The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-03-07

colossal joke Cthe better Jest because
so much wisdom undcrlics the wit,
meat and salt together) its com
plctiOn. Tho first part OF Don
QuiNotc.' begun in 1903. was pub
,ishcd In 1905; tho second was begun
In 1914 and finished within the year.
Miguel dc Cervantcs Saavedra.
fifty-nve years an artisan Of the pen
suddenly stormed and carried the very
citadel Of literary fame. But 1t will
not do for the aspirants of penman-
ship to wait for 50 to bring
their Ouixotc: hat is not the moral
Of C~ervantes's life. He had been
always literary. industrious in read
inc, tenacious IN remembering what
he read. Also he had seen the world
and had adventures Above all he
had the universal curiosity that al
Ways goes with genius. whether II
he or he not a cause Of that intel,cc-
tual supereminence
Mr.. Smith calls C~ervantes. u little
cXtravdgantly. the most imaginative
prose writcr Of all time" Supcrla-
tivcs are cheap and trolcherous. Ills
W subsequent observations qualify
INV 'NN'FE INV supply ~ NV A'h
, sunable view. Tho S%paniard was all
hi. lifc unconsciousiy preparing for
the great achievement that crosncl
II. He knew all that Spain knew in
his time. all that was in its rich poetry
and drama. He knew Italian letters;
he read and %pondcrcd the Bible and
the ancient classics. lie wrote com
paratively little. read much and
thought much. and lived. lie did
not create a world. but he made a
new light to shine upon tho world he
knew. Is Don Quixote" a satire on
the writings OF chivalry? Cervantos
declares at the beginning that II Is to
be. as this author puts it. one long
invective against these romances,'
and at the end that his sole desire
had boen TO expose their halderdasli
ard vapidity TO the abomination OF
mankind" But mat, however 1t
might have caught tho psychological
moment and contemporary attention.
could have held no seed of immortal
itv. The book grew far beyond its
narrow plan. Besides the innumcr-
able traceable illusions to other
writings. tho books of Chivalry. bal
lads and Italian romance. everything
Ceramics had read, himself Is in tho
hook. a personality elusive but per
mcating; rich in literary sources
it's true source is life and the restless
but we'll oricnted mind back OF the
sensitiyely receptive retina.
The grandfather Of Miguel. Juan
do C~ervantes, was a lawyer. Of whom
It IS known that in l5i5-i6 he ad-
mln.stered the estates OF the Duke of
Osuna and that in 1853 he was In
practice at Cordova. Miguel's father,
Rodrigo, was a physician, and some
thing OF a nomad. for in 50 We find
him moving from Alcala de Henares
where the first five OF his seven chill
dren were born miguel was the
fourth to Nalladolid. whence in 81
he went TO Madrid. In '6+-65 no was
at Seville and from SO 20 IS at Mad
rid again. In 1864 he had some real
estate in Seville. but after ransoming
tho veuturesome members OF III,
family from Moorish captivity Miguel
and his brother. th- shadow Of the
wolf fell near enouAh to tho Ger
yantcs door to keep tho folk within
safe against .sc insidious !ndul-
gcnces OF slothful ease.
II was probably at Nalladolid. a
a lad of II. that the great G
vantes first saw and loved tho drama
In those days. he notes in the preface
to his Comedies the whole para
phcrnalla OF a manager Of plays was
contained In a sack n consisted OF
four white shecpskin dresses trimmed
with gilt leather, and four boards
wigs and crooks. more or less
The stage consisted OF four benches
arranged IN n square with Ave or Sin
blanks on tor OF them, raised but
four handbreadths from the ground
An old blanket drawn aside by two
ropes made what they called the greer
room. behind which were the mus,
clans singing some old ba..ad withou'
a guitar" The performances .
given in a public square in tho morn
ing and afternoon. Lope dc Rueds
was a noted Observation-Disclosures
of the day. and Cervantes SAW him a
work.
When tire third wife Of Philip II
died tho "humarist" Juan Lopez d.
Hoyos compiled The True History
Illness. Most Blessed Passing anC
Sumptuous Obseduies Of the Most Sc
rene Queen OF Spain. Dona Isabel d.
Nalois." and Cervantes wrote som
verses for II. Hoyos set him dowr
my dear and beloved pupil" There
Is no specific record OF M!gue.'s school
ing, but references In The Dogs Col
loquy' and other writings assured!
or presumably his seem to show tina