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Show THE S AIL.T LAKE"- Magazine Section MEM AL -- - Magazine Section EEPUILIKC AM Sunday, March .5 1916 ton Because Spain s Great Genius, Cervantes, Died on the. Same Day as William Shakespeare, the f Celebration of April 23 Will Have a nue Significance. , v I JCZc u 'feij ; " 4 m ! j Sb'mri rp ff ' x-A- III V'3' l h ll r- -. , c , Jd- T- 2& :'V I Don Quixote Starts on His Travels. Above, One of the Accepted Portraits of Miguel de Cervantes Saavcdra. On the Left, a Cartoon of Don Quixote by Laskoff. HIS year Is notable as the triennial celebration of the death, not only of Shakespeare, the supreme genius of all the world, but also of the death of Cervantes, acknowledged aa the leading mind of Spain. S rangely enough, both of these great souls took night upon the very same day, the 23d of April, thus marking that day very large in the memory of civilized men. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was born in 1547 an4 died in 1S16. He was 9 years old, 17 years older than Shakespeare, yet he did not accomplish nearly so much durjng his lifetime, for genius is not counted in years. Cervantea passed an adventurous life. Like many with the stamp of genius upon their brows, he knew little about the everyday affairs of life. lie waj a soldier, and once was confined in a loathsome prison of Algiers, but the spirit of literary production wa. not easily quenched He, too. tried writing for the stage for some five years, between, 15S2 and 15S7. but wl;h Indifferent success. His first novel was brought out In 1584, but it was unproductive financially. Ho had to take a government position, and, whether from carelessness or something worse, his accounts were found short. In 1595 he won the magnificent prize of three silver spoons for a composition in poetry, but so little did this help him that he was Imprisoned for the debt he owed his country, and could not pay. Perhaps this very Imprisonment was bis salvation. It was while In prison, like IJunyan. that he composed his masterpiece. "Don Quixote," really a "Pilgrim's Progress" of knighthood, the chronicle of the passing of chivalry, with all of its exaggerations and wild romanticism. It was a satire upon the romances of chivalry then current and meant the end of medlaevalism. for when you make any movement ridiculous it cannot last very long. This was precisely what Cervantes accomplished. Knighthood passed quickly T -- ... ,s.:C-t- . V ". i 'v;? 3 4- - , ,' - Vlr ,v -- vs",-V v, ...i ' ;'-- " c.v ; L - '- - - "'.'. - --Za-- ,v; v -- f- iJX The Disaster to the Knight as Pictured by the Famous English Caricaturist. Cruikshank. irom Its flower Into desuetude, and "Don Quixote" helped bury it. Here was a panorama of Spanish society in the 16th century, and the pen of Cervantes brought out all of the lights and shadows of the picture His masterpiece has been appreciated as a classic all over the world and is translated Into every modern tongue, and Illustrated by the best artists, such as Vierge, Dore, Audran and Cruikshank. Many generations have laughed at Don Quixote, with couched lance, attacking windmills, and there Is hardly a cartoonist who has not utilized this char acter to symbolize the fanatical reformer, Sancho Panza, with his end!es3 proverbs, ha3 be come endeared to all the world, and who is there that has not heard that devout benediction of the fat little man: "Blessed Is he that invented sleep" If there was anything that Sancho enjoyed almost as much as a good meal, it was his nap, and not the least of his tribulations was the incessant activity of his lean and chivalrous master, who took no rest and gave him none. Strange as It may seem, tnere were some, eager to steal the fame of the great Cervantes, and before he could bring out the second part of "Don Quixote" a spurious completion of the work was offered in the market. Cervantes himself soon proved ltsspurl-ousnes- s by issuing his own completion of the tale, which immediately put the other on the shelf. Particulars are lacking of the latter years of his life, but for the joy that he has given to so many millions it may well be hope'l that Cervantes enjoyed a little peace, and comfort in his declining years. The very t place of his grave is not known. His fame, however, is secure, and the immortality of "Don Quixote'- Is never to be doubted. - Pronouncing "Quixote" Many debates have been held at to the proper pronunciation of Don Quixote. As so often happens, pronunciation In this Instance is a matter of choice. Here are some examples of accepted methods of saying the name-ISpanish: Key. ho te. In Italian: Keyshote. In French: Key.shote. n In English: Quicks-o- t or Qulcks-ote- . The adjective "Quixotic" rather favors the Eng. Ilsh pronunciation of the name itself In an English sentence either with a long or a short "o," and there Is as good reason for "Englishing" the name as for the different pronunciation In France and Italy. kUr J&ni fA&stf- KX to WS) - w v&-- frit) a ' - - |