The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-08-12
"DON QUIXOTE"
BY MIGUEL DE CERVANTES
Condensation by Nathan Haskell Dole

SoH0CHSdLiOl ny N
In the sixteenth century romances
of chivalry, written in absurd, exag-
gerated style, were extremely popular
in Spain.
A dlgnified gentleman by the name
of Quixada, who lived between Aragon
and CASTLE, went crazy over these
foolish books, which he spent all his
substance in buying. His brain was
stuffed with entertainments, quarrels;
battles, challenges, wounds, magic
salves, complaints, amours, torments,
giants, castles, captured maidens, gal
liant resources, and all sorts of inpos-
s1ble deeds of daring which seemed to
him as true as the most authentic his
tory. Every inn-keeper was a mag
nate, every inn-keeper was a cavilier
He decided that for his own honor,
and for the service Of the world, he
must turn knight-errant and jaunt
through the world, redressing wrongs,
rescutng captured princesses and at
last winning the imperial septre Of
Trapizonda.
He changed his name to Don Quix-
ote de la Mancha, got himself dubbed
knight by rascally publican whose
inn he thought was a castle with four
turrets crowned with pinnacles Of glis.
tening silver. In order to carry a
full purse he sold one Of his houses,
mortgaged another and borrowed a
goodly sum from a friend. When his
practical housekeeper and his pretty
niece, together with his neighbors,
| thought to cure him by burning his
books, he was persuaded that his IL
brary had been carried away by a
| necramancer, and became crazier
than ever. He secured up a rusty
suit of mail which had belonged to
one of his ancestors, mended the
broken helmet with a pasteboard Wis
or, patched with thin iron plates, and
thus accoutered, set forth on his old
hack Rocinate, whose ribs stuck out
like the skeleton of a ship, accompan-
! led by a rustic named Sancho Panza,
persuaded into serving as his squire.
Their departure was brave spec
tacle; the tall cadaverous lantern
| jawed knight, mounted on his bony
| nag, welding his long lance and carry
ing his sword, his eyes cleaning with
enthusiasm and dreaming Of his beau
| uful mistress, whom he called Dulci-
nea del Toboso, the short, squat,
paunch bellied, long haunched servant
with canvas wallet and leathern
bottle, mounted on the diminutive ass,
| Dapple.
On the plains of Montiel stood a
score of big wind-mills. Don QuiXote
| took them for outrageous giants and
! prepared to do, battle against them,
and despite Sanchos protests that
their huge arms were only vanes, he
plunged the rowels into Rocinante's
! thin flanks and with couched lance,
! dashed off to the encounter The
wind blew violently and the knight
and his steed were whirled away into
the field, where they lay motionless
as if dead; hs lance was smashed to
| flinders. SaEcho fastened to aid his
! master and found him unable to stir;
but he was soon able to go on again.
Their next adventure was with two
monks, riding on mules as big as
dromadaries in company with a
coach in which sat a lady escorted by
men on horseback. Don QuiXote i'm
agined that Adventures had captured
a princess and in the haughtiest terms
babe them release her. Then without
| further parley he drove against the
monks, one of whom ran away while
the other fell off his mule. Sancho
nimbly slipped from his ass and began
was thus engaged in this legitimate
appropriation of the spoils of battle,
two muleteers Overset him. tore out
his beard by handfuls, mauled him and
left him senseless. Don QuiXoLe en-
gagged in a terrific combat with one of
the lady's guards who sliced off half
his helmet and one of his ears. I'm
daunted the knight pressed the combat
to vitory, but just as he was about to
give the finishing strOks, the fright
ened lady begged him to desist and he
complied on condition that the defeat
ed opponent should go and present him
self before the peerless Dulcinea, who
in reality was a buXom woman known
through all la Mancha for her skill in
sailing pork and who had never
deigned to look at her amorous neigh.
Dor.
A few days later, bruised and batter.
ed in untoward adventures, they came
upon a flock of sheep which Don
Quixote conceived to be a prodigious
army composed of an infinite number
of nations led by mighty kings. He
spurred like a thunder-bolt from the
top of hillock, shouting his battle.
challenge, putting the hapless sheep te
fight and trampling both the living
and the sdain. Impatient to meet the
commander of the enemy, he shouted
Where, where, art thou, naughty
Alifanfaron."
At that moment the shepherds
rallied in defense of their focks and
overwhelmed the unlucky knight first
with stones and then with cudgels
leaving Inn in a desperate case, with
nearly all his teeth knocked out OF
loosened, and his ribs half broken.
Did this adventure discourage him
Not at all. 1t was all part of chiv.
airy. He and sancho rode on in do