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第202章

don quixote(堂·吉珂德)-第202章

小说: don quixote(堂·吉珂德) 字数: 每页4000字

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deal in preambles; only to tell your woes plainly and
straightforwardly: for you have hearers that will know how; if not
to remedy them; to sympathise with them。〃
  On hearing this; the Distressed Duenna made as though she would
throw herself at Don Quixote's feet; and actually did fall before them
and said; as she strove to embrace them; 〃Before these feet and legs I
cast myself; O unconquered knight; as before; what they are; the
foundations and pillars of knight…errantry; these feet I desire to
kiss; for upon their steps hangs and depends the sole remedy for my
misfortune; O valorous errant; whose veritable achievements leave
behind and eclipse the fabulous ones of the Amadises; Esplandians; and
Belianises!〃 Then turning from Don Quixote to Sancho Panza; and
grasping his hands; she said; 〃O thou; most loyal squire that ever
served knight…errant in this present age or ages past; whose
goodness is more extensive than the beard of Trifaldin my companion
here of present; well mayest thou boast thyself that; in serving the
great Don Quixote; thou art serving; summed up in one; the whole
host of knights that have ever borne arms in the world。 I conjure
thee; by what thou owest to thy most loyal goodness; that thou wilt
become my kind intercessor with thy master; that he speedily give
aid to this most humble and most unfortunate countess。〃
  To this Sancho made answer; 〃As to my goodness; senora; being as
long and as great as your squire's beard; it matters very little to
me; may I have my soul well bearded and moustached when it comes to
quit this life; that's the point; about beards here below I care
little or nothing; but without all these blandishments and prayers;
I will beg my master (for I know he loves me; and; besides; he has
need of me just now for a certain business) to help and aid your
worship as far as he can; unpack your woes and lay them before us; and
leave us to deal with them; for we'll be all of one mind。〃
  The duke and duchess; as it was they who had made the experiment
of this adventure; were ready to burst with laughter at all this;
and between themselves they commended the clever acting of the
Trifaldi; who; returning to her seat; said; 〃Queen Dona Maguncia
reigned over the famous kingdom of Kandy; which lies between the great
Trapobana and the Southern Sea; two leagues beyond Cape Comorin。 She
was the widow of King Archipiela; her lord and husband; and of their
marriage they had issue the Princess Antonomasia; heiress of the
kingdom; which Princess Antonomasia was reared and brought up under my
care and direction; I being the oldest and highest in rank of her
mother's duennas。 Time passed; and the young Antonomasia reached the
age of fourteen; and such a perfection of beauty; that nature could
not raise it higher。 Then; it must not be supposed her intelligence
was childish; she was as intelligent as she was fair; and she was
fairer than all the world; and is so still; unless the envious fates
and hard…hearted sisters three have cut for her the thread of life。
But that they have not; for Heaven will not suffer so great a wrong to
Earth; as it would be to pluck unripe the grapes of the fairest
vineyard on its surface。 Of this beauty; to which my poor feeble
tongue has failed to do justice; countless princes; not only of that
country; but of others; were enamoured; and among them a private
gentleman; who was at the court; dared to raise his thoughts to the
heaven of so great beauty; trusting to his youth; his gallant bearing;
his numerous accomplishments and graces; and his quickness and
readiness of wit; for I may tell your highnesses; if I am not wearying
you; that he played the guitar so as to make it speak; and he was;
besides; a poet and a great dancer; and he could make birdcages so
well; that by making them alone he might have gained a livelihood; had
he found himself reduced to utter poverty; and gifts and graces of
this kind are enough to bring down a mountain; not to say a tender
young girl。 But all his gallantry; wit; and gaiety; all his graces and
accomplishments; would have been of little or no avail towards gaining
the fortress of my pupil; had not the impudent thief taken the
precaution of gaining me over first。 First; the villain and
heartless vagabond sought to win my good…will and purchase my
compliance; so as to get me; like a treacherous warder; to deliver
up to him the keys of the fortress I had in charge。 In a word; he
gained an influence over my mind; and overcame my resolutions with I
know not what trinkets and jewels he gave me; but it was some verses I
heard him singing one night from a grating that opened on the street
where he lived; that; more than anything else; made me give way and
led to my fall; and if I remember rightly they ran thus:

     From that sweet enemy of mine
       My bleeding heart hath had its wound;
       And to increase the pain I'm bound
     To suffer and to make no sign。

The lines seemed pearls to me and his voice sweet as syrup; and
afterwards; I may say ever since then; looking at the misfortune
into which I have fallen; I have thought that poets; as Plato advised;
ought to he banished from all well…ordered States; at least the
amatory ones; for they write verses; not like those of 'The Marquis of
Mantua;' that delight and draw tears from the women and children;
but sharp…pointed conceits that pierce the heart like soft thorns; and
like the lightning strike it; leaving the raiment uninjured。 Another
time he sang:

     Come Death; so subtly veiled that I
       Thy coming know not; how or when;
       Lest it should give me life again
     To find how sweet it is to die。

…and other verses and burdens of the same sort; such as enchant when
sung and fascinate when written。 And then; when they condescend to
compose a sort of verse that was at that time in vogue in Kandy; which
they call seguidillas! Then it is that hearts leap and laughter breaks
forth; and the body grows restless and all the senses turn
quicksilver。 And so I say; sirs; that these troubadours richly deserve
to be banished to the isles of the lizards。 Though it is not they that
are in fault; but the simpletons that extol them; and the fools that
believe in them; and had I been the faithful duenna I should have
been; his stale conceits would have never moved me; nor should I
have been taken in by such phrases as 'in death I live;' 'in ice I
burn;' 'in flames I shiver;' 'hopeless I hope;' 'I go and stay;' and
paradoxes of that sort which their writings are full of。 And then when
they promise the Phoenix of Arabia; the crown of Ariadne; the horses
of the Sun; the pearls of the South; the gold of Tibar; and the balsam
of Panchaia! Then it is they give a loose to their pens; for it
costs them little to make promises they have no intention or power
of fulfilling。 But where am I wandering to? Woe is me; unfortunate
being! What madness or folly leads me to speak of the faults of
others; when there is so much to be said about my own? Again; woe is
me; hapless that I am! it was not verses that conquered me; but my own
simplicity; it was not music made me yield; but my own imprudence;
my own great ignorance and little caution opened the way and cleared
the path for Don Clavijo's advances; for that was the name of the
gentleman I have referred to; and so; with my help as go…between; he
found his way many a time into the chamber of the deceived Antonomasia
(deceived not by him but by me) under the title of a lawful husband;
for; sinner though I was; would not have allowed him to approach the
edge of her shoe…sole without being her husband。 No; no; not that;
marriage must come first in any business of this sort that I take in
hand。 But there was one hitch in this case; which was that of
inequality of rank; Don Clavijo being a private gentleman; and the
Princess Antonomasia; as I said; heiress to the kingdom。 The
entanglement remained for some time a secret; kept hidden by my
cunning precautions; until I perceived that a certain expansion of
waist in Antonomasia must before long disclose it; the dread of
which made us all there take counsel together; and it was agreed
that before the

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