Nos. 35, 63.]

[Footnote 282:

"----Nullum memorabile nomen
Foeminea in poena est."--"AEneid," ii. 583-4.
]

No. 178. [STEELE.

From _Saturday, May 27_, to _Tuesday, May 30, 1710_.

* * * * *

_Sheer Lane, May 29._

When we look into the delightful history of the most ingenious Don
Quixote of the Mancha, and consider the exercises and manner of life of
that renowned gentleman, we cannot but admire the exquisite genius and
discerning spirit of Michael Cervantes, who has not only painted his
adventurer with great mastery in the conspicuous parts of his story,
which relate to love and honour, but also intimated in his ordinary
life, economy, and furniture, the infallible symptoms he gave of his
growing frenzy, before he declared himself a knight-errant. His hall was
furnished with old lances, halberds, and morions; his food, lentils; his
dress, amorous. He slept moderately, rose early, and spent his time in
hunting. When by watchfulness and exercise he was thus qualified for the
hardships of his intended peregrinations, he had nothing more to do but
to fall hard to study; and before he should apply himself to the
practical part, get into the methods of making love and war by reading
books of knighthood. As for raising tender passion in him, Cervantes
reports[283] that he was wonderfully delighted with a smooth intricate
sentence; and when they listened at his study-door, they could
frequently hear him read aloud, "The reason of the unreasonableness,
which against my reason is wrought, doth so weaken my reason, as with
all reason I do justly complain on your beauty." Again, he would pause
till he came to another charming sentence, and with the most pleasing
accent imaginable be loud at a new paragraph: "The high heavens, which,
with your divinity, do fortify you divinely with the stars, make you
deserveress of the deserts that your greatness deserves." With these,
and other such passages (says my author) the poor gentleman grew
distracted, and was breaking his brains day and night to understand and
unravel their sense.

As much as the case of this distempered knight is received by all the
readers of his history as the most incurable and ridiculous of all
phrensies, it is very certain we have crowds among us far gone in as
visible a madness as his, though they are not observed to be in that
condition. As great and us