The States and Union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1868-1872, 1871-05-17
DON QUIxoFE.
Supposed Discovery of tie Original
Manuscript. -

DON QUEAOfE.
Supposed Discovery of tie Original
Manuscript.
A statement is ''going the rounds"
that Cervantes' original manuscript of
"Dop Quixote" has been discovered
in Spain and will shortly be published.
OF course, this interesting fact is with
in the near bounds of possibility, but
its assertion must be received with
great caution. What is meant by tue
original manuscript of The "Don Quix-
ote ?" That immortal work, as all
scholars know, was written and, pub
hshed in two parts. with long inter
val Of years between them. 1t ia so
understood that GervanteS original
manuscripts and efs.beth partssof~the
"Don Quixote" has beeE discovered,
so that we are to have the whole work
as he originally wrote it? This is ex-
tremely improbable, as we will show.
The known facts in regard to the first
publication of the "Don Quixote" are
these: The first part was first print.
ed in Madrid, in 1905. cor this first
edition of the first part there is one
copy in this country-in the library of
the late Mr.. George Tieknor, Boston
the Spanish portion of which he be-
queathed to the public library of that
city, The first edition of the second
part of "Don Quixote" was published
at Madrid, in October, 1915. by the
same bookseller who published the first
part-Juan de la Cuesta. Cervantes
on lhe 23d of April, 1916. Now, it
is certainly possible that the manu-
script of one or both of the two parts
may have heen preserved by Ger.
vantes, or by Juan de la Cuesta, his
publisher, and from the hands of eth
Ell OF them may have passed into some
unknown receptacle, where it has been
hidden for moro than two hundred
and fifty years, or it may during all
this time have passed unknown thro'
vatious hands, until some accident has
revealed it,. But let US look a little
at probabilities. The first part was
begun in a debtors prison; and al
though Cervantcs was probably out Of
prison when he completed it and pre-
pared it for the press, his life was too
much harassed by poverty and other
embarraszments to make it likely that
he would look very carefully after his
manuscript after it had served as
copy" for. his printer. The same
may be said about the manuscript of
the second part, which was written
while his health was failing from dis
ease and old age, and was publish
ed only six months before his DEATH
He appears to have left manuscripts
behind him, but all that are unknown
to have been liz the possession of his
widow after his death were works
which he had not published and Of
all his numerous published works,
there has never been found heretofore
preserved by him, or, in fact, anybody
else, single original manuscript. Mr..
Ticknor, in his History of Spanish
Literature" of which the three most
interesting chapters are devoted Who'll
ly to Cervautes, has given the titles of
five distinct works, left in manuscript
by the author and unpublished, be-
sides several plays. One of these was
his "Persiles and Sigismunda, which
was published by his widow after his
death. The others have perished
and if this has been the fate of dozen
unpublished manuscripts left behind
him. and more or less prepared for the
press, is il probable thit the "copy" oil
any one of his published works was
preserved by him or his printer after
it had answered the purpose for which
it was written? .t"
But if the original manuscript of
either part of the Don Quixote' was
preserved and still exists, where has it
been for two centuries and half?-.
Where, especially, has it been for the
past one hundred years. during which
there has been extraordinary search
in Spain for manuscripts of Cervantes,
in order to throw light on his personal
history and to settle vexed questions
about his works. In 1880, the Span
i:h Academy published the great ma
tional edition of "Don Quixote, re-
vising its text from all. the previous
editions, both those which had passed /
under Ccrvantes' own eyes and those
which had been printed in Spain or
elsewhere since his death. There were
several reasons operating at this time
to stimulate inquiry for every existing
scrap of writing that belonged to Ger
vantes. In the first place, his life
was to be and was written under tie
direction of the Academy, and. this
life was prefxed in 1870 to their edi-
tion of 'fDon Quixote In the Sec
ond place, the text of that work was
to be settled, and, of course, there
was inquiry whether the original man
uscript or any part of it had been pre-
served. In the third place, there was
a tradition-alluded to in the life pre-
pared by direction of the Academy
that Cervantes, after the publication
of the first part of his Don Quixote,"
had himself written and printed
equib about it, being pamphlet pub