This soldier, then, that I have described, this Vicente de laRoca, this bravo, gallant, musician, poet, was often seen andwatched by Leandra from a window of her house which looked out onthe plaza. The glitter of his showy attire took her fancy, his balladsbewitched her （for he gave away twenty copies of every one he made），the tales of his exploits which he told about himself came to herears; and in short, as the devil no doubt had arranged it, she fell inlove with him before the presumption of making love to her hadsuggested itself to him; and as in love-affairs none are more easilybrought to an issue than those which have the inclination of thelady for an ally, Leandra and Vicente came to an understanding withoutany difficulty; and before any of her numerous suitors had anysuspicion of her design, she had already carried it into effect,having left the house of her dearly beloved father （for mother she hadnone）， and disappeared from the village with the soldier, who camemore triumphantly out of this enterprise than out of any of thelarge number he laid claim to. All the village and all who heard of itwere amazed at the affair; I was aghast, Anselmo thunderstruck, herfather full of grief, her relations indignant, the authorities allin a ferment, the officers of the Brotherhood in arms. They scouredthe roads, they searched the woods and all quarters, and at the end ofthree days they found the flighty Leandra in a mountain cave, striptto her shift, and robbed of all the money and precious jewels shehad carried away from home with her. They brought her back to herunhappy father, and questioned her as to her misfortune, and sheconfessed without pressure that Vicente de la Roca had deceived her,and under promise of marrying her had induced her to leave herfather's house, as he meant to take her to the richest and mostdelightful city in the whole world, which was Naples; and that she,ill-advised and deluded, had believed him, and robbed her father,and handed over all to him the night she disappeared; and that hehad carried her away to a rugged mountain and shut her up in theeave where they had found her. She said, moreover, that the soldier,without robbing her of her honour, had taken from her everything shehad, and made off, leaving her in the cave, a thing that still furthersurprised everybody. It was not easy for us to credit the youngman's continence, but she asserted it with such earnestness that ithelped to console her distressed father, who thought nothing of whathad been taken since the jewel that once lost can never be recoveredhad been left to his daughter. The same day that Leandra made herappearance her father removed her from our sight and took her awayto shut her up in a convent in a town near this, in the hope that timemay wear away some of the disgrace she has incurred. Leandra's youthfurnished an excuse for her fault, at least with those to whom itwas of no consequence whether she was good or bad; but those whoknew her shrewdness and intelligence did not attribute hermisdemeanour to ignorance but to wantonness and the naturaldisposition of women, which is for the most part flighty andill-regulated.
Leandra withdrawn from sight, Anselmo's eyes grew blind, or at anyrate found nothing to look at that gave them any pleasure, and minewere in darkness without a ray of light to direct them to anythingenjoyable while Leandra was away. Our melancholy grew greater, ourpatience grew less; we cursed the soldier's finery and railed at thecarelessness of Leandra's father. At last Anselmo and I agreed toleave the village and come to this valley; and, he feeding a greatflock of sheep of his own, and I a large herd of goats of mine, wepass our life among the trees, giving vent to our sorrows, togethersinging the fair Leandra's praises, or upbraiding her, or else sighingalone, and to heaven pouring forth our complaints in solitude.Following our example, many more of Leandra's lovers have come tothese rude mountains and adopted our mode of life, and they are sonumerous that one would fancy the place had been turned into thepastoral Arcadia, so full is it of shepherds and sheep-folds; nor isthere a spot in it where the name of the fair Leandra is not heard.Here one curses her and calls her capricious, fickle, and immodest,there another condemns her as frail and frivolous; this pardons andabsolves her, that spurns and reviles her; one extols her beauty,another assails her character, and in short all abuse her, and alladore her, and to such a pitch has this general infatuation gonethat there are some who complain of her scorn without ever havingexchanged a word with her, and even some that bewail and mourn theraging fever of jealousy, for which she never gave anyone cause,for, as I have already said, her misconduct was known before herpassion. There is no nook among the rocks, no brookside, no shadebeneath the trees that is not haunted by some shepherd telling hiswoes to the breezes; wherever there is an echo it repeats the nameof Leandra; the mountains ring with "Leandra," "Leandra" murmur thebrooks, and Leandra keeps us all bewildered and bewitched, hopingwithout hope and fearing without knowing what we fear. Of all thissilly set the one that shows the least and also the most sense is myrival Anselmo, for having so many other things to complain of, he onlycomplains of separation, and to the accompaniment of a rebeck, whichhe plays admirably, he sings his complaints in verses that show hisingenuity. I follow another, easier, and to my mind wiser course,and that is to rail at the frivolity of women, at their inconstancy,their double dealing, their broken promises, their unkept pledges, andin short the want of reflection they show in fixing their affectionsand inclinations. This, sirs, was the reason of words andexpressions I made use of to this goat when I came up just now; for asshe is a female I have a contempt for her, though she is the best inall my fold. This is the story I promised to tell you, and if I havebeen tedious in telling it, I will not be slow to serve you; my hut isclose by, and I have fresh milk and dainty cheese there, as well asa variety of toothsome fruit, no less pleasing to the eye than tothe palate.
CHAPTER LII
OF THE QUARREL THAT DON QUIXOTE HAD WITH THE GOATHERD, TOGETHER WITHTHE RARE ADVENTURE OF THE PENITENTS, WHICH WITH AN EXPENDITURE OFSWEAT HE BROUGHT TO A HAPPY CONCLUSION
THE goatherd's tale gave great satisfaction to all the hearers,and the canon especially enjoyed it, for he had remarked withparticular attention the manner in which it had been told, which wasas unlike the manner of a clownish goatherd as it was like that of apolished city wit; and he observed that the curate had been quiteright in saying that the woods bred men of learning. They alloffered their services to Eugenio but he who showed himself mostliberal in this way was Don Quixote, who said to him, "Most assuredly,brother goatherd, if I found myself in a position to attempt anyadventure, I would, this very instant, set out on your behalf, andwould rescue Leandra from that convent （where no doubt she is keptagainst her will）， in spite of the abbess and all who might try toprevent me, and would place her in your hands to deal with heraccording to your will and pleasure, observing, however, the laws ofchivalry which lay down that no violence of any kind is to beoffered to any damsel. But I trust in God our Lord that the might ofone malignant enchanter may not prove so great but that the power ofanother better disposed may prove superior to it, and then I promiseyou my support and assistance, as I am bound to do by my profession,which is none other than to give aid to the weak and needy."
The goatherd eyed him, and noticing Don Quixote's sorry appearanceand looks, he was filled with wonder, and asked the barber, who wasnext him, "Senor, who is this man who makes such a figure and talks insuch a strain?"
"Who should it be," said the barber, "but the famous Don Quixoteof La Mancha, the undoer of injustice, the righter of wrongs, theprotector of damsels, the terror of giants, and the winner ofbattles?"
"That," said the goatherd, "sounds like what one reads in thebooks of the knights-errant, who did all that you say this man does;though it is my belief that either you are joking, or else thisgentleman has empty lodgings in his head."
"You are a great scoundrel," said Don Quixote, "and it is you whoare empty and a fool. I am fuller than ever was the whoreson bitchthat bore you;" and passing from words to deeds, he caught up a loafthat was near him and sent it full in the goatherd's face, with suchforce that he flattened his nose; but the goatherd, who did notunderstand jokes, and found himself roughly handled in such goodearnest, paying no respect to carpet, tablecloth, or diners, sprangupon Don Quixote, and seizing him by the throat with both handswould no doubt have throttled him, had not Sancho Panza that instantcome to the rescue, and grasping him by the shoulders flung him downon the table, smashing plates, breaking glasses, and upsetting andscattering everything on it. Don Quixote, finding himself free, stroveto get on top of the goatherd, who, with his face covered withblood, and soundly kicked by Sancho, was on all fours feeling aboutfor one of the table-knives to take a bloody revenge with. The canonand the curate, however, prevented him, but the barber so contrived itthat he got Don Quixote under him, and rained down upon him such ashower of fisticuffs that the poor knight's face streamed with bloodas freely as his own. The canon and the curate were bursting withlaughter, the officers were capering with delight, and both the oneand the other hissed them on as they do dogs that are worrying oneanother in a fight. Sancho alone was frantic, for he could not freehimself from the grasp of one of the canon's servants, who kept himfrom going to his master's assistance.