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By Root 827 0

a widow, she did not wish to leave the convent, much less take vows to be a nun; then, a few days later, the news reached her that Lotario had died in the battle between Monsieur de Lautrec and the Great Captain Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, which had just taken place in the kingdom of Naples, where Anselmo’s friend, repentant too late, had fled;4 when Camila learned this, she took her vows, and not long afterward her life ended in the pitiless embrace of sorrow and melancholy. This was the end met by the three and born of such rash beginnings.

“This novel seems fine,” said the priest, “but I cannot persuade myself that it is true; if it is invented, the author invented badly, because no one can imagine any husband foolish enough to conduct the costly experiment that Anselmo did. If this occurred between a lover and his lady, it might be plausible, but between a husband and his wife it seems impossible; as for the manner in which it was told, I did not find it displeasing.”

CHAPTER XXXVI

Which recounts the fierce and uncommon battle that Don Quixote had with some skins of red wine, along with other unusual events that occurred in the inn 1

Just then the innkeeper, who was at the entrance to the inn, said:

“Here comes a beautiful collection of guests: if they stop here, we’ll have some gaudeamus.”

“What kind of people?” said Cardenio.

“Four men,” responded the innkeeper, “on horseback, with short stirrups, lances, and shields, and all of them wearing black masks;2 with them is a woman dressed in white, riding sidesaddle, and her face is covered, too, and there are two servants with them, on foot.”

“Are they very near?” asked the priest.

“So near,” responded the innkeeper, “that they’re arriving now.”

When Dorotea heard this she covered her face, and Cardenio went into the room where Don Quixote was sleeping; they almost did not have time to do so before everyone described by the innkeeper came into the inn; the four riders, of a very gallant appearance and disposition, dismounted and went to help the woman down from the sidesaddle, and one of them took her in his arms and sat her in a chair that was near the door of the room where Cardenio had gone to hide. In all this time, neither she nor the men had removed their masks, or spoken a single word, but as the woman sat in the chair she sighed deeply and let her arms fall to her sides, as if she were sick and weak. The servants who had come on foot led the horses to the stables.

The priest, seeing this, and longing to know who these people were who dressed in this fashion and kept so silent, walked over to the servants and asked one of them what he wanted to know; the servant responded:

“By my faith, Señor, I can’t tell you who these people are: I only know that they seem to be very important, especially the one who took the lady in his arms, and I say this because all the others have respect for him and do only what he orders and commands.”

“And the lady, who is she?” asked the priest.

“I don’t know that, either,” the servant responded, “because during the whole journey I haven’t seen her face; I’ve heard her sigh, very often, and moan, and each time it sounds as if her heart were about to break. It’s no surprise we don’t know more than this, because my companions and I have been traveling with them for only two days; we met on the road, and they asked us and persuaded us to go with them as far as Andalucía, and they offered to pay us very well.”

“Have you heard any of their names?” asked the priest.

“No, we surely haven’t,” responded the servant, “because it’s a wonder how silently they travel; all you hear from them are the sighs and sobs of that poor lady, and we really feel sorry for her; we think she’s being forced to go wherever it is that she’s going; from what we’ve seen of her clothes, she’s a nun, or she’s going to become one, which seems more likely, and maybe she isn’t becoming a nun of her own free will, and that’s why she seems so melancholy.”

“That’s possible,” said the priest.

And leaving them, he walked back to Dorotea, who, hearing