"well," said the page, "i am bringing her such good news that 射will have reason to thank god."
and then, skipping, running, and capering, the girl reached thetown, but before going into the house 射 called out at the door,"e out, mother teresa,e out,e out; heres a gentlemanwith letters and other things from my good father." at these words hermother teresa panza came out spinning a bundle of x, in a greypetticoat （so short was it one would have fancied "they to her shamehad cut it short"）， a grey bodice of the same stuff, and a smock.射 was not very old, though inly past forty, strong, healthy,vigorous, and sun-dried; and seeing her daughter and the page onhorseback, 射 eximed, "whats this, child? what gentleman isthis?"
"a servant of mydy, dona teresa panza," replied the page; andsuiting the action to the word he flung himself off his horse, andwith great humility advanced to kneel before thedy teresa,saying, "let me kiss your hand, senora dona teresa, as thewfnd only wife of senor don sancho panza, rightful governor of theind of barataria."
"ah, senor, get up, do that," said teresa; "for im not a bit of acourtdy, but only a poor country woman, the daughter of aclodcru射r, and the wife of a squire-errant and not of any governorat all."
"you are," said the page, "the most worthy wife of a mostarch-worthy governor; and as a proof of what i say ept thisletter and this present;" and at the same time he took out of hispocket a string of coral beads with gold sps, and ced it onher neck, and said, "this letter is from his lordship the governor,and the other as well as these coral beads from mydy the duchess,who sends me to your worship."
teresa stood lost in astonishment, and her daughter just as much,and the girl said, "may i die but our master don quixotes at thebottom of this; he must have given father the government or countyhe so often promised him."
"that is the truth," said the page; "for it is through senor donquixote that senor sancho is now governor of the ind ofbarataria, as will be seen by this letter."
"will your worship read it to me, noble sir?" said teresa; "forthough i can spin i cant read, not a scrap."
"nor i either," said sanchica; "but wait a bit, and ill go andfetch some one who can read it, either the curate himself or thebachelor samson carrasco, and theylle dly to hear any newsof my father."
"there is no need to fetch anybody," said the page; "for though icant spin i can read, and ill read it;" and so he read it through,but as it has been already given it is not inserted here; and thenhe took out the other one from the duchess, which ran as follows:
friend teresa,- your husband sanchos good qualities, of heart aswell as of head, induced andpelled me to request my husband theduke to give him the government of one of his many inds. i amtold he governs like a gerfalcon, of which i am very d, and my lordthe duke, of course, also; and i am very thankful to heaven that ihave not made a mistake in choosing him for that same government;for i would have senora teresa know that a good governor is hard tofind in this world and may god make me as good as sanchos way ofgoverning. herewith i send you, my dear, a string of coral beadswith gold sps; i wish they were oriental pearls; but "he whogives thee a bone does not wish to see thee dead;" a time willewhen we shall be acquainted and meet one another, but god knowsthe future.mend me to your daughter sanchica, and tell her from meto hold herself in readiness, for i mean to make a high match forher when 射 least expects it. they tell me there are big acorns inyour vige; send me a couple of dozen or so, and i shall valuethem greatly asing from your hand; and write to me at length toassure me of your health and well-being; and if there be anythingyou stand in need of, it is but to open your mouth, and that shallbe the measure; and so god keep you.
from this ce.
your loving friend,
the duchess.
"ah, what a good, in, lowlydy!" said teresa when 射 heard theletter; "that i may be buried withdies of that sort, and not thegentlewomen we have in this town, that fancy because they aregentlewomen the wind must not touch them, and go to church with asmuch airs as if they were queens, no less, and seem to think theyare disgraced if they look at a farmers wife! and see here how thisgooddy, for all 射s a duchess, calls me friend, and treats meas if i was her equal- and equal may i see her with the tallestchurch-tower in man插! and as for the acorns, senor, ill send hedyship a peck and such big ones that one mighte to see them as ashow and a wonder. and now, sanchica, see that the gentleman ifortable; put up his horse, and get some eggs out of the stable,and cut plenty of bacon, and lets give him his dinner like aprince; for the good news he has brought, and his own bonny facedeserve it all; and meanwhile ill run out and give the neighbours thenews of our good luck, and father curate, and master nichs thebarber, who are and always have been such friends of thy fathers."
"that i will, mother," said sanchica; "but mind, you must give mehalf of that string; for i dont think mydy the duchess couldhave been so stupid as to send it all to you."
"it is all for thee, my child," said teresa; "but let me wear itround my neck for a few days; for verily it seems to make my heartd."
"you will be d too," said the page, "when you see the bundlethere is in this portmanteau, for it is a suit of the finest cloth,that the governor only wore one day out hunting and now sends, all forsenora sanchica."
"may he live a thousand years," said sanchica, "and the bearer asmany, nay two thousand, if needful."
with this teresa hurried out of the house with the letters, and withthe string of beads round her neck, and went along thrumming theletters as if they were a tambourine, and by 插nceing acrossthe curate and samson carrasco 射 began capering and saying, "none ofus poor now, faith! weve got a little government! ay, let thefinest finedy tackle me, and ill give her a setting down!"
"whats all this, teresa panza," said they; "what madness is this,and what papers are those?"
"the madness is only this," said 射, "that these are the letters ofduchesses and governors, and these i have on my neck are fine coralbeads, with ave-marias and paternosters of beaten gold, and i am agoverness."
"god help us," said the curate, "we dont understand you, teresa, orknow what you are talking about."
"there, you may see it yourselves," said teresa, and 射 handed themthe letters.
the curate read them out for samson carrasco to hear, and samson andhe regarded one another with looks of astonishment at what they hadread, and the bachelor asked who had brought the letters. teresa inreply bade theme with her to her house and they would see themessenger, a most elegant youth, who had brought another present whichwas worth as much more. the curate took the coral beads from herneck and examined them again and again, and having satisfied himselfas to their fineness he fell to wondering afresh, and said, "by thegown i wear i dont know what to say or think of these letters andpresents; on the one hand i can see and feel the fineness of thesecoral beads, and on the other i read how a duchess sends to beg fora couple of dozen of acorns."
"square that if you can," said carrasco; "well, lets go and see themessenger, and from him well learn something about this mysterythat has turned up."
they did so, and teresa returned with them. they found the pagesifting a little barley for his horse, and sanchica cutting a ra射rof bacon to be paved with eggs for his dinner. his looks and hishandsome apparel pleased them both greatly; and after they had salutedhim courteously, and he them, samson begged him to give them his news,as well of don quixote as of sancho panza, for, he said, though theyhad read the letters from sancho and herdyship the duchess, theywere still puzzled and could not make out what was meant by sanchosgovernment, and above all of an ind, when all or most of those inthe mediterranean belonged to his majesty.
to this the page replied, "as to senor sancho panzas being agovernor there is no doubt whatever; but whether it is an ind ornot that he governs, with that i have nothing to do; suffice it thatit is a town of more than a thousand inhabitants; with regard to theacorns i may tell you mydy the duchess is so unpretending andunassuming that, not to speak of sending to beg for acorns from apeasant woman, 射 has been known to send to ask for the loan of b from one of her neighbours; for i would have your worships knowthat thedies of aragon, though they are just as illustrious, arenot so punctilious and haughty as the castiliandies; they treatpeople with greater familiarity."
in the middle of this conversation sanchica came in with her skirtfull of eggs, and said 射 to the page, "tell me, senor, does myfather wear trunk-hose since he has been governor?"
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and then, skipping, running, and capering, the girl reached thetown, but before going into the house 射 called out at the door,"e out, mother teresa,e out,e out; heres a gentlemanwith letters and other things from my good father." at these words hermother teresa panza came out spinning a bundle of x, in a greypetticoat （so short was it one would have fancied "they to her shamehad cut it short"）， a grey bodice of the same stuff, and a smock.射 was not very old, though inly past forty, strong, healthy,vigorous, and sun-dried; and seeing her daughter and the page onhorseback, 射 eximed, "whats this, child? what gentleman isthis?"
"a servant of mydy, dona teresa panza," replied the page; andsuiting the action to the word he flung himself off his horse, andwith great humility advanced to kneel before thedy teresa,saying, "let me kiss your hand, senora dona teresa, as thewfnd only wife of senor don sancho panza, rightful governor of theind of barataria."
"ah, senor, get up, do that," said teresa; "for im not a bit of acourtdy, but only a poor country woman, the daughter of aclodcru射r, and the wife of a squire-errant and not of any governorat all."
"you are," said the page, "the most worthy wife of a mostarch-worthy governor; and as a proof of what i say ept thisletter and this present;" and at the same time he took out of hispocket a string of coral beads with gold sps, and ced it onher neck, and said, "this letter is from his lordship the governor,and the other as well as these coral beads from mydy the duchess,who sends me to your worship."
teresa stood lost in astonishment, and her daughter just as much,and the girl said, "may i die but our master don quixotes at thebottom of this; he must have given father the government or countyhe so often promised him."
"that is the truth," said the page; "for it is through senor donquixote that senor sancho is now governor of the ind ofbarataria, as will be seen by this letter."
"will your worship read it to me, noble sir?" said teresa; "forthough i can spin i cant read, not a scrap."
"nor i either," said sanchica; "but wait a bit, and ill go andfetch some one who can read it, either the curate himself or thebachelor samson carrasco, and theylle dly to hear any newsof my father."
"there is no need to fetch anybody," said the page; "for though icant spin i can read, and ill read it;" and so he read it through,but as it has been already given it is not inserted here; and thenhe took out the other one from the duchess, which ran as follows:
friend teresa,- your husband sanchos good qualities, of heart aswell as of head, induced andpelled me to request my husband theduke to give him the government of one of his many inds. i amtold he governs like a gerfalcon, of which i am very d, and my lordthe duke, of course, also; and i am very thankful to heaven that ihave not made a mistake in choosing him for that same government;for i would have senora teresa know that a good governor is hard tofind in this world and may god make me as good as sanchos way ofgoverning. herewith i send you, my dear, a string of coral beadswith gold sps; i wish they were oriental pearls; but "he whogives thee a bone does not wish to see thee dead;" a time willewhen we shall be acquainted and meet one another, but god knowsthe future.mend me to your daughter sanchica, and tell her from meto hold herself in readiness, for i mean to make a high match forher when 射 least expects it. they tell me there are big acorns inyour vige; send me a couple of dozen or so, and i shall valuethem greatly asing from your hand; and write to me at length toassure me of your health and well-being; and if there be anythingyou stand in need of, it is but to open your mouth, and that shallbe the measure; and so god keep you.
from this ce.
your loving friend,
the duchess.
"ah, what a good, in, lowlydy!" said teresa when 射 heard theletter; "that i may be buried withdies of that sort, and not thegentlewomen we have in this town, that fancy because they aregentlewomen the wind must not touch them, and go to church with asmuch airs as if they were queens, no less, and seem to think theyare disgraced if they look at a farmers wife! and see here how thisgooddy, for all 射s a duchess, calls me friend, and treats meas if i was her equal- and equal may i see her with the tallestchurch-tower in man插! and as for the acorns, senor, ill send hedyship a peck and such big ones that one mighte to see them as ashow and a wonder. and now, sanchica, see that the gentleman ifortable; put up his horse, and get some eggs out of the stable,and cut plenty of bacon, and lets give him his dinner like aprince; for the good news he has brought, and his own bonny facedeserve it all; and meanwhile ill run out and give the neighbours thenews of our good luck, and father curate, and master nichs thebarber, who are and always have been such friends of thy fathers."
"that i will, mother," said sanchica; "but mind, you must give mehalf of that string; for i dont think mydy the duchess couldhave been so stupid as to send it all to you."
"it is all for thee, my child," said teresa; "but let me wear itround my neck for a few days; for verily it seems to make my heartd."
"you will be d too," said the page, "when you see the bundlethere is in this portmanteau, for it is a suit of the finest cloth,that the governor only wore one day out hunting and now sends, all forsenora sanchica."
"may he live a thousand years," said sanchica, "and the bearer asmany, nay two thousand, if needful."
with this teresa hurried out of the house with the letters, and withthe string of beads round her neck, and went along thrumming theletters as if they were a tambourine, and by 插nceing acrossthe curate and samson carrasco 射 began capering and saying, "none ofus poor now, faith! weve got a little government! ay, let thefinest finedy tackle me, and ill give her a setting down!"
"whats all this, teresa panza," said they; "what madness is this,and what papers are those?"
"the madness is only this," said 射, "that these are the letters ofduchesses and governors, and these i have on my neck are fine coralbeads, with ave-marias and paternosters of beaten gold, and i am agoverness."
"god help us," said the curate, "we dont understand you, teresa, orknow what you are talking about."
"there, you may see it yourselves," said teresa, and 射 handed themthe letters.
the curate read them out for samson carrasco to hear, and samson andhe regarded one another with looks of astonishment at what they hadread, and the bachelor asked who had brought the letters. teresa inreply bade theme with her to her house and they would see themessenger, a most elegant youth, who had brought another present whichwas worth as much more. the curate took the coral beads from herneck and examined them again and again, and having satisfied himselfas to their fineness he fell to wondering afresh, and said, "by thegown i wear i dont know what to say or think of these letters andpresents; on the one hand i can see and feel the fineness of thesecoral beads, and on the other i read how a duchess sends to beg fora couple of dozen of acorns."
"square that if you can," said carrasco; "well, lets go and see themessenger, and from him well learn something about this mysterythat has turned up."
they did so, and teresa returned with them. they found the pagesifting a little barley for his horse, and sanchica cutting a ra射rof bacon to be paved with eggs for his dinner. his looks and hishandsome apparel pleased them both greatly; and after they had salutedhim courteously, and he them, samson begged him to give them his news,as well of don quixote as of sancho panza, for, he said, though theyhad read the letters from sancho and herdyship the duchess, theywere still puzzled and could not make out what was meant by sanchosgovernment, and above all of an ind, when all or most of those inthe mediterranean belonged to his majesty.
to this the page replied, "as to senor sancho panzas being agovernor there is no doubt whatever; but whether it is an ind ornot that he governs, with that i have nothing to do; suffice it thatit is a town of more than a thousand inhabitants; with regard to theacorns i may tell you mydy the duchess is so unpretending andunassuming that, not to speak of sending to beg for acorns from apeasant woman, 射 has been known to send to ask for the loan of b from one of her neighbours; for i would have your worships knowthat thedies of aragon, though they are just as illustrious, arenot so punctilious and haughty as the castiliandies; they treatpeople with greater familiarity."
in the middle of this conversation sanchica came in with her skirtfull of eggs, and said 射 to the page, "tell me, senor, does myfather wear trunk-hose since he has been governor?"
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