th
rage.

CHAPTER XXXII

OF THE REPLY DON QUIXOTE GAVE HIS CENSURER, WITH OTHER
INCIDENTS, GRAVE AND DROLL

Had Don Quixote not been where he was and had the man who thus
assailed him not been of the church, it is safe to say that Don
Quixote would have made his defamer retract his words at the point of
his sword. But instead he calmed himself, and began a long discourse
on the virtues of knight-errantry, finishing it with an avowal of his
intentions which, he swore, were to do good to all and evil to none.
As for his deserving to be called a fool, he would leave that to the
judgment of the Duke and the Duchess. But their worships never got a
chance to utter a word before Sancho broke in with the most stupendous
praise of his master's speech.

The churchman wanted to know whether he was the Sancho Panza of the
book he had seen in print, to which Sancho replied that he most
certainly was, and corroborated it with a string of proverbs, ending
his long-winded reply to the confessor's question with a wish for long
life for his master and himself, saying that neither one of them would
be in any want of empires or islands to rule. Whereupon the Duke at
once said he conferred upon Sancho this very moment the government of
one of his islands; and hearing this Don Quixote whispered to
Sancho--who could not believe his own ears--to go down on his knees
and thank the Duke for his kindness.

The ecclesiastic could stand this impudence no longer, and he rose
from his seat and left the room in disgust and ill-temper. The Duke
wanted to call him back, but he was in such hysterics from hearing
Sancho's proverbial nonsense that he could not speak. After the
churchman's departure Don Quixote again took to discoursing, and
delivered a tirade on the subject of giving and taking offense,
comparing the confessor's rebuke to the offense of a woman, whose only
weapon was her tongue and who therefore could not be punished by the
sword. They marveled at his knowledge and at the quality of his
language, however amusing he himself appeared; but it was Sancho who
particularly took their fancy, for the ducal pair thought they had
never met any one quite so amusing and droll in all their life. And
when Don Quixote had ended his discourse, Sancho himself burst out
regarding the priest: "By my faith, I am certain if Reinaldos of
Montalvan had heard the little man's words, he would have given him
such a spank on the mouth that he would n