Show T R CONDENSED CLASSICS c H d DON QUIXOTE I By MIGUEL DE CERVANTES Condensation by I Nathan Haskell Dole Dok X l de d ram at 1 t nn bOrDIn born borz S In 1547 the son aon on ola ol of ck S a n Spanish h druggist r and ond 11 lie De died In Madrid hJ In h J 1010 1616 10 days day before before be be- be fore death As n a youth Cervantes Cel went Tent t to It Italy 01 IT where her e b he be served enel n all a D S In the army I 1 In a naval battle i ioa 9 x of off oa Greece he lie ira wa I t bi bin bl right hand bond beS be'S beIng beins be- be S 'S Ing ins permanently maimed While WhileY Y returning to Spain he be wall wae captured S by pirates and aad taken to Aider Algiere where be he wac held am os a slave for tor fl fleS fhe c crear S veers rear After bl his ransom be he wrote man many plays plaTs They brought him more fame tame than fortune and ond he be added to his bl re- re by bT wedding wedding- at ot the nee age of thirty seven a D girl of nineteen It na as evidently a 0 of love Jove an os asher osher her dowry consisted only of HaVe five vines vibes I an flu orchard o. some orne household furniture I four beehives 45 hens hen and chickens one Doe cock and a 0 crucible As All he could not Dot live b by his bl pen Cervantes secured a ft minor government nt position but h be becas betras tras cas a In 10 constant difficulties because of pressing debts debt and his hi lie iTs was wo thrown Into prison for debt released he be sank ank Into abject p pov pov- v- v erty Part of Don Quixote was ivas probably written mitten In Jail This novel a II magic made mirror that reft reflects et nobles and kitchen trenches en hea barbers barber and ladles ladle of high d degree decree I ee all aU the varied life Ufe of a n brilliant brilliant bril bril- period Is I. considered by bT many manT to be behe bethe the lite worlds world's greatest creates humorous master master- piece The wonder of It Is I. that It was mitten written b by a man nearing his sixtieth rear who vrho had all nil bl b been en poor who Vf ho bad had known little except misfortune Children turn lt Its pages page young people read It grown men understand It old folk praise It TaB sixteenth century romances IN o of chivalry written In absurd exaggerated exaggerated ex ex- ex- ex style were extremely popular in Spain A dignified gentleman by the name of Dr who lived between Aragon and Castile went crazy over these foolish books which he spent all aU his substance In buying His brain was stuffed Bluffed with enchantments quarrels battles bottles challenges wounds magic salves complaints amours torments giants castles captured maidens galS gallant gal gal- ant lant rescues and all sorts of Impossible S ble deeds of daring which seemed to him as true as the most authentic hl his his- tory Every keeper Inn keeper was a n. mag- mag nate every mule-driver mule a n cavalier cavallero I He decided that for his own honor and for the service of the world he must turn knight-errant knight and Jaunt through rough the world redressing wrongs rescuing t captured princesses and at last winning the Imperial sceptre of He ITe changed his name to Don Quixote de la Ia Mancha got himself dubbed knight by a rascally publican whose inn he thought was a castle with four turrets crowned with pinnacles pinnacles pinnacles pin pin- of glistening silver In order to carry a full purse he sold one of hl bi his houses mortgaged an another ther and borrowed borrow d a goodly sum from a friend When his practical housekeeper and his pretty niece together with his neighbors the barber and the curate thought to cure him by burning his books he was persuaded that his library had been carried away by a aI necromancer and became crazier than I I ever He scoured up a rusty suit of I mall wall which had belonged to one of his ancestors mend mended d the broken helmet with a pasteboard patched with wit thin Iron plates and thus accoutered set forth on his old hack back whose ribs stuck out like the skeleton of a ship accompanied b by bf bya a rustic named Sancho Panza persuaded into Int serving as his squire The departure was a brave specS spectacle spectacle spec spec- S the tall tail cadaverous lantern lantern- Jawed knight mounted on his bony 1 nag wielding his long lance and carrying carrying carrying car car- his sword his eyes gleaming with enthusiasm and dreaming o of his beautiful e mistress whom he called Dulcinea del Toboso the short squat paunch bellied long servant wIth a canvas wallet and a leathern bottle mounted on the diminutive ass Dapple On the plains of Montiel stood a score tiC ore of big wind Don Quixote took them for outrageous giants and prepared d to do battle against them and despite Sanchos Sancho's protests that their huge arms anns were only vanes he plunged the rowels Into mb thin flanks and with couched lance dashed sit IT ff to the encounter The wind blew violently and tho the knight and his steed were whirled away into the field where they lay motionless and as if dead his lance Jance was smashed t th finS flin fin S ders Sancho hastened to the nut aid of lI his master and found him hini unable to tou u stir lim out nut ne De was soon ready to go on again S Their Th lr next adventure was with two monks riding on mules as as big as dromedaries In company with a coach In which sat a U lady escorted by men menon menon menon on horseback Don Quixote Imagined that adventurers had ha captured a princess and In the haughtiest terms I without bade them release her Then further parley ho he drove against tIle the I monks one of whom ran away while I the other fell tell ore off his mule Sancho nimbly slipped from his ass and began be I Igan gan to strip the luckless man while he be was engaged In this l legitimate appropriation approprIation appropriation ap ap- of the spoils of the battle battIe tw tv two of the train overset him tore out his beard by handfuls mauled him and anil left jolt him senseless Don Quixote engaged In a terrific combat corn com bat with one of the ladys lady's guard who sliced off half of his helmet and one of or his ears Undaunted the knight ht pressed the combat to victory victor but just as he was about to give glye the finish finishing finishing ing stroke the frightened lady begged begge him to desist and he complied on condition con conS that the defeated opponent should go and present himself before the thie peerless Dulcinea who vho ho was in reality n a buxom woman known through all la Ia Mancha fo for her skill In salting pork and who had never deigned deign deign- ed to look at her ber amorous neighbor A few days later bruised and battered bat In untoward adventures they came upon a n flock fiock of sheep which Don Quixote conceived ed to be a prodigious army composed of ot an Infinite number of nations led by mighty kings He spurred like a n thunderbolt lt from the top of or a it hillock shouting his battle battle- challenge putting the hapless sheep to flight and trampling bot both the living and the slain Impatient t to meet the he commander of the enemy he lie shouted Where where art thou haughty AUfa faron f fAt At that moment the shepherds rallied rallied rallied ral ral- ral- ral lied In defense of their flocks and overwhelmed t the e unlucky knight first with stones and then with cudgels leav leaving ng him In n a desperate case with with- nearly all of his teeth knocked out or loosened and his his his' ribs half broken Did this adventure discourage him Not at all It was all n a part of ch chivalry chival chival- val val- r ry He and Sancho rode on In dolorous dolorous dolor dolor- ous discourse They were overtaken by night and had bad no s shelter elter or food Suddenly appeared a band of about twenty horsemen all In n white robes with torches in their thel hands and followed fol fol- followed fol- fol lowed by a hearse draped In black It was the funeral of a n. gentleman of Segovia Don Quixote took It to bethe bo be bothe bothe the train of some knight either killed or desperately wounded and assured that It was his duty to avenge the misfortunes of a In brother I halt halted d the cortege and demanded a ah att explanation The replies of the clergymen clergy clergy- clergymen men failed to satisfy him hini and he flew at Lit them in high dudgeon Encumbered by their robes they became easy victims victims vic vic- victims vic vic- tims and all took to flight I They possessed themselves of the edibles deserted by the clergymen but unfortunately had nothing to drink nor did they dare stir from the forest b because cause of the awful dame clamor made by bya a El mill fulling-mill which Don Quixote su sup sur supposed posed to be enchantment The next morning they met meta a n bat bai laiber ber her riding on an ass and wearing hi hll brass basin on his head bead to save his hat tat from the rain Don Quixote recognized recognized rec rec- t this ls as as the golden helmet of Mambrino and flew fiew at the enemy as asif asif if Lf he would grind him to powder The barber fled leaving his helmet which Sancho appropriated though It seemed seemed seem seem- ed rd to him merely a common dish They came to another Inn In the night Don Quixote while sound asleep and md dreaming enjo enjoyed ed the most famous famous fa fa- fa- fa ious battle of his career Dressed In La a short shirt which exposed his lean long hairy shanks and wearing a I greasy red nightcap with a blanket wrapped around around- his left arm for a ashield ashield ashield shield he was repeatedly plunging his sword Into the plump bodies of sev sev- eral giants Their blood flowed across the floor in wide crimson streams Imagine the wrath of the worthy Inn Ke keeper per at discovering that his f famous guest had disemboweled all his wine-sacks wine which were made of skins goat with the heads left on After this Don Quixote was got home by the curate and the barber but he broke loose again First he visited his Dulcinea but came a away avay vay convinced that thae through more enchantment enchantment enchantment enchant enchant- ment she had been changed into a cheeked blubber-cheeked nosed flat-nosed country countr wench the pearls of other her eyes into gall- gall nuts her long golden locks into a cows cow's tail tall a and d her palace into a hut He had adventures with strolling actors and lions he attended the rich Camachos Camacho's wedding he explored the deep cave of Montesinos he rode rodeon on a magic bark and visited the nameless nameless name name- less duke and duchess through whose complaisance Sancho was granted his ambition to rule over an Island and did it with wisdom worthy of Solo mon mono Many more adventures followed follow follow- ed but at last Jast Don Quixote returned t to his home and recovered his senses on his death-bed death dying as a lovable minded high noble-hearted noble gentleman I Cervantes' Cervantes masterpiece Is not all satire Don Quixote has l lucid moments mo mOo- ments meats Sanchos Sancho's simplicity veils common common cornmon com corn mon sense often expressed In witty proverbs There Is occasional coarseness coarseness coarseness coarse coarse- ness but not so much as In Shake Shake- speare The chief fault Is Its treatment o of Insanity In Its auth authors author's rs is fondness for cruel and brutal practical Jokes which may perhaps explain the m maintenance maintenance main main- of fighting bull as the national amusement o of Spain Copyright 1919 1913 by bythe the tho Post Publishing Co The Boston Post Copyright In the United Kingdom the Dominions Its Colonies Col Col- onles onies and dependencies under the copyrIght copyright copy copy- right act by the Post Publishing Co Boston Mass U. U S. S A. A All rights re re- re served |