 1610 several experiments, in voyages to 
 America and Asia ; but these did not realise the ex- 
 pectations of the projector, Avho having in this 
 manner incurred considerable expenses for more than 
 eight years, suddenly disappeared from Madrid; 
 while Arias remained there for more than thirty 
 years, presenting memorials, and thro wing discredit on 
 all other competitors who p\it in claims for the reward. 
 
 Another more remarkable event, while it ascer- 
 tains the epoch of this tale, displays at the same 
 time the good sense and intelligence of Cervantes in 
 combating errors, in proportion to their greater influ- 
 ence on society. The pernicious credulity prevalent 
 at that time, and the propensity to indulge in en- 
 chantments, divinations, fortune-telling, witchcraft, 
 transformations, and wonders of this kind, which 
 derived their origin from the Moors, a race naturally 
 superstitious, and from the idle study of judicial 
 astrology, had rooted themselves in the minds of all 
 classes of people, through want of education, and 
 religious principle ; so much so, that the writings of 
 many learned men, such as the erudite Pedro Ciruelo, 
 had not been able to check these vices, to change 
 public opinion, or to ameliorate manners. 
 
 Cervantes had ridiculed with much pleasantry and 
 very opportunely these superstitions in various pas- 
 sages in Don Quixote, and also in the Licenciadt 
 Vidriera, where, by the advice of a Moorish woman, 
 they administered some charms to force his will, 
 he showed that there were no herbs in the world, 
 enchantments, or words, which could force are solved 
 and rational man. 
 
 In the Coloquio de los Perros, he treats more at 
 large, and with more naivete, of the tricks and 
 
OF CERVANTES. 183 
 
 cheateries of the hags and witches ; narrating the 
 story, as of his own time, of Cumacha de Montilla, 
 one of the most famous disc-Spies of the old Cahizares. 
 lie shows the folly of such preposterous tales and 
 illusions, in the relation this woman makes of the 
 deeds and doings of her mistress, her confections and 
 ointments, her voyages and adventures, her trans- 
 formations and wicked deeds ; and how she could not 
 close her days without visiting the Moorish dni; 
 the festivities, and merry-makings, in which they 
 indulged themselves in their nocturnal revels of 
 Zugarramurdi in the valley of Baztan, which ended 
 in some of these persons being brought to justice, by 
 the tribunal of the Inquisition of Logrofio, in the 
 year 1610. We are told of the horrid and loath- 
 some figure which the old hag, Canizares, presented, 
 when in the midst of her ecstasies and raptures, she 
 seized on and threw one of the dogs into the court 
 of the botue, while she and La Montilla were sen- 
 tenced to be publicly whipped by the hands of the 
 hangman. 
 
 Others of their companions suffered confinement in 
 theinquisition,when their cheateries were madeknown, 
 in order to expose such hypocrites to public execra- 
 tion, and to convince the people that the witch, Ca- 
 macha, was an infamous impostor, and La Canizares 
 a cheat, a thief, and a swindler, when even the do^s 
 would not acknowledge her as their mother as she 
 pretended. 
 
 This propensity in placing belief in tales, asiex- 
 travagant as indecent, to the prejudice of relig ous 
 principles, for some time found support in the cre- 
 dulity of various persons of rank and authority ; and 
 for this reason, when Cervantes, protected by the 
 Cardinal Archbishop of Toledo, Inquisitor-general, 
 
184 LIFE AND AVRITINGS 
 
 endeavoured to eradicate these pernicious ideas by tin 1 
 weapons of satire and ridicule, the learned Pedro de 
 Valencia addressed to that illustrious prelate a dis- 
 course respecting the stories of the witches, where, 
 in a clear and rational manner, he demonstrated the 
 cheatery and falsehood of those absurdities, the dan- 
 ger of publishing and giving them to the world, and 
 the mischief and bad example they produced. 
 
 The other tales of Cervantes are not the less to be 
 commended for their morality and good feeling. 
 Florian was of opinion that the tale entitled La 
 Fucrza de la Sangre possesses greater interest, and 
 is better conducted than the others of Cervantes ; the 
 story of which he assures us was founded in truth, 
 and that Rodulfo and Leocadia, the principal actors 
 in it, were persons of illustrious descent, leading a 
 happy life in Toledo. He attributes equal truth to 
 the story of the Espanola Inylesa, which, as far as 
 we can judge from the narrative, appears to have 
 been written about the year 1611. He also wrote at 
 that time the Gitanilla, although he inserted in it a 
 romance composed in Valladolid, on occasion of the 
 Queen Donna Margarete visiting the church of San 
 Llorente, describing allegorically the various persons 
 of her suite. In that of the Amante Liberal he re- 
 lates, under fictitious names, some of his own adven- 
 tures ; as he lias done in others, and particularly in that 
 of the Capitan Cautivo, in which he doubtless alludes 
 to D. SuarezdeFigueroa, when speaking on some occa- 
 sion of the Novelas al MSO, and of the qualities and 
 morality of his compositions, he sarcastically says, 
 " There is no doubt that he has commemorated his 
 own adventures, casting a lustre on his own low con- 
 
 O 
 
 dition, and giving unbounded praise to his imagina- 
 tion and talents, for as the cloth was in his own 
 
OF CERVANTES. 185 
 
 hands, he could easily apply the shears in whatever 
 direction his taste dictated." 
 
 ( >ther pel-sons, with a criticism more impartial and 
 judicious, have remarked a certain want of dignity 
 and interest in the arguments of the novels, and 
 some inequality in them ; though this arises more 
 .from the variety and natural description of the in- 
 cidents which he relates, and the inclination and 
 humour of the readers, or rather their ignorance 
 of the customs he describes, than from a dearth of 
 ingenuity and felicity in the author, as the events 
 arc all probable and well imagined. The reserve of 
 Leonisa in the Annntli' Lihcrnl, says a modern critic, 
 differs from the engaging ease of manner of Prcciosa 
 in the (iitmiUla ; one may observe a different style 
 in the language of Lothario and Anselnio, in the 
 ;<i</>. ///'//,///,. to that of the Monipodio and 
 his companions, in /i !<>, i/<-/c y Cortadillo : in short, 
 they are natural and agreeable pictures of the man- 
 ners of the day. From hence proceeded, not only 
 the propriety, but the ohanntng variety in the va- 
 rious characters he delineated ; and we see that he 
 was equally alive to the vices and prejudices of the 
 plebeian and vulgar, as to those of the highest and 
 most cultivated classes ; and that his graphic pencil 
 was employed in the portraits of both the one and 
 the other, persuaded as he was, that information and 
 good education was the best mode of effecting the 
 happiness and respectability of society at large. 
 
 \Ve find in his tales rich eloquence of sentiment 
 clothed in beautiful language. They abound in pas- 
 sionate and strong expressions ; numerous light traits 
 of character, and pictures of extreme feeling and 
 beauty ; and finally, in the description of the pas- 
 sions, in the sweetness of his descriptions, in his 
 
186 LIFK AND WRITINGS 
 
 argument so well supported, it seems as if this author 
 was desirous of showing the richness and aptitude of 
 the Castilian tongue, with a view to promote its 
 cultivation, generalise its application, and use, and 
 justify the high reputation which it enjoyed at this 
 time throughout the whole world. 
 
 In the face of such eminent qualities, and of such 
 high authority, and the universal esteem in which 
 the Tales of Cervantes have been held since their 
 publication, there are some writers of latter times 
 who, with much effrontery, and without giving us any 
 proofs of their own genius, or adding to the common 
 stock of knowledge, assert, with little feeling and ex- 
 treme levity, that Cervantes was not the real author 
 of these works, as they were known to the public 
 many years before he published them ; thus thinking 
 that they gave proofs of their penetration and in- 
 dustry in detecting the plagiarism. 
 
 In order to silence these calumnious and super- 
 ficial critics, we need only look at the testimony of 
 Juan Gaitan de Vozmediano, where in the prologue 
 to the translation of the first part of the Hundred 
 Tales of Cinthio, published in Toledo, in 1590, he 
 says, "This class of books have hitherto been little 
 read in Spain, as they have not met with a trans- 
 lator from the Italian and French ; but the time is 
 coming when they will be more admired here, and 
 this may incite us to attempt that which has never 
 yet been done here, the writing of novels ; in which, 
 whenever it takes place, Spain will certainly excel, 
 particularly in this happy age of letters." It will be 
 conclusive, too, to hear Cervantes himself, when he 
 says in his Viage al Paynaso, that in his Tales he 
 had opened a new path for the extension and <>t;i- 
 blishment of his country's language in its purity ; 
 
OF CERVANTES. 187 
 
 and when with greater confidence he says in his 
 prologue, " I am myself the first who composed Tales 
 in the Castilian tongue ; for the numerous Spanish 
 Tales which have hitherto been published, have been 
 all translated from foreign tongues ; but these are 
 wholly my own, iiL'itluT imitated nor derived from 
 others ; they are the offspring of my brain ; my pen 
 brought them forth, and they are now flourishing 
 and admired in print." 
 
 Knowing, as we do, the candour, the good faith, 
 and the ingenuousness of Cervantes, his prolific fancy, 
 and his admirable style, we cannot possibly doubt of 
 his having been the author of these productions ; nor 
 can we think it necessary further to vindicate the 
 greatest genius Spain has produced, from the misrepre- 
 sentations of ignorance, and the shafts of malevolence. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Continuation of the Novelas Exemplares Opinions Analysis 
 Specimens and translations La Gitanilla Characters Pecu- 
 liarities of the Gitanos Sketches Peculiarities -of climate El 
 Amante Liberal Characters and adventures Historical allu- 
 sions Power of the Corsairs Singular historic incidents Story 
 of Rinconcte and Cortadillo Characteristics of vagabond life 
 Religion of thieves Regular establishment Singular priesthood 
 The Spanish- English lady Admirable pictures of the country 
 Customs and manners of the people. 
 
 CERVANTES was eminently gifted with the narra- 
 tive talent, a quality which seems to be intimately 
 connected with dramatic powers, since, in order to 
 possess it, an author must be capable of understand- 
 ing and adhering to the unity of his narrative. That 
 
188 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 xmity is the central point to which all the other por- 
 tions of the work have reference, and upon which 
 they all depend. The episodes are thus connected 
 with the main action, and never fatigue the mind ; 
 the plot excites the attention ; and the catastrophe 
 clears away all the mysteries at once. It is more- 
 over requisite, as in the dramatic art, to be capable 
 of giving the colours of truth and nature to every 
 object, and the appearance of completeness and pro- 
 bability to every character ; to bring events before 
 the reader by words, as the dramatist does by action ; 
 to say exactly what ought to be said, and nothing 
 further. It is in fact this talent that has conferred 
 upon Cervantes his immortality. His most cele- 
 brated works are those romances in which the rich- 
 ness of his invention is relieved by the charms of his 
 style, and by his happy art of arranging the incidents 
 and bringing them before the eye of the reader. We 
 have already spoken of Don Quixote, which merited 
 a separate examination; but we must content ourselves 
 with bestowing less time on the pastoral romance of 
 Galatea ; on that of PersUcs and Stffitmunda ; and 
 on the collection of little tales which Cervantes has 
 called his Exemplary Norel*. In giving an idea of 
 the literature of a country, it seems proper to detail 
 all the works of celebrated authors, and to pass rapidly 
 over those who have not attained the first rank. By 
 studying the former we are enabled to observe not 
 only the intellectual progress of the nation, but like- 
 wise its peculiar taste and spirit, and frequently (.-veil 
 the manners and history of the people. It is much 
 more agreeable to contemplate the Castilians as they 
 are painted in the works of Cervantes, than to attempt 
 a picture of our own, which must necessarily be less 
 faithful than the native delineation. 
 
OF CEHVANTES. 189 
 
 Cervantes had readied his sixty-fifth year when 
 lie published, under the name of E.i\')i</>l<irt/ or/- 
 utriii-fir.' Xor<>]*, his twelve beautiful tales, already 
 mentioned, which, though they have been translated 
 into several Ian a re not very generally k nown . 
 
 This species of composition was, before the time of 
 Cervantes, unknown in modern literature ; for he did 
 not take Boccaccio and the Italian novelists as his 
 models, any more than Marmontel has done in his 
 Cont<:< Mni-ii/i.r. These tales are, in fart, little 
 romances ; in which love is delicately introduced, 
 and where the adventures serve as a vehicle for pas- 
 sionate sentiments. 
 
 The first novel is entitled La (rihtnil/a, or the 
 Gipsy-girl, and contains an interesting picture of 
 that race of people, who were formerly spread over 
 all Europe, though they nowhere submitted them- 
 selves to the laws of society. About the middle of 
 the fourteenth century this wandering race first 
 appeared in Europe, and were, by some, considered 
 to be a caste of Farias who had escaped from India, 
 and were called indifferently Egyptians and Bohe- 
 mians. From that period down to the present day, 
 tlu'V have continued to wander through the various 
 countries of Europe, subsisting by petty thefts, by 
 levying contributions upon the superstitious, or by 
 the share which they often took in festivals. T'lirv 
 have now almost entirely disappeared from many of 
 the nations of the Continent. The rigorous police of 
 France, Italy, and Germany, does not suffer the 
 
 * There is an English translation of the Exemplary Novels, 
 by Shelton, which was repnblished in 1742. Anew translation, 
 iij two volumes, appeared in London in 1822. The extract from the 
 (;i]i*y-girl, given in the text, has been transcribed from these 
 volumes. 
 
190 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 existence of a race of vagabonds who pay no regard 
 to the rights of property and despise the laws. Then 
 are still, however, numbers of these people to be found 
 in England, where the legislature formerly sanctioned 
 such cruel enactments against them that it was found 
 wholly impracticable to put them into execution. 
 
 Many likewise still exist in Russia, and some in 
 Spain, where the mildness of the climate and the 
 wild features of the country are highly favourable 
 to that unconfined and wandering life, for which 
 the Bohemians seem to have derived a taste from 
 the Eastern nations. The description of the commu- 
 nity which they formed in the time of Cervantes is 
 more curious, from the circumstance of their numbers 
 at that period being greater, and their liberty more 
 complete, than at any subsequent time ; while the 
 superstition of the people afforded them a readier 
 support. Their manners, their laws, and their cha- 
 racters, were consequently at that period developed 
 with much more truth and simplicity. 
 
 The heroine of the first tale, who is called Preciosa, 
 accompanied by three young girls of about fifteen 
 years of age, like herself, frequents the streets of 
 Madrid, under the superintendence of an old woman, 
 for the purpose of amusing the public in the coffee- 
 houses, and other places of resort, by dancing to the 
 sound of the tambourine, which she sometimes accom- 
 panies by songs and verses, occasionally of her own 
 extemporaneous composition, or else obtained from 
 poets who were employed by the gipsies. The noble- 
 men used to invite them into their houses, that they 
 might have the pleasure of seeing them dance, and 
 the ladies, in order to have their fortunes told them. 
 Preciosa, who was modest and much respected, yet 
 possessed that vivacity of mien, and that gaiety and 
 
OF C'EKV ANTES. 191 
 
 promptitude of repartee, which so remarkably dis- 
 tinguished her race. Even in religious festivals she 
 would appear and chaunt songs in honour of the 
 saints and the Virgin. In all probability, this apparent 
 devotion of the gipsies, who never take any part in 
 public worship, protected them in .Spain where 
 they were called l/t&riffioiMf .Y"> -'/.> from the anim- 
 adversions of the inquisition. The delicacy and 
 beauty of 1'reeiosa gained the heart of a cavalier, not 
 more distinguished by his fortune than by his figure; 
 but she refused to accept his hand unless he consented 
 to pass a probation of two years by residing amongst 
 the gipsies, and partaking all their adventures and 
 modes of life. The address of one of the oldest gip- 
 tli cavalier, who assumes the name of Andres, 
 is remarkable for that purity and elegance of language, 
 and for that eloquence of diction and expression, 
 which are peculiar to Cervantes : " "We. appropriate 
 to you the companionship of this young girl, who is 
 the flower anil ornament of all the gipsies to be found 
 throughout Spain. She is now virtuously placed 
 within your own power, to consider her either as 
 your wife, or as your mistress. Examine her 
 thoroughly, weigh maturely whether she is pleasing 
 to you ; find out whether she lias any defect ; and 
 should you fancy that you are not calculated for each 
 other, throw your eyes around upon all the other 
 gipsy-girls, and you shall have the object most pleas- 
 ing to your taste. But we warn you, that when 
 you have made your choice, yon cannot retract, 
 and must be contented with your fate. No one dares to 
 encroach upon hisneighbour.and hence we are shielded 
 from the torments of jealousy. Adultery is never com- 
 mitted amongst us ; for if, in any instance, our wives 
 or our mistresses are detected in infrin^incr our laws, 
 
 3 O 
 
192 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 we inflict punishment with the utmost severity. You 
 must also be apprised, that we 1 never have resort to 
 courts of justice ; we have our own jurisdiction.-, 
 execute judgment ourselves ; we are both judges and 
 executioners ; and after regular condemnation, we 
 get rid of the parties by burying them in the wood- 
 lands and deserts, and no persons whatever, not even 
 their parents, can obtain information of them, or 
 bring us to account for their deaths. It is the dread 
 of this summary jurisdiction that preserves chastity 
 within its natural bounds ; and thence it is, as I have 
 already stated, that we live in perfect tranquillity on 
 this score, so dreadfully mischievous and annoying 
 in other societies. There are few things which wo 
 possess that we do not possess in common; but wives 
 and mistresses are a sacred exception. AW command 
 the whole universe, the fields, the fruits, the herbage, 
 the forests, the mountains, the rivers and the foun- 
 tains, the stars and all the elements of nature. Early 
 accustomed to hardships, we can scarcely be said to 
 be sufferers ; we sleep as soundly and comfortably 
 upon the ground as upon beds of down ; and the 
 parched skin of our bodies is to us equal to a coat of 
 mail, impenetrable to the inclemency of the weather. 
 Insensible to grief, the most cruel torture does not 
 afflict us, and under whatever form they make us 
 encounter death, we do not shrink even to the change 
 of colour. We have learned to despise death. W 
 make no distinction between the affirmative and the 
 negative, when we find it absolutely necessary to our 
 purpose. We are often martyrs ; but we never turn 
 informers. We sing, though loaded with chains in 
 the darkest dungeon ; and our lips are hermetically 
 sealed under all the severe inflictions of the rack. 
 The great and undisguised object of our profession, 
 
OF CERVANTES. 193 
 
 is furtively to seize the property of others, and appro- 
 priate it to our own use; thereby invariably imitating 
 the plausible, but perfidious example, of the generality 
 of mankind, under one mask or other, in which, 
 however, we have no occasion to court witnesses to 
 instruct us. In the day, we employ ourselves in 
 insignificant, amusing, trifling matters ; but we devote 
 the night and its accommodating darkness to the 
 great object of our professional combination. The 
 brilliancy of glory, the etiquette of honour, and the 
 pride of ambition, form no obstacles to us, as they 
 do in other fraternities. Hence we are exempt 1'rom 
 that base, cowardly, and infamous servitude, which 
 degrades the illustrious unhappy voluntarily into 
 slaves." 
 
 Such was the singular race of people, who lived 
 the life of the uncultivated savage in the midst of 
 society ; who preserved manners, a language, and 
 probably a religion of their own, maintaining 
 their independence in Spain, England, and Russia, 
 for nearly five hundred years. It may be supposed 
 that the Gi}>$>/-fi'n'l terminates like every other 
 romance the heroine of which is of low birth. 
 Preciosa is discovered to be the daughter of a noble 
 lady, and on her real rank being ascertained, she is 
 married to her lover. 
 
 The second novel, which is entitled ihe Liberal Loner, 
 contains the adventures of some Christians who have 
 been reduced to slavery by the Turks. Cervantes 
 lived in the time of the famous corsairs, Barbarossa 
 and Dragut. The Ottoman and Barbary fleets then 
 claimed the dominion of the Mediterranean, and had 
 IHLII long accustomed, in conjunction with the fleets 
 of the French and their allies, annually to ravage 
 the shores of Italy and Spain. No one could be 
 
194 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 assured of living in safety. The Moors, running 
 their light vessels in-shore, used to rush sword in 
 hand into the gardens and houses which adjoined 
 the sea ; generally attending more closely to the 
 seizing of captives than the acquisition of plunder, 
 from a conviction that the wealthy individuals whom 
 they thus carried into Barbary, and shut up in the 
 slave-yards, or condemned to the hardest labour, 
 would gladly purchase redemption, even at the ex- 
 pense of their whole fortune. In this state of terror, 
 during the reigns of Charles V. and his successors, 
 did the people live who dwelt upon the shores of the 
 Mediterranean sea. Sicily and the kingdom of 
 Naples, not being the residence of their sovereign, 
 were more particularly exposed to the cruelties of 
 the Barbary powers. They were, in fact, without 
 a marine, without a garrison, without resources for 
 defence, in short, without any other than a vexati- 
 ous vice-regal government, which oppressed without 
 protecting them. It was in their gardens, near 
 Trapani, in Sicily, that the liberal lover and his mis- 
 tress Leonisa, were made captives. They meet each 
 other again at Nicosa, in Cyprus, two years after 
 the taking of that city in 1571 ; and their adven- 
 tures possess the double merit of romantic interest 
 and great fidelity of character and description. Cer- 
 vantes, who had fought in the wars of Cyprus and 
 the Greek seas, and who, during his captivity, had 
 become well acquainted with the Mussulmans and 
 with the condition of their Christian slaves, lias given 
 to his Eastern tales a great appearance of historical 
 truth. The imagination cannot feign a more cruel 
 moral infliction, than that to which a man of a culti- 
 vated mind is subjected when he falls, together with all 
 the objects of his fondest affection, into the hands of 
 
OP CERVANTES. 195 
 
 a barbarian master. The adventures, therefore, of 
 corsairs and their captives, are all of them singularly 
 romantic. At one period the French, the Italian, 
 and the Spanish writers borrowed all their plots 
 from this source. The public, however, soon became 
 fatigued with the same unvarying fictions. Truth 
 alone possesses the essence of variety ; and the ima- 
 gination, unnourished by truth, is compelled to copy 
 itself. Every picture of captivity which Cervantes 
 has presented to us is an original, for he painted 
 from the memory of his own sufferings. The other 
 descriptions of this kind appear to be merely cast from 
 this first model. Romance writers "should not be 
 permitted to introduce the corsairs of Algiers into 
 their tales, unless, like Cervantes, they have been 
 themselves inmates of the slave-yard. 
 
 The third, entitled Rinconctc and Cortadillo, is 
 of another class, though completely Spanish. It is 
 in the Picaresco style, of which the author of La^a- 
 rillo </' Tn,-i,t<-s was the inventor. The history of 
 two young thieves is related in this novel with the 
 greater humour, inasmuch as the wit of the Spanish 
 writers was peculiarly reserved for the description of 
 vulgar life. It seems that they were only permitted 
 to ridicule such as had absolutely cast aside all pre- 
 tensions to probity. It is from those writers that 
 we have invariably borrowed our descriptions of the 
 social life and organization of the community of 
 thieves and beggars, and it is amongst them alone, 
 we are almost inclined to believe, that they ever 
 existed. The company of robbers of Seville, and the 
 authority possessed by their chief, Monipodio, are 
 pleasantly described in this novel. The most laugh- 
 able portions of it, however, and which are very 
 correct as far as regards both Spain -and Italy, are 
 o 2 
 
196 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 those in which the strange union of devotion and 
 licentiousness amongst these vagabonds is described. 
 In the place where the thieves assemble there is 
 an image of the Virgin, with a throne for the offer- 
 ings, and a vessel for the holy water near it. 
 Amongst the robbers an old woman arrives, " who, 
 without saying a word to any one, walks across the 
 room, and, taking some of the water, devoutly falls 
 upon her knees before the image ; and, after a long 
 prayer, having kissed the ground thrice, and raised 
 as often her eyes and hands to heaven, rises, places 
 her offering on the throne, and walks out again." 
 
 All the thieves in turn make an offering in silver, 
 for which purpose they reserve part of their acqui- 
 sitions, to be employed in masses for the souls of 
 their deceased companions, and of their benefactors. 
 Thus a young robber who conducts Rinconete to the 
 meeting, to the question " Perhaps, then, you follow 
 the occupation of a thief?" replies, "I do so in the 
 service of God and of all worthy people." 
 
 In general we are apt to imagine, that this 
 corrupt and unruly portion of society, who violate, 
 without ceasing, all laws divine and human, are 
 infidels in their religious opinions ; as it is difficult 
 to believe that those who feel any sentiments of 
 religion, would attach themselves to such infamous 
 and criminal occupations. When, therefore, in the 
 countries of the south, we remark assassins, robbers, 
 and prostitutes scrupulously fulfilling all the cere- 
 monials of religion, we immediately accuse them of 
 hypocrisy, and imagine that by this show of Chris- 
 tianity they merely wish to deceive those whose 
 eyes are upon them. This, however, is an error ; 
 for in the south of Europe all these people, the refuse 
 of society, are really under the influence of religious 
 feelings. 
 
OF CERVANTES. 197 
 
 These malefactors, when they become numerous, 
 find or form an abandoned priesthood, who, living 
 upon their offerings, and partaking the produce of 
 their crimes, are always ready to sell them absolu- 
 tion. The criminal commits the offence with a 
 determination to repent of it, and in the expectation 
 of absolution ; while the priest confesses him with a 
 conviction that the faith is in him, and that the 
 repentance is sincere. Scarcely, however, does the 
 penitent leave the confessional, when he returns to his 
 criminal habits. By this shocking abuse of reli- 
 gion, the priest and the offender silence their con- 
 sciences in the midst of all their iniquities. Their 
 religion is not a salutary curb ; it is an infamous 
 contract, by which the most corrupt men believe 
 that they may purchase a license to satisfy all their 
 evil propensities. The voice of conscience is stifled 
 by their faith in the act of penitence ; else the infa- 
 mous and infidel robber would never reach the same 
 degree of depravity which we may remark in those 
 villains, so zealous and so pious, who have been 
 painted by Cervantes, and of whom we find the 
 models in Italy, as well as in Spain. 
 
 The three first novels are of a very dissimilar cast ; 
 the nine which follow them complete the varied circle 
 of invention. The $/itini.-<l>-EngUsh Lady, it is true, 
 shows that Cervantes was much more imperfectly 
 acquainted with the heretics than with the Moors. 
 The Licentiate of Glass, and the Dialogue of the tico 
 Dogs of the Hospital of the Reszirrection, are satirical 
 pieces, displaying much wit and incident. The 
 Beautiful Char-woman resembles a love-romance ; 
 and the Jealous Man <>f Estrcmadura is distin- 
 guished by the excellence of its characters, by its 
 plot, and by the skill with which the catastrophe is 
 
198 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 brought about. We have in this tale an example of 
 the prodigious power of music over the Moors. An 
 African slave, whose fidelity has resisted every 
 temptation, cannot be persuaded to be unfaithful to 
 his trust, except by the hope of being taught to play 
 upon the guitar, and to chaunt ballads like the pre- 
 tended blind man who every evening rouses him to 
 ecstacy by his music. The novels of Cervantes, like 
 Don Quixote, lead us into Spain, and open to us the 
 houses and the hearts of her inhabitants; while 
 their infinite variety proves how completely their 
 author was master of every shade of sentiment 
 and every touch of feeling.* 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Characteristics of novel writing Its former and present peculiari- 
 ties. The test of time Increased popularity of Cervantes 
 High opinion expressed by his rivals Tacit admission of Cer- 
 vantes' merit hy Lope de Vega Opposed to a vicious popu- 
 larity, or vulgar fame Extended the same high sentiment to 
 the drama His views of the drama State of the Spanish stage 
 Its extravagance Bad taste And depravity Example 
 Base proceedings of the Licentiate Avellancda Violent party 
 spirit excited Moderation and magnanimity of Cervantes 
 Extreme bitterness and enmity of his rival Mystery in which it 
 is enveloped Silence of his contemporaries on the subject Im- 
 provement of the Spanish language by Cervantes. 
 
 THE constant fluctuation of customs and manners 
 must influence at all times the composition and cha- 
 racter of novels, and being drawn from the passing 
 scenes of life, there are persons who, forgetful of 
 these circumstances, prefer modern compositions to 
 
 * Literature of the South of Europe, by M. Sismoudi, iii., pp. 
 392-40G. 
 
OF CERVANTKS. 199 
 
 those of Cervantes ; but if they will take the trouble 
 to analyse the one and the other, they will discover, 
 that in the disposition and plot of the fable, in pro- 
 priety of character, the expression of the passions, 
 grace and elegance of style, and appropriate reflec- 
 tions, Cervantes is superior. For in his works we 
 see nature represented with all the truth and all the 
 variety of incident inseparable from human life, while 
 in other writers we find elaborate artifice, and studied 
 affectation. Hence it happens that these early Spanish 
 tales, even after the lapse of two centuries, are now 
 read with relish and interest by persons of culti- 
 vated minds, and that writers of the highest credit, 
 considering them the most correct of Cervantes' 
 works, justify the preference they have received, as 
 fine specimens of genius and eloquence, and as chefs- 
 d'a'uvrc of their kind. 
 
 More rivals of Cervantes, who had been roused by 
 the publication of the first part of Don Quixote, and 
 were jealous of the protection shown him by the 
 Count de Lemos, and the Cardinal Archbishop of 
 Toledo, Don Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas, dis- 
 covered openly their enmity and malice, when they 
 saw the universal applause with which his tales were 
 received ; and in order to justify their proceedings, 
 they pretended to take up the defence of Lope de Vega, 
 at that time enjoying a degree of popular favour un- 
 exampled in the world of letters. They affected to 
 consider that he had just cause of complaint against 
 Cervantes, for his judicious censure on the Spanish 
 put into the mouth of the canon 6f Toledo. 
 
 Cervantes does not here require any other testi- 
 mony to his justice and moderation than the confes- 
 sion of Lope de Vega himself, who, defending him- 
 self from the charges which were made against him 
 
200 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 for the new course he followed in his dramatic com- 
 positions, openly acknowledges in 1602, three years 
 before the publication of Don Quixote, the many de- 
 fects and inconsistencies, of his comedies, his extra- 
 vagant and voluntary abandonment of all the ac- 
 knowledged rules of art, the neglect of the examples 
 of Plautus and Terence, and the discredit he should 
 suffer on that account with foreign nations; consi- 
 dering himself so much the more culpable than 
 others, as he not only opposed the principles of the 
 most venerable names of antiquity, but adopted a 
 vicious style, in order to accommodate himself to the 
 corrupt taste of the vulgar, and to insure a sale for 
 his works ; and he then spoke of himself in terms 
 which courtesy and urbanity would forbid others to 
 use towards him. 
 
 It was thus that Cervantes, treating of the Spanish 
 stage in a style of judicious criticism, declared how 
 prejudicial it was for the drama to become mere 
 saleable merchandise, as authors were thus compelled 
 to conform to the taste of the players who purchased 
 their works : and as he could not undeceive himself as 
 to the influence which Lope had in supporting such 
 a corruption of public taste, he thus proceeds to ani- 
 madvert on his plays, though without naming their 
 author : " And that this is the case, we may con<- 
 clude from the infinite number of comedies which 
 have been produced by a writer of the happiest genius 
 in all this realm, and which possess such life, such 
 grace, such elegant diction, such excellent plots, such 
 weighty sentences, and finally, are so rich in elocu- 
 tion and grandeur of style, as to have filled the world 
 with his fame ; but in accommodating himself to the 
 taste of the players, he has not carried them all to 
 that pitch of perfection which was within his reach." 
 
OF CERVANTES. 201 
 
 Here we see with what feeling and delicacy he 
 pointed out the defects of many of the plays of this 
 celebrated writer, knowing that they are more pre- 
 judicial when they are accompanied by great talents, 
 supported by a reputation so popular and so extra- 
 ordinary, as that enjoyed by Lope at this time. It 
 was thus the great philosopher and critic Diony- 
 sius Longinus acted, in respect to Plato and Homer; 
 and the same excellent style of criticism, adopted by 
 him in his notice of the Dialogues of Plato, is dis- 
 played by Cervantes, if we may believe the accom- 
 plished and erudite Garces. He observed the same 
 degree of circumspection in his remarks on the other 
 comic poets ; in a way that whoever reads his cen- 
 sures with impartiality will find reason to regard 
 them as an excuse or apology for Lope, rather than 
 a satire, with which he has been charged. 
 
 But the extravagances of this prolific writer, and 
 the faults of his dramatic writings, were treated with 
 much more severity by Cristoval de Mera, Mica 
 Andrez Rey de Artieda, D. Esteban flannel de 
 Villegas, Cristoval Suarez de Figueroa, and above 
 all, and more openly, by Pedro de Torres Ramila, 
 professor of theology and teacher of grammar, in 
 Alcala de Henares, whose Spongia, published in 
 Paris, in 1617, depreciates the merit of several au- 
 thors of high reputation, and amongst others of Lope 
 de Vega ; expressing a caustic and injurious opinion 
 of his works, and their influence on manners. This 
 attack was so acutely felt by the passionate admirers 
 of Lope, that they unanimously raised their voice to 
 defend him with zeal and courage, and loaded him 
 with extraordinary praises, particularly Don Fran- 
 cisco Lopez de Aguilar, presbitary and knight of the 
 order of St. Juan, and Alonso Sanchez, professor of 
 
202 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 Greek, Hebrew, and Chaldaic, in the university of AI- 
 cala, in a work which they published, with the title 
 of Expostulatio Spongice, and an Ajipcntliv, where 
 they endeavoured to resent the wrongs heaped on 
 him by the pens of these insolent rivals and calum- 
 niators. In order to comprehend the whole justice 
 of the censure passed by Cervantes on Lope de Vega, 
 and his good temper and moderation, it will be ne- 
 cessary to advert to the state of the Spanish stage at 
 that time, and for this purpose no testimony can be 
 more free from suspicion, nor of higher authority, 
 than that of D. Suarez de Figueroa, who was then 
 living, and who says : 
 
 " The writers of plays of the present day are wholly 
 ignorant, or appear to be, of the principles of their 
 art ; excusing themselves by asserting that they are 
 obliged to conform to the prevailing taste of the 
 public, who, they say, find the more regular plots, as 
 those of Plautus and Terence, tedious and wearisome. 
 Thus to gratify a vicious taste, these pieces are 
 divested of all learning, and morality, and care of 
 language, in a manner that persons may attend them 
 for three or four hours without deriving any im- 
 provement from them at last. There is no persuad- 
 ing these modern writers that, in order to emulate 
 the ancients, they ought to inculcate pure morals, 
 and teach the art of living wisely and well, as is the 
 part of a good dramatist, not unaccompanied with 
 passages of wit and humour. But on the contrary, 
 most of the comic writers evince a poor and con- 
 tracted genius ; each choosing his subject according 
 to his own taste, and executing it without either 
 rule or design. Thus persons, scarcely able to road, 
 aspire to write plays ; as for example, the tailor of 
 Toledo, and the sack-clothman of Seville, and other 
 
OF CERVANTES. 203 
 
 low and wretched pretenders like these. The result of 
 this has been the production of a race of low comedies, 
 filled with indecent dialogue and the poorest attempts 
 at wit, and abounding in inconsistencies and impro- 
 babilities. All respect towards the female sex is 
 disregarded ; a mere licentious freedom reigns 
 throughout, sufficient to outrage a respectable audi- 
 ence. The most absurd thing is, that there are per- 
 sons who seek to create a fresh interest by a new 
 style, and introduce in all the comedies a person 
 under the name of a poet, in whose person they very 
 consistently comprise all possible faults and misfor- 
 tunes." 
 
 If such was the depravity of the stage, and its 
 consequences so injurious, we cannot sufficiently 
 admire the sagacity and skill with which Cervantes 
 censures without offending any particular individual, 
 although justly lamenting that the good name of 
 Lope was borrowed to authorise and protect these 
 scandalous irregularities, which, from his genius and 
 unbounded popularity, he was, perhaps, the only 
 person who could remedy and correct. 
 
 The testimonies of respect which Cervantes thus 
 manifested towards Lope de Vega, were not feigned; 
 for in his Canto de Caliopelie has bestowed upon him 
 the highest commendations ; and he afterwards re- 
 peated them with the greatest sincerity, in the sonnet 
 which he inserted in the opening of the Dragontea, 
 in the Viar/e al Parnaso, in the interlude of the 
 Guanla Cuidadosa, in the prologue to his Comedias, 
 and in many places in his Don Quixote, where, 
 giving the lie to all who attributed to him malice or 
 ill will, he says that they are wholly deceived, for of 
 such a man (speaking of Lope) he adores the genius, 
 and admires his works, and his commendable labours. 
 
204 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 And Lope, alive to this praise, generously reciprocates 
 it, making honourable mention of Cervantes in his 
 Dorotea, and in La Novela Prirnera ; and comme- 
 morates his merit also after his death, in the Laurel de 
 Apolo. it being very evident that they both cordially 
 united in the cultivation and improvement of letters, 
 and the correction of abuses, with that noble and 
 candid emulation, as in the classic age of gold, and 
 animating each other, and exchanging those friendly 
 expostulations and admonitions which are requisite 
 for the advancement of literature. These facts suffi- 
 ciently prove how remote from the mind of Cervantes 
 were those miserable passions and resentments with 
 which some evil-disposed persons have charged him, 
 who would measure the nobility and dignity of great 
 minds by the littleness and baseness of their own 
 hearts. 
 
 Of this class there existed at that time a writer of 
 plays, who, wounded and chagrined at having been 
 included in Cervantes' general censure of the stage, 
 and swelling with envy and anger at the great 
 name and credit which the latter had obtained, and 
 having the audacity to identify himself with Lope, 
 presented himself in the lists, although under a false 
 name, country, and profession, and had the hardihood 
 to publish a continuation of the romance of Don 
 Quixote, while its legitimate author was not only 
 living, buthad already written and announced the 
 appearance of the second part, in the prologue to his 
 tales. 
 
 Such was the profligate audacity of this writer, 
 who, vinder the assumed name of the licentiate Alonso 
 Fernandez de Avellaneda, pretending to be a native 
 of Tordesillas, published in Tarragona, about the 
 middle of the year 1614, a continuation, or second 
 
OF CERVANTES.. 205 
 
 part of Don Quixote, in the preface to which he 
 pretends to mark out the limits of prudence and 
 urbanity, venting the malice engendered in his heart, 
 and insulting the grey hairs and well-earned fame of 
 Cervantes, whom he designates as a lame, envious, 
 reckless grumbler, and an incarcerated delinquent. 
 
 Thus putting his sickle, in an unprincipled manner, 
 into another's harvest, he threatens to deprive Cer- 
 vantes of the profits of his second part, which he was 
 then on the point of publishing ; while the malignant 
 libeller never considered, as Cervantes well observed, 
 that in order to compose histories and books, of 
 whatever kind they may be, it is requisite to possess 
 a sound judgment, and a matured understanding ; 
 and that it requires no common genius to write with 
 elegance. In whatever light we view this pro- 
 logue, we cannot help denouncing it as an infamous 
 libel, deserving the severest vengeance of the law. 
 
 "When this medley of contemptuous reproaches 
 reached the hands of Cervantes, at the head of an 
 insipid and indecent production, the second part of 
 Don Quixote was already far advanced, and he 
 mentions it in his fifty-ninth chapter, but with 
 remarkable delicacy in relation to his personal 
 wrongs, and with extreme humour and grace when 
 he touches on the literary defects of his rival ; 
 treating with generous disdain the imputations which 
 he had made, as demonstrating the perversity of his 
 rival's mind, or ridiculing his ignorance and want of 
 talent. 
 
 It was in the power of Cervantes to have with- 
 drawn the mask, and to have delivered over this 
 culprit to public indignation, but his natural mode- 
 ration of temper, and other considerations, prevented 
 him. At the same time he offered himself to the 
 
206 LIFE AND WHITINGS 
 
 conflict with a genuine openness and frankness. 
 When we draw a parallel between Cervantes and 
 Avellaneda on this occasion, we cannot but remark 
 the noble generosity and decorum of the one, and 
 the meanness and malignity of the other; as on a 
 comparison also of the two works, the genius, eru- 
 dition, and grace of Cervantes are strongly contrasted 
 with the pedantry, insipidity, and dulness of Avel- 
 laneda. 
 
 It was only the universal celebrity and acknow- 
 ledged merit of Cervantes, that could have excited 
 any curiosity respecting the real person hidden under 
 the assumed name of Avellaneda; for he would 
 certainly have soon disappeared, together with his 
 work, if Cervantes had overlooked his conduct, and 
 had made no mention of his wretched adversary ; 
 but the desire to vindicate his own reputation, and 
 to ridicule his rival, was the cause of perpetuating his 
 memory in the same work which bore his, own fame 
 to distant generations; and in proportion as the 
 reputation of his own works is extended, the curiosity 
 increases to learn who the pigmy was, who thus 
 dared to measure himself with the Atlas of Spanish 
 literature. 
 
 It could be nothing else, if we examine the matter 
 fairly, than a love of novelty, which led M. Le Sage 
 to publish in Paris, in 1704, the Don Quixote of 
 Avellaneda, translated into French, in a very elegant 
 and pleasing style ; but in order to escape the dis- 
 gust which its insipidity and disagreeable qualities 
 were sure to occasion, he took the liberty of altering 
 the original, purifying it from many dull, as well as 
 indecent passages, and adding many engaging tales 
 and episodes of his own ; for although, according to 
 the French critics, Le Sage possessed little invention 
 
OF CERVANTES. 207 
 
 of his own, hewas yet endowed with a singular talent 
 for embellishing and perfecting the ideas of others, and 
 in this manner making them his own : as he did with 
 the Diablo Cojuelo, of Luis Vekz de Guevara, and 
 with other Spanish tales ; thus eluding the difficulty 
 he found in conforming to the original, either from 
 their inimitable humour and burlesque style, or from 
 want of expression in the French language. 
 
 These changes so far improved the work of Avel- 
 laneda as to entitle it to some share of public esteem ; 
 but those who were ignorant of the liberties taken 
 by the translator, and believed it to be a faithful and 
 correct version, blindly praised Avellaneda, consider- 
 ing him exempt from the faults they found in Cer- 
 vantes, and assuring us that the latter had imitated 
 and copied the second part of Avellaneda, and re- 
 proaching him, at the same time, with the injustice 
 with which, impelled by anger and resentment, he 
 had treated his competitor. This was the opinion 
 expressed by the author of the Diario de los Sabios, 
 and also by Dr. Diego de Torres, and others, all 
 judging of Avellaneda from the French translation 
 only, censuring the neglect of the Spaniards who 
 were insensible to the interest of the story, as if, 
 although its style was not very correct, it was valuable 
 for the many beauties of invention which it contained 
 and the corresponding harmony of the narration. 
 
 The verdict of persons of such high reputation 
 attracted to his party others not less distinguished 
 in the republic of letters, and more especially Don 
 Bias de Navarre, who, disguising himself under the 
 name of Don Isidro Perales y Torres, who was an 
 ecclesiastical friend of his, republished in Madrid, in 
 1732 the Don Quixote of Avellaneda with a dedica- 
 tion, which he also wrote under an assumed name, 
 
208 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 ascribing it to a friend of his, who enjoyed a benefice 
 in the parish church of Aliaga, and requiring from 
 the friendship of Don Augustin de Montiano an 
 opinion equally favourable of this writer. 
 
 With such a parade of encomiums and panegyrics, 
 Avellaneda appeared in the eighteenth century, as if 
 to revenge himself for the contemptuous neglect he 
 had experienced in the age in which he lived ; but 
 with all this he could not impose on persons of 
 clear judgment, and thus only enjoyed a short-lived 
 and superficial popularity; while the book, which had 
 been difficult to meet with, lost this barren attraction 
 as soon as it became known, and criticism and good 
 taste soon consigned it to the sepulchre in which it 
 had so long remained undisturbed. However, the 
 fame and reputation of Cervantes have given rise to 
 much curiosity in our own time, and led to a new 
 edition of the work of Avellaneda, though the licen- 
 tious narrative and tales which it contained, are omit- 
 ted ; but without in the remotest manner injuring 
 the delightful Don Quixote of his noble rival, whose 
 fame has traversed the habitable globe. 
 
 The silence of contemporary writers, or the caution 
 with which the few who speak of Avellaneda men- 
 tion him in his own age, is, in reality, some reflection 
 on the levity and presumption of those, who, a 
 hundred years after him, began to lavish praises which 
 were never merited. The lapse of time and the diffi- 
 culty of ascertaining the real truth, have stimulated 
 the curiosity and diligence of some literary men to 
 inquire who the disguised Avellaneda was ; and 
 although we are too far removed to treat this question 
 with accuracy, we may yet with propriety state what 
 others have done in the prosecution of this question. 
 When Nicolas Antonio makes mention of this dull 
 
OP CERVANTES. 209 
 
 novelist in his B'Mioteca, he openly states the little 
 esteem in which he was held, and the inferiority of 
 his genius to that of Cervantes. Mayans corroborates 
 this censure, for, inclining to find something myste- 
 rious ia the expressions of Cervantes, he judged, from 
 some passage in the prologue to the second part of 
 Don Quixote, that his enemy was a man of rank, and 
 for this reason he did not venture to give his name ; 
 but vacillating in his judgment, he afterwards thinks 
 that he might purposely conceal it, that he might 
 not extend the fame of a mean and despicable person. 
 AVith more correct judgment and greater proba- 
 bility, P. Murillo conjectures, in his Geografia His- 
 torica, that he was an ecclesiastic ; and Pellicer, who 
 laboured with great pains to further this investigation, 
 not only supports this opinion, but adds further, that 
 he was a monk of the order of Predicadores. This 
 is confirmed in part by many of the incidents and 
 passages in his work of Don Quixote the partiality 
 with whii-h he alludes to the peculiar manners of that 
 order, the zeal to promote its interests, the exact 
 description of its ceremonies and religious practices, 
 and an evident scholastic and theological knowledge, 
 supported by texts and authorities from the holy 
 fathers. It is equally probable that this masked 
 Zoilus was a writer of comedies, and was included 
 in the general censure that Cervantes makes of him 
 in his Don Quixote, and in his Viage al Parnaso, 
 when he calls on Lope de A T ega to aid his cause ; and 
 it appears also that he was present at two controver- 
 sies which we find announced in Zaragoza in 1(314, on 
 the elucidation of ten enigmas which were circulated 
 in that city ; and although, from the allusions the 
 judges make in their sentences to various passages of 
 the Quixote, it is ascertained that he was a com- 
 p 
 
210 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 petitor, yet sufficient light is not afforded to say decid- 
 edly which of the many poets who are there named 
 was the feigned Avellaneda. When we reflect on what 
 has heen stated, and the proof we have of his real 
 country, we may conclude that the circumspection 
 and moderation of Cervantes towards his rival, pro- 
 ceeded from the support and protection that this 
 person found in the interest and authority of the 
 confessor of the King, Fr. Luis de Aliaga, a monk of 
 the same order and a native of Zaragoza, who pos- 
 sessed great influence at court in all public affairs ; 
 but who, it is said, behaved with signal ingrati- 
 tude towards his benefactor the duke of Lerma. 
 His manners too, were so gross and disorderly, that 
 they excited the complaint of many persons, the censure 
 of contemporary writers, and ultimately led to the de- 
 privation of his dignities on the accession of Philip IV. 
 It was not extraordinary, therefore, that Cervantes, 
 under these circumstances, finding himself absent from 
 his protector the count de Lemos, who was sur- 
 rounded by the Argensolas, also Aragonians, that 
 might very much influence his situation, should prefer 
 concealing the name and rank of his adversary, out 
 of respect to his station, profession, and connexions, 
 to making known that name, and holding him up to 
 public shame, and gratifying his own just indignation; 
 well knowing, as he says in his tales, that cowards 
 and persons of base minds become bold and insolent 
 when they are protected, and more prone to offend 
 those who excel them. But we have evidence of his 
 being a native of Aragon and not of Tordesillas, as 
 supposed, for Cervantes has not only stated this fact 
 on several occasions, but it is further confirmed in an 
 indisputable manner by Avellaneda's language and 
 style, and the use of certain words and modes of 
 expression peculiar to that province, and which he 
 
OF CERVAXTES. 211 
 
 either did not or could not avoid, as other more cele- 
 brated Aragonese of that age did, especially the two 
 brothers the Argensolas, of whom Lope de Vega 
 said, that they were sent from Aragon to instruct 
 our poets in the Castilian tongue. 
 
 TheCastilian language indeed began about this time 
 to lose that dignity and elegance which it had acquired 
 in the last century ; and one great cause of its decay 
 and corruption was the infinite number of poets who, 
 without any other principle than their own caprice, 
 or any other guide than their own distempered 
 imagination, profaned the temple of the muses, sub- 
 stituting artful refinements of language for dignified 
 expression, and the ostentation of extravagant meta- 
 phors and a Latinised phraseology for the elegance 
 and perspicuity of the pure Castilian idiom. This 
 contagion spread rapidly even among men of the first 
 genius of that age, and found in the vulgar a welcome 
 and applause as extraordinary as general. To oppose 
 a mound to this evil torrent Cervantes composed his 
 Viage alPamato, in imitation of a work of this kind 
 published in Italy, by Cesar Caporali, a native of 
 Perugia, and who resembled Cervantes not only in 
 his keen and festive wit, but also in his unfortunate 
 life. Cervantes in this work gives the meed of 
 praise to all poets deserving of it, assigning them the 
 rank they were entitled to in Parnassus, and banish- 
 ing thence the multitude of corruptors of the noble Cas- 
 tilian language, some of whom might be said to write 
 in Latin and others in Arabic. But as Cervantes, 
 besides his attachment to letters, considered himself 
 not undeserving from his genius of occupying a dis- 
 tinguished place among the poets of his country, but 
 even was on the other hand comparatively poor and 
 necessitous, ere he had reached the last stage of life, 
 P 
 
212 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 he availed himself of this opportunity to desire 
 Mercury to acquaint Apollo with his military and 
 literary labours, and how ill they had heen rewarded 
 by those who ought to have remembered him, es- 
 teeming himself a poet, as Rios well observes, in the 
 service of the gods, in order that the favour of them 
 might atone for the injustice and insensibility of 
 mankind. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Literary productions The Viage al Parnaso Complains of the 
 neglect of his friends of men of rank the court the country 
 for which he hied The Adjunta al Parnaso Fresh disap- 
 pointments Injustice of the Spanish theatre He composes new 
 plays Maligned and persecuted Revises his comedies Dedi- 
 cates them to the Count dc Lemos Their cold reception 
 Characteristics of the drama of that period Examination of the 
 various subjects treated by Cervantes His contemporary, Lope 
 de Vega "Justus Poeticas " Second part of Don Quixote- 
 Humorous picture of his rival Pleasant dialogue Delicate 
 feeling of Cervantes Contrasted with his rival His style 
 Charged with Italianisms by his enemies His purity and har- 
 mony of style His works translated and published in other 
 countries. 
 
 CERVANTES set a high value on the Viage al Par- 
 naso, which, in fact, is more to be commended for its 
 conception and design, than its style and language. 
 In this piece he gives full scope to the feelings of his 
 heart, and openly avows his extreme poverty and 
 destitution, sets forth his merits as a soldier and as 
 an author, complains of the neglect and forgetfulness 
 of his former friends, the indifference of his noble 
 patrons, and the perverse obstinacy of his evil star. 
 The justice of his complaints is here not less remark- 
 able than the temper and moderation with which he 
 
OP CERVANTES. 213 
 
 enforces them. It was perhaps for these reasons, or 
 from the fear he had that this new work might not 
 be well received by the count de Lemos, that he re- 
 solved to dedicate it to Don Rodrigo de Tapia, 
 knight of the order of Santiago, who in his youth 
 had cultivated letters with assiduity and success. 
 
 It was about three years before his death, that 
 Cervantes produced this singular work, more particu- 
 larly devoted to criticism and literary satire. It was 
 composed in terze rime, in eight cantos, of about three 
 hundred verses each, and entitled Viage al Parnaso, 
 or " A Journey to Parnassus." Cervantes is farther 
 represented as being wearied with a state of poverty, 
 and ambitious of obtaining the name of a poet, while 
 he modestly asserts, at the same time, that Heaven has 
 refused him the requisite talents ; but, hoping for the 
 best, he sets out on foot from Madrid to Carthagena. 
 " A white loaf," he says, " and a few pieces of cheese 
 which I placed in my wallet, were all my provisions 
 for the journey ; a weight not too heavy for a pedes- 
 trian traveller. Adieu, said I to my humble habi- 
 tation ; adieu, Madrid ! Adieu, ye meadows and 
 fountains from whence flow nectar and ambrosia ! 
 Adieu, too, society! where, for one truly happy man, 
 we find a thousand pretenders to happiness ! Adieu, 
 agreeable, but deceitful residence. Adieu, theatres, 
 honoured by well praised ignorance ; where, day 
 after day, a thousand absurdities are repeated !" 
 
 Upon his arrival at Carthagena the poet is re- 
 minded, by a view of the sea, of the glorious exploits 
 of Don John of Austria, under whom lie had served. 
 While he is seeking for a vessel, he sees a light boat 
 approach, propelled both by sails and oars, to the 
 sound of the most harmonious musical instruments. 
 Mercury, with his winged feet, and his caduceus in 
 
214 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 his hand, invites the poetical pilgrim in the most 
 courteous manner to embark for Parnassus, whither 
 Apollo, it seems, had already summoned his faithful 
 poets ; for it was full time to protect himself, by 
 their assistance, against the terrible invasion of bad 
 taste. At the same time he requests him to inspect 
 the extraordinary construction of the vessel into 
 which he had just entered. From prow to poop he 
 found it composed entirely of verses, the various 
 styles of which are ingeniously represented by the 
 different purposes to which they are applied. The 
 spars were made of long and melancholy elegies ; the 
 mast of a prolix song; and the other parts of the vessel 
 were formedin a similar manner. Mercury next pre- 
 sents to Cervantes a formidable catalogue of Spanish 
 poets,andasks his advice as to the propriety of admit- 
 ting or rejecting each individual. This question gives 
 Cervantes an opportunity of characterising the con- 
 temporary poets in a few brief verses, which, at the 
 present day, are exceedingly obscure. It is often 
 very difficult to determine whether his praises are 
 ironical or sincere. The poets now arrive (as if 
 by enchantment) and crowd into the vessel; but 
 a terrible storm soon whistles about their ears. 
 Many marvellous adventures succeed ; and the mar- 
 vellous is always mingled with a touch of the satiri- 
 cal. The names introduced are all of them of un- 
 known personages ; the production is in many parts 
 obscure ; and, whatever the trip may have produced 
 to the poets, to the reader it is often not a little 
 fatiguing. A few passages, indeed, notwithstanding 
 the frequent satirical allusions which are scattered 
 through them, still display many poetical charms. 
 The opening of the third canto may be adduced as an 
 instance : 
 
OP CERVANTES. 215 
 
 " Smooth gliding verses are its oars; by these 
 
 Impell'd, the royal galley, fast and light, 
 Wore her clear course o'er unresisting seas ; 
 
 With white sails spread to the extremest height 
 Of the tall mast. Of the most delicate thought, 
 
 Woven by Jove himself, in colours bright 
 The various tissue of those sails was wrought. 
 
 Soft winds upon the poop with amorous force, 
 Breathed sweetly all, as if they only sought 
 
 To waft that bark on her majestic course. 
 The syrens sport around her as she holds 
 
 Her rapid voyage through the waters hoarse, 
 Which, like some suowy garment's flowing folds, 
 
 Roll to and fro ; and on the expanse of green, 
 Bright azure tints the dazzled eye beholds. 
 
 Upon the deck the passengers are seen 
 In converse. These discuss the art of verse, 
 
 Arduous and nice; those sing ; and all between, 
 Others the dictates of the muse rehearse." 
 
 Cervantes pleads his own cause before Apollo, 
 and sets forth the merits of his different works with 
 a degree of pride which has sometimes been cen- 
 sured. But who will not forgive the proud feeling 
 of conscious superiority, which sustains genius when 
 sinking under the pressure of misfortune? Who 
 will insist upon humility in a man who, whilst he 
 formed the glory of his age, found himself, in old age 
 and in sickness, but little removed from poverty ? 
 "Was it not just that Cervantes, to whom his country 
 had denied all recompense, should appropriate to 
 himself that glory which he felt he had so truly 
 merited ?* 
 
 As a continuation to this work, which appeared 
 at the clor?e of 1614, he published the Adjunta al 
 Parnaso, a dialogue in prose, in which he represents, 
 with much freedom of grace and style, a conversation 
 
 * M. Sismondi. Literature of the South, &c., vol. iii. pp. 340, 
 344. 
 
216 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 which he had had with a new poet, who brought st 
 paper for the god Apollo, containing a list of ordinances 
 and privileges for the Spanish poets. The object of 
 this little work seems to have been the same as that of 
 the Viage al Parnaso, but he was here more desirous 
 to make his comedies known, and to publish his 
 complaints of the comedians, who, holding his plays 
 cheap, neither asked for them nor bought them. 
 Some had in former times been represented with 
 general applause, and others he thought might 
 obtain popularity from their novelty, if not from 
 their merit, as they were not yet known to the 
 public. This neglect of the players wounded the 
 self-love of Cervantes in so lively a manner, that 
 in this dialogue he declares his intention of publishing 
 his plays, that the public might form a dispassionate 
 opinion on their merits. 
 
 But, in prosecuting the object of his wishes, he 
 exposed himself to fresh disappointments ; for, ima- 
 gining that his plays still enjoyed popularity, he 
 composed some new comedies, but was unable to 
 procure their representation. This disgusted him so 
 much, that he threw them into a chest, and con- 
 demned them to perpetual oblivion. But compelled 
 by poverty, and anxious to derive assistance from 
 every quarter, he offered them for sale soon after to 
 Juan de Villaroel. This person ingenuously con- 
 fessed to him that he should have cheerfully pur- 
 chased them, had not an author of celebrity just said 
 to him that as to Cervantes the world might expect 
 much from his prose, but nothing from his poetry. 
 He was extremely mortified by this answer, from the 
 desire he had always felt of maintaining his fame as a 
 poet, and under this heavy disappointment he deter- 
 mined to re vise his comedies and interludes, which were 
 
OF CERVANTES. 217 
 
 in his opinion not undeserving of publication. With 
 this view he renewed his treaty with the bookseller 
 Villaroel, with whom he ultimately agreed for the 
 sale of them. In pursuance of this agreement, he 
 published in September 1615, eight comedies, and 
 as many interludes, with a handsome dedication to 
 the Count de Lemos, and a prologue as sensible as 
 learned, and highly valuable for a detailed history it 
 contains of the Spanish stage. 
 
 But the public received these works with indif- 
 ference, and the players did not adopt them. This, 
 indeed, was not to be wondered at, as Lope de 
 i had at this time inundated the stage with his 
 popular productions, and many other agreeable and 
 successful writers seconded him in supporting a style 
 of writing which had obtained general applause. 
 Cervantes was aware of this, and confessed it with 
 frankness and sincerity in his prologue ; and it was 
 this circumstance, or the advice of his friends, that 
 led him to view his compositions in their true light. 
 At the same time he asserts that they are neither 
 tasteless nor immoral, that the verse was what was 
 required for this class of works, and the language 
 appropriate to the characters ; but that, to gratify 
 the taste of a fastidious public, and to show his know- 
 ledge of the laws of dramatic poetry, he proposed to 
 correct all his faults in a comedy he was then writ- 
 ing, called el Engano a los ojos (which never saw 
 the light). This would have been a desirable result, 
 as it would have enabled us to jndge whether Cer- 
 vantes, when he found out his defects, had possessed 
 discernment and judgment sufficient to correct them. 
 It is thus that we sometimes see the observation con- 
 firmed, that there are many men of ability in specu- 
 lative theories, who are totally deficient in a disposi- 
 
218 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 tion and aptitude requisite for the application of 
 them to practice, and some have undertaken to 
 defend or acquit Cervantes of some absurd errors in 
 his comedies, by excuses as singular as inconsi- 
 derate. This was the case with D. Bias Xasarre, 
 who, after having published with undeserved eulo- 
 gium the Don Quixote of Avellaneda, reprinted also, 
 in 1749, the comedies and interludes of Cervantes, 
 in order, as he says, to rescue them from the oblivion 
 in which they lay, while the other works of the same 
 author occupied the attention of all civilised nations. 
 It is his opinion that Cervantes composed these plays 
 with the intention of ridiculing the comedies of his 
 own time, intentionally writing them in bad taste to 
 lash and burlesque the defective and absurd pieces 
 which were introduced on the stage ; and by this 
 means correcting the depraved taste and immoralities 
 of the scene, in the same manner as he wrote Don 
 Quixote in order to ridicule the absurd writers 
 of knight-errantry. The Abate Lampillas asserts 
 also, by way of justifying Cervantes, that the male- 
 volence of the printers led them to publish, with 
 his name and prologue, these extravagant come- 
 dies, which were adapted to the depraved taste of 
 the vulgar, and that they suppressed those which 
 were in reality his compositions, substituting others 
 for them. 
 
 No stronger proof can be given of the irregu- 
 larity of these dramas, than the strange subterfuges 
 with which their apologists pretend to defend and 
 exculpate them. A single glance at the Spanish 
 drama of the time will convince us that the defects 
 of the comedies of Cervantes were common to all, or 
 the greater part, of those that were then represented, 
 yet were such as Cervantes considered as excellent, 
 
OP CERVANTES. 219 
 
 and composed agreeably to the strictest rules of art. 
 These were performed with the most unqualified 
 applause for many years, as La Isabela, La Fills y la 
 Alejandro,, of Argensola, La Ingratltud Vtngada, of 
 Lope de Vega ; the Mcrcader Amante, of Gaspar de 
 Avila, and the Enemiga Favorable of the Canon Fran- 
 cisco Tarrega. All these abound with faults and 
 improprieties, which have now rendered them insuf- 
 ferable; and the Trato de Argel, and the Numantla, 
 which we have seen lately published, which Cer- 
 vantes acknowledged as his, and which he thought 
 so well worthy of the stage, in spite of the absurdities 
 we now notice in them, confirm us in the opinion 
 that those equally belong to him which were pub- 
 lished in 1615, as, indeed, he acknowledges in his 
 dedication and prologue ; and that it was the change 
 of manners and the greater delicacy and refinement 
 in the public taste, that reprobated and condemned the 
 numerous pieces which, twenty or thirty years before, 
 the public had received with eagerness, and wel- 
 comed with such unbounded applause ; for we find 
 Cervantes mentioned as an author among other cele- 
 brated men who had advanced the Spanish drama, 
 by Agustin de Rojas, in his Viage Entretcnido, and 
 by Dr. Suarez de Figueroa, in his Plaza Universal. 
 A greater degree of merit is due to the entremises 
 or interludes of Cervantes; short dramas or dialogues, 
 jocose and burlesque, which were usually performed 
 between the acts of the play, to render the whole 
 performance more attractive. These were at first 
 simple eclogues, but, as the stage improved, they 
 acquired more dignity and ornament. Kings, queens, 
 and persons of rank, were introduced into them 
 by Juan de la Cueva, and he was followed by 
 Cervantes and others. It then became the custom 
 
220 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 to call the ancient comedies entremises, while the art 
 was in its origin, the scene and characters being laid 
 in low life, as Lope de Vega informs us. Such were 
 the interludes at the beginning of the 17th century, 
 and many years afterwards, until the moderns, with 
 a more extended and complicated plot, adulterated 
 the original simplicity of the piece ; and even these 
 were not wanting in merit, especially the pieces of 
 Ramon de la Cruz. 
 
 There prevailed undeniably in these old interludes 
 such well- seasoned jests, so much humour and truth 
 in the low and ridiculous characters, such naivete 
 of manners and simplicity of language, that they 
 have always commanded the attention of an enlight- 
 ened public, as is evident from the collection made 
 of them at different periods. Cervantes composed 
 some of this class ; but he only published eight among 
 his comedies. They exhibit his singular faculty of 
 representing every species of character and custom, 
 and are a proof of his natural and masterly talent 
 for dialogue ; his fine and delicate touch in painting 
 the ridiculous and extravagant, with wit, amenity, 
 and inimitable grace. 
 
 A modern writer, not without good reason, laments 
 that with such ample requisites Cervantes did not 
 expose on the stage the social vices and follies of his 
 own age and nation, in which path he would probably 
 have equalled Moliere. M. Florian, who has formed 
 a just estimate of this species of literature, asserts that 
 these entremises of Cervantes are superior to his come- 
 dies ; that they possess a vein of rich comic humour, 
 though some of them are too free ; but that they are 
 admirable productions : above all, the one entitled La 
 Cueva de Salamanca, in imitation of which the French 
 wrote their Enchanted Soldier, and the Table of 
 
OP CERVANTES. 221 
 
 Wonden, which afforded materials to the celebrated 
 Piron for an opera called the false Prodigy, though 
 much inferior to its original. 
 
 Thus, Lope de Vega composed, in 1598, his play of 
 Los Cautiros de Argel, .borrowing the story and inci- 
 dents, and even some of the scenes and expressions, 
 from the Trato de Argel, which Cervantes had written 
 many years before. Cervantes too, introduced in 
 his cntremises several subjects he had before touched 
 on in his works, as, the incidents in the house of 
 Monipodio, the adventures of the jealous Canizares, 
 and of Roque Guinart ; and he left for publication 
 others not less pleasing and attractive, as that of the 
 Halladores, which was published in Seville in 16:24. 
 Some have also thought that Cervantes composed 
 some auto* MKfYMMMAUM, and have attributed to him 
 the one entitled las Cortes de la Mucrt\ of which he 
 speaks in the ninth chapter of the second part of Don 
 Quixote, but hitherto we have not met with any 
 proof for this conjecture. 
 
 Among the institutions most deserving of com- 
 mendation which were established at this period, for 
 the reward of talent, we may mention the assemblies 
 called Justas poeticsa (literary contests). These were 
 of long standing among the Spaniards, and were 
 established, it should seem, in imitation of those 
 jousts and tournaments where the young nobility 
 of Castile displayed their gallantry and courage. 
 Literary men found, in these contests, a means of 
 distinguishing themselves by an honourable competi- 
 tion ; and thus contributed, by their productions, to 
 render such meetings popular. One of these meet- 
 ings was celebrated in Madrid in the year 1614, on 
 occasion of the pope, Paul V., beatifying Santa Teresa 
 de Jesus ; when the Latin and Spanish compositions 
 
222 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 were directed to be sent to the Procurator-general of 
 the bare-footed Carmelites. 
 
 The tribunal of criticism was assembled in the 
 large chapel, amidst an audience as numerous as dis- 
 tinguished. Lope de Vega himself was one of the 
 judges, and he opened the meeting with a speech and 
 a discourse in praise of Santa Teresa, with such grace 
 of language and such propriety of action, such per- 
 suasion, such reasoning, and so much passionate 
 tenderness, as to produce a sensation of delight in 
 the minds of all present ; and in conclusion, after the 
 performance of some excellent music, he recited in a 
 fine voice the verses he had prepared for the occasion. 
 Eight contests were then announced to the public, 
 and in the third three prizes were offered to those 
 who, with the most erudition and greatest elegance of 
 style, should compose a Castilian cancion, in the lyric 
 measure, on the " divine ecstacy" of the saint, in the 
 manner of those of Garcilaso el dulce lamcnlar de dos 
 pastores, so that it should not exceed seven stanzas. 
 
 The most distinguished poets of Spain crowded to 
 this assembly, and among others Miguel de Cervantes, 
 with a cancion, so elegant and so strictly conform- 
 able to the laws prescribed for this contest, that it 
 merited and obtained a place amongst the most select 
 in the narrative which F. Diego de S. Josef wrote 
 of this festival, which was published in Madrid in 
 1615. 
 
 Juan Yague de Salas had at this time finished his 
 poem, or tragic epic, as he called it, of the celebrated 
 and unfortunate lovers, Diego Juan Martinez de 
 Marcilla and Isabel de Segura, commonly called The 
 Lovers of Teruel ; and being very desirous of making 
 it a perfect work, he not only submitted it to all the 
 principal poets of Spain, but to all persons of science 
 
OP CERVANTES. 223 
 
 and professors of arts. Among these critics we find 
 Lope de' Vega, Geronimo de Salas Barbadillo, Miguel 
 de Cervantes, and others, whose names are preserved 
 in the sonnets affixed to the work, in commendation 
 of it, as if to propitiate, by their authority, the good- 
 will and applause of the public. It appears that 
 Yague de Salas obtained the royal privilege for print- 
 ing this work in 1615, but it was not published until 
 the middle of the following year, 1616, after the 
 death of Cervantes. 
 
 These occasional proofs of his attachment to poetry, 
 and the compliments he bestowed on deserving men 
 of letters, did not withdraw his attention from the 
 composition of works more instructive and engaging, 
 and of greater extent. The principal of these, and 
 that on which his reputation latterly reposed, was the 
 second part of Don Quixote, promised in the year 
 ] 604, and announced as ready for publication in 
 1613. This second part of Don Quixote was anti- 
 cipated by an anonymous and unprincipled author, 
 with an intention of destroying at one blow the genius 
 and fame of Cervantes. Cervantes was on the point 
 of finishing his work when Avellaneda anticipated 
 him ; but this incident, which surprised and harassed 
 him much, acted also on him as a powerful stimulus 
 to finish his work with all possible despatch, and we 
 find he had concluded it at the beginning of 1615, 
 and was then soliciting a licence for the printing of 
 it ; but it was delayed by his care and correction 
 until the end of October. 
 
 In dedicating his Cvmcdias to the count de Lemos 
 in the previous month, he says : " Don Quixote 
 has just put on his boots and spurs, in his second 
 part, to set out to kiss the feet of your Excellency : 
 I believe he will arrive somewhat out of sorts, for in 
 
224 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 Zaragoza they waylaid and maltreated him," &c., 
 &c., terms which denote not only the just resent- 
 ment of Cervantes, but also the contemptible opinion 
 that he from that time formed of the work of his 
 impertinent calumniator. 
 
 It is no wonder that he should thus feel himself in- 
 jured, and we cannot but admire the generosity and 
 prudence with which hegovernedhisproceedings after- 
 wards. To the insolent calumnies of his rivalhe opposed 
 the good sense and urbanity so conspicuous in his pro- 
 logue, which may serve as a model of literary dispu- 
 tation, and the ingenious and humorous inventions 
 which he interweaved with the adventures of his hero, 
 alluding to the apocryphal history of the disguised 
 Aragonian. But nothing could be more well-timed 
 than the apology which he makes for himself and 
 Don Quixote, in his dedication to the count de Lemos, 
 where, speaking of the anxiety with which his book 
 was expected, he explains himself in these terms : 
 " I am pressed on all sides, by persons who are in 
 haste to get rid of the disrelish and nausea occasioned 
 by another Don Quixote, who, in a fictitious second 
 part, has been running his course under a feigned 
 name ; and the most urgent entreaties have come to 
 me from the great emperor of China ; for, about a 
 month since, he sent me a letter requesting, or rather 
 supplicating me, that I would send him my Don 
 Quixote, as he was about to found a college for the 
 cultivation of the Castilian tongue, and the book he 
 had appointed to be read there was the History of 
 Don Quixote. 
 
 "At the same time he informed me he meant to 
 appoint me rector of the college. I then inquired 
 from the ambassador of his majesty, if he had brought 
 any aid or subsidy. He replied, his majesty had not 
 
OP CERVANTES. 225 
 
 thought of it. ' Then,' said I, ' my friend, you may 
 return to China at your leisure, for my health would 
 not allow me to undertake so long a journey; for, 
 licsides being infirm, I am sadly in want of money; 
 and talk as you will of your emperors and kings, 
 there is the great and good count de Lemos in 
 Naples, who, in spite of your colleges and your titles, 
 will support and protect me, and heap more favours 
 on me than I could ask or desire.' " 
 
 The object of this petition was not only to call to 
 the count's recollection the destitution he was suffer- 
 ing, by addressing to his benefactor and Maecenas these 
 expressions of his gratitude and acknowledgment for 
 the liberality with which he at all times succoured 
 him, but also to support the reputation of his work, 
 and vindicate it from the malicious and unjust 
 censure of his enemies. The principal charge brought 
 against him by Avellaneda was, that his style or 
 idiom was vulgar, and that he made an ostentatious 
 display of synonymes. Cervantes, who did not con- 
 sider it decorous to enter into an open controversy, 
 chose rather to place the elegance and purity of his 
 language in contrast with the rudeness and vulgarity 
 of that of Avellaneda, under a plea that the most 
 remote countries were anxiously expecting his work, 
 that in it they might study the Castilian tongue, u- 
 the most proper text-book for that purpose ; an 
 opinion confirmed by the lapse of two centuries, by 
 the unanimous voice of the Spanish nation, and the 
 high authority of the Academy of Spain. 
 
 It had, in fact, been the constant aim of Cervantes 
 from his youth, to cultivate and improve his native 
 tongue. He endeavoured to demonstrate that it had 
 more variety, facility, and abundance, than the world 
 prenerally allowed, and congratulated himself with 
 Q 
 
226 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 the happy result he found on comparing the style of 
 the Galatea with that of Don Quixote and his No- 
 relas : a decision which is confirmed by those accom- 
 plished and judicious critics who have analysed the 
 language and style of our classic author. 
 
 The learned D. Gregorio Garces especially de- 
 serves honourable mention, when, in pointing out the 
 source of the vigour and elegance of the Castilian 
 idiom, he discovers in Cervantes qualities so eminent, 
 that he assures us that it is lie, of all others, who has 
 done the most to enrich it, and that he possesses singular 
 talents for such a task. In this work he has shown the 
 indefatigable skill and diligence of Cervantes in intro- 
 ducing many words to adorn his country's speech, until 
 this time slender and confined, from the objection 
 many persons had to employ it in their works, and 
 from the too great fear of admitting new words, with- 
 out regarding the precept of Horace, as Arias Mon- 
 tano observes. He then remarks how much Cer- 
 vantes contributed to enrich the language by pure 
 Latin words of the Augustan age, thus adding equally 
 to its dignity and perspicuity. He also notices the 
 propriety of these words in expressing things simply 
 and vividly, satisfying the understanding, and pre- 
 senting objects in their natural light, agreeably to 
 their essence, qualities, and circumstances. He 
 admires also that rich vein which consists, not only 
 in an abundance of words, but in that peculiar mode 
 of varying in a natural and opportune manner the 
 same expression, affording additional amenity and 
 grace to composition. And finally, he praises his 
 sagacity in the use of old and new words, conform- 
 able to the rules of Quintilian. Cervantes, in thus 
 enriching his native language, would interweave a 
 foreign word, either as being more expressive, or an- 
 
OP CERVANTES. 227 
 
 swering to the current of his rapid and lively imagi- 
 nation, and the example of other ingenious writers, 
 such as Perez de Castillo, Mendoza, Ercilla, Coloma, 
 and others. We may allege, as a proof of his circum- 
 spection on this point, the pleasant reproof which 
 Don Quixote makes on visiting the printing-house at 
 Barcelona, of the abuse of the translators there, and 
 that of some incautious and conceited young men, who, 
 after travelling in Italy, afterwards interlarded their 
 style with a number of Italian phrases. 
 
 lie sometimes adopted obsolete words for the sake 
 of grace and expression, as Cicero and Terence have 
 done in Latin ; but with such propriety, as shows his 
 desire to amuse the reader, and lead him to despise 
 the old romances where such words are to be found. 
 He, nevertheless, placed these words at the side of the 
 new, selecting those that had preserved their spirit, 
 grace and expression, and which a learned author 
 has adopted as an improvement in style. The ^ 
 of Cervantes was on this account remarkable for it< 
 purity, harmony, facility, energy, and propriety, such 
 as gave it an indisputable right to be placed among 
 the first models of the Castilian tongue. 
 
 Those who have with so much captiousncss and 
 fastidiousness charged Cervantes with the use of 
 Italianisms, and some expressions which do not 
 carry all the purity and delicacy which a more cc r- 
 rect taste and the refinement of manners require, 
 do not reflect that, until the close of the fifteenth 
 century, the only source of improvement for the 
 Castilian had been from the Latin, and some remains 
 of Arabic in the southern provinces ; but after the 
 reign of the Catholic sovereigns, and durimj the 
 whole of the sixteenth century, the dominion in 
 Italy and Flanders, and the frequent communication 
 Q2 
 
228 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 with those countries, naturalised in Spain many 
 words and phrases which now form a valuable part 
 of the staple of its language. The author of the 
 Dialogo de las Lenguas wished, in the time of 
 Charles V., that a number of Italian words which he 
 mentions, as manejar, comodo, disehar, discurn>\ entrc- 
 tener,facilitar, and others, should be introduced into 
 the Spanish for the want it had of them, and his 
 desires were some years afterwards fulfilled, when 
 fluelo was introduced for dcsafio, centinela, mochihi, 
 estrada, diquc, marisco, and an infinite number of 
 others, by don Geronimo de Urrea, don Diego de 
 Mendoza, Ercilla, Coloma, Suarez de Figueroa, Cris- 
 tobal de Rojas, and other accomplished writers. And 
 as to the purity, decorum, and dignity of words, it 
 is acknowledged that they augment or diminish in 
 proportion to the greater or less delicacy of the ear, the 
 refinement of manners, the extension and popularity 
 they have acquired, and also the expression which 
 is assigned to them in conversation and familiar dis- 
 course, though they may not have possessed this 
 meaning originally, either in their composition or 
 signification. The natural and ingenious words and 
 expressions of Berseo and of Arcipreste de Hlta, 
 which paint the pure and simple manners of their 
 age, have now changed their meaning, and we no 
 longer use them in the same sense ; and some words 
 of Granada, Siguenza, Ribadeneira, and others of the 
 good old time, we now rank as vulgar, low, and 
 indelicate, though many of the old writers found in 
 them all that dignity, grace, and propriety, which 
 they have now lost by the refinement of taste and 
 revolutions of time. Reflections like these, directed 
 by philosophy and a judicious discrimination, ought. 
 always to attend a just criticism. 
 
OF CERVANTES. 229 
 
 The malignant hostility of Avellaneda failed in its 
 effects, and the pretended embassy to Cervantes 
 seemed the more opportune when the Life of Don 
 Quixote was looked for on all sides with the greatest 
 anxiety, and when there actually arrived at Madrid, 
 at the beginning of the same year, 1615, an ambas- 
 sador from. the king of Japan, requesting that mis- 
 sionaries might be sent to preach the Gospel to his 
 subjects ; on which occasion an Indian of rank, 
 whom that monarch had sent as a witness and proof 
 of his sincerity, was baptised in the royal chapel 
 with extraordinary ceremony in the presence of 
 Philip III. Xor was the parallel less true at an 
 epoch in which the Castilian tongue was held in 
 universal esteem, which indeed it had acquired from 
 the glorious extension of the Spanish empire in both 
 worlds in the preceding century, and from the vast 
 erudition of its learned men. 
 
 The Spanish language was at this time spoken at 
 the courts of Vienna, Bavaria, Brussels, Naples, and 
 Milan ; all the world took a pride in cultivating it, 
 and it was thought almost a disgrace to be ignorant 
 of it. The ties of relationship between the princes 
 of Austria and the house of Bourbon in France, ex- 
 tended still further the feelings of friendship, of com- 
 merce, and interest, between the two countries, and 
 gave so much lustre to the language which was the 
 channel of communication, that, according to Cer- 
 vantes, almost every person in that kingdom thought 
 themselves bound to learn Spanish ; and in Paris it 
 was spoken by a great part of the court, and by 
 persons who had never travelled in Spain, according 
 to the evidence of Ambrosio de Salazar. On this 
 account the most able masters were established there, 
 who thus contributed to extend the language, while 
 
230 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 Spanish authors of celebrity were eagerly sought 
 after and read. And it was not uncommon to see the 
 classical writers of this Augustan age in the houses of 
 Frenchmen. Teacher's of Spanish, also, frequently 
 published in several countries Spanish poems, having 
 translated into Spanish the best works of France and 
 other countries. This was the cause that so many 
 Spanish books were printed in Germany, England, 
 France, and Italy ; and that the Spaniards held the 
 same sway over the theatres of Europe as they did 
 over public affairs. We are informed by a French 
 writer, that the companies of players, exercising 
 their talents in Paris and other cities, spread 
 abroad the beauties and excellences of Spain's great 
 dramatists, which being soon afterwards remodelled 
 in the hands of Moliere, Corneille, and other men 
 of genius, became the delight of the civilised world, 
 and the triumph of letters, as far as regards the repre- 
 sentation of character, the delineation of the passions, 
 and the correction of the vices and extravagances 
 of mankind. 
 
 Cervantes, too, 'had the pleasure of seeing his 
 novel of the Curioso Impertinente published in Paris, 
 and afterwards translated there for the instruction of 
 those who were studying Spanish ; and he learnt 
 the great estimation in which his Galatea, his other 
 works, and the second part of Don Quixote, were held 
 in foreign countries, while he himself was living in 
 his own country destitute and forsaken. These cir- 
 cumstances give more reality to the allegory which 
 he makes use of in his dedication, in which he gives 
 vent to his complaints, but at the same time with 
 such delicacy and discretion, that, without offence to 
 any particular individual, it was capable of being 
 applied to those who, from their elevated stations 
 
OP CERVANTES. 231 
 
 an,l their opulence, were the natural protectors of 
 letters, but who regarded with coldness and disdain, 
 instead of applauding and reviving, that sublime- 
 hut neglected genius, who had rendered his country 
 illustrious, and his productions indissolubly connected 
 with its glory. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Popularity of Don Quixote Neglect of men of letters Curious 
 anecdote Compliment to Cervantes Numerous editions of Don 
 Quixote Fame of the author Ariosto Tasso Critical re- 
 marks Violence and injustice of oilier writers Monsieur Sorel 
 A bold English critic El Escudcro Obregon Character of 
 its author His crafty and cavilling spirit towards Cervantes 
 Want of consistency and merit in his own work. 
 
 THERE were many writers of that age, who la- 
 mented the indifference of the court, and its neglect 
 of men of letters. A proof of it occurred, which re- 
 lated peculiarly to Cervantes, and which he at onetime 
 thought of relating in the parable before mentioned. 
 As Philip the Third was one afternoon standing in 
 a balcony of his palace, in Madrid, he observed a 
 student on the banks of the river Manzanares, with 
 a book in his hand, the reading of which was every 
 now and then interrupted by his striking his forehead 
 in an ecstacy of laughter and delight. The king 
 earnestly regarding him, instinctively recognised the 
 cause of his extravagant conduct, and exclaimed, 
 " Yon student is either mad, or reading Don Quixote." 
 
 The attendants, eager to satisfy the curiosity of 
 the king, ran to the spot, and found that the scholar 
 was in the midst of the delightful romance of Cer- 
 vantes, but none of the courtiers took this opportunity 
 of mentioning its author to the king, unmindful of 
 
232 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 the poverty in which he lived, loaded with infirmities 
 and misfortunes ; and thus the happiest occasion that 
 ever occurred of obtaining for him a pension, or 
 affording him relief, was overlooked. 
 
 We may, perhaps, attribute to this anecdote the 
 manner in which he speaks of the emperor of China, 
 preferring to his praises and compliments the benefi- 
 cence and effective liberality of the count de Lemos, 
 whose noble character and affection for letters led 
 him not only to encourage them, but to honour and 
 succour with his generous aid those who assiduously 
 cultivated them. 
 
 Whilst Cervantes experienced this contumely and 
 neglect on the part of his o wn countrymen, andhis ri vals 
 pursued him with rancour, he was the first object of 
 attention to all foreigners who visited Madrid. They 
 remarked him as he passed along the streets, and 
 sought every means and opportunity of being intro- 
 duced to his acquaintance and friendship. Francisco 
 Marquez de Torres, chaplain, and master of the pages 
 to the archbishop of Toledo, who licensed the second 
 part of Don Quixote, has preserved to us an irrefra- 
 gable proof of the honour in which Cervantes was 
 held : " But a very different feeling " (he says, in 
 his approbation of the 27th of February, 1615) " has 
 been manifested towards the works of Miguel de 
 Cervantes, as well by his own countrymen as by 
 foreigners, for they throng, as to a sight, to see the 
 author of these works, which, for their good sense 
 and morality, as well as for their suavity and bland- 
 ness of style, have been received by Spain, France, 
 Italy, Germany, and Flanders, with general applause." 
 He relates, as a fact, that on the 23rd of February 
 of that year, 1615, " accompanying my master, the 
 illustrious senor Don Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas, 
 
OP CERVANTES. 233 
 
 cardinal archbishop of Toledo, to return the visit of 
 the ambassador of France, who had come to nego- 
 tiate on a contract of marriage between France and 
 .Spain, many Frenchmen of the archbishop's train, 
 as well courtiers as private gentlemen and friends *f 
 letters, applied to me and the other chaplains of my 
 lord cardinal, to ascertain the works then most in 
 repute, and happening to mention this, which I had 
 just licensed, they had scarcely heard the name of 
 Cervantes, when one of -them pronounced a great 
 encomium on him, and spoke of the high admiration 
 that prevailed in France and the neighbouring coun- 
 tries of his Galatea, which some had almost by 
 heart, his first part of Don Quixote, and his Tales. 
 1'hey were so warm in their admiration of him, that 
 they intreated me to carry them to see him, as they 
 had the most longing desire to be acquainted with 
 him. They inquired from me his age, his profession, 
 and every minute particular of his life. Being obliged 
 to tell them that he was old, a soldier, a gentleman 
 
 . 
 
 by birth, and poor, one of them replied, * AVhy is 
 such a man not adopted by Spain, and supported at 
 the public expense ? ' Another gentleman wittily 
 exclaimed in reply, ' If poverty compels Cervantes 
 to write, I hope he will never know abundance, for 
 his poverty thus enriches the world.' These marked 
 expressions displayed the urbanity and good taste of 
 the speaker, conveyed a delicate compliment to Cer- 
 vantes, and a severe, though silent, invective against 
 the indifference with which the court regarded the 
 man of genius who had obtained for Spain such repu- 
 tation and glory in the world of letters." 
 
 The result of this general and unbounded admira- 
 tion was seen in the multiplication of editions of the 
 works of Cervantes, in the original language, and in 
 
234 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 translations, in foreign countries. " There have been," 
 says Don Quixote, " thirty thousand volumes of the 
 history of my adventures published, and there will 
 be thirty thousand more, if Heaven is favourable." 
 I declare," he had said before, "that at this day 
 there are printed more than twelve thousand books 
 of this history, without mentioning Portugal, Barce- 
 lona, and Valencia, where they have printed it, and 
 there is a report, too, that it has been published in 
 Antwerp ; and it seems to me that there soon will 
 not be a nation or tongue where it is not translated." 
 This prophecy of Cervantes was verified in a manner 
 beyond his hopes, for a very few years after there 
 appeared two editions in Venice, from the Italian 
 translation of Lorenzo Franciosini, a native of 
 Florence. 
 
 The French, too, who hastened to translate it, 
 count at this day nine or ten different versions. In 
 England, for the English were at all times passionate 
 admirers of Cervantes, and set a just value on his 
 works, since the year 1620 there have been produced 
 ten different translations, as Shelton, Gayton. Ward, 
 Jarvis, Smollett, Ozell, Motteux, Wilmont, Durfey, 
 and J. Philips ; and all these, excellent in their way, 
 were followed by a diligent and learned commentator, 
 Dr. Bowie. In Germany they have published, in 
 modern times, besides two translations, the one by 
 Ticck, and the other by Soltau, which is the most 
 valuable for its accuracy, a gnat variety of critical 
 and other works upon the subject. Portugal, Hol- 
 land, and other countries, have also naturalised it : 
 and it is to be remarked that, in many countries, 
 being sensible how much the vigour of expression is 
 lost in translating such a work from the original, 
 they have multiplied editions in Spanish, illustrating 
 
OP CERVANTES. 235 
 
 them with notes, commentaries, and treatises, and 
 ornamenting them with choice engravings. 
 
 The edition by Tonson, published in London in 
 1738, with such care and magnificence, deserves par- 
 ticular notice in this place. It was printed in four 
 volumes, in quarto, and contained tho first life of 
 Cervantes tha-t had appeared, which was written by 
 Don Gregorio Mayans and Siscar, at the instance of 
 Lord Carteret ; also that published, as before men- 
 tioned, by Bowie, in Salisbury and London, in 178 1, 
 in six volumes, large 4to ; containing in the two last 
 volumes annotations on the work, and various indexes, 
 among which is a most copious one of all the words 
 in the book, in the manner of the Lest editions of the 
 Latin classics ; also that which in the year 1 b04 was 
 published in Berlin, by Louis Ideler, professor of 
 astronomy in the royal academy of sciences there, in 
 six volumes, large 8vo, and dedicated to Frederick 
 Augustus AVolf, professor of poetry and eloquence in 
 the university of Halle, in which, with a view of 
 giving a correct text of Don Quixote, and facilitating 
 the understanding of it to strangers, he chose for his 
 model the edition of Pellicer, inserting his preliminary 
 discourse, his new life of Cervantes, and the notes to 
 the work ; omitting some digressions and particulars 
 interesting only to Spaniards, and substituting others 
 from Bowie ; with numerous explanations of words, 
 phrases, and difficult proverbs, with the corresponding 
 terms in German and French. 
 
 Another edition of Don Quixote was published in 
 Bordeaux the same year, in four volumes 8vo, being 
 an exact copy of the one which appeared in so cor- 
 rect and beautiful a form from the Royal press of 
 Madrid, a few years before. Also that published in 
 Paris, in 1814, in seven volumes, which followed the 
 
236 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 text of the edition of the Academy, uniting a life of 
 Cervantes and an analysis and chronological plan of 
 Don Quixote, written by Rios, with the notes and 
 remarks of Pellicer; and finally the public papers 
 have announced a new edition of the English trans- 
 lation of Jarvis by Mr. Belfour, adorned with magni- 
 ficent plates, illustrated with notes, historical, critical, 
 and literary, as well on the text as on the life of Cer- 
 vantes, and on the state of manners and literature in 
 the age in which he flourished. 
 
 The fame of Cervantes, so extended and well sup- 
 ported, has been further confirmed by the A-erdict of 
 the most distinguished men of letters. The learned 
 Peter Daniel Huet declared Cervantes worthy of a 
 place among the first men of genius in Spain. Rapin 
 attested his admiration of Don Quixote by an exquisite 
 satire, superior to anything of the kind in later times. 
 M. Guyot de Pitaval, in his Causes Celelrcs, proposes 
 to the judicial authorities of France the judgment and 
 verdict of Sancho in his government as models in case 
 of extraordinary occurrences, and calls Don Quixote 
 the first work of fiction in the world. The accom- 
 plished St. Evremont declared, that of all the books 
 he had read, he wished to be the author of none so 
 much as Don Quixote, and that he had never ceased 
 admiring how Cervantes had contrived to gain im- 
 mortality from the march of a madman and a clown. 
 
 The judicious Abbe du Bos observes, that all 
 nations have their peculiar fables and heroes of 
 romance, and that those of Tasso and Ariosto are 
 not so well known in France or in Italy as those of 
 the Astrea, and less known to the Italians than the 
 French ; and assures us that the romance of Don 
 Quixote alone has the glory of being-equally known 
 to strangers and to the countrymen of the wonderful 
 
OF CERVANTES. 237 
 
 Spaniard who first conceived and gave it to the world. 
 The author of Eloise called the writer of Don Quixote 
 inimitable, and preferred it to all works of imagina- 
 tion. The French translator, M. Florian, asserts 
 that Cervantes is perhaps the only man that by a 
 story, as original as ingenious, compels his readers to 
 follow his footsteps, not only without ennui or uneasi- 
 uo-. but with admiration and delight. The author 
 of 1'Esprit des Lois, the celebrated Montesquieu, even 
 when he treats the nation with marked injustice, 
 cannot deny the merit of Don Quixote, asserting that 
 it is the only good book in Spain ; an assertion as 
 false as it is honourable to Cervantes. 
 
 The poet Butler, in his burlesque and satirical 
 poem of Hudibras ; the distinguished authors of this 
 cultivated nation, Pope, Arbuthnot, and Swift, in 
 the Life of Martinus Scriblerus, which they conjointly 
 wrote to satirize pedantry in literature and science ; 
 the French writer, Pierre Carlet de Marivaux, in his 
 work of Les Folies Romanesques, ou II Don Qinchotte 
 MoJerne, the author of the Oufle, and the author of 
 Don Quixote a Paris ; M. de Vissieux, in el nuero 
 Don QuLcote, and in Spain the humorous author of 
 Friar Gei'iimd^ the author of the Quixote of Castile, 
 and many others of these and other nations, have all 
 proposed to themselves the ingenioso liidalgo (/> l<> 
 Mancha as their model, and have all laboured, though 
 not with equal success, to imitate his life, his adven- 
 tures, and his style. The judicious Justo van Efen, 
 of Holland, recommends this work to be placed in 
 the hands of youth, in order to foster the genius and 
 cultivate the judgment by the eloquence of its style 
 and the agreeable variety of its adventures, for its 
 admirable merit, and wise reflections on manners, 
 for the treasury it contains of judicious censure and 
 
238 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 excellent advice, and especially for the wit with which 
 it is flavoured. 
 
 Finally, several public bodies have honoured Don 
 Quixote, by expressing their intention of illustrating 
 it, as well for its chronology and geography, as for 
 its many allusions to persons and historical events. 
 
 We must not here forget to make mention of a 
 resolution passed by the Academy of Sciences, In- 
 scriptions, Literature, and the Fine Arts, of Troyes, 
 in Champagne, about the middle of the past century, 
 by which one of their body was appointed to traVel 
 into Spain, for the purpose of ascertaining all 'the 
 particulars attending the death of the Pastor Crisos- 
 tomo, and the place of his interment, and of e"hdea- 
 vouring at the same time to collect further information 
 to illustrate Don Quixote, to regulate the itinerary 
 of his expeditions, and to form a chronological table 
 of his adventures, in order to prepare a French trans- 
 lation more exact than any at that time published, 
 and an edition superior to all antecedent Ones, for its 
 correctness and magnificence. 
 
 The earnest intentions of these men df letters were 
 as commendable as their simplicity and credulity 
 were excessive, in believing in the existence of per- 
 sons who had their origin only in the prolific fancy 
 of Cervantes, and in the reality 'of many actions 
 which were merely ideal or allegorical. They did 
 not reflect, as the learned Huet had done, in his 
 Essay on the origin of this class of novels, relative to 
 the idea that Cervantes adopted, in supposing the- 
 original of his romance to have been in Arabic. 
 Being deceived by this stratagem of Cervantes, the 
 academicians of Troyes persuaded themselves that 
 this work actually existed in Arabic among the 
 manuscripts of the library of the Escurial, and they 
 
OF CERVANTES. 239 
 
 directed their envoy to compare it with the transla- 
 tion of Cervantes, thinking that from this careful 
 examination, and the publication of the original, 
 much light would be thrown on the subject, and a 
 great benefit be conferred on literature. 
 
 But in the midst of these commendations and 
 testimonies to the merit of Don Quixote, and the 
 universal applause of ages, there have not been want- 
 ing some harsh critics, who, magnifying its defects, 
 have attempted to lessen its favour, and check the 
 current of applause. " But I would beg of these 
 censurers," says Cervantes himself, "to be more com- 
 passionate and more scrupulous in detecting the 
 spots on the bright sun at which they murmur ; " 
 and he suggests, " that those spots that appear so 
 dark in their eyes, might, in fact, increase the beauty 
 of the object where they are found." 
 
 In the year 1647, Mons. Sorel published in France 
 a work, entitled Lc. Bcryer Extravagant, with the 
 design of ridiculing books of chivalry, as well in prose 
 as verse, describing the work of Cervantes as full of 
 inconsistencies, as he would prove by the adventures 
 in the house of the Duke and the government of 
 Sancho Panza; where too the curate, and the bachelor 
 Samson Carrasco, leave their village homes to follow 
 Don Quixote ; and in the episodes, of the judgment 
 passed on the writers of romance; with other reflec- 
 tions not less frivolous, and many absurd and repre- 
 hensible remarks; in which he clearly discovers the 
 spirit of a writer, who, carried away by his imagina- 
 tion, criticised and abused his model, with the same 
 petulance and audacity with which he directed his 
 pen against Homer, Virgil, Ariosto, Tasso, Rousseau, 
 and others; without reflecting that the mere circum- 
 stance of placing Cervantes in such high company, 
 
240 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 was an acknowledgment of that great original merit, 
 which, passing from age to age with enthusiasm and 
 admiration, assured him an ever-during name among 
 all generations of men. 
 
 From the attacks of an English critic of much the 
 same character as the last mentioned one, Cervantes 
 was defended by the author of a periodical published 
 in Paris, for the year 1 737. This critic, after 
 attacking Bayle, Locke, Mallebranche, the Spectator 
 of Addison, and other authors and books of equal 
 reputation, undertakes to condemn Don Quixote, 
 although he acknowledges the difficulty of passing 
 judgment on a work which had already established 
 itself in the public favour. He pretends to detect 
 inconsistencies and impi'obabilities in the various inci- 
 dents of this romance, as that of the Biscayan, the 
 Benedictines, the galley-slaves, and Dorothea ; and 
 prolixity in the tales of Marcela, Zoraida, the 
 " Curioso Impertinente," and in that of Cardenio, 
 though nothing has been better conceived or related 
 more gracefully ; and, finally, he so magnifies the 
 defects which Cervantes himself indeed acknow- 
 ledged that he attempts to contravene the general 
 opinion of his possessing an accurate taste, and con- 
 cedes to him only an agreeable and prolific imagina- 
 tion, without either correctness of taste or solidity of 
 judgment. It is to be remarked that this criticism 
 is confined to the first part of Don Quixote, and it 
 bears so great a resemblance to that of Avellaneda, 
 that we may almost svispect the English critic of 
 having thence derived his principal charges, as the 
 before-mentioned champion of Cervantes suggests. 
 This person adds, that in order to repel such charges 
 it is necessary to confront them with the work thus 
 accused. All readers of sense and good taste will 
 
OF CERVANTES. 241 
 
 there meet with such inimitable beauty, such grace 
 of style, such graphic delineation, and propriety of 
 character, that these blemishes, so fastidious-ly repre- 
 sented by malevolence, will disappear, and the sur- 
 prise and delight characteristic of the beautiful and 
 sublime, in works of imagination, will he the best 
 apology for the Spanish novelist. 
 
 "NVi- cannot wonder that some foreigners, to gratify 
 their self-love, should speak thus of Cervantes, when 
 even the contemporary writers of his own country, 
 who ought to name him with delight and affec- 
 tion, far from showing such manly conduct, endea- 
 voured to discredit and injure his fame, although 
 with the timidity and dissimulation that distinguish 
 conduct so perfidious. None of these dared to 
 appear openly in the field ; and we may easily 
 imagine that the evil motives which inspired the 
 envenomed rage of Avellaneda, spread also among 
 other literary men, jealous of the public applause Cer- 
 vantes had acquired by his works, and of the honours 
 and distinctions which he met with at the hands 
 of his illustrious patrons, and of which they found 
 it so difficult to obtain a share. This, in the opinion 
 of Pelliccr, was the cause of the invective with 
 which Vicente Espinel attempted to lessen the merit 
 of Don Quixote, in order to elevate his own Escudero 
 ^l HI-COB de Obregon, which he published in 1618. 
 This writer had eulogised Cervantes in his youth, 
 had afterwards treated him familiarly in society and at 
 public meetings, had been favourably noticed by him, 
 and they had both equally shared the friendship of 
 the Cardinal of Toledo, and had obtained from his 
 munificence a pension to alleviate the weight of old 
 age and poverty. Hence might be derived the emu- 
 lation that some pretended to discover in the dedica- 
 
 R 
 
242 LIFE AND "WRITINGS 
 
 tion of that work, and in many passages of the pro- 
 logue, which he endeavoured to support with the 
 opinion of the friends he consulted, one of whom 
 was Hortensio Felix Paravicino, and who in his 
 license, no doubt spoke the opinion of himself 
 and others, asserting that of all books of general 
 entertainment, that of the Escudero Olregon was one 
 that best deserved to be published ; " for, of writings 
 of this nature," he adds, " it seems to me the best 
 our country possesses ;". though this author, as well 
 as his fellow critics, had seen and read the second 
 part of Don Quixote when it was published two 
 years before. The character and genius of Espinel 
 were confessedly those of a crafty and cavilling critic, 
 as Cervantes indicates in his Viage al Parnaso, and 
 it is not improbable that at the same time that he 
 declares he was one of his oldest and most faithful 
 friands, he directed his shafts against the work of Cer- 
 vantes; while the others joined in a verdict which 
 must seem as violent as iinjust in the impartial eyes 
 of posterity ; for however deserving of approbation 
 the Life of the Escudero Obregon may be, it wants 
 the essential requisites of invention, sense, and beauty 
 of style, that have made Don Quixote a classical work 
 amon all cultivated nations. 
 
OP CERVANTES. 243 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 New romance of Cervantes Unpublished during his life His own 
 estimate of it By native critics By foreigners Bold and ima- 
 ginative character Strange ideas of the North Wonderful ad- 
 ventures The marvellous Grand extravagances Humorous 
 incidents New method of travelling Specimen* of diablerie 
 Numerous episodes Ironical treatment of his own story Effect 
 of ace, and influence of Catholic priests Superstitious feelings 
 productive of intolerance Injustice towards the AlorUcoes 
 Bad effects of their banishment Touching lament Adventures 
 of the hero and heroine Odd notions of heroic morality. 
 
 WE have already had occasion to observe, that 
 shortly before his death, Cervantes was employed 
 upon a work, the dedication to which he composed 
 after he had received extreme nnction. It is entitled 
 The Sufferings of 'PcrsilesandSigismunda, a Northern 
 Story ; and to this work, more than to any other of 
 his literary labours, did he attach his hopes of fame. 
 The judgment of the Spanish critics has placed this 
 production by the side of Don Quixote, and above all 
 the author's other works ; but a foreigner will not, 
 we should imagine, concede to it so much merit. It is 
 the offspring of a rich, but at the same time of a 
 wandering imagination, which confines itself within 
 no bounds of the possible or the probable, and which 
 is not sufficiently founded on reality. Cervantes, 
 who was so correct and elegant a painter of all that 
 fell within the sphere of his observation, has been 
 pleased to place the scene of his last talc in a world 
 with which he had no acquaintance. lie had tra- 
 versed Greece, Italy, Spain, and Barbary ; he was 
 at home in every part of the south. He has, how- 
 
 R2 
 
244 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 ever, entitled this romance a northern story, and his 
 complete ignorance of the north, in which his scene 
 is laid, and which he imagines to be a land of bar- 
 barians, anthropophagi, pagans, and enchanters, is 
 not a little singular. Don Quixote often promises 
 Sancho Panza the kingdoms of Denmark and Sopra- 
 bisa ; but Cervantes, in fact, knew little more of 
 these countries than his amusing knight. The king 
 of Denmark and the king of Danea are both intro- 
 duced, though Denmark and Danea are the same 
 country. " One half of the isles of that country," 
 he says, " are savage, deserted, and covered with 
 eternal snows ; the other is inhabited by corsairs, 
 who slay men for the purpose of eating their hearts, 
 and make women prisoners, in order to elect from 
 amongst them a queen." The Poles, the Norwegians, 
 the Irish, and the English, are all introduced in their 
 turns, and represented as possessing manners no less 
 extraordinary, and a mode of life no less fantastic ; 
 nor is the scene laid in that remote antiquity, the 
 obscurity of which might admit of such fables. The 
 heroes of the romance are the contemporaries of 
 Cervantes ; and some of them are the soldiers of 
 Charles V., who were marched with him into Flan- 
 ders or Germany, and who afterwards wandered into 
 these terrible northern and desert countries. 
 
 The hero of the romance, Persiles, is the second 
 son of the King of Iceland, and his mistress, Sigis- 
 munda, is the daughter and heiress of the queen of 
 Fricsland, a country which has escaped frem the 
 chart, but which is now supposed to have been the 
 Feroe islands, where the very veracious travellers 
 of the fifteenth century have placed many of their 
 adventures. Sigismunda had been betrothed to 
 Maximin, the brother of Persiles, whose savage and 
 
OF CERVANTES. 245 
 
 rude manners were little calculated to captivate the 
 heart of the sweetest, the most beautiful, and the 
 most perfect of women. The two lovers make their 
 escape at the same time, with the intention of tra- 
 velling together on a pilgrimage to Rome; no doubt 
 for the purpose of obtaining from the Pope a dispen- 
 sation from Sigismunda's engagements. Persiles 
 assumes the name of Periander, and Sigismunda that 
 of Auristela ; and during the whole of the romance 
 they appear under these names ; they pass as brother 
 and sister, and the secret of their birth and history, 
 with which we have commenced our account of the 
 novel, is not disclosed until the termination of the 
 work. Their peregrinations through the north are 
 contained in the first volume ; through the south in. 
 the second. Exposed to more dangers than would 
 be amply sufficient for ten reasonable romances; 
 captured by savages and recaptured ; on the point of 
 being roasted and eaten ; shipwrecked innumerable 
 times; separated and reunited; attacked by assas- 
 sins, by poison, and by sorcery, and at the same 
 time robbing all they met of their hearts, they run 
 greater risks from the love they inspire than could 
 be occasioned by hatred itself. The ravishers, how- 
 ever, who dispute for them, combat so fiercely 
 amongst themselves, that they are all slain. In this 
 manner perish all the inhabitants of the barbarous 
 isle, where a whole nation of pirates are consumed 
 in the flames which they have themselves lighted. 
 On another occasion, all the sailors of a vessel fight 
 until none are left ; but this was necessary, that our 
 travellers might have a fit conveyance. This ro- 
 mance is, indeed, a singularly bloody one. Besides 
 those who perish by wholesale, the numbers of those 
 who either die or kill themselves, would almost fill 
 
246 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 the ranks of an army. The history of the hero and 
 the heroine is interspersed with a thousand episodes. 
 Before they arrive at the end of their journey they 
 collect a numerous caravan, each member of which 
 in turn recites his adventures. These are always, 
 of course, most extraordinary, and manifest great 
 fertility of invention. Many of them are amusing, 
 but it appears to me that nothing is more fatiguing 
 than the marvellous ; and that there is never so great 
 a similarity as between productions which resemble 
 nothing else in natiire. Cervantes, in this novel, has 
 fallen into many of the errors which he so humor- 
 ously exposed in Don Quixote. We cannot suppose 
 that in Don Belianis, or in Felix Mars of Hircania, 
 more extravagance is to be found than in these vo- 
 lumes. The style of the ancient romance writers, it 
 is true, did not possess so much elegance and purity. 
 Amongst the episodes, there is one which appears 
 to us very interesting, less on account of its own 
 merits, than because it reminds us of an amusing tale 
 of one of our celebrated contemporaries. Persiles in 
 the barbarous isle discovers, amongst the pirates of 
 the Baltic, a man who is called Rutilio de Sienna, 
 who is a dancing master, like Monsieur Violis amongst 
 the Iroquois. In his own country he had entrapped 
 one of his scholars, and had been imprisoned prepara- 
 tory to his suffering a capital punishment. A witch, 
 however, who, it appears, had fallen in love with 
 him, opened the doors of his prison, and she spread 
 a mantle on the ground before him. " She then 
 desired me to place my foot upon it and to be of good 
 courage, but for a moment to omit my devotions. I 
 immediately saw that this was a bad beginning, and 
 I perceived that her object was to convey me through 
 the air. Although, like a good Christian, I held all 
 
OF CERVANTES. 247 
 
 sorcery in contempt, yet the fear of death in this 
 instance made me resolve to obey her. I placed 
 my foot in the middle of the mantle, and she also. 
 At the same time she muttered some words which I 
 could not understand, and the mantle began to 
 ascend. I felt so terribly afraid, that there was not a 
 single saint in the calendar whom, in my heart, I did 
 not invoke. The enchantress doubtless perceived my 
 terror, and divined my prayers, for she again com- 
 manded me to abstain from them. ' Wretch that I 
 am !' exclaimed I, ' what good can I hope for, if I am 
 prevented asking it from God, from whom proceeds 
 all good ?' At last I shut my eyes, and suffered the 
 devils to convey me whither they would, for such are 
 the only post-horses with which witches travel. After 
 having been carried through the air for four hours, or 
 a little more, as I should suppose, I found myself at 
 the close of the day in an unknown country. 
 
 " As soon as the mantle touched the ground, my 
 companion said to me, ' Friend Rutilio, you have 
 arrived at a place where the whole human race can- 
 not harm you.' As she spoke these words, she em- 
 braced me with very little reserve. I repelled her 
 with all my strength, and perceived that she had 
 taken the figure of a wolf. The sight froze my senses. 
 However, as often happens in great dangers, when 
 the very hopelessness of escape gives us desperate 
 strength, I seized a hanger which I had by my side, 
 and with unspeakable fury plunged it into the breast 
 of what appeared to me to be a wolf, but which, as 
 it fell, lost that terrific shape. The enchantress, 
 bathed in her blood, lay stretched at my feet. 
 
 " Consider, sirs, that I was in a country perfectly 
 unknown to me, and without a single person to guide 
 me. I waited for many hours the return of day, 
 
248 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 but still it appeared not, and in the horizon there was 
 no sign which announced the approaching sun. I 
 quitted the corpse which excited in my heart so much 
 fear and terror, and minutely examined the appear- 
 ance of the heavens. I observed the motion of the 
 stars, and from the course which they pursued, I 
 imagined that it should have been day. As I stood 
 in this state of confusion, I heard the voice of people 
 approaching the spot where I was. I advanced 
 towards them, and demanded, in Tuscan, in what 
 country I might be. One of them answered in 
 Italian, ' This country is Norway ; but who are 
 you, who question us in a language so little known ?' 
 ' I am,' said I, ' a wretch who, in attempting to escape 
 from death, have fallen into his hands,' and in a few 
 words I related to them my journey, and the death 
 of the enchantress. He who had spoken, appeared 
 to pity me, and said, ' You ought, my good friend, 
 to be very thankful to Heaven, which has delivered 
 you from out of the power of wicked sorcerers, of whom 
 there are many in these northern parts. It is said, 
 indeed, that they transform themselves into he-wolves 
 and she -wolves, for there are enchanters of both 
 sexes. I know not how this can be, and as a 
 Christian and a catholic, I do not believe it, notwith- 
 standing experience demonstrates the contrary. It 
 may, indeed, be said, that these transformations are 
 the illusions of the devil, who, by God's permission, 
 thus punishes the sins of this evil generation.' I then 
 asked him the hour, as the night appeared to me 
 very long, and the day came not. He replied, that 
 in these remote regions the year was divided into four 
 portions. There were three months of perfect night, 
 during which the sun never appeared above the 
 horizon ; three months of day-break, which were 
 
OP CERVANTES. 249 
 
 neither day nor night; three months of uninterrupted 
 daylight, during which the sun never set ; and lastly, 
 three months of twilight : that the season was then 
 the morning twilight, so that it was useless to look 
 for the appearance of day. He added, that I must 
 postpone until the perfect day my prospect of return- 
 ing home ; but that then Tcssels would sail with 
 merchandise to England, France and Spain. He 
 inquired whether 1 was acquainted with any occu- 
 pation by which I could support myself till my 
 return to my own country. I replied that I was a 
 dancing-master, very skilful in the saltatory art, as 
 well as in the nimble use of my fingers. Upon this, 
 my new friend beganto laugh most heartily, and assured 
 me that these occupations, or duties, as I called them, 
 were not in fashion in Norway, or in the neighbour- 
 ing countries." Rutilio's host, who was the great- 
 grandson of an Italian, taught him to work as a 
 goldsmith. He afterwards made a voyage for com- 
 mercial purposes, and was taken by pirates, and 
 carried to the Barbarous Isle, where he remained 
 until all the inhabitants were destroyed in a tumult, 
 when he escaped, together with Persilcs and Sigis- 
 munda. 
 
 In this episode we recognise the pen of the author 
 of Don Quixote. The insignificance of the hero, and 
 the greatness of the incidents are here as pleasantly 
 contrasted, as in Don Quixote are the dignity of the 
 hero and the petty nature of the incidents. His 
 humorous spirit, however, and this ironical style of 
 treating his own story, only manifest themselves 
 occasionally in the work, which, in its serious 
 marvellousness, is often fatiguing. 
 
 In perusing the latter works of Cervantes, the idea 
 has more than once struck us that we could trace the 
 
250 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 progress which superstition was making in Spain, 
 under its more imbecile sovereigns ; and the influence 
 which it was acquiring over the mind of an old man 
 surrounded by priests, whose object it was to render 
 him as intolerant and cruel as themselves. In his 
 novel of Rinconete and Cortadillo, Cervantes makes 
 a skilful and delicate attack upon the superstitions of 
 his country ; and a similar spirit is observable in his 
 Don Quixote. The episode of Ricoto the Moor, the 
 countryman of Sancho Panza, who relates the suffer- 
 ings of the Moors, forthemost part professed Christians, 
 on their banishment from Spain, is highly touching. 
 " The punishment of exile," says he, " which some 
 esteem light and humane, is to us the most terrible 
 of all. Wherever we roam, we lament Spain ; for 
 there were we born, and that is our native country. 
 No where have we found the asylum which our 
 misfortunes merited. In Barbary, and in every part 
 of Africa, where we had hoped to meet with a friendly 
 reception, an abiding-place, and kind treatment, we 
 have been more injured and more outraged than 
 elsewhere. We knew not the benefits which we 
 possessed until we lost them. The desire which we 
 almost all of us feel to return into Spain is so great, 
 that the greater part amongst us who like me under- 
 stand the language, and they are not few, have 
 returned into this country, leaving their wives and 
 children without support. It is now only that we 
 feel by experience how devoted is that love of our 
 country which we formerly used to hear spoken 
 of." 
 
 With whatever reserve the established authorities 
 are alluded to in this story, and in the equally affect- 
 ing story of his daughter Ricota, it is impossible that 
 it should not excite a deep interest for so many un- 
 
OF CERVANTES. 251 
 
 fortunate beings, who, aggrieved in their religion, 
 oppressed by the laws no less than by individual 
 tyranny, had been driven with their wives and their 
 children, to the number of six hundred thousand, 
 from a country where they had been established for 
 more than eight centuries ; a country which owed 
 to them its agriculture, its commerce, its prosperity, 
 and no inconsiderable part of its literature. 
 
 In Persiles and Sigismunda there is a Moorish 
 adventure, the time of which is laid near the period of 
 their expulsion from Spain. But in this place, Cer- 
 vantes endeavours to render the Mussulmans odious, 
 and to justify the cruel law which had been put in 
 execution against them. The heroes of the romance 
 arrive with a caravan at a Moorish village in the 
 kingdom of Valencia, situated about a league distant 
 from the sea. The Moors hasten to welcome them ; 
 offering their houses, and displaying the most obliging 
 hospitality. The travellers at length yield to these 
 entreaties, and take up their lodging with the richest 
 Moor in the village. Scarcely, however, had they 
 retired to repose, when the daughter of their host 
 secretly apprises them, that they have been thus 
 pressingly invited in order that they might be en- 
 trapped on board a Barbary fleet which would arrive 
 in the night, for the purpose of transporting the in- 
 habitants of the village and all their riches to the 
 short-s of Africa; and that their host hoped by making 
 them prisoners to procure a large ransom. The tra- 
 vellers, in consequence of this intelligence, take refuge 
 in the church, where they fortify themselves ; and 
 in the night the inhabitants of the village having 
 burned their dwellings, set sail for Africa. Cervantes, 
 on this occasion, speaks in the person of a Christian 
 Moor : " Happy youth ! prudent King, go on, and 
 
252 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 execute this generous decree of banishment ; fear not 
 that the country will be deserted and uninhabited. 
 Hesitate not to exile even those who have received 
 baptism ; considerations like these ought not to im- 
 pede your progress, for experience has shown how 
 vain they are. In a little while the land will be 
 repeopled with new Christians, but of the ancient 
 race. It will recover its fertility, and attain a higher 
 prosperity than it now possesses. If the lord should 
 not have vassals so numerous and so humble, yet 
 those who remain will be faithful catholics. With 
 them the roads will be secure, peace will reign, and 
 our property will be no longer exposed to the attacks 
 of these robbers." 
 
 This work leads us to hazard another remark on 
 the character of the Spanish nation. The hero and 
 heroine are represented as patterns of perfection. 
 They are young, beautiful, brave, generous, and de- 
 voted to one another, beyond any thing which human 
 nature can be supposed to attain ; yet with all these 
 rare qualities, they are addicted to falsehood, as though 
 it were their professional business, far beyond the 
 ordinary tales of travellers. Upon every occasion, 
 and before they can possibly know whether the false- 
 hood will be useful or prejudicial to them, they make 
 it their invariable rule to say the thing which is not 
 in direct violation of the truth. If any one ask 
 them a simple question, they are sure to deceive him ; 
 if any one confides in them, they deceive him ; if any 
 one asks their advice, they deceive him ; and those 
 who are most attached to them, are most surely the 
 objects of this dissimulation. Arnaldo, of Denmark, 
 a noble and generous prince, is from beginning to 
 end made the wretched victim of Sigismunda's dupli- 
 city. Sinforosa is no less cruelly deceived by Persiles. 
 
OF CERVANTI>. 253 
 
 Policarpo,whohad shown them great hospitality, loses 
 his kingdom by the crooked policy and operation of 
 their artifices. Every untruth, however, proving 
 successful, the personal interest of the hero is supposed 
 to justify the measure ; and what would to our eyes 
 appear an act of base dissimulation, is represented by 
 Cervantes as an effort of happy prudence. 
 
 AVe are well aware that foreigners, who have tra- 
 velled in Spain, and merchants who have traded with 
 the Castilians, unanimously praise their good faith 
 and honesty. Such authorities must be believed. 
 Nothing is more common than to calumniate a people 
 who are separated from us by their language and 
 their manners ; and those virtues must indeed be real, 
 which can triumph over all our national prejudices. 
 The literature of Spain, nevcrth eless, does not strengthen 
 our confidence in the good faith of the Castilians ; not 
 only is dissimulation crowned with success in their 
 comedies, their romances, and their descriptions of 
 national manners, but that quality absolutely receives 
 greater honour than candour. In the writers of the 
 northern nations we discover an air of sincerity and 
 frankness, and an openness of heart, which we may 
 look for in vain among the Spanish authors. Their 
 history bears a stronger testimony even than their 
 literature to the truth of this accusation, which hangs 
 over all the people of the south, and induces a 
 suspicion of want of faith, which their sense of 
 honour, their religion, and the system of morality 
 current amongst them, would seem to justify. No 
 history is sullied by more instances of perfidy than 
 that of Spain. No government has ever made so 
 light of its oaths and its most sacred engagements. 
 From the reign of Ferdinand the Catholic, to the 
 time of the administration of Cardinal Alberoni, every 
 
254 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 war, every public treaty, every relation between the 
 government and the people, is marked by the most 
 odious treachery. Their astute policy, however, 
 gained the admiration of the world, and they con- 
 trived to separate truth from honour.* 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 WDScI vuuuila HIIU unniYolo AH MUSS ui v^t i van Lea i i iva <i iii.in^ 
 
 of air Amusing adventures Becomes worse Fondness fe 
 literature to the last Corrects his works Writes to his patro 
 His nohle expressions His death Sunmiaiy of his charade 
 
 nrul mpntc. 
 
 and merits. 
 
 THE feelings of envy and ingratitude were more 
 openly displayed against Cervantes by D. Cristobal 
 Suarez de Figueroa, a native of Valladolid, advocate- 
 general of the army in Italy, and a deserving labourer 
 in Spanish literature. Cervantes had loaded him 
 with praises in his Viage at Parnaso, and in the 
 second part of Don Quixote, with more indulgence 
 than justice of criticism, had left nothing undone to 
 soothe his dark and vindictive temper. He saw the 
 distinguished and generous protection that was 
 extended towards Cervantes by the count de Lemos, 
 and he was dissatisfied at not being able to obtain a 
 share of it himself, even after having dedicated a work 
 to that nobleman, to secure his favour ; for, when he 
 
 * Literature of the South of Europe, by M. Sismonili, iii., pp. 
 406, 419. 
 
OF CERVANTES. 255 
 
 went to present it in person, an ecclesiastic denied 
 him access to the duke, on account of his numerous 
 engagements, and he afterwards endeavoured to 
 obtain his presentation through a physician, but was 
 equally unsuccessful ; for he found the Duke, he said, 
 so besieged by ingeniosos, as to be quite inaccessible. 
 This is a strange account of a patron so eminent for 
 his virtues, his urbanity and popularity, and his 
 generous protection of literature and its professors, 
 some of whom enjoyed, through his favour, profitable 
 employments, as Salas Barbadillo informs us ; and it 
 is a warning to the great to guard themselves against 
 the evil passions of those who aspire to their favour. 
 This disappointment divulges to us the origin of 
 many critical allusions which he directed against 
 Cervantes in his work entitled El Pasagero, which 
 he published at Madrid, in 1617. In this he indi- 
 rectly censures the Galatea ; the title of the Ingenioso 
 Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha appears to him 
 swollen and pompous ; he dislikes the epithet exem- 
 p lares in the tales ; he ridicules the idea of a man of 
 Cervantes' age contending for a literary prize, as he 
 did at the beatification of Santa Teresa ; he satirises 
 the composition of his Comedias, which, for the want 
 of a purchaser and the neglect of the players, he depo- 
 sited at the bottom of a chest, hoping they might 
 come to be relished in the theatre of Josafat, where 
 they would not, at least, want an audience; and lastly, 
 he animadverts on his having written the dedication 
 of Persiles, as if gratitude and humility on his death- 
 bed were not fit virtues to accompany a man to his 
 grave. "With not less effrontery and rancour, Figu- 
 eroa censured the works of Lope de Vega, Bartolome 
 de Torres Naharro, of Don Esteban Manuel de Vil- 
 legas, of Pedro de Espinosa, and other eminent 
 Spanish writers. 
 
LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 Cervantes was distinguished for his frank, noble, 
 and ingenuous disposition, was always indulgent 
 to other poets and men of letters, and extremely grateful 
 to his patrons and protectors. He often risked his 
 own reputation for that of others, and connected the 
 glory of others with his own, raising a monument 
 worthy of their virtues, and he considered them as a 
 shield and protection against the shafts of calumny. 
 " May Heaven," he would say, when beset by envy 
 and persecution, " protect the noble duke of Lemos, 
 whose well known Christian benevolence and libe- 
 rality has upheld me against all the frowns of fortune ; 
 and may Heaven, too, protect the illustrious and 
 charitable D. Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas, and then 
 let my enemies print against me more books than 
 there are couplets in the works of Mingo Revulgo. 
 These few noble-minded persons, without extorting 
 from me either adulation or applause, but prompted 
 solely by their own goodness, have extended their 
 protection and favour to me ; so that I consider my- 
 self richer than if fortune by ordinary means had 
 placed me on the summit of her wheel." Common 
 adulation to the great, would not have excited such 
 warm and energetic expressions ; and very similar are 
 those he made use of to show his gratitude for the 
 favour and benefits he owed to Pedro de Morales, an 
 eminent comic poet and performer of that period, 
 who, to use his own expression, was his refuge in 
 adversity. Nor can the praises which he bestows on 
 the talents, affability, and accomplished manners of 
 his noble patron, be suspected, being supported by 
 those commendations already bestowed on him by 
 Lope deVega and Augustin de Rojas, who knew him. 
 
 But, however correct these expressions might be, 
 and however just and sincere these panegyrics, they 
 
OP CERVANTES. 257 
 
 cannot appear so impartial and disinterested as those 
 which posterity has consecrated to the noble conduct 
 of these illustrious men, who, in the midst of the 
 general corruptions of the time, the frivolous education 
 and occupations of the nohility, elevated themselves 
 above their age, cultivating the sciences and the 
 useful arts, favouring and rewarding their professors, 
 and thus weaving for themselves a crown of im- 
 mortality, and an enviable fame among their con- 
 temporaries. 
 
 We must ever regard with esteem and veneration 
 the memory of persons, whose pride it was to suc- 
 cour and support the first genius of his age, encour- 
 aging his studies, and aiding him in the publication 
 of his immortal works ; and it will not be less bene- 
 ficial at the present day to hold up so great an 
 example to those who, by the elevation of their sta- 
 tion, or by their opulence and power, are destined to 
 influence the fate of nations, and the culture and 
 happiness of the human race. 
 
 Don Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas, Cardinal 
 Archbishop of Toledo, and Don Pedro Fernandez de 
 Castro, the seventh Count de Lemos, were connected 
 by blood with the most illustrious houses in Spain. 
 They had both received that enlightened course of 
 education, which produced so many eminent men in 
 the preceding age ; the count de Lemos, in the bosom 
 of his own family, a family in which valour, magna- 
 nimity, courtesy, and genius were all united ; while the 
 Cardinal, yet young, had studied in the University of 
 Salamanca, and afterwards obtained for his tutor the 
 celebrated Ambrosio de Morales, the father of Spanish 
 history, as renowned for his wisdom and erudition, 
 as for the austerity of his manners. The one, es- 
 teemed by two sovereigns for his talents, information, 
 
258 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 and high attainments, opened for himself a road to 
 the highest employments and dignities of the monar- 
 chy ; the other, adding lustre hy his virtues to three 
 episcopal sees, obtained, through his merits, from 
 Clement VIII., the honour of a Cardinal's hat, and 
 was elevated to the Archbishopric of Toledo, and the 
 office of Inquisitor- General. The one left in Naples 
 the most lasting proofs of his munificence and love 
 of the fine arts, in the sumptuous palace of the 
 viceroy, the noble edifice of the University, in the 
 great undertaking of converting pestilential lakes 
 and morasses into fruitful and smiling plains ; and 
 in conducting the waters from Vesuvius to supply 
 the city, and fertilise its delightful meadows. The 
 other raised, in Toledo and in Alcala de Henares, 
 lasting monuments of his piety, consecrated to the 
 worship of religion, as honourable to his devotion as 
 to his pastoral care. The first, not being able to 
 endure the insincere and corrupt manners of a court, 
 spontaneously renounced his dignities, and retired to 
 Galicia, where he lived like a Christian philosopher, 
 diligently cultivating letters, and maintaining a 
 friendly correspondence with the learned. 
 
 The other, although residing within the precincts 
 of a court, avoided its snares with prudence, and 
 reprehended, by his example, his moderation, and 
 his disinterestedness, the turbulent ambition and 
 contemptuous pride usually generated in the pa- 
 laces of kings. Both were strongly attached to 
 letters, and illustrated and promoted them. The 
 Cardinal sought out in secret virtuous and neces- 
 sitous men, in order to succour them, and encourage 
 them in their tasks, and was considered the father of 
 the poor, and the protector of virtue. The Count 
 de Lemos, who had distinguished himself among 
 
OF CERVANTES. 259 
 
 learned men by some elegant verses, and his comedy 
 of the Cam Conftma, which was represented at Lerma 
 before the court with great applause, extended his 
 patronage without exception to all men of genius, 
 and was considered by them as their patron and 
 M;ecenas. The first assigned a pension to Vicente 
 Espinel, and another of equal amount to Cervantes, 
 when old age and infirmity had deprived them of all 
 possible means of support ; and in honour to the 
 memory of his master, Morales, he erected to his 
 memory a magnificent monument, with an elegant 
 inscription. 
 
 The Count, being President of the Council of the 
 Indies, wrote a history of one of the provinces, which 
 he dedicated to his father ; directed Bartolome Leo- 
 nardo do Argensolato compose his Conquista de los 
 Moluccas, and stimulated Yalbuena to write and pub- 
 lish his Stylo de Oro, and other compositions, which he 
 dedicated to him ; and when he was appointed Viceroy 
 of Naples, he not only carried with him the three 
 Argensolas, and many other well known poets of the 
 day, making his palace a true temple of the Muses, 
 but extended his aid to those left in Spain, favour- 
 ing some, as Lope de Vega and Gongora, animating 
 others, as Villegas ; and succouring the most distin- 
 guished of all, Cervantes. Both died in Madrid ; the 
 Cardinal at the ace of seventy-two years, loaded with 
 the blessings of all who had experienced the effects of 
 his gentle and compassionate heart ; the Count de 
 Lemos, in the forty-sixth year of his age, with the 
 general regret of all the good, and at a time when 
 Fortune, alluring him from his retirement, seemed to 
 prepare for him a new and more glorious destiny, in 
 establishing the prosperity of his country. 
 
 Protected by these illustrious patrons, Cervantes 
 
260 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 prosecuted his studies, and proceeded to the correc- 
 tion and publication of his works during the latter 
 years of his life. lie wished to make amends for the 
 long time that his pen had been idle, or, perhaps, 
 being sensible of his approaching end, he wished to 
 prepare and perfect some work which might raise 
 his name high above the clouds of time and oblivion. 
 The second part of his Don Quixote was the last of his 
 productions which he gave to the world, as well as the 
 most perfect of them ; and this, therefore, we ought, per- 
 haps, to consider the most just criterion of his genius. 
 The variety of the episodes, their judicious length, 
 their connexion with the principal action, and the 
 truth of nature, and grace of style, give this work 
 a decided superiority over all modern productions of 
 the same class. We may adduce, as a further proof, 
 the introduction of a new personage, in the Bachelor 
 Samson Carrasco, whose original character, and mis- 
 chievously playful humour, afford so much plea- 
 santry, and contribute so much to the happy 
 development of the story, that it cannot fail to pro- 
 duce interest and excite curiosity. The circumstance 
 of Gines de Pasamonte appearing under the disguise 
 of a puppet-show man, under the name of Master 
 Peter, proves the care which Cervantes took to 
 connect the interest of the first part of Don Quixote 
 with that of the second ; but, above all, the solilo- 
 quy of Sancho in his distress, when he goes to seek 
 Dulcinea del Toboso, is so original, that it may com- 
 pete with the best monologues to be found among 
 the poets and romance writers of antiquity. How 
 exquisite is the episode of the wedding of Camacho 
 how simple and chaste the description of the country 
 where they assemble, the abundance and elegance of 
 the repast, and the dances and divertisemcnts that 
 
OF CERVANTES. 261 
 
 crown the feast ; how excellent the introduction of 
 Basilio, how natural the development ! The narra- 
 tive of the cave of Montesinos belongs to a higher 
 class, where Don Quixote beholds the enchantment 
 of Montesinos, and his squire Guadiana, and the two 
 cousins and seven daughters of the duena Ruidera, 
 thus assigning a fabulous origin to the historical tra- 
 ditions of La Mancha, and applying so appropriately 
 the names of its rivers and lakes to those chivalrous 
 persons celebrated in our ancient fables and romances. 
 This poetical episode, so beautiful, and so judici- 
 ously interwoven with the principal fable, may rival 
 the descent of Ulysses, JEneas, orTelemachus, although 
 adapted with infinite skill to the peculiar circum- 
 stances of the knight of La Mancha. The adventure 
 of the Cavalier of the Green Frock, that of the 
 puppets of Master Peter, and that of the braying, are 
 truly comic, natural, and in harmony with the cha- 
 racter of the principal hero, and the customs and 
 manners of his countrymen. The simple style of 
 these episodes is strongly contrasted with that in 
 which he describes the palace of the Duke and 
 Duchess, with all its accompanying pomp and splen- 
 dour ; the reception of Don Quixote by these noble 
 persons, the apparition of Clavelino, and the unex- 
 pected termination of his flight ; the funeral proces- 
 sion of Altisidora, the preparations for the tourna- 
 ment with the lacquey Tosilos, in which the style is 
 elevated, and appropriate to persons of high rank, 
 who take a pleasure in representing to their guests 
 the marvellous adventures of books of chivalry : in 
 all these the reader admires the genius of Cervantes, 
 and finds a double pleasure in the madness of Don 
 Quixote, and the simplicity of Sancho. Cervantes, 
 in the second part of Don Quixote, observed more 
 
262 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 propriety, and harmony, with a more perfect arrange- 
 ment of the incidents of his story ; and, indeed, takes 
 an opportunity of censuring the inconsistencies of the 
 episodes in the first part ; thus giving a proof that 
 he could accommodate his incidents to the principal 
 action. His judgment was here more refined, his 
 views were more exalted. In the government of 
 Sancho, he not only desired to show, as his contem- 
 porary Faria assures us, the absurd choice of persons 
 who were often appointed to these great posts, hut 
 more particularly alluded to the conduct of the vice- 
 roys and commanders in Italy, who frequently sent as 
 governors people of no consideration, possessing nei- 
 ther talent nor information, to the great prejudice of 
 the country and injury to the governed a practical 
 observation made by Cervantes himself in that coun- 
 try, and transferred to his work, which, says Faria, 
 "is so far probable, that there are many Sancho Panzas 
 to be found in these days, who are well known, and 
 who deliver their judgments in his style." 
 
 Some other of his observations, though concealed 
 under a delicate veil, were of a nature to subject him 
 to persecution, and to throw discredit on his religion 
 and patriotism. "Whoever reads with attention the 
 adventures of the enchanted head, the divining ape, 
 the secret and unexpected imprisonment of Don 
 Quixote and Sancho by the servants of the Duke, 
 the pretended funeral of Altisidora, an adventure 
 of the most rare and novel kind contained in the 
 whole history, will easily perceive they contain some 
 hidden allusions, that it might not be safe or pru- 
 dent to divulge. 
 
 The curiosity and interest which Don Quixote 
 excited, and its popularity and diffusion by means of 
 numerous editions and translations, led to its adoption 
 
OF CERVANTES. 263 
 
 by several dramatic writers, who brought forward 
 on the stage its entertaining adventures and episodes 
 to gratify the public taste. Already, in 1617, Fran- 
 cisco de Avila, a native of Madrid, published a 
 celebrated interlude of " the invincible deeds of Don 
 Quixote de la Mancha," including the meeting at the 
 inn in the first part, the watching of the arms, and 
 the ceremonies of knighthood. A comedy, entitled 
 Don Quixote de la Mancha, was also represented 
 before Philip IV. and his consort, on the 24th of 
 February, 1637. We have in our own times seen 
 the pastoral drama of the Wedding of Camacho, 
 which possesses rather sweetness of versification and 
 propriety of language, than invention, plot, and de- 
 nouement, acted with applause ; and we know, that 
 in the French theatre, they have at the least seven 
 pieces whose subjects are taken from the same source. 
 The judicious observation of Mons. Trublet may be 
 here opportunely adduced, that Don Quixote, who de- 
 lights us so much in the history written by Cervantes, 
 does not equally interest us when estranged from his 
 native place, and introduced on the boards of a theatre. 
 The difficulty of preserving the humour and interest 
 of the original is in every respect greater among the 
 Spanish adapters, for on one side the popularity of the 
 romance, and the intimacy which every one possesses 
 with the character and manners of the interlocutors, 
 deprive their pieces of many sallies of the imagination ; 
 the spectators do not meet with the incidents which 
 give such attraction to the original, and do not 
 experience that surprise and novelty so necessary 
 to entertain and suspend the mind of the hearers, 
 and conduct them agreeably to the denouement of the 
 action. 
 
 Cervantes inscribed the second part of his Don 
 
264 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 Quixote to his illustrious protector, the count de 
 Lemos, in a dedication written on the 3 1 st of October, 
 1615, in which he makes mention of his very infirm 
 state of health, and offers him his Persiles y $i</if- 
 munda, a book, he says, which had been concluded 
 about four months. He had announced the publica- 
 tion of this novel in the year 1613, in which he pro- 
 posed to imitate Heliodorus, rivalling in the passion 
 of Periandro and Auristela, the chaste loves of Theo- 
 genes and Chariclea. There was no mean emulation in 
 such an imitation, as the incidents of this novel are 
 remarkable for their variety and arrangement. 
 
 If in some of these, the imitation is apparent, in 
 others, we may remark great superiority and novelty ; 
 and an engaging and playful imagination reigns 
 throughout. The descriptions in the Greek romance 
 are too frequent and elaborate ; those of the Castilian 
 writer are interspersed more sparingly, and possess a 
 character of propriety and nature. The style of the 
 former, though very elegant, is in some degree affected, 
 too figurative, and more adorned than is allowable in 
 prose ; thatof the latter is more subdued and temperate, 
 in both, the loves are chaste, the incidents probable, 
 the catastrophe natural, and the interest increases in 
 proportion as we approach the conclusion. This work 
 is of more pure invention, and of a more equal and 
 elevated style than his Don Quixote, as he here cor- 
 rected his faults in language and construction. 
 
 It is not, therefore, surprising, that its author pre- 
 ferred it to all his other works, when he says " This 
 novel is either the best or the worst ever composed 
 in our language in the way of entertaining novels ; 
 and I repent of having said the worst, because, ac- 
 cording to the opinion of my friends, it has attained 
 all possible perfection :" an opinion confirmed by 
 
OF CERVANTES. 265 
 
 S-nor Josef de Valdivicso in his licence, dated on the 
 9th of September, 1 6 1 6, declaring that of all the books 
 Cervantes had written none were of richer invention, 
 of a better style, or more entertaining. 
 
 Without deciding on the justice of this opinion, it 
 is certain, that the judgment of the public has decided 
 against it for the last two centuries, assigning the 
 priority and preference to Don Quixote. 
 
 This was likely to be the case, if we bear in mind 
 that the story of Don Quixote is far more popular, 
 the speakers are more animated and fewer in number, 
 so that it is easily \mderstood, and the manners, 
 actions, and characters, fix themselves more easily in 
 the memory; the satire and irony are keen without 
 wounding, from the delicacy and propriety with 
 which thev are managed ; the moral is preserved, and 
 it is perceived through a transparent veil; throughout 
 the style is more natural and varied, and, for the 
 same reason, more intelligible and acceptable to every 
 class of persons. 
 
 These reflections must have occurred to Cervantes, 
 when he says, "that the history of the Ingenioso 
 Hidalgo is as clear as day-light ; the children handle 
 it, the young delight in it, the men understand it, 
 and the old praise it." But in giving the preference 
 to the " Persiles" he did not so much consult the 
 public taste, or the rules of just criticism, as a 
 natural love for the last offspring of his genius ; 
 though he composed this work with as much fire, 
 vigour, and brilliancy of imagination as any in the 
 most florid years of his youth. 
 
 He had just concluded this work, according to his 
 promise, in the spring of 1616, when his increasing 
 malady interrupted his labours, and did not permit 
 him to finish either his dedication or his prologue. 
 
266 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 Such was his situation on Holy Saturday, the second 
 of April, that not being able to go out of his house, 25 
 he made his profession of the venerable order of St. 
 Francis, whose habit he had taken in Alcala on the 
 second of January, 1613 ; 26 but as the nature of his 
 protracted complaint allowed him some intervals of 
 alleviation, he thought he might possibly recruit his 
 strength by a change of air and diet, and in the next 
 week of Easter he removed to the village of Esquivias, 
 where the relations of his wife resided. But becom- 
 ing worse in the course of a few days, and being 
 desirous of ending his days under his own roof, he 
 returned to Madrid with two of his friends to attend 
 and assist him on his way. On this journey an inci- 
 dent occurred which he narrates in his prologue, and 
 which affords us the only circumstantial account we 
 possess of his illness. 27 
 
 Cervantes and his friends had just quitted the 
 village of Esquivias and taken the road to Madrid on 
 his return home, when they heard some one follow- 
 ing them in haste, and calling on them to stop. They 
 accordingly drew in their reins, and in a few minutes 
 there came up a student on a she-ass, complaining that 
 they travelled so fast he could not keep up with them. 
 " We must lay the blame," said one of them, " on 
 Sehor Miguel de Cervantes, whose horse is rather met- 
 tlesome." Scarcely had the student heard the name 
 of Cervantes, of whom he was a passionate admirer, 
 though he did not know him personally, than he 
 threw himself from his ass, and embracing Cervantes, 
 and taking him by the left hand " Ay, ay," said 
 he, " this is the sound cripple, the renowned, the 
 merry writer, in a word, the darling of the muses." 
 Cervantes, who thus saw himself suddenly over- 
 whelmed with praises, replied with his accustomed 
 
OF CERVANTES. 267 
 
 modesty and courtesy, and embracing the scholar, 
 desired him to mount his ass again, and accompany 
 them, that they might enjoy his friendly conversation 
 for the little remaining part of the journey. The 
 student complied, and there ensued between him and 
 Cervantes a dialogue, which affords us some inform- 
 ation on the subject of Cervantes' complaint, and 
 which he himself relates in the following terms : 
 ' We drew in our reins (he says) and continued our 
 journey at a more moderate pace, during which the 
 conversation turned on my complaint, and the good 
 student decided my fate in a moment, saying ' This 
 thirst of yours arises from a dropsy, which all the 
 water of the ocean, if it were fresh, could never 
 quench. Therefore, Signor Cervantes,' added the 
 student, ' you must totally abstain from drink, but 
 do not neglect to eat heartily, and this regimen will 
 effect your recovery without physic.' ' I have re- 
 ceived the same advice from other people,' answered 
 I, ' but I cannot help drinking, as if I had been bom 
 to do nothing else but drink. My life, indeed, is 
 drawing to a close, and I find by the daily journal 
 of my pulse, that it will have finished its course by 
 next Sunday at furthest, and I also shall then have 
 finished my career ; so that you are come just in time 
 to make my acquaintance, though I shall have no 
 opportunity of showing how much I am obliged to 
 you for your good-will.' By this time we had 
 reached the Toledo bridge, by which I entered the city, 
 while the good student passed over that of Segovia." 
 The subject of this prologue, its negligent style, 
 its interruptions and conclusion, are manifest proofs 
 of the extreme illness of Cervantes when he wrote it. 
 He now fluctuated between hope and despair ; but 
 without any abatement of his gay and cheerful tem- 
 perament, as is shown by his lively description of the 
 
268 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 dress and equipage, and behaviour of the student. 
 As he had predicted, his life seemed to be drawing to 
 a close on the next Sunday, the 17th of April, when 
 he took leave of his friends, and bade adieu to the joys 
 and cares of life nevertheless, soon afterwards some- 
 what reeruiting, he still flattered himself with hopes 
 of amendment. 
 
 His complaint, however, soon dissipated all these 
 expectations, as it became materially aggravated, 
 and despairing of any further alleviation, extreme 
 unction was administered to him next day, Monday 
 the 18th. 
 
 He retained to the hour of his death his serenity 
 of mind, and his lively and prolific imagination, while 
 a tender recollection of his benefactor^ the Count de 
 Lemos, was impressed on his heart. That nobleman 
 was at this time on his way home from Naples, in 
 order to take his seat as president of the Council of 
 Italy. Cervantes was anxious to have survived 
 this event, that he might in person have manifested 
 his gratitude and respect ; but finding that this was 
 denied to him, he inscribed to him, as a last mark of 
 his attachment, his Persile*: y Siyi*mim<la. in a dedi- 
 cation, says Rios, " which all the great, and all men 
 of letters might be recommended to read : those 
 
 O 
 
 to learn magnanimity, and these a proper sense of 
 gratitude." " You may remember the ancient 
 couplet," says Cervantes, " in its time so celebrated, 
 commencing, Puesto ya el j>ic en el e#trilo, and I 
 may commence my letter in the same words 
 
 ' Pucsto ya el pie en el estribo, 
 Con las ansias de la mucrte, 
 Gran sefior, esta te escribo.' 
 
 Yesterday extreme unction was administered to me, 
 and to-day I am writing this : my time is short, my 
 pains increase, my hopes vanish, and yet I believe, if I 
 
OP CERVANTES. 269 
 
 could only see your excellency in your native country, 
 it would give me new life ; but as Heaven has decreed 
 it otherwise, we must bow to its will, and all that re- 
 mains will be to acquaint your excellency with the deep 
 feelings of affection towards you which I carry with 
 me to the grave. Still, in prospect I may rejoice at 
 your return, and at the fame and celebrity attending 
 your excellency." The situation of Cervantes, when 
 he wrote or dictated these tender and noble expressions, 
 gives them an energy and sublimity, which render 
 them worthy of the same veneration and respect 
 with which in Greece and Rome they listened to the 
 last words of a Socrates or a Seneca. 
 
 With the same composure of mind he executed his 
 will, naming as his executors his wife, Donna Cata- 
 linadeSalazar,and the licentiate Francisco Nunez, who 
 then resided in the same house in the street of Leon. 
 He desired that he might be interred in the church 
 of the monks of the Holy Trinity 28 , which had been 
 founded some years before, both from the predilection 
 he had always shown to this order, and on account of 
 his daughter, Donna Isabel, having professed it. After 
 making these arrangements and receiving the con- 
 solations of religion, he expired on Saturday the 
 twenty-third of the above-mentioned month of April, 
 in the year 1616, the same day precisely, as Bowie 
 well observes, 29 on which England lost her celebrated 
 poet Shakspeare, the founder of her drama. When 
 afterwards, in the year 1633, the Trinitarian monks 
 removed to their new church in the Street de Canta- 
 rauas, the remains of those who had died in the first 
 establishment were removed thither, as well as those 
 of such of their relations as from custom or devotion 
 had been interred in the church of the first establish- 
 ment. It is natural to suppose that the bones of 
 
270 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 Cervantes also were then removed to their final 
 resting-place. 
 
 Other illustrious writers, however unfortunate and 
 persecuted during their lives, have obtained after their 
 death the honours that were due to their merits; and 
 their country and their fellow-townsmen have, though 
 late, conferred on them that distinction which was 
 denied them in their lifetime by calumny and malevo- 
 lence. Thus it happened to Milton, Camoens, Tasso, 
 Shakspeare, men of kindred worth, and others. Cer- 
 vantes alone seems to be excepted from this mark of 
 respect. His funeral was poorly attended, no stone or 
 inscription marks the spot where his bones repose ; nor, 
 indeed, in later times, in which letters and the arts have 
 stooped to flatter rank and power, has any person ap- 
 peared to honour the remains of this illustrious man 
 with a worthy mausoleum, on which the fine arts might 
 be employed to inspire a feeling of veneration, which 
 might serve as a stimulus to succeeding generations, 
 and direct them in the paths of virtue and knowledge. 
 
 Through similar neglect, we have lost the portraits 
 which were painted by Don Juan de Jauregui and 
 Francisco Pacheco, and which bore a correct repre- 
 sentation of the features and figure of Cervantes. A 
 copy only has survived to our days, which is un- 
 doubtedly of the reign of Philip IV., and is attributed 
 by some to Alonso del Arco, while others pretend to 
 trace in it the style of the schools of Vicencio Car- 
 ducho or of Eugenio Caxes. But whoever painted this 
 picture, it is certain that it agrees in every respect 
 with the portrait that Cervantes drew of himself in 
 the prologue to his Novelas, where he says, " He 
 whom you sec here with a sharp countenance, ches- 
 nut hair, a smooth and cheerful forehead, lively eyes, 
 a nose aquiline, though well proportioned, a beard of 
 
OF CERVAXTKS. 271 
 
 silver, though some twenty years ago it was yellow 
 as gold, large inustachios, small mouth, teeth now 
 few iu number, as he has only six left, in height of 
 a middle size, neither tall nor low, of a good com- 
 plexion, rather fair than brown, somewhat heavy in 
 the shoulders, and not very active this I say is 
 the portrait of the author of the ' Galatea and Don 
 Quixote de la Mancha,' and of him that wrote the 
 Viaye al Parnaso in imitation of Cesar Caporial of 
 Perugia, and numberless other works known by 
 the name of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 30 ." He 
 confesses also that he was a stammerer ; and there is 
 no doubt of the truth of this description, from the 
 candour and ingenuousness which dictate it, and 
 from the inimitable grace with which it is written. 
 
 Although Cervantes has derived great fame from 
 his prolific and exquisite genius, he is not less de- 
 servingof the esteem of posterity for the noble qualities 
 of his heart. He was a true Christian philosopher, 
 religious without superstition, zealous in faith without 
 fanaticism, a lover of his country, courageous in 
 war, generous and charitable without ostentation, 
 extremely grateful, but without adulation or self- 
 abasement ; esteeming those who marked his failings, 
 as well as those who praised him ; moderate and in- 
 dulgent with his rivals, never resorting in his invec- 
 tives and satires to personal abuse. Lastly, he never 
 prostituted his pen to favour or interest, it w y as never 
 dipt in calumny, nor did he ever employ it but for 
 the good of mankind. He was prodigal of praise, 
 even so far as to have incurred some censure for this 
 facility, which, however honourable to his heart, 
 threw a doubt on the rectitude of his judgment, and 
 the impartiality of his criticism. 
 
 Besides the works which we have mentioned, he 
 
272 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 had ready for publication, at the time of his death, 
 IMS 8<>mana$ del Jard'tn, promised since 1613, the 
 second part of the Galatea, since 1615, El Bernardo, 
 which lie announced in his dedication to Persiles, and 
 thecomedy ofElEngcwo a los ojos. It was his intention 
 to have offered the first three to his patron, the count 
 de Lemos, whilst on the brink of the grave, if by 
 any miracle he had recovered his health ; but these 
 intended fruits of his genius perished with him, and 
 the titles alone remain to us. 
 
 The only work by him which we may call post- 
 humous, is the Trabajos de Persilcs i/ xiyi>nund<t. 
 His widow solicited and obtained a license to print 
 and publish it at Madrid, in the year 1517 ; in 
 which year rival editions were published in Va- 
 lencia, Barcelona, Painpeluna, and Brussels, honour- 
 ing with these proofs of respect the memory of the 
 illustrious man whom Spanish literature had recently 
 lost. A few years afterwards, in 1626, this work 
 was published in Venice, translated into Italian by 
 Francisco Elio, a Milanese ; and the French possess 
 two translations, both however deficient in correctness. 
 
 Such is the history of the life and writings of 
 Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ; of that enlightened 
 Spaniard who, after courageously shedding his blood 
 for his country in war, and having illustrated it in 
 peace by works as moral and useful as delightful 
 and having left to his fellow-men an example of 
 virtue in his private life, terminated his days with 
 that tranquillity which is inspired by religion and 
 Christian philosophy ; like the sun which, after hav- 
 ing irradiated the world, descends in majesty to the 
 west, and appears greatest at the close of the declin- 
 ing day. If the base envy of his contemporaries 
 delayed for some time the fame due to his merits, 
 
LIFE AND WRITINGS OF CERVANTES. 273 
 
 the clouds of prejudice and ignorance were soon 
 dispersed, and an incorruptible and impartial pos- 
 terity lias spread the name of Cervantes wherever 
 civilization and the love of letters are to be found. 
 On ever}- side he has met with applause, for he may 
 be regarded as one of those privileged men of genius, 
 whom Heaven from time to time gives to mortals, 
 and to whom it has reserved the exclusive prerogative 
 of enlightening the world, and of exercising an influ- 
 ence in reforming the opinions and manners of their 
 species. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 ( ! ) THE question, so long discussed, respecting the birth- 
 place of Cervantes, was not satisfactorily decided till nearly 
 the middle of the eighteenth century. The documents 
 up to that time were of a conflicting character, and were 
 so nearly balanced in point of probability between Madrid, 
 Seville, Esquivias, and other places, as only to excite fresh 
 curiosity and research. Literary men, and his biogra- 
 phers of different countries, redoubled their diligence, but 
 in vain, till at length Don Vicente de los Rios clearly 
 proved, by satisfactory deductions from facts and dates 
 newly brought to light, that Alcala de Henares could 
 alone boast the honour of being considered the native place 
 of Cervantes. The conclusion at which he had arrived by 
 laborious inquiries and comparisons, was soon afterwards 
 shown to be correct by the acquisition of further docu- 
 ments, containing many particulars, which we proceed to 
 give, and which could not be so well embodied in a nar- 
 rative of his life. The most interesting of all is the requi- 
 sition which he himself presented at Algiers, on the I Oth 
 of October, 1580, for instituting a judicial information 
 regarding his conduct and services, and in which h. j ex- 
 T a 
 
276 APPENDIX. 
 
 pressly declares, that " he is a native of the town of Alcala 
 de Benares, in Castile." In another information, made by 
 his father, in 1578, at Madrid, it is stated that Miguel de 
 Cervantes is the son of Rodrigo de Cervantes, and of 
 Dona Leonor de Cortinas ; and it is equally apparent from 
 the terms of the ransom, and from the baptismal entry 
 found at Alcala, that his parents were settled in that city ; 
 insomuch that there remained no ground for the subse- 
 quent pretensions which a number of other towns, in the 
 natural desire of obtaining higher honour and considera- 
 tion in the eyes of travellers and strangers, continued so 
 pertinaciously to advance. It would be idle to go into 
 a discussion of claims like these ; but the rise of them is so 
 intimately connected with the distinguished men who, 
 rightly appreciating the merit of Cervantes, sought every 
 means to illustrate the actions of his life, and with notices 
 which throw light upon the literary history of Spain at 
 the period, that it would be inexcusable to pass them 
 over. 
 
 The contemporaries of this great man, who had the 
 advantage of either being present at, or having heard, a 
 circumstantial account of the vicissitudes of his career, 
 were not only too proud to place them upon record, but 
 carried their indifference and neglect so far as to remain 
 ignorant of his native place; professed and maintained 
 their ignorance, and whether out of envy or other mo- 
 tives, induced the world to remain ignorant of it, by boLlly 
 assuming that it must continue unknown. Yet, nearly at 
 the same time did Father Haedo expressly allude to it in 
 his Top ngrap hia y Hi^tnria de Argel, published in 1612; 
 and it was shown also by Rodrigo Mendez de Silva, in a 
 genealogical treatise, printed in the year 1618. Neither 
 
APPENDIX. 277 
 
 of these could have been road by, or even have attracted the 
 attention of those few who, durL.g the 17th, and part of 
 the following century, undertook to give some notice of 
 the life of the author of Don Quixote. To such an ex- 
 treme was this real, or affected indifference, carried, that 
 Lope de Vega, who was in the habit of personal intercourse 
 with him, was ' inclined" to believe, that Cervantes must 
 have been born somewhere in Madrid.* This opinion he 
 had formed, doubtless, upon the circumstance of the au- 
 thor's protracted residence there at the same time with the 
 court, both during his earlier years and at a subsequent 
 period of his life. De Vargas, upon the other hand, makes 
 him a native of the town of Esquivias, very probably 
 from the frequent allusions in his (inlatca, and the warm 
 praises of the people from among whom he had chosen a 
 wife, to whom he was ever affectionately attached, and 
 from his afterwards continuing to reside there. 
 
 Another champion stepped forth to vindicate the title 
 of Toledo " to the honour of giving birth to the comic his- 
 torian of the knight of La Mancha," in the person of the 
 well-known player and poet, Claramonte Corroy ; and not 
 the least curious fact is, that he advocates it in a work 
 which he wrote and published during the life-time of 
 Cervantes. Nicolas Antonio again declared in favour of 
 Seville, because our author had been known to join in the 
 humorous representations there when a boy, enacted by 
 his favourite Lope de llueda, and because numbers of the 
 illustrious families of the Cervantes y Saavedras, were found 
 to have been long established there. This opinion also 
 received the authority, in his own time, of the judges in 
 the prize exhibition of Saragossa, in the year 1595. The 
 
 * Illustracioncs y Pocunientos, p. 2^2. Navarrete. 
 
273 APPENDIX. 
 
 authority of this learned bibliographer had its weight with 
 Ortiz de Zuniga, who, in his Annals of Seville, places 
 Cervantes among the illustrious sons of that city, notwith- 
 standing which he was excluded by Rodrigo Caro, in his 
 Claros Varones en lelras naturalts de Serilla, though he had 
 the advantage of residing there, and being upon the most 
 intimate terms with Cervantes, a negative proof, at least, 
 that he considered his friend Cervantes in the light of a 
 stranger. Another tradition, which has been repeated and 
 preserved by D. Gregorio Mayans, assures us that Cervantes 
 was born at Lucena ; but this appears to have been one of 
 the first of those popular errors which disappeared before 
 the light of inquiry ; inasmuch as neither in the parochial 
 books, nor in any other public document, was there found 
 mention of the name of Cervantes. 
 
 The success which attended the inquiries of Don Manuel 
 Pingarron, was in a great measure owing to the previous 
 investigations of D. Juan de Iriarte, the learned librarian 
 of the Escurial, and of that erudite Benedictine, Sarmiento, 
 between whom may be divided the lasting honour of hav- 
 ing fixed the true birth-place of Cervantes. This able 
 ecclesiastic, in a letter to Iriarte, dated 30th December, 
 1748, when speaking of different libraries and subjects 
 connected with them, observes," what can be more lament- 
 able than that at this time we should be actually ignorant 
 of the native place of Miguel de Cervantes, who has made 
 himself so celebrated by his History of Don Quixote ?" 
 This passage shows that the conjectures of Mayans had 
 not satisfied the mind of Sarmiento, and that the inquiry 
 had till then led to no certain result. About the year 
 1748, D. Juan Iriarte found, among the manuscripts of 
 the Royal Library, an account printed in Granada in the 
 
APPENDIX. 270 
 
 year 1581, of one hundred and eighty-five captives, who 
 had been ransomed the previous year in Algiers, and 
 among the first appears " Miguel de Cervantes, aged 
 thirty years, a native of Alcala de Henares." Delighted with 
 his discovery, he ran with it to his son-in-law, Bernardo de 
 Iriarte, who the next day communicated it to Father 
 Sarmiento. From that moment the learned ecclesiastic 
 devoted himself with all the power of his ingenious and 
 subtle mind to the verification of this important docu- 
 ment ; and his unwearied industry was crowned with 
 success. He diligently perused The Topography and 
 History of Aliens, by Haedo, the author's contem- 
 porary, who describes his dialogues or examinations in 
 the evidence of the same persons whom he found captives 
 in Algiers. These we know he printed in 1612, at VaUa- 
 dolid ; but Sarmiento, not yet satisfied, persevered in car- 
 rying his inquiries into all places likely to afford further 
 evidences in support of that interesting fact, nor stopped 
 till he drew forth the entry of baptism at Alcala. Of 
 this we are assured by Don Bernardo de Iriarte, an eye- 
 witness of these exertions; but, whether it was that Sar- 
 miento was still dissatisfied with the strength of evidence 
 which he had obtained, or that the fact of the discovery 
 of another entry of another Miguel de Cervantes de Saa- 
 vedra, at Alcazar de San Juan, had produced some doubts 
 in his mind, lie again investigated all the authorities, en- 
 tered into new comparisons and combinations, all which 
 left the second entry which had been discovered without 
 any ground of application to Cervantes, and brought him 
 with fresh proofs to his first established opinion. It is 
 certain that Don Augustin de Montiano y Luyando, and 
 D. Joseph Miguel de Flores, both give Sarmiento credit 
 
280 APPENDIX. 
 
 for this triumphant verification ; and it is no less a fact 
 that in various passages of his works,, this learned eccle- 
 siastic justly appropriates to himself the signal merit of 
 that proof. Nor, with less judicious criticism, does Rios 
 demolish the pretensions alleged in favour of Alcazar de 
 San Juan, a criticism which equally applies to those of 
 Consuegra, adjudging the honour in dispute entirely to 
 Alcala de Henares. And were the proofs he has brought 
 forward in want of corroboration from other circumstances, 
 they might easily be obtained in various passages from the 
 worksof Cervantes, which had not previously been examined 
 or not applied with sufficient consideration and care. The 
 skill with which this ingenious writer has interwoven with 
 his narratives numerous incidents of his life, is acknow- 
 ledged by all ; he took advantage, also, of the most 
 important events of his times, bringing them fresh before 
 our eyes, and making allusions, which are no longer obscure, 
 to his native place. As remarked by the learned Sarmiento, 
 when placed in full light, derived from a knowledge and 
 comparison of previous passages, formerly read without 
 exciting curiosity with reference to combination with other 
 dates well authenticated, these allusions become clear, and 
 the facts more distinct. All these are to be met with, more 
 particularly in La Galatea, in which the author studi- 
 ously sought to represent real personages under feigned 
 names, and under the veil of a pastoral plot and fiction, 
 alludes to real circumstances and events, as by the name of 
 Tirsi he designated his friend Figueroa, an elegant Casti- 
 lian poet a native also of Alcala de Henares, and who, 
 addressing Elicio (Cervantes), on the subject of Galatea, 
 observes, " upon the shores of our Henares, Galatea en- 
 joyed a reputation for beauty rather than for cruelty ;" 
 
APPENDIX. 281 
 
 evidently pointing with the word our to the native spot of 
 both the speakers upon the banks of that river, upon 
 which was seated the city of Alcala. 
 
 Nothing is wanting not even the support of tradition, 
 as Rios erroneously believed, when he declared that there 
 had not remained one trace of the memory of Cervantes or 
 of his family, at Alcalu. This was supplied by Don Manuel 
 de Lardizabel, secretary of the Spanish Academy, who, 
 during a continued residence in that city, procured every 
 document or memorial respecting Cervantes which the 
 most persevering industry could obtain. In a letter, 
 dated the 22d November, 1 804, he expressly states, " The 
 only memorial which I know of in the present day, is the 
 house in which it is asserted that Cervantes lived, a 
 building which is now enclosed in the orchard of the 
 Capuchins, and of which there remains nothing more than 
 the wall and the entrance from the street; which of itself 
 sufficiently shows that it was the house of a poor man, as 
 Cervantes assuredly was, notwithstanding his surpassing 
 merit and his talents." 
 
 There are likewise preserved in Alcala, memorials of 
 different individuals established there of the name of 
 Cervantes, and derivations from that name of Caravantes 
 and Caravantes. In the baptismal books of the parish of 
 Santa -Maria, are found entries of various dates during the 
 16th and 17th centuries, comprising the first of these 
 names, a list that would prove more satisfactory than 
 agreeable to re-produce. Some of these appear to have 
 been persons of consideration ; of whom mention is made 
 also in the registry of marriages in trie church of the same 
 place. The name Cervantes had been known there 
 from the earliest times ; and in the Fuero, or book of 
 
28'2 APPENDIX. 
 
 Laws, established by the Cardinal Xirrienes de Cisneros 
 for the government of the city, it has been recorded, that 
 on the 22nd of February, 1509, Pedro de Cervantes, com- 
 mendador of the order of Santiago, was the Corregidor and 
 Justicia Mayor of that town ; and in 1640, another Pedro 
 is dec'ared to have occupied the same post: proofs, at 
 least sufficient to satisfy us, that the conjectures formed 
 respecting the claims of Alcala are not wanting, even in 
 traditions of the family name and residence; traditions 
 which constituted the only grounds possessed by many 
 other cities, which more boldly advanced their claims- 
 
 Again, through the enthusiastic pursuit and untiring 
 diligence of Rios, the world has been presented with still 
 more decided and satisfactory proofs than any traces of 
 residence, or popular traditions, can give. Reflecting upon 
 the captivity of Cervantes, it occurred to him that the 
 archives of the General Redemption were likely to con- 
 tun the particulars of his ransom, and taking advantage 
 of the friendship, combined with the literary taste, of 
 Alonzo Cano, bishop of Segovia, he sent him (1st Sep- 
 tember, 1765) the notices supplied by Haedo, requesting 
 at the same time that he would obtain the registry of 
 the archives, in order to ascertain if it contained any 
 notice, or other entry, which might throw light upon that 
 portion of the life of this celebrated writer. 
 
 The good ecclesiastic required no stimulus to urge him 
 to undertake a task so congenial with his pursuits, and on 
 the 7th of the same month he icplied to Rios, enclosing 
 copies of the two entries which he had found ; and 
 adding, that although he saw how exactly the circum- 
 stances described in them coincided with those related by 
 the author of Don Quixote himself confirming the 
 
APPENDIX. 283 
 
 opinion of his ablest friends, who considered him a native 
 of Alcala, he had nevertheless not yet determined to take 
 the same view as Rios, inasmuch as the entry of baptism 
 at Alcazar de San Juan, and the notice of a certain tradi- 
 tion still preserved in that town, held him dubious till 
 such time as he might be able to confirm a date, as to 
 which he suspected that there might be some mistake. 
 
 Rios, on receiving the bishop's letter, with laudable zeal 
 to remove his remaining doubts, again wrote to him on 
 the 10th of the same month, giving an abstract of all his 
 deductions and chronological calculations, upon a consi- 
 deratii.n of which the karned Cano expressed his full 
 conviction of the truth of his suppositions, acknowledged 
 that he was a complete convert, and that Rios, by first 
 directing his inquiries to new sources, was fairly entitled 
 to the honour of having confirmed the previous informa- 
 tion which had been obtained upon the subject In one 
 of his excellent letters the learned prelate showed that love 
 of truth and admiration of the great author by which he 
 was actuated : he declared that, in order to collect all, even 
 the least traces, which Cervantes had left of himself in his 
 own works (owing to the circumstance of his not having 
 perused the whole of them for a period of twenty years), he 
 had communicated the subject to one of the members of the 
 Academy of History, his friend, De Flores, secretary to 
 that institution, who, seizing this favourable opportunity, 
 published in the 26th Number of the Aduana Critica 
 de fox Salios dc Espaiia, one of the original entries of 
 ransom, being so fortunate as to be the first who had those 
 documents in his hands. In this article he went fully 
 into the claims of Alcala, with a force of reasoning which 
 must bring conviction to every unbiassed mind, although 
 
284 APPENDIX. 
 
 it is to be remarked that there is an error in the date of 
 the letter in which the information is given, as, upon 
 examination of the original letters, and the observations 
 of Rios himself in his Vindication, it appears that the 
 entry was published for the first time by the author of the 
 Aduana Critica, many years previous to the Life of 
 Rios, and even to the Noticias Litcrarias of Pellicer. 
 
 ( 2 ) There are few details respecting the youth of Cer- 
 vantes. It required all the efforts excited by his posthu- 
 mous fame, with the aid of tradition, unwearied research, 
 and the collation of numerous documents by men like 
 Pellicer, De los Rios, and Navarrete, and their followers of 
 every country, who have embodied every particular known, 
 to form an authentic and connected narrative of his early 
 years, and of his subsequent long and eventful life. There 
 yet remain doubts, deficiencies which can never, probably, 
 be supplied ; but without resorting to conjecture, there is 
 ample material to interest and to amuse us, as well as to 
 excite our interest in the leading incidents and adven- 
 tures of his chequered, but brilliant career. The English 
 editors of his greatest work, both old and modern, are 
 indebted almost entirely to Spanish industry and research 
 for any additional light thrown upon his life and labours ; 
 but as regards the new and pleasing views opened up, and 
 the excellent use made of such materials, the writers of no 
 country have surpassed our own. The names of Bowie, 
 Jarvis, Motteux, Smollett, and also of Lockhart and 
 Inglis, will naturally occur to the admirers and cherishers 
 of his memory ; of all who wish to follow the footsteps 
 of Don Quixote. 
 
 ( 3 ) So great was the uncertainty and even obscurity 
 which involved this question, that when Queen Caroline, 
 
AI'I'KNDTX. 285 
 
 the consort of. George II., was collecting for her ow;i 
 entertainment a series of the most interesting works of 
 fiction, which she gracefully entitled the " Library of the 
 sage Merlin," Lord Carteret, an enthusiastic admirer of 
 Cervantes, while informing her that she had omitted one 
 of the most lively and humorous stories in the world, was 
 at a loss to tell her where (in what city) the writer was born. 
 His lordship instantly received a commission to prepare a 
 splendid edition of Don Quixote. To her majesty's taste 
 for humour, therefore, we are indebted for the magnificent 
 Castilian edition as it is called published in London (1738}, 
 with the Life written by Mayans, who supplied his want 
 of material by running in to discursive inquiries, and dilating 
 upon pleasant points connected with the literary history of 
 the author's times. He had not the advantage of possessing 
 either the work of Father Haedo, or the other numerous 
 documents which up to that period had remained neglected 
 in the different Spanish archives. But as the first historical 
 view of a writer whose fame is so widely spread, the 
 work of Mayans was highly appreciated ; multiplied 
 editions of it appeared, both in Spain and elsewhere, and 
 it was consulted by all, eager to learn something more of 
 the great genius whose inimitable labours it commemo- 
 rated. It enabled Jarvis to enrich his translation of Don 
 Quixote with that able and amusing preface upon the 
 origin of books of chivalry, accompanied with notes and 
 plates, besides a life of the author, extracted from that cf 
 Mayans, published the first time, with so much elegance 
 and splendour, under royal auspices. 
 
 It is curious to trace the progress of those inquiries 
 which led to the farther discovery of the little which we 
 know respecting Cervantes. The Life by Jarvis was 
 translated into Dutch by Weyerman, and published at 
 
286 APPENDIX. 
 
 the Hague in 1746, to accompany those admirable 
 plates by Coypel, engraved by Picard and others, with 
 descriptions to each plate. The articles upon Cervantes 
 in our biographical dictionaries, are chiefly drawn 
 from such sources, especially a correct and well written 
 account in the Encyclopedia Britannica, 1778. These 
 labours had the effect of stimulating fresh inquiries in 
 Spain ; the archives of convents and palaces were ex- 
 amined, new documents were gradually produced up to 
 the period when the Spanish secretary, Navarrete, collected 
 and arranged the whole of these scattered materials, now 
 for the first time given in full, in a connected narrative 
 of events. 
 
 ( 4 ) It is very probable that the early taste acquired by 
 Cervantes for this species of compositions, arose from the 
 circumstance of his being a native of Alcala, to which, 
 from the fame of its university, so many young people of 
 Spain, and even students of other countries, resorted ; and 
 where poetical essays, as in our own colleges, were given 
 out, both for honorary distinctions and for prizes. Besides 
 his fondness for old ballads, we are informed by himself 
 that his extreme avidity for books, and for perusing every 
 MS. or printed work that he could lay his hands on, 
 especially in his younger days, induced him to pick up the 
 scraps of paper in the streets as he went along. He im- 
 bibed as early an attachment to the drama, and especially 
 comedy, from so frequently witnessing, both at Alcala and 
 Madrid,, within four leagues of each other, the perform- 
 ances of that ambulatory comedian, the father of the 
 Spanish theatre, Lope de Rueda. 
 
 ( 5 ) It was from his early residence also at this once 
 famous seat of learning, at a subsequent period, when he 
 had already gone through his elementary s'udies, that Cer- 
 
APl'KXDIX. 287 
 
 vantes received those marled and permanent impressions 
 of the localities, the peculiarities of the people, and the 
 manners of the students, which after the lapse of thirty 
 years, seem to have remained as fresh in his memory 
 as if he had heen always on the spot, and delineated 
 their distinctive features but the day before. In his por- 
 traits of the " Licentiate Vidriera," of the "Supposed Aunt" 
 and the Niece, in the musicians, and the old-fashioned 
 squire, there is all that truth and depth of colouring, 
 that vigour of masterly hand, and vivacity of expres- 
 sion, which serve to convince us that he was making 
 his finished pictures from the studies and sketches of 
 younger life. 
 
 ( 6 ) There is every reason to conclude from these state- 
 in ents that, subsequent to his residence at Salamanca, 
 Cervantes again studied under IIozos the lighter branches 
 of literature and the fine arts, with their peculiar applica- 
 tion to exhibitions of the kind as they are here described, 
 a custom then so very popular upon all festive, and even 
 tiolemn occasions ; and we perceive that in the progress of 
 his extraordinary career, Cervantes, owing to the pleasing 
 recollections he had retained of these incipient flights of his 
 muse and their first success, was inspired with a strong love 
 of popular praise, and of excelling in all he undertook. 
 He never omitted an opportunity of coming forward to 
 celebrate with his pen any remarkable events, whether of 
 an important or of a light and ludicrous character. 
 
 ( 7 ) Poetry, as deriving its chief beauty from vigour of 
 imagination, and energy of passion, has been generally 
 cultivated with most enthusiasm and success, even by the 
 greatest writers, during early life. The reflective, the 
 moral, the philosophical, the critical which follow but 
 
288 APPENDIX. 
 
 too soon, all detract something from the young glow of 
 life, the sweetness of sentiment, and exuberant fancy, 
 which charm us so much in Romeo and Juliet ; the Mid- 
 summer Night's Dream, in the Lycidas and Comus of 
 Milton, and in the early effusions of Dryden and Pope. 
 It was the same with the writers of antiquity, with Virgil 
 and Ovid as with Lope de Vega arid Cervantes. Of the latter 
 it may be said, like Pope, " He lisped in numbers as the 
 numbers came ;" and he observes in his preface to the 
 Galatea, when anxious to exculpate himself from the charge 
 of rashness in giving it to the world ; " with regard to this 
 I might also allege, the disposition I have always felt for 
 poetry, and my youth, both which seem to urge one to 
 these under-age pursuits ;" and again, when, after a lapse 
 of years, he supposes himself holding a conversation with 
 Apollo, in his Viage al Parnaso he passionately exclaims : 
 
 "Even from my tenderest years, the art divine, 
 By Thee beloved : with its most potent charm, 
 Say ! sought I not to please and make it mine ?" 
 
 It is evident, moreover, from his own confession, that he 
 was fond of assisting in dramatic representations, even 
 before he was able to form an opinion of hisold master's com- 
 positions, though he treasured them carefully in his memory, 
 and often recited, and even repeated them in one of his 
 comedies. Doubtless, it was this poetical sentiment which 
 early pre-occupied his mind to the exclusion of severer 
 studies and more worldly pursuits, with the encomiums 
 which he heard bestowed on the reading aloud of the best 
 dramas, poems, or tales of fiction, that had such marked influ- 
 ence in directing him to the more agreeable and imaginative 
 character in his literary compositions to the well-feigned 
 pastoral, the comedy, the novel, and the humorous por- 
 
APPENDIX. 289 
 
 traiture of persons and customs, in their minutest lights 
 and shades. 
 
 ( 8 ) That Cervantes joined the train of the Cardinal in 
 quality of gentleman of the bedchamber, we have the best 
 assurance in his own words affixed to the Galatea, and 
 addressed to Ascanio Colonna: " there uniting with this 
 motive the reverence which I felt towards your Excellency 
 on hearing from the lips of the Cardinal, some things which 
 sounded very like prophecy, when I was his chamberlain in 
 Rome." To form aright idea of bis introduction to, and his 
 connection with Aquaviva, we should enable the reader to 
 judge of the character of the latter, who took an active 
 part in the ecclesiastic negociations of the times. He was 
 the son of Juan Geronimo, duke of Atri ; was made cham- 
 berlain to the pope, Pius V., and sent ambassador to the 
 court of Spain in 1 568, to offer condolences on the sudden 
 decease of Don Carlos, an event involved in much mys- 
 tery, and which had produced great excitement in the 
 public mind. The refusal of Philip to observe the usual 
 etiquette on this occasion, and the death of his young 
 queen, produced uneasy feelings and suspicions in all men's 
 minds. It was the object of the young ambassador to 
 obtain some remission of the arbitrary exactions of the 
 Spanish court. In the Latin history of the Pontiffs by 
 Chacon, is contained a narrative of this embassy, which 
 places the merits of Aquaviva, not more than twenty years 
 of age at that period, in a very pleasing point of view. 
 He spent the intervals of business in cultivating literature, 
 and in the society of learned men ; he was highly educated, 
 of fine and noble feelings, and strict morals. It was at 
 Madrid he first became acquainted with Cervantes ; and 
 delighted with his wit and parts, was unwilling, after so 
 
290 APPENDIX. 
 
 brief a sojourn one which proved little agreeable to Philip 
 to leave his new friends. He frequently invited them 
 to his table, heaped favours upon them, and was accus- 
 tomed after the cloth was removed to sit discussing literary 
 questions, and other topics worthy of a nobleman and 
 prince. It was, therefore, a distinction, not a little honour- 
 able to Cervantes, that he should, so young, have been 
 selected by a man of distinguished merit, to fill a confi- 
 dential situation. 
 
 ( a ) Upon his return to Italy through Arragon and Va- 
 lencia, Aquaviva continued his route through Catalonia 
 and the southern provinces of France; and we find that 
 Cervantes, in his narrative of Pcriandro and Aumtela, 
 mentions having himself seen the most remarkable objects 
 upon the same route, accompanying his two pilgrims 
 through the cities of Valencia, Catalonia; through Perpig- 
 nan, Languedoc, Provence and Dauphiny to Piedmont ; 
 Ihence to Lombardy, describing by the way the wonders 
 of Milan, Lucca, Florence, until they terminate their pere- 
 grinations at Rome. Again his Don Quixote Las do< 
 DonceUas, and La Galatea, all contain descriptions of the 
 coast scenes, and grand works of Catalonia, the vicinity of 
 Barcelona, and in particular of the bandos and bandoleros, 
 with other particulars relating to the old customs and 
 manners, such as could only be described, with the masterly 
 touches given to them, by an eye-witness. Descriptions 
 like these show that at that early age, Cervantes possessed 
 the eye of the painter as well as the soul of the poet, and 
 the observation of the traveller, the gentleman, and the 
 man of the world. 
 
 ( 10 ) Up to a recent period, when the able and enlightened 
 Navarrete, by comparing the various authorities upon the 
 
APPENDIX. 291 
 
 point, was so fortunate as to arrive at a correct view of it, 
 it was the general opinion, that Cervantes entered the ser- 
 vice of the Pope, joined the papal troops, embarked in the 
 pontifical galleys commanded by Marco Colonna, and 
 fought under that commander in the celebrated battle of 
 Lepanto. The preceding writers of his life, founded their 
 opinion upon some expressions made use of in his dedica- 
 tion of the Galatea, to Ascanio Colonna, the son of that 
 distinguished General: " May your Excellency give a good 
 reception to my request, which I send,like an avant-coureur. 
 to announce and give recommendation to my little service. 
 And if for this I should not merit your favour, let it be 
 awarded me for having followed, some years, the victorious 
 banners of that military sun whose beams were but yester- 
 day withdrawn from our eyes; but not his glory from the 
 memory of those who know how to esteem great and 
 worthy actions, such as illustrated your father's life." As 
 Cervantes, too, resided at Rome in the service of Aquaviva, 
 those writers naturally inferred that he had enlisted as a 
 volunteer in the troops of Colonna. Both those excellent 
 biographers, Rios and Pellicer, laid great stress upon the 
 circumstance announced in the preface to the novels, that 
 he had seen service during those years, under the standard 
 of Don Juan of Austria. " J lost," says the author, speaking 
 of himself, " my left hand by an arquebuss, in the naval 
 battle of Lepanto, fighting under the conquering banners 
 of the son of that thunderbolt of war, Charles V., of happy 
 memory." As this appeared at variance with the assurance 
 given us in the Galatea, they adopted the plan of recon- 
 ciling both statements, observing that Colonna led one of 
 the three divisions which composed his fleet all of which 
 were under the general command of Don John as the 
 U 2 
 
292 APPENDIX. 
 
 Generalissimo. They next come to the conclusion, that 
 Cervarrtes, upon recovering from his wound, joined the 
 Spanish troops in garrison at Naples ; because mention is 
 made in the deed of ransom that Cervantes had spent 
 much time in that city serving his majesty, and again in 
 the Viage al Parnaso it is stated that in his youth he had 
 for more than a year trodden the streets of the same town. 
 After a close examination of these statements, Navarrete 
 is of opinion that Cervantes intended to express two ideas 
 very different by " following the banners, or righting under 
 the banners," for the first did not carry in its signification 
 the enlisting as a volunteer, or the subject of place, like 
 the second ; and as Colonna, although the Pope's general, 
 commanded the combined squadron in the year 1570, and 
 also in the summer of 1512, while Don John was in Mes- 
 sina, it is highly probable that Cervantes, a soldier of the 
 Spanish regiments who had also embarked in the galleys 
 of Spain, should serve in those and, perhaps, other cam- 
 paigns under the Roman General. Besides it appeared 
 very unlikely that Philip II., the master of almost all Italy, 
 holding so many troops in Lombardy, Naples, and Sicily, 
 should place a Spanish gentleman of repute in the ranks 
 of foreign armies. It moreover appeared next to impos- 
 sible, that ha\ ing been wounded and lost the use of a hand 
 and arm in the service of a foreign potentate, he should 
 afterwards be admitted into the ranks of his native prince, 
 in the face of all national rules and customs to the contrary. 
 And what is more, and seems to have escaped all his bio- 
 graphers, it was upon this very service in the Spanish 
 army from the beginning, that he founded his claim to 
 some recompense. 
 
 Granting, at the same time, that he engaged under the 
 
APPENDIX. 293 
 
 banners of the Church in the battle of Lepanto, it is most 
 probable that the papal troops were reinforced by the 
 Spanish regimentofFigueroa, of which we could cite many 
 examples; and in this sense he fought under the banners of 
 Colonna. There are many circumstances mentioned in the 
 correspondence of Don Juan which tend to show that this 
 was actually the case ; and these, when compared with other 
 historical evidences not less strong, go to prove that Cer- 
 vantes was employed only in the service of his country. 
 
 ( u ) There are some curious particulars relating to the 
 early part of Cervantes' military career, given in the 
 evidence of the witnesses engaged to facilitate his ransom 
 when a captive in Algiers. When compared and taken 
 together, those particulars present an interesting picture 
 of the disposition and character of the young soldier, and 
 of the manner in which he was regarded both by his com- 
 panions and by his superiors. As evidence, too, they 
 possess a force and impartiality, as well as truth of colour- 
 ing and circumstance, freed from bias or interest of any 
 kind, which make them more valuable and more attractive. 
 Thus Mateode Santisteban, a native of Tudela in Navarre, 
 and ensign in the company of captain Alonso de Carlos, 
 deposed, " that he was a comrade of Cervantes in Italy, 
 serving with him in the same company under captain 
 Diego de Urbina; was witness to the heroic action of Cer- 
 vantes at the moment he was wounded in the breast, and 
 when disabled of a hand ; that he heard him say previously 
 to the battle, when his captain, de Santisteban, and other 
 friends, entreated him to remain quiet in the cabin because 
 he was ill of a fever : ' What will be said of me, should I 
 not perform my duty I would much rather die fighting 
 for God and for my king than consult my health by re- 
 
294 APPENDIX. 
 
 tiring to a place of safety !' He subsequently saw him 
 fighting, like a valiant soldier, at the head of the men, and 
 in that part of the vessel allotted to him by his captain. 
 He was near him in the same vessel, named ' La Mur- 
 (juesa,' commanded by Juan Andrea Doria ; he again saw 
 Cervantes in Naples, in 1575, when upon the point of 
 returning to Spain in the galley .SW with Carrillo de Que- 
 sada ; and he was also acquainted with Rodrigo de Cer- 
 vantes, the brother of his comrade Miguel." 
 
 The deposition of Gabriel Castafieda to the same purport, 
 is more full with regard to the reply made by Cervantes, 
 when pressed by the captain and his friends to remain 
 quiet. "Gentlemen !" lie exclaimed with considerable 
 heat, ' upon all occasions up to this day (alluding it would 
 seem to some previous services in Italy) I have served his 
 majesty as a good soldier, and now I will not do less, 
 though I confess that I am sick and ill of lever ; it is 
 better to fall in the service of God and of his majesty, and 
 so to die, than to retire to a place of shelter ; I must entreat 
 of the captain, therefore, to place me in the most exposed 
 and dangerous pest he can assign me, for there will I be 
 till I shall fall, fighting to the last." Seeing his indomitable 
 spirit, the captain instantly gave him twelve soldiers and 
 the post of most honour and danger. It was further de- 
 clared by Castaneda, " that he afterwards saw this brave 
 soldier enter a captive into Algiers ; being at that time in 
 captivity himself ; that he read the letters brought by 
 Cervantes from Don Juan of Austria, in which he recom- 
 mended to his majesty to give Cervantes a company in 
 the army of Italy as some recompense for his merits and 
 services, and that owing to these letters the captain by 
 whom he was taken placed his ransom very high." Is o 
 
APPENDIX. 295 
 
 less satisfactory, as throwing light upon his earlier days, 
 was the account given by Antonio Godinez de Monsalve. 
 He had been upon friendly terms with Cervantes during 
 the year 1573, and they were together in the voyage of 
 Tunis. While himself a captive in Algiers in Io75, 
 he saw the captain Dali Mami, and another captain 
 of a galley, having with them, captives, Miguel and 
 Rodrigo de Cervantes, brothers ; he knew that the latter 
 was ransomed in 1577, and that the former was still in 
 captivity the year following, being the slave of Azanaga, 
 Dey of Algiers. 
 
 " Don Beltram del Salto y de Castilla, resident in Madrid, 
 was captured by the Turks in La Gnleta in 1.57-1, and 
 carried into Algiers. He there became acquainted with 
 Miguel de Cervantes, and observed that he had lost his left 
 hand. From him, and other persons worthy of credit, he 
 was informed of everything relative to the inquiry. When 
 in consequence of being ransomed he left Algiers in 1577, 
 Cervantes remained at that time a captive in the hands of 
 a Turk, called Arnaute Mami, a captain in that city, who 
 held Cervantes in high estimation upon account of certain 
 letters \\ Inch he had found on his person from Don Juan 
 of Austria and the Duke of Sesa, in which they both 
 recommended to his majesty that he should confer upon 
 Cervantes the command of a company, which he had well 
 deserved." 
 
 ( u ) All the most interesting particulars relative to the 
 captivity of Cervantes remained unknown up to the middle 
 of the 18th century, and his biographer, Mayans, confessed 
 that he was wholly ignorant upon this point, observing 
 that " he knew not how, nor where, Cervantes fell into the 
 hands of the Moors, and was carried to Algiers." It is 
 
296 APPENDIX. 
 
 evident that he was unacquainted even with the doormen's 
 furnished by Father Haedo, and Alendez de Silva. For the 
 firsttime,in 1752,FatherSarmientometwith "The History 
 of Algiers," by Haedo, and perused the '' Dialogue of the 
 Martyrs," with the narrative given by Dr. Sosa of the ad- 
 ventures of Cervantes in Algiers; particulars both proved and 
 illustrated by the document containing the conditions of 
 ransom, lodged in the archives of the Redemption Society. 
 From these we learn the day and the year when he was 
 captured, by whom and in what vessel he had embarked 
 for Spain, all which added to the evidence of Haedo, put 
 an end to the conjectures of those who, like Father 
 Sarmiento, believed that the hero of the story in the 
 " Captive," was intended for Cervantes. A mere compa- 
 rison of the adventures of the two, shows at once that such 
 was not the case. The Captive, when recounting his own 
 history, speaks of a certain Spanish soldier called "Saave- 
 dra,'" and Mayans was aware of this distinction, and 
 Pellicer made a parallel which set the matter at rest. In- 
 deed, such is the artifice and the frequent repetition with 
 which Cervantes mingles his own experiences with those 
 of his companions, as to render it necessary to be very 
 familiar with his works, and with the history of the times, 
 to be able to discern the true from the fictitious, the real 
 from the feigned. But with documents so inestimable, 
 besides other information found in the archives of Seville, 
 the whole of Cervantes' life, his actions and trials during 
 his imprisonment at Algiers, are at once amongst the most 
 interesting and best authenticated which we possess. At 
 the same time it will throw much light upon this im- 
 portant period, which raised his reputation so high in the 
 opinion, not only of his country, but of all the world, to 
 
APPENDIX. 297 
 
 enter into a brief analysis of some of the incidents which, 
 while they illustrate remarkable circumstances and events 
 of the times, display the enterprise, skill, judgment, and 
 magnanimity of the captive in a very forcible point of 
 view. The following view of the circumstances, founded 
 upon the Historia y Topographia de Anjd, will be found 
 to reconcile much of the remaining difference of opinion 
 upon this subject, ami we shall first endeavour to show 
 how its chief author, Don Diego de Haedo, a noble eccle- 
 siastic, who rose to the dignity of archbishop of Palermo, 
 became possessed of the materials of the work. He was 
 accompanied to his see of Palermo by his nephew, Diego 
 de Haedo, a Benedictine of Valladolid, who assisted in 
 obtaining for him information respecting the Christian 
 captives at Algiers from all those who had arrived there; 
 particularly from Dr. Antonio de Sosa, Captain Geronimo 
 Ramirez, the Cavallero Sarjuanista Antonio Gonzales de 
 Torres, whom he introduced as interlocutors in his Dia- 
 logues, in which they relate all the incidents of which 
 they were witnesses during the years they continued cap- 
 tives in Algiers along with Cervantes himself. Having 
 obtained materials, and modelled the form of his work 
 with equal candour and veracity, he gave it over to his 
 nephew to correct, polish, and prepare it for the press : 
 the royal privilege was obtained the 18th of February, 
 1610, and it was published at Yalladolid by Diego Fer- 
 nandez de Cordova, and again in 1612 in folio. When 
 Father Haedo in 1604. and 1605 was preparing it at Valla- 
 dolid, Cervantes was there at that exact time, busily 
 engaged in bringing out his first part of Don Quixote, in 
 which was contained his novel of " The Captive ;" and it 
 is inferred by Sarmiento, with some probability, that 
 
298 APPENDIX. 
 
 the two authors were in communication with each other ; 
 for it was doubtless the desire of Haedo to have the narra- 
 tive which had been supplied by Dr. Sosa and others, 
 sanctioned and approved by him of all others to whom it 
 chiefly related, and this supposition is strengthened by a 
 variety of collateral authority which has been adduced. 
 
 It is also an indisputable fact that the " History of 
 Algiers" was published at least foul years previous to the 
 death of Cervantes, mid that all the incidents relating to his 
 exploits, his trials, and sufferings, while in captivity, and 
 upon which he always laid so much weight, being contained 
 in it and known to the world, it is next to impossible that 
 he should not have read and examined it, so as to authorise 
 the correctness of the narrative by the tacit admission of 
 its truth. But Haedo says not a word of how, where, and 
 by whom Cervantes was taken, and there is some contra- 
 diction in the meagre statements whichhe adduces; in one 
 of which it is said that when the Turks had got possession 
 of the ship, they saw two other vessels approaching, and 
 abandoned her ; an incident resembling that mentioned in 
 the Persiles, by a pretended captive, while in the other it 
 is asserted that they took her into Algiers, which last is 
 confirmed by eye-witnesses, among whom Cervantes is 
 one. The former had its origin in some vague reports 
 which reached Naples, where Hernando de la Vega, also 
 a deponent, then was. Juan de Valcazar,who was captured 
 at the same period as Cervantes, appears in what he says 
 to confirm the statement of Vega. 
 
 It would appear from the testimony of the witnesses, 
 that the Turks had a regular engagement with the galley, 
 which it must be inferred there must have been, as she 
 had on board men of high military reputation, like Carillo 
 
APPENDIX. 299 
 
 de Quesada, Cervantes, and some of his companions; and 
 upon this point the certificate of the duque de Sesa leaves 
 us no room for doubt ; for " Cervantes," he says, " having 
 embarked in the galera Sol was taken by the Turks and car- 
 ried to Algiers, where he is at this time a slave, after having 
 fought the battles of his country with the valour becoming 
 a great soldier, and resisting the barbarians to the last." 
 
 Here is sufficient evidence, not only that the galley made 
 a defence, but that Cervantes, in particular, fought nobly 
 upon this occasion, an assertion which is quite consistent 
 with his subsequent conduct, his repeated and persevering 
 efforts to accomplish the freedom of himself and his com- 
 panions, and the generous manner in which he took upon 
 himself the consequences. Though we have no particular 
 account of the sea-fight, there is no doubt that Cervantes 
 subsequently gave more than one spirited and graphic 
 sketch of it, availing himself of its minutest circumstances, 
 both in his Galatea and his other works ; descriptions 
 which bear that impress of truth and reality which could 
 have been given them only by an eye-witness, and a dis- 
 tinguished actor in the scene. 
 
 When Dali Mami, the Greek renegade, captured the 
 galley Sol, he was simply master of the pirate vessel, 
 while Arnaute Mami had the rank of sea-captain, and 
 commander of the corsairs, who were bound to obey him 
 in whatever part they fell in with him, to follow him at 
 his call, and not to part company without his special com- 
 mand. This power could be conferred only by the 
 Sultan ; he had one of these sea-bashaws at Algiers, 
 another at Tunis, and a third at Tripoli ; he had a legal 
 title to one- fifth of the spoils, although he was usually 
 satisfied with the portion which they thought it politic to 
 
300 APPENDIX. 
 
 assign him. This accounts exactly for the way in which 
 Cervantes, though captured with the vessel by the sea- 
 master, Dali Mami, might have been claimed by the 
 " Captain of the sea," in the subsequent division of the 
 spoils, had not circumstances which called the king of the 
 corsairs to other enterprises, left him in the temporary 
 power of the captor. In the first account of the ransom- 
 money sent by the mother and sister of Cervantes, it is 
 expressly stated that he was then in the power of Dali 
 Mami ; which is confirmed by the captive himself, in 
 replying to the fourth question in his examination, and by 
 his companions, Vega and Valcazar, who were all slaves 
 of the same master. It appears, also, on the evidence of 
 another witness, Monsalve, who saw Cervantes and his 
 brother dragged captives into Algiers by Dali Mami, that 
 there were three Algerine vessels engaged with the 
 galley, commanded, as we may naturally conclude, by 
 Arnaute Mami, as chief of the other corsairs ; and in this 
 character Cervantes himself speaks of him, when intro- 
 duced into his novels of La Galatea, El Cautivo, and El 
 Trato de Argel. 
 
 ( 1:i ) It was customary with the Algerines to treat their 
 prisoners according to the expectations they had formed of 
 their rank and value in the ransom market. In some 
 instances the captives were indebted to the avarice of their 
 masters for an alleviation of their lot ; but in the case of 
 Cervantes it was different; he was at first treated with 
 extreme severity, in the idea that imprisonment and chains 
 would compel him to obtain means of ransom ; while Cer- 
 vantes, with a soul above his personal trials and sufferings, 
 was anxious to effect his escape without drawing upon the 
 slender resources of his relatives and friends. 
 
APPKNDIX. 301 
 
 The plan which the cunning masters generally adopted 
 was this. At first they attempted to ascertain the quality, 
 profession, and fortune of their captives ; if they found 
 that they were Fidalgos, or " sons of something " which 
 was all they looked for, they directly gave out an exagge- 
 rated statement of their rank and wealth. If doubtful of 
 the fact, they still held it forth and maintained it for a 
 time very resolutely. If the unhappy men denied it, they 
 proceeded to extort the truth by severity, and there were 
 always infidels and traitors enough at hand to aid them in 
 their nefarious design. Of the tricks and inventions they 
 thus resorted to, in order to fasten a good price upon their 
 victims, we have a very touching account, and which 
 on any other subject would be considered exceedingly 
 amusing, from tlie pen of Dr. Sosa, one of those who 
 unfortunately participated in their lot. " What are we to 
 think," he says, " of the depth of their infernal devices, 
 when out of me, who am a poor clergyman, they have 
 already, upon their own authority el plcnitudine potestatis, 
 made a bishop ; and soon afterwards secretary to his 
 Holiness, his great counsellor and plenipotentiary; nay, 
 closeted me together with his Holiness for eight hours 
 a-day at a sitting, treating together of most grave and 
 weighty matters connected with the interests of Christen- 
 dom ! When I denied having ever attained to such great 
 honours, they made me a cardinal. When that also I dis- 
 claimed, they declared me to be governor of Castelnuovo, 
 at Naples ; and as that would not serve their turn, thev 
 now make me Father Confessor and master, as they call 
 me, to the queen of Spain. To establish this fact, as they 
 stoutly maintain it, they have not scrupled to suborn both 
 Turks and Moors who should affirm it ; and there were not 
 
302 APPENDIX. 
 
 wanting bad Christians, in this house, as well as out of it, 
 who the better to please my master, averred that they 
 knew it to be the case ; nay, so great is their assurance, 
 as almost to confound me, for they brought forward some 
 Turks, lately escaped from Naples, who being confronted 
 with me, declared that they had been engaged in my 
 service when governor of Castelnuovo, at Naples, as cooks 
 and scullions. In the same way they have made you a 
 great lord, a most wealthy knight of Malta, and a relation 
 of the first noblemen and prelates of Italy and Portugal ; 
 and poor Juan Botto, who is now at my elbow, is not only 
 a very ricli man, but a celebrated knight of Malta; and 
 our friend, Antonio Garces, one of the most distinguished 
 nobles in Portugal." 
 
 In this ingenious manner they contrived to raise the 
 price of ransom, and when Father Gracian was negociating 
 for his release, there came forward some Christian rene- 
 gades, who assured the Bey of Tunis that they knew 
 him well ; that he was an archbishop who had been on 
 his way to Rome to obtain the dignity of a cardinal : upon 
 which he was immediately taken from his former master, 
 who would have accepted moderate ransom, carried 
 before the great monopoliser of captives, and a price of 
 thirty thousand crowns set upon his ransom ; insomuch, 
 that his return home was accounted a miracb by all who 
 heard of it In his delightful novel of " EL Amante 
 Liberal," Cervantes makes Ricardo give an account of this 
 notable custom in the narrative of his adventures. His 
 master Fetale is continually complimenting him upon his 
 high rank, and urging him from a sense of honour to give 
 a handsome sum for his release. He assures him that his 
 own soldiers and attendants are perfectly aware of the fact, 
 
APPENDIX. 303 
 
 and that it is little becoming the character of so distin- 
 guished a man to remain in so idle a condition ; and he 
 laughed at the repeated disclaimers of his captive. 
 
 It is notsurprising, then, that the letters of recommenda- 
 tion carried by Cervantes from the first public personages of 
 the day should have caused him to be so hig/i/t/ valued, and 
 that when the money was not forthcoming he should have 
 been consigned to close custody, with all those mortifying 
 trials and insults calculated to bring him into their views. 
 There were appropriated, for the more obstinate and 
 refractory, certain buildings or court-yards, called the 
 " Baths." In those named La Basturda were confined 
 captives belonging to the magistracy, or the commune, and 
 at times individuals distinct from professional or public 
 functions, for the purpose of holding them in safer cus- 
 tody. They were daily taken to the public works, or 
 other employments for which they were thought best 
 adapted. But the captives in the royal baiin, continued 
 always in durance, and under vigilant guard, were never 
 condemned to hard labour with the herd, and subjected 
 only in case of long delayed ransom, to some degrading 
 employment, such as carrying wood, or to be walked about 
 for the amusement of the spectators. 
 
 This royal prison, in which Cervantes lingered in 
 chains till the year 1577, was about seventy feet by 
 forty, with numerous chambers and apartments round the 
 sides of it ; in the centre was a cistern of good water, and 
 at one side in the lower end was placed the chapel, or ora- 
 tory, where mass was celebrated ah 1 the year round by the 
 captive priests; the usual services were performed, the sacra- 
 ment administered, and sermons regularly preached. Some- 
 times they were so thronged that it was necessary to perform 
 
304 APPENDIX. 
 
 mass in the open air; the jailers and attendants taking 
 advantage of the influx of the Christians to levy upon each 
 and all contributions to the farthest extent of the 
 ability of each prisoner ; and although the means of 
 many were very small, yet the sum of these extortions 
 amounted to a good deal. And as Azan Aga commenced 
 his government like a true prime minister, taking all the 
 offices into his own hands, all the captives, with few 
 exceptions, fell likewise to his share. He soon found that 
 he had got a complete army of them, amounting to up- 
 wards of two thousand, congregated in his own royal 
 prison. Hence arose his well-founded fears, when he 
 discovered the plotting genius and courage of Cervantes, 
 and which at length made him tremble for the safety of 
 his ships and of the city itself. It was one powerful prison 
 company; and combining their various talents and 
 resources, they endeavoured to relieve the weight of their 
 chains and the sorrows of captivity by inventing games, 
 making various kinds of exhibitions, such as a mock assem- 
 blage of the cortez, a council, a royal commission .debates, 
 trials, theatrical representations, and especially processions 
 and religious solemnities, so as to preserve the shadow, at 
 least, of liberty, and that semblance of activity and anima- 
 tion which they did not possess. Thus we are told by 
 Cervantes in his comedy Los Banos deArgel, that after the 
 ceremonies of the church, supposed to be celebrated with 
 a grand concert of music, they determined to have a 
 comedy, and that they first heard a colloquy in verse, from 
 Lope de Rueda, recited, by his friend, Juan de Timoneda, 
 who, though very old, was a great curiosity, and had a 
 most humorous way of speaking the bucolic language of 
 his country. Lope de Vega, too, in his comedy, Los Cau- 
 
APPENDIX. 305 
 
 liens de Argel, took the same subject, and treated at length 
 of the songs that were sung, and the comedies enacted 
 according to Spanish fashion, in the prisons of Algiers. 
 But a still more interesting picture is given in La Gran 
 Sullana Dona Catalina de Oviedo, where Cervantes gives a 
 narrative of that lady's life ; how she went with her parents 
 from Malaga to Oran, and was captured when quite a child 
 by Morato, who sold her in Tetuan to a wealthy Moor. 
 Meantime, her mother had died, and her father was carried 
 into Algiers. In the course of four years Morato returned 
 to Tetuan, and struck with the surpassing beauty of the 
 girl, scarcely yet ten years of age, repurchased her for four 
 times the sum which he had sold her for. Delighted with 
 his new prize, he instantly set out for the city of the 
 Sultan, where he arrived in the year 1600; she was pre- 
 sented to the Grand Signor, then quite a boy, and ordered to 
 be placed in the Seraglio, where the young Spanish beauty, 
 however, would never consent to adopt the name of Zo- 
 raida, bestowed upon her by her captors. After a variety 
 of incidents the Sultan, in the course of time, again saw the 
 fair Spaniard, highly educated and accomplished, and struck 
 no less with her singular discretion than with her charms, 
 he ordered her to be proclaimed Grand Sultana. She 
 became a noble benefactress of the Christians, and attached 
 herself to all their customs, manners, and entertainments. 
 " The captives," he relates, " from a sense of gratitude, as 
 well as to cultivate her favour, sang theCastilian songs 
 and exhibited the musical dances which were then in 
 vogue upon the Spanish boards, and carried to such per- 
 fection by Alonzo Martinez ; and they imported new 
 Spanish comedies, purchased from Venetian merchants, an d 
 even from the viceroys of Italy." To do honour in the 
 
306 APPENDIX. 
 
 same manner to the Sultana's taste, there was exhibited in 
 the Seraglio by the captives and several banished Moors, 
 the comedy of "La Fuerza Lastimosa," which has been 
 cited by Lope de Vega in his "Peregrino en su Patria," as 
 his own. 
 
 ( M ) Of all conditions, that of the captives of superior rank 
 and consideration was the most deplorable. From their in- 
 fluence and character, they were always the most exposed 
 to risk, by being at the head of the others, and engaging in 
 plans to regain their freedom, the failure of which led to 
 still greater privations and sufferings. 
 
 The Moorish dungeons had three depths of caverns, like 
 subterraneous granaries for the preservation of corn. In 
 mockery of the light of heaven, at one opening above there 
 was a skylight, and that also encircled with bars. The 
 sun and air were never polluted by entering such terrific 
 abodes, nor could the glad face of the heavens be seen 
 from them. The only sights were sights of woe : the only 
 company was that of convicts, thieves, murderers, and 
 the lowest Moorish rabble ; and the sounds and voices, 
 mingled with blasphemies and execrations, were re-echoed 
 as if among the vaults of the dead ! Every sense was 
 overwhelmed by the intolerable horrors that combined to 
 disgust, to terrify, and to distract the imagination and 
 the soul. Hunger, nakedness, thirst ; heat, damp, and 
 cold, all natural things seemed to conspire with the 
 cruelty and neglect of the infernal janitors and masters, to 
 swell the catalogue of their woes. It is thus that Dr. 
 Sosa complained of being left naked, hungry, and loaded 
 with fetters, tied to a stone pillar in a lone spot, dark 
 and cold, cut off from all communication with his 
 wretched companions ; and from which he was three times 
 carried away as dead. 
 
APPENDIX. 307 
 
 (") We may^ therefore, picture to ourselves the sufferings 
 of Cervantes, whose state of bondage and privations for a 
 long period of his captivity, are described as being of the 
 most severe which even Algiers could inflict. No wonder 
 that he conspired so many times to free himself and his 
 friends from so desperate a condition ; and that he evinced 
 so much skill and courage in these enterprising eRorts. 
 The extent of these sufferings appears in the evidence 
 taken before the commission, showing, in the words of 
 Haedo, that Cervantes ran the utmost risk of his life ; 
 that he was four times upon the point of being empaled, 
 hanged, or burned alive for his daring attempts to liberate 
 his comrades ; a statement which agrees perfectly with 
 that put into the mouth of the captive, and confirmed by 
 public and authentic documents. 
 
 ( 16 ) The first intended flight to Oran had been projected 
 by others before the arrival of Cervantes. In the beginning 
 of October, 1568, an Italian renegade, de.-irous of recon- 
 ciling himself to the Christian religion, left Algiers dis- 
 guised as a Turk, but having been taken by some pea- 
 sants of Mostagan, he was brought before the dey, who 
 ordered him to be put to death with every refinement of 
 cruelty. In May, 1572, two Spaniards, who were sur- 
 prised in a like attempt, were brought before the same 
 tyrant, who is stated to have put them to death by the 
 bastinado with his own hand. Facts like these, and 
 others which occurred during the captivity of Cervantes, 
 tend to exhibit his constancy, courage, and magnanimity 
 in a very forcible point of view. Many of these cruelties, 
 perpetrated before his eyes, are alluded to in his Trato de 
 Argel, in which he represents himself in consultation 
 with Pedro Alvarez upon the project of flying to Oran, 
 x 2 
 
308 APPENDIX. 
 
 being unable longer to endure the oppressions of his mas- 
 ter, who believed Pedro to be a person of rank, whose pro- 
 perty had been taken possession of by his brother ; and 
 persecuted him the more cruelly, in order to extort a 
 handsome ransom. He is then represented as having 
 made his preparations, setting out along the sea-shore to 
 avoid the peasants, and, being overcome with fatigue, 
 taking rest in a cavern, where a lion enters and lies down 
 beside him, and afterwards very kindly engages in his ser- 
 vice as a guide. 
 
 Cervantes, when describing the escape of Zoraida from 
 the gardens of her father, simply details his own plan, 
 attempted in 1577, when he had ransomed his brother 
 Rodrigo, and given directions for a vessel to be sent, and to 
 hover about the coasts, till they should join it from their 
 place of concealment. 
 
 ( 17 ) With regard to the circumstances attendingthiseffort, 
 there is considerable variation in the documents and con- 
 temporary authorities. It seems that when the vessel, 
 under cover of the night, approached towards the shore, a 
 number of Moors, who, according to F. Haedo, happened 
 to be passing near, saw the vessel, and, raising a great 
 outcry, were the cause of its again putting to sea, without 
 effecting its object ; adding, that the Christian fugitives 
 concealed in the cave were not aware of the arrival, any 
 more than of the departure, of the said vessel. But, in the 
 examination that followed, the cause is stated to have been 
 want of courage in the sailors to put to land, and inform 
 the unhappy men of the relief at hand. By another wit- 
 ness it was declared, that the sight of a fishing-boat 
 caused the men to take the alarm ; while Alonzo Aragones, 
 on the side of the sailors, avowed that the frigate returned 
 
APPENDIX. 309 
 
 and twice ventured towards the shore an authority which 
 was strengthened by that of Dr. Antonio Sosa, a man 
 well worthy of credit. 
 
 ( 18 ) Of the second attempt to escape in the year 1 579, 
 and of which Haedo makes no mention, some account has 
 been given in the novel of " The Captive." " We then," 
 it says, " gave five hundred crowns to the renegade with 
 which to purchase the vessel ; eight hundred were given 
 to a Valencian merchant who happened to be then at Al- 
 giers, who pSid my ransom to the Dey." It appears from 
 the evidence subsequently given, that Cervantes having 
 divided between two Valencian merchants, Onofre Exarque 
 and Baltazar de Torres, residents at Algiers, a sum suffi- 
 cient to purchase an armed vessel, one was actually pur- 
 chased in the name of the renegade Giron, who prepared 
 everything secretly to convey Cervantes and sixty other 
 captives of most repute to their own country. The inven- 
 tion and ingenuity requisite for carrying on such a trans- 
 action in all its details and bearings are remarkable traits 
 in the character of this extraordinary man, whose happy 
 and fertile genius seems always to have supplied him 
 with resources in those emergencies from which only his 
 prompt wit, courage, and discretion could rescue him, and 
 save the lives of his companions. Some of these succeeded 
 in making their escape; and with regard to those who were 
 compromised by the failure of their efforts, Cervantes not 
 only defied all threats to make him give up their names, 
 but maintained that he alone was the author of the plots 
 which alarmed the Dey for the safety of his ships and 
 cities. 
 
 ( 19 ) But of all the enterprises which entered into the ima- 
 gination of this daring soldier for such he really was to 
 
310 APPENDIX. 
 
 conceive, the most generous, grand, and important as re- 
 garded its results, at a period, too, when Europe trembled at 
 the clank of the Ottoman chains, and some of her noblest 
 and bravest pined away their days in hopeless captivity 
 was that of rising upon their tyrants and oppressors, and 
 destroying them in the very strongholds of their execrable 
 power and cruelty. 
 
 There is not a doubt that the suspicions of Azan, which 
 he expressed with so much anger, were, in this respect, 
 well founded ; for, though neither the examination nor the 
 declarations of witnesses touch upon the subject, there is 
 ample reason to believe that such a design was entertained, 
 and also to account for the silence of the different de- 
 ponents respecting the project. Even when ransomed and 
 at liberty, Cervantes was most cautious, while in Algiers, 
 for the sake of the unfortunate captives as well as for other 
 motives, not to allude, even in the most distant manner, to a 
 subject so hateful in Moorish ears, and when he had already 
 done enough to make his memory, as he himself asserts, 
 live long in Algiers, where " the lame soldier," like another 
 diable bolteux, seemed to have the power of looking into the 
 houses and penetrating the motives and designs of the most 
 exclusive inhabitants. " He did some things in Algiers ;" 
 says the novel of " The Captive," " that will remain in 
 the remembrance of that people for many years, and all 
 to achieve the blessing of liberty." 
 
 C 20 ) There is farther the authority of Father Haedo, of Dr. 
 Antonio Sosa, and Captain Geronimo Ramirez the two last, 
 friendsof Cervantes and witnesses of his actions for believ- 
 ing " that if the good fortune of Cervantes had been equal to 
 his courage, perseverance, and skill, the city of Algiers 
 would by this time have been in the power of the Christians ; 
 
APPENDIX. 311 
 
 for that his bold and resolute projects aimed at no less a 
 result. Moreover, that if he had not been sold and betrayed 
 by those who undertook to assist him in his grand and 
 noble project to liberate the captives of so many lands 
 as well so many future sufferers his own captivity might 
 have proved a fortunate event." 
 
 It is well known that in the history of Algiers there are 
 numerous examples of conspiracy against the government 
 even by Christian slaves, but few of the same determined 
 and persevering character as that of Cervantes and his 
 friends. I n the time of Barbarossa and towards the close 
 of 1531, Juan de Portundo, in concert with six other 
 Spanish captives, organised a rising in Algiers, taking ad- 
 vantage of the great number of Christian slaves who were 
 then in the city, and hoped to succeed in their project by 
 means of a soldier called Luis de Sevilla a man of great 
 skill and courage a slave of Barbarossa, and confined in 
 one of his state prisons. Measures were taken with D. 
 Alonzo de Peralta, for a supply of arms ; keys were forged 
 with which to open the prisons, and all materials were in 
 readiness, when on the eve of the outbreak, a traitor in 
 the camp the old story out of some pique, went and 
 revealed the whole plot to the Dey. Francisco Almarza, 
 who had twice before changed his religion, was this traitor ; 
 and now betrayed the unhappy prisoners to their doom. 
 Seventeen of the chief men, of high worth and talent, 
 were put to death by the bastinado, and their friends and 
 companions at the stake. 
 
 Another no less fatal and lamentable example of these 
 disappointed efforts to regain freedom which shows how 
 deeply implanted is the desire of liberty in the human breast 
 occurred in the year 1359, when in consequenceof the dis- 
 
312 APPENDIX. 
 
 astrous day of Mostagan, more than eight thousand Spanish 
 captives were brought into Algiers ; besides the same num- 
 ber of various nations, a crowd so great as to make them the 
 terror of their captors. Their numbers inspiring confi- 
 dence in the chief captives, a plan was formed, and the time 
 and place were agreed upon for a general rising to seize the 
 gates and citadel, when a Valencian called Morellon ac- 
 quainted the Dey with the plot. Don Martin de Cordova, 
 son of the Conde de Alcandete (afterwards marquis de 
 Cortez) himself a captive, was accused of being the author 
 of the conspiracy ; some renegades of rank, also, were alleged 
 to be his accomplices. Don Martin was placed in strict cus- 
 tody in a neighbouring castle, the value of his expected ran- 
 som protecting him from the fate he must otherwise have 
 undergone. But the greater number of the conspirators 
 suffered ; and at the same time the celebrated corsair, 
 Juan Canete, who had long been the scourge of the Al- 
 gerines, fell into their power and was put to a cruel death. 
 These and other failures, as related by the learned Sosa, 
 could not be unknown to Cervantes, and were doubtless 
 influential in stimulating rather than depressing the 
 courage of such a man. The number also of the captives 
 then in Algiers was another incentive, amounting, as they 
 did, to upwards of 23,000 ; and in the prison of the Dey 
 only, there were nearly 2000 captives more. Though 
 malice and ingratitude caused the failure of his best con- 
 certed plans, the suspicion and alarm of the Algerine ruler 
 were so great that he would undoubtedly have put him to 
 death, had it not been for the hope of a high ransom, and a 
 certain admiration which the greatest of oppressors some- 
 times feel for men of undaunted bravery and matchless 
 virtue. 
 
APPENDIX. 313 
 
 ( 21 ) It was natural, therefore, that the head of these bar- 
 barians, if only to preserve public tranquillity and his own 
 power, should desire to have the person of Cervantes in 
 his safe custody, and the result of the conspiracy of 1577, 
 in which Cervantes was the principal actor, afforded him 
 an opportunity which he did not neglect. No sooner were 
 the unhappy fugitives retaken, than he ordered them to be 
 sent to his own prison, to be strictly guarded ; and he con- 
 sidered them regardless of previous ownership every way 
 as his own. But the author of the plot he ordered to be 
 brought to his own house. After an interview in which 
 the tyrant sought to extort confessions, Cervantes was sent 
 to the same prison and securely guarded ; but it would 
 seem that so great an outcry was made by the different 
 masters of the slaves, at the loss of their property, that the 
 Dey, unable to resist the combination, says Haedo, was 
 compelled to restore several of them, among whom was 
 Cervantes, to their former owners. In support of this sup- 
 position it was declared by serjeant Antonio Godinez and 
 .D. Baltazar del Salto, in the examination taken before the 
 commission in 1578, that at the period when they were 
 ransomed and left Algiers, Cervantes was in the hands of 
 the Turkish captain who made him prisoner ; but that 
 both had subsequently heard that he had been given up to 
 the Dey Azan Aga, who considered him (to use an equi- 
 valent phrase) a man of sterling worth. To put it, at the 
 same time, to the proof, and hasten the arrival of the 
 ransom, he ordered " the lame soldier" to be treated with 
 severity, but not so great as to endanger his life; and in this 
 miserable state, half alive and half dead, did the im- 
 mortal Cervantes continue, during the space of five months. 
 At the expiration of that period, it appears, according to 
 
314 APPENDIX. 
 
 Haedo, that the Dey found himself compelled, by the agita- 
 tion of the slaveowners, either to buy or to restore Cervantes 
 to his first master ; and it was then that the sum of five 
 hundred crowns was given, and the price of a thousand, at 
 which he was ultimately ransomed, set upon his liberty. He 
 was then guarded with redoubled vigilance, and his suffer- 
 ings, with the view of ensuring the speedy return of the 
 five hundred, with the interest of five hundred more, were 
 rendered still less tolerable. Cervantes seems to have been 
 himself aware that king Azan, as the Moors, and all the 
 Spanish writers, including the captives, always termed 
 him, was now determined to have his life, or the supposed 
 value of his life, and he was moreover preparing to sail 
 for Constantinople, whither he would have carried his 
 prisoner, had not a sudden and great exertion been made 
 by the society of liberators as well as by all his friends 
 and relations. 
 
 (") It required, indeed, the utmost promptness, the local 
 influence, and the charity of Father Gil, who perceiving 
 the malevolent intentions of the Dey, drew from a 
 variety of sources, as well as from the funds of the 
 Redemption Society, from merchants and their friends, 
 the stipulated sum to satisfy the cupidity of his master. 
 After all, the speculation did not answer his expectations, 
 for being called away to Constantinople, he seems to have 
 accepted less than he intended. Haedo is doubtful whether 
 it did not amount to one thousand gold crowns of Spain ; 
 but the con tract expressly states it at five hundred " which 
 Father Gil, moved by compassion, gave to the said king, 
 who gave his captive liberty upon the very day and hour 
 when the king set sail to return to Constantinople." This, 
 however, was contradicted, no less by Dr. Sosa, than by 
 
APPENDIX. 315 
 
 several other deponents ; but the precise moment was 
 scarcely worth contesting. 
 
 ( 23 ) Cervantes continued for some time after his restora- 
 tion to liberty in Algiers, as we gather from the agreement 
 concluded by Father Gil, dated the 22cl of October, 
 1580; but we are not justified in concluding that his 
 residence there was prolonged till the spring of the follow- 
 ing year, according to the calculation of Rios and Pellicer. 
 They probably inferred this to be the case from what 
 Cervantes himself says, in his preface to the " Novels,'' of 
 " having been a soldier many years, and a captive during 
 five years and a half, during which time he had learnt to 
 be patient under adversity." It is undoubted that, having 
 been taken prisoner on the 26th of September, 1 575, these 
 five long years and a half will be found included within 
 that term and the end of March, 1581 ; but at the same 
 time, it should be remembered that in the examination 
 taken before the commission appointed, Cervantes himself 
 stated he had been five years a captive, and this assertion 
 was confirmed by the witnesses. The Alcalde also of a 
 place in La Mancha, who is introduced in the Persi/es, and 
 who, in the opinion of Pellicer, is meant for Cervantes, 
 observes " that he had been five years a slave in Algiers;" 
 a calculation which answers exactly to the dates, that of 
 his ransom being the 10th of September, 1580, which 
 makes the term five years less by seven days, from the day 
 when he was taken. 
 
 ( 24 ) The period, however, of the return of Cervantes into 
 Spain has been fixed with more certainty. He reached 
 his native country before the end of the year 1580, and 
 most probably set out within a few days after the different 
 documents to which we have alluded had been drawn up 
 
316 APPENDIX. 
 
 and signed. In the memorial, of which he was desirous 
 of possessing copies, bearing the date of October, the same 
 year, it is stated, " that being now prepared for his return 
 to Spain, it was of importance to him to draw up a state- 
 ment, and make an attestation witnessed by others." And 
 D. Diego Benavides, one of these witnesses, declared " that 
 on the 14th, he was living with Cervantes, already ran- 
 somed, in Algiers, in the same hostelry, until the time 
 when, blessed be God, some vessels should arrive which 
 might carry them both into Spain ; for that he also was 
 ransomed and a freeman." 
 
 ( 25 ) This passage shows that Cervantes and his compa- 
 nion were at that date prepared to take advantage of the first 
 opportunity ; and as that occurred almost immediately, 
 there is no reason to doubt but they immediately availed 
 themselves of it, especially as by that step they were put- 
 ting an end to a long and painful captivity. If we dwell for 
 a moment upon the lofty wisdom, the beautiful morality, 
 the tender regard to relatives and early friends, and all 
 those practical and unostentatious virtues, which inspired 
 the - sentiments and governed the actions of this great 
 man, we must suppose that he was eager to re-unite him- 
 self with all those social ties which had been so rudely 
 torn asunder. If " high thoughts seated in a heart of 
 courtesy" ever inspired ambition to run a race of honour, 
 to illustrate by deeds the noble and gentle blood from 
 which he sprang, they found their permanent seat in the 
 heart of Cervantes. 
 
 It has already been remarked that Cervantes is not 
 the hero in the novel of El Caulivo, as was for some time 
 supposed. There are, nevertheless, several passages in 
 that interesting narrative which are perfectly true, and 
 
APPENDIX. 317 
 
 which only those familiar with the details of his life can 
 distinguish from the more inventive portion. 
 
 For instance, it is well known that the author was never 
 with the Duke of Alva in Flanders, never served, either 
 in his or in any of the armies, during those terrible cam- 
 paigns, and, therefore, he could not have been present at 
 the deaths of the Counts Egmont and Horn ; he could 
 not have been taken prisoner, as there supposed, in the 
 battle of Lepanto, was never the slave of Ochali ; nor, on 
 the decease of his master, became the property of Azan 
 Aga, who, it is declared, carried him along with him in his 
 voyage from Constantinople to Algiers, about the middle 
 of 1577, nor did he ever become a captain ; all which cir- 
 cumstances belong to the ideal portion of Kui Perez de 
 Biedma, a native of Leon, and perhaps a companion of 
 Cervantes in his captivity ; this was the true hero and 
 actor in the novel of " The Captive." 
 
 But from that epoch, the intervention of the real incidents 
 connected with Cervantes becomes more marked ; of the 
 reality of which the Captive himself assures us, entertain- 
 ing his listeners with an account in the following terms : 
 " If your excellencies will but give your attention you 
 shall hear a true narrative, compared with which the most 
 rarely imaginative, and finely invented, will appear as 
 nothing in your eyes !" And in the comedy of Los Banos 
 dc Argel, where these events are brought before our eyes, 
 the last act closes with the information that " the piece is 
 not a feigned story the child of imagination, but that it 
 was born far from the regions of fiction ; wild and roman- 
 tic as it was, in the very heart of truth. That the story 
 still survived of sweet affections of gentle love and me- 
 mory, in Algiers. That it is well for truth and history to 
 
318 APPENDIX. 
 
 delight the fancy; and that to this day there will be found 
 in Algiers, the same window and the garden ; and that no 
 less matters of fact were the strange things which passed 
 around them in Algiers.'' 
 
 Were other proofs wanting as to the reality of these 
 adventures, and the deep impression which they made 
 upon the mind of Cervantes, they might be adduced from 
 his other works, in addition to the evidence from the lips 
 of the Captive, " that of all the singular events and acci- 
 dents which befel him, not a single one had been erased 
 from his memory, nor could they be forgotten by him till 
 the last moment of his life. '' It is farther observed, 
 that, although the Moorish ladies do not permit them- 
 selves to be seen by Turk or Moor, or by any of the male 
 relatives of their husbands, except by special command, 
 they have none of the same reserve, nor is it insisted 
 upon, towards the Christian captives. When speaking of 
 Zoraida, he says, "she appeared to think nothing of ap- 
 proaching the spot where 1 was speaking with her father." 
 Alluding to the jealousy of the husbands, Haedo observes, 
 that '* they are even careful to have no windows opening 
 upon the streets ; and that if by any chance a .Moor, a 
 Turk, or a renegade, were to enter a house, there would 
 be a great outcry the women from all sides running to 
 hide themselves in their chambers. Yet," he adds, " that 
 these ladies entertain no idea of running away from the 
 Christians, whether slaves or freemen ;" that it is only 
 among those of high rank, as the wives of state ministers 
 and governors, from a feeling of pride and dignity, that 
 an opposite conduct is observed. For this reason the ad- 
 venture of Zoraida, her abduction and arrival in Spain, 
 are in no way at variance with probability, such occur- 
 
APPENDIX. 319 
 
 rences, according to the testimony of Sepulveda, repeated 
 by Pellicer, having not unfrequently taken place. Both 
 refer to the instance of a German lady, the principal 
 wife of the Dey of Algiers, who, in the year 159,3, 
 taking advantage of an opportunity when enjoying the 
 air in one of the palace-gardens a little way out of the city, 
 eloped with more than twenty other ladies, and with all 
 valuables upon which they could lay hands, made clear off 
 to sea, and fortunately arrived in Spain ; presenting a sin- 
 gular and daring exception, not a little in favour of female 
 courage and wit, to the numerous failures in such at- 
 tempts. Upon this occasion a vessel had been despatched 
 by orders of Philip II. from the coast of Valencia, to 
 facilitate their escape, and a very handsome pension was 
 assigned them, upon which, with the store of jewels and 
 other valuables, of which they had eased his Algerine 
 Deyship. they long flourished in the environs of that 
 delightful city. 
 
 So with the adventures of Zoraida in the novel, Cer- 
 vantes preserves throughout a degree of probability and 
 truth in regard to character, customs, and manners, com- 
 bined with a richness and vivacity of imagination, which 
 throu a spell over the heart, and rivet the attention of the 
 reader. He at once takes the fancy captive by the charm 
 of his descriptions, and the exuberant beauty of his style. 
 The only daughter and heiress of Agi Morato, who had 
 borne the rank of a magistrate, is supposed to have been edu- 
 cated by a Christian slave. Hence she imbibed her love 
 of Christianity ; as the most lovely and wealthy lady in all 
 Barbary, her hand was sought by the first personages, 
 and all the viceroys in the country among whom the 
 famous Muley Maluk, then aspiring to the throne of Fez, 
 
320 APPENDIX. 
 
 transcended all his-rivals by his singular merits and accom- 
 plishments ; and he is united to this ' brilliant beauty" at 
 the close of the story. 
 
 Now, it appears from the Histories of Algiers, that 
 " there was an Agi Morato, originally a renegade slave, 
 who became a wealthy governor, and flourished in the 
 year 1581." He was in possession of one of the best 
 houses in the city, had a daughter married to Muley 
 Maluk : "a discreet man/' says Haedo, " and, according 
 to what I heard from many persons who were well 
 acquainted with him, a man of excellent judgment and 
 kind disposition.'' In his Historia de Po7t/g/,Herrera 
 also speaks with enthusiasm of the noble qualities of 
 Muley Maluk, especially of his humanity towards the 
 Christians; adding, that he was eloquent, discreet, learned, 
 a great linguist, and particularly versed in the Castilian 
 and Italian languages. 
 
 Muley Maluk fell in the great battle of Alcazarquivir, 
 fought with Don Sebastian of Portugal, upon the 2nd of 
 August, 1578; and it is stated by the same historian, that 
 being sick and suffering from the effects of his extreme 
 exertions, long anxiety and watching, when no longer 
 able to sit on horseback, he ordered himself to be borne in 
 a litter, where he expired before the close of the day, and 
 without enjoying the victory which he had so much desired. 
 
 Nothing, indeed, is more remarkable than the skill with 
 which the author blends truth and fiction, so as to give 
 the effect of a perfect picture to the whole. It is equally 
 apparent in the Valencian merchant, who then happened 
 to be at Algiers ; and to whom the 800 ducats were en- 
 trusted which purchased the captive's freedom ; that mer- 
 chant was Onofre Exarque, who was actually there in 
 
APPENDIX. 321 
 
 1579, and who gave upwards of 1,300 doubloons for an 
 armed frigate, in which Cervantes and his companions 
 had taken secret measures to effect their escape. From 
 this, and from a variety of other circumstances, it may be 
 concluded that the hero is no other than Rui Perez de 
 Biedma, a companion of Cervantes in the prison of Azan 
 Aga, and that his adventures are happily intermixed 
 with other descriptions and incidents, best calculated to 
 bring into relief the peculiar customs and manners of 
 the people amidst whom the author acquired so exact a 
 knowledge of everything which he wanted to give an 
 additional charm to his story. The opinion, therefore, of 
 Sarmiento, that this novel was a disguised history of the 
 adventures of Cervantes, is no longer admitted by the best 
 critics to be correct. 
 
 OPINIONS UPON DON QUIXOTE, &C., BY JM. VIARDOT. 
 
 (--) " Montesquieu puts into the mouth of Rica (Lettres 
 Persanes, A T o. 78) the following words : ' The Spaniards 
 have only one good book, that one which has made all the 
 others ridiculous.' This is one of those happy railleries 
 which pleases the more by its very exaggeration, and 
 which our neighbours, the Spaniards, ought not to have 
 taken in a serious point of view. Nobody, for instance, 
 at Paris, was pleased to be offended when the same Rica 
 observes at the close of his letter : ' at Paris there is a 
 house where they put fools. . . . Doubtless the French, 
 finding themselves extremely decried by their neighbours, 
 shut up some fools in this house, that they may persuade 
 people that those who are out of it are wise men.' Of the 
 two the raillery bears hardest upon the French ; for in the 
 mention made by Montesquieu of Don Quixote, the praise 
 
322 APPENDIX. 
 
 given to that work ought to weigh against the reprobation 
 of all the rest. We need no ghost to tell us, that if Don 
 Quixote had been a mere parody upon the romances of 
 chivalry, it would not very long have survived their fall. 
 The triumph once achieved, the conqueror must have been 
 laid to rest by the side of his victims. How little do we 
 now care for his criticisms upon Amadis, Esplandean, 
 Platir, and Kyrie Eleison, with all the pinks of knight- 
 hood belonging to the same class! Not that we doubt it 
 was counted by the author himself among his chief merits, 
 to run a sharp tilt at his chivalrous adversaries, and lay 
 all their wild absurdities and extravagance in the dust. 
 He destroyed the favourite rage for it could hardly be 
 called literature of his times. His work, in this sense, is 
 one continued moral, which combines in the highest per- 
 fection those two qualities of true comedy to correct, 
 while it amuses. Don Quixote consists of something 
 better than a satire on the old stock romances, and we shall 
 endeavour to show some of the peculiar changes which this 
 subject had undergone in the author's own mind. 
 
 " I am of opinion," says M. Viardot, " that in under- 
 taking his work, Cervantes had no object in view beyond 
 that of attacking with the weapons of ridicule the prevailing 
 chevaleresqtie literature of the day. He indeed formally 
 announces his intention in this preface. Besides, it forms 
 sufficient evidence, to observe the strange negligence, the 
 contradictions, even the absurdities, with which the first 
 part of Don Quixote abounds ; we find in these inadverten- 
 cies, manifest proof that he began it in a moment of irrita- 
 tion, or for a whim, without any fixed plan, giving free 
 scope to his imagination as a writer of romance by nature, 
 just as La Fontaine was a fabler and lastly, without attach- 
 ing any definite importance to a production of which he 
 
APPENDIX. 323 
 
 does not seem at that time to have comprehended the extent 
 and grandeur. Don Quixote appears at first simply in the 
 light of a madman, a madman who required both chains and 
 stripes, for the poor gentleman receives more cuffs, and blows , 
 and kicks, both from four-footed and two-footed animals, 
 than even the back of Rosinante himself could have sus- 
 tained. Sancho Panza figures simply as a vulgar clown, 
 always running his head, either from interest or pure folly, 
 directly against that of his master. Butall this soon wears oft'. 
 It was impossible for a genius like that of Cervantes, to de- 
 vote its powers to folly and ineptitude. He soon attaches 
 himself to his heroes to those whom he terms ' the children 
 of his brain' shortly he gives them his best advice, his 
 wit playing the part between them of a fair umpire and 
 considerate parent. To the master he gives that elevated 
 and extended power of reasoning, the result of a noble mind 
 well cultured with study and reflection ; to the valet, a sort 
 of limited instinct, yet strong and sure, innate good sense, 
 natural uprightness, when his interest does not interfere, just 
 such as every one may happen to be born with, and which 
 common experiencesufficestosharpenfor use. Don Quixote 
 then seems to have only one side of his brain affected ; 
 his monomania is that of a well-educated man who revolts 
 at injustice and exalts virtue. He fondly dreams of becom- 
 ing the consoler of the afflicted, the champion of the weak, 
 the terror of the proud and the perverse. In every other re- 
 spect he reasons admirably, he discourses with eloquence; he 
 is indeed fitter, in the words of Sancho, to become a preacher 
 than to practise knight-errantry. On his side, Sancho 
 seems to have put off ' the old man;' he is no longer the 
 simple clown; though still gross, he sharpens his wit, and 
 though still naif in his manners he has acuteness in him, 
 and is alive to trickery. In the same way as the Don retains 
 
 Y2 
 
324 APPENDIX. 
 
 only a single delusion, Sancho preserves only his credulity, 
 which sets in relief the superior knowledge of his master, 
 and justifies the attachment of the knight to his squire. 
 Thenceforth we are treated to an excellent comedy. We 
 see the two adventurers become inseparable as body and 
 mind, entering into mutual explanations, and shining 
 by each other's light ; combining to attain an object at 
 once noble and absurd, doing the most foolish things, 
 and speaking the wisest ; exposed to the ridicule and often 
 to the brutality of those whom they meet, and holding up 
 to view the vices and follies of the persons by whom they 
 are laughed at and ill-treated ; at one time exciting the 
 mockery of the reader, at others his pity, and not unfre- 
 quently his liveliest sympathy ; now affecting and now en- 
 tertaining him, mingling gaiety and amusement with good 
 example ; and lastly presenting, by the continual contrast of 
 one with the other, and of both with the rest of the world, 
 the untiring variety of a vast drama, always stirring and 
 always new. 
 
 " It is more particularly in the second part of Don Quixote 
 that we perceive the new intent fully developed of the 
 author, matured by age and experience of the world. The 
 question of knight-errantry is no longer entertained except 
 just so far as to connect it with the first part, in order 
 that the same general plan may unite and embrace them 
 both. It is, however, no more a simple parody of the 
 books of chivalry : it is a work of practical philosophy, a 
 collection of maxims, or rather of proverbs, a mild and 
 judicious criticism of all mankind. That new personage, 
 the bachelor Samson Carrasco, brought before us in familiar 
 converse with the hero of La ]\lancha; what is he, but 
 the personification of a sceptic incredulity, which, without 
 any limit or respect, jeers at everything ? And to give 
 
APPENDIX. 325 
 
 another example, to what reader has not the thought oc- 
 curred in perusing for the first time the second part, where 
 Sancho is invested with the government of the island, 
 Barataria, that he is going to be infinitely amused by his 
 folly ? Who would not imagine that the new-crowned 
 potentate will be guilty of greater absurdities, while presid- 
 ing in his court of justice, than Don Quixote himself when 
 doing penance in the Sierra Morena .' Yet we are de- 
 ceived ; the genius of Cervantes looked farther than the 
 mere diversion of the reader, without at the same time 
 losing sight of it. He wished to prove that the so much 
 boasted science of government is not the secret of a family, 
 or of a caste ; that it is quite accessible to all ; and that it 
 is necessary, for its proper exercise, to possess qualities more 
 valuable than the knowledge of laws and the study of 
 politics, namely, good sense and honest intentions. Thus, 
 without departing from his character, and without passing 
 beyond the sphere of his own mind, Sancho Panza is 
 enabled to judge and reign like another Solomon. 
 
 " The second part of Don Quixote did not appear till two 
 years after the first, and it is clear that Cervantes did not 
 originally intend to carry the work any further. It was 
 customary at that time not to complete such productions 
 of the imagination. An author finished his book like 
 Ariosto the cantos of his poem, in the very midst of the 
 most complicated adventures, and in the most interesting 
 part of the action. The Lazarillo de Tonnes and Le Diable 
 Boitcux are left incomplete, and so is the Galatea. A ro- 
 mance of our own, also, Gil Bias, was finished in three 
 several fragments. Finally it was not the circumstance of 
 Avellaneda having continued the first part which deter- 
 mined Cervantes to enlarge his own work, for the latter 
 had nearly completed his second one before the former had 
 
326 APPENDIX. 
 
 published his spurious part. Now had Don Quixote been 
 simply a literary satire, it would have remained un- 
 finished. It was with the evident design which I have 
 attributed to him that Cervantes resumed his pen, and 
 continued the subject. This, too, accounts for the two 
 halves of the work offering an exception unique in the 
 annals of literature a second part originating in an after 
 thought, which not only equalled but far surpassed the 
 first. While the execution is in no manner inferior, the 
 original idea is much more noble, extended, and prolific ; 
 it is thus that the work is addressed to the literature of 
 all countries, to all times, and that it speaks to humanity 
 in a language universal as the author's fame ; it is finally 
 thus, perhaps of all known books, that which elevates to 
 the highest possible summit, a quality so rare and pre- 
 cious above all those with which the human intellect is 
 endued, namely, common sense, yet so little common ; 
 good sense, so good, in fact, that nothing is better. 
 
 "It has been my wish to give one explanation, in some 
 respects an historical one, of this work of Cervantes ," for 
 to what purpose should we sing his praises ? Who has 
 not repeated with Sir Walter Scott, one of the greatest 
 admirers Cervantes ever had, and the best of his rivals, 
 that it is one of the ckffi-cfceuure of the human mind i 
 Is there anywhere a history more delightful to all ages, 
 to all tastes, to all characters, to all conditions; a tale of 
 fiction more popular and attractive ? Cannot we always 
 conjure up to view, so as to behold in all his glory, that 
 famous Don, tall, spare, and grave; that pink of squire- 
 hood, short, fat, and pleasant; the staid housekeeper of the 
 former, the wife of the latter; and then the curate, the 
 barber, master Nicholas, the servant Maritornes, and 
 the bachelor, Carrasco; all the engaging personages, in 
 
APPENDIX. 327 
 
 short, of this history, including Rosinante and Dapple, 
 another pair of inseparable friends? Is it possible to 
 forget how this excellent book was conceived ; how it is 
 executed ? Can we have failed to admire the perfect unity 
 of its plan, and the wonderful diversity of its details ; that 
 imagination so fertile, so lavish, that it satiates the curiosity 
 of the most insatiable novel reader? And think of the 
 infinite art with which the episodes succeed and interlace 
 each other ; the ever-varied interest which animates them, 
 still increasing ; and yet which one leaves without regret 
 for the pleasure of rejoining and proceeding side by side 
 with the two heroes. We observe the accordance and the 
 contrast, both so singularly amusing, which exist between 
 them ; the sonorous sentences of the master, the happy 
 sallies of his squire ; a gravity never dull, a badinage 
 never futile ; an intimate and natural alliance between the 
 ridiculous and the sublime, laughter and emotion, amuse- 
 ment and morality. Is it possible, too, not to have felt 
 the charm and the beauty of that language, at once so 
 magniloquent, grand, harmonious, easy, and graceful ; 
 adapting itself to all the shades and peculiarities of expres- 
 sion, to all the tones and modes of mind ; of that style, 
 which, embracing the best of every style, from the most 
 familiar and comic to the most eloquent and majestic, has 
 extorted the admiration of the most competent judges, for 
 the book thus ' divinely written in a tongue divine!' 
 
 " But to appreciate these qualities, and partake the en- 
 joyment which only in the original they can confer, we 
 must be able to understand, as well as to read, the language 
 well. Such readers are rare on this side the Pyrenees. 
 We no longer live in the days when Spanish was spoken 
 at Paris, at Brussels, at Munich, at Vienna, at Milan, and 
 at Naples, in all which cities it was adopted as the language 
 
328 APPENDIX. 
 
 of the court, of politics, and of fashion ; the French has 
 driven it from the throne. It is easy, however, for every 
 one to imagine that he is reading Don Quixote while he 
 is reading a work transferred into his own language. Of 
 this kind, no book can lay claim to having had so many 
 readers ; and none can boast an equal number of trans- 
 lators. 
 
 " In France the number was greater than in other c un- 
 tries, if we estimate the different versions which appeared, 
 from the first attempts of Caesar Oudin and of Ilosset, 
 contemporaries of the author, up to the two translations 
 published in the present age. That given out by Fillean 
 de Saint Martin, towards the middle of the last century, is, 
 if not the best, at least the most popular and generally 
 diffused. In an introduction added to it by M. Auger, in 
 1819, he remarked that the number of editions of this one 
 translation, published in France, amounted to the incre- 
 dible number of fifty-one. Since then the fifty-second 
 has made its appearance. This success, which is almost 
 without precedent, shows triumphantly the surpassing 
 merit of the original work, and the untiring interest and 
 curiosity which, from generation to generation still in- 
 creasing, continue to spread its fame. Indeed the work 
 must be gifted with an extraordinary degree of vitality 
 must have received the stamp of immortality, to have been 
 enabled to resist so gloriously all the efforts of its transla- 
 tors to mutilate or burlesque it. It was, in fact, written 
 v.-ith too great refinement and address to be understood by 
 every one ; for these were necessary to avoid coming into 
 unpleasant contact with the very comprehensive rules and 
 harsh spirit of the Inquisition. Hence those adroit turns of 
 speech, those double meanings, those fine allusions, and de- 
 licate ironies ; ingenious disguises, under which Cervantes 
 
APPENDIX. 329 
 
 sought to veil from the eye of the Inquisition, thoughts 
 too bold, too satirical, or too profound, to permit of their 
 being expressed openly. It was requisite two centuries 
 ago to read Don Quixote as if it had been the epitaph of 
 the Licentiate Pedro Garcias, and to do like the student in 
 Gil Bias raise the stone from the tomb to ascertain whose 
 was the soul that lay interred beneath. It wanted a key ; 
 and this was to be found only in the commentaries of men 
 like Bowie, Pellicer, and Members of the Spanish Academy, 
 Fernandez Navarrete, Delos Rios, Arrieta, and Clemencin. 
 No translator had hitherto been able to profit by their 
 annotations, for the comprehending of Cervantes, and 
 making him comprehended by others. It was precisely 
 such assistance as was wanted, nay, indispensable to a 
 modern translator. With the help of these valuable 
 labours, on one part, and with a knowledge of the errors 
 and the disadvantages of my predecessors on the other, I 
 have had the hardihood to enter the lists, and joining, for 
 the first time, the commentary to the text, to render to the 
 author of Don Quixote all that homage for which my 
 passionate admiration was long prepared. 
 
 " Still ardently engaged, at sixty years of age, with as 
 much vigour and enthusiasm as if he had been a young 
 man, Cervantes was meditating new undertakings of no 
 inconsiderable extent. In that beautiful dedication, at 
 once so noble and so worthy of him, which he addressed, 
 with the second part of Don Quixote, to his patron, the 
 Conde de Lemos, in the month of October, 1615, he 
 acquainted him with the speedy completion of another ro- 
 mance. This was his ' Persiles and Sigismunda/ (Los tra- 
 bajos de Persiles y Sigisuumda) ; and he had already, on 
 other occasions, promised the second part of his Galatea, 
 besides two other new works, of which we are unac- 
 
330 APPENDIX. 
 
 quainted with the object, namely, the Bernardo, and Las 
 Semanas del Jardin. Of these last three not a fragment 
 has survived. With regard to his Persilcs, $c., it was ' 
 published by his widow in 1617. A singular production; 
 for at the very time that the romances of chivalry were 
 dying by the strokes of his ingenious satire, with the same 
 pen which dealt these murderous blows, he was writing a 
 romance, almost as extravagant as any of those which had 
 puzzled the brains of his hidalgo. The censure and the 
 apology, the antidote and the poison, came almost together; 
 he imitated those whom he had blamed, and was the first 
 to fall into the sin which he had anathematised in others. 
 Not less wonderful, he reserved for this disjointed work 
 his especial regard and commendation ; resembling those 
 fathers whose blind affection leads them to prefer the 
 weak offspring of their decrepitude to that of their robuster 
 years. While speaking of Don Quixote with becoming 
 modesty, almost with diffidence, he announces to the 
 world in pompous terms the merits of the Pcrsiles. It 
 was like Corneille placing Nicomcde in a higher rank than 
 his Cinna. 
 
 " This romance, which it is difficult to compare with any 
 production, or with any class, for it seems to combine all 
 kinds without belonging to any, consists of a tissue of 
 episodes, intermingled and involved like one of Calderon's 
 intrigues, full of strange adventures, unheard-of encounters, 
 prodigies, miracles, false characters, and extravagant sen- 
 timents. Cervantes, so correct and judicious a painter of 
 nature both physical and moral, did well at least to trans- 
 port the scene to the Hyperborean regions, for it is truly an 
 imaginary world, unlike everything which he had seen 
 with his own eyes. For the rest, in perusing this grand 
 wandering of a noble spirit, in which might be found 
 
APPENDIX. 331 
 
 matter for twenty dramas and one hundred tales, one's 
 admiration is still extorted by the vast fertility of fancy 
 evinced by an almost septuagenarian, rich and lavish as 
 the imagination of Ariosto himself; and also his elevated 
 sentiment, eloquence and daring, veiling the absurdities of 
 the narrative under a magnificent display of diction. The 
 Persilcs is more correct and chastened in its style than 
 Don Quixote ; in fact it is in many parts a model of 
 finished composition, and, perhaps, one of the most classical 
 works which Spain can boast of. It may be compared to 
 some palace formed wholly of marble and cedar, but with- 
 out a regular plan, without proportions, without figure, and 
 offering to the view only a confused heap of precious ma- 
 terials, instead of an architectural work. When we con- 
 template the subject of the work, and the name of the 
 author, the preference which he bestowed upon it, and the 
 fine qualities which he so lavishly expended upon it, we 
 are authorised in considering it one of the most grand 
 aberrations of the human mind.'' Notice stir la Vie et les 
 Outrages dc Cervantes. 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF VARIOUS EDITIONS AND 
 TRANSLATIONS OP DON QUIXOTE. 
 
 The Don Quixote of Cervantes, in the words of the 
 learned Rios, has enjoyed that advantage peculiar to all 
 excellent works, namely, of never becoming rare, because 
 they are always in perpetual demand, and sought for by 
 the people of all nations. This high appreciation, and the 
 impress of public approbation so soon stamped upon the 
 work, according to Navarrete, not only verified the predic- 
 tions of Cervantes himself, respecting the multiplicity of 
 its editions and translations, which he has put into the 
 
332 APPENDIX. 
 
 mouth of his hero, (Part II., c. 3 and 16). but the more 
 extraordinary applause bestowed upon his adventures, 
 by the lips of his accomplished squire, Sancho, who 
 says : " before much time goes over our heads, there will 
 not be a single inn, ale-house, road-side house, or hostelry, 
 any barber's stall, or stall of any kind, where we shall not 
 see held up the history of our wondrous deeds." 
 
 And it is curious, continues the learned editor, to 
 observe how these amusing prophecies were soon in 
 course of fulfilment ; when even during the life-time of 
 Cervantes thework was so highly estimated in foreign coun- 
 tries, that if we may believe Caesar Oudin, the licentiate 
 Morguez Torres y de Salas Barbadillo, it would appear 
 well substantiated that its general perusal by the middle 
 and lower classes far exceeded anything of the kind before 
 known, while its admission among personages of rank 
 and the fashionable circles, was far more limited ; much 
 resembling in this respect, it would seem, the universal 
 fame in England, and elsewhere, of old Bunyan's " Pil- 
 grim's Progress." Cervantes has himself alluded to the 
 popularity of his adventurous knight among ladies and 
 their domestics ; and it was owing not a little to this 
 cause, that the early editions of his book in Spain were so 
 very inferior and incorrect, appearing without the slightest 
 extrinsic advantage of any kind, either from beauty of 
 typography or other illustration. The example had not 
 been set by other countries, and the epoch of good taste 
 had not arrived ; but it had still everything in its native 
 humour and .sterling worth to make it the favourite of all 
 times. And when, in the eighteenth century, emulation 
 was once excited to set off and adorn this " pearl of great 
 price," to the best advantage ; when the wit and ingenuity 
 of the learned, and the taste and genius of the ablest 
 
APPENDIX. 333 
 
 artists combined to display its characters to the eye, in 
 all that truth and force of which their art was capable; 
 editions, at once magnificent and correct, followed each 
 other with rapidity in every country of Europe. Of these 
 it will be interesting to take a chronological and critical 
 view, and to mark the progress made, no less with regard 
 to typographical beauty, and the art of embellishing them, 
 than to showing the rise and rapid increase of the author's 
 reputation, apparent in an exact ratio with that of the 
 new editions so fast multiplied up to our own times. We 
 are the better enabled to accomplish this object by the 
 indefatigable industry and erudition of the able Navarrete, 
 the enlightened secretary of the Royal Academy at 
 Madrid, whose life and ample illustration of the works of 
 the author, in comprehending all previous information and 
 discoveries, seem to have left scarcely anything, even in the 
 way of gleaning, for his followers; and to him, the editor 
 is bound to express his extensive obligations in common 
 with every one who wishes to obtain the most particular 
 knowledge of the subject in all its bearings. 
 
 EDITIONS OP THE FIRST PART OF DON' QUIXOTE. 
 
 First edition. Dedicated to the Duque de Bejar, Mar- 
 quis de Gibraleon ; published by Juan de la Cuesta, 
 Madrid, 4to, 1 vol., 1 605. Cervantes applied for a license 
 to publish this first edition of his work, soon after the 
 middle of the year 1604. The impression was struck off 
 by the 20th of December, but the privilege for its publi- 
 cation in Portugal was not obtained till the 9th of 
 February, 1G05, which is thought to prove that the 
 work was not given to the public till the opening of that 
 year. 
 
334 APPENDIX. 
 
 It is known that Cervantes was accustomed to sell his 
 works to the booksellers, and this in the first instance was 
 bought by Francisco Roblez, who, printing it during the 
 absence of the author, it appeared disfigured with 
 numerous errors. The author divided his book into four 
 parts, though he observed without interruption the 
 numeral series of the chapters ; and this circumstance, and 
 that of having called the continuation a second part, pub- 
 lished in 1615, show that he. originally intended to divide 
 the work into two parts only ; and, for the same reason, 
 the Academy adopted this division in its editions. 
 
 Second edition. By Juan de Cuesta;"! vol. 4to. Madrid, 
 1605. This edition is remarkable as having appeared in 
 the same place, year, and form, and by the same publisher, 
 as the former one. It shows the manner in which it was 
 received by the public, and how quickly it followed the 
 first. It is observed by Mr. Bowie, after alluding to the 
 preceding one, that it was ascertained that a second had 
 been published the same year, at the same place, and in 
 the same form ; but Pellicer, though he alludes to this 
 notice of it, could never succeed in testing the truth of it. 
 Navarrete was more fortunate ; he examined and collated 
 the impressions of both, and not only found them to 
 be distinct, but in the edition of the Academy took ad- 
 vantage of such variations in the second as were deemed 
 to be improvements. 
 
 Third edition. By Petro Patricio Mey ; 1 vol. 8vo. 
 Valencia, 1605. This edition received its imprimatur horn 
 the religious superintendant there, Fra Luis Pellicer, on the 
 18th of July, 1605. It was the same that supplied the 
 text for many of the editions which afterwards appeared 
 at Hamburgh and at Brussels. 
 
 Fourth edition. Published (as usual) with license from 
 
APPENDIX. 335 
 
 the Holy Office, by Jorge Rodriguez. 1 vol , 4to ; 
 Lisbon, 1605. In pursuance of the privilege granted to 
 Cervantes to publish his work for ten years in the domi- 
 nions of Portugal., he obtained a license from the Inquisi- 
 tion on the 26th of February, and from the government of 
 Lisbon on the 1st of March, 1605. 
 
 Fifth edition. By Roger Velpius, printer ; 1 vol., 8vo, 
 Brussels, 1607. The privilege of publication for the 
 space of six years was given to Velpius by permission of 
 prince Albert and princess Isabel Clara Eugenia, dated 
 Brussels, 7th of March, 1607. 
 
 Sixth edition. By Juan deCuesta; 1 vol. 8vo. Madrid, 
 1608. The license for this edition bears the date of June 
 16th, 1608, at Madrid, when Cervantes was resident there, 
 and was thus enabled to correct the errors and other ble- 
 mishes which had crept into the former, printed during his 
 absence, and in the presentone hesupnressed some passages, 
 and made some additions. For this reason the text of the 
 sixth was almost invariably adopted in the ulterior editions, 
 and among all the early ones is that most sought for and 
 appreciated, both in Spain and in other countries. (Dic- 
 tion. Uib/iof/., imp. Paris, 1791, tome i. p. 260.) 
 
 Seventh edition. By the successor of Pedro Martir 
 Locarne, and Juan Bautiste Bidello ; 1 vol. 8vo. Milan, 
 1610. In this edition the original dedication by Cervantes 
 is omitted, and that of the printers to the Conde Vitaliano 
 supplies its place. In mentioning the count's known 
 attachment to the Castilian tongue, it notices the fact of 
 its study having become very general among the chief 
 people of that city, and it is added that the work is given 
 in the original language, the better to preserve its peculiar 
 grace and spirit, which could not be nearly so well retained 
 in an Italian version ; and in order to set an example of the 
 
336 APPENDIX. 
 
 kind, with the hope of its becoming generally adopted 
 
 throughout Italy. 
 
 Eighth edition. By Roger Velpius and Uberto Antonio, 
 printers; 1 vol. 8vo. Brussels, 1(511; published with 
 the same privilege as that of 1607. Another printer 
 was here admitted to a half share in it; and the 
 corrections of the Madrid editions of 1608, appear to 
 have been in part adopted by the joint publishers. This 
 was also the last edition previous to the appearance of 
 the second part of Don Quixote: showing that in the 
 short period of three years, eight editions of the work, in 
 its unfinished state, had been already given to the public, 
 a fact which, taken as one criterion of its merit, though a 
 novel which hit hard at the prevailing bad taste of the 
 times, speaks volumes in favour of its entertaining quali- 
 ties, its genuine wit and humour. 
 
 EDITIONS OP THE SECOND PART. 
 
 First edition. Segunda Parte del Ingenioso Caballero 
 Don Quijote de la Mancha, por Miguel de Cervantes 
 Saavedra, autor de la Primera Parte. Dirigida a D. Pedro 
 Fernandez de Castro, Conde de Lernos, &c. Ano 1615. 
 Con privilegio, en Madrid, por Juan de la Cuesta. Un tomo, 
 en 4to. When this first edition of the second part appeared 
 the work by Avellaneda was already published, and had 
 been received with deserved indifference and neglect. This 
 made Cervantes very careful in stating that his own was by 
 the author of the preceding part. It is to be observed 
 also that he no longer retained the title of ingenioso cabal- 
 Icro, and that he gives his reason for the alteration in a 
 passage contained in the second chapter, in the following 
 words: "The gentry inform us that your Excellency, no 
 
APPENDIX. 337 
 
 longer confining your excellence within the ordinary limits 
 of gentility, has aspired to knighthood, adopting the 
 sounding title of caballero, with four branches for your 
 escutcheon, and two roods of land ; also a new coat of 
 arms, one before and another behind." 
 
 Cervantes finished the second part, and had it presented 
 for approbation early in 1615. The approbation was 
 granted on the 17th March, and on the 30th of the same 
 month the author received the privilege of printing it for 
 a period of ten years, and the work appears to have been 
 published towards the end of that year. The event of the 
 author's death having taken place in April 1616, it is evi- 
 dent that this is the only edition of the second part which 
 had the benefit of his corrections, and, consequently, that 
 it became the model upon which the succeeding editions of 
 the same work could alone be formed and regulated. 
 
 Second Edition. By Pedro Patricio Mey. One volume, 
 8vo. Valencia, 1616. This edition received a license for 
 publication on the 27th January, 1611. 
 
 Third edition. By Huberto Antonio, sworn printer. One 
 volume, 8vo, Brussels, 1616. The privilege of publication 
 for six years is dated the 4th of February, 1616. 
 
 Fourth edition. By Sebastian Mathevad. One volume, 
 8vo, Barcelona, 1617. This edition was after the text of 
 Valencia, with a Latin dedication to the Bishop of Bar- 
 celona, as in the former. 
 
 Fifth edition. By Jorge Rodriguez, with the usual 
 license. One volume, 4to, Lisbon, 1617. In this edi- 
 tion the text employed was that of Madrid; but with the 
 omission of the preliminary contents, supplied by those 
 of the Portuguese authorities, and of the publisher. 
 
338 APPENDIX. 
 
 EDITIONS OF THE COMPLETE WORK. 
 
 First edition. Primera y Segunda Parte del ingenioso 
 hidalgo, $c. Cervantes had announced his intention (pre- 
 face to the first part,) " to destroy the authority and repu- 
 tation of the books of chivalry so much in vogue in the 
 world and among the common people ;" and, by substi- 
 tuting the pleasant and useful reading of his new work, 
 he so far succeeded in his object, that, in the year 1637, 
 when Faria had concluded his commentary on the 
 Lusiados, that writer observed, " that already, by virtue of 
 the happy genius of Miguel de Cervantes, those works, so 
 abounding with superfluous matters," &c. (Canto vi. fol. 
 138.) The license for this impression was given at 
 Madrid, on the 31st October, 1634, in favour of Pedro 
 Coello, described as a dealer and chapman of books ; but 
 the edition was not published till the end of 1636, and 
 there were several omissions of the original one, such as 
 the dedication by Cervantes, and the verses by which it 
 was preceded. 
 
 Second edition. From the Royal Printing Office ; dedi- 
 cated to Don Antonio de Vargas Zapata, &c. Marques de 
 la Torre. Two volumes, 4to, Madrid, 1647. This edi- 
 tion was prepared at the expense of Juan Antonio Bonet, 
 and Francisco Serrano, also mercadores de libros and 
 the text was taken from the preceding one. 
 
 Third edition. Vida y lieclios del ingenioso hidalgo, by 
 Juan Mommarte, printer. Two volumes, 8vo., Brussels, 
 1662. This is the first edition in which, besides other 
 alterations, we find even the title of the work itself altered ; 
 for Cervantes having with much propriety affixed to it the 
 one we meet with in the early editions, instead of being 
 retained, we see that in all those which followed the 
 
APPENDIX. 339 
 
 present one it appears as " The Life and Exploits" a 
 title wholly inapplicable and foreign to the purpose of the 
 work ; just as if the Odyssey of Homer were to be called 
 " The Life and Exploits of the Prudent Ulysses :" as was 
 clearly shown by the Academy in the edition of 1780, 
 which corrected this egregious error, with many more not . 
 less absurd and lamentable. This of Brussels was, never- 
 theless, the first which was illustrated with copper-plates, 
 as the printer assures us in the dedication to Don Antonio 
 Fernandez de Cordova, a Lieutenant-General of cavalry in 
 Flanders. At the same time, the burin was a bad one, and 
 the engravings are sadly deficient in truth and power, 
 both as regards costume and character. The privilege (or 
 in other words, copyright) granted to Mommarte, was to 
 print this work in Spanish and in other languages for 
 twelve years, (in which we see the gradual extension of 
 literary property,) and bears the date of Brussels, 4th 
 September, 1660. 
 
 Fourth edition. Parte Primera y Scgunda del mgetiioso 
 hidalgo, fyc., by the Royal Press ; dedicated to the most 
 noble lady Catalina de Loyola, daughter of J. D. Blasco 
 de Loyola, &c., &c. One volume, Ito, Madrid, 1668. 
 This edition was got up by the mercador de libros, Mateo 
 de la Bastida. The license dates in 1668. It contains 
 the same omissions and mistakes which disfigure that of 
 1 637. In the dedication it is observed, among other 
 things, that " this work has proved wonderfully agreeable 
 to all the world, as shown by the still continued and fre- 
 quent editions, and which have driven the books of chi- 
 valry, so prejudicial to good manners, from their shelves." 
 
 Fifth edition. 1'ida y hechos del ingcnioso Cuballero, 
 D. Quijote, $-c. A new edition, corrected and illustrated 
 with a variety of prints very appropriate to the matter 
 z 2 
 
340 APPENDIX. 
 
 by Pedro de la Calle. Two volumes, 8vo., Brussels, 
 1671. The printer, Mommarte, it appears, ceded his 
 privilege to La Calle to bring out this edition, which is 
 conformable to that of 1662, both as relates to the text 
 and to the plates. 
 
 Sixth edition. By Geronimo and Juan Bautista Ver- 
 dussen. Two volumes, large 8vo, Hamburgh, 1673. 
 The heirs of Mommarte transferred the privilege of this 
 work to Geronimo and J. B. Verdussen, in Brussels, on 
 the 5th September, 1669, and accordingly in this edition 
 were given the text and also the plates of 1662. 
 
 Seventh edition. By Andrez Garcia de la Iglesia. Two 
 volumes, 4to, Madrid, 1674. This edition, prepared by 
 the widow of the bookseller, Juan Antonio Bonet, ob- 
 tained the privilege on the 16th September, 1674, and 
 the impression was finished on the 19th December fol- 
 lowing. It is observed in the dedication, that the works 
 of Cervantes had now spread throughout the entire world, 
 with the greatest applause ; that the first and second 
 Parts at present engaged the printing presses of other 
 nations, and that the editions in Spain continued to be 
 renewed every year. Here the type and plates appear 
 to be copied from those of Hamburgh and Brussels ; but 
 they were prepared and engraved by Diego de Obregon, 
 with considerable taste and beauty ; and they are the first 
 plates of Don Quixote that had hitherto appeared in Spain. 
 
 Eighth edition. By Henry and Cornelius Verdussen. 
 Two volumes, 8vo., Hamburgh, 1697. It appears that 
 the privilege continued vested in the family of Verdussen, 
 for they applied to have it renewed, and we thus observe 
 that in this edition, which is founded upon that of 1673, 
 is contained the removal of the right given by Charles II. 
 for the space of nine years. 
 
APPENDIX. 341 
 
 Ninth edition. By Faukler. Two volumes, 4to, with 
 plates. London, 1701. 
 
 Tenth edition. Two volumes, 4to, the same. London, 
 1706. 
 
 Eleventh edition. By Antonio Gonzales de Reyes. Two 
 volumes 4to, Madrid, 1706. The bookseller, Francisco 
 Laso, who got up this edition, says in the dedication, " that 
 the work of Don Quixote, after so many impressions, 
 continues, and will continue, to make the presses sweat 
 and groan with the toil of new editions." His license is 
 dated 8th October, 1 705 ; and it appears founded upon 
 the preceding one of 1694; the plates are the same, 
 although much worn and evidently greatly retouched. 
 The dedication, and also the verses by Cervantes in the 
 first part, are both omitted. 
 
 Twelfth edition. A new edition, corrected and illus- 
 trated by thirty-five plates, very beautiful and appropriate 
 to the matter. With license, by Francisco Laso, dealer 
 in books. Two volumes, 4to. Madrid, 1714. 
 
 Thirteenth edition. By Henry and Cornelius Verdussen. 
 Two volumes, large 8vo, Hamburgh, 1719. The privi- 
 lege was granted by Charles VI. (the pretender opposed 
 .to Philip V.) dated at Brussels, the -2nd of November, 
 1712, for permission to print the first and second parts 
 during the period of nine years. 
 
 Fourteenth edition. By the Brotherhood of San Gero- 
 nimo. Two volumes, 4to. Madrid, 1723. The plates 
 here are taken from those of Obregon. 
 
 Fifteenth edition. A new edition, for the widow of Bias 
 de Villanueva, but got up by Juan Antonio Pimentel. 
 Two volumes, 4to, Madrid, 1730. From this edition is 
 perceived the manner in which interpolations of passages, 
 not written by the author, began to creep in. The dedi- 
 
342 APPENDIX. 
 
 cation to Don Quixote by his chronicler, Cid Hamet 
 Benengeli, put forth here, is a poor imitation, and the 
 style is wholly unlike that of Cervantes. According to 
 the advertisement it is made to appear, that it was pub- 
 lished for the first time, and the forgery was repeated in 
 the subsequent editions. The plates in this edition, 
 though considerably worn, were the same as those in the 
 preceding. The license appears dated on the 28th No- 
 vember, 1719, and it was concluded on the loth April, 
 the year following. 
 
 Sixteenth edition. A new edition, corrected, &c., by 
 Antonio Sanz. Two volumes, 4to, Madrid, 1 735. To such 
 a pass, says Navarrete, had the corruption of text and other 
 errors incurred by the work of printers and a num- 
 ber of ignorant editors by this time arrived, that not 
 only did many apocryphal passages appear, but portions 
 of the original text (as with the plays of great writers) 
 were actually suppressed ; and in the face of these they 
 still gave out that they presented corrected editions to 
 the world, illustrated and, what is bolder, with additions 
 from the original work of the author ! Besides, the spu- 
 rious dedication of the chronicler (repeated in this edition), 
 the verses which precede the second part are given out in 
 the title as " the reliques of the poetical works, by the 
 Academicians of the Argamasilla, brought to light by the 
 most celebrated discoverer of our times," are wholly un- 
 worthy of the work. At the same time, the original 
 dedication of Cervantes, and the ingenious verses which 
 precede Part I. are entirely omitted. 
 
 Seventeenth edition. By Bonnardel. Two volumes, 
 8vo , Leonde Francia, 1736. This edition was taken 
 from those of Hamburgh and Brussels ; the designs are 
 the same, but re-engraved, with the name of the artist, 
 on copper. 
 
APPENDIX. 343 
 
 Eighteenth edition. By J. and R. Tonson, 4 vols., royal 
 4to. London, 1738. This is the splendid edition brought 
 out at the expense, and under the direction, of Lord Car- 
 teret. But notwithstanding the care bestowed upon its cor- 
 rection, many mistakes are observable in the text, and even 
 the title is faulty ; faults indeed which are often unavoid- 
 able in the edition of a foreign work, and they are accord- 
 ingly noticed in the preface to the edition of the Spanish 
 Academy of I 780. The same may be said with respect to 
 the plates, which are greatly deficient in point of spirit and 
 propriety. It contains the life of Cervantes written by 
 Mayans. 
 
 Xineteenth edition. By Juan de San Martin, 2 vols. 4to 
 Madrid, 1741. 
 
 Twentieth Edition. By P. Gosse, and A. Moetjens. A 
 new edition, with fine plates, after the designs of Coypel. 
 4 vols. l'2mo, La Haye, 1744. This is an excellent edition, 
 taken from that of London, as regards the text, rivalling 
 it in point of typographical beauty, and far surpassing 
 it in the design and beauty of the plates, which are the 
 same as published by Pedro de Hondt. The Life of 
 Cervantes, written by Mayans, is also given. 
 
 Twenty-first edition. By D. Pedro Alonzo y Padilla. 
 2 vols. 4to. Madrid, 1750. 
 
 Twenty-second edition. By Juan de San Martin, 2 vols. 
 4to. Madrid, 1750. From the advertisement to this 
 edition, it is evident that the bookseller had seen the 
 edition of London ; he has copied, without reference to 
 it, various reflections and observations from the dedica- 
 tion of the English editor. He included, likewise, the 
 life of Cervantes, written by Mayans. 
 
 Twenty-third edition. l&y D. Pedro Alonzo y Padilla. 
 2 vols. 4to, Madrid, 1751. Among all the unfounded 
 
344 APPENDIX, 
 
 representations made by booksellers or editors, in the 
 titles to their new editions of " most recent correc- 
 tions, emendations, and additions," the most remark- 
 able is that contained in the present one, asserting that 
 it is the most complete of any that had yet appeared ; an 
 assertion which only leads to the inference, that so far 
 from these numerous additions proving emendations, they 
 had a directly contrary tendency, by corrupting and de- 
 facing the original work. Indeed it is difficult to say in 
 what these additions by the editor consisted, inasmuch as 
 the life of Cervantes, by Mayans, had been reprinted more 
 than six times; the plates, too, are wretched impressions 
 of those which accompanied the previous editions pub- 
 lished in Madrid. 
 
 Twenty-fourth edition. By Arkstee and Merkus, 4 vols. 
 12mo, Amsterdam, 1755. This admirable and valuable 
 edition is wholly after that of the Hague, 1744, and the 
 designs and plates are the same. 
 
 Twenty-fifth edition. By Juan Jolis, 4 vols. 8vo. Bar- 
 celona, 1755. The license of the council of Madrid is 
 dated llth of May, 1755, and the privilege or right in 
 this edition is limited to one impression. 
 
 Twenty-sixth edition, 4 vols. 8vo, Tarragona, 1757, 
 (from the English of Benjamin White.) 
 
 Twenty-seventh edition. By D. Manuel Martin, printer, 
 and at his expense. 4 vols. 8vo, Madrid, 1765. This 
 edition contains forty-four prints in wood. The editions 
 of this were repeated several times. 
 
 Twenty-eighth edition. At the expense of the company 
 of printers and booksellers of the kingdom, by D. Joaquin 
 de Ibarra, printer de Camara to his majesty. 4 vols. 8vo, 
 Madrid, 1771. An edition much esteemed for its typo- 
 graphical merit. The subjects also selected for illustra- 
 
APPENDIX. 345 
 
 tioii are very considerately varied, and they are regularly 
 and appropriately engraved by D. Manuel Monfort. In 
 vol. i. is included the life of Cervantes, written by Mayans. 
 
 Twenty-ninth edition. From the press of D. Antonio de 
 Sancha, at the expense of the company of printers and 
 booksellers. Madrid, 1777. This edition was prepared 
 with equal care, and with the same plates as the pre- 
 ceding; it includes also the life of Cervantes. 
 
 Thirtieth edition. El ingcninso hidalgo D. Qiiijote de la 
 Mancha. A new edition corrected by order of the Royal 
 Academy of Spain ; from the press of D. Joaquin de 
 Ibarra. 4 vols. large 4 to. Madrid, 1780. The magnificent 
 edition of London excited the emulation of the Marquis de 
 la Ensenada, who resolved to spare no expense to equal, 
 and even excel it in Spain. But in point of splendour 
 and embellishment this he could not effect, and it re- 
 mained for the Spanish Academy, in 1773, to realize this 
 spirited nobleman's plans, and neither expense nor dili- 
 ence was spared to render its edition the most sumptuous, 
 and, at the same time, correct and complete, that had hi- 
 therto appeared. The text for Part I. was taken from that of 
 Cervantes' own edition ; for thesecond, that of Madrid, 1 65 1 , 
 and to both were added the variations and readings given 
 in the best preceding editions, or that of Valencia, 1616. 
 In respect to the orthography, the Academy made use of 
 its own. After correcting and purifying the text, it was 
 the next object of the Academy to make the illustration 
 worthy of it, by giving every possible advantage to native 
 genius and talent. The entire designs and engravings 
 were the work of Spanish artists, and were prepared in 
 Spain. The paper also, the type, and all things apper- 
 taining to its essential use or exterior embellishment, 
 the former impressions by the famous Ibarra, the repre- 
 
346 APPENDIX. 
 
 sentation of characters, of coats of arms, a map of the 
 country where Don Quixote performed his exploits, 
 entirely the production of Spanish professors, and the 
 whole was executed in a very creditable manner ; to say 
 nothing of the beauty and magnificence of the work. 
 There was an admirable portrait of the author, supplied by 
 the liberality of the Count del Aguila, and at the com- 
 mencement of the work was inserted the life of the author, 
 and a full analysis of his writings by the able and erudite 
 D. Vicente de los Ilios. 
 
 Thirly-first edition. By the Rev. Dr. John Bowie, 
 A.M. S.S. A.L. 6 vols. royal 4to., of which vol. 1. was 
 printed in London, and the others appeared in Salisbury, 
 from the press of Edward Easton, at the expense of the 
 editor. London and Salisbury, 1781. Among the nations 
 of Europe not any one has equalled England in its ap- 
 preciation of the merit of Cervantes, and his ingeni- 
 ous story of the Knight of La Mancha. It is well 
 known, that when the poet Rowe was asked by the 
 Earl of Oxford if he understood the Castilian language ? 
 he replied no ; but that he hoped to understand and speak 
 it within a very little time. And immediately, in the 
 idea that he was about to be employed in some important 
 commission, from the Earl's manner of speaking, the poet 
 retired to his study and began to apply himself to the 
 Spanish tongue with such vigour, that he was au fait in 
 the course of a very few months, and lost not a moment in 
 obtaining another interview, and acquainting his lordship 
 with the agreeable fact, " What a lucky fellow you are !" 
 exclaimed the Earl, " for you will now be able to read Don 
 Quixote in the original ; and to taste its real charm and 
 beauty !" This just appreciation of its excellence by the 
 Earl of Oxford continued to increase, not only among 
 
APPENDIX. 047 
 
 people of high rank, but on a more popular scale, aud with 
 every order of the people ; as the repeated editions and 
 translations, multiplied every year, sufficiently testified. 
 
 Dr. Bowie, in particular, devoted himself to the study of 
 the Castiliau language ; he made an excellent collection of 
 Italian and Spanish romances of chivalry, and of all other 
 works which could tend to illustrate his favourite study of 
 Cervantes ; a study which he pursued with enthusiasm 
 during a period of fourteen years, by which he had become 
 familiar with its least beauties, was enabled to illustrate it 
 with ability, formed a complete index of its peculiar words 
 and phrases, collated the various editions, and supplied 
 some interesting notices of its author. 
 
 In his dedication to the Earl of Huntingdon, dated the 
 13th of April, 1781, Dr. Bowie observes, that Cervantes 
 had already had the singular fortune, at different periods, 
 of having his work brought out under the auspices of two 
 of the mobt distinguished among the English nobility, 
 who showed their good taste by producing editions in 
 the author's native language. This ingenious writer, so 
 warm and enthusiastic in the author's praise, at the same 
 time expresses his doubts of having satisfactorily attained 
 the object which he had in view, for various reasons : such 
 as having never had the advantage of residing in the 
 country, of having been the first who ventured to encoun- 
 ter difficulties which many learned men had shrunk from, 
 and from the circumstance of there being a number of 
 passages in the work of Don Quixote relating to points of 
 cosmography, fiction, and histories, some of which are 
 allowed to have been corruptions, if not interpolations 
 of the original text. Before he had quite completed 
 his work, the Doctor had the satisfaction of finding that 
 his plan was the same as that recommended by M. Sar- 
 
348 APPENDIX. 
 
 miento, when he observes, " It is of consequence that they 
 who speak should know what they speak of, that they 
 who read should understand what they read, and that they 
 who write should know what they write about. Now 
 there are numberless words little, if at all, understood in 
 Don Quixote ; and it is quite a popular error to conclude, 
 that because the work goes into everybody's hands, every- 
 body can read it. There are very few, in fact, who possess 
 the previous information necessary for understanding, to 
 say nothing of relishing, the peculiarities of Cervantes. A s 
 regards his modes of expression, it is hardly too much to 
 say, that to write such a work as Don Quixote, or to de- 
 scribe it even as it ought to be described, an author must 
 have read the books which Cervantes himself had read ; and 
 would still have to supply his felicitous and peculiar genius. 
 It was the Spaniard's object to burlesque the bad books 
 forming about nineteen out of every twenty which fos- 
 tered the rage for so many of those wretched productions, 
 the commonplace romances of chivalry ; and this he could 
 not have done in so pleasant a manner if he had not pre- 
 viously made himself as familiar with their contents as 
 ' household words.' It is thus that his work abounds in 
 proper names, and terms adopted only in similar descrip- 
 tions, and even the style and expressions are often exactly 
 such as are to be met with in the most celebrated of these 
 romances ; and particularly in the fou books of the 
 Amadis of Gaul. And as these books, and those by 
 which they were followed, have become rare, insomuch that 
 scarcely any one has read them, so are there few who can 
 read Don Quixote with the heart-felt reli*h and delight 
 to be enjoyed by one gifted like Cervantes. To supply 
 this want would require a discerning and persevering 
 mind, able and willing to connect the entire history of 
 
APPENDIX. 349 
 
 Don Quixote, and to expound the whole with literary notes. 
 But let no one unversed in Amadis, and books of the same 
 class, attempt so laborious a task. In the first instance he 
 ought to make a glossary of the most doubtful and diffi- 
 cult words used by Cervantes ; of the professional words 
 adopted in the romances of chivalry, and of all expressions 
 according with those in Amudis, &c , with other curiosities 
 and peculiarities of a like kind. If it be contended that 
 such a comment upon Don Quixote would be ridiculous^ 
 it may be replied that it is still more absurd for any one 
 to read a work which he does not understand." 
 
 Thirty-second edition. El ingenioso hidalgo D. Quijote ; 
 from the press of D. Joaquin de Ibarra, at the expense of 
 the Spanish Academy. A corrected edition, 4 vols. 8vo, 
 Madrid, 1782. This edition was printed with extreme 
 care in a more portable shape, and with new plates, which 
 were well designed, beautifully engraved, and the im- 
 pressions very clearly printed off. . 
 
 Thirty-third Edition. Life and Exploits of El Ingenioso 
 Hidalgo, &c,, by D. Manuel Martin, with 14 impressions 
 from wood, 4 vols. 8vo. 1782. 
 
 Thirty-fourth edition. El ingenioso hidalgo D. Quijote 
 de la Mancha, third edition corrected by the Royal Aca- 
 demy from the press of the Academy. For the widow 
 de Ibarra, Sons and Company, 6 vols. 8vo, Madrid, 1787. 
 This edition is uniform with that of 1780, with the sole 
 variation of its being divided into G volumes, to render 
 each more light and portable to the reader. 
 
 Thirty-fifth edition. From the Royal Press, 6 vols., 12mo, 
 Madrid, 1 797. The director of the Royal Press, D. Andrez 
 Ponce de Quinones, undertook this edition with the view of 
 showing how much correctness and beauty could be attained 
 by that establishment; and Don Quixote was selected as the 
 
350 APPENDIX. 
 
 work at once the most excellent in point of language, and 
 as showing a vast number of editions, none of which could 
 be recommended as combining perfect clearness and 
 beauty of type, with a convenient size. The text was 
 taken from the editions of the Spanish Academy, and the 
 passages were introduced as corrected and improved by 
 the author, and with variations in several places. It con- 
 tains a well-written notice of the Life of Cervantes, with 
 his portrait and some beautiful vignettes, and it is also 
 valuable for its typographical beauty and that of its plates. 
 Thirty-sixth edition. With corrections, new notes, new 
 plates, a new analysis ; and with the life of the author, 
 newly augmented by Don Juan Antonio Pellicer, &c., 
 published by D. Gabriel de Sancho, 5 vols. 8vo, Madrid, 
 1 797. In the lifetime of Cervantes, notes and illustrations 
 to accompany a work so generally popular as Don Quixote, 
 were properly considered superfluous, and the author him- 
 self gives us to understand (Part II. cap. 3), " that it was 
 so evident there could no point of difficulty occur." But 
 according to the opinion of Sarmiento, " we know from ex- 
 perience, that many matters quite plain and to be read 
 even by those who run during the author's life- time, such 
 as characters, personages, customs, books, &c., have at this 
 day become involved in doubt, and often in obscurity." 
 Pellicer, well aware of this truth, considered it requisite 
 to illustrate Don Quixote with historical notes, with critical, 
 moral, grammatical, and other observations ; restoring the 
 text to that of 1608, correcting it by that of 1605 in Part 
 I., and adopting the edition of 1615, for the second part. 
 To explain the passages imitated from Amadis dc Gaule, 
 and from the Latin and Italian poets, he availed himself 
 of the labours of Doctor Bowie, and by inquiries in the 
 Royal Library and elsewhere, he succeeded in clearing up 
 
APPENDIX. 351 
 
 several important passages, and explaining incidents and 
 events in the story before comparatively obscure. He 
 referred us to the explanations given of the authors cited 
 in the book ; pointed out the sources from which Cervantes 
 had taken the idea of some incidents and passages ; and 
 also the meaning of many satirical allusions ; explaining, at 
 the same time, many national customs and peculiarities, as 
 well as obscure words and phrases, the want of which so 
 much detracted from the relish and beauty of the story. 
 He gave, moreover, a life of Cervantes, with a learned 
 preliminary dissertation, in which he takes a retrospect of 
 all that had already been done to elucidate the genius 
 of the author and his work ; the merit of the several edi- 
 tions, the translations, &c., and a curious account of the 
 first book of chivalry printed in Spain, the hero of which 
 was remodelled in the person of Don Quixote ; adding to 
 it a complete analysis of its fable, its duration, and the 
 objects which it had in view. At the end appears a very 
 useful historico-geographical account of the journeysof Don 
 Quixote (the model of Mr. Inglis's " Travels in the Footsteps 
 $c.") and in which lie gives a description of the antiquities 
 of La Mancba ; of part of Aragon, particularly of the cave of 
 Moniesinos ; of the lakes of Ruidera, and other numerous 
 places referred to in the story. These he has fully explained 
 so as to throw considerably more light upon the entire 
 work, and to add immeasurably to the reader's delight in 
 perusing it. The type is also clear and good ; the designs 
 by Paret, Camaron, N avarro, and Jimeno, are very appro- 
 priate; the subjects are well selected and varied, and 
 engraved in a fair style by Moreno Tejada at Madrid, and 
 by P. Duflos at Paris. Taken as a whole this edition 
 is one of the few which bore out the high reputation and 
 merited the popular circulation which it obtained, and it 
 
352 APPENDIX. 
 
 maintains its rank among the best that have ever ap- 
 peared. 
 
 Thirty-seventh edition. Newly corrected, with new 
 notes, new vignettes, and a new analysis ; also with the 
 life of the author newly augmented : by D. Juan Antonio 
 Pellicer, &c., from tlie press of D. Gabriel de Sancha, 9 
 vols., 12mo, completed in 1800, Madrid. This edition is 
 conformable in every respect to the preceding one with 
 the exception of the form; the number of volumes being 
 considered more convenient and portable, and the small 
 editions continuing still to increase with the increasing 
 popularity and reputation of the author. 
 
 Thirty-eighth edition. By Heinrich Frohlich. 6 vols., 
 large 8vo, Berlin, 1804-. Herr Luis Ideler, astronomer of 
 the Royal Academy of Sciences at Berlin, proposed to illus- 
 trate this work in its original language, and dedicated it to 
 Frederick Augustus Wolf, professor of poetry and eloquence 
 in the University of Halle. In order to give the most correct 
 text and to promote a knowledge of the original, as well 
 as a relish for its perusal, he selected the above edition of 
 Pellicer ; he also introduced his " Life of Cervantes" as well 
 as his preliminary discourse. He appropriated his notes, 
 omitting, however, such as he conceived were least interest- 
 ing ; incorporated several observations by Dr. Bowie, and 
 explanations of doubtful expressions and of proverbs ; and 
 in these he availed himself of the academical dictionary 
 and the assistance of several Spanish residents at Berlin, 
 insomuch that he was enabled to assert in the Castilian 
 tongue, " that he had made a new commentary written 
 wholly in the Spanish tongue, although he had never visited 
 the country, and had acquired that fine language by means 
 only of books." To render this edition less costly he left out 
 the engravings altogether ; retaining simply the portrait of 
 
APPENDIX. 353 
 
 Cervantes from the burin of II. Lips. The first four 
 volumes contain the text, the fifth the Life of Cervantes, 
 preliminary discourse, and notes to Parti. ; the sixth con- 
 tains notes of Part II. The entire edition is extremely 
 valuable, not less for its literary illustrations than for its 
 typographical merit. 
 
 Thirty-ninth edition. From the press of Juan Pinard. 4 
 vols., small 8vo, Bordeaux, 1804. This edition, at once 
 beautiful and correct, is taken, word for word, from that of 
 the Royal Academy of Madrid, 1797, even to the adver- 
 tisement of the editors, and the notice of the life of Cer- 
 vantes, written by I). Manuel Quintana. 
 
 Fortieth edition. Life and Exploits of the ingenious 
 Knight, Don Quixote de la Mancha. From the press of 
 Vega. 6 vols., 8vo, Madrid, 1804. Here again appears 
 the ill- in vented dedication to Don Quixote, by his chroni- 
 cler ; also the Life written by Rios, but sadly mutilated, 
 and without the introduction and the proofs. 
 
 From this it is evident how far mere book-selling spe- 
 culations, got up without due care and discernment, are 
 instrumental in corrupting and defacing the ablest produc- 
 tions of the human intellect, even with the advantage of 
 possessing the best models. 
 
 Forty-first edition. By the widow of Barco Lopez. 4 
 vols. 8vo, Madrid, 1808. 
 
 Forty-second edition. El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote 
 de La Mancha. 4 vols., 18mo, London, 1808. 
 
 Forty-third edition. A new edition, uniform with that 
 of the Royal Academy of Madrid, in 1 782. 6 vols., by 
 Bossange and Masson, Paris ; and in 7 vols. 8vo. London, 
 1814. This edition is embellished with beautiful plates, and 
 was prepared under the direction of Joseph Reno Masson : 
 it contains the "Life of Cervantes," the analysis of Don 
 
 A A 
 
354 APPENDIX. 
 
 Quixote, a chronological account and plan of his travels 
 written by Rios ; and the notes of Peliicer, ice. 
 
 To these forty-three editions of the en tire work, besides 
 those of the first Part up to the year 1814, in the original 
 language, might here be added the numerous valuable ones 
 since published iuGermany, inEngland, and in France, with 
 the numerous lives and commentaries upon the writings 
 of Cervantes; the mere enumeration of which would involve 
 an almost endless task. Among the different translations, 
 not included in these editions, eleven were made in Eng- 
 land alone, eight in France, and the others in Portugal, 
 Italy, Germany, and Holland. The fine old version of 
 Shelton, and that of Motteux, more recently edited, with 
 a very able dissertation upon the writings of Cervantes by 
 Mr. Lockhart, are deservedly the most esteemed. In the 
 year 1654, Sir Edmund Gayton produced a folio volume, 
 entitled rather oddly, we should now consider it, for a 
 folio " Pleasant Notes upon Don Quixote;" but they are 
 often rather heavy than humorous, and, in the opinion of 
 Peliicer, are useless with regard to throwing any light upon 
 the work. They contain a few amusing allusions to con- 
 temporary writers, strictures upon the catholic church, and 
 references to the events of the day, but are very deficient 
 when touching upon matters appertaining to Spain. 
 
 The translation by Philips in one volume folio, also in 
 1687, is rather a paraphrase, but written in a lively spirit, 
 with much ease, and some native grace and humour his 
 design being avowedly only to inform, by diverting his 
 readers. His burlesque preface forms a pleasant specimen 
 of his style. 
 
 Another singular method of misrepresenting the original 
 was adopted in a poem entitled "Don Quixote in Verse, by 
 
APPENDIX. 355 
 
 Ned Ward ;" or, Ward's Don Quixote in Hudibrastic 
 Verse, in the style of Hudibras, by Ward, 2 vols., 8vo, 
 1711. Then followed other commentators or translators, 
 with a rapidity which showed how much more highly 
 Cervantes was esteemed in England than in any other coun- 
 try of Europe; and we meet with the names of Collyer, 
 Ozell, Durfey, Jarvis, Motteux, Smollett, Wilmot, Bowie, 
 all engaged nearly at the same period in supplying the 
 public demand for new and more portable, as well as popu- 
 lar editions, of the favourite novelist of all days. 
 
 One of the most able and indefatigable of these com- 
 mentators, Dr. Bowie, addressed a letter to Dr. Percy, 
 relative to Don Quixote, (1 vol., 4to, London, 1777) 
 which had the effect of exciting the attention of the public, 
 and diffusing a more general appreciation of the character 
 of the author and a more correct taste as regarded his works. 
 Inspired by the enthusiasm and admiration thus generally 
 evinced, several writers of superior talent about this period 
 adopted Cervantes for their model, in those works of ima- 
 gination, or mingled wit and satire, then so much re- 
 lished by the English aiistocracy and by the court. At 
 the head of all these, "facile princeps suorum," stood 
 Butler, whose rare genius and fertile invention placed him 
 the nearest upon an equality with his admirable original, 
 insomuch, that it is observed by one of our most judicious 
 critics, that " Hudibras is the Don Quixote of the English ;" 
 to which testimony we may add that of Pope, Arbuthnot, 
 and Swift; that of the ingenious author of the "Spiritual 
 Quixote," besides numerous other authorities of the same 
 class, even so far as to make it a question whether we should 
 ever have possessed the works of Fielding and Smollett, and 
 those of their successors of the present day, so universally 
 popular, had the Don Quixote of Cervantes never been 
 A A2 
 
356 APPENDIX. 
 
 written, or never esteemed by us as it deserved. Without 
 the reform which it wrought in public taste, we might have 
 lingered under the spell of chivalry, and false sentiment, 
 for a much longer period, if not to this very time. 
 
 Among others who assisted in diffusing a more just 
 taste was Lady Harriet Kiernan, who obtained the prize 
 offered by the Royal Irish Academy, for her "Dissertation 
 upon the influence of historical fictions on the customs 
 and habits of the moderns." 
 
 CERVANTES A MEMBER OF THE ACADEMY CALLED 
 " SI.LVAGE." 
 
 The licentiate Pedro Soto de Kojas has left us the fol- 
 lowing singular account of this literary society in his work 
 entitled Ueaengano de Amor, published at Madrid in 1623: 
 "In the year 1612 there was first opened in Madrid the 
 Academia Selvage, so called from the assembly of its 
 members in the house of Don Francisco de Silva, that lucid 
 wit, that generous spirit, inherent qualities of the house 
 of Pastrana, the ornament of the muses, of Mars the 
 more splendid trophy, and who only for the sake of 
 honour courted Bellona in many a hard-fought field. In 
 its formation he was assisted by the greatest geniuses of 
 Spain, who at this period adorned the court of Madrid ; 
 and among others that most prolific, abundant, always 
 overflowing, and ever versatile wit, Lope de Vega Carpio. 
 They bestowed upon it the name of El Ardlente ; and they 
 opened their first session with the discourse which I 
 proceed to give in prose." 
 
 The licentiate in fact opens his book with the Prelimi- 
 nary Discourse upon the poetic art and composition, on 
 the opening of the Academia Selvage por El Ardicntc ; 
 and Lope de Vega, in the eulogium which he bestows 
 upon the author, has also observed : " It will be twelve 
 
APPENDIX. 357 
 
 years since he strung together these verses, and as long 
 since I treasured them up, with the hope to do honour to, 
 and increase the abundance of our language with varied 
 locutions and phrases, and to delight and profit our best 
 wits with so much beauty and such variety of conceits. 
 In our own Academy we called him El Ardicnte, a 
 name which the prince of Portuguese poets, famous Luis 
 de Camoens, also took unto himself when he exclaims: 
 
 ' Evas Tagides iniiihas, pois ciiudo 
 It-tides en uii hum novo engenho Ardente.' 
 
 And well did a title like this express his genius, for in 
 the language of old Rome ardiinte was inyeninso, and in 
 the words of Cicero to Celius, ardor mentis ad glorinm. 
 In that vein was composed the Discourse of the poetical 
 and perfect measure of the Castilian verse, and which 
 emulates Tasso himself, in the oration which he made 
 before the Academy of Ferrara." 
 
 It would appear that, previous to the formation of this 
 Academy, but towards the commencement of the same 
 century, another had been opened at Madrid, under less 
 favourable auspices, inasmuch as after a few sessions, 
 owing to a want of good understanding, and the irri- 
 table disposition of a few of the members, it was wholly 
 discontinued. Christobal de Mesa, in one of his letters 
 printed at the end of the poem entitled El Patron de Es- 
 pana, alludes to it ; and at the same time complains of the 
 lamentable neglect shown by the great and titled towards 
 the noblest spirits and the best wits of a country so fertile in 
 every branch of literature and the arts. 
 
 HOUSES IN WHICH CERVANTES LIVED DURING HIS RESI- 
 DENCE AT MADRID. 
 
 It has been proved from the documents published by 
 Pellicer, that on the 8th of June, 1609, Cervantes was 
 
358 APPENDIX. 
 
 living en la calle de la Magdalena a Ins cspaldas de hi Du- 
 quesa dp Pastrana, in the street of the Magdalen, behind la 
 Duquesa de Pastrana. Shortly afterwards he is found a 
 /? espaldns de Elorito, behind the college of Our Lady of 
 Loretto ; on the 9th of October he was again in the street 
 of La Magdalena, in front of Francisco Daza, a coach- 
 maker; on the 27th of June, 1610, he had removed into 
 the Calle de Leon, in front of Castillo, baker to the court, 
 and to the house which, according to Pellicer, (p. 1 98) 
 was that of number 9, (lodge 226); and in the year 1614 
 he was in the street called de las Hiiertas, in front of the 
 buildings where El principe de Alarmecos had his resi- 
 dence at that .period ; a circumstance which appeared from 
 the address of a letter, of which mention is made in the 
 Adjunta nl Parnano. That he also resided in the street of 
 the Duquede Alba, not far from that of the Estudio de San 
 Inidro, is equally clear from what is termed I'd Proceso de 
 Desahucio, known to be in the office Don Juan Antonio 
 Zamacola. Pellicer also discovered the house in which 
 Cervantes died in la calle de Leon, \\hich belonged to an 
 ecclesiastic, Don Francisco Martinez Marcilla, and that 
 this house was situated in the corner of the calle de 
 Fro'icos, where the entrance now is, and which is num- 
 bered 20. 
 
 CERVANTES A MEMBER OF SEVERAL PIOUS FOUNDA- 
 TIONS. 
 
 ( 26 ) The religious wars which raged so fiercely both in 
 England and France, from the middle of the 16th cen- 
 tury, and which produced so many disastrous conse- 
 quences in those countries, were never heard of in Spain. 
 There a supreme Catholic church exercised an absolute 
 power, wielding in its right hand the terrors of the 
 Inquisition, to which the kings themselves being in part 
 
APPENDIX. 359 
 
 subservient, became instrumental in the preservation of 
 religious peace, and the promotion of institutions often 
 useful under the existing state of things. There were 
 some of them of that class consisting of congregations, 
 such as have continued up to the present time in Madrid, 
 in the chapel of El Cavallero de Graciu and in that of la 
 Calle del Olivar, or de Canizares, the members of which 
 assumed, as a stigma upon the impiety and pride of the 
 heretics, the appellation of Indignos A'sclacos del sanlissinio 
 Sacramento. The first was founded in the church of the 
 Franciscan nuns with the same name, by that venerable 
 ecclesiastic, Jacobo de Gracia, Cabellero de habito di 
 Christo. It was afterwards transferred to the said chapel ; 
 it received the approbation of the Cardinal Archbishop of 
 Toledo, the friend and patron of Cervantes D. Bernardo 
 de Sandoval y Rojas the 13th November, 1609, and its 
 institutions were likewise confirmed by the supreme Pon- 
 tiffs, Paul V. and Urban VIII. From its foundation it 
 was fostered and encouraged by kings, popes, and pre- 
 lates, who all entered their names as members; among 
 others were Philip III., his consort, Paul V., and many 
 more, both lay and clerical, of the highest rank and 
 reputation throughout Europe. In the list of eminent 
 Spaniards occurs the name of Lope de Vega ; and though 
 there exists no document, there appears every reason to 
 conclude, from the interest Cervantes took in its prosperity, 
 and in similar institutions, especially towards the close of 
 his life, that he belonged to it in common with his most 
 distinguished contemporaries. 
 
 The foundation of that of the chapel of la Calle de 
 Olivar was laid in 1608; it receded the support of the 
 court, the chief men in the country, and it was subse- 
 quently placed under the protection of the Duque de 
 Lerma, and next of the Cardinal Archbishop of Toledo. 
 
360 APPENDIX. 
 
 Besides the names of ecclesiastics, it contained those of 
 the first literary men and celebrated artists of the times. 
 The name of Cervantes is found second in the list at foliol'2, 
 and his entry into the society is expressed in the following 
 terms : " Miguel de Cervantes was received into this holy 
 brotherhood as a slave (por esclavo) of the most holy 
 Sacrament; and he vowed that he would guard its holy 
 institutes, as ratified by him at Madrid, on the 17th 
 day of April, 1609. Esclavo del Santissimo Sacramento. 
 (Signed) MIGUKL DE CERVANTES." His name occurs in 
 other societies of the same kind. 
 
 JOURNEY TO ESQUIVIAS. 
 
 ( c ") We shall not apologise to the reader for repeating 
 this interesting anecdote, so characteristic of the genius 
 and disposition of Cervantes under such interesting cir- 
 cumstances, in full and in his own words, taken literally 
 from the preface to the Labours of Peniles and Siffumunda, 
 as published by the author's widow after his death. 
 
 " It happened afterwards, dear reader, that as two of 
 my friends and myself were coming from Esquivias, a 
 place famous for twenty reasons, more especially for its 
 illustrious families and for its excellent wines, I heard a 
 man coming behind us, whipping his nag with all his 
 might, and seemingly very desirous of overtaking us. 
 Presently he called out to us and begged us to stop, which 
 we did; and when he came up he turned out to be a 
 country student, dressed in brown, with spatterdashes and 
 round-toed shoes. He had a sword in a huge sheath, and 
 a band tied with tape. He had indeed but two tapes, so 
 that his band got out of its place, which he took great 
 pains to rectify. ' Doubtless,' said he, ' Senors, you are 
 in quest of some office or some prebend at the court of 
 my Lord of Toledo, or from the King, if I may judge 
 
APPENDIX. 361 
 
 from the celerity with which you get along; for in good 
 truth my ass has hitherto had the fame of a good trotter, 
 and yet he could not overtake you.' One of my compa- 
 nions answered, ' It is the stout steed of !?enor Miguel de 
 Cervantes that is the cause of it, for he is very quick in his 
 paces.' Scarcely had the student heard the name of Cer- 
 vantes, than, throwing himself off his ass, while his cloak- 
 bag tumbled on one side and his portmanteau on the other, 
 and his bands covered his face, he sprang towards me, 
 and, seizing me by the left hand, exclaimed, ' This, then, 
 is the famous one-handed author, the merriest of all 
 writers, the favourite of the Muses ! ' As for me, when I 
 heard him pouring forth all these praises, I thought my- 
 self obliged in politeness to answer him ; so, embracing 
 his neck, by which I contrived to pull off his bands alto- 
 gether, I said, ' I am, indeed, that Cervantes, Senor, but 
 not the favourite of the Muses, nor any other of those fine 
 things which you have said of me. I'ray, Sir, mount 
 your ass again, and let us converse together for the small 
 remainder of our journey.' The good student did as I 
 desired. We then drew bit, and proceeded at a more 
 moderate pace. As we rode on, we talked of my illness ; 
 but the student gave me little hope, saying, ' It is an 
 hydropsy, which all the water in the ocean, if you could 
 drink it, would not cure; you must drink less, Senor Cer- 
 vantes ; and not neglect to eat, for this alone can cure 
 you.' ' Many other people,' said I, ' have told me the 
 same thing; but it is impossible forme not to drink as if 
 I had been born for nothing but drinking. My life is 
 pretty nearly ended, and, to judge by the quickness of my 
 pulse, I cannot live longer than next Sunday. You have 
 made acquaintance with me at a very unfortunate time, 
 as I fear that I shall not live to show my gratitude to you 
 for your obliging conduct." 
 
362 APPENDIX. 
 
 " Such was our conversation when we arrived at the 
 bridge of Toledo, over which I was to pass, while he fol- 
 lowed another route by the bridge of Segovia. As to my 
 future history, I leave that to the care of fame. My 
 friends, no doubt, will be very anxious to narrate it ; and 
 1 shall have great pleasure in hearing it. I embraced him 
 anew, and repeated the offer of my services. He spurred 
 his ass, and left me as ill inclined to prosecute my journey 
 as he was well disposed to go on his : he had, however, sup- 
 plied my pen with ample materials for pleasantry. But all 
 times are not the same. Perhaps the day may yet arrive 
 when, taking up the thread which I am now compelled to 
 break, I may complete what is now wanting, and what 
 I fain would tell. But, adieu to gaiety, adieu to 
 humour, adieu, my pleasant friends ! I must now die, 
 and I wish for nothing better than speedily to see you 
 well contented in another world.'' 
 
 Such was the calm gaiety with which this admirable 
 man and Christian contemplated his approaching end ; 
 and, in the words of Sismondi, we may safely assert that 
 in this unaffected fortitude we recognise also " the soldier 
 who fought so valiantly at Lepanto, and who so firmly 
 supported his five years' captivity in Algiers.'' In fact, he 
 felt that in whatever situation he had been placed, he had 
 endeavoured to discharge his duty manfully to his God, to 
 his country, to society, and his friends. 
 
 PLACE OF BUniAL. 
 
 ( 2s ) In one of the registries for deceased persons, pre- 
 served in the parish of San Sebastian, in Madrid, is en- 
 tered the name of Cervantes, for which we have the au- 
 thority of Navarrete, Pellicer, and Rios. From this docu- 
 cument it appeared, that the body of Cervantes was ordered 
 
APPENDIX. 363 
 
 to be interred in the ground of the Trinitarian nuns; an 
 institution respecting which the historical accounts of the 
 city contain little or nothing which can be relied upon with 
 any degree of certainty. There are, indeed, as in most 
 cases of this kind, traditions which have been carefully 
 collected by the different biographers of Cervantes, and 
 from among which the judicious and indefatigable Navar- 
 rete lias extracted and combined every trace which tended 
 to throw further light upon a subject so strangely obscure. 
 Of the very extensive and minute inquiries into which he 
 entered, with most circumstantial and antiquarian care 
 and industry, we shall simply give the result still unsa- 
 tisfactory, but all that can now be snatched from the 
 oblivion in which the unhappy circumstances and spirit 
 of his age seemed to combine to bury the most interesting 
 details regarding one of the noblest and best sons of Spain. 
 At the period of the death of Cervantes, in 161 6, it is 
 believed that the Trinitarian nuns resided in the street of 
 the Ilumilladero, and that it was consequently there that 
 the order was given for his interment. Such, at least, was 
 the tradition which long prevailed in the convent; and, 
 from the circumstance of Dona Isabel, the daughter of 
 Cervantes, having joined that sisterhood, it is inferred 
 that, on their removal to the street of Cantarranas, in 
 1633, the remains cf her father were transferred with 
 those of the other relatives of the nuns, as was custo- 
 mary, to their new place of repose. Doa Catalina de 
 Salazar, the wife of Cervantes, who died on the 31st 
 October, 1626, was also interred in the convent of the 
 Trinitarian nuns, where, according to the existing obitu- 
 ary, she had founded a tneinoria, most probably some tri- 
 bute to the memory and virtues of her deceased consort. 
 It is farther stated, that this mcmona, as it is termed, had 
 
S64 APPENDIX. 
 
 for a long time past been disused ; and there is ho 
 authentic document of the community, which alludes in 
 any way to the actual interment either of the author or of 
 his consort. 
 
 "The misfortunes," says Navarrete, "which pursued 
 Cervantes during his. life, seemed to follow him even into 
 the tomb ; and to conceal the spot where he lay in the 
 silent seclusion of the cloisters. The same doubt and 
 uncertainty which attached to the circumstances of the 
 daughter, extended to the fate of the father ; the actual 
 spot where they repose must ever continue unknown ; but 
 the obscurity in which so interesting a fact remains in- 
 volved cannot, fortunately, diminish the lustre of that 
 fame which fills the world ; and it should rather act as an 
 inducement to his grateful countrymen to repair, as far as 
 may be, the injustice of fortune and of his contempora- 
 ries, by erecting to him a monument every way worthy 
 his genius, which is yet to be done." 
 
 THE PORTRAIT OF CERVANTES. 
 
 In a work called Las Grandezas de Enpana by M. Pedro 
 de Medina, and extended by Diego Perez de .Mesa, pub- 
 lished in 1 590, there is the following observation, when 
 treating upon the subject of Seville (fol. 122), "there 
 are now in this city a number of men distinguished for 
 their wisdom, and whose literary talents confer honour 
 upon the erudition and learning of our times." 
 
 Cervantes, at the time here described, was residing at 
 Seville already known by his Galatea, by his comedies, 
 and other compositions ; and it is a curious coincidence 
 that the painter and poet, Francisco Pacheco, who was 
 then also just beginning to make himself known by his 
 productions, had a house and studio not far from him, 
 
APPENDIX. 365 
 
 and which, according to Ilodrigo Caro, was frequented by 
 the most cultivated and able men who happened to have re- 
 sorted, nearly at the same period, to this agreeable city or its 
 environs. In his Arte de la Pintura (B. III. c. 8.) Pacheco 
 himself says, that " he had already taken more than one 
 hundred and seventy portraits, amongst which a hundred 
 consisted of men eminent in all the professions and not 
 a few of women ; that (according to Caro also) he was 
 accustomed to attach a eulogium to each of the portraits 
 of his celebrated men, and that he made a collection of 
 the whole, which he presented to the Duque deOlivarez." 
 It is clear from this statement, that Ortiz de Zuniga was 
 mistaken in his supposition, " that the book of his collection 
 contained only the most illustrious persons of Seville, and 
 that it was lost upon the death of its author." This appears 
 not to have been the case ; and a proof that Pacheco's 
 object was not limited only to the portraits of his own 
 townspeople, is shown by Medinilla in an advertisement 
 to the Jerusalem of Lope de Vega, printed in 1609. 
 " This eulogium," he observes, " having come into my 
 hands, taken from the book of portraits prepared by Fran- 
 cisco Pacheco in Seville of the most distinguished men of 
 the present age, I became desirous of communicating it 
 to the admirers of the writings of Lope." It would 
 accordingly appear that Pacheco took the likeness of 
 Cervantes, then residing near him, that he might not want 
 the honour, so well deserved, of a place in the artist's book 
 to say nothing of his being accustomed to take even 
 the portraits of those who were absent, by means of his 
 connexions with their relatives, from other sources. Such 
 at least was the opinion of the Spanish Academy, given in 
 the preface to the edition of Don Quixote in 1780, and it 
 was that also of numerous contemporary writers. If the 
 
360 APPENDIX. 
 
 original book, with the eulogies and sketches of the lives 
 of the persons represented had been preserved, many 
 doubts, both with regard to the portrait and to the inci- 
 dents of Cervantes's life, might, perhaps, have been cleared 
 up. In the case of its having, as asserted, been distributed 
 amongst different persons at the death of it* author and 
 collector, it may be presumed that some portions came 
 into the hands of those who then resided at Seville, and 
 that the portrait of Cervantes formed one of these porlions, 
 and is the identical one which appeared at the head of the 
 London edition of 1738 ; although it is there stated that it 
 was drawn by himself, meaning to say, from the account 
 given by him of his own physiognomy, of his person, and 
 appearance, which is also shown by the advertisement of 
 Dr. Oldfield, to the same edition, in which he declares 
 that notwithstanding all the efforts made to discover it, no 
 portrait of Cervantes had been found. Yet the author 
 himself assures us, in his preface to the novels, that his 
 portrait had been taken by Don Juan de Jauregui, a Sevil- 
 lian painter and poet of note. 
 
 Ignorant of the fate of both these portraits, and con- 
 sidering that attached to the edition of London as an ima- 
 ginary one, drawn from the author's own description of 
 himself, the Academy of Madrid left no means untried 
 to discover either one or the other, but without the least 
 success. At length having accidentally heard that there 
 was one known of at Seville, in the possession of the Conde 
 de Aguila, a request was made to the Count that a copy of 
 it mi^ht be taken, which met with a ready and cour- 
 teous assent. Upon comparing the copy with the portrait 
 affixed to the London edition, a remarkable resemblance 
 was found ; immediate inquiry was made as to the circum- 
 stances under which the Count had obtained possession of 
 
APPENDIX. 367 
 
 the original ; and he at once satisfied the academicians by 
 replying, that lie had purchased it from a picture dealer at 
 Madrid, who had sold it to him as the production of Alonzo 
 del Arco ; that the portrait was evidently not copied from 
 the engraving, and that, perhaps, the-London editors, who 
 had been very anxious to obtain an authentic one of Cer- 
 vantes, might be able to find a copy of his own at Madrid. 
 
 Disappointed and perplexed, the Academy at length hit 
 upon the expedient of engaging the directors of the Insti- 
 tution of Painting to examine the portrait and give their 
 joint report of it, which was accordingly done. Their 
 unanimous opinion, made known on the 10th of March, 
 1777, was, ' that the portrait was of a much older date; 
 that from the worn appearance of the canvas, and the 
 peculiarity of. the colours, it could not have been produced 
 in the eighteenth century ; that the style was of the schools 
 of Vincenzio Carducho and Eugenic Cajes, who flou- 
 rished during the reign of Philip IV. ; that it was not 
 original appeared from certain effects of the chiaroscuro, 
 which must have been borrowed ; that there were certain 
 retouches by another hand, and also defects in the design, 
 which led to the conclusion that it must have been copied 
 from some better and older painting, most probably exe- 
 cuted in the lifetime of Cervantes." (Navarrete, p. 533.) 
 
 From this portrait, however, the artists Carmona and 
 Selma engraved the several plates which appeared in 
 the earlier editions of the Academy ; and all those which 
 subsequently were affixed to the numerous editions in 
 Spain, France, England, Prussia, and elsewhere, were 
 merely repetitions of the same plate. The Academy, in 
 order to give greater exactness and propriety, as well as 
 effect, to their first engraving, confided it to the revi- 
 sion of the able and experienced Ametller, who, com- 
 
368 APPENDIX. 
 
 paring it with the original, and having the advantage of 
 all which had been previously done, formed from the 
 whole a new design, which he engraved with that spirit 
 which gives to the countenance of Cervantes much of what 
 we form an idea of from his own description, and, as far 
 as can be attained from such deficient materials, satisfies, 
 with no little judgment and discrimination, both the eye 
 and the mind. The artist has also added an ingenious alle- 
 gory, where in the lower part of the ground, surmounted by 
 Time, he introduces the head of Janus, with the triumphal 
 crown, on one side, for his victory over the old books of 
 chivalry, and on the other, with the symbol of Immortality, 
 which he supposes to be well merited by his works. The 
 words from Lucan to that purport are inserted below these 
 symbols, and apply very appropriately to the subject: 
 
 " Vivet et a nullo tenebris damnalntiir scvo." 
 One of the honorary members of the Royal Academy, 
 Don Fernando de la Serna, in his admiration at once of 
 the unrivalled author, and of the skill and judgment of his 
 delineator, dedicated the following distich to their joint 
 honour, and the successful labours of the society to which 
 he belonged : 
 
 " Itnmortalc decus formoc ars cffinxit in re : 
 Sed cupis ingenium noscere ? Scripta dabunt." 
 
 " Undying grace of form art gave to steel ; 
 His deathless wit and genius ? read and feel !" 
 
 DR. JOHN BOWLE. 
 
 ( 29 ) It was Dr. John Bowie who first made the happy 
 remark that the two loftiest geniuses of that grand epoch, 
 so fertile in illustrious characters Miguel de Cervantes 
 and William Shakspeare, both died upon the same day. 
 This is not, however, the fact ; for it appears that the bio- 
 
APPENDIX. 369 
 
 graphers of the English bard agreed in fixing the date of 
 his decease on the 23rd of April, 1616; and it must be 
 remembered that in England the Gregorian calendar was 
 not adopted till the year 1 754. Up to that period the cal- 
 culation of the English was behind that of the Spaniards 
 in regard to dates, as the Russian calendar is at this time 
 behind that of the rest of Europe. Shakspeare, therefore, 
 survived Cervantes the term of twelve days. 
 
 HIS DESCRIPTION OF HIMSELF. 
 
 Cervantes supposes, in his preface to the novels, that one 
 of his friends was going to engrave his portrait for the 
 frontispiece, and that the following inscription was to 
 accompany it : " Him whom you see here with an aqui- 
 line visage, chestnut hair, his forehead high and open, 
 with lively animated eyes, his nose curved though well 
 proportioned, a silver beard (though not twenty years ago 
 it was all golden), large moustaches, a small mouth, but few 
 teeth, and those so bad and ill-assorted, that they don't 
 care to preserve harmony with each other, a body neither 
 fat nor lean, neither tall nor short, a clear complexion, 
 rather light than brown, a little stooping in the shoulders 
 and not very light of foot ; that is the author of the 
 Galatea, and of Don Quixote de la Mancha, and of other 
 works which run through the streets as if they had lost 
 their way, and perhaps without the name of their 
 master." 
 
 He afterwards speaks of his left hand, which had been 
 maimed at the battle of Lepanto, and finishes his portrait 
 in these words : " He is commonly called Miguel de 
 Cervantes Saavedra ; and lastly, as this occasion has failed 
 me, and I may remain blank without cutting a figure, it 
 becomes necessary that I should make myself known by 
 
370 Al'PEXDIX. 
 
 my tongue, which, though lisping, will be at no loss to 
 say truths which can be well understood by signs." 
 
 Towards the close of his pleasing and elegant life of 
 Cervantes, prefixed to the new and magnificent Paris 
 edition of Don Quixote, M. Viardot observes, while re- 
 grettingthe scanty materials which have survived respecting 
 its author : " And this is all that we have been able to collect 
 respecting the history of that illustrious man, one of those 
 who paid with the misfortunes of an entire life the too 
 tardy honours of a posthumous fame. Born of an honour- 
 able family, though poor ; receiving at first a liberal edu- 
 cation ; subsequently thrown byhisnarrow circumstances 
 into petty service a page, chamberlain, a soldier ; maimed 
 at the battle of Lepanto ; distinguished at the siege of 
 Tunis; taken by a Barbary corsair; five years a captive 
 in the Baths of Algiers ; ransomed by a public charity 
 after vain efforts of courage and ingenuity ; once more a 
 soldier in Portugal and at the Azores; smitten with the 
 charms of a noble lady, poor as himself; carried back to 
 his favourite study of letters, and soon again separated from 
 them by distress; recompensed at last for all his services to 
 literature and to his country, by being made a small com- 
 missioner to the victualling department ; accused of mis- 
 appropriating the public money ; thrown into prison by the 
 agents of the king; liberated after having proved his 
 innocence ; again imprisoned by a mutinous rabble of 
 peasantry ; at length restored to freedom, and acting at 
 once as a public poet and agent; ob'iged to earn his bread 
 by petty business, and writing theatrical pieces in the 
 taste of the day ; not able to discover and embrace 
 his true vocation till after he was fifty years old ; 
 at a loss to find even a patron to whom to dedicate his 
 works; having to encounter a public which disdained to 
 
APPENDIX. 371 
 
 be amused, and was too ignorant either to appreciate or 
 comprehend him ; insulted by jealous rivals, who ridiculed 
 and defamed him ; betrayed by pretended and envious 
 friends ; brought before a tribunal of criminal justice in 
 his old age ; by many neglected and forgotten, and mis- 
 taken by all, and at last dying amidst solitude and priva- 
 tion : such, during his life, was the great Miguel de 
 Cervantes Saavedra. It is only after the lapse of two 
 centuries that the world has cared to inquire for the place 
 which gave him birth, and the spot which contains his 
 bones ; that the last house which he inhabited has been 
 distinguished by a marble medallion ; that a statue is 
 elevated to him in a public square, and that effacing the 
 name of some ' illustrious obscure,' there is written at 
 the corner of a little street in Madrid the great name 
 which fills the world." 
 
 The following observations, likewise, Avith which he 
 closes his notice of the life and the works of Cervantes, are 
 so excellent as applying to the wish of transferring a work 
 like Don Quixote into another language, that we shall 
 make no excuse for giving to them every additional pub- 
 licity which is in our power: " It only remains," observes 
 Monsieur Viardot, "that I should add a few words respect- 
 ing the manner in which I have comprehended and 
 considered my task. In my opinion, the translation of a 
 work deservedly celebrated, of one of those works which 
 belong less to any particular literature than to all hu- 
 manity, is not purely a matter of taste and has regard to 
 style merely, but is an affair of conscience, and I almost feel 
 inclined to add, of honesty. I believe that the translator 
 ought to feel it his strict duty to apply his incessant efforts, 
 not only to render the sense in all its truth, in all its vigour, 
 but even to reproduce the effect of each period, of each 
 
 B B 2 
 
372 APPENDIX. 
 
 phrase, and almost of each word. I conceive that while 
 strictly respecting the rules and the exigencies of his own 
 language, he is bound to adapt it to the forms of his 
 model, in the whole and in the detail, in order that we 
 may continually feel the force of the original in the copy. 
 Moreover, he ought to succeed not only in tracing, as it 
 has often been remarked, the etching of a picture, that is 
 to say, a mere uncoloured imitation, but to paint a second 
 time the picture with its general colour and its minutest pe- 
 culiar shades. I think as well that the translator ought to 
 reject, as the temptation of a guilty thought, nay, of a 
 robbery or sacrilege, all desire of suppressing the least 
 fragment of the text, or of adding the slightest thing upon 
 his own responsibility. In the words of Cervantes himself, 
 ' he ought to put out nothing, and to put in nothing.' 
 Lastly, I am of opinion that respect for his model ought 
 to be carried so far, that he should not permit himself to 
 correct a fault ; I do not mean faults of taste, of which he 
 is not a judge, but a material fault, a misstatement for a 
 fact. Let him point to it, indeed, but let him leave it as 
 he found it. The more salient defects, or the light 
 blemishes, which are met with in every important and 
 enduring work, whether they spring from the times or 
 from the writer himself, have always their sense and their 
 value. They belong, under different points of view, to the 
 historian, to the artist ; to the literary critic they serve as 
 a lesson almost equally with the beauties of the work. 
 Let them, therefore, be respected like them. 
 
 " Perhaps the greatest difficulty to be encountered in the 
 attainment of this complete reproduction of the original, 
 consists in the difference of idioms, or rather, I would say, 
 the difference which the times, the manners, the taste, 
 impress upon the two nations in two epochs. I have 
 
APPENDIX. 373 
 
 sometimes been compelled to hazard terms of expression, 
 and even entire expressions, which are no longer, perhaps, 
 generally current. They will be termed Spanicisms; a term 
 which would yet not justly apply to them. Our language 
 of the sixteenth century approached pretty nearly to that of 
 Spain, to which it was tributary at the same period, so as 
 to offer analogies and resources, which our language of the 
 nineteenth century, so completely emancipated, wholly 
 refused me. It would be proper then to accuse me only of 
 archaisms. In fact, I devoted myself but to one 
 study for the purpose of translating Cervantes ; it was to 
 read Montaigne." 
 
 CONTEMPORARIES OF CERVANTES. 
 
 BOSCAN, GARCILASO, JJENDOZA, MIRANDA, .MOXTEMAYOR, 
 HERRERA, POXCIi DE LEON, AND OTHERS.* 
 
 FOR a long period antecedent to the reign of Charles V., 
 and during his times, the splendid age of Cervantes and 
 his contemporaries, the Spanish nation, notwithstanding 
 its European influence and extensive conquests, had suf- 
 fered greatly in its efforts to preserve popular liberty 
 against the progress of political and religious despotism 
 a despotism which left no means untried to bury its 
 ancient rights in anarchy and darkness. Upwards of four 
 centuries the government acted on the destructive policy 
 of attempting to expel from their adopted country its most 
 industrious inhabitants, while it lavished the blood and 
 treasure of the people in the contests between the sove- 
 reigns of Castile and Aragon, of Navarre, or of Portugal ; 
 
 * Abridged from the works of Sismondi, Boutcrweck, Schlegel, 
 and the biographies of Rios, Pcllicer, and Navarrete. 
 
374 APPENDIX. 
 
 and in sanguinary struggles to extend the power of the 
 monarchy. A nation almost unknown, it may be said, 
 in Europe, from the period of its conquest by the Moors, 
 by its Eastern character and institutions, and which had 
 taken no part in European politics, became at length 
 united under one crown at the opening of the sixteenth 
 century. Spain then turned against other nations the 
 superabundant power so long employed in the struggles of 
 different states, and in throwing off the domination of the 
 Saracens. 
 
 But while she threatened the independence of the rest of 
 Europe, she forgot in the pride of her conquests, to preserve 
 her civil rights, and the privileges of her free cities, and 
 when she made the effort, it was too late ; betrayed by her 
 nobles, she was coerced by the monarch ; and the Inqui- 
 sition completed the work of both. Her native genius 
 and institutions sustained an entire change ; and at the 
 period when Europe was gazing with astonishment and 
 terror on this phenomenon, her literature, which she 
 formed in the schools of the vanquished nations, shone out 
 in its full brilliancy. 
 
 The power of the Spanish nation at the end of the fif- 
 teenth century had received accessions fully sufficient to 
 shake the equilibrium of Europe. Alfonso V., of Aragon, 
 after having completed the conquest of Naples, had, it is 
 true, left that kingdom to his natural son, and it was not 
 till 1304 that Ferdinand the Catholic, by the most revolt- 
 ing treachery, recovered those dominions. Sicily, Sar- 
 dinia, and the Balearic Isles, had been already united to 
 the crown of Aragon. The marriage of Ferdinand with 
 the queen of Castile, without consolidating the two mo- 
 narchies, gave that ambitious prince the command of all 
 the armies of Spain, of which he speedily availed himself 
 
APPKNDIX. 375 
 
 in Italy. Granada was conquered from the Moors in the 
 year 1492, by the united troops of Ferdinand and Isabella. 
 In the same year Christopher Columbus discovered 
 those vast countries, so remarkable for their riches and 
 for their happy situation, in which the Spaniards found a 
 new home, and from whence they drew treasures with 
 which they flattered themselves they should subdue the 
 world. In 151-2 Ferdinand, as regent of Castile, con- 
 quered Navarre, and the whole of that extensive peninsulas 
 with the exception of Portugal, yielded to the same power 
 When, in 1516, Charles V. added to this monarchy the 
 rich and industrious provinces of the Low Countries, his 
 paternal dominions, and in 1.519 the imperial crown, with 
 the territories inherited from Maximilian, in Austria, Hun- 
 gary and Bohemia, the novelty of this extraordinary 
 power, which so greatly exceeded the authority of any 
 European potentate since the reign of Charlemagne, Avas 
 certainly sufficient to turn the head of a youthful sovereign, 
 and to inspire him with the fatal project of founding a 
 universal monarchy. The reputation which Charles V. 
 acquired by his victories, the respect and fear with which 
 he impressed all the other nations of Europe, the glory of 
 the Spanish armies, which he triumphantly led into Italy, 
 France and Germany ; into countries whither the standard 
 of Castile had never penetrated ; all tended to deceive the 
 Spanish nation, and to inspire them with an enthusiastic 
 admiration of him whom they regarded as their hero, but 
 who was, in fact, studiously endeavouring to subvert their 
 laws and their constitution. The dreams of ambition in 
 which the king and the nation equally indulged, were fatal 
 to both. Charles V. in the midst of his victories, notwith- 
 standing the immense extent of his territories, was always, 
 relatively to his neighbours, weaker and poorer than 
 
376 APPENDIX. 
 
 Ferdinand and Isabella, his immediate predecessors. In 
 every enterprise he was deprived of the fruits which he 
 should have gathered, by the want of soldiers and of 
 money; a want unknown to the former monarchs. The 
 taxes collected from Italy, Spain, Flanders, and Germany, 
 with all the treasures of the new world, were not sufficient 
 to prevent his troops from disbanding for want of pay. 
 The prodigious levies which were perpetually making in 
 all the subject states, never enabled him to meet the enemy 
 with superior numbers in the open field ; and although he 
 had succeeded as heir to very large territories, and had 
 acquired others by election to the imperial crown, he did 
 not add a single province to his states by the sword, but 
 was on the contrary compelled to contract his hereditary 
 territories on the Turkish frontier. The Spanish nation, 
 the only one amongst the states subject to him which he 
 was enabled to preserve from foreign invasion, was, in his 
 minority, despoiled by cardinal Ximenes of a portion of its 
 privileges. Intoxicated by the victories of their sovereign, 
 they day by day surrendered more. 
 
 The brave knights who had been accustomed to fight 
 only for the interest of their country, and to make war in 
 such manner as it pleased them, now conceived it a point 
 of honour to display the most implicit obedience and 
 devotion. Perpetually combating in quarrels which they 
 little understood, and in which they had not the slightest 
 interest, they entirely reduced their duties to the obser- 
 vance of the most severe discipline. In the midst of 
 nations with whose language they were unacquainted, and 
 whom they regarded with contempt, they signalised them- 
 selves by their inflexibility and their cruelty. The first 
 of European soldiers, they united no other qualifications to 
 that character. To the enemy the Spanish infantry pre- 
 
APPENDIX. 377 
 
 sented a front of iron ; to the vanquished, an iron heart. 
 They were invariably selected for the execution of any 
 cruel project, from an assurance that no sympathies would 
 stay them in the performance of the most rigorous com- 
 mands. They conducted themselves in a ferocious 
 manner during the wars against the Protestants in 
 Germany, and they displayed equal cruelty towards the 
 Catholics in the sacking of Rome. At the same period the 
 soldiers of Cortez and Pizarro, in the new world, gave 
 proofs of a ferocity which has been the opprobrium of the 
 Castilians, but of which no instance is to be found in the 
 whole history of Spain before the reign of Ferdinand and 
 Isabella. Cruelty seemed to become the characteristic of 
 the Spanish soldiery, as duplicity of their chiefs. The 
 most celebrated men of this age sullied themselves with 
 acts of treachery unequalled in history. The "great captain" 
 Gonsalvo de Cordova, Piero Na-. arro, the duke de Toledo, 
 Antonio de Leva, and the most illustrious Castilians, who 
 served under Ferdinand the Catholic, and Charles V., made 
 light of their word, and even of the most sacred oaths. 
 So frequently are they accused of assassinating and poison- 
 ing their adversaries that, though we should suspend our 
 belief in each individual case, yet when we consider how 
 numerous the accusations are. they necessarily tarnish the 
 characters of these pretended heroes. At the same 
 period, the clergy gained power in proportion as morality 
 lost its influence. The Inquisition was established in 
 1478 in Castile, by the united authority of Ferdinand and 
 Isabella. It was armed with extraordinary powers, in 
 crdcr to repress the Moors ; against whom there was not 
 the slightest necessity for adopting such rigorous mea- 
 sures, even in the height of their power, and at this period 
 they had long ceased to be formidable. Juan de Torque- 
 
378 APPENDIX. 
 
 mada, a Dominican, the confessor of Isabella, whom he in- 
 duced before her marriage to take an oath, that if ever she 
 ascended the throne she would employ all her power in 
 persecuting heretics and infidels, was the first Grand In- 
 quisitor. In the space of fourteen years he summoned 
 before the holy tribunal a hundred thousand persons, and 
 condemned six thousand to the flames. 
 
 Ferdinand, who was the most crafty of kings, although 
 his zeal for the Inquisition had procured him the title of 
 "the Catholic," did not, in fact, take any interest in religion. 
 He would never have devoted himself so eagerly to the 
 establishment of the Inquisition, had he not regarded it as 
 a powerful political engine, by which he might be able to 
 terrify the nobles, and to reduce the people to dependence. 
 It was necessary that a generation should pass away before 
 the Spaniards should become inured to the sanguinary 
 proceedings of the Inquisition, and that infernal system 
 had hardly been firmly established. The revolting specta- 
 cles of the autos daf<i probably inspired the Spanish soldiery 
 with that singular ferocity for which they were remarkable 
 at this period, and which was once so foreign to their na- 
 tional character. The Jews, against whom the people were 
 much exasperated by jealousy of their commercial pros- 
 perity, were the first victims of the Inquisition. Though 
 they formed a large proportion of the population, they 
 were almost entirely extirpated. The Moors were next 
 abandoned to the fury of the holy tribunal. The severities 
 to which they were exposed drove them to resistance, and 
 their resistance drew upon them fresh sufferings. The 
 ancient ties which had formerly connected the two people 
 were broken, and a spirit of irreconcilable hatred sprang 
 up between them. The Inquisition never remitted its 
 labours until, having converted one portion of the Moors, 
 
APPENDIX. 379 
 
 devoted another to the faggot, and reduced still greater 
 nunibersto absoluteruin, Philip III. \vasatlastprevailedon 
 to expel from their country six hundred thousand of these 
 unfortunate beings, the relics of a numerous and powerful 
 nation. The Inquisition then turned its watchful eye 
 upon the Christians themselves, anxious that no error or 
 dissent in matters of faith should exist within the Spanish 
 territories. At the period of the Reformation, when the 
 intellect of all Europe was occupied with religious contro- 
 versies, the holy office succeeded in preventing the estab- 
 lishment in Spain of any of the Reformed opinions. All 
 who attempted to introduce them were no sooner dis- 
 covered, than they were committed to the flames. Terri- 
 fied by this example, the rest of the nation studiously 
 avoided all metaphysical questions and religious specula- 
 tions ; and with them they abandoned every intellectual 
 pursuit which might lead them into such frightful dangers 
 upon earth, while they exposed them, according to their 
 instructors, even to more fatal perils in another state of 
 existence. Thus, it appears, that the reign of Charles V., 
 notwithstanding the Haze of glory by which it is sur- 
 rounded, was no less destructive to Spain than to Italy. 
 The Spaniards were at once despoiled of their civil and 
 religious liberty, of their private and public virtues, of 
 humanity and good faith, of their commerce, of their 
 population, and of their agriculture. In return for these 
 losses they acquired a military reputation, and the hatred 
 of all nations amongst whom they carried their arms. But 
 it is not at the moment when a nation loses its political 
 libertythat theprogressof the intellect is stayed. Itrequires 
 the lapse of half a century before the spirit of literature 
 declines, or becomes extinct. Whilst Charles V. was 
 laying the foundation for the false wit, the tumid style, 
 
380 APPENDIX. 
 
 and the affectation which, with other defects, distinguished 
 Gongora and his school in the succeeding age, he produced 
 an entirely contrary effect upon his contemporaries. He 
 roused their enthusiasm by placing before their eyes their 
 national glory ; and he developed their genius, while by 
 the mixture of foreigners with Castilians, he matured 
 their taste. 
 
 After the union of Aragon and Castile, the superior im- 
 portance of the latter country induced the Spanish monarch 
 to transfer the seat of government to Madrid. The Cas- 
 tilian now began to be considered as the language of all 
 Spain. The Limousin or Provencal, which was still pre- 
 served in the legal proceedings of the Aragonese and the 
 common people, had been abandoned by authors and poets 
 for the language of the court. It was, however, from 
 amongst those who thus abandoned the native language of 
 Aragon for that of Castile, that an individual proceeded, 
 who, in the reign of Charles V., produced an entire revo- 
 lution in Castilian poetry. He had never become attached 
 by early association to the harmony of Castilian verse, and 
 he probably found the poetry of Italy more analogous to 
 the Provencal, to which he had been from his infancy 
 accustomed. He was, in fact, endowed with a graceful 
 delicacy of style and a richness of imagination which 
 enabled him to introduce a purer taste, and to give his 
 own personal feelings an ascendancy over those of a whole 
 nation. The name of this author was Juan Boscan Al- 
 mogaver ; he was born about the close of the 15th century, 
 and was of a noble family at Barcelona. He had served 
 in his youth, and afterwards devoted himself to travelling ; 
 but on his return to Spain in 1526, he became acquainted 
 at Granada with Andrea Navagero, then ambassador from 
 the Venetians to the Emperor ; and a celebrated poet and 
 
APPENDIX. 381 
 
 historian, who inspired him with the classical taste which 
 then reigned in Italy. His friend, Garcilaso de la Vega, 
 associated himself with him in the project for effecting a 
 reformation in Spanish poetry. Both of these writers 
 were distinguished by their correct and graceful style, and 
 both despised the accusations of their enemies, who re- 
 proached them with endeavouring to introduce into a 
 valiant nation the effeminate tastes of the people whom it 
 had subdued. They went so far as to overthrow all the 
 laws of Castilian versification, in order to introduce new 
 canons, founded upon a system diametrically opposite to 
 that which had hitherto prevailed. In this attempt they 
 succeeded. The ancient Castilian metre, consisting of 
 short lines, which was the true national measure, was always 
 composed of a long syllable preceding a short one. In 
 fact, four trochees succeeded one another. Boscan intro- 
 duced iambics instead of trochees, as in Italian ; and the 
 lines were thus composed of short syllables preceding long 
 lines. In the redondillias they seldom made use of more 
 than six or eight syllables, and in the verses dc Arte Mayor, 
 of twelve. Boscan abandoned both these forms, and 
 adopted the heroic Italian verse of five iambics or ten syl- 
 lables and the mute. When we remember that the greater 
 part of the ancient Spanish romances were never rhymed, 
 but merely terminated with assonants, and that in deter- 
 mining the verse, the ear was guided only by the quan- 
 tity, it is curious to see a nation consenting to the loss of 
 an harmonious metre in which they had always found 
 deh'ght, and adopting a measure directly contrary to that 
 which they had before employed. 
 
 Boscan, who was one of the instructors of the too cele- 
 brated duke of Alva, ended his days in a pleasant retreat, 
 in the bosom of his family and his friends. He died before 
 the year 1344. 
 
382 APPENDIX. 
 
 The first volume of Boscan's poems contains his youth- 
 ful compositions in the ancient Castilian taste. The second 
 consists of sonnets and songs in the Italian style. Although 
 in the latter poems we easily trace an imitation of Petrarch, 
 yet they exhibit much of the spirit of a Spaniard. Boscan 
 has happily caught the precision of Petrarch's language, 
 but he has rarely preserved the sweetness of his melody. 
 His colours are stronger and his warmth is more impas- 
 sioned, but it does not affect us so much as the deep and 
 sweet feeling of the Tusc;m poet. The perpetually recur- 
 ring conflicts between the reason and the passions, so 
 favourite a theme with the Spanish poets, fatigue us by 
 their monotony. The merit of lyrical poetry, more espe- 
 cially of sonnets, depends so much upon the expression 
 and the harmony of the language, that I have no hopes of 
 being able to give any idea of the charm of Boscan's 
 poetry to those who are not acquainted with the Spanish. 
 
 Indeed that precision of style, and that rare judgment 
 which constitute his chief merits, will, when compared 
 with the other Spanish poets, give his compositions an 
 air of studious refinement and affectation if they are judged 
 by their own rules of criticism. The third volume of 
 Boscan's poems consists of a translation or imitation of the 
 poems of Hero and Leander, usually attributed to Musseus. 
 The language is pure and elegant, the versification natural, 
 and the style of the narrative at once pleasing and noble. 
 In the same volume we find an elegy under the name of 
 C(tpituln,a.nd two epistles, one of which, addressed to Diego 
 de Mendoza, gives us a pleasing picture of the poet, enjoy- 
 ing in his country retreat, and in the bosom of his family, 
 the happiness of domestic life. We cannot conclude without 
 mentioning a fragment by Boscan in stanzas of eight lines 
 each, giving a description of the Kingdom of Love, which 
 
AIM'KNDIX. 3ft3 
 
 was probably designed to form part of an epic poem. The 
 verses are remarkable for the harmony of the style and for 
 their elegance of expression, which enable us to compre- 
 hend the praises which the Spaniards have bestowed upon 
 a writer whom they regard as their first classical poet. 
 But the ideas, the sentiments, and the thoughts, are all 
 that can be transferred from one language to another. 
 When the beauty of poetry consists merely in its harmony 
 and its colouring, it is in vain to hope that it can ever be 
 appreciated by foreigners. 
 
 Garcilaso de la Vega was born in 1 500, or, according to 
 others, 1 50:3, at Toledo, of a noble family. He was the 
 friend and rival of Boscan, the disciple of Petrarch and of 
 Virgil, and the man who contributed most towards the 
 introduction of the Italian taste into Spain. He was a 
 younger son of Garcilaso de la Vega, counsellor of state to 
 Ferdinand and Isabella, who, according to the romances 
 and the history of the wars of the Moors of Granada, dis- 
 played great bravery in single combat against a Moor on 
 the Vega or plain of Granada. In remembrance of this 
 act of heroism, Ferdinand bestowed upon his family the 
 surname of Vega. Although designed by nature for a 
 rural life, and although his poems invariably manifest the 
 benevolence and the extreme mildness of his character, his 
 brilliant but troubled life was passed amidst the turmoils 
 of a camp. In 152:) he was attached to a Spanish corps 
 which valiantly repulsed the Turks in Austria. A ro- 
 mantic adventure with one of the ladies of the court, in 
 which he was engaged at the instigation of one of his rela- 
 tions, drew upon him the displeasure of the Emperor. He 
 was banished to one of the islands of the Danube, where 
 he employed himself in the composition of some melan- 
 choly poems. In 1535 he accompanied Charles V. in his 
 
384 APPENDIX. 
 
 hazardous expedition against Tunis. He returned from 
 thence to Sicily and Naples, where he wrote several pas- 
 torals. In the following year, upon the invasion of Pro- 
 vence by Charles V., he had the command of veteran com- 
 panies of infantry. Being despatched by the Emperor to 
 attack a fortified town, he was the first to mount the 
 breach, where he was mortally wounded in the head. He 
 died a few weeks afterwards at Nice, whither he had been 
 conveyed in 1536. 
 
 The poems of this writer present few traces of his active 
 and troubled life. His delicacy, his sensibility, and his 
 imagination, remind us of Petrarch more than even the 
 works of Boscan. Unfortunately, he occasionally abandons 
 himself to that over-refinement and false wit, which the 
 Spaniards mistook for the language of passion. 
 
 Amongst the thirty sonnets which Garcilaso has left, 
 there are several in which we remark that sweetness of 
 language and that delicacy of expression which so com- 
 pletely captivate the ear, together with a mixture of sad- 
 ness and of love, of the fear and the desire of death, which 
 powerfully expresses the agitation of the soul. The trans- 
 lation of one of these sonnets of Garcilaso, although it 
 should give only a faint idea of his poetry, will afford a 
 picture of the singular nature of Castilian love ; a passion 
 which even in the fiercest warriors assumed so submissive 
 and languishing a character. 
 
 SONNET xx. 
 
 " If lamentation and complaint could rein 
 The course of rivers as they rolled along 
 And move on desert hills attired in song, 
 The savage forests ; if they could constrain 
 Fierce tigers and chill rocks to entertain 
 The sound, and with less urgency than mine 
 Lead tyrant Pluto and stern Proserpine, 
 
APPENDIX. 385 
 
 and subdued with magic of their strain. 
 AVliy will not my vexatious being spent 
 In misery and in tears to softness soothe 
 A bosom steeled ngainst me? with more rufch 
 An ear of rapt attemion should be lent 
 The voice of him that mourns himself for lost, 
 Than that which sorrowed for a forfeit ghost !" 
 
 But the most celebrated of Garcilaso's poems is that in 
 which he has given a model to the Spanish writers, which 
 has been imitated by numbers, who have never been able 
 to equal the original. This poem is the first of his three 
 eclogues. It was written at Naples, where he felt inspired 
 at once with the spirit of Virgil and of Sannazaro. Two 
 shepherds, Salicioand Nemoroso, meeting one another, mu- 
 tually express in verse the torments which they have suffer- 
 ed, the one from the infidelity, tire other from the death, of 
 his shepherdess. In the complaints of the former, there 
 is softness, delicacy, and submission, and in those of the 
 latter, a depth of grief; while in both we find a purity 
 of pastoral feeling which appears more remarkable when 
 we remember that the author was a warrior, destined a 
 few months afterwards to perish in battle. The shadow, 
 at all events, of a pastoral is capable of being preserved in 
 a translation ; whilst an ode or a sonnet is frequently 
 lost In order to produce its full effect, an eclogue has, 
 however, need of all the ornaments peculiar to that style 
 of composition. If it is deprived of even one of the 
 illusions with which it is invested, its defects become 
 visible, and we are struck with its insipid monotony. 
 The translation is injurious to the poet, even from its 
 apparent fidelity, which exposes the feebleness of the 
 composition whilst it suffers the charm to evaporate. On 
 the other hand, we should communicate a very vague 
 idea of the early poets of Spain did we only give the 
 
386 APPENDIX. 
 
 opinions of their critics without presenting a single exam- 
 ple of their own sentiments and thoughts. The following 
 are a few stanzas from this celebrated eclogue : 
 
 SALFCIO. 
 
 Through thee the silence of the shaded glen, 
 Through thee the horror of the lonely mountain, 
 Pleased me no less than the resort of men ; 
 The breeze, the summer wood, and lucid fountain, 
 The purple rose, white lily of the lake T 
 Were sweet for thy sweet sake ; 
 For thee the fragrant primrose, dropt with dew, 
 Was wished when first it blew. 
 Oh, how most strangely was I in all this 
 Myself deceiving ! Oh, the different part 
 That thou wert acting, covering with a kiss 
 Of seeming love the traitor in thy heart ! 
 This my severe misfortune long ago 
 Did the soothsaying raven, sailing by 
 On the black storm with hoarse sinister cry, 
 Clearly presage : in gentleness of woe 
 Flow forth, my tears ; 'tis meet that ye should flow ! 
 
 How oft when slumbering in the forest brown, 
 
 Deeming it fancy's mystical deceit, 
 
 Have I beheld my fate in dreams foreshown. 
 
 One day methought thut from the noontide heat, 
 
 I drove my flocks to drink of Tagns' flood, 
 
 And, under curtain of its bordering wood, 
 
 Beguile the sultry hours ! when lo ! the stream, 
 
 I know not by what magic, changed its track, 
 
 And in new channels by an unused way, 
 
 Roll'd its warped waters back ; 
 
 Whilst I, scorched, melting with the heat extreme, 
 
 Went ever following in their flight, astray, 
 
 The wizard waves : in gentleness of woe, 
 
 Flow forth, my tears ; 'tis meet that ye should flow ! 
 
 But though thou wilt not come for my sad sake, 
 Leave not the landscape thou hast held so dear ; 
 Thou rnay'st conic freely now without the fear 
 Of meeting me, for though my heart should break, 
 Where late forsaken, I will now forsake ; 
 
APPENDIX. 387 
 
 Conic, then, if this alone detains thee, here 
 
 Are meadows full of verdure, myrtles, bays. 
 
 Woodlands and lawns, and running waters clear, 
 
 Beloved in other days ; 
 
 To which, bedewed with many a bitter tear, 
 
 I sing my last of lays. 
 
 These scenes, perhaps, when I am far removed, 
 
 At ease thou wilt frequent 
 
 With him who rifled me of all I loved. 
 
 Enough, my strength is spent ; 
 
 And leaving thee in his desired embrace, 
 
 It is not much to leave him this sweet place. 
 
 NE.MOROSO. 
 
 As at the set of sun the shades extend, 
 And when its circle sinks, that dark obscure 
 Rises to shroud the world, on which attend 
 The images that set our hair on end ; 
 Silence and shapes mysterious as the grave : 
 Till the broad sun sheds once more from the wave 
 His lively lustre, beautiful and pure ; 
 Such forms oime with the night, and such ill gloom 
 At thy departure ; still tormenting fear 
 Haunts, and must haunt me, until death shall doom 
 Tlie so much wished for sun to re-appear 
 Of thine angelic face, my soul to cheer, 
 Resurgent from the tomb. 
 
 Poor lost Eliza ! of thy locks of gold 
 One treasured ringlet in white silk I keep 
 For ever at my heart, which, when unrolled, 
 Fresh grief and pity o'er my spirit creep, 
 And my insatiate eyes for hours untold, 
 O'er the dear pledge will like an infant weep : 
 With sighs more warm than fire, anon I dry 
 The tears from off it; number, one by one, 
 The radiant hairs, and with a love-knot tie : 
 Mine eyes, this duty done, 
 Give over weeping, and with slight relief, 
 I taste a short oblivion of my grief. 
 
 The two other eclogues of Garcilaso are regarded as 
 inferior to the first. They are all three of considerable 
 c c 2 
 
388 APPENDIX. 
 
 length. He has likewise written a few elegies, of which 
 one was composed at the foot of Mount Etna. His poems, 
 when collected, form only a single small volume; but, 
 such is the power of harmonious language, when accom- 
 panied by harmony of thought, that the few poems of 
 Garcilaso de la Vega have secured him an immortal repu- 
 tation, and gained him the first rank amongst the lyrical 
 and pastoral poets of his nation. 
 
 Don Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, the third of the 
 Spanish classical poets, was one of the celebrated politi- 
 cians and generals who shed fresh lustre on the brilliant 
 reign of Charles V. He acted a principal part in the im- 
 portant events of that period ; but the extreme sternness of 
 his character has left an unfavourable impression of him 
 on the minds of those who know him only in the pages 
 of history. He was born at Granada, about the beginning 
 of the 16th century, of an illustrious family. To the 
 study of the classics he united that of the Hebrew and 
 the Arabic tongues. Scholastic philosophy, theology, and 
 the civil law, likewise shared his attention. While still a 
 student at Salamanca, he wrote "The Life of Lazarillo de 
 Tormes," the first and pleasantest of those memoirs of 
 rogues for which the Spaniards have manife-ted a pecu- 
 liar taste. Being distinguished by Charles V., as a man 
 well qualified to be employed in the most important 
 transactions, he was appointed ambassador to Venice soon 
 after he had left the university. From thence he was 
 despatched to the Council of Trent, to protect the interests 
 of the Emperor, and his speech to this assembly, in the 
 year 13t5, excited the admiration of all Christendom. In 
 1547 he proceeded with the tille of ambassador to the 
 papal court, where he directed the movements of the im- 
 perial army throughout Italy ; endeavouring to ruin all 
 
APPENDIX. 389 
 
 who were attached to the French cause, or who preserved 
 any love for the ancient liberties of their country. He 
 was, at the same time, named Captain-General and Go- 
 vernor of Sienna. In concert with Cosmo tie Medici, he 
 succeeded in enslaving this last of the republics of the 
 Middle Ages, and with a sceptre of iron he crushed the 
 spirit of liberty which still animated the Tuscans. De- 
 tested by Paul III., whom he was directed to humble 
 even in his own court, hated by all the friends of liberty, 
 governing only by severity, and incessantly exposed to the 
 knives of assassins, he still retained his power till the 
 reign of Julius III., by whom he was appointed Gonfalo- 
 niere of the Church. It was not until the year 15,54 that 
 Charles V., yielding to the supplications of all his Italian 
 subjects, recalled to his court this detested minister. 
 During his residence in Italy, amidst the agitations of his 
 life and the severities of his government, he was still ac- 
 tively occupied in the encouragement of letters. Since 
 the time of Petrarch, no one had devoted himself with 
 equal ardour to the collection of Greek manuscripts ; while 
 he," at the same time, attempted to preserve from the inju- 
 ries of time those works of art which reflect such glory 
 upon antiquity. In furtherance of this design he caused 
 the convent of Mount Athos to be examined, making use 
 of the public character with which he was invested, and 
 employing the credit which he enjoyed, even at the court 
 of Soliman, to promote the interests of literature. Neither 
 his public duties, nor his studies, nor the ruggedness of 
 his character, preserved him from the influence of love. 
 During his stay at Rome, his gallantry and intrigues pro- 
 cured him almost as many enemies as his severity. After 
 the death of Charles V., in a dispute which he had at the 
 court of Philip II. with one of his rivals, the latter drew a 
 
'390 APPENDIX. 
 
 poniard ; but Mendoza, seizing his adversary, threw him 
 over a balcony into the street. We are not told whether 
 the consequences of the fall were fatal, but Mendoza was 
 committed to prison. During his imprisonment, the 
 aged minister employed himself in composing love-verses 
 and complaints : Redondilhas, estando preso par una pe?i- 
 dencia que tuvo en pa/ado. Being banished to Granada, 
 he was an attentive observer of the progress of the Moorish 
 revolt in the Alpuxarras, of which he afterwards wrote an 
 account ; a work esteemed one of the masterpieces of 
 Spanish history. He occupied himself during the rest of 
 his life in literary pursuits, and in translating and com- 
 menting upon a work of Aristotle. He died at Vallado- 
 lid in 1575. His library, which he bequeathed to the 
 king, forms one of the most valuable portions of the col- 
 lection of the Escurial. 
 
 The Spaniards have placed Mendoza only in the third 
 rank of their poets, Boscan and Garcilaso de la Vega occu- 
 pying the two first places; because, on a comparison 
 between him and these, they discover considerable harsh- 
 ness in his verses. Bouterwek, on the other hand, 
 considers his epistles to be equal to those of Horace. He 
 was the first to give perfect models of this kind of 
 composition to his countrymen. With the exception of 
 two, which are somewhat fatiguing love complaints, the 
 rest are all didactic, and though full of philosophical 
 discussion, they are yet written in a neat and easy style. 
 The happy mixture of opinion and description preserves 
 them from the charge of monotony. Great correctness of 
 judgment, and a thorough knowledge of the world, form 
 the principal merit of the thoughts. In the epistle to 
 Boscan, he describes domestic life very delightfully. The 
 first verses contain a beautiful picture of the wife of 
 
APPENDIX. 391 
 
 Boscan. We are astonished to discern in the tyrant of 
 Sienna so much delicacy, and so much sensibility. Nor 
 are we less surprised at rinding this ferocious man enter- 
 taining in the midst of his ambitious career a wish for 
 retirement, and for the happiness and repose of domestic 
 life. In his epistle to Don Luis de Zufiiga, hfe thus 
 expresses himself: 
 
 "Another world I seek a resting place, 
 
 Sweet times and seasons, and a happy home, 
 Where I in peace may close my mortal race : 
 
 There shall no evil passions dare presume 
 To enter, turbulence, nor discontent ; 
 
 Love to my honoured king shall there find room, 
 And if to me his clemency be sent, 
 
 C Jiving me kindly wherewithal to live, 
 I will rejoice ; if not, will rest content. 
 
 My days shall pass all idly fugitive, 
 Careless my meals, and at no stated hour ; 
 
 My sleep and dreams such as content can give. 
 Then will I tell how in my days of power, 
 
 Into the East Spain's conqiiering flag I led, 
 All undismayed amid the fiery shower ; 
 
 While old and young around me throng in dread, 
 Fair dames and idle monks, a coward race, 
 
 And tremble while they hear of foes that fled. 
 And haply some ambassador may grace 
 
 My humble roof, resting upon his way ; 
 His route and many dangers he will trace 
 
 Upon my frugal board, and much will say 
 Of many val-ant deeds ; but he'll conceal 
 
 His secret purpose from the light of day ; 
 To mortal none that object he'll reveal ; 
 
 His secret mission you shall never find, 
 Though you should search his heart with pointed steel." 
 
 The sonnets of Mendoaa are deficient in the grace and 
 harmony which form the charm of Boscan's style. In all 
 of them, however, the language is noble and correct. The 
 following is a very characteristic specimen, as it exhibits 
 the national taste, and the prevailing spirit of gallantry, 
 
392 APPENDIX. 
 
 together with some traces of those troubled scenes through 
 which the author had passed : 
 
 " Now, by the muses won, I seize my lyre ; 
 
 Now, roused by valour's stern and manly call, 
 I grasp my flaming sword in storm and fire, 
 
 'To plant our banner on some hostile wall. 
 Now sink my wearied limbs to silent rest, 
 
 And now I wake and watch the lonely night ; 
 But thy fair form is on my heart imprest 
 
 Through every change, a vision of delight! 
 Where'er the glorious planet sheds his beams, 
 
 Whatever land his golden orb illumes, 
 Thy memory ever haunts my blissful dreams, 
 
 And a delightful Ivlen round me blooms: 
 Fresh radiance clolhes the earth, the sea and skies, 
 To mark the day that gave thee to mine eyes." 
 
 The canzoni partake of the same character. They are 
 blamed for their obscurity ; a common defect in Spanish 
 poetry, arising from the too great study bestowed by the 
 writer. Mendoza did not confine himself to compositions 
 on the Italian model. The ancient Castilian style attracted 
 his attention, and he endeavoured to carry it to a higher 
 state of perfection. His Redondilhas, in little stanzas of 
 four verses; his Quintillas, in stanzas of five verses ; and 
 his Villiincicos, are more finished than those of the ancient 
 school, while they are, at the same time, more suited to 
 his genius than the poems which he has written in the 
 Italian metre. He left many satirical poems, under bur- 
 lesque names, but the Inquisition forbade them to be 
 printed. 
 
 Mendoza, however, acquired a higher reputation by his 
 prose compositions, which form an epoch in the history of 
 Spanish literature. The comic romance of Lazarillo di: 
 Tormes, the first of its kind, has been translated into all 
 languages, and read in every nation of Europe. It was 
 
APPENDIX. 393 
 
 corrected and enlarged by the addition of a second part 
 by a writer named De Luna, who is otherwise unknown ; 
 and it is in this altered form that it is now known to the 
 public. The wit of every nation has in it something 
 peculiar, and in Lazarillo de Tonnes we find the genuine 
 Spanish vein. It seems that the grave dignity of the 
 Castilians would not permit persons of rank to be made 
 subjects of laughter, and the romance writers, therefore, 
 chose for their heroes persons insensible to all shame. The 
 humour of these works consisted in contrasting all kinds of 
 ignoble vices with the reserve and dignity of the national 
 manners. Lazarillode Tormes is an unfortunate youth, 
 who was 1'orn in the bed of a torrent, was educated by 
 the mistress of a negro, and who afterwards became the 
 guide of a blind beggar. He recounts ah 1 the tricks and 
 thefts of which he was guilty, until he arrived at the high 
 honour of espousing the housekeeper of a clergyman. It 
 is surprising to find Mendoza, still a student at Salamanca, 
 so early and so well acquainted with the vices and manners 
 of the lower orders, and painting beggars and rogues with 
 all the liveliness and satirical power which Fielding only 
 acquired by long experience of the world. The description 
 of Castilian manners which Lazarillo gives us, is highly 
 curious from the period at which it was written. It must 
 be dated about the year 1520, towards the commencement 
 of the reign of Charles V., before the wars in which 
 that monarch engaged, or the mania of emigrating to 
 America, had impoverished Castile and changed its ancient 
 manners, and before that proud parsimony, that stateliness 
 united to extreme poverty, and that spirit of idleness 
 which distinguish the Castilians from the Aragonese and 
 the Catalonians, had deprived Castile of its agriculture, 
 its manufactures, and its commerce. Lazarillo is perpetu- 
 
394 APPENDIX. 
 
 ally tormented with hunger, and never receives from his 
 master a sufficiency even of dry bread to satisfy his craving 
 appetite. He is even impelled to employ a thousand 
 artifices to break off the corners of the loaves, and he then 
 persuades his master that the rats have done the mischief. 
 At length he enters the service of a noble squire, who 
 passes a portion of the day at church, and the remain- 
 der in lounging, arranging his mustachios, and striking 
 his sword against the pavement. Dinner-time, however, 
 never arrives in this gentleman's establishment; and 
 Lazarillo is compelled to support his master by the bread 
 which he has stolen in the streets. He next becomes 
 gentleman usher to seven ladies at once. The wives of 
 the baker, the shoemaker, the tailor, the mason, &c. are 
 ashamed of walking the streets and going to mass without 
 an attendant to follow them in respectful style, with a 
 sword by his side. As none of these ladies are able alone 
 to support such an establishment, they arrange the matter 
 amongst themselves, and Lazarillo, by turns, attends upon 
 them all. Other scenes no less amusing follow, all 
 exhibiting the national failings of the Castilians, who are 
 often ashamed of their actual condition, and desirous of 
 appearing what they are not, haughtily preferring inde- 
 pendence and misery, to the degradation of labour. 
 
 Numberless romances have been written in imitation of 
 " Lazarillo de Tormes." This style of writing has been 
 called by the Spaniards El Gusto Picarcscn ; and if we 
 may believe them, no beggars of any country ever equalled 
 theirs in artifice, roguery, and subordination to their own 
 private police, which always acts in opposition to that of 
 society. The romances of Guzman d' Alfarache and of 
 Picara Justina, together with many others, have been 
 translated into all languages, and were the models of Gil 
 
APPENDIX. 395 
 
 Bias. The father of this large family possessed, without 
 doubt, a rich fund of comic talent, since he has found so 
 many imitators. In him we may remark qualities in 
 which his successors have been unable to equal him : a 
 soundness of intellect, a just and solid judgment, together 
 with those profound views of society which indicated that 
 Mendoza was destined for a statesman. Lazariflo de 
 Tormest is the last Spanish work in which the Inquisition 
 is attacked as odious and ridiculous. -The Holy Office 
 afterwards acquired the art of making even those whom it 
 was destroying, commend its proceedings. The second 
 work in prose by Mendoza, which was written in his old 
 age, and after he had retired from public life, The His- 
 tory of the War of Granada, has conferred upon him more 
 real fame. Taking Sallust and Tacitus alternately as his 
 models, he may be said to have assumed a station near 
 those colossal authors of antiquity. His style, which is 
 exceedingly elegant, may perhaps occasionally betray the 
 study of the writer ; but the simplicity of the narrative is 
 the more remarkable, inasmuch as the art of presenting 
 the subject to the eye of the reader, and of interesting his 
 feelings, appears almost to be carried to perfection. The 
 statesman appears in almost every page. We immedi- 
 ately perceive that Mendoza was fully aware of the error 
 of Philip, who, by his extreme severity, drove the Moors 
 into rebellion. He does not, indeed, pronounce any direct 
 opinion, but the reader easily collects it ; and so sensible 
 of this was the Spanish government, that the work was. 
 not permitted to be printed till the year 1610, thirty-five 
 years after the death of the author, and then not without 
 great alterations. The edition of 1776 alone is complete. 
 
 The revolt of the Moors of Granada, the subject of this 
 history, broke out in the. year 1568, in consequence of the 
 
396 APPENDIX. 
 
 cruelties and fanaticism of Philip II. In the preceding 
 reigri the public exercise of their religion had been inter- 
 dicted; and they had been compelled, under pain of 
 death, to make an external profession of Christianity. A 
 fragment from Mendoza respecting the fresh rigours of 
 Philip, will enable us to estimate at once the style of the 
 historian, and the policy of the Spanish court. " The In- 
 quisition," says he, "now began to torment them more than 
 had been usual. The king ordered them to abandon the 
 use of the Moorish tongue, and with it all commerce and 
 communication among themselves. He deprived them of 
 their negro slaves whom they treated with the same ten- 
 derness as their own children. He compelled them to 
 throw aside their Arabian attire, in the purchase of which 
 they had spent considerable sums, constraining them to 
 adopt the Castilian dress at a great expense. He forced 
 the women to walk abroad with their faces unveiled, and 
 compelled them to open all their houses which they had 
 been accustomed to keep closed, both which commands 
 appeared an intolerable violence to this jealous nation. It 
 was announced to them also, that the king was desirous of 
 taking from them their children, in order that they might 
 be educated in Castile. They were interdicted from the 
 use of their baths, which were at once necessary and 
 delightful to them; and at the -same time their music, 
 their songs, and their festivals, all their usual amusements, 
 all their cheerful assemblies, were forbidden. All these 
 new orders were promulgated without any addition to the 
 guards, without despatching any fresh troops, and without 
 any reinforcement of the old, or establishment of new 
 garrisons." 
 
 The Moors soon began to collect arms and ammunition 
 in the rude mountains of the Alpuxarras. They chose as 
 
APPENDIX. 397 
 
 their king the young Fernando de Valor, a descendant of 
 their ancient sovereigns, who assumed the name of Aben- 
 Humega. Granada was too strong to be surprised ; and 
 they had received only very insufficient succours from 
 the Turkish emperor, Selim. Notwithstanding their 
 weakness, they defended themselves for eight months in 
 the mountains with unconquerable valour, against a 
 numerous army commanded by Don John of Austria. 
 The ferocity of the Spaniards displayed itself in a fright- 
 ful manner during this war; not only were prisoners with- 
 out number put to the sword, but the inhabitants of 
 whole villages in the plains, who had taken no part in the 
 insurrection, were massacred on suspicion of holding in- 
 telligence with the rebels. Aben-Humega and his succes- 
 sor, Aben-Boo, were both assassinated by Moors to whom 
 the Spaniards had promised indemnity at that price. The 
 rest of the inhabitants of the Alpuxarras were sold into 
 slavery; while those of the plains were dragged from their 
 homes, and driven in troops into the interior of Castile, 
 where they perished miserably. Philip, that he might act 
 with holy sanction in this affair, consulted a theologian on 
 the conduct which it behoved him to pursue with regard 
 to the Moors. The latter, whose name was Oradici, 
 answered that, " the more enemies he destroyed, the fewer 
 would remain." 
 
 The great reform which was wrought in the poetry of 
 Castile, by the example of the Italians, was not without 
 its partisans in Portugal. In this new school we must 
 grant the first rank to two Portuguese, San Miranda and 
 Montemayor, who distinguished themselves by their com- 
 positions in both languages. San Miranda, who was born 
 in 14 94, and died in 13.58, may be more especially claimed 
 by the Portuguese ; and in treating of the literature of that 
 
398 APPENDIX. 
 
 country, we shall again have occasion to mention him. In 
 Castilian he wrote only a few pastorals, which resemble 
 Theocritus much more than the pastorals of Garcilaso tie 
 la Vega. He was passionately attached to the country, 
 nor could he bear a residence elsewhere. It is evident 
 that he wrote without art, abandoning himself to his feel- 
 ings and despising the rules which separate one style of 
 composition from another. His pastorals, therefore, some- 
 times resemble the Italian canzoni, at others the Latin ode, 
 while they occasionally approach the epic. This mixture 
 of style has drawn down upon him the wrath of the critics, 
 and none of his eclogues are considered as models, though 
 in many of them may be found many beautiful specimens 
 of the various styles of composition. The following lines 
 from the first eclogue, appear to contain that melancholy 
 sensibility which constitutes the chief charm of the northern 
 poets, but which, with the exception of the Portuguese, is 
 seldom found in the writers of the south. 
 
 " Then fare dice well ! for on this earthly scene 
 The pleasures of to-day fly ere the morrow ; 
 And all is frail and fugitive, save sorrow ; 
 But in that region where thou sitt'st serene, 
 That vision vain shall meet thine eyes no more. 
 Which warred with tliee upon this mortal shore, 
 Burning that breast which now lies still and coU 
 What thy clear eyes behold, 
 Amid those regions bright, 
 Are not the vain shows of a false delight, 
 Such as erewhile thou knew'st in this dim bound 
 But such as aye shed peace and light aiound ; 
 While calm content thy bosom fills 
 Free from the ills 
 Which ever in these stranger realms are found." 
 
 George de Montemayor was born at Montemor, in Por- 
 tugal, about the year 1520. As his family was very ob- 
 scure, he translated into Castilian the name of the village 
 at which he was born, and he assumed it as his own. He 
 
APPENDIX. 399 
 
 had received no education, and served as a common soldier 
 in the Portuguese army. On account of his love of music 
 and his fine voice, he was attached to the chapel of the In- 
 fant Don Philip, afterwards Philip 1 1., during his progresses 
 through Italy, Germany, and the Low Countries. He 
 thus became acquainted with the world and the court, and 
 familiarised himself with the Castilian dialect, which he 
 adopted in preference to the Portuguese. His attachment 
 to Spain was increased by his passion for a beautiful Cas- 
 tilian lady, to whom he has given in his poems the name 
 of Marricla. This Marfida was the divinity of his verses ; 
 but upon his return to Spain from a journey on which he 
 had accompanied the court, he found her married. He 
 now endeavoured to dissipate his chagrin by devoting 
 himself to a romantic composition, in which he represented 
 the faithless fair one as a shepherdess, under the name of 
 Diana, whilst he bestowed upon himself the name of 
 S^renus. This tedious pastoral, which reached a seventh 
 book, ought rather to be considered as a vehicle for the 
 expression of the writer's feelings, and for the amatory 
 effusions of his muse, than as a romance. No work in 
 Spain, since the Amadis, had been so successful. As the 
 Amadis had been the progenitor of a numerous family of 
 chivalric romances, so a crowd of pastoral romances fol- 
 lowed the Diana. Montemayor returned home by com- 
 mands from Portugal; but the rest of his history is un- 
 known. He died a violent death in Spain or in Italy, 
 about the year 1561 or 1562. 
 
 The prose writings of Montemayor have more harmony 
 and elegance, and in general more simplicity, than those 
 of his predecessors ; nor does he forsake this style of writ- 
 ing except in his philosophical disquisitions on the nature 
 of love. There, and indeed wherever he attempts to be 
 
400 APPENDIX. 
 
 subtle and profound, he becomes pedantic. It is evident 
 from his admiration of the scholastic rules, that he is a 
 novice in them. The grace, harmony, and delicacy, of 
 his writings have placed him in the first rank of Spanish 
 poets. 
 
 The scene of Montemayor's pastoral is laid at the foot 
 of the mountains of Leon. The period it is more difficult 
 to determine. The geography, the names, and every refer- 
 rence to real manners and customs, are modern ; the 
 mythology, however, is pagan. The shepherds and shep- 
 herdesses dance together on Sundays ; but they invoke 
 Apollo and Diana, the nymphs and the fairies. The shep- 
 lierdess Felismena, is brought up by her aunt, the abbess 
 of a nunnery ; and her chambermaid, when she is endea- 
 vouring to excuse herself, calls upon the name of Jesus. 
 Yet she accounts herself under the protection of the pagan 
 divinities. Venus, who has been irritated against her 
 mother, has condemned her from her birth to be unfor- 
 tunate in love, while Minerva has endowed her with a 
 most martial spirit, and given her the superiority over 
 the bravest warriors. The adventures of Abindarras and 
 Xarifa, who were contemporary with Ferdinand the Ca- 
 tholic, are related as having occurred in early times ; but 
 when the heroes visit the court or meet with any prince, 
 the names which are introduced are entirely fictitious, 
 Indeed the Diana of Montemayor is laid in so poetical a 
 world, and is so far removed from all reality, that it is 
 perfectly useless to notice anachronisms or improbabilities. 
 With regard to the mixture of the ancient mythology with 
 modern fictions, it was the error of the age. Learning, 
 after degenerating into pedantry, had become so intimately 
 connected \yith the creations of poetry, that.it would have 
 been deemed an offence both against taste and imagination, 
 
40} 
 
 to have deprived the fabulous deities of antiquity of their 
 empire. 
 
 Sylvanus seeks Syrenus, and his rival is the first to offer 
 him sympathy and consolation. In fact Syrenus, resign- 
 ing himself to all the pains of despised affection, exhibits 
 both in his conversation and in his verses a degree of sub- 
 mission, a horror of murmuring and a scrupulosity of love, 
 which are truly extraordinary. 
 
 ' Never beloved, hut still to love a slave, 
 Still shall I love though hopeless is my suit, 
 I suffer torments which I never gave 
 And my unheeded sighs no ear salute ; 
 Complaint is sweet though we no favour have ; 
 I reaped but shame in shunning love's pursuit, 
 Forgetfulness alone I suffer not 
 Alas ! unthought of can we be forgot ?" 
 
 He concludes by saying that he who is not beloved has 
 no right to complain. * 
 
 Whilst Europe and America were inundated with blood 
 by the Spaniards, Boscan, Garcilaso, Mendoza, and Monte- 
 mayor, all of them soldiers, and all of them engaged in 
 the wars, which at this period shook the foundations of 
 Christendom, describe themselves as shepherds weaving 
 garlands of flowers, or as lovers, tremblingly beseeching 
 the favour of a glance from their mistresses, while they 
 stifle their complaints, suppress all the feelings of nature, 
 and even renounce jealousy lest it should not render them 
 sufficiently submissive. There is in these verses a Sybar- 
 itic softness, a Lydian luxury, which we might expect to 
 meet with in the effeminate Italians whom servitude had 
 degraded, but which astonish us in men like the warriors 
 of Charles V. 
 
 There exists, undoubtedly, a moral cause for this dis- 
 cordance. If Garcilaso de la Vega and Montemayor have 
 
402 APPENDIX. 
 
 not exhibited their own feelings in their poetry, if they 
 have abandoned the habits, the manners, and the senti- 
 ments to which they were accustomed, in the search of a 
 poetical world, it was because they were disgusted with 
 the realities around them. Poetry was attempting its first 
 flight while the Spanish nation lost everything except the 
 glory of its arms; and even this glory, soiled as it was by 
 so many horrors, and prevented by the severity of disci- 
 pline from becoming an individual feeling, was voiceless 
 to the heart of the poet. 
 
 There was a noble spirit of martial enthusiasm in the 
 ancient poem of the Cid, in the old romances, and in the 
 warlike poems of the Marquis of Santillana ; in short, the 
 same inspiration appeared wherever the national honour 
 was concerned. The Grand Master of Calatrava, Don 
 Manuel Ponce de Leon, who in all the Moorish festivals 
 appeared upon the Vega, or plain of Grenada, accompanied 
 by a hundred knights, and after a courteous salutation to 
 the king offered to contend in single combat with the 
 noblest and bravest of the Saracens, that he might thus 
 contribute by a feat of arms to the pleasures of the day, 
 upheld in these combats the honour of the Castilians ; 
 and, indeed, his poetical bravery was a fit subject for 
 romance. 
 
 In a war which was really national, the rivalry in glory 
 was sufficient to keep alive the ardour of the combatants, 
 while reciprocal esteem was the consequence of the length 
 of the contest. But Garcilaso de la Vega, Mendoza and 
 their compeers, were perfect strangers to the French, the 
 Italians, and the Germans, against whom they marched. 
 The army of which they formed a part, had already begun 
 to delight in blood, in order that they might supply, by 
 the excitement of ferocity, the absence of national interest. 
 
APPENDIX. 403 
 
 When, therefore, they left the field of battle, they 
 attempted to forget the fierce and cruel feelings which 
 they blushed to acknowledge, and they cautiously abstain- 
 ed from introducing them into their poems. 
 
 The effeminate languor, and the luxurious enjoyment of 
 life and lore, which peculiarly characterise the Spanish 
 poetry of this age, are discoverable in an equal degree in the 
 Latin and Greek poets who wrote after the extinction of 
 their national liberties. Propertius and Tibullus, as well 
 as Theocritus, sometimes indulge in a degree of languor 
 and tenderness, which often approaches to insipidity. 
 They appear proud of exhibiting their effeminacy, as if 
 for the purpose of demonstrating that they have voluntarily 
 adopted it ; and that they have not yielded to it from the 
 influence of fear. The enervated poetry of the Spanish 
 classics was, perhaps, suggested to them by similar 
 motives, and by their desire to preserve the dignity of 
 their character ; but for this very reason the Castilian 
 poetry of the reign of Charles V. was of a transitory 
 nature, and at the highest pitch of its reputation the symp- 
 toms of its approaching decay might be distinctly seen. 
 
 That inventive spirit, that love of the marvellous, and 
 that active curiosity which had, in the preceding century, 
 produced so many romances to celebrate the heroes of 
 Spain, and so many chivalrous tales, in imitation of the 
 Amadis, to astonish the imagination by superhuman 
 exploits, suddenly deserted all the Spanish authors. The 
 art of conceiving new characters, of endowing them with 
 sentiments, of placing them immediately before our eyes, 
 and of giving reality to imaginary incidents, was not yet 
 discovered, for the drama had not hitherto been intro- 
 duced. The reign of Charles V. was rich in great poets, 
 but a sameness is observable in them all, Their object 
 D D 2 
 
404 APPENDIX. 
 
 was merely to express, in harmonious numbers, the most 
 noble and delicate feelings of the soul. The taste for 
 pastoral poetry, which was adopted by all of them, added 
 still more to this uniformity ; for not only did it induce 
 them to confine the action of their poems within stricter 
 bounds, and to indulge only in sentiment, but it even 
 made them reject all sentiment not conformable to the 
 pastoral character. The poets of Spain during the reign 
 of Charles V. are therefore very indifferently known, even 
 to those be^t acquainted with the literature of that country. 
 They leave an impression on the mind of an harmonious 
 kind of misery, of an extreme delicacy of sentiment, and 
 of a languid and intoxicating softness, but the thoughts to 
 which they give rise frequently fade from the memory, 
 like the strains of sweet music, which leave no traces on 
 the ear. When once the sounds have ceased, and the 
 charm is fled, we in vain attempt to recall them. It 
 would be a difficult task to convey an idea of these lyric 
 poets in a few desultory translations. 
 
 Amongst the lyrical poets of the age of Charles V. there 
 still remain two to be mentioned, whom the people of 
 Castile regard as classical, Herrera and Ponce de Leon. 
 Upon these writers we must not consume much time. 
 Ferdinand de Herrera, who received the surname of The 
 Divine, and who has been placed at the head of the lyrical 
 poets of Spain, more from party spirit than from any just 
 appreciation of his merits, passed his life in obscurity. 
 All that is known of him is that he was born at Seville, 
 about the year 1500; and that after having very fully 
 experienced the power of love, he entered into the church 
 at an advanced age, and died about 1578. Herrera was 
 a poet of vigorous talents, and full of ardour to launch 
 into u new career, in contempt of the critics of the age; 
 
API'K.NDIX. 40j 
 
 but the new style of composition which he was so desirous 
 of introducing into Spanish poetry, was modelled in his 
 own mind on a predetermined plan. His expressions are 
 never suggested by his feelings, and in the midst of his 
 greatest beauties we cannot avoid observing the artifice of 
 the poet. His language is extraordinary, and its attempt 
 at elevation renders it often affected. Hefrera thought 
 the poetical diction of the Spaniards, even in their best 
 attempts, much too common-place; it appeared to him to 
 resemble prose too nearly, and to be far beneath the dignity 
 of classical poetry. With these ideas he attempted to 
 compose a new language. He separated according to his 
 own conception the noble from the ignoble words ; he 
 changed the signification of some to suit them to poetical 
 purposes ; he used repetitions which seemed to him to 
 give additional energy ; he introduced transpositions more 
 analogous to the genius of the Latin language than to his 
 own ; and he even coined several new words, either by the 
 union of other Spanish words, or by adoption from the 
 Latin. These innovations were considered by the party 
 who patronised Herrera, as forming the perfection of true 
 poetry, while at the present day they are rather an object 
 of reproach to him. The real dignity of his language, 
 the harmony of his verse, and the elevation of his ideas, 
 must, however, be acknowledged. Ilerrera is the most 
 truly lyrical poet of Spain, as Chiabrera is of Italy ; his 
 flight is completely Pindaric, and he soars to the loftiest 
 heights. Perhaps to a genius so rapid and so impetuous 
 as his, the ancient form of the ode, with its short and 
 regular measure, would have been better fitted than the 
 long stanzas of the Italian canzoni which he has adopted, 
 and which are more suited to rounded, harmonious, and 
 somewhat effeminate periods. Amongst the canzoni of 
 
406 APPENDIX. 
 
 Herrera, those which were composed on the battle of Lepan to 
 must be placed in the first rank. This battle was not only 
 the most glorious victory which the Spanish arms had 
 achieved during that century, but while it promised the most 
 happy consequences in securing the stability of the mo- 
 narchy at home, and the permanency of its Italian posses- 
 sions, it fully gratified the religious enthusiasm of thenation. 
 Herrera himself was animated by this feeling, and, for 
 once, his poetry is the expression of his real sentiments. 
 It breathes a confidence in the protection of the God of 
 armies ; a pride in the triumph over such redoubtable 
 enemies, and a hatred of those enemies, as poetical as it is 
 unchristian. The language, which is occasionally bor- 
 rowed from the Old Testament, gives majesty to the verse : 
 
 THE DAY OF LEPANTO. 
 
 Tyrant most haughty, and most confident 
 
 In thy vast armament of hostile sails, 
 
 Sweeping the seas for captive nations, led 
 
 In slavery's triumph, red 
 
 With the dark crimes in Heaven's dread vengeance sent, 
 
 'Gainst thy Briarean arm what force avails ? 
 
 From the high mountain tops the cedars bowed 
 
 And kissed the ocean-depths, as proud 
 
 To cleave the waters of each distant sea, 
 
 And hear thy flag where'er man's voice was free. 
 
 Trembled the mighty, while the feeble borne 
 
 On that fierce flood, beheld thee raise elate 
 
 Thine impious front against the Lord of Hosts ; 
 
 An d with strange arrogant boasts 
 
 And steel-armed hand that made the nations mourn, 
 
 Trampled in reckless pride each Christian state, 
 
 Till the Hesperian star thy rapt gaze caught 
 
 Which shone on nations by Heaven's pure light taught, 
 
 And envious of thy war-seer's fame 
 
 Thou bad'st thy myriad hosts to work our perfect shame. 
 
 " Shall they, not yield ? the lands our fathers won, 
 Once humbly crouching 'neatli the Crescent's pride ?" 
 
APPENDIX. 407 
 
 In impious rage the king of tyrants spoke, 
 " Bright Greece wild Hungary feels our yoke. 
 Anil Rhodes with fierce Dalmatia in one chain allied : 
 Their Christian race is run ! 
 
 Austrian and German mourn their vanquished pride ; 
 Their God deserts them and mj* wrath hegun, 
 Shall spread o'er Europe's prostrate-spirit wide '." 
 Hark that loud battle-peal ! whose is the day of pride ? 
 
 An ode of Herrera, to Sleep, possesses a very different 
 kind of merit, grace of language, a pastoral talent, and great 
 delicacy of composition. Though all these may escape in 
 the translation, the truth of the sentiments must, at all 
 events, remain. 
 
 STANZAS ADDRESSED TO SLEEP. 
 
 Sweet Sleep, that through the starry path of night 
 
 With dewy poppies crown'd, pursues! thy flight ; 
 
 Stiller of human woes ! 
 
 That shedd'st o'er nature's breast a soft repose ; 
 
 Oh ! to these distant climates of the west 
 
 Thy slowly wandering pinions turn ; 
 
 And with thy influence blest, 
 
 Bathe these love-burthened eyes that ever burn 
 
 And find no moment's rest ; 
 
 While my unceasing grief 
 
 Refuses all relief ! 
 
 Oh hear my prayer, I ask it by thy love, 
 
 Whom Juno gave thee in the realms above. 
 
 Sweet power, that dost impart 
 
 Gentle oblivion to the suffering heart, 
 
 Beloved Sleep! thou only canst bestow 
 
 A solace for my woe. 
 
 Thrice happy be the hour 
 
 My weary limbs shall feel thy sovereign power. 
 
 Why to these eyes alone deny 
 
 The calm thou pour'st on nature's boundless reign ? 
 
 Why let thy votary all neglected die, 
 
 Nor yield a respite to a lover's pain ? 
 
 And must I ask thy balmy aid in vain ? 
 
 Hear, gentle power, oh hear my humble prayer, 
 
 And let my soul thy heavenly banquet share. 
 
408 APPENDIX. 
 
 In this extreme of grief I own thy might ; 
 
 Descend and shed thy healing dew ; 
 
 Descend and put to flight 
 
 The intruding dawn, that with her garish light 
 
 My sorrows would renew. 
 
 Thou hear'st my sad lament, and in my face 
 
 My many griefs may'st trace! 
 
 Turn then, sweet wanderer of the night, and spread 
 
 Thy wings around my head ; 
 
 Haste, for the unwelcome morn 
 
 Is now on her return ! 
 
 Let the soft rest the hours of night denied, 
 
 Be by thy lenient hand supplied. 
 
 Fresh from my summer bowers, 
 
 A crown of soothing flowers, 
 
 Such as thou lov'st, the fairest and the best, 
 
 I offer thee ; won by their odours sweet 
 
 The enamoured air shall greet 
 
 Thy advent ; on these let thy hand 
 
 Express their essence bland, 
 
 And o'er my ej-e-lids pour delicious rest. 
 
 Enchanting power ! soft as the breath of spring 
 
 Be the light gale that steers thy dewy wing, 
 
 Come ere the sun ascends the purple east. 
 
 Come end my woes; so crowned with heavenly charms 
 
 May fair Pasithea take thee to her arms. 
 
 Luis Ponce de Leon is the last of the great poets 
 who rendered illustrious the reign of Charles V., and who 
 shed such splendour upon that new epoch of Spanish lite- 
 rature. Differing from those whom we have hitherto 
 noticed, his inspiration is entirely of a religious cast. 
 Indeed, his whole life was consecrated to piety. He was 
 born at Granada in 1527, of one of the most illustrious 
 families of Spain, and manifested in his early youth that 
 religious enthusiasm and disposition to retirement, which 
 rendered him indifferent to fame and to worldly pleasures. 
 His heart, which was mild and tender, was never a prey 
 to the dark fanaticism of the monks ; moral and religious 
 
APPENDIX. 409 
 
 contemplations formed his only delight, without inducing 
 a contempt for others, or a spirit of persecution. At six- 
 teen years of age he entered into the order of St. Augus- 
 tin at Salamanca, and applied himself with ardour to 
 theological studies, in which his writings gained him 
 considerable reputation. Poetry was to him a relaxation, 
 while the exquisite sensibility to harmony which nature 
 had bestowed upon him, and his fine imagination, were 
 exercised by the study of the classics, and of Hebrew 
 poetry. He was cruelly punished for having made a 
 translation of the Song of Solomon. Not that he was 
 supposed to have sought for improper images in that mys- 
 tical composition, or to have attempted to present in a 
 worldly light the amours of the King of Jerusalem, which 
 he regarded as purely allegorical, but because the Inquisi- 
 tion had prohibited in the strictest manner the translation 
 of any portion of the Bible, without special permission. 
 Ponce de Leon confided his version, under an injunction 
 of secresy, t> a single friend, who indiscreetly showed it to 
 others. 
 
 The author was in consequence denounced to the Holy 
 Office, and immediately put into prison, where he passed 
 five years, separated from human society, and deprived of 
 light. Even in this situation he experienced, in the 
 purity of his conscience, and in the strength of his reli- 
 gious principles, that serenity and repose which innocence 
 alone can confer. He was ultimately restored to his dig- 
 nities, and re-established in his monastery. His talents 
 raised him to the rank of Vicar-General of the province of 
 Salamanca, which he continued to fill until the period of 
 his death, in 1591. 
 
 No Spaniard, it is said, ever expressed in poetry the 
 intimate sentiments of the heart with a more happy mix- 
 E E 
 
410 APPENDIX. 
 
 ture of elegance and of sensibility. He is, without excep- 
 tion, the most correct of all the Spanish writers, and yet 
 the poetical form which his thoughts assumed was with 
 him only a matter of secondary consideration. The clas- 
 sical simplicity and dignity of expression, for which the 
 ancient authors, and more especially Horace, whose works 
 he had deeply studied, are remarkable, were the objects of 
 his emulation. His resemblance, however, to Horace was 
 the result of too deep a feeling ever to give him the ap- 
 pearance of an imitator. In his versification, he substi- 
 tuted a short rhymed measure for the long stanzas of the 
 canzoni, and by that means also he approached more 
 nearly to the poetry of the ancients. But, whilst the com- 
 positions of Horace generally breathe only the Epicurean 
 philosophy, those of Ponce tie Leon unfold the love of 
 God in mystical verse, and the whole world of moral and 
 religious feelings. The sentiments adopted by Ponce de 
 Leon are so very different from our own, and we have 
 such an imperfect comprehension of religious ecstacies 
 and allegories, that we are unable perfectly to appreciate 
 the merit which is attributed to him. There are three 
 books of Ponce de Leon's works. The first contains his 
 original compositions ; the second, his translations from the 
 classics ; the third, his translations from the Psalms, and of 
 the book of Job. In these versions his object has been to 
 make the ancients speak as they would have spoken, had 
 they lived at his time, and had their language been the 
 Castilian. Pursuing this principle, he was more properly 
 an imitator than a copyist, and has only given an imper- 
 fect idea of the ancient authors. His example was gene- 
 rally followed ; and all the translations from the ancients 
 into Spanish verse are executed upon the same principle. 
 These, then, are the celebrated men who, during the reign 
 
APPENDIX. 411 
 
 of Charles V.,gave a new character to Castilian poetry. 
 A few others, though of minor reputation, deserve to be 
 mentioned. Fernando d'Acuna made an elegant transla- 
 tion of some portions of Ovid, and has been celebrated 
 for the grace and feeling which he has displayed in his 
 elegies, his sonnets, and his canzoni. Gutiere de Cetina 
 was the first happy imitator of Anacreon in the Spanish 
 language. Pedro de Padilla, a knight of St. James, was 
 the rival of Garcilaso in pastoral poetry ; and Caspar Gil 
 Polo continued the romance of Montemayor, under the 
 name of Diana Enamorada, with so much talent that the 
 continuation has been regarded as superior to the work 
 itself, in the brilliancy and polish of the versification. 
 
 Although this was the period at which Ariosto had at- 
 tained the height of his fame, and Italy was inundated 
 with chivalric epics in imitation of the Orlando Furioso, 
 Spain, which still respected and paid serious homage to 
 the spirit of chivalry, never encouraged an imitation of 
 a style so fashionable in the country which she had taken 
 as her model. Ariosto had only been translated into 
 careless and fatiguing prose ; and under this disguise his 
 poem became a mere romance of chivalry. No Castilian 
 poet would have suffered himself to adopt the half jocular 
 tone of the original. There were, during the reign of 
 Charles V. many attempts amongst the Spaniards to pro- 
 duce an epic poem, but they all failed. These were the 
 compositions of the King's flatterers, and Charles was 
 invariably their hero. Thus they have a Carlos Famoso, 
 by Louis Zapata ; Carlos Vitorioso, by Jerome de Urrea, 
 and a Carolea, by Jerome Samper, all which are now, as 
 they deserve to be, forgotten. 
 
 On the other hand, a man of considerable talents, D. 
 Christoval de Castillejo, devoting himself to the ancient 
 
412 APPENDIX. 
 
 style of Spanish poetry, gave the preference to the redon- 
 dilhas, or verses composed of four trochees, over the Italian 
 models. He had travelled to Vienna with Charles V., and 
 in that city he remained as Secretary of State to Ferdinand 
 I. His verses exhibit spirit, grace, and ease, together 
 with no small share of humour. But, notwithstanding the 
 enthusiastic admiration which those who are attached to 
 the early literature of Spain express for him, he cannot be 
 classed amongst the poets who are celebrated for their 
 creative genius. Disgusted with the world, he retired in 
 his old age to Spain, where he died in a monastery, in 
 1596.* 
 
 * Literature of the South of Europe, by M. Sismondi, vol. iii., 
 pp. 270320. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 LONDON : 
 BRADBtTRY ASH EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITKFRIARS. 
 
UCS/B LIBRARY 
 
 y 
 

 
 iyyvSffiMS 
 
 
 
 
 
 a v ** ^ w 
 
 ywyV WM 
 
 ' . u < , e 
 
 v,